As the sun kissed the horizon, Laira finally got up from the throne and cracked her back. Hours of petitions had gone by, from land disputes among nobles to merchants bickering over tariffs. Some of them had even been mildly important, but her mind had been elsewhere.

  Jack’s proposal.

  Marriage would shut up the constant nagging of the courtiers and cement her position, with “an heir on the way,” but making that man her husband might cause other problems.

  A Viscount, a disowned one, killer of his father, and the self-proclaimed leader of an unknown realm. Not to mention his radical ideas. His plan to change the very foundations of Nanoan society frightened her, but was also a bit tempting.

  She stepped onto her balcony, and the evening sea breeze came to greet her. The evening tide was lapping at the shore, as fishing boats glided into the harbor with the day’s haul. It was a beautiful sight, yet she could not appreciate it.

  Laira was inclined to agree with Jack: Nanon would not survive the onslaught of Zoran as it was, but his reforms would be like a plow, uprooting centuries of tradition and culture. It would be a fertile ground for better policies, which would yield a brighter future, if the social upheaval didn’t go out of control.

  She ground her teeth in frustration. As she walked toward the games hall, the sight of Oberstein approaching relieved some of it. The bald man, his gaunt features making him look even more unsettling in the evening shadow, approached almost soundlessly and joined her. A curious looking Reshma followed, a gray furball in hands.

  “Well?” she asked, as she took Leopold from Reshma’s hands.

  He shook his head. “His men do not part with their weapons for even a moment, and keep them covered at all times. The bowyer says he can replicate the built-in quiver, but he will have to get his hands on a crossbow to understand how they can quickly reload at the pace Lady Reshma and her entourage described.”

  Laira exhaled the tension away. “What about the carriage?”

  “Steel. A lot of it. The walls and the contraption the carriage sits on as well. It’s a statement.”

  “Join us and you can have all this, and more.”

  “Join? How?”

  “He proposed marriage to me.”

  Oberstein’s brows went up. A rare thing. “You are considering it?”

  “Yes.” She looked at Reshma, who didn’t show a visible reaction.

  “But we know nothing about this ‘Chadom.’ It might just be him and a few thousand refugees!”

  “All the more impressive, then. If he can deliver on the promises he has made, I don’t care how big Chadom is.”

  “May I know those promises?”

  “Weapons, riches and reforms to our military and economy.”

  “Sounds far-fetched.”

  “We’ll know by tomorrow.”

  He cocked an eyebrow.

  “I’ve asked him for a demonstration of his weapons.”

  Laira tried to distract herself in the games hall, but the meeting with Jack and the possible futures just wouldn’t leave her mind. She needed something more potent.

  The dinner was a fish curry, quite delicious, but even it couldn’t free her mind. She looked at Reshma across the dinner table, who noticed her gaze and winked. The look in her eyes reminded Laira they had some catching up to do. She suppressed a smile, finished her dinner, and excused herself to her chambers.

  It wasn’t too long afterwards when Reshma appeared.

  “Is everything going according to your plans?” Laira asked the swarthy woman, whose slight smirk was hiding something else.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing. I’m just a little worried about us.”

  She stepped close, resting her head against Reshma’s collarbone. “I’ll never abandon you. You know that.”

  The taller woman nodded weakly. “I know. I like Jack myself, but I haven’t known him long enough to be sure.”

  “Come here, dearest.” She pulled Reshma to the bed and had her sit down. Kissing her while standing up was always difficult due to their significant height difference.

  Laira gave her a chaste kiss. An invitation that Reshma capitalized upon, as she opened her mouth a little and latched onto Laira’s full lips. She separated her thighs, slid her arms around the Queen and pulled her into herself. Laira’s hips ground into her, conveying her desperate need.

  Reshma was only happy to oblige.

  Clothes fell away piece by piece, the soft whisper of fabric sliding from skin making Laira shiver. She sighed as Reshma began planting kisses all over her body, from the shoulders to her navel, moving further down. She teased the Queen with her tongue, until her pearl came out of hiding. Unable to stand anymore, Laira sank into the bed, exhaling shakily.

  Reshma lay on top of her and attacked her firm, soft breasts with her mouth, looking her in the eyes, reminding her who she belonged to. A gasp left her as Reshma put two fingers inside. She slowly kissed her way downward and began playing with Laira’s pearl, until she couldn't keep her voice down and arched her back upwards.

  Reshma’s fairly long tongue became her world, as she pushed it deep inside, swirling it around. Laira’s hips lifted in a helpless rhythm, her hands clutching the sheets, as her gasps and moan grew louder. The taller woman’s ministrations soon bore fruit, as Laira shuddered in waves, leaving her trembling and breathless.

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  Afterwards, Reshma pulled herself up and kissed her, making the Queen taste her own flavor.

  “Better?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” Laira nodded.

  “More?” Reshma’s voice dropped to a teasing purr.

  The pleading look Laira gave her was answer enough.

  “Time to serve your mistress, then,” she said with authority. “Get on your knees.”

  Reshma watched Laira promptly obey and set herself between her thighs. Despite being a royal, her poor Liru-Liru had to constantly work to be taken seriously. She was burdened with so much responsibility that she gave up all authority in bed, ready to do whatever her real mistress desired.

  The dutiful girl worked very hard to please her mistress, until the royal bed chamber was filled with Reshma’s gasps and whimpers.

  As Laira swirled her tongue inside her lover, her mind betrayed her.

  What would doing the same thing for Jack feel like?

  Taking his “thing” in her mouth until it went deep in her throat, sucking on it as if her life depended upon it. Him dominating her, grabbing her hair and thrusting himself deep inside her. Spearing her mouth until she was drooling, completely at her master's mercy.

  She had no experience with men, but still vividly remembered the private show she had Reshma arrange for her, just to know what could happen between a man and woman. That had been… exhilarating.

  Reshma’s long fingers tangled in Laira’s hair as her cries of ecstasy filled the room. Satisfied with her handiwork, she lay beside her lover.

  As much as she loved Reshma, Laira also wanted a man in her life, and not just because of social expectations. Still, she wasn't that desperate. So why was she fantasizing about Jack? Had she already made the decision to marry him? She did want that clever mind of his on her side, and his weapons, but the changes he would bring…

  Those thoughts shot another pang of annoyance through her mind.

  “I want more,” she asked Reshma, who obliged.

  The lithe woman pushed her Queen onto the bed and slid herself sensually over her voluptuous body, until their breasts were touching. The lithe beauty kissed Laira violently and began gyrating her hips, grinding herself into the smaller woman, eliciting gasps and moans. She pinned Laira’s arms above her head and rode her rhythmically, until the room was filled with feminine gasps.

  Unknown to her, Laira was fantasizing being under the power of stronger, thicker arms, and what it would feel down there.

  Soon, waves of pleasure took over both of them, hips bucking into each other.

  Minds empty of all thought, they finally drifted into blissful sleep.

  ──────── ??? ────────

  Laira woke well-rested, though her thoughts lingered on the night’s unwelcome fantasies. She gave Reshma a passionate goodbye kiss as an apology, began her day and left for the courtyard.

  Jack and his silent bodyguards were already there, along with their carriage that looked more like a fortress than vehicle. All that steel was definitely a message. Her new ornate carriage, shining blue and gold, looked almost delicate beside it.

  She gave him a small bow. “Your Excellency, I trust your men are prepared?”

  “They are,” he smiled with infuriating confidence. “May I have the pleasure of your company in my carriage, Your Majesty?”

  Her eyebrows rose at the brazen words.

  “Surely you know it's considered inappropriate for an unmarried couple to be alone like that.”

  “Hmm,” he tilted his head. “I had to say those very words to a very flirty envoy rather recently.”

  She worked hard to school her expression. Of course Reshma would say something like that.

  “Why not bring a chaperon along? Perhaps a knight you trust?”

  She had Sir Arnulf, the new Lord Commander, accompany them.

  As the carriages left toward the kings-wood, she looked at the daring man in front of her. He and Reshma were two peas in a pod. No wonder he had captured her attention, and now Laira’s. She must have a type.

  Jokers? She thought, confused and horrified.

  Still, anger rose in her as she imagined them together, and something else. Something she dared not say out loud, even to herself. Something that would be considered deviant by anyone in polite society. Her relationship with Reshma would be considered the same as well, if it came out, so why should she care? With nothing else to distract her, her mind plodded on.

  Jack and Reshma on the very bed she had spent the night with her, doing the same things. The angst that bloomed inside her was both pain and pleasure. What was wrong with her?

  “Do you notice something different about the journey, Your Majesty?” Jack thankfully broke her out of her daydream.

  She schooled her expression. “Not really.”

  “Lord Commander?”

  “I couldn't help but notice that this coach isn't jostling around much, Excellency,” said the perceptive head of the Royal Guards.

  “Now that you mention it, I didn't notice it at all. How?”

  “Another innovation Chadom can offer,” the bastard said while smirking.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. Everything was a matter of profit or gain with him. Was he truly a ruler or a merchant?

  It didn’t take long for them to reach the woods. They entered a large clearing, where her guards formed a perimeter. Jack's soldiers brought out their crossbows and removed their covers. She could see that steel had been liberally used in manufacturing them. Was that necessary or just another extravagance?

  They setup four wooden targets and four soldiers stood ready to attack. They pulled levers on their bows, which apparently cocked them.

  That was definitely faster than anything she had seen. They trained the bows and began firing. One heartbeat, a pull of the lever, and another shot. Next, and another shot, without fumbling to retrieve bolts from a quiver. Soon, the targets were pincushions.

  “Impressive,” she said in genuine admiration, though it irked her that no one in Nanon had invented it. The construction wasn't beyond imagination.

  Jack stood close to her, too close, and spoke in her ear, barely above a whisper. Her pulse quickened, whether from irritation or something else, she didn’t get to examine.

  “We are also working on something a bit more powerful. I’m willing to show it to you if I can have a promise of commitment.”

  She looked up at him defiantly. “What is it?”

  “You’ve heard about the rumors that Zoran can bring down castle walls? Within days. Not weeks or months, like with trebuchets.”

  She nodded, her mouth drying.

  “What if those rumors are true?”

  “Then we are doomed.”

  “Unless,” he said meeting her eyes, “Nanon can match them.”

  She looked at his rather fetching eyes for any hint of deceit, but only found complete confidence. There were no other candidates who brought this much to the table.

  “Impress me,” she said quietly, “and my hand is yours.”

  The rascal smiled in response, went inside his steel carriage and closed the door. His soldiers surrounded it, daring for anyone else to approach.

  She admired his audacity in bringing such a powerful secret into the heart of Nanon, guarded by only eight men. Was he not scared her people would steal it? Either he was arrogant, or sure of his value.

  He took his sweet time in there and emerged with an odd contraption; a thick brass tube attached at the end of a wooden pole.

  “This will be startling, and very loud,” he said, and went to stand a fair bit away from her.

  He pointed the odd weapon at a target. One of his men brought out a smoldering cord. He touched it to a small hole on the tube’s side.

  Nothing seemed to happen at first.

  Then,

  Thunder ripped the air apart.

  Laira closed her eyes in fear, ears ringing. Her knights drew their swords. Birds burst from the trees in panic. Smoke curled from the brass tube, like a powerful beast exhaling.

  She looked at Jack, only to see him smiling at her with a barely suppressed grin. He pointed at the wooden target, which had shattered into a thousand splinters.

  Heedless of her knight’s swords pointed at him, he approached her, his contraption still smoking.

  “Imagine,” he said softly in her ear, “if this weapon was a hundred times larger. What else could it smash to bits?”

  She swallowed.

  The truth was obvious to her: lessons from centuries of warfare and military doctrine had just been rendered obsolete. The promise of a castle’s safety had just vanished.

  Her heart pounded.

  Shaken as she was, Laira made her decision. Not out of fear, but simple common sense.

  The world was about to turn. And she would stand with the one turning it.

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