CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX（Untitled）Branikk

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Branikk

A growl tears from me as my bride's lips part, allowing me into the sweetness of her mouth. All thoughts of careful stalking and patience flee at my first taste of Grace. My tongue licks at her as I eat at her mouth, a starved man finally given a feast. I shift forward, pulling her flush to me.

"Ah hem." Aurora's loud throat clear sounds from behind me.

I ignore her, refusing to leave the hot pleasure of my moon bound's kiss. My cock strains against the leather of my pants, my stud shivering with magic. I want my bride na—

"Unless you plan on fornicating directly on top of the trapped sluagh, you're about to set it free."

The thought of my bride in danger is the only thing that can tear me from the delight of finally tasting her.

A glazed look of pleasure suffuses her face, her lips dark pink and swollen from my kiss. A groan rumbles from me, my cock jumping as I imagine that wide, bewitching mouth wrapped around my shaft.

A whinnying laugh rings out. "The sluagh, Branikk. Remember the sluagh."

I glare at the ground. Aurora's right. My feet have moved until only one heel catches the very edge of the net. The black bird trapped inside thrashes, as if sensing its near escape.

My foot slides more fully onto the net as I ease my hold on my bride.

The unicorn and the cu sith are similarly frozen where they stand, keeping their enemies trapped in place.

"We need to do something with the soul stealers," I say.

"Will the gnomes take them?" Grace asks. "I didn't ask for much when I gave them a Ferris wheel. Maybe they'll do it as a favor?"

"With this many sluagh, I don't want to risk it. We don't know what happens when the trapped bird is simply left. It might eventually die and free the flock. We need to find a more permanent solution."

"I've got a permanent solution. We kill the sluagh," the cu sith growls. "It will be easy. Their flocks are subdued."

"Subdued but not helpless." I tug Grace forward to stand on the net. Once it's secure under her feet, I pull my sword and take several swings at the cloud of birds hanging over our heads.

They dart out of the way.

"It's no use. We still need a way to contain and kill every single bird in order to finish off the soul stealer at the center of it all."

"A dragon can burn an entire sluagh out of the sky," Aurora says.

"Dragons?" Grace asks. "You have dragons here?"

I grin at her. "We do. They are allies of the orcs."

"My people did not know of this," the canine fae says.

"The orcs, unicorns, dragons, and cat sith have all banded together to counter the threat of the ogres, kelpies, and sluagh." I crouch and gather the net around the bird, tying the edges into a knot. Then I hand it to Grace.

"The cu sith will join as well."

"Who are you to make such a claim?" Aurora eyes him skeptically as I move over to secure her bird.

"I am Rune, first son of Aethel."

"I have heard of your mother." The unicorn dips her head in respect. "She is a great warrior and leader."

"She was. As is my sister now, who leads our pack," Rune says. "Yet my people face unprecedented attacks from the sluagh, like none seen in the three hundred years we have lived in Alarria."

A cold certainty fills me. "When did these attacks start?"

"About a month ago."

I grunt and share a look with Aurora as I finish tying up her bird.

Standing, I turn to Rune. "The sluagh attacked my village a month ago. The orcs and unicorns killed many with the help of a human witch and dragons. It seems likely the soul stealers have turned elsewhere, looking for fresh victims to swell their ranks."

"Then you must let my people join your alliance, for your actions have brought about our hardship."

"It's not my decision to make," I say.

"You partner with the feline fae but not with us?" He bares his fangs in a silent snarl.

I hold up my hand palm out and say, "I will present your case to my king. He is a fair man."

Rune's hackles drop, and I gather up his bird and knot the net around it.

"One got away," Aurora points off east with her horn.

The sluagh disappeared behind the heavy cover of the trees, but I do not doubt her words.

"I think it's the one that threatened us at the standing stone," Grace says, rubbing her arms as if she's cold. "It felt like the same one. I don't know how I know, but I do."

I stride back over to her and relieve her of the bird, gathering her into my side. "It will never harm you. I swear it."

Then I shove all of the trapped birds into a leather bag and tie them to Aurora's saddle. The three flocks of sluagh hang in the air above her, each clump moving eerily in unison.

"That will never not be creepy," Grace says, her blue eyes troubled as they take in the mass of black feathers dotted with crimson beaks, eyes, and claws.

"My lady." Rune trots over and bows before my bride. "You may not be an elf, but clearly you command great magic. My offer still stands. Come, protect my people, and I will be your loyal servant all my days."

"I…" She shoots me a questioning glance.

"We will do what you want."

Aurora clears her throat.

" I will do what you want," I say, tossing a grin over my shoulder at the unicorn, "and then I will talk my good friend into doing it as well."

The unicorn snorts. "All too true, you silver-tongued devil."

"Please, my lady." Rune looks up at Grace with beseeching amber eyes. "Our pups cower in our dens afraid, instead of running and playing freely. It is not the childhood I would wish for them."

"Puppies?" Her face takes on a soft look, her wide mouth puckering in a sad grimace. Then she straightens her shoulders. "Of course, I'll help."

In that moment, my love for her grows a hundredfold, my brave and amazing bride.