Page 4 of Of Blood & Bone: The Young Queen

What are they doing here? Where am I?

I look around but there is nothing, only a thick inky blackness that I feel closing in around me. The faces appear again and start to advance towards me. I back away, trying to stifle the panic rising in my throat. Their lips don't move but I hear their voices again.

“You must select a husband, Queen.”

“You must obey the council.”

“There are rules and traditions. You can’t simply do as you please.”

“A queen may only marry an Ardvallan Highborne. You must follow tradition.”

“Choose. You must choose.”

The faces are nearly upon me now and I can smell their putrid breath. I back up some more but hit against something hard and unyielding. However, it also feels warm and strong. Two arms come around my waist and I feel a sense of safety. The voices stop and the faces cease their advance.

I turn to see who or what it is that holds me in its embrace and I'm shocked to see the ruggedly handsome face of the warrior from my vision. His dark eyes bore into mine with the same intensity as before, but now I see a smile there, whereas before there was only sadness and sorrow.

His arms fall from my waist and he takes both my hands in his. “Come, young Queen,” he bids me, and I gladly follow him into the dark.

Seconds later I'm standing underneath an old apple tree in the Castle Garden, surrounded by the scents of rose, lavender, jasmine and something else I can't quite define but am familiar with. The warrior is in front of me, taking something from the ground. He stands upright and moves towards me, and this time his eyes are ablaze with something that takes me a few seconds to recognise – desire.

He smiles and I feel a warmth moving through my body. His eyes rake over me and I look down to find I am completely naked. However, instead of feeling embarrassed or vulnerable I feel excited.

He stands in front of me and pulls me to him, crushing his lips to mine. I feel the leather of his uniform chafe against my bare skin and his tongue demanding entry to my mouth. Breathless, I open my lips and happily succumb to the ravaging that follows. His roughened hand moves down my neck and firmly cups my breast. I gasp as he squeezes it and then takesthe nipple between his thumb and middle finger and rolls it mercilessly, until it is a fiery bud sending ripples of pleasure through my body. Then, in one swift movement he removes his mouth from mine and takes my nipple between his lips. He starts to suckle me, gently at first, and I whimper with need as flames of desire dart along my skin. Then he starts to pull harder and suck on me like a man searching for sustenance to his soul. And just when I think my nipple can’t take any more he flicks his tongue over it, soothing and cooling it with his breath. The effect is like a firecracker on New Year’s Eve and my body explodes with a feral need I’ve never experienced before.

I convulse into him and grab onto his broad shoulders to prevent myself from falling.

He laughs and whispers. “That's right, young Queen, give yourself to me. Take your pleasure.”

Give myself to him?The only thing I want right now is for him to take me so hard against the old apple tree that he totally obliterates the aching throb between my legs.

He laughs again, and with me holding onto him, moves towards the tree. I feel the scratchy bark against my flesh. He takes my hands from his shoulders and places them on either side of my head, against the trunk of the tree. Small, twig-like branches start to emerge and entwine themselves around my wrists, and within seconds I am pinned to the tree. I should feel afraid but I'm not. Instead, I feel my arousal reaching new heights and I squirm with unadulterated need.

His hands move down my body, over my breasts and hips, and come to rest on my buttocks. He drops to his knees and looks up at me, a mischievous grin on his face. His hands apply a gentle pressure to my buttocks and I widen my legs.

“Please,” I beg, my voice almost unrecognisable, laced as it is with desperate need. I don't even know what it is I want himto do as I am not versed in the way of lovers, but all I know is that I need him to do something.

“As you wish,” he whispers against my womanhood, his voice husky with hunger. A hunger for me.

Then, in one swift movement, I feel his tongue cleave up between the folds of my womanhood and find the fiery throb of need at its apex. He licks it, sucks it, kisses it and grazes it with his teeth over and over again. Mercilessly, he feasts upon me until I am consumed with wave after wave of pleasure. I scream with release and am glad my arms are tied to the tree as my legs can barely support me. Then I feel my arms being supported by something else and I look to see what this unseen support is. I'm shocked to find two younger warriors on either side of me, holding me with a sense of reverence and care that I am unfamiliar with. The older warrior stands before me, smiling.

He extends his right arm and in the palm of his hand are hundreds of small golden seeds.

“You are a queen. You are powerful, and you shall take what you need. Have no fear. Embrace your power.”

He lets the seeds fall into my hands and then he vanishes before my eyes. I look to my right side and then my left to see if the younger warriors are still there, but they too are gone.

I feel a sense of loss, but at the same time I feel I will somehow see them again, that they are somewhere, waiting for me.

A warm breeze blows across my skin and the leaves in the apple tree rustle overhead like whispers on the wind. Then I hear it – an ancient voice intertwined with the rustle of the leaves.

“There is another way. Believe. Believe in yourself.”

I feel something hard in my hand and look down to find a piece of pure white rock. It sparkles like precious moonstone, and I hold it close to my chest, knowing instinctively it connects me to the three warriors.

The sun breaks through the branches overhead and I feel its warm touch upon my skin. A white orb of light appears before me and I move towards it, entranced by its luminous glow. Suddenly I'm back in my chamber, lying upon my bed, the healer’s silk sheet covering me and the golden rays of the early morning sun warming my skin.

All the pain of the night before is gone, and my body feels alive and energised. There’s a slight tingle to my lips and my breasts feel full and rounded. I place my hands on my abdomen and smile as I feel a pulse of energy there that I haven’t felt before. Then a light throb beats between my legs and my smile widens as I recall the waves of pleasure from my dream.

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