Thread: A Pillar of Serpents [ft. xanaphia & november]

I think I'd become less useful to you, that you'd have gone through all of this effort for nothing. And I don't think you'd have the nerve for that. He took up the space she left open by leaning back, not realizing until too late that he was almost sprawled on top of her. I don't think the families could agree on breakfast right now, let alone how to treat your woman's tears. The faction that's against the war will love to see you disgraced. And the faction that supports it will choose me over you by necessity. And that was true. Before he could think about it any further, her legs were wrapped around his waist. He let out another low, involuntary groan into her lips. Whatever he was thinking about before, he was imagining something starkly different. You don't need to think of such things. We need your leadership, and you need me. The people have a leader. It came out without his usual conviction. It wasn't that King Cirren was entirely without talent - he was a good, loyal man who'd somehow managed to stretch impossible amounts of money, rebuilding the nation despite stifling sanctions. He said just the right thing to get people to work against their interests, or delay their needs, or think they were getting a good bargain. But he seemed to think of war the same way he thought of money - an endless stream of interests that needed to be pacified and held at bay and delayed for a little longer. Darius didn't think in terms of pacification. There was gathering strength and then exercising it. Simple. The bickering inside the court was endless. But perhaps he had less to lose than Cirren. He wasn't a politician. At least not more than any commander was. Now he had a hard choice to make. He was still touching her. Touching the Queen. Even for someone of his rank that kind of thing wasn't simply allowed. His frustrated aggression playing out on her body in ways that were... not permitted, but able to be explained. The actions of a sane man. But none of the thoughts stirring in his mind right now were sane throughts. Of course, they'd seen each other - even spoken one or twice. But these were fleeting moments. The glances she'd given him in the past, at his chest and his lips and his thighs, they were as fleeting. The kinds of things that could be passed off as fantasies his own mind had invented. But this expression - with her ankles crossed on his back and her eyes flickering with naked anticipation, that couldn't be mistaken for anything else. She was just toying with him, trying to gain his loyalty for her own distant purpose. But it didn't matter. Her sensation, her smells, her voice was so close, it was all incredibly real. Then you want exactly what I want. Well, magic and Vritra and childhood schemes? He was ambiguous about all that. It didn't make him feel trusting. But what did he really know about such things, anyway? But the chance to do what he was capable of - he was beyond ready for that. Most of the fighting men were. Almost exactly. He closed the rest of the distance and kissed her. Now this would be something hard to explain. But he wasn't going to stand here teased out of his wits without getting something to remember from the arrangement.