“I carry a demi-God dragon, as you are,” she uttered softly.
“You carry chaos mixed with fire, born of the Gods themselves, as I am. Unlike my host, your child will be pureblooded and powerful by himself, without the need to change forms. My host grows anxious to taste you, as do I, my soul,” he said, standing to tower over her as scales formed over his flesh. “Give me your hands, and accept me. We are one now, forever.”
“You’re intense,” she muttered as she placed her hands into his.
“And you’re beautiful, and burn with a fire brighter than anything in this world. You wondered why he could touch you, why you could allow it. It was because of me, because I’d known your soul before your pain. Let us heal you, let us wash away the pain of yesterday and show you the pleasure of the flesh and heart. Allow us to be a part of you, my brave girl. And I promise you will heal from what your father has done to your mind.”
“I don’t think you understand what that monster did to me,” she replied truthfully, and yet she felt his hands warm beneath hers. He stood, slowly running his fingers over her belly as he towered over her, staring down into her eyes.
“He took you apart, but he couldn’t touch the parts of you that he wanted to break because you carried something of me inside of you already. The day he found my mark, it was the last time he touched you. He knew he would never touch what made you mine, what made you glow purple when no other of your kind before you had. Destiny ran through your veins, our destiny that was already written in the stars,” he murmured as he bent over, claiming her lips in a kiss that stole her mind and breath away as memories replayed in her mind.
She remembered the look of wonder in her father’s eyes before the madness took hold and he cut her to ribbons. The angry words as he’d tried to end her life, even his transformation to his beast that sliced through her. The beast’s punishment should have been her death, his touch should have killed her, but instead, she remained whole. He couldn’t kill her, and he’d tried; he’d tried to murder his child to prevent her from rising the next morning. Whatever he’d seen written on her ribcage had brought forth a madness unlike she’d ever witnessed before it. Yet he hadn’t been able to kill her, not even his beast who tried.
“You…you protected me, why?” she whispered.
“Because the child king would need someone who understood his pain, who could bring his soul peace,” he replied softly. “He needed a strong mate, but I needed you more. I needed you to birth my child, my child that will help the ones already here to save this world. I wasn’t born here, but this is my home now and the time for healing has come. You will bring the dragons peace, but more than that, you will mend their souls. You will burn out the hatred that has consumed them since your father slaughtered their kin. Your light will guide them through this, and your heart will mend theirs.”
“Why didn’t you save them?” she asked in a heated tone. “You could have stopped my father, so why didn’t you?”
“Because it wasn’t my destiny to save the dragons, it was yours.”
She shivered and shook her head. “I’m one girl, one girl who hasn’t even begun to live because I’m terrified to even try. I’m weak; I’m not strong, dragon.”
“Oh, but you are. You’re afraid of falling, my darling, but you won’t fall because I won’t let you. You were created to fly, like me. If you fall, I will be your wings. If you falter, I will be the fire that you are reborn in. You were created to be my queen, his queen. You were born to rule the dragons, my sweet girl. Destiny kissed you the moment you were born and bound you to the boy who would become the king. I just made sure it could not be altered after that, and that you survived until he found you. She touched every creature in this realm, and you are no exception. Now, I will truly mate with you and seal your soul to mine so that we can never be parted, do you accept me?”
“Like, forever?” she asked, and he smiled revealing fangs.
“Until time ends, little woman,” he replied.
“I do,” she answered, somehow knowing that this was meant to happen. It wasn’t what he’d said; it was how she felt with him, as if she had known him for longer than just this lifetime. She should be terrified right now, and instead, she felt like he was home. She felt safe and cherished in his eyes, protected from the outside world.
A burning sensation started in her hands as blue flames ignited from his. Ciara cried out as pain entered her mind and body. He held her there, refusing to release her as the pain became unimaginable. He whispered to her, crooning as he placed his forehead against hers and spoke in a language she couldn’t understand. Her heart thundered against her ears, and as she watched, dragon runes began to flow from his flesh to hers, until her soul was covered in them in glowing blue flames that slowly burned out as they faded to nothing.
“It is done, sweet girl. Be kind to the man who houses me; he isn’t ready to love yet. You will heal him, but it will not be easy. He will not welcome the knowledge of our child; for him, you are his enemy and loving you will be a betrayal to the memory of his people who were lost. He will learn to love you though, and with your touch, he will begin to heal, as you have already begun to heal from our touch. Be gentle with his heart but savage with his soul until you’ve claimed the Dragon King, Ciara.”
Ciara sat up and gasped, her hand flew to her stomach and then she jumped from the bed, staring down at Blane who watched her with an uneasy look.
“You and my dragon have fun?” he growled.
“He is intense,” she admitted.
“Is he? What did you two discuss?” he demanded coldly.
“I don’t…I don’t think I remember all of it. He marked my soul,” she answered in a hushed tone. “You knew he would, didn’t you?”
“I figured I would, but I didn’t go with you, Ciara. I didn’t see more than a glimpse of your soul before I was expelled, you didn’t allow it. Tell me, wife, what are you hiding?” he seethed.
“Your dragon chose me when I was a child; when my father killed yours, he found me. Our destinies were formed from that day on.”
“Is that so?”
“Blane, you don’t even know the half of it,” she exhaled as she sat beside him, watching as he tensed. “You’re angry?”
“You blocked me from seeing you, Ciara, all of you. I’ve always been able to see what he does, until now. So you tell me, what are you hiding?”
She swallowed and shook her head. “I’m exhausted,” she mumbled.
“That’s too fucking bad,” he snapped as he stood and grabbed her arms. “We are fucking because until it’s consummated, our marriage isn’t binding.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Blane pushed her onto the bed, tearing the dress from her body and tossing it over his shoulder as he stared at her naked form. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribcage. It beat so loudly she couldn’t hear what he said as he bent over, stripping her panties from her body. His mouth touched the inside of her thighs, kissing his way to her core where he growled as his tongue slid between her heat, devouring her as if he was starving and couldn’t get enough.
His hands spread her legs apart until she cried out in pain and lifted her back off the bed. Her body responded, heating for him, and the coil in her stomach began to unfurl. His hands punished while his mouth pleasured.
He pulled her ass off the bed, kneeling on the floor as he devoured her flesh until she was screaming his name in wild abandonment. He pulled his hungry lips away from her and stared down at her with angry eyes. She booted him with her foot, standing beside him, and glared back at him.
“You can be angry, asshole, but I’m not the one who wanted to take a soul walk with you. Now get the fuck on the bed, and don’t fucking move,” she seethed as she struggled to gain control of her reaction to him as she demanded he does as she bid.
“Fuc
k you, Ciara,” he growled.
“No, baby, I’m about to fuck you,” she snapped as she shoved him with her Fae strength and followed him down, gripping his massive cock as she straddled his hips.
“Use your fucking magic on me again, and you won’t like what happens, Ciara,” he warned.
She smiled coldly as she slowly bent her head over his chest, nipping his flesh as she worked her way to his raised nipple. She bit it gently, moaning as his own throaty groan was expelled from between his clenched teeth. She tasted him, slowly licking around it and then the other until her tongue dipped between the rows of muscles on his tight stomach.
When her mouth touched the velvet flesh of his cock, she paused, losing her boldness briefly as her hand stroked his arousal. His head lifted from the bed, watching her as she stroked his cock in her tiny hand. Her mouth lowered, licking against the sensitive tip of his throbbing flesh. The noise he made as his breath hissed from his lips drew her eyes to his.
Her glow reflected in his eyes. Ciara kissed the side of his cock before standing it up away from his belly to take him into her mouth. His hand threaded through her hair, pushing her down without warning until he was buried deep in her throat. She moaned as her eyes watered until tears rushed from her eyes as he held her there. His growl was animalistic as he brought her head up, using her hair to fuck her mouth and throat.
“You want to play?” he laughed harshly as he rose, pushing her off the bed until her knees hit the floor hard, pulling a scream of anger from her throat. He settled in front of her, controlling her. He shoved his cock deeper, never allowing her to get air as he harshly held her hair, wielding her mouth against his cock, dominating the control she’d thought she had held. “Take it,” he demanded huskily as he held her there, growing until she gagged around him. His hand released her hair, and she threw herself back into the petals that covered the floor.
He rose slowly, watching her like she was his fucking dinner he planned to gobble up. He knelt on the ground, uncaring that she glared angrily at him.
“You’re an asshole,” she whispered abrasively.
“I know I am, but at least I’m not a lying bitch,” he snarled as he grabbed her legs and spread them until she cried out. He entered her painfully, ripping a scream from her lips as he rocked his hips, finding a rhythm that nailed every erogenous nerve in her pussy. His hands bit into her flesh as he pushed her knees up towards her shoulders, giving her more than she could fit until her body burned with how full she was.
“Blane,” she whimpered as he stared down at her with mistrust burning in his eyes. “Blane, it’s too much,” she hissed.
“Shut up and come for me,” he whispered with authority in his tone.
Her eyes closed against the anger she saw burning in his aqua depths. He pulled her up until she was in his lap and forced to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders. She rocked against his cock, adjusting to his sheer size as her body heated allowing him more depth as he used her hips to lifted and drop her onto his shaft. She exploded around him, clenching against him as muscles burned and tightened as he raised her with him, moving them to the bed.
He set her down without leaving her body, thrusting forcefully as his hands braced his weight on the bed. His eyes bored down into hers, forcing her to keep eye contact as he took her to the heights of passion and desire and then over the edge. His mouth lowered, nipping against her bottom lip as she screamed against the pain it created. He released it, pushing his tongue between her swollen lips to claim her tongue as their bodies went to war against one another.
Blane pulled away from her mouth, lifting up until he was on his knees between her legs. He pushed her legs to her chest, staring down at where they were joined. She felt him growing larger than before and whimpered against it. He knew he was hurting her, and she knew why. He felt betrayed, but he wasn’t mad at her. He felt betrayed by the creature who he housed, and she was the only one he could punish for what he felt had been a trespass on him.
He pushed in deeper, lifting her legs over his shoulder as he thrust his hips until he tightened, and grunted as his mouth touched against her throat. A few hard thrusts and he rolled over next to her and covered his eyes with his arm as he struggled to catch his breath.
Ciara turned away from him, sore and aching as she crawled to the furthest side of the bed and slipped beneath the covers as a sob exploded from her chest. She hated him. The dragon was wrong, so wrong. Blane was broken; he was fractured so deeply that he could never be repaired. He swore and rose to sit on the edge of the bed, gathering his clothing before he dressed and left her alone.
She screamed into the pillows that stifled her cries, buried in the blankets as her own anger swallowed her whole. His dragon was naïve to think she could fix him. She moved from the bed, using glamour to dress in a soft nightgown of black silk, and used it again to make a bed in the corner of the tent, far away from his. She wiped her eyes and let her hand drift to her belly, where an innocent babe slumbered within her.
He didn’t need to know about it. He didn’t deserve to know he’d sired a child with her, his enemy. He’d sounded hopeful of peace, optimistic that she could secure it for him and she would, but she wouldn’t remain with him after that point. He didn’t deserve her or their child.
A noise sounded, and she turned to her side, watching as Remy entered the tent and stared down at her. His shoulders fell when he took in her red eyes and disheveled form.
“You soul walked with his dragon, without him. It’s forbidden for a bride who isn’t born dragon to confer with it without the host being present,” he disclosed.
“It wasn’t like his dragon asked me permission. I had no idea it would happen or any part of deciding what happened. I wasn’t asked; if that’s what he thinks happened. I woke up with him, then he changed, and I had no control over who I was left standing with.”
“You’re an enigma, Ciara. You scare him,” he muttered as he scrubbed his hand down his face and sat on the bed, staring down at her. “Dragons choose our mates, but they never choose a mate who isn’t of our own bloodline or species. You looked happy tonight, so did he. I was hoping you had hit a turning point.”
“Oh, we turned alright,” she scoffed. “And I get that he doesn’t want me, but I will keep my word. I will secure peace for you guys.”
“For us? You’re not planning on staying, are you?” he countered.
“I don’t belong here, nor am I wanted. I’m fine with that, and so is he. He can have Fyra, she wants him. I hate him. I hate everything about him. He’s cruel and seems to enjoy hurting me, and I’ve been hurt enough to last a thousand lifetimes.”
“If you let your brother take you, you will make him acceptable to the death wish, Ciara. You can’t let that happen, not if what you said about his soon-to-be queen is true.”
Ciara sat up and stared at him and was about to say something when pain shot through them both. Infinite sadness filled her, and she gasped as a realization hit her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stood up on trembling legs, moving to the doors of the tent and pushing it aside to stand beneath the moon in her nightgown.
The sky turned a multitude of colors as the land cried for its Goddess.
“Danu,” she sobbed. “Danu is no more.”
“What the fuck just happened?” Remy asked as he stood next to her, watching as the world screamed in pain. Brilliant colors exploded in the skies above, and the world screamed violently as power erupted through it. The trees swayed, crying as their limbs whipped with denial.
Ciara looked around the camp, finding Blane staring up at the sky with Fyra close at his side in her finery. She turned into him, and his arm wrapped around her, holding her as Ciara watched them. A lump formed in her throat as anger grew inside of her.
“I have to go home, Synthia needs me,” she whispered, unable to look away fro
m her new husband and his real love. Blane’s eyes dropped and held hers before she looked away from him.
If Danu was dead, that meant a new Goddess would be created to take her place. It left Faery teetering on the brink of chaos and devastation without anyone holding the control of it together. Synthia was the Goddess to the people, but who would protect the land? Who would help them heal it?
The entire camp stood motionless, asking the same question inside their minds. Ciara stepped away from the tent, eying the forest as her heart raced. She had to get home, and she had to do it now.
She started to sift, only to hit something solid. Her hands touched something heated, and she looked up into Blane’s cold stare.
“I don’t think so, wife,” he snapped.
“Danu is dead, Blane. I have to go home,” she demanded.
“No, you’re mine, and you’re the queen of dragons now. You belong to us, not them. If you allow them to take you, I will call in the death wish. Heed my words; I don’t care if you hate me. I don’t have to like you to fuck you to procure a child for peace. Our child will seal what you achieve, and you will achieve it before I release you, but you will not take my child with you when you go. My child will not be raised with the murderous bastards who killed his or her kin, are we clear?”
“You assume I’d give you a child,” she growled. “I’m Fae, Blane. We don’t breed easily, and when we don’t want to create life, we don’t. We choose when we breed, and I sure as hell have no plans of breeding with someone like you. You can go mate with your girlfriend and stay away from me. Forever,” she hissed. She turned, dismissing him as she entered the tent alone.
Claiming the Dragon King Page 20