Chapter 3

Karina stirred in bed, panting heavily as she was waking up from a hot dream. Even without opening her eyes, she knew it wasn't all a dream and spread her legs to give the intruding fingers better access. She bit on her lip to stop her moans, not needing the whole camp around their tent to know what was going on inside. But they probably did anyway, she could rarely stay absolutely quiet when reaching climax and the tent walls did little to nothing to muffle the sounds. One thing good about their arrival to Ebris was that there were going to be actual walls around their sleeping chamber. But that was pretty much the only good thing about it.

Being on the road with a part of Hayden's army was surprisingly fun. Staying in a different place every night, spending the days in Seraphina's saddle, riding first through the known countryside of Levanta and then through Orellian towns and villages was interesting, adventurous almost. The soldiers skillfully set up the camp every evening and packed it back onto the wagons every morning. The caravan moved slowly but Karina wasn't in a rush to reach their new home.

She loved to watch Hayden around his men. Why did he ever think his people didn't love him? Yes, the soldiers were afraid of the infamous Burning Fury, but it wasn't the only thing they felt. They looked at him with a mix of fear and respect, even admiration, especially when he joined them while they performed their duties, which were abundant with the camp constantly on the move. He wasn't just a king who sits idly by, watching people toil their asses off while sipping wine out of a priceless glass. He was one of them and they knew it.

The fingers sliding in and out of her, pressing and rubbing her sensitive spots, were too distracting to continue with that thought. Something large moved under the sheet and a mouth attacked one of her nipples, making her gasp in surprise. The teeth pulled softly, adding to the pressure she already felt building up. Karina reached for Hayden's pillow and pressed it against her face in the hope to at least muffle the scream of pleasure when the joint effort of Hayden's mouth and fingers pushed her over the edge. She came hard, trying to arch her back up but a strong pair of hands held her down, forcing her to stay still, which amplified the pleasure even more.

When she finally calmed down, she could feel Hayden slowly kissing his way up her neck before finally reaching her lips. "Good morning, my queen," he chuckled. "You are a heavy sleeper."

"I'm a normal sleeper," Karina grumbled when she could finally catch her breath, "it's you who doesn't sleep at all." Hayden seemed to be used to getting up before sunrise, a thing that seemed nearly impossible for Karina. His hair was wet which meant he had already exercised and bathed, probably in the freezing stream that ran below the camp. "You know, bathing in blood and eating newborns aside, you truly are a madman," she teased him, brushing the wet hair off his face with her fingers. "Getting up so early to run around the forest with Lamar is insanity." But it did cause him to have the perfectly sculpted body of a god of war, so as long as he didn't force her to get up with him, she didn't really mind.

Hayden smirked and opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by a hesitant knock on one of the wooden poles holding the roof in front of the tent entrance. "Gods! Seriously?" His smirk turned into an angry frown and Karina had to suppress a chuckle. Moody as always. But in this case, he was entitled to. "What?!" he barked angrily.

"Uhh, sir, there is a messenger from the Lord Chancellor." The man standing guard sounded frightened and Karina could hardly blame him.

Hayden rolled his eyes. "We will arrive in Ebris tomorrow, idiot couldn't wait one more day?" he grumbled quietly, more to himself than to Karina. She knew he didn't really mean it, Hayden trusted and respected lord Egmont enough to let him run the entire country while the king was away on a war campaign. "He can wait!"

"I… I'm incredibly sorry, my lord, but it sounded really urgent." The soldier was desperate now, torn between his duty and fear of angering the king.

Before Hayden could snap at the poor man, Karina whispered, "It's alright." She gave him a brief kiss and quickly slid out of bed, straightening her hair and putting a long robe on to cover her thin nightgown. "Send him in," she ordered out loud, smirking at Hayden, who sat up on the bed, looking incredibly annoyed.

"Thank you, my lady." The guard sounded relieved and another nervous man entered the tent.

The messenger was covered in dust and mud, clearly he had been riding through the night without rest. While giving a deep bow to Hayden, he staggered. The king's eyes narrowed, his anger evaporated, and he jumped up, guiding the exhausted man to a chair. Karina brought him a glass of water, trying to hide her worries. What could possibly be so important? Nothing good, that was for sure.

The man gladly accepted the water, only now he seemed to have even noticed Karina's presence. "Thank you, my lord, my lady. I have an urgent message from Lord Egmont, sir."

"Well, what is it?" Hayden was getting impatient.

The messenger nervously glanced at Karina, lowering his head to avoid Hayden's gaze. "It's, uh, it's for your ears only, sir."

Right. Karina was not supposed to be involved in the matters of the state. Hayden had already been breaking customs by allowing her to attend his council meetings so she didn't want to push this, especially not in front of his soldiers. "I'll go get something to eat." Her smile was honest, she trusted Hayden to tell her what was happening sooner or later.

"No." His answer was quick and stern. "Stay. I already brought you breakfast. And you, speak."

The man's eyebrows went up but he didn't dare to debate with Hayden. "There's been an attack in the northern mountains. Several actually, the Ruthians have resumed their hostilities, attacking and destroying a number of trade caravans as well as our units and patrols."

"Why didn't the Blackwater outpost dispatch reinforcements to protect caravans after the first attack?" Hayden was frowning again. "There's like six hundred men stationed there."

There was quiet for a few moments before the man took a deep breath. "Sir,... the Blackwater outpost was destroyed. Completely. There were a couple of dozens of survivors who made it through the woods to the nearest fortress but the outpost itself was sacked and burned to the ground."

"What?!" Crouching in front of the man, Hayden stared into his face, trying to see whether he was lying.

A sealed envelope appeared in the man's hands and he handed it over to the king. "I'm sorry, sir, that's all I know. This is the Chancellor's report."

Hayden quickly regained control over his emotions but Karina could sense he was confused and worried. He grabbed the envelope and while his fingers were breaking the seal, he shouted at the guard outside. "Marley! Call Warren and the other lords into the big tent in twenty minutes. And make sure this man gets some food and water and has a place to rest."

The guard saluted and helped the messenger outside, leaving Karina alone with nervous Hayden. "Eat and get dressed if you want to come," he commanded her, eyes flying over the parchment in his hands, his brows coming closer and closer together as he read.

Karina quietly did as she was told, briefly washing herself, brushing her hair, and putting on a simple dress while eating a plate of scones he had brought her. There were at least a dozen questions burning on her tongue but she didn't dare to open her mouth to ask them. Hayden seemed so concentrated she didn't want to disturb him. And she certainly didn't want to make him change his mind about the invitation to his council now that something was actually happening.

She was facing away from him, focused on braiding her hair when she felt him wrapping his arms around her chest. He pulled her close and sighed quietly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be so stern with you."

"It's alright. Is it bad? Will you have to take your army north?" Will they not have more than a few weeks of peace? They just barely averted one war. Was Orellia headed straight into another one?

He didn't respond right away and Karina waited patiently. "I won't have to go unless it gets worse but… I just don't understand it."

"Weren't they always hostile towards Orellia?" Karina remembered how he told her about the endless battles with the tribes up north.

"They were." He grabbed her tighter and shook his head, Karina felt his hair tickling her neck. "But never on this scale. They attacked traders, stole the goods, but usually let the people live. And they certainly never dared to attack such a well-defended military target. Ruthians are tribal and the tribes hate each other as much as they hate us. For an attack like this, at least a dozen of the bigger groups would have to join their warriors and it's just… not what they normally do."