by Zoey Draven
It had taken him a long time to realize Pidixa never would have challenged him. Not only because Pidixa knew Devix was a better warrior then, but because Pidixa believed Devix would be executed regardless, not exiled.
Pidixa only challenged him now because he believed he was stronger than Devix. Whereas Devix had been an exile, living on Petrika and then Rozun, Pidixa had been a warrior fighting for Luxiria, utilizing their training every single span, growing stronger. Perhaps he believed he’d finally surpassed Devix in strength.
“You have always been a coward,” Devix said quietly, “for as long as I have known you.”
Pidixa looked on the verge of saying something but then stopped, probably in fear that Vaxa’an would lash out.
“I would like the trial to take place when the suns rise tomorrow,” Pidixa said.
“No,” Vaxa’an said. “It will take place in a quarter lunar cycle.”
One week, Devix thought automatically, knowing that was what Cara called a quarter lunar cycle. Already, he longed for her, but knew that his span would be longer now.
“Prime Leader—”
Vaxa’an swiped his arm through the air as if cutting off Pidixa’s words physically. “I have no choice but to accept your challenge against Devix. However, I still retain the right to set when the trial happens. A quarter lunar cycle, warrior. I will say nothing more about it.”
“You want to help him,” Pidixa said quietly, his lips tightening. “This gives him time to train.”
“You would rather meet him when he is weaker?” Vaxa’an asked quietly. “No honorable Luxirian warrior would welcome this.”
Pidixa’s color shifted in the low light and he took a step back before remembering himself. “He is a criminal. I am just trying to find justice for my sister.”
“He is no criminal. He was simply betrayed by two Luxirians and then punished by unbreakable, ancient laws,” Vaxa’an said, his tone like steel.
Devix looked at his Prime Leader, his heart thumping in his chest. Across the war quarters, Pidixa was so shocked that he seemed incapable of any further words.
“Get out of my command center, warrior,” Vaxa’an said. “You have your trial.”
Pidixa didn’t need to be asked twice. When Devix had entered the war quarters, Pidixa had been like a wild trixava, wanting bloodshed. Now, he was a meek, wounded privixi and he passed Devix without a second glance.
When it was just the three of them, Devix turned to Vaxa’an and inclined his head. “Thank you, Prime Leader.”
“Do not thank me. I delivered your sentencing, after all,” Vaxa’an murmured, turning to them both. “Your ravraxia ceremony will take place tomorrow, Devix, but I suggest you begin training now. I will have to make the announcement of the trial soon.”
“I will take him to the training quarters,” Rixavox said, turning to look at his brother. “We will spare like we used to.”
Devix jerked his head in a nod. “Do you think you can defeat me now? You never could when we were younger.”
Rixavox chortled, but then he stopped, a grim expression coming over his face.
“I honestly hope I will not defeat you, brother,” he replied, “for your sake.”
TWELVE
“DO NOT BE afraid, luxiva,” Devix murmured to her, his hand slowly drifting to her backside.
“I’m not afraid,” she replied, glancing up at him before looking back at the landscape in front of them. “This is just…I didn’t expect this.”
Devix followed her gaze, to the six stone pillars that stood impossibly tall above them, in a perfect circle. A chilly breeze whistled through the ancient statues and Cara felt goosebumps prickle down her arms.
There was something about this place that felt…otherworldly.
“The plains of the Ravrax’tor,” Devix said softly. “This is where the ravraxia takes place. A sacred land.”
“These…” Cara licked her lips, gazing up until she could seen the worn, weathered, smooth faces of the giant statues. They were carved out of mountain, Devix had told her, from the mountain that stood just beyond them. Their pale faces were highlighted by the full, silver moon in the indigo night sky. “These are them? The Fates? Your deities?”
“Tev,” he murmured to her. “Though I admit, I have not felt their presence in a long time.”
“And you feel it now?”
He turned to look at her. “Don’t you?”
She…did.
There was something there. Something bigger. Something that didn’t make sense.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“You will feel them more,” Devix told her, guiding her down from the hovercraft that they still stood within. They’d taken it from the Golden City, alone, flying high above the city until they were well out of view once the twin suns began to sink into the horizon. If not for the moon, the scene in front of them would’ve been completely dark. “Once we approach them and the Seeing begins,” he added.
The hem of the thin, shift dress that Cecelia had bought her from the market swayed around her ankles from an unseen wind. She was barefoot and the black, soft sand tickled her toes.
When she looked up at her mate, she saw he was watching her, his blue eyes glowing in the moonlight. His gaze drifted over her body and another shiver raced through her, her nipples pebbling under the dress. He saw them clearly enough and he let out a small growl. Not only was the dress practically transparent, but the light outlined them through the thin material.
“Focus,” she whispered to him, giving him a small smile. “Let’s do this Seeing thing and then you can rip it off. I promise.”
Another growl, but even she recognized him trying to reign in the ‘beast.’ “Come,” he rasped, holding out his hand for her to take.
Her feet carried her to him and together, they approached the circular ring of the Fates. From that angle, Cara could see that there was something in the very center. It took her a moment to realize it was a domed tent of some kind.
“Is that…” she asked, trailing off.
“Tev,” Devix replied, catching where her gaze was pinned. “That is where we will be mating for the next few spans.”
Cara’s knees trembled. Devix was ravenous enough as it was. They mated at least three times a day. This ravraxia ceremony…it just might kill her.
She blew out a long breath, half in trepidation, half in anticipation. When they reached the very edge of the invisible line that connected all the Fates in a ring, Devix pulled her to a stop.
And then to her surprise, he began to speak. In Luxirian.
She didn’t know what he was saying. She only recognized a few words here and there, stray words that she’d picked up. But she felt their meaning.
He was speaking with them. The Fates that looked down on them. They looked old, worn by time and wind. Some horns were chipped on the males, an angled nose softened, the tips of a female’s nipples smoothed. But their expressions were still vivid. Strong, yet tranquil…primal. The three males were bare-chested, wearing loin-cloths for covering. Cara could still make out the nipple piercings that were detailed in the carvings. As for the females, their breasts, heavy and full, were also exposed, a band wrapping around each of the three’s upper thighs, made visible by a slitted, long skirt they wore.
She felt a tug on her hand as Devix finished speaking. And then, with one last look, they both stepped over the threshold of the circle.
Cara’s eyes went wide and she scrambled for Devix’s gaze when she felt it.
It was…an energy. A strange, strong, electrifying energy that seemed to enter her from the ground up, beginning at the tips of her toes, before traveling up her legs, her thighs, her sex, her belly, until it reached her chest. From there, it exploded everywhere else, hurtling towards the top of her head, to the tips of her fingers, which she clenched together in fear it would burst from her body.
Hell, she could feel it through every single strand of her hair.
It felt…incredib
le. But also frightening.
“D-Dev,” she whispered.
His voice sounded strained, but she felt his presence beside her, comforting and warm and strong, “It will pass soon, luxiva.”
When she looked up at the faces of the Fates, her lips parted because she swore they were looking right at the both of them. Through them.
Cara understood why it was called the Seeing.
And Devix was right…soon, the unsettling, but pleasant sensation passed.
In its place was something else.
Cara whimpered.
A startling warmth began to bloom in her belly, shooting streaks of white, hot pleasure that she felt everywhere.
Her back arched slightly at the intensity and her gaze found Devix’s. His shoulders were heaving from his sudden harsh breaths and a steady purr rose from his throat. His eyes were pitch black, a familiar sight to her, dilated from his own pleasure.
“W-what’s happening?” she whispered, her sentence ending with a slight moan when she felt her clit begin to throb.
“The Fates have blessed us, luxiva,” Devix rasped, catching her around the waist when he saw how her knees shook. A moment more and she may have collapsed entirely.
The moment their bodies made contact, it was like an explosion burst inside her. Her skin had become so sensitive that even the light, transparent shift dress she wore felt like a heavy furred cloak around her. When Devix swung her up into his arms, she wrapped her legs around his waist, shamelessly grinding her center against his rock hard abdomen, trying to ease the pressure that was building inside her.
“Luxiva,” he grated, his hands clenching on her ass, palming her flesh with a possessiveness she was familiar with.
Cara began to pant and every breath made her nipples rub against her dress and his chest. It drove her mad and she groaned deep in her throat, leaning forward to suck on the flesh of her mate’s neck, nibbling and licking, trying to make him do something that would ease the ache inside her.
A rough muted roar tore from his throat. She thought that he would stride towards the tent, towards the warm glow from an unseen fire inside that illuminated the circle of the Fates.
But no.
Instead, he pushed her up against one of the pillars of the Fates, one of the females with the longest hair and the fullest hips.
“Devix,” she cried out in surprise.
“She would approve,” he rasped, pushing her back into the smooth, steady stone before bunching her dress up her thighs, exposing her slick flesh, with her arousal dripping between them. “She stands for fertility.”
Cara made a soft mewing sound in her throat, caught between a whimper and a moan, as Devix tore through the laces of his pants. His thick, engorged cock sprang free, impossibly aroused. The tip was covered in his shimmering pre-cum, reflecting in the moonlight.
Cara didn’t get to look at him long because with one powerful thrust, he was sheathed inside her.
A bellow echoed around the ring of the Fates and her loud cry tangled with his, becoming a sound that was completely their own.
With a half-lidded gaze, Cara looked at her mate. Her male. He was magnificent in the light. His muscles were strained and strengthened, making him appear even larger than he already was. His eyes were riveted on her, focused and yet wild. His obsidian horns were stiff and lethal. He was strong, her protector, her lover, her everything.
And she’d never seen him so unraveled as she did right then, slamming into her body, making her breasts bob and her clit sizzle.
Her fingertips bit into the tops of his shoulders and she knew he would have marks there afterwards. He never minded. He looked at the mating marks she left on him with a sense of masculine pride.
So, when she tightened her hands, he gave a purely animalistic growl, his hips picking up pace between her thighs. He fucked her with all the leverage he could get and when Cara’s orgasm began to build, she let it without a single moment of hesitation. Even though the power of it frightened her.
“Tight,” he rasped. “Your cunt is so tight, female.”
His cock was so big that her pussy would always feel tight to him, she thought in the back of her mind.
Biting her lip, Cara clenched her walls even tighter around him and he let out a strangled groan, his hips jerking in an unsteady rhythm.
“Yes,” she hissed, feeling the strength of him piston between her thighs. But it wasn’t enough. Her head thrashed from side-to-side. “More, baby. I need more!”
With a purring growl that vibrated his cock inside her, Devix tore them both from the pillar of the fertility Fate. Still inside her, he strode them over to the tent, every step making his knobs and ridges rub against her sensitive walls, making her whole body tingle and shudder with pleasure. Over his shoulder, through a blurry gaze, she saw the face of the fertility Fate. Cara swore she was smiling.
But then, Devix ducked into the tent and the flap fell behind them, blocking her from sight.
And then it was just the two of them.
Cara didn’t get a chance to look around at their surroundings before Devix tossed her back onto a bed of plush, soft furs at the side of the tent, his cock withdrawing, leaving her empty and desperate. Then he dropped down to his knees between her splayed thighs, tearing away her shift dress like it was tissue paper. It crumpled in his hands and he tossed the material away.
His clothes soon followed, leaving them both naked. His nostrils flared as he looked down at her, as he scented her creamy arousal dripping from between her thighs.
There was a small fire in the center pit that illuminated their tent, giving the space a warm, sensual glow. It also smelled like some sort of incense had been lit, a spicy scent that fogged her brain, mixing with Devix’s own scent, driving her absolutely crazy.
“Dev,” she moaned. “I need you now. Please!”
She needed that cock inside her. Needed it stretching and filling and fucking her until she couldn’t think about anything else. The pleasure was becoming too intense, building and building without an escape and she worried what would happen if she let it grow too long.
Cara choked on a breath when Devix returned to her, clasping her at the backs of her knees and pushing her thighs so, so wide. Between them, she saw her slit exposed in an almost obscene way. Devix watched as well, running his gaze over her glistening flesh before dragging his fingertip from her opening to her throbbing, swollen clit.
“Ohhh,” Cara moaned, her hips bucking, holding her breath when an orgasm threatened to break over her.
With a roar, Devix slammed his cock into her body. He used an angle that he knew would stimulate her G-spot—her wicked, wicked mate—and Cara was cumming before he withdrew his first thrust.
“O-oh my—”
She couldn’t say anything else.
If she’d thought she knew what an orgasm was before that moment, she’d been wrong. So, so wrong.
Cara screamed, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as the intoxicating, unparalleled pleasure ran its course through her body. It pounded through her, growing and growing as Devix continued to thrust between her thighs. Her back arched and she squeezed her eyes shut until she saw blackness and little white pinpricks of light.
Through a haze, she heard Devix’s bellow but it sounded muted compared to the rushing of blood in her ears. Her pussy clenched around him in a tight vice, trying to draw his seed, but he didn’t give it to her. Not yet. And she groaned, longing to feel that hot cum lashing against her walls.
When she resurfaced from the haze of her orgasm, his eyes were pinned on her, unwavering as he continued to mate her body.
God, she’d never seen anything more arousing, more erotic than her male.
“Cum, baby,” she whispered, pleading with him. “I need to feel it.”
“After,” he grated, rolling his hips, never ceasing his thrusts even though she’d just experienced the most intense orgasm of her entire life.
“A-after what?” she cried, h
er mind still in a fog.
“Blood bond,” he rasped.
She’d almost forgotten. But she was so far gone that he could’ve asked her to do anything and she would’ve agreed without hesitation. She’d do anything for him.
“Yes,” she moaned, her nipples tingling after a particularly deep thrust.
“And then,” he purred, leaning down to lick at the seam of her lips, “I will fill you with so much seed it will spill from your hot, greedy cunt.”
“Yes,” she moaned, her head thrashing.
A moment later, Devix dragged his sharpest claw across his flesh, slicing a deep cut into his chest, just above his pectoral muscles. A line of blue blood appeared, a drop escaping that he caught with his fingertip.
Cara gasped, watching the cut.
“Are you ready, luxiva?” he asked, his voice a velvety rasp.
Her body jerked when he gave her a particular mind-numbing, hard, delicious thrust of his cock and she met his gaze. In a flash, she leaned forward and sucked on the tip of his finger, laving the blood away with her tongue. An answer to his question.
Devix’s gaze widened slightly, his nostrils flared, and when she released his finger, he kissed her hard, their teeth knocking together. Cara inhaled a sharp breath between them.
He pulled away. In a flash, he nicked the side of her neck with his claws, but she didn’t feel a thing, too consumed by him, by the pleasure of their mating.
And before she could respond, he dropped down so his pectoral muscle was just above her lips and she felt him lick the line of red blood from her neck.
Cara’s head swam at the sizzling sensation.
“Taste me, luxiva,” he rasped, his hips surging forward.
With a strangled cry, she did as he asked and latched her lips to the cut, licking the blood, taking it into her body until she felt it burn in her stomach.
And just like when they first crossed the threshold of the circle of the Fates, another energy began to build inside her body. But that time, she knew it was only because of Devix, because of his blood.