There were nights Jaina woke in a cold sweat, the return of nightmares that had grown few and far between. There was something new to them, a different perspective. A falling ship with Theramore the target.
Jaina never told Sylvanas precisely what those nightmares entailed, and Sylvanas didn't ask, which Jaina appreciated nearly as much as those cold arms wrapped around her.
Eight months. It had been eight months since Nazjatar had disappeared beneath the waves again and yet that weighed on Jaina less than the uncomfortable conversation during her birthday. She hadn't even visited Kul Tiras since before the war, and had no intention of doing so any time soon.
She'd visited Stormwind recently, New Shattrath and even Gilneas in the shadow of Kaldrassil, though the latter was mostly because she'd been in a tiff with Sylvanas and wanted to annoy her.
It had been a strange trip, and Jaina had come away filled with the thought that though both the World Tree and Genn's rebuilt capital were new, they felt old. There'd been a weight in the air, as though centuries of history had been compressed into the span of a few short years.
In all truth she was still unpacking her feelings about the visit, which allowed her the luxury of ignoring the cold uncomfortableness that came up every time she thought about writing her mother a letter - and every time she had to be in the same room for a diplomatic function.
And there'd been many, many diplomatic functions in the wake of the Battle of Nazjatar. The political landscape was shifting, and fast. Jaina wasn't sure what the world would look like in another twenty years, but for the first time since Theramore she looked forward to it.
The Horde Leadership were, in fact, in the middle of discussing … well it probably wasn't too important since Jaina had spent most of the meeting staring at Sylvanas. Something about the way she wore her armor today. It was driving her just a little crazy, and once or twice Sylvanas noticed, her smile downright feral.
It was too much, and she decided that she needed to, for the three hundredth time, reaffirm the good things in her life. "Warchief, would you join me upstairs for a few moments?"
"Of course." Nodding to her advisors, Sylvanas stepped away and towards the elevator, beckoning Jaina with her eyes.
Smiling, Jaina followed her in. "I'm sure everything can go smoothly without us for a few moments."
"Yes," Sylvanas agreed.
Jaina glanced at her as the elevator started to rise, sliding her hand up Sylvanas's side. With a sudden movement, she pinned Sylvanas to the elevator wall, running a hand up the front of her chest as she leaned in and whispered, "I think it's time we discussed strategy."
The elevator came to a stop, Jaina kicking at a lever to lock it into place so one one could summon it without overriding it, just as she dragged Sylvanas out of it. She tangled her fingers into her wife's hair, catching her lips with her own and reveling in the feel of them.
Sylvanas moved fluidly, allowing Jaina to guide her past the curtains and to her desk. Surprise registered on her face when Jaina broke the kiss, pushed everything off of the desk, and shoved Sylvanas against it.
The low, guttural growl of Sylvanas's that reverberated past Jaina's lips and down into her throat set Jaina's insides aflame. She pushed and prodded at Sylvanas's armor, opening buckles and loosening belts and breaking a few bits and pieces in her urgency. But the armor fell to the office floor with a clatter, followed swiftly by Jaina's robe.
"Your dedication to the minutiae of government," Sylvanas murmured against her lips, "is, as always, an inspiration."
"Shut up."
"Such a conscientious civil servant-"
"Shut up."
Digging her fingers into Sylvanas's shoulder, Jaina pushed her down onto the desk, crawling part way on top of her to share a searing kiss. Her left hand trailed down over one breast, stroking and squeezing idly. Sylvanas arched her back, pressing herself into Jaina's hand as Jaina pinched and rolled her nipple between two fingers.
She lifted her head, gazing down at Sylvanas. Jaina had learned to tell when something particularly hit one of Sylvanas's buttons. The vicious red glow of her eyes shrunk to pinpricks as she hyperfocused on whatever it was. So, so many times Jaina had seen that look directed at her, just before Sylvanas lost any shred of control she'd had.
Today, there was that look, those pinpricks of crimson light in her eyes as she yielded to Jaina. Jaina made a resolution to do this to her more often.
Slowly, teasingly, she moved her hand over Sylvanas's still chest. From breast to breast, up to her throat and down across her stomach. Warming her up, Jaina's body heat soaking into the chill of Sylvanas's skin.
She leaned down again, kissing her jaw, her cheek, moving her lips to Sylvanas's earlobe and then trailing her tongue all the way to the tip. Wood splintered, and Jaina realized Sylvanas had cracked the desk under her grip.
She'd worry about that later.
Carefully, Jaina pulled the tip of Sylvanas's ear into her mouth, sucking lightly, before dragging her tongue down the inside of Sylvanas's ear. The motion left a warm, wet trail that had Sylvanas trembling beneath her by the time she was done. "What would people say if they knew how easily licking your ear can make you come to heel?"
Sylvanas started to make a warning sound, but Jaina became more aggressive then, using her teeth on Sylvanas's throat, and her shoulders and breasts, biting her nipples and stroking fingers at her thighs as reward for the rare sounds that escaped Sylvanas's throat.
Strong fingers gripped the back of Jaina's head, and she stopped what she was doing.
Sylvanas lifted her own head, looking at Jaina with confusion. Slowly, while holding her gaze, Jaina grabbed Sylvanas by the wrist and then pinned that arm to the desk.
"Interesting. I did not know you had this in you." Sylvanas rasped. Miraculously, her eyes somehow became even sharper, and then her head fell back as Jaina resumed what she'd been doing. She bit a nipple again, sucking on it and flicking her tongue like she had with her ear. Her fingers found the wetness between her wife's legs, marveling, as she always did, at the slick folds and how ready Sylvanas was. And Jaina was very much enjoying throwing Sylvanas off with this.
But she didn't touch her clit, or try to penetrate her with a finger. Instead, Jaina teased and taunted with her hand, tracing circles and patterns against Sylvanas' core until -
"Jaina…" Her voice, thick and raspy, betrayed her.
Grinning to herself, Jaina purred. "Say it."
The wood thunked when Sylvanas smacked her head down against it. "Please."
There would be consequences for that later, Jaina knew. Consequences she would enjoy very, very much.
Content to have gotten that much out of Sylvanas, Jaina ran her thumb across her clit watching her face as she did so. It was so rare to see any expression but boredom or anger on Sylvanas's face, and this view, this… as close to happiness or joy that Sylvanas was physically capable of, was something precious and just for Jaina.
She slid a finger in, moving her thumb faster as she did so. Sylvanas's hips bucked, her mouth falling open as she arched her back, desk jerking underneath them. Jaina leaned down, adding a second finger, stroking her clit and pumping her hand aggressively. Sylvanas rasped again, quiet as always, but shaking and trembling in ways that Jaina had rarely seen. That fire inside her spread farther still, and she whispered in Sylvanas's ear. "I hate you."
"No," Sylvanas gasped. Her head turned towards Jaina, eyes no longer pinpoints but blown wide. "You don't."
"No," Jaina agreed, her own breath short as she drew Sylvanas towards that inevitable cliff. "I don't."
Electricity shot through Sylvanas as she came and for the first time in unliving memory she made a sound as she did so. A soft cry, barely a grunt, but Jaina's face appeared in her field of vision, triumph writ all over it.
Sylvanas watched Jaina lick her fingers clean, deciding that she really ought to let her consort indulge in this side of herself more often. Slowly, she lifted herself onto her elbows, her wrist marked from how tightly Jaina had been holding it. "Pray tell what has gotten into you?"
"Women in uniform," Jaina replied, kissing Sylvanas sweetly on the nose. Her pulse was loud in Sylvanas's ears, racing, as ragged as her breath and her arousal was a sweet scent that almost made her mouth water.
"As if you do not see me in armor every day." Still not caring that there was a meeting going on just below them, Sylvanas stood, sweeping Jaina off of her feet and carrying her back towards the couch near the bar.
Jaina wrapped her arms around Sylvanas's shoulders, kissing her throat and jaw and apparently just about as concerned with the meeting as Sylvanas was.
She set her down on the decadent couch, and then did something truly rare. Sylvanas slowly dropped to her knees in front of Jaina, leaning against her and kissing her thigh, and her stomach. She moved upward, kissing each breast and peaked nipple in turn. Jaina's fingers threaded through her hair as Sylvanas pushed her down, crawling the rest of the way up her body, teeth marring Jaina's freckled chest. She allowed an almost reverence into her voice. "You are the only thing I can ever taste."
Slowly, but not gently, Sylvanas dragged her teeth across Jaina's neck, her canines leaving faint trails in Jaina's pale skin. The fingers in Sylvanas's hair clenched tightly, the hand at the back of her head pushing insistently enough that Sylvanas bit down. Harder than she'd intended, hard enough for skin to break and the taste and smell of copper to fill her senses.
Jaina made a pained sound, halfway between a whimper and a moan, pushing Sylvanas's head down, down to her breasts. Her words were less a plea than a command. "Don't stop."
Heat pooled deep inside Sylvanas at that, at the scent of blood and Jaina's strong arms pushing at her. Flicking her eyes up to Jaina's face, Sylvanas licked her lips clean of blood and then took one of those hard nipples into her mouth. When she let her teeth graze it, Jaina's hips jerked underneath her, lifting up in unspoken need.
Unlike Jaina's teeth, Sylvanas's would cause unnecessary damage; so she only grazed them once more before using a combination of her tongue and suction to make Jaina beg her name.
At least, that had been the intent, and yet no plea came. Sylvanas ran her tongue over her teeth, and she rested her chin near Jaina's navel, peering up at her with unhidden admiration.
"You're demanding today." Lazily, casually, Sylvanas stroked the inside of Jaina's left thigh as she spoke. "I do love when you get like this."
"I'll try to surprise you more often," Jaina gasped, before shoving Sylvanas's head between her legs.
Sylvanas laughed, inhaling Jaina's scent and contemplating just leaving Jaina here to think about her life choices.
But that would mean denying herself a taste. Jaina tugged on her hair hard enough to hurt, forcing a hiss out of Sylvanas. She gripped Jaina's thighs, lifting them over her shoulders. Sylvanas ran her tongue between Jaina's legs, flicking it against her folds in a slow, torturous exploration. Jaina's hips rocked slowly, her fingers and hand holding Sylvanas's head tightly in place.
While Jaina was, perhaps, Sylvanas's favorite meal to dine upon, this aggressive neediness was a rare delight. Even after all these years, Jaina could still surprise her.
"I love you," Jaina gasped, arching her back off of the cushions and not even bothering to muffle her cry.
Those words, those traitorous words. Sylvanas had never uttered them. She never would, not like that. So she spoke them into being, with her lips on Jaina's core, her tongue moving in circles around her clit and pressing down, the fingers she pushed inside her. Two, three, four, until Jaina nearly tore her hair out from the force of her orgasm.
The faint, musical ringing of magic filled the space. Sylvanas left a hickey on Jaina's thigh, before lifting her head to give her a quizzical look. "What are you doing?"
"That's a... Dalaran state secret," Jaina said, chest heaving as she caught her breath. "Come up here."
Curious, Sylvanas obeyed, propping herself up on her arms above Jaina and studying her. The redness of her face from their exertion, the blood drying on her throat, the glowing energy in her fingers.
The… Sylvanas looked at Jaina's hand. "What sort of spell are you weaving?"
Jaina's wicked smile in response almost made Sylvanas's heart beat.
Jaina scooted back a little, waiting for Sylvanas to figure out what she was doing, and a little nervous about it too. She'd conjured this spell plenty of times for herself, and once or twice with Pained. But she'd never quite been bold enough to bring it up with Sylvanas.
Today, however, she felt emboldened as she reached down, touching Sylvanas's hip and drawing her eye to the glowing energy that had formed between her wife's legs. "It can get lonely, a mage in a tower all by herself."
Sylvanas's ears twitched and triumphant anticipation flooded Jaina. She reached down, stroking the now solid mass of energy and paying close attention to the way Sylvanas's face shifted, her eyelids almost fluttering.
"Feedback?" Sylvanas asked, voice tight as she dragged her nails up the outside of Jaina's hips. "How?"
"Your nerves work, the magic simply stimulates those. Not unlike using a, a properly designed leather-or-or...glass...toy." Jaina couldn't quite believe she was actually trying to explain that, so she settled back and looked at Sylvanas expectantly and tried to pretend her face wasn't red.
Sylvanas exhaled, a sound not unlike a death rattle, and locked eyes with Jaina. It was clear she had questions, but it was also clear that she thought those questions could wait. Her nails dug into Jaina's hips, hard enough to bruise but then she thrust forward and Jaina gripped Sylvanas's wrists, arching her back as the magic filled her, her cry muffled by her wife's mouth.
No tongues battled for dominance like in so many stories Jaina had read. Sylvanas demanded entry and Jaina simply let her, rubbing her hands up Sylvanas's arms and wrapping them around her as they started to move together, Jaina rocking her hips to meet each tentative thrust. She moved her hands across that hard back, reveling in the muscles under her palms.
But she wanted more, she was ready for more and she dug her nails into Sylvanas's skin hard enough that even the Banshee Queen might be able to feel that pain. Sylvanas growled, the sound making Jaina clench around the toy and moan in response.
"You want badly for discipline, my pet," she rumbled against Jaina's throat. "Must I remind you of your place?"
"Big talk." Jaina arched into her, mouthing at her ear. "You've never managed it before."
Jaina was wholly unprepared for Sylvanas to push her arms away and pin them over her head. She nearly came then and there, before Sylvanas altered the angle of their hips. She pulled out, almost all the way, then pushed back in, striking a part of Jaina that made her toes curl. Sylvanas continued that slow, steady pace, the red glow of her eyes filling their entirety in a wild, hungry gaze. Jaina could feel herself being drawn in, her heart swelling the longer Sylvanas looked at her like that, pleasure rippling up from deep within her core to spread warmth and desire through her body.
Keeping both of Jaina's wrists pinned with one hand, Sylvanas stroked her other down her chest, then up to her throat. Jaina arched her body, pressing her throat into Sylvanas's hand, eyes bright with want.
Sylvanas's pace shifted again, a little less controlled, a little more wild as her thumb pressed into Jaina's throat, her fingers closing in and squeezing but never cutting off her breath entirely.
Jaina thought she saw something in Sylvanas's eyes through the haze, wordless emotion that meant the world to her. Wordless emotion just for her. She gasped, rolling her hips in response to Sylvanas. She came hard enough for her vision to blur, the only sound besides her voice that of Sylvanas's body against hers.
"It's okay," she managed to say, sensing Sylvanas's body trembling over her. "I trust you. Let go."
Like a tether snapping, Sylvanas let go of Jaina's throat and wrists, grabbing her by the hips and lifting them off the bed as she let herself go wild, like some feral creature, like the banshee she was.
Closing her eyes, Jaina all but screamed Sylvanas's name, her fingers digging into the cushions nearly hard enough to tear them. Magic crackled around her as another climax built, just as Sylvanas writhed, head thrown back in soundless surrender.
Jaina tumbled over the edge after her. It took her a moment for her senses to reassert herself, but Sylvanas was smiling down at her.
Thinking she might regret this, Jaina tightened her legs around Sylvanas's waist, then rolled them over. Her head swam, but she was rewarded with an almost shocked look on Sylvanas's face. Slowly, she rocked her hips, enjoying the shift in Sylvanas's expression.
Sylvanas's hands went to her waist, trying to guide her and Jaina ran her hands up her wife's stomach, over her breasts, and to her throat. She kept her pace slow, lazy, more content to assert control than in any pressing need to finish again.
Tentatively, she squeezed Sylvanas's throat. The only response was a sharpening of Sylvanas's gaze, so she squeezed again, harder. It wasn't like Sylvanas truly needed air, but the concept of it aroused Jaina and she started to move faster, pushing down onto Sylvanas with increasing urgency.
They had nowhere to be, after all, and Jaina - came to a complete and abrupt halt, her eyes widening as she was overcome with horror. "Wasn't… wasn't there a meeting?!"
Sylvanas barked out a laugh, reaching her hand up to cup Jaina's cheek. "Dearest, they have likely long ago given up on us. Besides, you have not been quiet, and I doubt you'd wish to show your face down there for the rest of the day."
"I can't believe-"
"This was your idea."
"Yes well-"
"Do you wish to stop?"
Jaina frowned. "Of course not."
"Good, I've been enjoying the view." Sylvanas's hands slid down to Jaina's breasts, kneading and stroking lightly. "So it would be best if we just stayed here until the morning…"
Jaina closed her eyes, letting the sensation soothe her. Before long, she began to move her hips again.
Kul Tiras - Seven Months Ago
The body had washed up on shore the previous night, bloated from the water and nibbled by fish and other creatures of the sea. Perhaps the one good thing to come out of the stalemate with Azshara was the return of regular fishing, but that was really the last thing on Katherine's mind.
She stared at the healer, one of the few people that she trusted implicitly. Short and round, Elizabeth Harrington had been Katherine's personal physician for a good number of years.
Among other things, though it had taken considerable effort on her part to get Katherine to trust again.
"What killed him, Beth?"
Beth shrugged one shoulder. "He drowned, Kate. That's all I can say for sure."
"A spy of Kul Tiras, drowning near our waters." Katherine didn't believe it was coincidence or accident, not even for a second.
"Still had his report on him. Secret compartment in his quiver. Not much else though."
"So it's your professional opinion he was drowned, ransacked, and then thrown to the sea to hide the evidence?"
"Not in so many words, but yes."
Katherine paced around the body, stopping only when Beth put a hand on her arm. "Beth, I don't know what to think about this. I read that report. Jaina is fine, it says. And yet…she wears long sleeves and high collars sometimes, even in the heat of summer. My gut is telling me something is wrong."
"In that case, why would someone kill a spy reporting all is well?"
Katherine turned the spy's report over in her hands. Beth spoke truly; the man's quiver compartment had been untouched, the report inside pristine. Paper made waterproof by a Tidesage blessing, impossible to fake; the codes were correct, the magical wax seal unbroken and perfect in every detail. Absolutely nothing to cause suspicion, absolutely every reason to believe the words inside without question.
And the hidden compartment had been untouched. Which was terribly convenient, because when she'd picked the quiver up, the gap between compartment seal and quiver base had been nearly invisible. Nearly. Surely, no one would ever notice it unless they already knew it was there...or they were ruthlessly searching the body of a dead spy for that exact kind of secret message. And yet, a just-slightly-visible message slot had apparently been missed, and here she stood, holding a Kul Tiran spy report perfect down to every last comma in the code books.
Folding her arms, Katherine regarded the body again. "Because that's exactly what they want us to think."