Dragon Equinox

by Ophelia Bell

  Turning to Cade, she eyed him appraisingly, admiring the ursa’s physique once more before letting out a sigh. Her breath flowed around his hips as well, settling on his skin in a pair of loose-fitting trousers. “Wait for me here. As soon as she is seen safe, I want to begin preparing. I want to be ready to start the ritual the very second the barrier comes down. Dionysus can join us when he returns.”

  She passed by Neela, who was exiting as Numa was on her way into the room, and stopped her with a hand to her arm. Neela gazed at her with eyes like fire. “I have said my farewell. We are ready to enter the Haven to join the fight. Please make sure the ritual works.”

  “You have my promise,” Numa said, hugging Neela tightly. The woman’s skin crackled with searing inner heat beneath her touch, the unmistakable essence of immortal dragon fire that had the potential to burn her if she weren’t careful. Whatever bond her nephew had forged with Neela spoke of a love stronger than any she had known. When she released Neela, she glanced back at Dionysus and thought she saw the barest glimmer of adoration that was quickly replaced by an inscrutable mask.

  They joined the small group who had remained in the bedroom, and Numa let out a gasp when Ozzie and Aodh stood back, revealing Deva between them.

  Far from a child now, Deva stood between the two men in a flowing white gown draped over the curves of a young woman in full fertile bloom. The gown itself shimmered with the evidence of Aodh’s magic that had conjured it, clothing that would persist and adapt to her growth.

  Her face was pinched with pain, her variegated eyes displaying the torment that still gripped her even as her voice rose in harmony with Ozzie’s song. Numa immediately exhaled a long breath, directing her smoke to cocoon Deva in another layer of restorative magic that flowed into her white gown as deep green embroidery.

  The song she sang grew less agonized as her pain eased and her aura stabilized. Finally, she trailed off and stopped singing, taking a deep, shaky breath.

  “Thank you, Numa,” she said, sweeping into Numa’s arms with a sigh.

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through so much. We would do anything to keep you safe.”

  “I’m sorry if it ruined your plans. I didn’t mean to complicate things,” Deva said, peering into Numa’s eyes with her own, so full of strangely potent power that had barely realized its potential.

  “Nonsense. You just helped push me to make a hard decision. Everything will be all right now.”

  “I wish I could fight,” Deva said with the most earnest expression.

  “You are too weak yet,” Aodh said. “If you knew what powers you had, how to use them, it would be a different story.”

  She gave the big dragon a sad look. “I know. All I can do is sing, but that won’t be enough.”

  “Not to kill the enemy, no,” Aodh said. “Leave that to us. I promise you will return to a world safe for you to live in.”

  She turned and embraced the big dragon, her rich, dark skin and hair a stark contrast to his pale, almost silvery features. Aodh held her tightly, his eyes glassy when they met Numa’s gaze over Deva’s shoulder. It was clear that he loved the girl like a daughter. She had truly endeared herself to all the residents, even the visitors here on this fateful day.

  “Are you ready, child?” Dionysus said.

  Deva swallowed and nodded. “Will it hurt?”

  “You won’t feel a thing.”

  “I’ll be there with you,” Ozzie said, clasping her hand in his.

  That seemed to ease Deva’s apprehension and she nodded, giving Dionysus a hesitant smile. “Then I am ready.”

  Dionysus turned and faced Numa, the intensity of his gaze making her heart race. “Don’t wait to start the ritual. I will come, I promise you that. But I ask that you do me one favor before I go.”

  Almost breathless with anxiety over how quickly things seemed to be moving now, Numa nodded. “Anything.”

  “Mark me now. The realm of the gods is easy to lose time in. I need an anchor to pull me back to you.”

  She blinked at him. “Now? You know you won’t be the only mate I mark today, right?”

  “I do. And a more worthy set of partners I could not have hoped for. Waste no time marking them, either. While I am home, I will have a talk with Gaia about granting Zephyrus his own body as well. He will bring more power with a corporeal form, and I sense moving up the timeline will require all we can get.”

  “You would be right,” she said. “The contest was as much to build the power as it was to test everyone’s abilities.” Her stomach fluttered—it was far more than she’d hoped for, being able to be with Zephyrus in the flesh and not just as a passenger inside Cade’s big, glorious body.

  As an afterthought, she added, “You don’t think the other gods will be angry that I didn’t choose, do you? I know how much you all like to win.”

  Dionysus gave her a wicked grin. “When they discover that in the end we all put one over on Fate, they’ll come around, don’t worry. Now I must ask that you follow through …”

  “Right, turn around.”

  He slowly rotated and gave her a look over his shoulder with one brow raised. “Shall I bend over?”

  “Not necessary,” she said, sliding her hands over his back and gently moving the draped cloth to the side so his entire back was visible. She could just reach the center of his shoulder blades if she stood on tiptoe and gently planted a kiss there.

  “Down,” she said, pressing on his shoulders. When he knelt, she pushed his luxurious black waves to the side and placed another kiss against the back of his neck. Then, without further preamble, she summoned her power and darted out her tongue to begin the mark. Her heart pounded, her stomach a tangled, fluttering mess. She was marking a god, one who had taken many mates in his life, but never accepted a partnership so permanent as to be a dragon’s mate.

  She traced the elaborate pattern in swirls from the base of his neck down his spine before spreading it out across his wide shoulders. This mark would be her claim on him, leaving no question as to who he belonged to. He barely flinched despite the fact that she knew it was a painful ordeal, and when she leaned back to observe the finished product, he kept his head bowed, though he reached back and squeezed her leg.

  “I am yours,” he said. “And I will be yours always.”

  Numa’s throat was too tight to reply. She exhaled a deep breath, sending green smoke to ease and heal the glowing marks that adorned his back in a pair of magnificent wings spanning both shoulder blades.

  Finally he stood and turned, and before she could react, he had her wrapped in his embrace, his mouth solidly covering hers in a passionate kiss that promised all the power she could ask for when he returned.

  “Never doubt your own power to make men love you. This is not a sudden thing, Numa, despite the fact that you are filled with uncertainty. Zephyrus and I needed very little convincing, even when you were young. It’s no wonder that the other three who you have chosen are as eager to bind themselves to you as we are. We will not fail you if you accept our love.”

  “I do,” she said, taking a shaky breath as she rested her forehead against his. “I just hope I don’t fail you all.”

  “You know what needs to be done,” he said. “I will add my power to the ritual as soon as I return. Now go prepare for the barrier to drop. It will happen soon.”

  Aodh gave Deva a swift hug before leaving the room and joining Neph and Vrishti in the outer chamber. He gave Numa a comforting squeeze of her arm on the way past. “We will wait until she is clear and then take down the barrier right away. Zorion, have your group stay and be ready in case Meri attacks. Numa may need defenders to keep the ritual from being interrupted.”

  “Where are we going to do this thing?” Cade asked. “Not in the bedroom, I take it. Doubt your bed is big enough for all of us.”

  Numa turned
to her brother. “Aodh, can you drift us to Gaia’s Falls when the time comes? That’s where the portal needs to be opened to give Nikhil’s army direct access to the Haven.”

  “Certainly,” he said.

  “We will join you there,” Zorion said. “And as soon as Nikhil and the others arrive, we can all join the fight.”

  Numa nodded, then turned to cast one final glance at the trio in the other room. Deva stood flanked by both big men, Dionysus dwarfing her and Ozzy both with his magnificent size. His gaze flashed with promise, and the very second Numa nodded her acknowledgment that she was ready, the trio disappeared.

  “Now!” Neph said, grabbing his mates by their hands. The lodge shook and the light wavered once again. An unholy screeching permeated the air as the room went bright, then dark, then bright once more.

  “Meri isn’t happy,” Zorion said from his station near the window. “Zil, to me. We can at least try to make it hurt when the barrier goes down.”

  The quieter, darker twin to Zorion’s bright, flame-like form went to him, and within a blink, the pair seemed to merge and disappear all at once. Barely two seconds later, they returned, looking harried as they split apart.

  Zil scowled. “She’ll feel that for a while.”

  Zorion nodded. “Yes, she likely won’t risk pissing us off again for some time. Let’s get you all to the summit and get this party started.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Between Neph and his mates’ ability to drift, plus Zorion’s powers of teleportation, the entire group was transported to the banks of the lake above Gaia’s Falls in only a few seconds. Once Cade regained his equilibrium and the nausea of the drift passed, he looked to Numa for directions, only to see her shell-shocked expression as she realized everyone in their group was expecting her to take charge.

  He started toward her with a worried frown. “Sweet pea, tell me what you need.”

  Her brother stepped close and looked down at her. “What is it? It’s not like you to shy away from leading. You were always a natural. It’s part of your nature as a green.”

  “I know. And it’s the reason I am the only one who can complete this ritual. It isn’t taking charge that has me all wound up. It’s the impact it is going to have on all of you,” she said, facing Cade and the other two ursa males who Cade knew were every bit as enamored of the green-eyed beauty as he was.

  “We’ll be yours. I call that a win no matter how things shake out,” Cade said.

  “Don’t forget we’re ursa,” Theron added. “You do us a great honor by choosing us. No other ursa save the ones mated to your siblings can claim as much.”

  “And you are all willing to share me with a god?”

  Cade lifted his brows and scratched his beard. “Well, we need to make sure things are kept fair, but now is hardly the time to decide on a rotation. If his godliness bogarts you, the other four of us will happily take him to task. But the way I see this going is we all get you at the same time. Unless you don’t think you can handle us …” He shot her a playful grin.

  Numa inhaled sharply, her green eyes glowing with fresh desire at that suggestion. “Oh, I can handle you. I look forward to Dion’s return to prove just how much I can handle.”

  He closed the distance between them and rested his hands on her shoulders. Inside the depths of his consciousness, Zephyrus stirred, his arousal accompanied by a warm breeze that tugged at the bindings in Numa’s hair.

  Sliding the edge of his thumb across Numa’s jaw, Cade peered down into her eyes. “What do you say, sweet pea? Ready to get this going?”

  Bekim and Theron moved up behind her, one pressing a kiss to her shoulder while the other kissed her cheek. “Just tell us where you want us,” Bekim said.

  Her body warmed beneath his touch, and Cade had to resist bending to kiss her lush lips. He needed to hear her answer first.

  “Inside me,” she breathed finally, and hell if that didn’t send his blood pumping straight into his cock.

  Cade was only dimly aware of the rest of their group spreading out around them to guard the perimeter. All he cared about was the feel of Numa’s sweet curves against his body and the urgent tug of her fingers at the waistband of his pants.

  Deva was safe now, and his entire reason for being was in his arms, struggling for the second time that day to get him naked. He didn’t even flinch when her talon came out and swiped through the thin silk at his waist, making quick work of the tie. His cock sprang free, and she went to her knees as though in worship.

  “Only hold back until I say so,” Numa said, her lips grazing the swollen head of his cock. Behind her, the other two knelt and were working her clothes off her body, sliding the straps off her shoulders and pushing the fabric over her hips.

  A cloud of swirling iridescent smoke flowed around them, slipping in a shimmering sheet beneath Cade’s feet. He followed the trail with his eyes to where it originated from a very curious, pale-haired Asha, who seemed intent on watching and just as intent on conjuring a luxurious bed of blankets and pillows for their lovemaking. As his attention wavered under Numa’s eager tongue sliding up and down his shaft, the others faded from his periphery as a darker veil drifted down around them, lending privacy from prying eyes.

  “Come away, sister,” Zorion was saying. “Let them work.”

  Cade didn’t give two shits who saw. With any luck, Gaia herself was watching as Bekim and Theron both fell to their knees beside Numa and added their own tongues to the mix.

  “Oh, sweet Jesus,” Cade muttered and let his head fall back. He struggled to remain standing, but wouldn’t have moved for the world as one mouth bent lower and wrapped its wet lips around his balls while the other sucked on the head of his cock. Numa’s deft hands and talented tongue worked his shaft for a moment longer, then disappeared, leaving the two men going at it on their own.

  Bewildered by the change, Cade opened his eyes and looked down to see Numa rising with her green eyes shining.

  “Shall I mark you in the ursa fashion or the dragon? Your preference.” She extended her talons and gently raked the edges across his chest. Small tufts of the thick blond curls on his chest fell away from the razor-sharp extensions. Either way, it was going to hurt, but with a pair of the most talented ursa mouths steadily working him into a frenzy, he didn’t think he’d care much one way or the other.

  “Both, baby. I want everything you can give me.”

  “We’ll start with a dragon mark for each of you,” she said. “One to match Dion’s.”

  She slipped around to his backside and he shivered in ecstasy at the feel of her warm breasts pressed against his back. She brushed her lips over his ear, her tongue tracing the outer shell. “I’ll give you something else I gave Dion that he seemed to enjoy.”

  Her feet nudged at his ankles, urging him to widen his stance. He obeyed, the action itself a promise of an experience he had yet to have in her presence. A soft sigh escaped her mouth as she pulled away from him, and with one hand, gripped his left ass cheek to spread him open. Another, firmer grip from one of the men encompassed his other cheek, and he found himself more exposed than he’d ever been in his life.

  “Open,” she said softly, and he looked down to see Theron’s slips part and a thick, oblong, and very recognizable shape slip between them. Cade’s cock twitched under Bekim’s tongue in anticipation of the thick plug’s intrusion.

  He groaned when the cool, blunt tip touched his opening and Numa applied gentle pressure to ease it into him.

  “Better than my cock?” Zephyrus asked.

  “Gaia’s tears, so much better,” he said.

  “Hmm?” Numa asked and he realized he’d spoken out loud. “You like this? Which of the others would you like to replace it later while your cock is inside me?”

  A pair of interested grunts sounded from below, both of the others keen on his answer.


  “Sweet pea, if I’m inside you, they can all take turns.”

  “I like that answer,” she said, slipping her arms around him and pressing her cheek to his shoulder. “You have no idea how happy that makes me. There is no going back after today. I want all of you to be happy.”

  He let out a groan as his need built under the ministrations of the pair of mouths on his cock. “Baby, I’m guessing you won’t let me come until that mark’s done. I’d really love it if you would get on with it. I adore you. Breezy boy fucking loves you. We sure as fuck hope there’s no going back, because we’re in this for the long haul.”

  Laughing, Numa kissed the side of his neck. “Good,” she said huskily. “This will hurt. I’ll give you the ursa mark after I’ve tasted your Nirvana.”

  Even though he could tell she was quick about it, she’d been right—it hurt like the fucking dickens. It was like the lash of a whip striking in a blur over the span of his shoulders and down his spine. The pleasure of the tongues between his thighs only dulled it so much, but in between lashes, she would pump the plug in and out of his ass until he ached for another strike of pain to go with that unbearable pleasure.

  Cade bit his lip with the effort of holding back until Zephyrus rumbled inside his head, “Open your eyes, look at the sky.” He obeyed, fixing his attention on a puffy white cloud and the nearby Silas tree rustling in the breeze with the roaring rush of the waterfall just beyond. The brief distraction helped and the soles of his feet stopped itching, though his balls felt even heavier, and it didn’t help that one of the other boys was eagerly sucking on them one by one.

  The pain ceased with a wash of cool air against his back and the scent of pine and wet earth. Then Numa was urging him to the ground. Bekim and Theron fell back, reclining against an enormous pile of cushions. He found himself pushed back against another pile with Numa’s flushed face looking down at him.

  She moved to straddle him, her warm thighs sliding against his hips, her nipples tinged green as her dragon nature bled through her human form. It was the surest sign of how close to her own limit she was, and he meant to push her even closer.