By the Magic of Starlight (The Forbidden Realm)

by Serena Gilley

  “I won’t let you be involved in this, Raea.”

  “It’s too late, Kyne. I am involved.”

  “So what do we do?” he asked after a long pause that let her know just how conflicted he truly was about this.

  “We go where your father told you. We find out what he was trying to tell you.”

  “I’m not sure I want to find out anything more.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Not if it puts you in danger.”

  “All of us might be in danger already. That’s what he was trying to tell you.”

  He had stopped flying now and was hovering. They had been following the cut of the valley below. Large, tree-covered hills rolled out around them, the largest one rising up directly beside the spot where they’d found the machine and appearing nearly circular from this altitude. The height of it was deceptive from above, but she could easily see how the human might have referred to it as a mountain. It dominated the forest, like the hub in a giant wheel with valleys and lesser hills radiating out from it.

  This was an area she didn’t recognize, but she could see the lake off in the distance with the faint lights from the nearest human city. It gave her some idea where they were, some point of reference. When he made his desperate wish back in the Council Hall, how had that brought them here?

  There must be a reason they’d ended up here rather than anywhere else in Fairyrealm. Had Kyne’s father had something to do with it? Perhaps. Or maybe it was the odd energy from the machine that directed them here. Or maybe it didn’t really matter what had brought them to that particular spot, just that they had come and now they needed to do something.

  “By the Skies,” Kyne grumbled, flapping his huge wings angrily and reaching to rest one hand safely over her as she perched on his shoulder. “We have to go see what’s on top of the mountain, don’t we?”

  “Definitely.”

  He sighed, but changed direction abruptly. She was glad he’d been holding her or she might have toppled off. Not that she couldn’t fly on her own, but with that Sizing Dust, he was huge. He took huge wing strokes. He was at the top of the mountain, trees rushing by just beneath them, in no time. She could have never kept up with that.

  He dropped down between the trees near the top. There was no obvious clearing or any sign of human habitation. The forest they found themselves in seemed completely untouched. And dark. She was surprised Kyne could see well enough to move between branches and scrub until she felt his feet land securely on earth. She hugged his neck, hoping no owl would get sight of her and decide she looked particularly tasty.

  “There it is,” he said.

  She jumped, surprised by his words because very clearly there was nothing. Only trees and dark, foreboding shadows.

  “There what is?”

  “The outpost my father mentioned.”

  “Um, where?”

  “Right there.”

  He pointed into the darkest part of the forest. She couldn’t even tell whether this was the top of the mountain or the bottom. There was obviously no sign of any outpost and she worried that Kyne might be imagining things.

  “I don’t see anything,” she admitted.

  “It’s right up there, on the top of that ridge.”

  There was no ridge. The whole forest was just dark, featureless except for the endless supply of trees. Not even big, majestic trees. They were simply dense, spindly trees growing so close together that she doubted Kyne could even walk between them. They blocked the moonlight and stifled the air. No birds rustled around in them, either. She did not like this forest one bit.

  “Where are you going?” she asked as he began moving forward.

  “I’m following this path.”

  “There’s no path, Kyne.”

  “Of course there is. It goes right up alongside that ridge, then steps go up to the outpost.”

  “But… I don’t see any of that. Are you certain?”

  “You don’t see it?”

  “No. I don’t like this place, Kyne. Let’s leave.”

  “You don’t see that building?”

  “I don’t see anything here. Just trees and… darkness. We should go.”

  “But it’s right there in front… Oh, Baylor mentioned something about special magic.”

  “That’s what he was talking about? You mean there really is some magical building here that you can see but I can’t?”

  “Because I used the Sizing Dust he gave me.”

  “So he did want you to find it. All right, then. Is there any of that dust left for me?”

  “Help yourself.”

  He held the pouch out to her. It was tiny in his hands, but perfectly sized for a fairy. She took it and felt inside. Yes, there was strong magic here. Something a little bit different about it, too. Nothing she could quite put her finger on, but this magic was indeed something she’d not used before. She leaped off Kyne’s warm, solid shoulder and tossed a pinch in the air.

  It worked quickly. In an instant she was beside him, as big as he was and staring open-mouthed at the forest around her. Everything had changed, even before the last glow of the dust had faded.

  “I see it! There’s a path, and a ridge, and a little house sitting right over there,” she said, more than a little bit amazed.

  How had she not seen this a moment ago? It was plain as day to her now. A clearing had been cut and blue beams of moonlight filtered through the huge, sheltering oaks that stood all around them. The place was pleasant and inviting. She could hear the birds, now, too. The enchantment that hung over this place must have included something to induce fear in anyone happening by. If not for Kyne and his ability to see what really was, she would’ve left here immediately and never come back.

  “Come on,” he said, leading the way up the path.

  She followed. They walked rather than flew, although the clearing was large enough they could have done so if needed. The path was so inviting, though, that walking seemed most appropriate. Enjoyable, even.

  Clearly this was a house built by humans. Still, the feel of the special magic was all over it. Raea had never encountered such a place. She felt easily as comfortable here as she ever had in a fairy building. How very odd.

  Kyne opened the weathered front door of the building. Baylor had called it a lookout post, but to Raea it appeared far more a house. The door opened into a large room, windows on all sides of the building allowing moonlight to come in, casting blue light over the cozy furnishings.

  Immediately to their left was an arrangement of chairs. They were cushioned and placed around the room so that humans could sit casually and have conversation. She had seen many such rooms in human habitats. A woolen rug of braided strands in brown, red, and gold made the room feel warm and relaxing. Beyond this was the sort of area humans often used for food preparation. She’d heard it called a kitchen and this seemed a tidy, efficient example of one, complete with a round wooden table and yet more chairs. There certainly were more than enough chairs in this place, at least a dozen or more. Perhaps if humans could fly they would spend less time sitting.

  To their right, a door opened into a separate area. She could see through the doorway and knew this was the bedroom. Humans liked to make use of those, she well knew. And not merely for sleeping. She wondered if the sight of that big, human bed with its soft layers of pillows and blankets was having the same effect on Kyne that she was feeling in her own body. It was hard not to imagine what they might do there, alone in this unusual place where no one could find them.

  One glance at his face put an end to her wondering. Kyne’s darkened eyes were on hers and there was no need for words between them. Desire was already thick in the air.

  “Do you think we’re really safe here?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ve never encountered magic like this.”

  “But until you used that special dust I had no idea this cottage was here. Maybe we really are safe! We could let our guard down, relax for just a l
ittle while.” She moved closer to him, laying her hand on his chest and hoping he knew exactly what she meant by “relax.”

  “We can’t, Raea,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s too risky.”

  “Are you saying that because you really believe it, or because you think it’s the right thing to say?”

  “I’m saying it because I won’t risk putting you in danger. We don’t know anything about this place.”

  “Thanks to the special magic, neither does anyone else.”

  “My father knows about it.”

  “And even if he were on his way now, it would take an hour for him to get all the way up here. We’ve never been so safe, so alone, Kyne.”

  Just speaking those words made the breath catch in her chest. Safe. Alone. Could it really be? They were safe from both humans and fairies here? She’d never even imagined a place like that, a place where the constant struggle between magic and the mundane just disappeared.

  But how was it that Kyne’s human father knew of it? And why did he send them here? Kyne had never spoken kindly of the man, and surely he’d not made life easy for Kyne or his mother. Did they have any reason at all to trust the man? His alliance with the fairies seemed tenuous at best. Common sense would say the last thing they should do would be to trust him.

  Still, he’d had his chance to betray Kyne and be rewarded for his effort, yet he’d chosen not to. He’d taken a risk for his son and that was something Raea knew neither of them could truly ignore. By sending them here, Baylor had shown he was more than just a pleasure-seeking, self-gratifying human.

  “He knew you needed a place to hide,” she said aloud. “And he didn’t give the others any clue I was with you. Perhaps there is more to him than you know, Kyne. Perhaps you can trust him.”

  But he shook his head. “I can’t even trust myself, Raea. Who knows what schemes are in place around us, what danger we’re in? What danger you’re in.”

  “But this place is protected, and we’ve got a whole pouch of that special dust. It seems that your father thought of everything.”

  “My father… as if he deserves to be called that. I’d rather not talk about him right now.”

  “And I’d rather not talk at all,” she said, giving him a smile full of suggestion. “There are so many better ways to make use of our time.”

  He seemed to be struggling to hold himself back, so she pressed herself against him. The Sizing Dust had caused their clothes to grow with them, but they were providing a pitiful barrier. She slid her hand easily past Kyne’s covering and found the warm, solid flesh of his cock. He’d not be holding himself back for long, she could tell.

  “By the Skies, Raea, you’re going to destroy whatever self-control I still have left.”

  “And then what will you do?” she asked him.

  “I’ll drag you over to that bed and do the most human things possible to you.”

  Now she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

  He kissed her back, wrapping her tightly against him and literally taking her breath away.

  “Even after all this,” he murmured. “With all the danger and the secrets and knowing what I am… how can you still want to be with me?”

  “I don’t want to be anywhere else,” she replied honestly, then added, “except, maybe, in that big soft bed over there.”

  “Then let’s go over there and find out what it’s like to do this properly, without constant worry we’ll be found out or disrupted or end up the wrong size or—”

  “Shut up, Kyne. Put your mouth to better use, please.”

  He laughed a little, but mostly he complied. With enthusiasm. He started at her neck. It felt like the perfect place to begin, so she let him kiss and nibble her there to his heart’s content.

  She cursed their bothersome clothing. If only she were fully naked with him now, but the effort of removing her clothes would mean she’d have to ask him to pause from his kisses. Even pausing for a moment would be too long. Fortunately, the fern Kyne had wrapped around himself after his own clothes had been destroyed by nonmagical resizing didn’t need any distracting pause. She was able to yank it off of him in one quick, easy movement.

  By the Skies, he was huge and hard and she just couldn’t keep her hands off him. His chest, his arms, his undulating abdomen… it was all wonderful. None so much as the magnificent cock she tightened her fingers around, though. It was hot and nearly seared her with desire. Magic filled the little cabin, making her tingle inside as well as out.

  “You taste even better bigger,” he said, moving from her neck to her shoulders.

  “Everything’s better when it’s bigger,” she said, smoothing her hand over the full length of his already enormous cock.

  He responded by pulling her tighter and bringing his kisses to her lips again. She was wrapped in his arms and his wings and could barely breathe now. His tongue sought entrance to her mouth and she willingly gave it. Her hand was wedged securely between them, grasping his cock as if for her life support. Magic was a visible glow in the air now.

  His wings unfurled, stroking the air and lifting them both up off the ground. The cabin was not built for flight, but distance didn’t seem his intent. In a heartbeat, he had her in the bedroom and deposited on the bed. He hovered over her as his hands went to the work of removing her clothes. Somehow the magic around them bent to his will and her feather top seemed to simply float off her body. The pink skirt followed immediately.

  “How’d you do that?” she asked, watching her clothing flutter away from her and onto the floor.

  “Magic.”

  “But what sort of magic? You didn’t use any dust.”

  “I wanted you naked, and now you are. There is something special about magic in this place. I like it.”

  “I think I do, too,” she said. “It feels different… wilder, perhaps. I’m used to the magic feeling confined. Usually we harness it and use it as a tool, but this isn’t like that. I’m not sure this is magic I know how to control.”

  “Then don’t control it, Raea. Let yourself go. What do you want the magic to do?”

  It was a very good question. She could feel the magic flowing around them, coursing through them like blood in their veins and air in their lungs. It was part of them in a way she had never experienced before. She had never been so very aware of her magic, never so aware of her body. And Kyne’s.

  What could she do with magic like this? No dust, no wishes… just wanting and desire, breathing and feeling. It was intoxicating and she wanted to give in to it fully. What did she want the magic to do? That was easily answered.

  She wanted to drench her senses in Kyne, in the unfettered emotions she felt for him. And their passion. It was raging, frightening, but also tender and sweet. Yes, so very, very sweet.

  Since the matter of his clothing had already worked itself out, she was left having to dream up some other magical occurrence. It hardly took any thought at all. Instantly a trail of glowing, amber honey appeared from a spot in the air just above them. It poured magically through the empty space between them and trickled in warm, gooey threads over her breasts. Sweetness, indeed.

  Kyne watched in amazement. Raea giggled.

  “It tickles.”

  “By the Skies, you are creative,” he said, his eyes following the slow movement of the thick liquid.

  “Creative and sticky.”

  The last honey beads dropped from a magical point in the air, and then the flow was done. She felt the seeping pool of sweetness creep over her skin. Her nipples puckered as the honey engulfed them, coating her in tingling warmth. She watched, tantalized by her own body, yet aching with want for his.

  “Now I suppose you’ll want me to clean that off you?” Kyne asked.

  “Would you do that for me?”

  He was already dipping in to suckle her. “It might take a while…”

  “I certainly hope so.”

  His lips closed around h
er nipples, teasing her and smearing the honey more than removing it. She moaned at the pleasure it gave her. When he left off his halfhearted cleaning, he kissed her lips again, sharing the sweetness. She pulled him down to her, the honey now coating his own skin. She’d have to tend to that later.

  For now she needed to feel him, all of him, filling her fully.

  It didn’t require magic to get there, either. He was ready for her, just as she was ready for him. He let up on his kisses just enough for her to gather fresh air, then to exhale it all in a blissful groan when the full size of his burning cock dove into her.

  He was right where she needed him to be. Her body flared into reaction, arching up to meet him as he thrust once, then twice, then again and again. Their tempo urgent, she wrapped her legs around him and pressed herself closer and closer. She needed to touch every part of him at once. Her fingers found his firm, muscled butt and she gripped him there. He plunged deeper and deeper inside her.

  The honey caused their bodies to slide, to rub back and forth across each other. His wings beat with every stroke of his pounding cock and she realized they were hovering in midair. It made her cling all the more tightly to him, increasing the sensations he caused with his thrusts. She did not even try to hold back her cries at this point. Passion was their ruler and she was nothing but its willing vessel, ready to overflow.

  “I can’t hold it back, Raea,” Kyne gasped raggedly.

  She knew what he meant. The last shreds of self-control were about to burst like a dam, flooding them with sensation. It had never been as powerful as this. She didn’t know if she was ready, but she knew that she wanted it.

  “I want it all, Kyne. Give me everything.”

  And he did. His climax raged over him and they landed back on the bed. He was nearly crushing her, his body wracked with passion that had him plunging into her with wild abandon. He murmured her name into her ear, begging her to come with him, to let the waves wash her away, too.

  She was helpless to stop it. She cried out to the universe, barraged by one climax after another as every inch of her body exploded in pleasure. He growled and poured himself into her. She vibrated beneath him. Time and place lost all meaning. All she could do was hold tightly to him and gasp for air, waiting for something to make sense again.