Page 58 of Heart of Defiance

My head bobs up and down over Jostein’s cock as we reach a faster tempo. So much ecstasy is whirling inside me that I’m aware of nothing but the sensations radiating through my body and the groans of my men as they speed toward their climaxes alongside me.

The symphony of pleasure expands into a roar of bliss that consumes my entire being. A moan spills from my lipsto reverberate across Jostein’s shaft. The wave crashes over me, pulling me under and then tossing me high.

As the shudders ripple through my body, Landric’s thrusts turn jerky. He clasps my leg as he spills himself inside me, his gaze fixed on me as if I’m the only woman in the world.

Iko bows over me, following the two of us into release with a hot rasp of breath over my back.

I clamp my lips tighter around Jostein with a swivel of my tongue, determined to bring him with us too. He bucks into my mouth with a rake of his fingertips over my scalp. “Signy—I’m going to?—”

He’s trying to warn me so I can pull back, but I simply suck him down harder. With a choked sound, he loses control. The thick spurt of his cum fills my mouth. I flick my tongue along his length again as I swallow it down.

We sag into a sweaty, sated mess. For just a moment, the worries of the day ahead feel far away. Landric kisses my shoulder tenderly, Iko tucks himself against my side, and Jostein nestles his face against my hair as if they mean to make themselves my very own suit of human armor.

We will all be in plenty of danger in a matter of hours. But I’ve been fighting all my life just tohavea life—to live it in a shabby place like this, scraping by.

Now, finally, I’m making something meaningful out of all that effort. Both in the strange passion I’ve kindled with these three men and the battles that have brought our entire country within reach of freedom.

It’s not the works of art I pictured making, but maybe it’s something even better.

We doze in our satisfied state alongside the murmur of the breeze and the chirping of birdsong beyond the cabin walls. It’s almost peaceful until a voice splits the air from somewhere off in the forest.

“Jostein! Iko! The Darium troops are nearly here.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Iko

Ihold up the modified crossbow so all eight of the colleagues I’ve been able to equip can see it. “You fit the three arrows here, here, and here. When you pull the trigger, they’ll all fire. So make sure it’s only enemies in front of you, hmm?”

The other soldiers nod, their eyes alight with a mix of fervor and fear. The Darium army is marching on us from two sides now, both of them visible to our people who’ve been keeping watch from the hill at the north side of town. The contingent who ambushed us at the lake is coming from the south while the army we’ve tangled with twice before approaches from the east.

They aren’t bothering trying to hide themselves with illusionary magic now. Possibly the mages they called on for help are too worn out after pushing their gifts to the limit yesterday. Or possibly they have us so outnumbered they don’t see theneed for stealth.

They want us pissing our pants at the thought of what will happen when all those skeleton-uniformed figures descend on us.

My colleagues with the triple crossbows spread out along the line we’re holding at the edge of town. The burnt houses offer a tiny bit of shelter with the remains of walls and heaps of rubble.

I move to the larger cluster of allies I’ve equipped, this one a mix of soldiers and civilians who are good with various kinds of bows. We’ve had a lot of armor damaged or outright ruined in the past few battles, but I was able to see ways to work with some of the shields that’ve been cracked. They might not provide perfect protection, but by carving out a wider gap toward the middle, our archers can fire while remaining mostly protected.

“Aim quick, line up the arrow, and fire,” I remind them. “Keep as much of yourself behind the shield as possible. You’re part of our first line of defense, and you need to be visible, or they might not take the bait.”

For Signy’s plan to work, we need the Darium army to storm right up to meet us at the town. If they try to turn this into another siege like at the mountainside, holding back from the network of caves the gifted among us have worn away at under the earth, we’ll have to take greater risks to provoke them.

As the archers position themselves with apprehensive but determined murmurs, Captain Amalia strides through the wreckage of the town to join me. She surveys the makeshift army we’ve held on to, all of them braced for the fight they know is coming.

The captains and Major Arlo have been laying out the bits and pieces of our strategy since early this morning. But now that the part Signy suggested has been carried out, we allknow that by far the most vital piece comes down to me andmygift.

“They’re no more than a half hour out,” Captain Amalia tells me. “You’re completely ready?”

My gaze flicks to the crate holding the five contraptions I was able to assemble from the materials we had. I’ve tested them out as far as I could without destroying them, but it’s the final step that matters the most.

All of my knowledge and the nudging of my gift tells me they should work. Jostein stopped to check on my progress as I was fiddling with them and told me he believed I could pull it off.

Somehow even that partly divine assurance hasn’t totally settled my nerves. What if he’s confusing his hopes as my friend with his gift’s ability to evaluate me?

Despite my worries, I grin at my captain. “I’ve gotten everything as prepared as I can before the actual explosions. If they don’t work, we’ll just have to hurl some rubble at the army and hope for the best.”

Amalia is a good captain. She considers me and must pick up on the uneasiness I’m hiding, but she doesn’t prod it. She simply claps me on the shoulder. “You’ve got one of the cleverest minds I’ve ever encountered, Iko. It’s been a pleasure ordering you around, even with your mouthiness.”

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