Here She Rules: The Chronicles of Erla: Book 1 (30 page)

Cassie felt ill and deeply sick to her stomach, but she continued to kiss and caress him, and he ate it up like candy. She was well on her way to convincing him that she had never experienced being with a “real man” before. She mewed and purred and stroked his ego. All the while, she felt like a whore, but it
was
working. The conceited jackass honestly believed the sun rose and set in his pants, so it wasn’t a stretch to make him think she thought so too.
 

Just before she fell asleep, she sent a silent prayer up that Nera was well and unharmed—unaware that the same idea had come to Nera. As the King bucked wildly atop her, she moaned and feigned an orgasm, fawning over him and feeding his enormous ego until he finally fell asleep. As she dozed off, she hoped Cassie had come to the same conclusion.

XIX

Kara sat in her saddle; she was impatient to be moving whilst her warriors searched a remote village on the outskirts of Erla. It had been ten days, and there had been no signs of either Nera or Cassie. In response, Kara sent the bulk of Erla’s warriors out to find the Queen and Cassandra—leaving a skeleton crew behind to keep the peace. They questioned everyone they encountered, but nothing had been discovered, and she was beyond frustrated and angry. Two women such as Nera and Cassie could not just disappear off of the face of Jiva. She turned her horse at the sound of approaching riders. Three of Nyles’ men rode up to her, breathless.
 

“What news?” Kara asked.

“Lady, Lord Nyles sends word that he has discovered some information that may relate to the disappearances,” the man huffed out.
 

King Nyles and Lord Nall had taken the northern direction, King Darien the southern, and Kara had split her warriors into the eastern and western directions.

“We ride! Sama, gather your women, we ride to the King,” Kara shouted to her Second. She then whipped her horse around, and they rode northward.

Far to the North, Cassie’s slaves had ridden hard, following a trade route, and once outside Erla, they stopped at an inn on the outskirts of King Nyles’ territory.
 

Mika, swaggering with a false bravado he had seen displayed by Nyles’ and Darien’s men, requested a room which would house the six of them. The innkeeper informed them of meal hours and bathing availability and handed them each towels and soap.
 

The men followed a young female servant up to their room and she boldly offered her services to any and all of them for the night for a modest sum. Mika refused, but he gave her a small coin in thanks as she left. The girl was disappointed, but she was also very pleased by the unexpected tribute she had received.
 

Once alone, they all collapsed in relief; the act they had to put on was wearying and stressful.
 

Cassie’s slaves talked quietly amongst themselves, deciding that when they went down for a meal, they would ask questions and try to get any information they could from the Inn’s public house.
 

Mika wasn’t sure what made him choose this northerly direction, but he hoped his instincts were correct.

“What will we do when we discover who has taken her? We may have weapons, but we are not warriors. We have no training. I would gladly lay down my life to save our beloved Mistress, but we must have a plan,” Arn said quietly and was quickly seconded by Taylyn.

“We are strong and in good shape. We have watched much of our Lady’s training, and I believe that we may be able to fight hand-to-hand against whoever has taken her,” Garen said.

“I may not be trained, but I believe I can swing this sword well enough to do some damage,” Kai said with passion, touching the sword at his waist.

Mika looked to Aidan who said, “While there is breath in my body, I will fight for My Lady.”

“As will I,” Taylyn said passionately. He—by far—had the most to lose if their Lady was not recovered.
 

“Let us go down to the common room to eat and see what we can learn. Ask questions of everyone concerning large groups of men, caravans, and even small groups. Anything is possible, and I want to explore every possibility and leave no stone unturned,” Mika said. The men rose, leaving their swords and taking only their daggers with them before heading down the stairs.

Heedless of the loss which the great city had suffered, the sun rose brightly over Erla days after the disappearance of the Queen.
 

Courtiers squabbled over who would run the country until the Princess Danai was old enough, while those with political aspirations worked to take control. In addition to this upheaval, there was only a skeleton crew of warriors and guards left to protect the city. In the end, it was little wonder that the city was unprepared for the marauding army which took it by storm just after first light.
 

The Ambrians attacked with precision, and the few warriors who were left to defend the city were no match for them. Though the Erlan women fought with valor, they were quickly overtaken
by the overwhelming number of enemy warriors.
 

King Ston and Lord Sern had planned the attack carefully; they aimed to do the least amount of damage possible to the city which would soon be annexed by Ambria and ruled by Lord Sern for his brother, the King.

The casualties were light, and the Ambrians had the surviving Erlan warriors bury their dead before being thrown into the stockade on the outskirts of the town.
 

The male slaves were rounded up and informed that they now belonged to the King and would serve him until they were distributed to his officers, and the female slaves were given directly to the warriors for entertainment. The highborn Erlan Ladies were locked up with the warriors in the stockade. All in all, it did not take them long to take over and set up their headquarters.
 

Later that night, Ston and Sern sat in the Banqueting Hall at the head of the table, celebrating their victory while they were served food and Mull. Around them, their men drank heavily, toasting their King and each other while harassing the slave girls.

“Excellent work today, my brother,” Ston said as he drained another tankard of Mull.

“Yes, it
was
pitifully easy; I am almost disappointed at the lack of defense. These stupid women took their entire Army out to look for their Queen? I am shocked they have not been overrun before this!” Sern laughed.

“We must move with care now, brother. Darien will not take lightly our traversing of his land with an army without his leave. We do not need to have him for an enemy, for he is too powerful. It was brilliant of you to intercept the communications between Darien and Nyles. Causing that little conflict allowed us to make such a bold move as this!” Ston’s eyes gleamed maliciously.

“I was surprised they decided to make an accord with Erla. It was indeed an unexpected move, and it is one which has served us very well in the end!” Sern toasted his brother with a grin.

“I now look forward to returning to the loving arms of my new slave. I told you that once these women knew a real man, they would melt like butter in our hands.” Ston laughed, thinking of how well-entertained the little Queen in his bed had kept him until his departure.

Sern’s mind turned to the woman awaiting
him
in Ambria. Already, she was falling in love him. He just knew it by the way she couldn’t get enough of him in bed. He smiled smugly and adjusted the crotch of his pants.
 

After the first night, she had bent over backwards to please him, and Sern was very happy with her. Once she had succumbed and become a willing lover, he had dismissed any thought of her being a threat. He could not wait to have her brought to him here, and if she was a good girl, he would even let her have the Queen’s quarters.
 

The brothers sat and drank till it was very late. They then ordered slaves for their beds before turning in for the night.

Kara thundered up to Nyles’ camp and leapt off of her horse before it had fully stopped. Her guard followed quickly as they made their way to Nyles’ tent. She swept into the large cloth structure to find the King and Nall sitting at a table with maps unrolled before them.
 

The men rose when she entered and then motioned for her to sit.

“What news, My Lords?” Kara bit out anxiously.

“We have discovered that a large force of men was encamped outside of the Erlan border to the north nearly two weeks ago,” Nyles said.
 

The tent flap flew back and Darien entered the tent. They motioned for him to sit and join them as well.

“North? Isn’t that your territory?” Kara’s hand dropped to the dagger at her waist as she made to rise.

“Lady, do not draw your weapon. We are allies, and I had nothing to do with the disappearances. The man we questioned is an innkeeper, and the group he described is undeniably Ambrian,” Nyles said, attempting to calm Kara.

“Ambrian? Impossible! They would have had to cross my lands to get here!” Darien shouted, rising from his seat.

“Calm yourself, my friend. We must figure this out,” Nyles said slowly. “Would Ston be so foolish as to cross your territory, steal the Queen and Lady Cassandra, then cross your territory again without your leave?”

“He would not be foolish enough to do so per se, but he is most certainly arrogant enough!” Anger blazed in Darien’s eyes. He knew if Ston had the women, then they were very likely his pleasure slaves by now—or dead, knowing Cassandra’s temper.

“Then, we ride for Ambria. With our combined forces, we will level this King’s realm and get our Ladies back!” Kara said, rising again.

“Sit, My Lady. We must make a plan. This will be an all-out war. This is not something you charge into blindly,” Nall said firmly with as much gentleness as he could muster.

“Lady Kara is right! We will crush Ston like the insect he is!” Darien was incensed; the man had violated his borders and used his lands as a passageway, thus allowing him to take Cassandra.

Suddenly, the tent flap flew open and a bloodied Erlan warrior fell at their feet. Kara jumped and ran to her, lifting her head gently.

“What has happened?” she asked and then looked to the men and commanded, “Bring water!”

“Lady, we were overwhelmed. There were so many, we had no chance . . .” The woman’s voice was weak.
 

Nall ran from the tent and shouted for a physician.

Kara held a cup to the woman’s lips, and after a weak sip, she gently said, “Tell me what has happened.”
 

The woman groaned and said, “Forgive me for abandoning the city, but I knew I had to find you, My Lady. They came in force and invaded the city. We fought hard, but there were too many. They have taken Erla!” The warrior’s breath rattled and then ceased. She was dead.

Kara looked up at the men in horror, and their shocked faces swung from her to each other.
 

Darien recovered first and shouted out the tent for riders to gather the combined forces needed to ride to Erla. The shouts of men and the neighing of horses sounded as the men immediately prepared to move out.