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Lysa couldn’t stop thinking of how Ethne had made love to her. The Knight of the Sparrow had been surprisingly gentle and sweet, but Lysa wanted it rough and hard. She wanted Ethne to make love to her the way she had seen Liadan make love to Ava.
One afternoon, as they we packing up camp, Lysa went into the trees for a private moment, and it was then that she stumbled across Liadan and Ava, whose helpless moans preceded them. The Knight of the Wild was on one knee, Ava’s skirt was held up by Liadan’s gauntlet, and Liadan was roughly eating the princess out, her mouth moving so aggressively against the fat lips of Ava’s sex that Ava was pink-cheeked and softly screaming.
Ava's big breasts were hanging out of her laces, tousled golden hair was in one eye, and she stood with her back pressed to a great tree as the knight held her in place by the hips with two strong hands and sucked passionately on her clitoris.
Lysa had stood there, paralyzed and in shock. Liadan was always so serious, so brooding, gentle, and quiet . . . Lysa had always assumed her a gentle and submissive lover. But here she was, holding Ava helpless against a tree and devouring everything between her trembling thighs like a beast.
And Ava was enjoying it desperately. She was always so regal and commanding of Liadan, but there she stood, being pinned to a tree and roughly snatched out of her clothes.
Lysa was backing away when – to her horror – the other two noticed her. She couldn’t believe it when – instead of stopping – Liadan plunged two fingers fast up Ava’s sex, and ignoring her startled cry of delight, started roughly fingering her as she sucked on her clitoris. With Lysa standing there watching, Ava gasped helplessly, her hips jerking forward from every hard curl of Liadan’s strong fingers, and then she climaxed with a breathless cry, her moisture dripping down her thighs.
Still ignoring Lysa’s presence, Liadan looked at Ava’s glossy sex with narrow-eyed satisfaction and started licking it clean – long, slow licks. Ava melted in a daze against the tree, great breasts heaving, and catching Lysa’s eye, she smiled lazily.
Lysa didn’t know why, but she was so mortified and embarrassed that she turned and fled, and when they had packed up camp and continued on their way, she pretended as if she had seen nothing, though she couldn’t stop thinking of what she had seen. Why didn’t Ethne make love to her that way? The more she thought of it, the more she wanted it.
“What has my lady so preoccupied?” Ethne asked as they rode along, and she kissed Lysa on the cheek.
Lysa blushed happily under the affection, glad that Ava and Liadan were riding some ways ahead and had not seen. She had not told Ava that she had given in to her passion and slept with Ethne, though she knew the princess would figure it out sooner or later. She did not look forward to the endless teasing.
“Do you promise not to laugh?” said Lysa heavily.
“I promise to try,” answered Ethne. “Now I’m intrigued. Do tell me.”
“I saw Ava and Liadan having s-sex—You promised!” Lysa accused, for Ethne had burst out laughing (so loudly that Ava and Liadan glanced back curiously).
“I promised no such thing,” said Ethne, highly amused. “But why should that have you brooding so?”
Lysa cast her lashes down as she admitted, “It was the way Liadan made love to her. She was so. . . aggressive! She just ripped Ava’s clothes off and took her right there! I keep wishing you would do the same to me.”
Ethne laughed incredulously. “Liadan’s a barbarian, Lysa! They take what they want when they want it! The warriors are always quite submissive to their wives otherwise. It is their culture.” Ethne paused and added in weary amusement, “Am I expected to grunt and drag you off by the hair now?”
“No!” Lysa answered irritably. She smiled to herself as she added, “But if you took me by surprise every now and then, I wouldn’t object.”
Ethne chuckled softly. “Noted, my love.”
As night fell and dusk spread its golden fingers through the trees, the group was galloping along when they noticed three mounted figures up ahead. Ethne seemed to recognize who they were and yanked the reins almost frantically, forcing her white horse to a sudden stop. When Lysa looked up at her, Ethne’s slanted gray eyes were narrow with anger.
Liadan had likewise pulled her horse to a stop, and she and Ava sat mounted beside Ethne and Lysa. Liadan watched the three strangers intently, her expression cold. The three strangers, meanwhile, sat in silence on horseback, simply staring at them, their horses snorting white mist in the cold. Snow suddenly began to fall in the evening gloom, silent and gentle in its swirling cloud.
“They look like ruffians,” Liadan observed.
Indeed, Lysa thought the strangers were wearing very poor armor compared to the gleaming engraved armor of the two knights. The strangers were wrapped in leathers and shabby fur cloaks against the cold. Two of them had swords while one carried a bow. All three were women, muscular and fit.
The central figure was the biggest of all. She was a barbarian like Liadan, for there was warpaint on her cheeks and lining her eyes. Her helm was the skin of a wolf, the dead beast’s teeth snarling above her wild red hair, and she carried a sword and a shield with vicious spikes upon its face.
“They are no ruffians,” snarled Ethne, whose muscly arms were nearly shuddering with fury around Lysa. “The woman in the middle is a bounty hunter. Her name is Mairin Tira . . . and she has come for me.”
Lysa looked up at Ethne quickly, her mouth open. Ethne did not look back. The towering dark-haired knight was staring with resignation at the barbarian woman who sat facing them on horseback, her expression calm and serious.
“I knew she would come for me as soon as I left the safety of the academy,” Ethne said darkly.
“Then we shall slay her!” Liadan said at once, and her hand went to her sword hilt.
Ethne’s head snapped around. “Don't be a fool! Mairin is a woman of Wildoras like you. And she is a very powerful magi. She’d slay us all in heartbeat. Would you allow your woman to die for me?” She nodded at Ava, who was looking pale and frightened as she sat the saddle before Liadan.
Liadan frowned. “You would have me stand by while you are borne away to be executed?” she demanded.
“Don’t be stupid,” said Ethne. “Let them take me, then come and rescue me! Gather all the knights you can. Other knights won’t care what crimes we have committed. They are our sworn allies.”
Lysa thought Liadan wanted to protest. The red-haired knight’s jaw stood out hard in her anger and frustration, but she took her hand from her sword hilt and grudgingly nodded.
Ethne looked to the three across the way and called, “I shall come peacefully, and you may take me, if you would but spare the life of my comrades!”
“What?” Lysa cried, looking up at Ethne. “No!” She clutched feebly at Ethne’s armor. “I won’t let you! I won’t—!”
“Lysa! Lysa!” Ethne soothed when Lysa started to cry. She hugged her tight from behind and whispered in her ear, “Liadan shall save me, and all will be well—”
Lysa suddenly kissed Ethne hard on the mouth. “You had better return to me,” she said angrily, “or I shall kill you myself!”
Ethne chuckled, pleased by Lysa’s anger and sadness.
“Are you coming, or shall I drag you down from that horse?” called Mairin lazily.
“I am coming!” Ethne called. So saying, she slid off the horse, then unbuckled her scabbard and let her sword small to the snow. With her hands lifted, she approached the strangers.
“Shall we really let her go with them?” Ava said in fright and wonder.
Liadan made no response except to continue glaring at the bounty hunter.
Mairin smirked and gestured to one of her women. The woman with the sword slid off her horse and approached Ethne, a pair of heavy manacles swinging in one hand. Behind her, the woman with the bow nocked an arrow and pointed it threateningly at Liadan. Liadan glared, looking as angry and helpless as Lysa felt.
Ethne smiled reassuringly at Lysa as her wrists were cuffed, then she was tethered to the saddle of Mairin’s horse on the end of a chain.
“We shall depart now,” Mairin said, “and you shall not follow nor attempt any foolish rescue, if you know what is good for you, ‘Knight of the Wild.’”
Liadan stiffened angrily. The woman with the bow laughed.
Still smirking, Mairin slowly turned her dark horse around and walked it off, Ethne following behind on her lead. The woman with the sword mounted again, and she and the third woman followed Mairin on horseback. As the bounty hunters moved off into the swirling snow, Ethne staggered after them on the end of her chain. She glanced back at Lysa and smiled a last time.