It was an effort to keep the surprise out of my voice.
“Yes. That’s the way it’s done. Now, my lady, breathe in again. The energy of the stars is limitless. You can draw all you want, all you need, and still there is more. Harness the power once again – and bind it around me.”
I had to do it quickly. Before the awe of what she’d done faded away and doubt crept back in.
“Look at me.”
Her eyes, still dazed, met mine. I waited till I knew she was seeing me, held her gaze for a moment – and jumped.
Chapter Thirteen
Melisandre
Drayke! Did you see that? I did it! I did what you asked. It was incredible!
All those thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant as I met his eyes. I opened my mouth to speak – and he was gone. Vanished.
I didn’t stop to think. Didn’t have time for questions or doubts. With a surge of adrenaline powering it, I sent a bolt of pure light hurtling down after him.
A quarter of a second later, reason returned. I rushed to the balustrade, leaned over it with my heart pounding in fear. When I looked down, my legs gave way. I collapsed in a heap, trembling all over.
I was still there when he lifted one foot over the railing and hauled himself back onto the balcony.
“See,” he said, with a self-satisfied grin. “I knew you could do it.”
I leaped to my feet and pummeled him with both fists. “You…you bastard! You idiot! Are you out of your mind? What if you were wrong and I couldn’t do it? I’ve never been so terrified in my life as I was when I peeked over the railing. I thought I’d see you lying there in a lifeless heap, drenched in blood.”
He caught my fists, brought them to his mouth, and kissed them. “My heart is moved by your concern, my lady. But I had more confidence in you than you did. Once you harnessed the power, I knew you could do it again. I had to act fast, though, or you’d have started to doubt that what you did was real. Trust me. I’ve been there.”
His dragon shifting. I humored him earlier, went along with the delusion when he spoke of the pain of it morphing into a rush of unimaginable power. But I’d just done something impossible. He’d proven I had the ability to summon a force that defied the laws of the Universe as I knew it. Could his power be real, too?
Suddenly, I was aware of our nakedness. My breasts heaving against his bare chest. His hands gripping mine, drawing our bodies together. My body still hummed with a powerful current of energy. I was tingling all over, every nerve screaming to release it. Mindless and frantic, I acted on an age-old instinct. One no doubt bred into us in prehistoric times to insure the survival of the species after we’d faced danger. I got on tiptoe, sliding my body up slowly and deliberately for maximum contact, and pressed my mouth against his.
He let go of my fists. Grabbed the back of my head with one hand and crushed my lips with a ferocity I’d never experienced. I melted against him, surrendered to his passion. Letting him take me to a place I’d never been.
His other hand slid down my back. Cupping my ass, he lifted me off my feet. His cock, already hot and hard again, ground against my belly. He lifted me higher, and it slipped between my thighs, burying the head within the tight folds of my pussy.
I moaned and wound my legs around his waist. He pumped once, driving the length into me. I was tender and sore from our first coupling, but it didn’t matter. I wanted him, needed him, deep inside me.
Drayke held my bottom with both hands and walked back into the bedroom, his cock massaging my pussy with every step. Stroking a spot on the inner wall that made me quiver. Had his mouth not been covering mine, I’d have screamed loud enough to wake the whole palace. Instead, I moaned again, squeezing the muscles of my channel around him.
He made a low rumbling noise deep in his chest and threw himself down on the bed with me atop him. But he wasn’t about to leave me in a position of dominance. In one swift move, he rolled me over and rammed his cock deep inside.
I met his thrusts, digging my heels into his ass. My orgasm didn’t build slowly, the way it had earlier. Instead, it attacked with the same ferocity Drayke did. An explosion went off inside me, followed by another, then another, as if the power of all the stars in the heavens had been buried within me, ready to be set free. I clawed at his back, and still he went on. Pistoning in and out until I ceased to exist. Became one with the pure energy of the Universe.
My pussy spasmed over and over, clenching around his cock. He tensed, then I felt it spurting. The heat of his seed ignited one last cataclysm. Shattered my fragile bond with reality. Set free, I soared away into the heavens.
The first soft fingers of dawn crept over the horizon as I opened my eyes.
Drayke gently brushed a wisp of hair off my brow and kissed my forehead. I was surprised to find myself still nestled in his arms.
“Dear Goddess! What did you do to me?”
He grinned. “I could ask you the same, my lady. When I asked you to harness your power, I never dreamed you’d turn the full force of it on me!”
It may have been the last dregs of adrenaline pumping through me. Or perhaps the aftereffect of the orgasms that rocked me to my core. Whatever the reason, I started to giggle. The giggle turned into a snicker then a full-blown belly laugh, with tears flowing from my eyes.
“And what’s so funny?”
“Oh, if you’d only seen the look on your face…” That was all I managed to get out before another burst of laughter seized me. “When you…found yourself…hovering in the air just inches above the paving stones,” I finished breathlessly.
“So you found that humorous, did you?” He tried to put a stern tone in his voice, but I could see the amusement in his eyes. “I, on the other hand, did not. Next time, I humbly request that you not wait so damn long before coming to my rescue.”
That set me off again. He stopped my peal of laughter with a swift smack to my naked bottom. “Careful, my lady. You’re in a very compromising position here.”
“You dare to lay a hand on your queen?” I pretended outrage.
He smacked me again, sending a shocking burst of raw lust coursing through me. “My hands, my lips, my cock – I’ll have your body with every part of me. You may be queen, but when we’re alone, I’ll be the one in charge.”
No one had been in charge of me since I was eighteen. This brash seducer, part man and part beast, expected me to submit to his will? To my shock, my pussy flooded at his words.
I tried to pull myself together. “Lord Drayke…” I began, using my most formal tone.
He smothered my words with a kiss then drew away. “I like the sound of that, but you needn’t be so formal when we’re alone. You can simply call me, ‘my lord.’ Or ‘Master’ if you prefer.”
“Master?” I bristled, ready to give him a piece of my mind.
He laughed again. Then his eyes narrowed and his voice took on a dark tone. “I will master you – in bed. Often and thoroughly. And I’ll make you love every minute of it.”
A delicious shiver ran through me. I’d never been mastered before. I decided I liked the thought of it.
Drayke glanced outside. “Much as I’d like to stay here with you like this all day, we must be off. I’ve never allowed anyone to see my dragon, and soon it will be light. We need to get to the cover of the mountains.”
“The mountains? That will take hours. Do you plan to use more magic?”
“Not magic. Magic as you know it isn’t real. It’s entertainment. Illusion based on trickery – like the court jester who brags of his big cock and then reaches into his pants and pulls out a live rooster. The audience laughs and cheers but they know he didn’t summon the creature out of thin air.”
He went on. “What you did tonight – I called it magic, but it was mystical, not magical. You harnessed the energy of the Universe to do your bidding. Our ancestors branded it as sorcery. Were you not a queen, they’d have shunned you as a witch
. You didn’t use magic tricks. You used power. Very few ever born have possessed the power you do. That’s why the Lord of Darkness needs you. He must have control over your ability to summon the forces of light from the Seven Stars. For only the light can defeat him.”
I had power. Mystical power. Though my rational mind rejected the idea, I’d proven it. The white rays shooting from my fingertips could have been an optical illusion or a hallucination. But after he jumped, I saw Drayke hovering above the ground on a cushion of white light, like a cloud. And here he lay before me, whole and uninjured. I sent the light that saved him with my thoughts, my will, my very being.
Ever since I was a child, at times I’d been able to see things, know things I couldn’t have seen or learned by any rational means. I took that for granted. It wasn’t magical or mystical. It was a gift I was born with, as others are born with the ability to flawlessly play music they’ve heard only once or do complex mathematical equations in their heads. But having power to summon the energy of the stars? How could I have possessed that ability and been unaware of it all these years?
Drayke kissed my forehead. “I know, my lady. It’s overwhelming at first, discovering there’s an unseen world existing side by side with our own. A world ruled by forces we’ve never encountered. Never imagined.”
He gave me a hug then got out of bed.
“You asked how we’ll get to the mountains? Prepare yourself. You’re about to witness another mystical power.”
Chapter Fourteen
Drayke
I shifted.
Slid out of her bed stark naked. Stepped outside, stretched my arms to the heavens, and let my dragon free.
Before my transformation, I explained we’d fly to the mountains, Melisandre riding on my back. I told her to get ready to leave. Quickly. She started to protest, but one firm smack on her bottom silenced her. She gathered the sheet around her naked body and disappeared into her dressing room. When she returned in garb totally unsuitable for battling the forces of evil, I insisted she change.
“Look at you. You can’t ride a dragon like that. I love the way your beautiful hair flows down your back, but it will whip around your face in the wind and blind you. The fabric of that gown will shred on my scales – and you can’t wrap your legs around my back like you did earlier if your thighs are encumbered by layers of silk.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her suggestively.
She blushed at the reference to her brazen behavior and left, returning in a white cotton shirt and a pair of dark brown leather trousers, her hair pulled back in a thick red-gold braid. She even had a heavy silver knife handle protruding from the sheath buckled around her waist. “This is what I wear when I’m training with Pieter.”
I tamped down my stirring cock, the other beast within me. Though I’d come twice already, this new version of my queen aroused me anew. I wanted to untie the braid and run my fingers through her luxurious mane of hair. The shirt, a man’s, was casually tucked in, emphasizing her lush breasts and trim waist. And the tight leather trousers hugged the twin curves of her fine ass as no gown ever would, making me ache to give them a squeeze. I felt sorry for poor Pieter, whoever he was, doomed to look but not touch.
When I knew she was ready, I stepped onto the balcony and let myself go. Though I couldn’t always stop it from happening when my beast took control, I’d learned how to morph at will. Once I quit fighting the change, I discovered it became easier. Over time, the pain lessened as my body adjusted to the sensation of scales emerging from beneath my skin, enormous wings sprouting from my back. My fingernails and toenails elongating into dangerous, sharp claws.
Her eyes grew round as saucers, and she shied away as my body disappeared and the dragon emerged. Twelve feet tall, with a wingspan nearly double that. I stretched them out, and she gasped.
“So beautiful! Every shade of red, from deep ruby to bright crimson shot with flecks of gold.” She took a timid step forward, hand outstretched. “May I…”
My dragon snorted and tossed his head when she stroked my wing. He’d never been touched by a human hand before. It felt strange but…not unpleasant.
Folding my wings, I crouched down, allowing her to climb onto my back. She settled in astride me, leaning forward to wrap her arms around my neck. I couldn’t hold back a menacing growl. My animal instinct wanted to rear up and toss her off but I fought it.
She patted my neck and made soothing sounds, as though I was a skittish stallion. I waited till my unease settled then hauled myself onto the balcony rail. I had enough sense not to frighten her by plunging off then swooping up just before crashing into the ground as I would have done when I was alone, reveling in my ability to defy the forces of gravity.
Instead I wrapped my rear claws around the railing for balance then unfurled my wings and soared into the clouds.
Chapter Fifteen
Melisandre
I let out a shriek.
Part sheer terror, part exhilaration. Surely, this was all a dream. I’d wake up in a few minutes, safe in my bed, trembling all over from the realism of it. The wind rushing past my face, the raw power in every rhythmic sweep of his wings. Of all the images shown to me by the Oracle, soaring through the sky on the back of a dragon had not been one of them.
Moments ago, my sensuous lover rose from my bed, lifted his arms to the heavens – and morphed into a horrible beast towering over me. My nightmares became reality. I was terrified at first. Who wouldn’t be? The dragon opened his eyes, and I was face to face with the monstrous creature, staring into his glowing red orbs.
I could tell the moment Drayke came in touch with his humanity. It was when I saw my reflection in his eyes. His inner self recognized me, and the angry red glow became a warm golden light.
That’s when I stepped forward to touch him. I needed him to know I wasn’t afraid. Or worse – repulsed by his beast.
“You’re beautiful!” I crooned, stroking his wing.
And he was. As we ascended into the sky, the first rays of the sun caught his wings. They were iridescent. Brilliant red and orange and yellow and gold, the colors flowing and melting together into even more vibrant shades as his wings moved and the light played over the ever-changing angles of his scales.
We flew on. The land sped by at a dizzying pace, cities and towns giving way to fields and forests. I never knew how beautiful my kingdom was till I saw it from above, spread out for me like a giant three-dimensional map. On our left lay the range of mountains separating our kingdom from the harsh desert, where savage creatures lived. At their northernmost point, far behind us, snow-capped peaks gleamed white against the brilliant blue sky. Lower down, the slopes were carpeted in blue-green pines. As we headed south, the climate became more temperate, and I looked down on a canopy of lighter green. I knew beyond our destination a tropical jungle climbed up the mountainsides – a riot of flowers, palm trees, and giant ferns with fronds as big around as tree trunks at their base.
Drayke said we’d go to a mountain fortress below the temple of the Oracle. That’s where he hid when he first took on his altered form, and it was still his refuge.
Taking the princess to the dragon’s lair. The phrase sounded like one lifted from a dark fairy tale. By rights I should be shuddering and bemoaning my fate. But I was no longer a naïve and helpless virgin princess. I was a queen – and now I was a woman. I had the power of the stars at my fingertips and the power of a dragon’s seed deep in my core.
His enormous wings made short work of the journey that had taken me three days by land. I recognized Mt. Jarazal. From the air, it looked as forbidding as it did on foot. A barren landscape of jagged gray rock rising into the sky, the slopes crisscrossed with rivers of darker cooled lava. We flew higher, and I caught sight of the temple.
The scope of it took my breath away. I knew it was huge, but I’d only seen it at night. I’d fallen into a deep sleep after witnessing the Oracle’s visions, and Antonius had carried me back to the coach.
We were headed home by the time I awoke.
Perched in a wide flat clearing hewn from solid rock, the ancient stones and columns glowed in the golden light of the morning sun. I could see the structure would soon be plunged back into the shadows. The rear wall of the temple stood against the sheer face of the mountain, with high cliffs to the left and right blocking the sunlight for all but a few hours. In front, beyond the clearing, a pathway strewn with huge boulders wound between the cliff walls, making it nearly impossible to travel any way except on foot. The way Antonius and I had come.
This place was the perfect location for the fortress Drayke spoke of. Hidden away, inaccessible by wagons or even legions of soldiers marching in rows. I could imagine a band of outlaws taking refuge here. Sentries perched on the clifftops, ready to pick off intruders as they made their way single file through the passage.
The temple sat on a high stone platform with wide steps up the center leading to the entrance. It looked as though it was meant for a congregation of thousands, and I wondered again what had possessed my ancestors to build it in such an inhospitable location.
A double row of columns all around the outside supported the massive dome with its center open to the heavens. The metal-clad dome reflected the sun’s rays, giving it the appearance of being covered in gold.
The dragon alighted on the wide terrace at the top in front of the huge bronze doors. It knelt, folding its front legs so I could slide off. As before, the doors stood ajar, as though we’d been expected. I took a few hesitant steps then turned back. My last visit had been a bizarre mix of nightmarish visions and erotic fantasy. I wasn’t looking forward to another such experience.
The creature reared up, snorted, and spread his wings, blocking my retreat. I froze, shocked. His eyes glowed red again, as though spending hours in dragon form had dulled the spark of humanity in him, leaving only the ferocious creature.
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