Flame of Cytherea: Cytherean Chronicles book 1 Read online

  He was gawking, and knew he should close his mouth. When he had guessed fire talent he couldn’t have been more wrong, or at least, so understated. Nora had told them she couldn’t push four safely, and since Nicci could fly faster than she could run, she was elected to fly above them.

  At first he was confused, how could a flying animal warm a pool. Then she had changed, flashed into a bird. But bird was an understatement. She was close to the size of one of the pterodactyls in the Jurassic park movie. But looked nothing like them, she was shaped closer to an eagle, but her wings were pure fire, no feathers, no flesh, simply fire. Her body ranged from dark red to burnt orange feathers and rippling flames sheathed her from head to tail.

  She was simply magnificent.

  Nora snickered and poked him and he managed to move again.

  Nora said, “We need to move, we should meet up with them by lunch.”

  He reluctantly released Kat’s hand, he always seemed to be holding it, it felt good in his and after their confessions to each other last night, and the commitment, he wanted to be close to her. To show his affection. But they couldn’t hold hands while moving; it would make it harder for Nora to push them along.

  As they took off in a jog, at about thirty miles an hour with the wind pushing, he wondered what new surprises awaited him…

  Chapter 9

  They met up with the military shortly before lunchtime, and they were on the move as well. There had to be thousands of them, and it had Justin feeling uncomfortable. Not that he was really intimidated, he was just still to ignorant on customs and such. He found himself allowing Nora to take the lead, at least she knew what she was doing.

  All he really knew was, the goddess had moved him to this world and healed him. He was as sure of that as he could reasonably be. And for some reason she had gifted him with this ability, and given him the choice to roll over and die again, or fight for her, fight for her world.

  She had also given him a huge incentive he thought, as he looked over at Kat.

  He had been thinking about things all day while running, he had also come to the conclusion that she had put him in the woods like that, specifically so he would meet Katrina. His power depended on compassion, protectiveness and love. What better way for the goddess to ensure his success then surrounding him with women he was compatible with and would instinctively want to protect?

  At first he had been angry at the thought, as if he had no choice in the matter, but he finally realized that simply wasn’t true. The goddess may have set up their meetings, but neither he nor Kat had been required to fall in love, it was a choice, had been their choice all along and still was.

  It had also been Nora’s choice to stay and protect him, and Nicci’s choice to do the same with the oath, so she would be able to fight and not be sent home. Did that mean he would, or could, fall in love with them too? Well, probably, but the choice was there for them all, he didn’t think it destined. At first when he had considered it, he wondered if Kat would react badly to it.

  But that was his old pattern of thinking, the way things were on Earth. He knew the simple truth was, that if he decided not to because of her, she would actually get mad at him about it. Weird… So completely opposite of how things are on Earth, but here it somehow made sense.

  Perhaps he was over thinking this, arrogantly reading into the intentions of a goddess, but he didn’t think so. He had noticed a change in Nora today, she still cursed like a sailor most of the time, unless she had been speaking directly to him. And yesterday’s looks of confusion had turned more thoughtful today as he continued to treat her as an equal.

  She was a strong woman and he respected that, a lot, and he had been thinking that perhaps…

  He wasn’t sure what to think about Nicci yet, he didn’t know her well enough. She was certainly attractive though on physical level. Her body was built for sin, yet her face had a fresh youthful innocence to it. Her voice was cute, but with enough of a sexy overtone for it not to grate. It was a killer combination of traits, but no more so than Kat and Nora, they were all beautiful in different ways.

  They marched alongside the troops, back tracking their morning travel, but at a much slower pace. He was starting to wonder what the plan was, since they hadn’t talked to anyone yet, when Nora addressed his unspoken thoughts.

  Nora said softly, “We’ll track down the leader of the troops when they halt for lunch, if we try and get in there now during the march we’ll just make a mess of things.”

  He was glad to hear it; hopefully they would feed them too. There hadn’t been much for breakfast, just cold dried venison, like jerky, and slightly stale bread from the day before. He could use a rest too, his legs muscles were really sore. Then he suppressed a snort, what good was his power if he never used it.

  He didn’t burst into flames, but he touched his power and it refreshed, restored and healed his body, leaving him feeling great. Not wanting to burst into flames before the soldiers and start a scene, he simply reached out to the three women and touched their shoulders one at a time. They looked at him gratefully as his power restored them.

  He just wished he had thought about it earlier, it would have made running easier, especially for Nora who was supporting all three of them. He shrugged. Next time.

  He heard orders to halt and the soldiers stopped, some few broke off and started forming a perimeter guard while the rest seemed to fall into chaos, slowly forming small groups and pulling food from their packs.

  He heard a caw and looked up, a falcon was coming in for a landing. It was larger than a natural one, though not by much, it looked fierce regardless. There was a bright flash of light, then a woman was before him on her knees. She had long straight raven black hair, large brown eyes and creamy brown skin. She looked up at him with a disturbing amount of awe in her face before loudly stating an oath.

  “Flame of the goddess, I Sally, swear my life to yours and will follow you until you have no need of me.”

  While the rest of his brain tried to figure out what was going on, a thought with a sardonic note on it said, so much for not causing a scene…

  From the wording, he thought it meant he would have control of her life, her decisions, and possibly even her death, and that she would follow him around until he sent her away? That seemed… wrong. Extremely excessive. There was much more than the fact he was a Flame of the goddess behind such an oath, there had to be.

  He had no idea what to do, but he was loathe to accept such a sweeping oath from the young woman, although older than him, she looked to be about twenty one or so.

  She was also stunning… four? He would have to have a chat with the goddess one day. There wasn’t enough time in the day for him to keep four women happy, well he had a choice, Kat was one of them, he would see what happened with the rest.

  He bent down and took her hand. “No,” he said simply, and pulled her off so they could talk privately, he didn’t want an audience, and didn’t think she would either…

  Chapter 10

  Katrina watched with amused twinkling eyes as Justin dragged off Sally by her hand. She had been shocked at the woman’s oath and glad to see Justin didn’t even consider it. She had in essence given herself to him with those words, he could have had her do anything at all.

  She saw the wistful look on Nora’s face as she watched Justin walk away, and had the feeling she would be sharing him soon. She didn’t mind that idea at all, she liked Nora as well and knew they would get along. She smiled as she could still feel his touch, and the touch of the goddess. She felt wonderful and was a little bit in awe of him, but was hiding it well enough she thought.

  She knew he would absolutely hate that.

  She saw a young man in an elaborate uniform approaching and they all turned to face him, she wished Justin were here for this but hoped he was setting that girl straight.

  He said, “Hi Nora, I’m surprised to see you here after what you said to my father. Who are your two frien…”
/>   She held back a snicker as his eyes widened on his sister.

  Nicci said with innocence ringing in her voice, “Hello Anton, how are you?”

  She half snorted, half coughed. She was almost positive she was turning red.

  Not missing a beat Nora said in a sweet voice, “My other companion is Katrina, she is from Nerin. We have one other companion, possibly two,” she added thoughtfully before continuing, “He is a Flame of Cytherea.”

  She nodded her head and said, “Nice to meet you highness.”

  He waved a hand, “Out here in the field just call me Anton please.” Then he said, “A Flame? Sister, what are you doing here, you should be back at the castle.” he sounded confused, unable to pick a topic.

  Nicci said, “I swore a protection oath to the Flame of Cytherea until this war is over.”

  She almost laughed at the range of emotions that crossed his face, but was surprised when he spoke and she found herself reassessing him.

  “If you swore a protection oath, why are you not with him then?”

  Nicci’s face went white and she muttered, “I wasn’t thinking, we are right next to the army and I thought us safe, you are right though, excuse me.”

  She watched as the princess turned and walked off in the direction Justin and Sally went off a little while ago.

  Anton watched his sister walk off, a thoughtful and conflicting look on his face and said, “When they get back, feel free to join me for lunch in the center tent. It was nice to meet you Katrina.”

  He turned and walked off before she could reply…

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  Sally was confused. She was shamed, dishonored, for putting her family in danger, for breaking her promise. She had been flying for more hours than she could remember and searching, looking for a way to make up for her failures. For a way to make a difference. She had been watching not only with normal eyes, but with her mage power when she came across a magic so strong it nearly blinded her.

  Surely it had been a sign from the goddess; surely what she had seen must be a Flame of Cytherea. She had never seen anything so powerful before. She had landed before him, and offered herself to him. She just wanted to serve and protect him, to earn forgiveness. But to her shock he had told her no, and was now dragging her off somewhere.

  She was trembling slightly when they reached a fairly private spot, away from the others, and he turned and looked into her eyes. She saw that his forehead crinkled and his eyes questioned her. Was she so lacking that he would not even allow her to serve? Then he spoke.

  “Don’t be afraid, I just want to understand, why would you give me such an oath?”

  She spoke haltingly, explaining her family’s secret, explaining her shame and that she had found in him a chance to make up for things. It took her quite a while to get through it all, and to her consternation his frown grew the whole time…

  He said softly, “Stop trembling please. When did you make this promise, and how often did your mother make you repeat it?”

  “The first time was when I was still a child, so long ago I don’t remember. My mother spoke of the evil men of Uleni constantly and made me repeat my promise.”

  She didn’t understand what he said, but he looked angry. She caught a few muttered words… Brain washing, emotional duress and blackmail, and other words she didn’t understand. She wasn’t even sure what language he was speaking.

  She watched as he took a deep breath and his face cleared before he said patiently, “I know oaths are taken seriously on this world, but I do not believe you to be an oath breaker. Not that I speak for the goddess, it is just my belief. A promise made from a young child that was extracted by the parent through emotional pressure…”

  She bit her lip as he trailed off, looking as if he was searching for the right words, but then suddenly she was filled with his power. The trembling of her body stopped, and her tired and overwrought mind cleared. To her absolute horror she felt a foreign magic in her mind break, and the magic felt like her mother’s. She felt the connection to the goddess through his magic, and she felt her love.

  She collapsed into his arms and broke out in sobs, he just held her and caressed her hair, whispering, telling her it would be alright. She was in shock. She knew now, that yes, Uleni would come after them, but they weren’t exactly helpless. She also knew beyond a doubt that a five year old forced into an oath would not be held accountable. It was laughable. She held back the gasp of horror at the oath she had tried to give. She had almost given away her free will, the most precious gift of the goddess outside of her love.

  What was killing her, what was making her sob. Was it had all been her mother’s spell, magic twisting her mind so she would never want to reveal her ability, no matter the circumstance. It had been the spell making her believe she was unworthy and had filled her with shame. She slowly pulled herself together and pulled back.

  “Thank you Flame of Cytherea,” after a moment’s thought she said, “I would still like to join you, help guard you. It is a worthy cause and I am a mage, you could do worse than my company. Plus… I owe you my life, you freed me.”

  Her heart lightened more when he smiled down at her and said, “Please, just call me Justin. The Flame of Cytheria is just too much of a mouthful.”

  She laughed and pulled him into a hug, her emotions running extremely high. She blushed and stepped back after a long moment, “Sorry, got carried away. I just… feel free for the first time I can even remember. And your talent feels amazing… it just all,” she floundered for a minute then waved her arms and said fervently, “Just… thank you Justin.”

  He chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. I would never turn down the hug of a beautiful woman given honestly.”

  She looked at him appraisingly, he thought she was beautiful? Then slowly, she smiled…

  -------------

  Nicole watched from a distance, but stopped well out of earshot when she finally got within sight of them. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but after a couple of hugs, they broke apart and a few seconds later they were headed her way.

  She looked at Sally in shock. Gone was the woman that looked miserable, with shoulders hunched, and haunted eyes. Now she had a brilliant smile, and she walked confidently, back straight. She heard her tinkling laughter when they were about halfway to her. She was waiting and would join when they passed.

  What the hell had Justin done to justify such a transformation?

  But looking at the new Sally, she felt a stab of guilt as she glanced toward Justin. She really hadn’t given him much thought at all. She had been focused on proving herself, getting her way and not being sent home. In her defense, she had watched her father, who was considered a good man, constantly use people to forward the kingdom’s progress and agendas.

  Still, she had made an oath to protect him the best she could, the Flame of the goddess, but hadn’t given a single thought to the man himself. As if it simply didn’t matter. She didn’t like seeing that about herself and decided she needed to at least get to know him better. If Sally’s transformation was any indication, he was surely worthy of at least that much effort.

  As they came close she asked, “I take it the smiles mean everything worked out?”

  Justin raised an eyebrow and said in faux sadness, “Mostly, no oath, but we are still stuck with her anyway.”

  She giggled as Sally just snorted and smacked his arm playfully, “Be nice, or else.”

  “Yes ma’am,” he returned.

  They continued to tease each other with her joining in, and she found that she was enjoying herself. She definitely needed to make more of an effort. Perhaps being locked up in the palace had robbed her of more than the chance to prove herself…

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  Cytherea strolled around her garden, it was virtually endless, containing all the flowers in the known multi-verse. It was one of her favorite places. But only part of her mind was here. What she had set in motion seemed to be going well, but the dark g
od, and she refused to even think his name, lest his power grow in her realm from it, had a number of followers too.

  Sadly they had no idea they were doomed, their souls slowly being consumed by the evil set within them along with dark talents. She mourned for them, as they were her children too, but they must be stopped.

  She laughed at herself softly when she considered praying to the creator. She had set those five a hard task, but had also gifted them. She hoped they came through it all intact and would not be sacrificed. They deserved a long life to reap the benefits of the hard road she had set them on. She was so proud that not one had turned away.

  She watched as they gathered in the tent and ate lunch before making plans. Just four more days until battle, and unfortunately, she knew it would only be the first.

  The goddess hoped…

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  Nora helped Justin set up the tent, it was a large one. Anton had taken one look at their supplies this afternoon and snorted in disgust. At first, he had suggested multiple tents but Nora immediately rejected it.

  She had said, “No, he is sharing a bed with one of us and the other three are here to support and guard him, splitting us up is not an option.”

  She had been surprised at the forcefulness of her feelings on the matter and found herself staring at him again while her thoughts wandered. Focusing back on the job they got their tent put up and they all put their packs in. When the camp started settling down, Justin came and just took her hand and dragged her a little ways from the others.

  Her stomach tingled the whole way, an unfamiliar feeling for her at a man’s touch. She knew all men were not bad, most were not and just wanted to protect, but very few gave equal weight to the opinion of a woman as Justin did. And he was… hot, she finally admitted to herself.