Free Web NovelChapter 104: Collecting the First Blade
It took him by surprise, an unyielding surge of paladin strength, backed by a sudden, concentrated flare of golden mana that locked her muscles like stone, asserting her dominance before he could even set his footing.
Her mouth crashed onto his.
It wasn’t a sweet maiden’s kiss.
Seraphine was aggressively claiming him.
Her tongue pushed past his teeth in a demanding sweep, slick and frantic as it tangled with his own, tasting of wine and decades of suffocating repression.
Her teeth caught his lower lip hard enough to draw a sharp bead of blood.
"Aren’t you too rough?"
’I figure she finally lost her mind,’ Kane thought, a jolt of adrenaline hitting his chest.
’A holy knight trying to put a warlord in his place. It’s magnificent.’
Allowing her the advantage lasted exactly two seconds.
Dropping his calloused hands past her waist, Kane cupped the bust of her ass, squeezing the plush flesh hard enough to drag a startled gasp into his mouth.
Using that exact leverage, he hoisted her completely off her boots.
Seraphine’s legs wrapped instinctively around his thighs as he spun them around, driving her shoulder blades hard against the stone wall.
"Guh!"
The sudden reversal knocked the wind out of her lungs.
Taking control of the rhythm, he kissed her back with ruthless, bruising authority.
He claimed every single inch of her mouth with the rough pace of a maniac, swallowing her small, broken whimper of total surrender.
Suddenly, her fingers tangled deep into his red hair, gripping the strands hard enough to sting as she yanked his head back.
"That’s... enough," Seraphine gasped out, her chest heaving wildly against his as she desperately tried to reconstruct her shattered paladin discipline.
Kane looked down at her swollen, wet lips.
A slow smirk spread across his face.
"Okay," Kane rumbled softly.
Then he smashed his mouth right back onto hers.
It was twice as rough as before.
Seraphine let out a muffled, shocked sound as his hands caught the collar of her linen shirt, ripping the ties completely open to expose the pale swell of her bare breasts.
Before she could even bring her hands up to cover herself, his large right palm slid up and wrapped firmly around her throat.
He tightened his grip, just enough to command her pulse, just enough to restrict her breath and make her heart beat frantically against his calloused palm while his tongue thoroughly rearranged her mouth.
When he finally released her throat and let her slide down the stone back to her feet, the suite was dead silent.
Seraphine stood there half-naked, her ruined shirt hanging off her shoulders, her skin burning a deep feverish red.
Kane stood inches away, his own tunic hanging completely open over his battle-scarred chest, matching her ragged breaths.
He reached out, lazily brushing a messy silver strand behind her pointed ear.
"Next time," Kane rumbled low, his eyes locked onto hers, "don’t ask me to stop."
Morning sunlight caught the sails of forty war galleons.
The pristine Milfheim fleet moved in perfect, synchronized lines parallel to the western cliffs, cutting through the gray ocean water.
Riding his warhorse along the high ridge, Kane looked down at his new floating fortress.
Seraphine rode to his left, her silver armor polished and her silence extremely loud.
To his right rode Commander Kaelia.
The red-haired commander had abandoned her previous matriarchal sneer. Leaning out of her saddle, she pointed a leather-gloved finger toward the rocky coastal reef ahead. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"If we anchor the primary galleons behind that southern crag, the ballista firing arcs will overlap the cove entrance perfectly," Kaelia suggested, looking at Kane with genuine professional respect.
"What do you think, Kane?"
"Keep the secondary pursuit cutters tucked inside the tree line shadow," Kane instructed, adjusting his leather reins.
"Morvak’s vanguard will look for open water to turn their crude cargo hulls. I want them stepping right into a dead end." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
"Flawless positioning," Kaelia agreed eagerly, jotting the tactical adjustment onto her parchment ledger.
’These Milfheim commanders learn fast once you establish who actually holds the leash,’ Kane mused with a smirk.
’Give them a leader to follow, and they drop their silly gender rules by lunchtime.’
Behind their horses, the grand royal carriage rolled smoothly over the stones.
Inside sat Princess Misha, her freezing gray eyes watching the passing pine trees through the velvet curtains.
Saltwater stung the afternoon air as the convoy descended into the fortified coves of Sylvandar.
Horns blared from the stone battlements.
Down on the wooden piers, Bloodfang warriors pounded their axes against their new imperial shields, roaring a massive welcome home to their chief.
Brak stood at the primary dock, expertly tossing mooring ropes to the Milfheim sailors.
Skipping the standard victory speeches, Kane opened the carriage door.
He offered his bare hand to Misha.
The Princess took his palm instantly, her cold fingers wrapping securely around his calloused wrist as she stepped down onto the gravel.
Leading her up the stone steps of the command manor, Kane pushed open the doors to his private study.
Lyssel and Thora were already standing by the grand map table.
Standing at the far end of the room was Grieselda.
The angelic woman didn’t move.
Her golden, pupil-less eyes locked onto the frail Milfheim girl.
The ancient, glowing seal on Grieselda’s collarbone pulsed twice, reacting instantly to the broken divinity standing in the doorway.
"You brought home a princess?" Lyssel asked, leaning her hip against the desk.
"The rumors in the court said she was quiet, but she looks empty."
"She isn’t empty," Kane corrected, guiding Misha to the center of the rug.
"She’s leaking."
Stepping forward, Grieselda offered no vocal sound.
She didn’t part her pale lips. Yet the air pressure inside the study instantly warped, carrying the absolute, terrifying weight of her awakening seraphic authority.
An interface sparked directly inside Kane’s mind.
[The divine creators shattered her core and abandoned the pieces,] Grieselda’s silent transmission echoed in his head, sterile and godlike.
[She’s a discarded vessel. Incapable of regulating mortal mana.]
Kane looked at his sealed companion.
"Can you fix it?"
Grieselda tilted her head.
A subtle smile touched her lips, but her true response flared across the blue system projection hovering between them.
[I can reforge her mana channels using my authority. But she will no longer belong to the Celestial Goddess when I finish the process.]
[She will belong entirely to the Fallen.]
’Trading a holy princess for a Fallen Seraph’s disciple,’ Kane thought, the tactical advantage of the trade making his pulse hammer.
’Morvak’s priests are going to weep when they see what she becomes.’
Kane gave Grieselda a single, firm nod.
"Do it."
Before Grieselda could raise her hand to touch Misha’s forehead, the study doors banged open.
Sira stood in the doorway, her silver bow already strung.
"Chief! Out on the water. Twelve Menual cargo ships just crossed our three-mile marker."
Kane grinned savagely, his hand instantly dropping to the handle of Mjoldr.
"They are right on time."
It’s time to test our ships.
