Steel & Thunder

Dominic N. Ashen

Description

*Named a Distinguished Favorite in the LGBTQ Fiction Category of the 2021 NYC Big Book Awards!*


An orc will take a human into his arms!


When David went exploring with his friends, he figured they might come across some old ruins or maybe even fight a few monsters. He never expected that he'd wind up captured by an orc and turned into his pet; he expected even less that he'd actually like it! It all started when he was sitting in a jail cell, so desperate to escape that he agreed to trial by combat: The Ritual of Steel & Thunder. He opens the fight strong, but when his competitor manages to overpower him, things start to heat up and he realizes he may have signed on for more than he bargained for.


Captain Khazak Ironstorm is the orc ranger responsible for David's arres—and after defeating him in combat, his new owner. Initially amused by his slave's antics, something deeper begins to grow between them—something dark that draws Khazak in as much as it troubles him. More confounding than that are the feats of agility and speed his new pet seems able to perform as if they were nothing. What he does know is that if there is anyone capable of taming this barbaric human's behavior, it's him.


A tale of romance mixed with some humor, adventure, and a heaping helping of kink. Read all about the journey of David and Khazak as they learn to understand each other and uncover the mysteries of the magical world around them. Readers who love kink, BDSM, Dom/sub, and other elements of gay/male-on-male romance will love what this story has to offer.

Sujets

• Fantastique
• Romance fantastique
• Fantasy Burlesque
• LGBTQ+
• Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)
• Orc
• Dungeons & Dragons
• BDSM
• Erotica
• MM
• Gay
• Orque (créature)
• LGBT
• Bondage et discipline, domination et soumission et sado-masochisme
• Fiction
• Donjons et Dragons
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: 4 Horsemen Publications, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781644501634
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Steel & Thunder
Copyright © 2021 Dominic N. Ashen. All rights re served.


4 Horsemen Publication s, Inc.
1497 Main St. S uite 169
Dunedin, FL 34698
4horsemenpublicat ions.com
info@4horsemenpublicat ions.com
Edited by Nit a Edetor
All rights to the work within are reserved to the author and publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 International Copyright Act, without prior written permission except in brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Please contact either the Publisher or Author to gain per mission.
This is book is meant as a reference guide. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. All brands, quotes, and cited work respectfully belongs to the original rights holders and bear no affiliation to the authors or pu blisher.
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-644 50-195-5
Ebook ISBN-13: 978-1-644 50-163-4


Dedication
T o Erik for always supporting me, to Frank for always believing in me, and to Mike for always taking care of me. I couldn’t have done this wi thout you.


C hapter One
“A re we there yet?” I hear Nathaniel ask for the hundredth time since we started walking thi s morning.
“ No ,” Elisabeth growls from the front of the group. “Now sto p asking .”
“Yes, dear,” N ate sighs.
Corrine and I share a look, no doubt thinking the same thing: What does she s ee in him?
“We’re almost there,” Adam says from his position in front next to Liss (short for Elisabeth). “We should have just made it past the orc camps.” The people in the last town told us the orcs in the area were mostly peaceful, but we still wanted to play it safe and steer clear. I’ve also never actually met an orc before, so I’m not entirely sure I bel ieve them.
Where we come from, there aren’t any orcs. Or many non-humans at all. Growing up, I learned there were orcs on the mainland in the south and east, but everything I knew came from the stories I heard. They didn’t exactly paint a pretty picture: lots of fighting, blood, and death. Sometimes they were a race obsessed with honor, other times creatures who would invade your land and raze your fields. So yeah, holding my breath on that one.
The current marching order has become our default travel formation. Adam, Liss, and I are the muscle, though those two have me beat in that department lately. They stay on guard in front while I take the rear, with our two squishy magic users sandwiched in the middle. I don’t mind—Corrine is surprisingly fun to talk to—but sometimes Nate is just so fucking irritating. I swear he does it on purpose. That’s what happens when you agree to travel halfway around the world with someone you ba rely know.
The five of us have been traveling together for a month now (two if you count that godsawful boat ride), and even rang in the new year together just a few weeks ago, making all sorts of plans as a group. Our goals as exploring adventurers are still a little undefined at this point, but after wandering up and down the coast taking odd jobs for weeks, we finally got a lead on something good in Holbrooke, the last town we stayed in. Apparently, a few years back, an earthquake uncovered some elven ruins in the mountains. Most people stayed away because of the orcs, but the rumors of there being something magical and powerful inside were enough to sway us. The desperation to do anything besides making a delivery or killing a giant rat may have contributed as well. That was four days ago.
I’m not sure what awaits us once we get to the ruins, but I trust my team to be able to handle it. Well, most of them at least. I’ve known Adam forever: tall, blonde, muscular, your classic golden boy who was nearly always the top of our class. I say nearly because the two of us were usually engaged in a friendly competition over...everything—sports, archery, sword fighting. Once, in the middle of a school day, we both jumped in a lake just to see who could hold their breath the longest. We met Liss when we entered the knight academy after finishing school. She’s maybe an inch or two shorter than Adam with fiery red hair that she normally dyes brown and cuts short. Since that’s not really possible out in the forest, she’s taken to wearing a hood over it. I’m just a couple of inches shorter than she is, clocking in at around 5’10” last time I checked. My black hair is currently shaggier than I like it, and I’ve got the beginnings of a beard from the three days we’ve been out here.
Corrine and Nathaniel joined us only a few days before we got on the boat. I was the one who noticed Corrine in the tavern, not that it was hard to spot the tall blonde pigtailed woman dressed like a nun. After asking me not to call her that, she told me she was looking for a group to make the journey across the ocean with for her “missionary work.” She seemed a little weird, but there was a healthy amount of fear and disgust over the establishment we were sitting in, so I knew she wasn’t totally out of her mind. Other than some Bible-study and group prayers, I haven’t seen her do much missionary-ing, but she says that “helping out anyone in the name of God is g ood work.”
We met Nate the following night in the same tavern after he answered an ad Adam posted. We were getting desperate for a magic user, but I still told Adam we might want to rethink going with the obvious mage-school dropout. His robe is dirty, his brown hair messy, and he seems to have perpetual stubble, even after spending days in the forest. He’s also just a little taller than I am, which wouldn’t be something I’d ever pay attention to if he didn’t point it out over and over and over .
At some point during the boat ride, Liss and Nate started fucking. A month on the water with only your hand is no fun, and it’s not like I have any experience myself to speak of, so I didn’t blame her for taking care of what she needed to. I was just surprised it continued once we were back on solid land, and there were more viable candidates around. A lot more viable. I mean, he’s been a fine wizard , I guess.
“Are you sure we didn’t pass it?” He’s just so fucking annoying.
“I think I see it.” Liss points as we pass a hill to reveal the base of the mountain. A few more paces and I’m able to see what she means, spotting a cave in the distance. Large boulders sit on either side of it, huge cracks split the ground and mountainside, but there’s still a clear path—as if the rocks have been moved inte ntionally.
As we get closer, the details get less fuzzy, and I can make out some of the stonework carved around the entrance. I’ve never actually seen elven ruins before, so I don’t know if this is what they usually look like. There’s a smooth column along each side of the cave, but they’ve got to be purely d ecorative.
We stop just outside the entrance. The cave is dark—duh, it’s a cave—but that’s not an issue since Adam is already grabbing a torch and flint from his pack. There are letters along the top of the entrance—Corrine calls them runes—but I can’t read them. I swear it feels like I’ve seen them before, which is weird because, again, this is a first for me. For all of us, actually.
“Okay, I’m taking point,” Adam tells the rest of us. He’s technically the leader of our group. I’m second in command, though Liss might argue differently. “Once we’re inside, Nate and Corrine will start checking for magic. Elf ruins aren’t known for their traps, but David and Liss, keep your eyes peeled for anything I might miss.” He reaches in his pack for another torch, handing it to me once it’s lit . “Ready?”
“Ready,” we agree in unison. Adam draws his sword and in we go.
The walls of the cave are smooth, like the floor and ceiling. They’re plain at first, but as we move deeper inside, I see carvings along them. At first, it’s just more of the oddly familiar script I saw outside, but soon there are small figures, and then full-on faces, very detailed and obviou sly elven.
I don’t get much info on who they are, mostly because I still can’t read any of this. I’m trying to take in the details on the walls but also everything else since you never know when there might be a trap or a secret passage. These places have those, right? But so far, it’s just been one long hallway. I look back periodically and watch the cave entrance growing smaller behind us. I also hear some kind of ringing or buzzing in my ear.
“Hold.” Adam slows down. It looks like we’ve reached the end of the hallway and the entrance to a larger room. Adam and Elisabeth enter first, the orange-yellow light from the torch illuminating the room around them. “I think we ’re good.”
The rest of us enter the room carefully. It’s pretty big. You could probably fit three or four dozen people in here. I count one, two...eight walls, including the one we entered from. They go very high, each one carved from floor to ceiling in intricate designs. I see words, figures, entire scenes depicted, the light making the details harder to see as they vanish into the darkness above. But what really pulls focus is across from us, facing the entrance. Without being prompted, Adam steps closer and holds up his torch.
In the center of the wall is a large, very detailed sculpture of a man. I guess I’m not sure sculpture is the right word. Is it a relief? I didn’t really pay that much attention in art class. It’s a part of the wall, but it also seems to be coming off the wall. He’s tall, though I guess I’m not sure if he’s meant to be life-sized or not. He’s in a robe, arms at his side, with short slightly curled hair and