Chapter 17 - Defiance

▪️L E N N A▪️

With my hand still firmly held in his, Edric walked me into the impressive stable grounds.

A young Lycan, whose name I did not know, approached and bowed before us. In his right hand, he clutched a bitless bridle that belonged to the biggest horse I had ever seen. It was even larger than the ones that had pulled the carriage which had taken me from my home.

Edric took the leather reins and dismissed the young man, leaving us alone while we walked back outside towards the large open grassy field.

The horse was truly statuesque. Its muscular body was sleek as it gracefully trotted between us. My eyes were fixated on its beautiful golden coat.

Walking in leisurely circles around the gorgeous creature, I could not contain the wide smile on my face. Needing to get a closer look as I stood in front of the horse, I then took a diagonal step towards him.

I had a lot of experience in dealing with horses, but never with a breed such as this. My voice was low and soothing as I spoke to the animal, noticing his eyes were relaxed and his ears pricked towards me. With my right hand extended, the large horse closed the distance between us almost immediately.

“I knew that he would love you…” Edric commented in a soft tone.

Giving him a sideways glance, “Oh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Shrugging lightly, he simply replied, “Nothing, just that everyone who meets you seems to eventually fall in love with you.”

Turning to look at Edric fully, our eyes locked as we remained in silence for a few seconds. We continued to stare at each other while the weight of his words hung between us. Not wanting to make things awkward by being overly emotional at the potential hidden meaning behind what he said, I chose my next words carefully.

“Yes well, I was told that I cast magic spells on people,” I flashed him a grin.

Edric’s face grimaced slightly, “Ouch! I guess I deserved that.”

“Who knows, you might have been right,” I said with a sigh.

Slowing the threading of my fingers against the animal’s thick mane, I allowed myself to feel the calm yet robust energy that the horse exuded.

The sound of Edric’s voice forced my eyes open, “So, I take it that you like your surprise?”

“This is the weapon?” I asked, while the horse nudged against my still palm, clearly wanting me to continue with the stroking of his coat.

Nodding, he replied, “Yes, don’t you like him?”

“I love him! He’s truly magnificent! It’s just that when you said weapon, I was expecting a new sword or shield perhaps.”

Edric laughed softly, “Weapons are more than just things to be used in battle, Lenna. Since you can’t run like us Lycans, I wanted to present you with a means to do so, enabling you to keep up with us.”

My eyes widened at his words, “Does that mean I’ll get to go hunting and scouting with you?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself now! We need to take a few trial runs first…” Edric said, as his free hand moved to gently pat the other side of the horse’s neck. “Do you think that you can handle him on your own, and would you like a saddle?”

I was eager to see how well we would move together, “No, I do not need a saddle, and I will have you know that I am an excellent rider!”

“Perhaps…” Edric paused while his eyes roamed over me, “But you have never ridden a horse like this.”

“Well, you know what they say, practice will make things better. Is he faster than you? Does he have a name?” I could not help the excitement that I felt.

The Lycan King was clearly amused by my enthusiasm, “His name is Gyllir, due to his golden-like coat, and he is one of the fastest horses we own. While he cannot outrun me, he does keep up an almost equal pace”

Holding the bitless leather bridle, I fingered the straps, “He doesn’t really look like the other horses.”

“He’s of the same breed, however, for some reason, he was born with this colouring. He’s also a bit larger in stature, an anomaly so to speak. One of a kind…” Edric’s eyes were locked with mine.

The gesture of being gifted such a beautiful and unique horse was not lost on me even while I enquired, “And you decided to give him to me?”

Kicking off his boots, he then started pulling off his shirt, “Yes. I had always planned on giving you a horse, though I wanted it to be something special, like you. I wanted to train him a bit longer, but after you helped me calm down earlier today, I figured that there was no point in waiting anymore.”

Not being able to take my eyes off of him, my gaze hungrily devoured his muscles as he slowly removed his tunic top before his fingers moved to undo his trousers.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice slightly husky.

“Getting naked,” he grinned before adding, “I’m going to shift and then we shall take Gyllir out for a run.”

“Alright…” I said, as my cheeks tingled upon seeing his semi-erect manhood.

Without blinking, I watched as Edric shifted before me.

Tilting his head towards the star-filled sky, he howled deeply, and Gyllir whinnied restlessly next to me, nudging me once more.

“He wants you to ride him,” Edric’s gruff voice sounded as he dropped into a quadrupedal stance.

The warmth that I felt on my cheeks intensified at his tone as my mind could not help but think of other things. Images such as me straddling Edric while he held me tightly.

Shaking my thoughts clear, I focused on Gyllir, who seemed to know exactly what I needed. He knelt down to allow me onto his broad back, and I adjusted myself as I tested the hold and cue of the reins.

Leaning forward slightly, I whispered to Gyllir, “Alright, boy, show me what you got.”

With an excited snort and neigh, he gracefully reared back, his front legs kicking the air before he galloped forward. Holding on tightly while keeping a solid grip with my legs, within a few paces, it was as though we became one.

In no time, Gyllir was racing through the open field and I revelled in the fact that this was the furthest away from the castle I had ever been to date.

Edric was at our side every step of the way, keeping in line with us.

Throwing my head back, I smiled and shouted excitedly into the wind as it whipped my hair behind me.

As we rode up a slight incline, we burst through a forest clearing, my lungs enjoying the crisp night air. I immediately spotted some Lycans up ahead, and as we slowly came to a stop, Edric howled to them. They briefly stopped what they were doing to howl back, before continuing with their tasks.

A large Lycan with a black and tan coat broke rank and quickly approached us. As it stopped in front of us, I recognised that it was Abidan.

“Your Majesty, Lenna…” his deep raspy voice greeted while he bowed his head.

I bowed back in return while my hands loosened their grip on the reins. Trying not to be too obvious, I shifted slightly, my inner thighs aching from not being used to being on such a wide horse.

Of course, Edric did not miss anything where I was concerned and gently scolded, “Should have listened and used a saddle.”

Shaking my head, “No, I’m fine, it will just take a bit of getting used to.”

Growling softly, he snorted, “Do not blame me if you cannot walk tomorrow.”

Abidan rumbled softly; the sound was basically a Lycan laughing in its beast form. The gold in his hazel eyes popped even more against the colour of his thick fur as he looked back and forth at our exchange.

As Abidan looked at Gyllir, he asked me, “How are you liking him? I am impressed that you ride him so well already, you two are truly suited for each other.”

“I love him already!” I beamed, while wrapping my arm around his neck nuzzling his mane, to which he happily whinnied in response.

Tilting his head, Abidan said, “I can see that.”

Grumbling, Edric interjected, “How are things going on the border?”

With a gentle tug, I left the Lycans to their conversation, as I slowly trotted towards the direction of the border line, my eyes fixed on the Soljord Mountains in the distance. The cool night air washed over me and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of it against the skin of my face.

It was hard to ignore how beautiful the terrain was. The awareness that it could all be destroyed in the near future had me creasing my brow as I thought about how important this upcoming war would be.

Having never been to the border, I took a deep breath and concentrated, trying to see if I could feel the energy of anyone nearby.

Similar energy spikes, resembling that of Tharun, were felt a few miles away. I did not detect the dark presence that I had associated with Einarr. But having been weakened from my earlier energy use, I was unable to push further into the mountain range.

“What are you doing?” Edric asked, his unexpected approach startling me.

Blinking my eyes open, “I was just trying to see if I could sense anything.”

“Do you?” his nose raised in the air, inhaling deeply.

“There are a few werewolves a few miles that way,” I pointed to a north westerly direction.

“Impressive, even after the eventful day that you had, you are still able to pick up their energies. You really have grown,” he commented.

Nodding, I turned to him with a smile, “Speaking of growth.”

Edric made a muttering noise, “Oh Gods! What do you want now?”

“Hey! I have never asked for much!” I said defensively.

As we returned to the castle, I decided to ask Edric when I could go visit Tharun in the dungeon. Of course, he was not happy with my request, his entire demeanour changing at the mention of the werewolf’s name.

In fact, Edric did not say anything on the entire ride back.

I watched as he shifted back into his human form, a scowl on his face while he put back on his clothes. When he finally decided to turn and speak to me, his voice was harsh and I could tell that he was doing his best to hold his temper in check.

“Not asking for much you say? I suppose seeking permission to put yourself in a very dangerous situation is just a normal thing with you!” he huffed out.

Giving the reigns back to the stable boy, I smiled and ran my hands on the side of Gyllir’s face one last time, before turning back to look at Edric. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself as I remained adamant in my request.

“Yes well, some things just cannot be avoided. I think I am more than ready to visit Tharun in a few days. What do you think?” I asked.

“I think not,” he replied moving to my side.

“I think I am,” I quickly retorted.

“Why must you always seek to defy me?” Edric growled softly as he pulled me into his arms.

“Because you like it, you crave my defiance…” I said, my voice trembling as he buried his face against my neck.

“You might be right, but even so, being around Tharun is unsafe. Why would you risk your life, Lenna?” Edric asked, his lips softly kissing along the column of my throat.

“You would do the same! Why should I be any different? The safety of the empire comes first, above all, not so?” I challenged him, while tilting my head to give him more access.

Snarling, he pulled his head back to lock his eyes with mine, “Hush woman, and stop being right!”

“Well, I’m sorry, but if I had a choice to save myself, or everyone within the empire, I would gladly give my life,” I said, feeling him move one of his hands to my hips.

Lowering his face closer to mine, “That is for the King and Queen to decide.”

Whispering my response, “Unfortunately, there is no Queen and I fear that the King’s judgement might be slightly compromised.”

“Indeed, it has…” Edric murmured, before his lips descended towards mine.