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Roth chuckled. “Do you want me to get Kalen?”
“Yes, please.”
They were days away from Juniper now. Aspen wished he could fix all the bad in his head and fuck Oriel too. He knew Oriel would never dare ask, but a part of him had to miss the old days when they’d make love in the woods. He’d sometimes let Aspen take full control of him and been quite a good submissive in bed.
He couldn’t bring himself to get naked with Oriel or anyone, but he could do one thing.
Roth was out of the cabin the next morning, so Aspen sat next to Oriel on the bed. They’d be at Juniper by midmorning the next day, and if everything crumbled, he wanted one last thing.
“I only want a kiss, and nothing else.”
Oriel widened his eyes. “You want…a kiss?”
Aspen nodded. “It’s been over two years, so hand it over.”
Oriel snorted and leaned in. Aspen closed the gap, and for a moment, he forgot the cabin since he’d shut his eyes. Oriel did nothing besides press his lips against his, and he seemed to be handing over the control.
Aspen deepened it a little, and Oriel responded without pushing things. This hadn’t changed. He still smelled and tasted like before. Aspen pulled back, having had enough intimate touches for the time being.
“One day, I’ll give you a longer one,” said Aspen.
“I don’t care about it being longer. I enjoyed it, but I care about you being comfortable.” Oriel gazed at him. “That’s what I want most.”
“I want to be comfortable with more.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Oriel finally laid eyes on Juniper for the first time, and he knew the sight would be burned in his memory forever if he lived.
Aspen was with the “angels” on the floating whorehouse and way back. If this all went south, they’d get farther away and keep him safe.
Everyone was prepared, and the cannons were ready. As they had suspected, King Taven had prepped Juniper for all-out war. If they failed and were able to retreat, they had places in West Bay to use as a base before planning further action. Kalen and Rhys would grant Oriel, Roth, and Aspen permanent asylum if need be since Asara was a damn traitor.
The ruler’s ship, Elira’s Fire, was farther back, and the ones ahead in the front line would soon be firing. Oriel heard the faint boom of a cannon, but the enemy shot fell short. Someone had miscalculated or panicked. No one on their front line made such a mistake.
Their front line fired. Special cannons built to handle the magic of those who needed something to channel their power also went off, and Oriel watched the balls fly out. A few were on fire from those who had the magic, but they couldn’t be continuously used. They grew too hot and became a danger to the ship itself since it was made with wood, and not much protective magic could be worked into wood.
Two with lightning also went out, and Oriel watched them make a direct hit on the hull of a ship. Normal cannon balls also whizzed toward the enemy, and Meadow started firing back.
Soldiers whose lightning could track sent out bolts from both sides. At such a rage, it would grow weaker the farther it went, and Roth’s first few blasts probably missed too since they were away.
A ship closer to Elira’s Fire took a hit with a flaming cannonball in the stern as Oriel’s side drew closer. A much smaller one on the edge started to sink when several balls pummeled the hull, and he was sure he heard the screams from those on board.
Shields went up around the railing as their ship drew close enough to where it had a better chance of hitting. Men shouted orders as it started to turn to aim their broadside at the enemy. Oriel, Kalen, and Rhys didn’t have tracking fire, but they could throw it. Even better, they could use catapults.
A glass orb half-full of oil sat in a small catapult. Part of a rag dangled in the oil, and the rest stuck out. Oriel set fire to the free part, and the fairy manning the catapult pulled the lever. A few others on the deck were also set free, and Oriel watched his own as it sailed out. It rolled mid-air, further soaking the rag, and exploded entirely once it was over one of the Meadow ships.
The others burst, and the noise was lost among shouts, screams, and the sound of cannons firing. Flaming oil and glass rained down on the ship. A sail caught fire, and a sailor up in the rigging must have panicked since he lost his grip. A man below him on the deck collapsed at that moment as Roth’s lightning nailed him.
The cannons on Elira’s Fire went off
The combined boom of seventy-five cannons on the port side shook the deck. Wood splintered a hundred yards away as hulls were battered. Magic flew back and forth. It hit shields, the boat, and a sail above Oriel caught on fire. A cannonball harmlessly went overhead.
Soldiers on both sides reloaded as fast as they could. The smoke from fire, burning wood, and black powder grew. To his left, two of their ships had rammed into a seventy-gun ship that was trying to turn itself to get a better aim at Oriel’s. The half-naked metal woman on the prow caused the wood to split and crack, and the force had been so strong, the Meadow ship was shoved a few feet back as it tilted slightly in the water Fairies immediately swarmed forward with grappling hooks to climb while others covered them with magic and longbows.
Elira’s Fire let loose with another barrage of cannonballs again before the sailors started to turn it. Oriel joined Roth at the railing so he could loose more fireballs. Roth’s lightning wrapped around one and sent it flying into the seventy-gun ship.
They ducked at a hailstorm of flaming arrows, and someone fell dead only feet away from Oriel. Kalen narrowed his eyes and sent out a fireball over the shields. Oriel followed it and watched a Meadow soldier try to move from his spot in the rigging, but he wasn’t fast enough. Seconds later, he was hurtling toward the deck below where a bloodbath had broken off.
