~Mirandiona💎

Even with the help of the lycans we couldn't seem to find this damned weapon. Every sector of the city has been combed and still nothing, after nearly two weeks of searching.

With a sigh I fold my arms on the desk in front of me and lay my forehead against them. I hear shuffling from the direction of the divan announcing Serana's approach.

"What are you thinking about?" She breaths, placing her hand on the nape of my neck.

Taking a deep breath I let it out in a sigh before sitting back up to answer. "Everything." I mutter, rubbing my face with the palms of my hands.

A pair of slim bronze arms snake around my shoulders trapping me in place. Swiftly followed by a soft warm kiss placed to the exposed side of my neck. "As long..." Another kiss higher up this time. "as we have..." Her lips fell on the juncture between my neck and jaw. "the lavalieres." Another kiss, pressed to my cheekbone. "They cannot turn-" When she makes it to the corner of my lip I finally turn my head and cut off any further attempts at speaking.

She makes a startled noise in the back of her throat but kisses me back nonetheless. I can feel her smile into the kiss as I pull on her arm to draw her around beside me. Pushing my chair back I lean up to seek a better angle.

I feel more than hear her chuckle as she presses down, forcing me back into the chair. She pulls away just far enough that our lips don't touch, and when I tried to reestablish the kiss she skittered away just out of reach. "Shouldn't you be doing important royal things?" She teases.

Growling in response I shove my chair back to stand up. She stumbles back in surprise, but I don't let the infuriating woman get too far before I pull her back and trap her against the desk. "If you're so concerned about my ability to accomplish my duties, why do you insistently try to distract me?" My tone was low, with the undertones of a deep growl, and I reveled in the way she shuttered and dug her fangs into her bottom lip in an effort to suppress the reaction.

"That is so not fair." She moans before leaning in to kiss me yet again.

Grinning into the kiss I grab her hips and hold her still as I lean forward, forcing her to bend backwards until her wings are grazing the papers scattered across my desk. Her hands were in my hair trying to pull me back so she could stand up straight.

Putting my hands on the desk, between the ends of her wings and her hips. I relinquish my claim to her mouth and move to the back of her jaw, just under her ear, where I'd discovered a particularly soft spot. With a light kiss I suck on her salty sweet skin, gently pulling on the tender flesh with my teeth.

With a gasp that quickly turns into a whimper she gives and hooks one leg around my hip as she lays back fully onto the desk. Chuckling silently at her reaction I kiss the soft spot I had no doubt left a mark on and moved down in search of another.

There really was work I should be doing, but I couldn't find the will to pull away as my teeth threatened to pierce the skin of her shoulder as I left another mark. At this point, with her talons half extended and grazing the base of my skull, I didn't think she'd let me.

"Miirraaaa..." She groans in an already husky voice.

I have to fight to suppress my own body's reaction to the way my name sounded coming from deep within her throat like that. Opening my mouth wider I kiss her collarbone and linger there for a minute before trailing my lips back up the center of her neck. I pause to place a light kiss to the exposed swell of her voice box before continuing up to capture her lips.

Her other leg finds its way to my hip and draws me closer to her prone form. My arms were getting tiered from the odd position so I stretched my torso over hers and let my weight settle on top of her. I had my elbows on either side of her head and was careful not to let my weight completely crush her.

I involuntarily shivered as her slightly cold hands skimmed over my waist before slipping under my wings and pulling me down to press against her harder.

With a groan I pull back just far enough to look her in the eye. "We should probably stop before we get carried away." My voice was rougher than it should have been and my tone was airy from my panting.

She doesn't respond other than to lean up and pull me back into a soul searing kiss. Skies help me. I plead as a vicious growl rumbles through my chest while I force her back down.

Her frame bucked beneath me, though I wasn't sure whether it was from surprise or not. I assumed not when she opened her mouth and sank her teeth into my bottom lip and sucked. I gasped in equal parts pain and pleasure.

Seizing the opportunity, Serana slid her tongue into my mouth and deepened the kiss. Nearly snarling at her, I use my own tongue to fight back and gain dominance over the kiss.

She growled back and forced her way into a sitting position in an effort to win back dominance. Her legs were still hooked around my hips and she quickly used that to her advantage. With more strength than I knew she possessed she shoved me to the side and flipped our positions.

A grunt of surprise escapes my lips as we part and the smaller woman tries to force me down onto the desk like I had done to her. Unfortunately I was still bigger than she was and quite a bit stronger from a century of combat training. Smirking I stooped down and wrapped my arms around her thighs. Hefting her up I hold her there and lean our combined weight against the desk.

"Nice try." I tease, looking up into her dark orange eyes.

"It was worth a shot." She pants, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Should we stop?" She ask, not looking the least bit inclined to do so.

"Probably." I huff, resting my chin on her chest.

She falls silent and I turn my attention to the exposed expanse of skin before me. I place a small open mouthed kiss to the swell of one breast, then another in between them before copying my actions on the other.

"Oh skies, that's how you stop Mira." She groans while tangling her fingers into my hair and pulling me closer.

Smirking, I slow my actions and move at a glacial pace. Moving up I turn my attention back to her neck. With a moan she tilts her head back giving me complete access to do as I pleased.

A throat clears behind me startling us both. Dropping her back to the ground I turn to look over my wing and spot Katal standing in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt," She starts, doing a good job at keeping her expression neutral.

Glaring back at her, I mutter under my breath. "No you're not."

Serana snorted in amusement and Katal simply met my glare head on. "Half of the metal the deamons sent has just arrived, and I have been informed that the second half has already been put to use in Darqira." She reports.

"Thank you, was that all?" I was careful to keep the annoyance from my voice, but it wasn't enough judging by the smirk Katal was barely keeping off her face.

"Just one more thing. If either of you end up pregnant I damn well better know before Fyko, or your wings are mine." She threatens only half serious.

Serana's jaw dropped, while I snatched a book from my desk and hurled it at the General. Katal just barely ducks out of the room before the large tome could make contact with her face. I snarled at the sound of the woman's laughter as she went back down the hall.

"Has she always been like that and I've just never noticed?" Serana speaks up, drawing my attention back to her.

"No, I think..." I turn back to look at her, my initial anger subsiding. "I think she just gave us her blessing." I theorize.

One of Serana's brows quirks up and a smirk starts to pull at the edges of her mouth. "Does that mean she likes me more than Fyko?" She questions, slipping her arms around my waist.

"Not to clip your wings dear, but she likes Helton more than she likes Fyko, and she's actively trying to kill him." I point out, resting my hands on her hips.

A breathy laugh escapes the slightly smaller woman before she leans up and presses a soft kiss to my lips. "I believe her majesty is needed elsewhere." She says in a low voice that ghosted over already sensitive lips.

I groan softly and pull her closer to me. With a sigh I nuzzle her cheek and keep her body flush against mine, taking in her slightly musky sent. A chuckle vibrates through her chest as she presses impossibly closer.

Her lips were running across my neck and her breath was warm and wet on my skin. "Mira, you need to go while we're still thinking straight." She husk.

Bitting my lip to cut off a moan I lean my head back to expose my neck.

I could feel Serana's smile against my jugular as she slid her hands back around to push against my abdomen. Relinquishing control I fall back onto the desk, wrapping my legs around her hips to pull her in.

The width of the desk was too short and forced me to strain the muscles in my neck to keep my head over the edge. A book was under my wing digging in with its pointed edge.

Sitting up I pivot my torso around and use my wing to shove half the things on my desk to the floor. I hear Serana laugh softly and turn back to find her lips claiming mine.

I try to chase her as she pulls back but am stopped by a hand on my throat. With a slight amount of pressure to keep me in place, Serana pulls back and fixes me with a steely gaze. "Mirandiona-" She starts.

"I know." I cut her off before she can argue that we have to stop, and that I had to return to my work. "Just- five more minutes. Please Serana, this has been a month damned by all." I plead, cupping her jaw in my hands.

With a sigh she leans forward and rest her forehead against mine. "Why is it so hard to tell you no?" She whines, not opening her eyes.

A smile spreads across my features as I bump our noses together. "Because it's so much better to tell me yes." A growl laced my voice and drew a breathy moan from the woman in my arms.

"I'm not entirely sure about that." She starts, pulling away enough to look me in the eye. "Why should I tell you yes? Right now, if you requested something why should I tell you yes?" She questions, looking only half serious.

"Hmm... because, it's my birthday today and you could count that as a gift?" I ask more than state.

Her brows shot up and she pulled away a bit more to study my face. "Today's your birthday?"

"Aye." I confirm, subconsciously tightening my grip on her neck to keep her from pulling away completely.

"Well then, if you can get done with everything you need to do I will happily fulfill any request my queen wishes, tonight. But no sooner." She states, pulling my hands away from her neck. With one last kiss she pulls away and heads for the balcony before I can stop her.

~💠~

For the rest of the day I had done everything in my power to accomplish all that I could, so much so that I had been getting strange looks from everyone except Katal. I didn't care and just ignored them unless I was barking orders at them or they were directly talking to me.

By the time the day was over I was practically humming with excitement. Throughout the day I had come up with and planed exactly what I wanted and making sure we would be uninterrupted.

"Alright I'm impressed." Serana speaks up as she hops up the step from the platform into the room. "You've kept up your end, so what will you have me do your majesty?" She teases.

I rolled my eyes and tossed the last of my jewelry onto the bedside table. "Keep your bow and quiver, we're headed just over the south wall." I inform her when she reaches to remove the quiver from her wing.

She pauses and looks at me warily. "Of the castle?" She questions, sounding a bit hopeful.

Smirking I give her a sidelong look. "I think I'll let you figure that out."

Her eyes narrowed into a suspicious glare but she followed me back out to the garden without complaint.

A soft crow and the click of talons on stone made me turn around. "Ovah no, you stay here with Etria." I nod to the large vyx laying in a shady spot off to the side. Already the vyx stood as tall as Ovah, she'd be taller than me by next month if she kept growing at this rate.

The gryph halted and looked at me quizzically, after a moments hesitation he sat down where he was and watched.

Satisfied that he wouldn't follow I turned and hopped up and over the rail. Spreading my wings to catch the wind I bank hard to the right and head for the south wall. I hear Serana follow close behind and glance back to see her flying just behind and to the right of me, using the draft I created to fly more easily.

We fly over the south wall, with the watchful eyes of the guard below us, and past the outer city that nearly bled off the edge of the shelf. As we flew past the edge I looked down, and for the first time in nearly two year I saw the forest. Descending toward the lower landshelf, I can feel my feathers quivering as we dip below the Algrien shelf. With strong wing beats to slow our decent, we land near the southern watch-post.

"Your majesty." One of the guards trots up and gives a rigged salute with the arches of his wings extending nearly turning them sideways. "Is there anything I can assist you with?" He offers, pulling his wings back into a natural position.

"Is the herd still nearby?" I ask instead, walking past him toward the stone tower.

"Yes, your majesty. They've gone to a nearby pool that drains into a fall just southwest of our location. A small watch has been put on the herd to keep tabs on their position, as you ordered." He reports, following me at a distance.

"Thank you." I stop near the building and glance through the door at the map marking the herds location "That's all." I dismiss the guard.

He salutes again before turning to disappear into the tower.

"Is it safe to be out here, with the rebels and all?" Serana pipes up, stopping at my side.

I turn to face her and lightly grab her biceps to get her full attention. "We're no safer in the castle than we are here. There are guards all over these woods and if it comes down to it, we can hold our own in a fight." I assure her, gently squeezing her arms for a moment before dropping my hands. "Come on, there's something I want to show you."

Reaching down I grab her hand and turn to head in the direction of the fall. "Katal's gonna kill us." She laughs, walking beside me. "It's nearly dark." She points out.

"Aye, today is the first of winter. The Drace's fire will warm the sky." A smile was pulling at my lips at the thought of seeing the warm red lights again. They came every winter when the nights became long and the world was cold. During the night Sapio could not keep us warm with her infinite light, so when she could not give us the warmth we needed in winter, the Drace bellowed his great fire through the night sky and set it ablaze.

"Really?!" Serana shouted excitedly hopping a little ahead.

Laughing at her excitement, I was reminded of the fact that she has likely never seen the lights. Lockren was in one of the lower districts of the Shattered Mountains and more than likely the sky would be blocked by the land.

"Yes really. Today is Phenix or have you not looked at a calendar?" I tease, playfully whacking her with my wing.

Rolling her eyes she hits me back. "I forgot." She mutters, looking up through the gaps in the trees. "Is it really as beautiful as they say?" She questions, looking back to me.

"I couldn't describe it to you. It's complexly simple in its beauty, you'll have to see for yourself." I answer pushing through the last of the underbrush to come out into a clearing dominated by a large pool of cristal blue water that was fed by only a couple streams and coalesced into a massive waterfall. The grassy field around the pool and all the way up to the shelf's edge was dotted by large four legged creatures with hooved forelegs and clawed hindlegs, they were dominantly whitish gray with black markings on their wings and tail feathers along with a coppery tone to their long faces and the bottom of their legs, and every one of them had a set of large antlers that crowned at the tops.

"What in the skies are those?" Serana breaths, staring at the herd as they grazed.

"Those, are carbinnox. The same way tuvey are common in the Shattered Mountains, the carbinnox are the largest and most abundant prey animal in Broken Peak." I answer watching the herd as well.

"They're gorgeous." The tone of awe in her voice had me looking back to see her expression. "Way prettier than tuvey." She notes.

Chuckling under my breath I add. "Be that as it may, there is a great advantage to hunting tuvey over these beast. While tuvey do have horns and carbinnox have antlers, and I know horns are constant while antlers are shed and regrown every year, but tuvey don't have taloned hind-feet and are far more skittish. Carbinnox also have a reputation for being overly aggressive, especially during mating season."

At the last part she turns and gives me a wide eyed look. "Isn't the beginning of winter mating season for most things?" The question seemed more rhetorical but I nodded in confirmation about the animal's breeding habits falling in with the majority. "And we're just going to stand next them and hope they don't charge?" Her tone was deadpan and this question was definitely rhetorical, but I found myself smirking as I answered anyways.

"Of course not." I turn to face her before adding. "I want you to hunt one."

At that her eyes went wide and looked at me with an expression of pure shock. Careful not to be too loud she whisper shouts. "Wait are you serious?!" It took more concentration than I would like to admit to keep my smile from growing too wide.

"Yes, I want you to hunt one. But before you do, you should know that they have to be flying to get a clear shot. When they're on the ground their wings block their chest and prevent arrows from piercing through, and I wouldn't try for the head because their skulls are too thick and the antlers often get in the way of the shot, you also can't shoot them from above, too many bones, you'll never get an arrow through to actually kill it. It must be shot from the side while its wings are extended or from underneath where you can get past their thick breast plate." I inform her.

"That sounds..." she trails off looking back to the herd.

"Extremely difficult?" I supply. She nods in agreement without taking her eyes off of the grazing animals. "Oh, you should also know that since they are flying when you kill them you must catch their body before it hits the ground otherwise you'll ruin the meat along with the pelt. And you might not want to get in front of them or to far up the sides, if they can, they'll charge. They've got thick skulls and they know it. If one does charge at you run, don't try to shoot it, run. If one of these things get on top of you it will kill you. Even in the air they'll dive at you." I add.

Her brows quirk up at my warning. "Fantastic." She mutters sarcastically.

Giving her a sympathetic look. "I'll help you catch it when you shoot it down, and I'll help drive them off the cliff into flight, but the rest is up to you." I offer.