It was too much—Liana came, her body pulsating with pleasure, and moments later Angelei and Tirnac both shouted as they climaxed.
Liana was still riding the waves of her orgasm when Tirnac knelt between her thighs and slid his fingers inside her.
“Again?” she gasped, somehow wanting more, yet wondering if she should.
“’Tis our custom,” Angelei said as she settled beside Liana on the chair. “You are required to be properly prepared. Your mind must be relaxed and free to do the Council’s bidding.”
Before Liana could respond, the Elvin woman brought her mouth to Liana’s nipple, and Tirnac buried his face between her thighs.
And then Liana was too lost in the sensations to question anything.
Hours later, when Liana had experienced more orgasms than she thought any one person could have in an entire moon cycle, she was so exhausted she was sure she could sleep for a week. But Angelei and Tirnac escorted her back to the bedchamber, and finished her preparations for the meeting. She had to admit that between the orlai and the orgasms she was very relaxed.
The Elves combed Liana’s tresses until they glittered like silver moonbeams. Angelei put a circlet of gold upon Liana’s brow. At the front of the circlet was a blood red stone that matched the one in Aric’s dagger.
“Are you certain I cannot wear something when I go to this meeting?” Liana asked as Angelei rubbed a sparkling perfumed powder onto Liana’s back.
Tirnac smiled and administered the powder to Liana’s well-suckled nipples. “’Tis not done. No one wears clothing here.”
Liana caught her breath at the feeling of his palms on her sensitive breasts. “Will Aric be there?”
“Aye.” Angelei placed the container of powder onto a small table. “The King is being prepared as you are.”
“Prepared?” A wave of jealousy rose up in Liana, a feeling so intense that it shocked her. The thought of anyone else sucking his cock and bringing him to orgasm was too much. What if he filled an Elvin maid the way he filled her?
Liana’s face burned anew as she realized she had just enjoyed climax after climax at the hands—and mouths—of these Elves.
Was Aric enjoying his preparation?
Would he feel the same overriding feelings of possessiveness at the thought of her enjoying such pleasure with anyone but him?
Chapter Eight
It took seven Elvin warriors to hold Aric to the floor, pry his jaws open and pour the orlai into his mouth.
“Many apologies, my Lord,” Damianne said with a devious grin as she stood over him, the enrli symbols glittering on her forehead and in the black hair between her thighs. The nude Elvin maid’s breasts swayed as she crouched and slid a tube filled with orlai to the back of his throat and released the liquid. “You know it must be done.” She backed away when she finished giving him the dose, waiting for the potion to take effect.
The strawberry ginger taste burned Aric’s throat, and he coughed as he struggled against the hands and bodies of the males holding him down. His muscles bunched with fury. By the gods! If he had known the Elves would insist upon the Con’tu’a, he would never have brought Liana here.
The ache from the gash on his forehead faded as the warm liquid flowed through his body. Aric relaxed against his will and his thoughts swam. The Elvin bastards must have given him an extra dose of the orlai. The naked warriors laughed as they released him, each rubbing a jaw, arm, or other body part where Aric had managed to land a blow as he attempted to fight them off.
As the warriors left the bedchamber, Kerriel, a beautiful green-eyed and golden-haired Elvin warrior, moved beside his prone position and Aric smelled her woman’s scent. Her enrli symbol was shaved into the shorn blonde hair between her thighs and tattooed on her forehead, and like Damianne’s the symbols glittered and matched the color of her eyes.
Kerriel bent and grasped Aric’s hand. “Come now, you big Nordain oaf.”
Damianne took his other hand and the two Elvin women helped Aric to his feet. “’Tis time for your preparations,” Damianne said with laughter in her voice.
“I require no damn preparations.” Aric glared at Damianne, but his words came out slurred and he stumbled into Kerriel.
The Elvin maid giggled and pressed her lithe body to his, her nipples pebble-hard against his chest. “’Tis our way, as you well know, my Lord.” Kerriel stroked his thick cock that lengthened at her touch. “And your desire for the Tanzinite maid must be leashed until the Council makes its determination.”
Damianne’s long fingers eased through the soft hair around his bollocks. “If your lust is not reined, you might interfere with Liana’s Seer’s visions.”
Aric shuddered with longing for his zjenni. It had been two days since their arrival in Seraphine. He had not been allowed to go near her, not even once, despite his rantings, ravings and threats. He needed to understand why she had tried to leave him, and then make love to her until she was senseless and neither of them could walk for a week.
“Liana,” Aric mumbled in his orlai stupor, “I must see her.”
“In good time.” Damianne pulled Aric from the bedside, through a doorway, and into a bathing room. “She is being prepared as we speak.”
Fury whirled within Aric and tried to rise at the thought of anyone bringing Liana to orgasm but him, however the orlai kept his emotions and his body in check. He knew his anger was irrational, that this was part of Elvin culture and the only way they believed a Seer could experience the purest visions. But gods knew he wanted only his hands on Liana’s body, and not another male’s.
Kerriel held tight to Aric’s other arm, pushing him forward with one of her small hands to his back. The orlai mixture they had given him was so strong that he could barely walk, much less struggle against the women. And he wouldn’t want to hurt one of them in his fit of need to get to Liana.
Steam rose from the mineral water, heated from underground hot springs. Damianne and Kerriel escorted Aric down three steps and to the edge of the bath. As he stood, the two Elvin maidens began soaping him with a sandalwood-scented potion. He flinched as Damianne washed the wound across his back, a memento of his battle with the irani. The stinging faded as Aric closed his eyes and imagined it was Liana’s hands upon his chest, his buttocks…the hair around his bollocks and on his cock.
The Elves were beings of pleasure, and like the customs of his own people, it was not uncommon to share those pleasures with other than one’s heartmate, except for intercourse—once a man had found his heartmate he would never enter another woman.
Yet now that he had found his own heartmate, Aric had no desire to experience any pleasure with anyone but his zjenni.
However, his body couldn’t help but be aroused from the combination of the orlai, his carnal thoughts of Liana, and the naked Elvin maids caressing and stroking his body.
When he felt warmth and a sucking pressure on his cock, he opened his eyes to see Kerriel on her knees in the shallow water, taking his staff deep in her throat. “Mmmm…give me all of you, my Lord.”
“You have enjoyed our ministrations many times before,” Black-haired Damianne said as moved behind Kerriel, pressing her breasts against the blonde Elvin woman’s back. Damianne’s amethyst eyes glittered. “You filled each of us with your cock several times on your last visit.”
“But not now that I have found my heartmate,” Aric replied through clenched teeth as Kerriel applied harder pressure on his staff.
Imagining that it was Liana who sucked his cock, Aric thrust into the Elvin maid’s mouth, and then cried out as he came in her throat. Kerriel moaned with her own orgasm while she sucked down Aric’s seed, and smiled as her forest green eyes met his.
Before Aric had a chance to catch his breath, Damianne traded places with Kerriel. “My turn to relieve you of your stress and taste your seed, my King,” Damianne murmured. She clenched her fingers into his buttocks as she lowered her head and brought his staff to hardness once again.
&
nbsp; Kerriel pleasured Damianne, taking her to her climax as the brunette worked her magic on Aric’s cock.
As Aric came again, his thoughts were only of Liana.
* * * * *
Angelei and Tirnac escorted Liana through long winding halls lit by countless golden orbs. The orlai still flowed in Liana’s veins, making her feel as though she was drifting down the hallway. Knowing that in moments she would stand before the Seraphine Council, her belly fluttered as though hundreds of damselflies danced within.
What would the Council determine her fate to be? And Aric’s?
Would he be angry with her for attempting to flee when she had given him her word to stay?
She pressed her fist to her bare belly, as if it might stop the fluttering sensation. “Will I see Aric now?”
“Perhaps.” Angelei shrugged. “It seems he was not altogether willing to participate in the preparations.” She grinned over Liana’s head at Tirnac. “But with a little assistance, he finally did what was required of him.”
Liana frowned, uncertain as to how she should feel about those comments. Thrilled that he was unwilling? Or jealous that he had succumbed to another woman’s touch?
The moment she walked into the Council Chambers, Liana felt Aric’s eyes upon her. Pausing mid-step, she snapped her gaze to where he stood across the room. All of the longing filling her soul was mirrored in his black eyes, even though his expression was stern. He was so handsome standing in his naked splendor, his arms crossing his massive chest, his cock thick and full the instant their eyes met.
She noticed the gash across his forehead, and her Seer’s instincts told her that she had been the cause.
An apology rose like a swarm of bees within her breast. Aric, I am—
“You cannot speak with the King.” Angelei grabbed Liana’s arm and tugged her toward the center of the chamber. The Elvin woman’s voice had turned hard, so unlike how she had been in the bedchamber and at the lake. “Not in thought or otherwise. Keep your eyes on the Council chairs only.”
Liana bit the inside of her lip, wanting to rebel as she was led toward a throne and six empty chairs arranged in a semi-circle at the front of the chamber. How had Angelei known Liana was speaking to Aric in thought? Could all Elves read her mind?
Even Liana’s tresses remained still, hanging down her back and past her buttocks. She struggled to maintain her dignity although she felt as though she was on public display, completely naked for all to see. It mattered not that every other person in the room was naked as well.
Elvin men and women warriors stood guard at each of the two doors to the sides of the circular chamber. At least half a dozen warriors surrounded Aric, as though ensuring he would remain where he stood. Only Angelei and Tirnac accompanied Liana, and they left her alone and retreated once she was delivered to the center of the chamber.
Three smaller chairs on each side flanked the ornately carved throne before her. Before the throne sat an enormous golden urn, so tall that it reached Liana’s waist, its top as large as a barrel of ale. Liquid glimmered at the surface of the urn, and Liana caught the unmistakable perfume of jensai blooms.
The scent brought back a rush of memories of her flight from Aric, her fall into the vines…and naught else until she woke this very morn. Her cheek tingled where it had brushed a bloom, and she raised her fingers to rub the sensation away. She felt Aric’s keen gaze upon her back and she sensed the frustration roiling from him in endless waves.
A door appeared within the vine wall behind the throne. her breath caught and she took a step back. Golden light outlined the male and female Council members who stepped through the doorway. Every Elvin man and woman who entered the chamber was exquisitely perfect, each more beautiful than the last.
Gracefully they each glided in to stand before a chair, and then as one they sat. Like all the other Elves Liana had seen, each had a symbol on their foreheads and below—enrli, Angelei had called them.
The Elvin woman who perched on the edge of the throne captured Liana’s attention at once. She wore a sparkling circlet around her head and her hair hung in golden ripples over her shoulders and breasts, with only her large nipples peeking through her tresses. She had brilliant amethyst eyes, and the symbol on her forehead and between her thighs glittered purple, almost seeming to pulsate with light. She was a dazzling, ethereal being, and Liana found herself both enchanted and speechless.
I am Yanea, Queen of Seraphine, the woman spoke in Liana’s thoughts. Welcome, Tanzinite Seer Liana.
Liana startled at the Queen’s voice in her head. No one had ever been able to speak in thought with her, and she found the experience exciting and nerve-wracking all at once.
Inclining her head in a gesture of respect, Liana said through thought, I thank you for your gracious hospitality, Queen Yanea.
The Queen stood and motioned Liana to come forward and stand beside the golden urn. Yanea signaled to Angelei, who brought forth a crystal chalice. When the Queen took the goblet, Angelei bowed and retreated.
Yanea dipped the goblet into the liquid in the urn. Blood red fluid swirled within the crystal as the Queen held it out to Liana. Drink of the Seer’s potion, she commanded. Every last drop.
Liana hesitated, but her instincts, along with the hardness in the Queen’s amethyst eyes, made her take the goblet and put it to her lips. The bitter liquid tasted like dirt and smelled strongly of jensai. It chilled her mouth and throat as it slid past her tongue, and she began to shiver, feeling as though it iced her veins.
When Liana had emptied the chalice, her fingers were so numb she barely felt the Queen pry the container from her fingers.
Look into the sacred urn, Yanea demanded. As you vision, I will see whatever you do.
Liana’s mind whirled as she felt Elves take her by the arms and press her toward the urn. When her hands had firmly grasped the urn’s sides, Liana stared into the liquid, feeling as though she was gazing into a vat of blood. The potion sparkled and glimmered before her eyes. Liana’s vision blurred and her body trembled so badly she could hardly stand.
Cold. I am so cold…
But then what she saw made her soul freeze and her core turn to ice.
Naked. Chained to an iron bed, flat on her back. The room is dark, save for moonlight pouring through the single window, and her heart beats so fast it might explode from her chest.
The moon shimmers from silver to lavender. Soon it will be moonchange, and then he will come for her.
Liana struggles against her bonds, the metal cutting into the flesh of her wrists and ankles, and she curses her weakness. Curses fate for bringing her to the Sorcerer’s bed.
The moon darkens to amethyst, and she knows he’s coming. Her stomach clenches and she begins to tremble as his footsteps ring in the hall like a hammer against stone. Every step closer drives the stake deeper into her heart and her destiny.
The rusty sound of a bar scraping against the door. Hinges creak and the door flings open, slamming against the stone wall. The Sorcerer strides in, naked, his cock fully erect, ready to plant his wicked seed into her womb.
His mouth slashes into a cruel grin. “Together we shall start a powerful race that will enable me to rule all of Dair.” He strokes her face with his soft fingers and she recoils from his clammy touch. “This I have seen, Tanzinite maid, as have you. It is no use to fight our destiny.”
Screaming, Liana fights against the chains. The Sorcerer laughs, his black eyes flashing red as he lowers himself between her thighs…
“No!” Liana shouted and tore herself from the vision. Shaking with icy terror, she struggled against her bonds.
I cannot get away!
“Zjenni!” Aric’s shout pierced her confused thoughts.
“Enough,” Yanea said out loud, her voice as sharp as the snap of a branch.
Liana went limp as she realized she was back in the Council Chamber. Two Elvin warriors held her hands tight to the urn. Every muscle in her body was weak with relief that s
he was not in the Sorcerer’s bedchamber.
A vision. Only a vision.
But she almost choked on the lump that rose as she realized that her visions most often came true.
“Release me,” Aric demanded from behind Liana, and she sensed him fighting his Elvin guard. He was attempting to get to her with everything he had. “Can you not see it causes her pain?”
“Silence!” The Queen turned her gaze from Liana to those gathered behind her. “The Tanzinite maid must be allowed to see what else the sacred potion can tell her.”
Yanea’s voice lowered as she added, “There are always two paths. Two destinies. Never one.”
Once again, Liana was forced to stare into the potion.
A smile touches Liana’s lips as she rests her hand on her growing belly. Through the window of Sky Castle she sees her two-year-old twin sons at play with their Nordain cousins. Her sons are dark haired, like their father, but with pointed ears and sea green eyes like their mother.
Liana rubs her belly, wondering what her daughter will look like. Thinking of how much fun her child will have playing with her halfling and full Nordain relatives. Elvin and Nordain, Human and Nordain, Tanzinite and Nordain…Faerie and Nordain. No longer are the races segregated. They live, love and laugh together.
Hands squeeze her shoulders in a firm grip, and she looks up to see her husband. He leans down to kiss her, his lips firm yet soft against her own. “Zjenni,” he murmurs.
Her heart overflows with love and contentment until she looks back out the window and sees the dark storm on the horizon…
Zjenni, Aric murmured in Liana’s thoughts, and she felt warm and secure in her dream of his love.
Faintly she heard the Queen’s voice. “Leave the King be. The Tanzinite maid’s visions are complete.”
“My love,” Aric said, and she felt lips press against her temple. “Wake. Please.”
Liana blinked away the shadows and found that she was secure in Aric’s arms. She looked up into his handsome face. Had he just called her his love?
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