“Walking the knife’s edge of death and even dying itself can bring knowledge too, Mistress,” the nereid reminded her gently.
Rose gave her friend a wan smile. “It is a rather permanent state of knowing for mortals such as myself. At least until we are set upon the earth again to restart the process in utter ignorance once more. And then what good does it do us?”
The nymph’s laughter drifted through the room. “So my Mistress doesn’t object to death but hates the fact of being reborn in innocence?”
Rose lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. “I do not deny that perhaps I hate to feel like my efforts are wasted regardless of what is retained by the immortal soul. It will do me little good if I can’t access it and must do this all over again. This is my chance to move beyond that dismal cycle, as all mages aspire, even if the path I am taking would be considered corrupted.”
“The corrupted rose,” Serina whispered. “I think the roses are all the sweeter when they decay and their bright petals darken. You wear your darkness beautifully, Mistress. And I do believe your lupo would agree with me,” she added with a mischievous smirk.
Rose laughed in agreement, her eyes trailing down the hall to the doorway of the common room. Saris had taken great pleasure in corrupting her entirely as he led her down the mystic pathways of spiritual alchemy. And she had probably enjoyed her own fall far too much. She licked her lips, imagining the taste of his blood on her tongue should she take a small blade and nick his thick pelt even as his claws and fangs pierced her own flesh. She mentally filed that fantasy away to perform at the earliest convenient moment.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Saris stepped from the common room into the hall, his nostrils flaring as he tracked her whereabouts. Even though she was some distance down the hall, his enormous, powerful frame was hard to miss. An unholy smile of sharp teeth stretched across his face as he spotted her, and her sex clenched hard in reaction to the deviance promised in that one look.
Serina made a small sound of amusement.
Rose waved a hand at the nymph. “Hush now. Go carry on with that temperamental goblin whose company you enjoy. I am sure Equiim’s mood will improve after a few hours of being bathed in your affections.”
The nereid grinned, her fangs bright in the light of the sconces lining the hallway. “I do so enjoy the flavor of him. Perhaps that is something we have in common, Mistress—the need to taste and draw them into ourselves. Bloody your male and enjoy the power of his essence,” she cajoled in a breathy voice.
A shiver stole over Rose, a tremor of desire as she stared at her approaching lover. She wasn’t even aware of the nymph fading away as all of her attention was suddenly riveted on the lupo. The yellow glow of his eyes brightened, his pheromones rolling over her. As much as she desired to yield to them, her will rose up to embrace them, unfolding that desire within her power.
She had to bind herself completely, joining herself to all the energies of the mountain, conquering them and coagulating them within her. As much as she loved playing at being submissive to her imposing male, she needed to take this first step. It would be dangerous enough. Saris may indulge her and protect her, but he was a dangerous force of nature. The wrong move could end badly, but she needed to begin with him.
So she didn’t wait for him to come to her. She stalked him, her world focusing on him as her hunger burned within her. His eyes widened at the switch before narrowing with undisguised satisfaction. The soft growl that fell from her lips felt natural as she reached up and tangled her hand in his fur, dragging his head down toward her with more strength than she thought she possessed. A pleased rumble vibrated from him as his hand closed around her neck, the prick of his claws sending a pulse of pleasure through her.
He narrowed his eyes on her. “Are you seeking to Master me?”
She licked her teeth, a grin stretching across her face. “You have no idea what all I want to do to you… and have you do to me. I shall Master you completely, for you are meant to be mine, and then I will allow you to Master me in turn.”
One brow raised at her in challenge. “You will allow?”
Her grin widened as she leaned forward and brushed his nose with hers. “We both know that my submission to you is by my desire to yield. I enjoy your Mastery, but it is because I wish it.”
A low growl erupted from him. “I should make you crawl to me for those words.”
Rose laughed. “I shall, but you will crawl first, my love. You will wear my collar and brand as I once wore yours. My tongue shall taste your blood as you have enjoyed mine. And when I have had enough, then I shall release you and present myself for your pleasure.”
A shiver stole over him, his pupils blowing wide. Without another word, he yanked her into his arms, carrying her rapidly from the hall.
“This is how you submit?” she queried as she nuzzled his neck.
“I carry my Mistress so that she may arrive all the sooner to have what she desires,” he growled before he leaned down and gently nipped the vulnerable flesh on her neck. “Your pleasure and desires are mine.”
His body trembled and his muscles were tense with need when they finally arrived in their bedroom. The carna’s fronds unfurled with interest at their passage, and its mouths opened wide as it did to collect the wet drops of their desire that evaporated into the air. It fed so well on that alone that it seldom seemed to be interested in eating more than the smallest amount of blood, though it was growing quickly. That didn’t stop the carna from attempting to lick the arousal from their skin any time they slid too close, so Saris had long established a path through their room that circled a distance away as he currently did as he made his way to their bed.
Upon arriving at their bedside, he let her slide down his body as he relinquished her and set her on her feet. Rose stepped back from him, denying him the temptation of taking control as she walked over to the bed. His yellow eyes followed her, a ceaseless raspy growl rattling deep in his chest.
She did not go for the collar. That bit of leather would do little good against his strength, nor would it fit around his neck. Instead, she grabbed the solid length of chain that he frequently used to subdue her whenever he clipped it to the collar she would wear. As she approached, his growl shifted into a terrible threatening sound. His aggressive snarl made her sex wet with a flood of desire. It was tempting to toy with him, escalate his aggression, but her hunger was too great. Raising a hand, she grabbed his essence and thrust back with such strength that he toppled over on the bed.
Not wasting any time, twining her energy through his like water permeating stone and soil, she held him captured within her power. He struggled against her will, his teeth snapping viciously at her, challenging her Mastery. Rose didn’t allow any uncertainty. She looped the chain around his neck as his lips peeled back from his teeth in a clear threat.
Rather than scare her, it made her bolder as she tightened the chain, shortening the lax length until he was forced to lie on the bed, his ears flattened against his head. His arms twitched as he struggled against the hold of her magic. She knew that her control over his physical body would not last long without exhausting herself. She needed the full use of her power still, as much as she enjoyed watching him struggle within the grip of it. So she tempted his wrath with a sharp grin as she looped a chain around one hand and then the other, tightening each against the bed before doing the same to his legs. A large chain strapped across his torso, holding him firmly in place. Only once that was accomplished did she release her control over his limbs.
Saris pulled against the chains with such strength that the bed moaned from with the force of it. Miraculously, it held, and her eyes caressed every inch of him in admiration before she finally turned and moved to a table in the far corner of the room. On it was a clean knife meant for their small repast sitting on a tray, no doubt left by Equiim, suspecting that they would soon wish to take an evening meal together. She ignored the food as she picked up the knife, turning the blade i
n her hands as she faced her lupo again.
His eyes narrowed on the blade in his hand, his expression increasingly savage as she drew near. His will battled at her, demanding that she submit and lay down the blade, demanding that she give up her foolish notion of Mastering him.
She expected that. This was her test.
The smile she bent on him was hard as she approached and slipped off her loose robe. Bringing her blade up, she cut away the fabric that he wore around his hips. The scraps fell away, and she was pleased to see that her lover had already extruded, his purple cock thick and swollen with desire. She smiled down at it, brushing the tip of the blade very lightly up his inner thigh until it traveled up the length of his phallus as he let out an audible hiss. The light scratch made his cock leap, his pheromones thickening with his surge of lust.
She dragged the blade against his hip, watching in fascination as his shimmering blood welled up. She stroked her tongue across the scratch, taking the flavor of him into her mouth as he moaned, his pelvis lifting up against her. Scooting up higher, she dragged the edge of the blade from his belly to his chest, the muscle flexing beneath the light pressure of the knife against his skin as she straddled him. She ground against his sex, his slickened length rubbing against her deliciously. His nostrils flared as he panted around the raspy snarls issuing from him.
With one hand she reached out, gripped the chain looped around his neck, pulling on it until there was little give and less opportunity for him to lift his head from the bed and attempt to bite her.
Oh, she wanted to be bitten—just not yet.
His throat worked, his teeth snapping as he was held pinned helplessly. Anchoring the chain, she slid against his cock, a soft sound of pleasure slipping from her. His prick was so hard between them that she imagined it must have been very uncomfortable, especially judging from the upward pump of his hips between his snarls and growls.
He angled his head down slightly to glare at her. “You play with me, mage.”
She grinned back at him. “Just a little, lupo.”
Leaning forward, she notched the thick head of his phallus at the mouth of her sex and pushed down, taking him slowly. She gasped and quivered as he stretched and filled her until her bottom was flush to his pelvis. She shifted her weight, enjoying the slight push and pull of his cock deep within her.
Wrapping her fingers around the chain anchored across his chest, she began to move herself up and down on his cock, her movements slow, enjoying every sensation of his hot phallus stuffing her with each downward plunge of her bottom against him. He arched and strained, his hips slapping up against her enthusiastically even as he struggled against his bonds.
“Do you accept and yield to my Mastery?” she snarled.
A low whine erupted from him as he gritted his teeth, his back arching as much as it could against the restraints as he attempted to take control. She eased up so that he was barely penetrating her, just enough to send a tingle of pleasure racing up her spine. Saris snarled and cursed, his teeth snapping in anger, eyes glowing like hot coals as she rode him shallowly, her gaze fixed on him, a triumphant smile curling her lips.
Leaning forward, she caressed his left pectoral with the blade before sinking into the muscle. Hot blood ran from the shallow wound, and Rose’s mouth closed around it, dragging mouthfuls into her eager body. Her sex clenched hard around him at the taste, and Saris’s cock twitched within her.
“Yes!” he bellowed, his huge frame jerking between her legs.
The metal of the chains squealed and protested. In response, her pace quickened as she felt the vortex of power churning within her belly, drawing at his being as she moved faster, her breasts bouncing as she rode him. She hungered for his energy to catalyze the final stage of her transformation.
As the power rushed higher through her, Rose threw her head back, soft grunts escaping her as she came down harder on his sex, taking him deeper. Dropping her head forward, her eyes met his glowing gaze. His teeth were still bared, but she could feel him surging within her, his phallus swelling as he knotted them together.
Rose cried out at the sensation as the knot pulled at the sensitive flesh of her channel, snapping her back down against the jerking head as hot seed bathed her insides. She shrieked, sending the strength of her orgasm into the vortex until it spun around them both, a raging hurricane of pure power. Saris ground up into her, his roar joining hers with the flood of essence within her. She gathered it, purified it within the whirling power as it transformed into a golden chain established link by link between them.
The breaking of the chain sounded distant, as if it were happening elsewhere, but the teeth that pierced her skin made her arch against the male whose arms wrapped around her. She felt a pulse of his magic as the opposing forces within her joined in a rolling storm, merging two powerful currents. The vortex spun outside of her control, whipping around them both, her breath escaping her in a long wail of ultimate ecstasy. Her body, caught in the eye of the storm, the blood from her open wound rising into the waters… She could feel the transformation rolling through her. Not just enlightenment, but something greater.
The sun married the moon, opposing forces conjoined, as she was thrust into a new state when Saris flipped her, driving into her until another orgasm rocked through them, collapsing the storm of magic around them. Mist settled in the room, dampening her skin and his fur as they fell together into the soft bedding. Saris’s warm breath tickled her neck, his tongue slipping out every so often to stroke the flesh there. Rose shivered at the contact. She felt raw, like something that was reshaped, like vapor condensed into a new pure form in her perfumes.
Saris nuzzled her neck, a solemness falling over him as he held her. “Now you are ready for the last and most crucial step. You will join into yourself to the lupi, and then to the elements of the mountain, merging it within you. You are perfected, and yet this will be the most dangerous of your tasks,” he said quietly. “You are tragically vulnerable, mortal despite the perfections… but you won’t rise in your new form until you coagulate all within you and bind yourself to the beings of the mountain.”
She blinked, still coming down from the high. His hand stroked over her, the sensation rippling through every nerve ending. Each touch slowly desensitized her, grounding her as he continued to pass his hand over her hair and back in soothing strokes. When she was finally relaxed against him, he nuzzled her again.
“Eat, my love. I have some things to attend to, but will be back shortly.”
She turned so she could look up at him from where she lay in his arms. “Your love, huh?” she said.
“My everything,” he corrected as he slid from the bed.
She smiled as her eyes settled on his wide shoulders. “I do believe I may love you too,” she replied.
Glancing back at her over his shoulder, he raised a brow. “I do believe you just may have to prove how much you love me when I return.”
Her smile turned to an impish grin. “I look forward to that.”
His chuckle warmed her and lingered with her after he left the room. Finally, she pushed herself up from the bed and made her way to the upholstered chair by the table. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten in some time as she dropped into the comfortable seat. Ravenously, she plucked at the food on the platter, stuffing bites into her mouth as she reached for the goblet. Tipping the goblet back, she froze as the liquid caressed her tongue and ran down her throat.
Throwing the cup, she cried out as she gagged and choked, trying to make herself vomit up the bitter drug that had been put into her cup. She stumbled helplessly, her body crashing to the ground as she took the tray and half of what sat on the table with her. Writhing on the floor, Rose gasped and struggled against the drug’s powerful effects.
She lay there, her body spasming with her efforts, when she heard the door open and a heavy stride approach from the doorway. Very slowly, she was turned so that she stared up into a pair of familiar eye
s, her voice rattling on a shallowly drawn breath.
“You…” she accused in disbelief.
A hand raised, and she saw her death in it. It trembled, and a choked sound came from her attacker, and then the hand dropped.
“I can’t. How ironic that when faced with this moment, I can’t end your life by my own hand. Sleep. You will not be harmed, but nor shall you remain. Sleep, and when you awaken, it will be as if your presence here had never been.”
Her eyes fluttered shut, her breath sighing out of her as she fought against the power of the drug. Her magic swelled in her defense, but little spirit of the substance she had willingly consumed rolled over her, snuffing out her own power so that she fell into the dark chasm of sleep.
“Saris,” she whispered as a small sigh left her and she succumbed to unconsciousness.
At the edge of the darkness, she heard what she thought was a long, rippling shriek before it too disappeared as she submerged deeper into her mind. It touched her heart and made her want to weep, though she knew not what it could have been that was frantically calling her.
Chapter 26
The unearthly vibrating shrieks filled the castle, chilling Saris’s blood in a way that he had never imagined any living thing would have been able to accomplish. The few among the lupi who had accompanied him flinched, their heads swiveling as they scented the air, and their ears moved to catch another strain of sound. The sound was unlike anything he heard before, its sad, pained echoes rushing through the halls, making the walls shake.
He spun around, his footsteps carrying him toward the source of the noise. It was coming from the direction of the workroom. His fur bristled, worrying what sort of creature had managed to burrow into the room that he would have to deal with.
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