The Princess and the Blade

[Emora Deen]

Tenara stared at the cold jar in her hand for a minute and then turned her gaze on Havi. My moon… She wanted to sob. She never thought she would see him again, much less hear his voice. But he was here and asking her how to torture the man who’d hurt her.

The whites of one eye were entirely bloodied, her face mottled with bruises, and—even with the red glowing in her pupils—she looked so uncertain. She turned her head to Ren and Laurius, questioning eyes seeking Ren’s advice, but Laurius offered a snarling, “All of them.”

He had experienced toothsbane before, she thought. Wouldn’t he know best? But looking at Laurius did little to curb the anger in her heart or the magic roiling to the surface—this was his fault, it said. She shivered under its strain and finally pushed the jar toward Havi. “All of them?” her tone more uncertain questioning than command. Then, she saw her broken hand and amended, “All but one.” Hadn’t Ren said they healed?

Elias began to thrash around like a cat trapped in water. He clawed and hissed and made a strangled screeching sound.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi's eyes grew dark with anger as he raised them to meet Artisuren's. The look in the other Ivis's eyes as he nodded was a devastating confirmation of what those beasts had done to her. "All of them?"

"All of them," Artisuren confirmed fiercely.

Havitharon's hand tightened automatically around the prince's throat, and he had to remind himself not to just snap his neck. He didn't deserve an easy death. His fingers scooped into the jar, collecting all but one of the pearls. He rose and pinned Elias to the wall. "You're supposed to bite down on something when you take one of these," he advised coldly, then crushed his fist into the man's mouth and onward, forcing it down his throat. The flesh of his asophagus popped and ripped as Havi's huge fist forced down it. He didn't want to hear the bastard's voice.

As soon as the toothsbane touched the lining of his throat, Elias's flesh began trying to heal and remake itself around Havi's hand. Havi twisted his hand, forcing his clawed fingers wide inside the man's chest. "In a few seconds, you'll beg me to rip your dick off," he hissed beside the prince's ear.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara watched with a complicated feeling twisting her stomach as Havitharon forced his hand down Elias’s throat. She drew her knees to her chest and clutched them, feeling the intense need to be held. He deserved this. She knew that.

The prince choked on the hand and the pills and a moment later he began to make a sick, strangled gurgle that might have been a roar if Havi hadn’t destroyed his throat. He thrashed wildly, bucking his body into the air, searching for something. She could see his length engorged and pressed against the seams of his pants, and it reminded her of him pacing around the tub as she washed Vardner off. He was screaming with his eyes. They rolled and flicked and begged Havitharon. He tried to work his mouth, tried to form words, but it just all came out as wet-sounding gags that made her want to gag in turn. Then, it looked as if he’d pissed himself as he bucked obscenely into the air. Maybe he had. But judging from the bulge, she thought it might be something else.

And that’s when she lost it.

She twisted around and dry heaved—hating that this made her sick, hating that she felt so uncomfortable with his pain when he had made her feel so much more. He’d violated her on the ship, and he’d violated her in the camp. He’d let other’s do it too, even if the only face she knew other than his was Vardner’s.

Tenara forced herself to look, to see his pain, to see his punishment… and she couldn’t stand it. She had crushed men with her magic. Killed them… But all of those deaths had been quick and in the blind rage of her power. She hated so fiercely that she couldn’t find the stomach to watch this—couldn’t relish it—because he deserved it!

Elias’s heart beat so fiercely and so hard it began to lurch in his chest, straining against the intensity of his pain and his torturous pleasure. If not for the toothsbane, it might have given out. He turned his wild eyes on Tenara when pleading with Havitharon didn’t work. She read his contorted expression—help. Help! Please! Tenara clenched her eyes and covered her ears and willed it to be over.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havitharon's awareness had tunneled to just the loathsome creature he was punishing. Elias's tortured convulsions made no impact on him whatsoever. No matter how much he suffered, it wouldn't be enough.

"...os. Thvoros!"

Artisuren's voice broke through to him as if he'd been lost in a dream. He glanced back toward the other Ivis in irritation.

Ren was clenching tight to Laurius's shirt as he watched over the merchant's shoulder. "The princess is frightened," Ren managed to say, his concern for Tenara temporarily outweighing his fear of being beaten to death.

Havi realized he'd lost track of Tenara completely. He scanned the room wildly and spotted her twisted on the floor, being sick.

His anger tucked its tail. Was he scaring her? Had he gone too far?

He tore his arm loose from Elias and dropped him to the floor. The man twitched there, his body healing mercilessly. His blood pressure was high enough to tear his arteries, but they healed themselves as quickly as they ruptured. He might live through, but his mind probably wouldn't. He should probably get him out of her sight. He bent to grab the man by the collar, meaning to shove him in the lavatory adjoining the room.

A sharp voice from the doorway interrupted him. "Everybody stand still! What the hell is going on here?" demanded a tall Ivis with gold horns that arched like a ram's. Two other men had come with him, and all three were armed with short, curved swords.

The Ivis they'd knocked out earlier had apparently regained consciousness. Now that backup arrived, he stumbled back to his feet and joined the others. "Be alert. That's Thvoros of Ruthe."

"What? How the hell did he get here?"

First, I found Artisuren here alone with this injured Yurivis and that... male," he gestured at Elias as if unsure what to call him. Then the other two just came out of nowhere and attacked me. Where is Kishva?"

"On her way here." The apparent leader of the newly arrived men glowered at Havitharon. "Step away from that Yurivis, Lord Ruthe."

"I am not here to harm her," Havi said, though his bloodsoaked appearance did little to back up his words. He raised his hands and took several slow steps apart from the others.

"For your sake, that had better be true." The male turned his attention to Tenara and half-knelt as he spoke to her. "Yurivis, you are now a guest of Lady Kishva Dushane, and you will be protected. Which of these males are responsible for your injuries?"

[Emora Deen]

Tenara slowly pulled her hands away from her ears and met the stranger’s eyes. Her gaze drifted across the room to where Elias seemed to slowly seize on the floor, and lifted her hand away, pointing a finger at him. She had half a mind to also swing that finger toward Laurius, and, if not for knowing how much Ren seemed to care for him, might have. Instead, she kept the shaking hand trained on the prince, uncertain what fate she was levying him—only hoping she didn’t have to witness whatever was done next.

Tenara’s slow mind seemed to click awake enough for her to clear her throat and say, “Thvoros is mine. He was punishing him...”

[Soran Nightblade]

The men went quiet, as if waiting for the punchline to a joke. "Yours?"

After a pregnant pause, the leader snorted, and the rest of them burst into laughter.

"Something appears to be very amusing about my harem being invaded," a smooth female voice spoke.

The men fell quiet immediately and moved aside as a raven-haired woman with silver eyes entered the room. Artisuren stood as well, stepping in front of Laurius as if to keep him from view.

The man who appeared to be the leader cleared his throat. "Artisuren's back, apparently. And this Yurivis claims Thvoros is hers, and that he punished that male for injuring her." The men barely stifled a fresh round of chuckles.

Kishva took in the strange group gathered in her Ivis's quarters and listened to her men's report. Her eyes briefly shot to Thvoros. She did not miss the single gold rings that rounded the bases of his four horns. Then she turned her attention fully to Tenara. She stepped up to the other Yurivis and looked her over curiously. "I don't believe we've met before. Kishva of house Dushane. I hope you'll be kind enough to offer me your name, and your reason for being in my harem's quarters without invitation."

[Emora Deen]

Tenara took a deep breath, and pulled all the frayed parts of herself together. She would much rather continue to curl on the floor and sob until the dark bled out of her, but she couldn’t. So, she dragged herself to stand before this Kishva, and made herself, once more, the Princess of Hajara. At least her magic had managed to pull itself into some symblance of order.

“Princess Tenara of house Hajaris,” she said, having to lift her head to meet the woman’s eyes. She swallowed the small feeling worming through her chest and racked her brain to find a way to explain what had happened in a way they would understand—and not kill them all over. “I am not from here… Th-the male there—“ she pointed again to the twitching prince. “He and other males took me from my… house. They… cut off my horns.” Her voice shook at the words. She didn’t really understand what they meant, only that Havi had feared it enough to want to stop it, even when they were enemies. Part of her also worried the males would burst into another round of laughter if she said what had really happened. “My ivie found me and rescued me, and, in an attempt to escape, a portal stole us here by mistake.” She motioned to Ren, Laurius, and Havitharon. “My… ivie.”

Laurius looked back and forth between Tenara and the strange looking woman. “What the fuck is she saying?” He whispered up to Ren. When had she learned this language??

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren gaped at Tenara, then at Kishva. "She's declaring war," he whispered in response to Laurius's question.

At Tenara's words, Kishva's silver eyes glinted like twin knife points. "You claim this group as your harem?" she laughed. Disturbingly, her other Ivie did not laugh. In fact, they glared at Ren with disgust in their eyes.

"I've never heard of you, but even if a hornless, throneless, albino princess did somehow win House Ruthe's trial and obtain Thvoros for stud, the whole kingdom would certainly know it by now. You're telling me you were crazy enough to tame Lady Ruthe's prized brother without permission, and didn't even Bond him properly?"

She turned to Artisuren, and her glare made the Ivis flinch. "As for Arti, he is not yours to claim. He is a deserter who left my Service without permission."

"I left against my will. I would never have abandoned you on purpose." Artisuren said, voice shaking.

Kishva straightened, something worse than anger tightening her features. "Oh, Arti. You've learned to talk back to your master? You know I hate that the most." She walked up to him and took his chin in her hand, stretching his neck upward. She somehow achieved the impression of complete dominance, despite being nearly two feet shorter than him. "You were already underperforming, and now this? Do you want me to gift you to this hornless child?"

Ren shivered, but his gaze grew dark with hurt. "You can not gift me. You already threw me away. Was it not you who cut my Bond without letting me explain?"

"My sweet, useless Arti. I cut you so you would die Bond-broken and alone. That at least would have salvaged some shred of honor for you. You knew my will perfectly well, and you couldn't even do that much right? Had I known you would seek a new master like a shameless coward, I'd have killed you myself, and you know it."

Ren seemed to have no answer to this. He stared at her in horror. "I am sorry for hurting you, Yurivis," he murmured with true regret.

She scowled and slapped him across the face. "Shut up. I never could stand the sound of your voice." She turned her dagger-eyes on Tenara. "As for you, Princess Tenara, I'll be the bigger woman and take your words as a joke. After all, you clearly haven't Bonded him." She grabbed one of Artisuren's horns callously and scrutinized the blackened ridge at its base. "If you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it."

Ren sagged dizzily in her grip, his vision washing white. She would kill him.

[Emora Deen]

At the mention of her failing to bond to Havitharon properly, Tenara felt this horrid lurch in her chest and belly, as if the world were dropping out from under her. She forced herself it ignore that fact—to ignore the memory of Havi telling her she never would bond him while she and Laurius debated how Yurivis rules worked. Tenara's emotions and nerves were much too raw for this woman's presence and she felt the painful pressure of her magic creeping back up beneath the surface of her skin. She clutched her arm with one hand and dug her nails into her skin, thought about wrenching her broken wrist just to distract, but then the woman had Ren by his horn and all she thought about was how he'd protected her and given his safety to help her escape.

She was just opening her mouth to say something when Laurius stepped up and slid between the tall woman and Ren. "Back off bitch," he said in his native tongue, and it came out foreign and wrong compared to all the other voices in the room.

Tenara slid forward, because she could see this going wrong so quickly. "Laurius," she said, holding up a hand. "Stop. Don't."

"Don't? She's scruffing him like a fucking puppy!"

"Back off before I give up on saving you," she snarled. "I'd rather her kill you, but it will hurt him. So back off!"

Laurius clenched his teeth and slowly stepped back. He turned his gaze on Havitharon, his eyes saying, 'What the hell do we do?'

"You gave him up," Tenara said to Kishva, her voice tight. A red glint was blooming in her eyes and her chest felt painfully tight. Elias's groaning behind her did little to help her curb the rage fluttering across her frazzled nerves. "I will take him when its time. What is it to you if I do, anyway? You can't even stand the sound of his voice. Perhaps I like collecting things you people consider intolerable."

[Soran Nightblade]

Ren's heart seemed to stop in his chest as Kishva and Laurius stared each other down. Unwarranted relief surged through him, even though he knew he shouldn't feel safe right now.

Laurius's imposition forced her to release Ren's horn and take a step back. For a male to face off against a female was so unheard of that even Kishva seemed momentarily too confused for anger. She might not have understood Laurius's words, but the essence of the gesture was hard to mistake. "It seems if you really plan to claim Arti from me, you should deal with your other competition first," she teased Tenara, fully joking. There was no such thing as an Ivis taming another Ivis, even if a Yurivis wanted to permit it. "This one is fascinating. I've never seen an Ivis with hair like fire before."

Havi did little to hide his disdain for the woman. "Lady Kishva, we were just leaving."

"Leaving? After arriving unannounced and injuring one of my harem? Korvis is one of my most prized Ivie. Not to mention, you seem to have squandered a substantial supply of my Toothsbane," she raised her brows at the man suffering in the corner and then looked to Tenara for an explanation. "Is that hideous creature one of yours as well?"

[Emora Deen]

Tenara flinched at the question and refused to look at Elias. “No,” she said, a wave of disgust tainting her voice. “He is not mine.”

Her mind raced to find a way for them to just… leave. To go somewhere safe and…rest.

“You can have him,” she said to Kishva, hoping he might be of interest to her enough to act as some sort of peace offering. Though, judging by the look of the woman, very little would give them that. “As Havi said, we’re leaving—all of us. We meant no offense by coming here, it was a mistake, and your Ivis’s injuries are that…male’s fault. Take him.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Kishva smiled angrily. "You do not choose my harem," she growled. "As if I would want that pale, twisted thing. This one, however, intrigues me." She took Laurius's face in her hand much the way she had just gripped Ren, turning his face to the side to examine him.

[Emora Deen]

Before Tenara could talk the situation down, Laurius snatched out of Kishva’s grip with a snarl and slapped her hand away from his face. “Don’t touch me.”

Tenara’s mind spun, her breath seizing in her chest. She turned her gaze on Havitharon, wondering if they could just… run. Run as fast as they could.

—-

But then, an idea came to her, terrible and strong. If freedom and safety had to be bought, why not give her Laurius? She turned her gaze on the merchant, and he seemed to see the idea click into place. He shook his head. “Tenara…”

“Why not? Didn’t you offer us up for your own needs?”

“I didn’t!”

“I should give you to her so we can go freely. She likes you. Maybe she will do to you what they did to him,” she said hollowly, nodding to Ren’s kiss and bite-battered appearance. A bead of red light bloomed in the pupils of her eyes. “Maybe she will do to you what they did to me.”

Laurius paled. “Tenara… We came to you as fast as we could…”

“You could have warned us!” The room rattled with the sharp edge of her voice. “You knew what they did last time and you didn’t warn me.”

Laurius’s eyes darted to the ceiling and the floor, seeing the cracks growing like weeds through the room. An idea burned through him, bright and gnawing. He reached back for Ren’s hand and prepared to run.

His gaze went to Tenara, then Havi. She might never forgive him, but he hoped Havitharon understood why he said what he did next, “Well, if I had known you would throw me to this crazy bitch, I would have left you underneath him.” He nodded to Elias's crumpled up form.

A second lasted an hour for Laurius. The hurt punching through her tore at his heart, but the hurt turned to rage, and he bolted for the door, dragging Ren with him, as the world came apart.

[Soran Nightblade]

If it had been possible to go any paler than Ren already was, he would have. He stared at the man in disbelief, even while stumbling to keep up with him. Was the princess about to blow this place apart the way she had the ship? If so, Kishva was in danger.

He stared back at Kishva. A Yurivis could be killed if he went. There was only one right answer: protect the Yurivis at any cost. But without him, Laurius would be alone.

The skin on the back of his neck prickled with goosebumps. He shook his head like it was full of wasps and grabbed onto Laurius's hand for dear life. "This way!" he hissed, and dragged the man sideways down a corridor.

"What the hell is happening?" Kishva demanded. Her Ivie were running to her, instinctively seeking to protect her against whatever was happening to the room.

Havi gritted his teeth as he felt Tenara's destructive force building around them, and not just because he was pretty sure it would take them all with it. This was her pain in physical form. Any strategic value it might have was lost on him at the moment. He wanted her rage to be satisfied.

But what if that left her alone in this world, without her family?

He stepped up behind her and looped his arms around her waist to keep from blowing away from her under the building current of power, placing his sturdy weight at her back. Whatever she did next, he intended to accept it. *I am with you, my Moon.*

[Emora Deen]

Laurius followed Ren, glancing back at the fading pressure of Tenara’s vengeful magic. “Will they know the way?” he asked Ren, looking down at the hilt he had in his hand. He realized then that he still had Havitharon’s sword, and Tenara still had Ren’s dagger.

If they got too far away…

He hadn’t thought this through. He had hoped Tenara would break the room to shambles and stalk after him, but what if she didn’t?

——

Tenara was so wrapped in her darkness she barely registered the feel of Havitharon curling his arms around her waist, or pressing his weight to her. If she had, she might have hurt him. But instead, the first thing she felt was his presence in her mind, and his voice filling her like cool water.

It was just enough clarity to ease the bone-straining magic radiating off her.

That’s right… Havi was alive. He’d survived the fire. He was here. He was here… and she would hurt him. She would kill him…

But pulling it all back in felt like dragging needles beneath her skin. She turned in his arms and wrapped her good arm around his shoulders and buried her face against his chest. She clutched at him, and forced it all down. In.

It was like holding water back. She willed it all in, but it seeped around the edges of her will. Eventually, though, the pressure did ease, and the air felt clearer, leaving an undercurrent of danger and wrongness behind. Tenara sagged wearily into Havi, fingers curling in his burned clothes. “My sun,” she murmured softly, feeling like the world was swaying. “My Havi. I’m sorry.”