She smiled slightly. “Yes.”
“In me,” I said.
“Yes, but it’s not complete. You need spirit.”
“How do you know this?” Finn asked. Still my cynic, but I needed that part of him now.
“Many things are changing,” she said with a soft smile. “Even your disbelief, Finn.”
Finn looked alarmed and everyone else was on edge.
Liam squeezed my hand. “We overheard Prince Leonardo’s men. They said she had to be a virgin.”
“Yes.” Then her smile spread. “I may have pushed them to stop there so you could overhear their conversation.”
My eyes widened, and my guards rested their hands on the hilts of their swords, while Finn pushed me behind him.
“What do you mean you pushed them to stop there?” Finn demanded. “There were no women in their group.”
“Oh, Finn,” she said, as if he were a naughty child. “Why do you find it so difficult to believe? Instead of being a source of comfort and protection, you made Elena miserable and her journey more difficult. And even now, after you’ve seen snow corsairs and dracna . . . even after I sent my unicorn to escort you the rest of the way, you still doubt.”
“This is the temple of the goddess Georgina,” Liam said. Then he dropped to one knee. “The goddess of mischief.”
Mischief? I remembered my tutor telling me about the gods and goddesses, but I remembered little about Georgina.
The other men dropped to their knees as well, bowing their heads—even Finn who looked embarrassed. But I refused to bow to her.
“What is this about?” I asked. “Is this some kind of game to you?”
“No, Elena, and I’m sorry for the journey you’ve taken, but I had to be sure.”
“It seems to me you should have been sure before we started the journey.”
She smiled again but didn’t answer.
“So you convinced Trevor and his men to stop so we could hear that I was to be a virgin sacrifice for Leonardo. Am I to be sacrificed?”
She paused. “Direct, aren’t you?”
I took a step toward her. “When the need arises. And you didn’t answer my question.”
Holding out her hands, she said, “We must all make sacrifices.”
That was a non-answer if I ever heard one. “We’re here. I need spirit. What happens after I get it? What do I do then?”
“One step at a time, my impatient one.”
“And if I decide not to do it,” I said, “What happens then?”
Liam’s face jerked up in surprise, but I ignored him.
“Then you leave yourself vulnerable to other men who wish to use you for your newfound power.”
“Like Leonardo?”
A knowing look filled her eyes, but it looked more like a smirk. “Men like Leonardo have their part to play.”
“And if I decide not to join with any man, then what?”
“You know, Elena,” she said with a sigh. “You will die. And it will be sooner rather than later because you cut Finn from your soul. Taking him back was a patch that only spirit can heal.”
“And you refuse to tell me what happens after I acquire spirit?”
“Too much information would only confuse and alarm you.”
Alarm me? That didn’t sound good.
Liam got to his feet. “Goddess,” he said, keeping his head bowed. “Is there a ceremony for spirit?”
“No,” she said, her voice softening. “But you’re right. She had to be a virgin . . . until you.” She grinned at him. “There are some perks to being the captain.”
Liam didn’t respond to her comment, but his jaw flinched. “Must it be done here?”
“You shouldn’t waste too much time, Liam,” she said. “You could leave, but I don’t recommend it. I have a room prepared for you.” When she saw our surprised faces, she laughed and motioned to the altar. “You didn’t think I expected you to do it up there, did you?”
No one answered.
She laughed again. “Humans and their sense of decency.” She shook her head. “Humans are far from decent with their wars and their brutality.” Then she headed toward a side entrance and called over her shoulder. “Are you coming?”
She didn’t wait for an answer, just continued through the door.
Liam turned to me. “Elena, this is your call.”
I cast a glance to where she disappeared. My magic was insistent, but I tried to be smart. “Something seems off.”
“Agreed, but I think she’s right. The sooner we make you whole, the better. But that being said, we can leave.”
“And go where? Where’s the nearest town?”
“Hours from here.”
“Then let’s do this now.” I started for the door, but Liam was beside me within seconds, claiming my hand and squeezing.
“I will follow your lead in this,” he whispered.
I stared into his eyes. “That means the world to me.”
We entered a narrow hallway, and the other guards followed. The goddess was waiting for us, which seemed absurd. But then, the whole thing seemed absurd. As soon as she saw us, she continued on, heading up a stone spiral staircase.
I hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, and Liam stopped with me, squeezing my hand again.
“Do you not want to go up?” Liam asked.
“What if this is a trap?” I whispered.
“What kind of trap?” he whispered back.
“I don’t know,” I conceded. “But we’re dealing with the goddess of mischief.”
“This isn’t a trap, Elena,” the goddess called down from the stairs. “I’m just as eager to see magic reborn into the world as you are.” There was no way she could have heard me, which set me on edge. How much did she know about me? But that was a stupid question. She knew a lot about Finn.
“More than you know,” she called out.
I started to panic, and she appeared on the stairs with a sympathetic expression on her perfect face.
“Elena, I have no ulterior motives here. I simply need you to fulfill your duties as the mother of magic. You are the vessel through which all magic will be reborn. You shall be revered and beloved. I have waited for you for nearly seven centuries, since my brother stole magic from the earth. I’ve been waiting for a fair and just ruler who was kind and compassionate and not out for material gain. You are her, Elena. You are the one.” She reached out and took my hand. “Now come.”
I climbed the stairs, holding her hand as well as Liam’s, while the others followed. We went up at least fifty or more stairs until we stepped out into a large, open-air room at the top of the temple with large openings to face all the way around the temple.
“It’s great for watching for enemies,” she said, still holding my hand as she led me to the opposite end, which was surrounded by gauzy curtains.
Liam told his men to stay by the staircase.
She pushed back a curtain to reveal a bed topped with white sheets surrounded by close to a hundred lit candles.
“Much better than a stone altar, don’t you think?” she asked in a teasing tone.
Liam remained silent.
“So we just have sex, and that’s it?” I asked sarcastically. “Then it’s done?”
“Oh, Elena, why must you be difficult?” the goddess asked. “You’re still worried about the sacrifice?” She laughed and shook her head. “Yes, you must sacrifice your life, but not how you think.” She lifted her hand to my face. “Haven’t you already sacrificed? Haven’t you already suffered? Even after you are complete, you will still sacrifice. How will you marry? Have children? How will you explain your children if you don’t? Your guards are yours for life. You need them—in every sense—and they need you to develop magic of their own. Your life will be difficult, sweet Elena, but you will be very loved.”
I sucked in a breath, not sure whether to feel relieved or upset.
She glanced over at Liam. “I leave her in your capable hands, Liam. You
were always my pick for her captain. Thankfully, her grandmother was open to my planted suggestions.”
Then she turned around and left.
17
“This is still up to you,” Liam said. “You decide what we do.”
My magic knew exactly what it wanted. My answer was to kiss him.
He wrapped his arms around my back and held me close as he took over the kiss. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to do this because it’s expected of you.”
My magic sprang to life, and so did his, reaching out to me not to help, but to save me.
“No, Liam,” I said, looking into his eyes. “I want you. I want this, especially with you.”
He kissed me again, slowly and leisurely. “I’ve dreamed of this, Elena. I never thought it could come true. You’re so beautiful.”
I laughed. “I’m a mess. My clothes don’t even fit.”
He placed his hand on my neck and made me look into his face. “You’re beautiful. Both inside and out. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing.” He grinned. “Besides, you won’t be wearing it for long.”
He reached for the lacings and quickly undid them. He started to push my dress down my shoulders. “You and Finn?”
Embarrassed, I looked down.
He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him again. “Don’t do that, Ellie. Don’t hide from me.”
I met his gaze. “Yes. We did.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Don’t you hate sharing me? You could have just about any woman you wanted, Liam. You could have a wife. A family. Instead, you’re stuck with . . . me.”
“I love you. I told you that. If I have to share you to have you, so be it. And you heard what the goddess said. If you keep sleeping with all of us, you will get pregnant.” He paused. “I’ll marry you so the kingdom is happy, and you can still have all of us.”
“Liam,” I sighed, my disappointment surprising since I’d never considered marrying any of my guards as an option. “The kingdom won’t be happy that I’m marrying the captain of my guard.”
He froze. “You wish to marry someone else?”
“Of course not. But my father expected me to marry a prince.”
“You are the mother of magic, Elena. You can do whatever you want.”
My dress was still halfway down my arms, and he pushed it down over my hips and to the floor, leaving me in my shift and breeches. I started to lift the hem of my shift, but Liam brushed my hand away.
“No, Ellie. I want to undress you.”
He continued to lift my shift and found the fastening of my breeches, then let them drop to the floor.
“I want to undress you too,” I said.
He smiled and put his hands on my hips while I tugged his shirt free from his pants. He lifted his arms as I pulled it up, and he tugged it off the rest of the way when I couldn’t reach higher.
I rested my hands on his chest, running my fingertips over his pecs. My magic sent out tendrils through my palm, searching for his. I placed a kiss on the center of his chest, then kissed my way down as I unfastened his belt and then his pants and let them drop, but he pulled me up before I could kiss any lower.
He covered my mouth with his, full of hunger and passion. Then he broke away and said, “I want to see all of you.”
I wanted to see all of him too, since he’d pulled me up before I could get a good look. I stepped back and let him pull up my shift while I took in his erection. He wasn’t as big as Matthew, but he was big enough to have me worried.
He pulled my shift over my head, leaving me naked in front of him. His gaze took in my body, but when it lifted to my face, he noticed my concern. “Ellie, I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
“But I thought it was supposed to hurt the first time,” I said. Then I realized, while I was officially a virgin, the others had put their fingers inside me. Still, even Matthew’s finger was a lot smaller than Liam’s erect penis.
“It might hurt for a moment, but then it will feel good.” His hands cupped my breasts, and then he lowered his mouth to take one of my nipples into his mouth.
I moaned and arched my back, grabbing the back of his head to stay upright. My magic was throbbing with need—as was the rest of me.
His mouth moved to my other breast, and I moaned again, then reached down to take him in my hand. He raised his head and kissed me again until I was boneless. He lifted me and laid me down on the bed, then knelt at my feet.
“I want to see you, Ellie. I’ve dreamed of seeing you. You’re beautiful. So beautiful.” His hand rested on my stomach and slid up to my breast. Then he teased my nipple. My hips rose and he grinned. “Not yet. I want to play with you first.”
While still fondling my nipple, he spread my legs apart and kissed the inside of my thigh, working his way up to my folds.
I gasped when his tongue swept the length of me, then concentrated on my nub. He soon had me moaning as he pushed me higher with both his tongue and his fingers. “I won’t last much longer, Liam. We have to come together.”
He lifted his face and grinned at me, then kissed his way up my stomach and my breasts before finding my mouth and kissing me, his tongue searching out mine and tasting subtly of me. He shifted, resting his weight on his elbows and staring into my face. “Are you sure, Ellie?”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
He leaned down and gently kissed me as he reached down and lifted my leg around his hip. Then I felt his erection prodding my entrance.
My magic leapt with happiness, but I froze.
“Relax, Ellie,” he murmured, pressing kisses to my forehead and my cheeks. He lifted himself again and stared into my eyes. “Do you trust me?”
“I trust you with my life.”
He smiled at that and prodded a little deeper. I felt a slight stretching as he pushed even deeper, then pulled out and pushed in again. “You still with me?”
A deep ache filled me, and I needed more of him. So much more. I nodded.
“Are you in pain?”
“I’m fine. Don’t stop.”
He smiled down at me and kissed me again as he began to thrust inside me and pull out in a slow, steady rhythm that soon had me writhing in frustration beneath him.
I gasped when he drove deep and pulled out again. “I need . . .”
“What do you need, Ellie?” he asked in a husky voice.
“I need more, Liam.” I lifted my hips to meet his as he plunged inside me. “I need you.”
“You have me, Elena. From now until eternity. I’m yours.”
I wrapped both my legs around his waist and hung on as he began to increase his pace, pushing me higher. My magic was throbbing, demanding Liam’s magic. I put my hand on his chest, my magic finding his underneath the surface.
His eyes widened. “I can feel it.”
“The magic?” I asked in surprise. None of the others had.
“It needs you.”
He lost control then, and I hung on as long as I could, climbing higher with every thrust, and just when I was sure I couldn’t wait any longer, he pushed me even farther until I shattered to pieces, calling out his name as my magic latched onto his. But instead of searching out the energy in his chest, he pushed through the barrier and rushed into mine. My magic expanded, coming to life in a new way as all the parts fell into place.
I was lying in Liam’s arms, with him still inside me, when I became aware of my surroundings again. He was staring down at me and lifted a strand of hair from my sweaty cheek.
“I love you, Elena Elizabeth Maria of Garius.”
“I love you too.”
He leaned over and gave me a leisurely kiss. “If I had my choice, I’d stay with you all night.”
I stared up at him, hoping his confidence would give me the strength I needed. “Let’s go find out what happens next.”
18
My clothes were gone when I got out of bed, and I found a white dress similar
to what the goddess had been wearing that made me feel half-dressed. But I couldn’t find anything else to wear, so I had no choice but to put it on.
“She has a reason for this, Liam.”
He wore a serious expression, but his eyes wandered over my curves. “I know. And while I appreciate the view, I’m worried about what she has planned.”
“Then let’s go find out.”
I walked out of the room first, then stopped short when I realized my other guards were still by the staircase. How much had they heard? But I told myself to get over it. I was in this situation, and if I had to be with five men, these were the only five men I could imagine being with. What if I’d been stuck with Leonardo? I’d sooner be dead.
But I was tired of feeling powerless, and since Liam’s energy had flooded my own, I felt a strength I’d never experienced before. It was time for me to take charge of my own destiny, and I was going to do that now.
All four men gawked at me as I headed toward them, Liam on my heels. I started to walk past them, but Matthew stepped in my path.
“You won’t be going down those stairs first. We will go first.”
“I’m not scared of what’s down there, Matthew.”
“Maybe you’re not, but we are.”
Liam stood next to me. “Matthew, you take the lead. Everyone else follow. Elena takes the rear.”
I nearly protested, but I could see how important this was to them, so they started down the stairs and I trailed after them.
When we reached the bottom, my men fanned out, their swords drawn. I nearly protested again, that any threat would likely be magical, but I wasn’t so sure, so I let them be.
We moved into the main room and found the goddess standing in front of the altar, and she looked ecstatic.
“Where are my clothes?” I demanded once I’d walked inside.
She laughed. “Elena, you are nearly a goddess yourself now. Why do you need pauper’s clothes? They aren’t suitable for a princess, let alone Elena of Garius, Queen of the Kingdom of Light.”
Something about the way she said that title set me on edge. “And yet I still want my clothes.”
Heiress of Light: Magic Reborn (Reverse Harem) Page 21