“You are being ridiculous. Let me up and allow me to send for Maruk or—”
“I will give you a hundred castles. Thousands of adoring subjects. Anything your heart desires if you but let me have this now.”
“I do not wish those things,” Aida whispered, giving his chest a weak shove.
“What do you wish, Aida?” Er’it asked, easing between her trembling thighs to give her a gentle, teasing thrust. A mere taste of what he would give her, it was still enough to make her lashes flutter and a sigh slip through her warm, red lips.
“I... I want…” Aida sniffled, tears once again shining in her star-strewn gaze.
“I will give you all my love, my heart, my soul,” Er’it rasped, pushing his face against her neck only to turn his mouth to the wound at her shoulder. Mouthing the angry red lines, he added, “And a dozen of our children to play at your feet, a…a…”
“A family?” Aida asked, voice thick and catching on a sob.
“One that shall never be torn apart,” he swore, blinking hard against the sting in his eyes.
Aida sobbed, flinging her arms around his neck. A baffled moment passed before she pushed her smiling lips against his, her tongue seeking shy entrance. Growl resonating from deep within his chest, Er’it took over with ferocious tenderness, violating her with sweet abandon as he rocked back onto his knees and took her with him. Taking in her breathless giggle, he smiled at her blush before claiming her mouth once more.
“A dozen sons,” he said with a deep rumble, the arm low on her hips grinding Aida against his thick length.
“A dozen?” she asked with a shake of her head, carding her fingers through his hair to clench the thick strands in her fists at the back of his head.
“Mm, a dozen. And twice a dozen more daughters. All of them just as their mother.”
Aida could only blink, her lips parting in surprise. The star-filled depths of her eyes twinkled, tears rising once more. Er’it’s gaze narrowed at her tremulous smile, and he nipped at the tender flesh before he called to her, pulling her down into the vicious thrust of his hips.
“Er’it, no. Wait,” Aida panted, tugging at his hair and turning away from his next onslaught.
“Do not deny your king, mate,” Er’it said with a snarl.
“Your men stare at me,” she hissed back.
Er’it dropped her to the humming stone beneath them and launched from the mirror-like surface. Dropping into a low crouch as he landed, he voiced his anger in a feral roar, an outflung hand sending a tide of golden magic rolling through the air. Wavering bands of heat were sent before it, knocking the soldiers to the ground.
“You dare look upon your queen,” he shouted into the still evening that sparkled with dancing points of amber lights.
“Your Majesty,” Ath’asho called in a wheeze, struggling to his knees in genuflection. “We came only to make sure you and the lady, our queen, were well.”
Good friend and general that he was, Ath’asho didn’t question Er’it’s naming of Aida. Instead, he snarled orders at the scouts still lying dazed around him, commanding them to show respect to their rulers. The smug satisfaction of the display lasted only a moment, though.
Er’it’s eyes were drawn to the land around him. His breath left him in a ragged whoosh, a gut punch of shock driving it all from his lungs as he fell back against the rough side of the dais.
Everything had changed. Not a shred of the cursed blight remained, every black shadow softened with the glow of starlight. The slime and rot were banished, replaced with vigorous life and fruitful abandon. All of it lush beyond comprehension, only the pallid bone piles could compete with the sudden confusion of flowers. Every shade of color he’d ever known, and some he had no name for, danced in a gentle breeze with their sunny faces reaching for the full moon hanging low overhead. The twisted, gnarled trees had been replaced with trunks as tall as a castle and as big around as five men. Their tangled canopy stretched wide and far overhead, dipping into a valley that showed a sea of rustling green surrounded by the white of snow.
“What have you done, Aida?”
“I made it right.”
It was a simple answer for the most complicated of questions. Er’it pushed himself up, turning to take Aida’s jaw in his hands. Squeezing her cheeks tight, he leaned close with lowered brows to glare at the wide-eyed wonder of her.
“Do not do it again.”
“I make no promises.”
She tried to be coy and fumbled it, but Er’it couldn’t contain his smile, not with hers so infectious. Yes, dozens of children just like her. He would see to putting one in her belly as soon as he got rid of his men, though it was a wonder he’d not succeeded thus far with how often they’d coupled.
They would have to practice more.
“Er’it!”
