Tenacity (Rise of the Iliri Book 5) Read online

  Dom blushed, taking a long pull from his bottle of whiskey to hide it. Ilija listened carefully. Jase, however, reclined as if this talk was completely normal.

  "We know when we need to, and we can hold off. When we're younger, it's not as easy. Like kids wet the bed, sometimes it slips through when we don't mean it to. Usually, this happens around thirteen for iliri, until we're about fifteen. Grauori do it around ten to twelve. My point is, you start having sex at that age, and there's a very good chance that a slip-up can happen. The girl thinks she's got it all timed out, and then oops, her body decides it's now. The longer we work at it, the better we are. Doesn't mean adults don't have accidents, and we can't hold it off forever."

  "Iliri also do na breed real well," Jase added. "Most crossbreds, either. My own amma only had me, and she wanted a whole brood."

  Sal nodded. "Neither grauori nor humans have that problem, and we just don't know why. Both of you breed like rabbits."

  "So, what would it be?" Ilija asked.

  "Yer grandkid." Jase's voice was pointed. That made Jarl's face turn bright red, and the kid buried it in his hands again, so Jase took pity on him. "Jarl, ya want the good parts of sex, ya gotta deal with the bad ones, man. This shit," he gestured around them, "it's just how it is, ok? It's na a thing ta be embarrassed about. Sneaking around the woods, now that's a whole different deal."

  "You wouldn't have said shit if it'd been a whore," he said softly.

  "Yeah, I would have," Ilija told him. "Sorry. I don't want you to do things like I did, ok?"

  Sal looked over to Dom, "And there's nothing wrong with the grauori."

  Dom lifted his hands in mock defeat. "I just can't imagine how that works."

  Jarl chuckled softly.

  "I bet it's a bitch ta get the hair out of yer teeth," Jase said to himself. "I think I'd miss the kissing, though."

  Jarl blushed.

  "Hey," Sal said to the boy. He looked up at her, and she reached out with her mind. Talk to Zep, ok? There's things he can tell ya, and he won't make you feel weird, either. Deal?

  What kinda things? Jarl asked.

  How to reduce the chance of kids, for a start. We're iliri, Jarl. We have a lot less hangups about this than the humans. Zep's just human enough to remember what it's like.

  Thanks, Sal. Jarl obviously meant it.

  She tossed a smile at him before turning to the others. "I'm going to talk to Rragri. Our little hellspawn back at camp is passed out, and Blaec's keeping a watch on her." She stretched, looking almost as beastly as the grauori. "What a day." With a kiss from Jase, she left.

  "She always like that?" Ilija asked. "Just dropping in when a word is needed?"

  Jase nodded. "Yeh. And having her talk ta Rragri is about the best thing Jarl can hope fer. Prevents a pissed off amma from ripping this place apart."

  "Rragri's cool, though," Jarl said.

  Jase just laughed, "Yeh, that's before ya were fucking her daughter. Arrnya is na a gerus, yet."

  "Fuck," Dom whispered. "How bad is this going to be?"

  Jase shook his head. "No idea. We'll let ya know." Jase turned to the door. "Zep?"

  The flap pushed in and the large, dark man followed. "Rhyx is passed out. I'm taking Jarl, now. Kaisae's orders," he said as a greeting.

  "Yeah." Ilija waved the boy away. "Not much more to be said here. We can't just tell him to stop." He laughed. "I know that shit doesn't work well. Otherwise, I never would have had him."

  Dom chuckled and shooed the boy away. "Go on. We'll talk more about this later."

  Jarl didn't need any more encouragement. He grabbed his wet shirt from the ground and rushed back out into the rain. Zep followed behind him.

  "Which one's yours?" Zep asked.

  "Fuck, you gonna give me shit too?"

  "Hell no."

  Jarl sighed. The rain was falling heavier, and both men were slowly getting wet in it. "This way," he said, giving in.

  Together they jogged through the camp then inside a green tent set up amidst the ring of Verdant Shields. Zep rubbed his hands through his braids and twisted them to get some of the water out.

  "Mind if I sit?" he asked the boy.

  "Do I have a choice?" Jarl snapped.

  "Yeah. I can head back to the Blades. Just figured you might wanna vent. Dom and Ilija just chewed on you a bit."

  "And Jase," Jarl pointed out.

  Zep nodded. "Yeah, true, but for a different reason."

  "No, it was all the same shit. They don't like that I'm fucking a damned dog."

  Zep laughed. "Yeah, not quite. Jase's concern is for you. Ilija and Dom? Yeah, from what Jase said, they're a bit freaked out."

  "They all acted pretty much the same. It's all ‘you're wrong, Jarl' and ‘act like us, Jarl' from all of them. Well, I'm not them."

  "Nope, pretty obvious," Zep agreed. "But the Blades have known that for a while."

  Jarl looked at him, confused. "Why are you damned iliri always trying to be mysterious?" Not waiting for an answer, he threw himself on his bed.

  "We're not. Kinda the opposite really. I'm telling you shit I shouldn't be right now, so you'll understand that Sal's on your side. Remember the parley at Barton Meadow? You impressed the shit out of her. That's not real easy to do, either."

  Jarl chuckled. "I was too dumb to realize what all was going on. I just knew they were trying to threaten my uncle, and the ice queen was there, and that you all did some crazy-ass shit. I figured someone would snap their fingers and send me back or something."

  Zep nodded. "You still trusted her. You also started having the dreams about that time, too."

  Jarl looked at him strangely. "How'd you know about that?"

  "Fuck, man. We all know you do. So does your mom. Probably why you started talking to Arrnya."

  "Yeah," Jarl admitted. "I saw Ilija as my dad, but I thought I was just wishing, ya know? Still doesn't seem real sometimes. Then I saw a few other things and realized it wasn't just chance. I asked Nya, and she said it's a talent, and that I'm part iliri."

  Zep nodded.

  "But how can I be the human King if I'm part iliri?"

  "Dom's doing pretty good. They're also putting it together so it won't matter too much. It's less breeding and more society."

  "What do you mean?" Jarl's face showed he was clearly lost.

  "Raast and Rhyx are iliri. So am I. Dominik is human, so is Ricown."

  "Yeah?"

  "Laws of the Kingdom are the kingdom we claim. That doesn't mean it's the kingdom we're born into. Humans. You all marry, you inherit, and such. Iliri and grauori? They challenge. The next Kaisae will have to fight Sal for it. If Sal dies before another tries, which is kinda what we all expect, then they'll have to fight each other. Raast and Rhyx aren't guaranteed to be it. That's why they're worried about you."

  "Because I could choose to be grauori?"

  "Or iliri."

  "She told me I needed to take care of her people," Jarl said.

  "Yeah."

  "She didn't mean as the human King, though, did she?"

  Zep shrugged but met the kid's eyes. "She didn't care. It's your choice. Your human, you're iliri, or you're grauori. It's your choice, but if you go iliri, you've got that." Zep pointed to the blade on the kid's belt.

  "It makes me a Black Blade?"

  Zep nodded.

  "Why?"

  "She sees something in you. Half the time she doesn't even know why she does the things she does, man. Grauori are the same way. They act on instinct."

  Jarl shook his head. "But I'm human."

  "Are you? You're fucking a damned mutt."

  Jarl laughed. "It's not like that, Zep. She's my best friend."

  "Yeah, you know Sal used to be mine, right? I called her my little sister."

  "Heh," Jarl chuckled halfheartedly. "Yeah, things changed."

  "I decided to stop saying no, basically." Zep grinned and closed his eyes, remembering. "I'd been so worried about Jase and Blaec, and what eve
ryone would think. The human, you know, trying to get in on a good thing? Most humans thought I was fucking crazy being into the pale ones. That's how it is in the Conglomerate. Darker is better. So I got a lot of shit, and it stuck in my head somewhere."

  "Yeah," Jarl agreed.

  "Took half the damned Devil Dogs to make me realize I was being an idiot. I stopped being just her brother, but we're still best friends."

  "You're cessivi now."

  "Yeah. Best shit ever, too, man. If I'd kept my dick in my pants, none of it would have happened. I'm just sayin', I'm on your side in this."

  "You don't think it's weird?" he asked timidly.

  Zep shrugged. "I like getting bit. They grab your mind and make you love that shit. I've seen Rhyx shaved. She's not that much different from an iliri without her hair. I figure Nya is probably just a grown version. There's a lot of men who think Sal is ugly. I just don't agree with them."

  Jarl chuckled. "The hair is kinda weird."

  "That's what Sal said about me. You know iliri are completely bald?"

  "Really?" Jarl asked, sitting up.

  Zep nodded, a smile on his lips. "Yep. Nothing below the eyelashes. Razor and I are the only ones in the Blades that even shave."

  "So it's like the same thing, other way around?"

  "That's what we're trying to tell you. Iliri kiss, though."

  Jarl blushed deeply. "So do grauori."

  "Oh?"

  Jarl's answer was a shrug.

  Zep chuckled. "Ok, that's kinda cool. They also have some serious teeth."

  "Yeah." Jarl laughed, his embarrassment fading.

  "I'm still scared to let Sal suck my dick."

  "Yeah, they can't do that. There's other things."

  "Yep, there are."

  "Does - " Jarl stopped and looked down.

  "Go on, man. It's just us."

  Jarl nodded. "Does Sal go easy on you?"

  "Yeah. She always remembers that my skin can't take it. I tell her we have enough healers, but she worries."

  "Nya too. I wanna know, though. I mean, she does this thing, in her head."

  Zep laughed and nodded. "Yeah. You know about the three of us, right?"

  "Not really. I know Sal you and Jase share a tent, but everyone keeps your personal shit pretty quiet."

  "I can see that. Well, let's just say that there's a reason we don't think you're perverse, ok?"

  "You make me put all my shit out there today, and that's the best I get back?"

  "Fair point," Zep agreed. "Jase, Sal, and I are a trio, man. She links him, she links me, we all go at it. With cessivi, we even know when we're in the other's way - and no, I'm not doing him."

  Jarl laughed, gesturing at Zep that he understood. "I get it. So that's the big secret?"

  "Yeah. ‘Cept it isn't really a secret. They just can't remember that you're not still ten. You know each mind you add into a link makes it that much better?"

  "Really?"

  Zep nodded. "Not sure how it is with the grauori, but yeah. Iliri... wow. I kinda don't want to fuck her without him there. Last time we had a night alone, Jase linked in from another tent. Ever since the cessivi thing, it's the three of us. Just how it is. I mean, he already knows, so it's stupid not to link him."

  "Grauori rarely are cessivi."

  "Iliri, too. Sal's kinda breaking the rules."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well..." Zep wondered how much was safe to say. "The pack gives back to her and makes her stronger. We've linked humans and grauori now, and her body thinks the entire army is her pack."

  "Gotta be the biggest pack ever," Jarl chuckled.

  "Yeah. It's making her the strongest Kaisae ever. We've found two other examples of a Kaisae with two cessivi. There's nothing about the males being linked to each other."

  "Rragri isn't that strong, you know that, right?" Jarl asked.

  "Yeah. That's why she lets Sal have her way. They have an agreement between them, because it's what's best for the people."

  "So what happens when the war's over?"

  "We're going to raise horses." Zep shrugged it off.

  "And she'll still be Kaisae. And she'll still be made for war. I'm young, Zep, not stupid."

  "Yeah, thing is, we don't have a clue. Any Kaisae close to Sal? Bad things happened. Most died. One stripped her own mind. There's no powerful Kaisae in peacetime - no more than Rragri's level. That's why we love her while we have her."

  "Oh." Jarl sighed. "Thanks, Zep. I think you do get it."

  "Yep. I got your back on this."

  "You don't think I'm weird?" Jarl had finally relaxed enough to ask.

  Zep thought about that before answering. "I dunno. I don't think the grauori are really very attractive. I mean, they're lovely, but like my horses, not like my women. With that said, I've fucked some pretty ugly girls in my day. Truth is, Jarl, you're just the first one we know of."

  "What do you mean?"

  Zep chuckled. "Humans have had perversions for a long time. Whether it's orgies or barn animals, there's someone out there that did it. You have a partner who is willing, old enough to make that call, and returns your interest. Who am I to say it's wrong? I get off on watching my best friend bite my girl."

  "I can't help it, though," Jarl said softly.

  "Me, either," Zep told him, shrugging it off.

  "I mean, the humans are prettier, I'll give you that," Jarl said. "Nya is just a twig under that hair. No hips, no tits, none of the stuff I like. But she's Nya. It just kinda happened."

  "Usually how it goes."

  Jarl nodded almost absentmindedly. "We were out tracking game, and I fell. We were on this downed tree thing, and I slipped off and fell. She hopped down beside me and pulled me against her, all worried. It hurt too. I mean, I thought I broke my ankle, so I wasn't really thinking about it for a bit. It was like I realized where I was and looked up, and there were her eyes. I forgot to submit. I just thought they were really pretty, and not as white as I thought. There's bits of color in them like opals."

  Zep nodded, understanding completely.

  "And she kissed me, and I didn't know they could." Jarl chuckled. "I kinda liked it."

  "Been kissing a lot of soldiers?" Zep asked.

  Jarl sighed. "I'm the kid in the army, Zep. They all call me boy - even the whores."

  "She your first kiss?"

  Jarl blushed again. "She's my first everything." Zep chuckled, and Jarl felt his anger rising. "You try getting laid with your dad and your uncle following you around!"

  "No," Zep said, waving him down. "That's not what I think is funny. Jase said you've been with her twice. Just wait till you both have a better idea of what you're doing. Shit's gonna rock your world."

  "Already does," Jarl admitted.

  "And hers?"

  Jarl hunched his shoulders. "I'm trying."

  Zep reached over and patted his arm. "Little brother, I'm here for ya, man. We iliri don't mind talking about this shit."

  Jarl didn't need to be told twice. Having a sympathetic ear was exactly what he'd needed, and Zep wasn't about to judge him. From emotions to tips, the boy blushed, but talked like an iliri. By the time Zep returned to his tent, it was late. Sal lay curled around Blaec. Jase was nuzzled against her back, but there was still space. Zep didn't even care that he was stuck on the edge, just so long as he got some sleep before the fight the next morning. Oddly, he wasn't worried about it. Dying no longer seemed like something to be afraid of.

  Chapter 7

  Syhar had been built to be impenetrable. Nearly two centuries ago, Myrosica and Unav had been bitter enemies. Being the western-most city, Syhar had withstood siege after siege. The walls were made of multiple layers of large stone blocks. The gates were acrylic. Archers waited on the battlements, the purple and black of their armor contrasting with the pale pink of the stones. Jase said it was granite.

  Arctic stood on the hill, watching the army move slowly into position. The Anglian encampment had been
pulled down that morning and packed into wagons. All that was left of their most recent home were the tracks of mud on the field behind them. He felt more than heard Shaden walk beside him and smiled, glancing down.

  "I'm sorry we had to wake you so early," he told the ground.

  "It's ok," she said, looking past him at the fortress. "Is that Syhar?"

  "Yeah. Geo's trying to get the gates open."

  "Arctic, right? For your pale eyes?"

  "Yeah." He couldn't keep the smile from his lips, but he didn't look at her - or move.

  "It looks like there's men on the walls."

  "Terran Archers. How well can you see them?"

  She shrugged. "As well as I do? What is the comparison?"

  "Iliran sight, or human. Can you see the bows?"

  "Yeah."

  He nodded. "Then you see like an iliri. You know this is going to get pretty ugly today, right?"

  She just shrugged. "If Geo opens the gates, why would it be ugly?"

  "Terric isn't going to run away. They'll fight to hold Syhar. There's iliri in there, Shade. We can't just leave them."

  "Why not? What have they done for you?"

  "Nothing. That doesn't mean they don't deserve to be free. Same as you. Same as Sal, or any of us, really."

  "I can help," she said softly.

  Arctic nodded, glancing at her from the edge of his vision. She was watching him. When their eyes met, he couldn't help but look down.

  "Why do you do that?" she asked.

  He felt his face growing warmer. "It's respectful."

  "The rest don't do it. Why can't you look at me? Am I that ugly?"

  "No!" he said, turning to her. He stopped himself before he touched her, but she took a step back. "Maast, I'm sorry, Shade. I won't touch you. It's not because you're ugly, it's because of that. I have to remind myself that I can't just touch you." He sighed, and looked back to the walls.

  "I don't understand you. I can smell it."

  Arctic nodded. "I'm sure. I'm not going to touch you, Shaden. I hope that one day you'll be willing to touch me, but I'm not going to be the one to do it first, ok?"

  "Why?"

  "Because no one ever gave you the choice. You're iliri. It's your choice. Not theirs, not mine, and not anyone's but yours. That, and I'm a linker. You don't want to be in our heads, then I have to be careful when I touch you."