Broken Magic: The Sanctuary Chronicles

by India Kells

  Valeria’s breath hitched as Asher unbuttoned his dark blue shirt, very slowly. It was a treat to be able to admire each and every inch of golden skin, each quivering muscle she had felt under her fingers. Opening his shirt, her eyes fell naturally to his well-defined stomach, following the trail of blonde hair disappearing into his waistband.

  When he started to unfasten his pants, she felt restless but was unwilling to act yet. Instead, she brought her hand between her legs.

  Asher fumbled at the sight for a moment but finally pushed his pants down. His cock was fully erect, and as she played with herself, he took himself in hand and started to stroke.

  The sight of him, her golden god, pleasuring himself, his body tight as a bow, started to torture her no end. And when she saw leaking precum glisten on his member, Valeria didn’t want to wait anymore. She opened her arms and her legs, and Asher laid his towering frame over her shivering body.

  But he didn’t enter her right away. Instead, he let his cock slid against her wet folds, pressing rhythmically against her clitoris.

  Building their pleasure mutually, she cupped his cheek to bring him to kiss her again. It didn’t take long to want more, more of him, and she started to reach for him with her hips. Asher was done waiting and pushed inside her in a slow but unyielding movement.

  Once embedded deep, all of him inside her, Asher undulated his hips. Again, slow, maddeningly slow. Her body wanted to burst into flames as quickly as possible, but she pulled herself back, delaying her pleasure, delaying the end until it was no longer possible.

  Asher accelerated, and Valeria spurred him on until she couldn’t help but fall. Her orgasm started when he twisted his hips at a new angle. Arching in bliss, he grabbed her hips and rammed into her once more as he spilled in ecstasy inside her welcoming depths.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Asher collapsing on her, Valeria relished in the lingering waves of pleasure, basking in his heated and wet skin. She wished for the sun to never rise up again so she could have him forever. As silently as she could manage, her nose in his broad chest, she let her tears fall. Right here and now, she had what she never thought she would have; what she never thought she wanted. The gods and goddesses were harsh, offering a glimpse and a taste of what she could never embrace.

  Her deep sorrow must have transpired, as Asher’s arms came around her. She knew he meant to soothe and comfort, but it only broke a damn of pain inside her. Sobs racked her body, and Asher held her even tighter. Silent and waiting.

  When she finally gained control of her inner storm and could force herself to lift her head to admire the man she loved, pain tore at her even more when she noticed tears streaming down his face.

  “No! I don’t want to you cry, Asher. Never! Not on my behalf. Please.”

  Her fingers erased them from his cheeks, while his blue eyes, so pale now, as if washed by rain, never left her face.

  Gently, he stilled her hands on his cheeks, before kissing each palm. “You know, I won’t be able to let you go tomorrow night.”

  She swallowed hard. “I don’t have a choice, Asher. I knew the perils when I bargained with Soren Racovan, weredragon extraordinaire. And my father.”

  Valeria prayed he wouldn’t argue with her decision. The situation was complicated enough without having to battle with the werewolf. But he surprised her with a smile.

  “You’re one unique woman, Valeria. I knew it, deep down when I first saw you in the forest. I smelled it on you, couldn’t get the scent of your skin out of my head or your taste out of my lips. Even when I suspected you of murdering my sister, you had bewitched me. How sappy is that? That’s why I couldn’t let you drown, or leave you coughing to death in my prison. And I was right to see light in you, and to trust my wolf.”

  “Your wolf seems to know best. I wish I had more time to force such a friendship with my dragon.”

  Again, she regretted her words, bringing sorrow again. Asher didn’t seem to mind them. Instead, his smile brightened, as he sat, moving her to sit on his lap.

  “My sweet Valeria. Here and now, I don’t want to think of tomorrow. It will come soon enough. I have you right where I want you, and amazingly, the wolf in me smells you and the dragon. And they like each other. I told you my wolf recognized you, although he acts cautiously. I think he fears to get burned.”

  Laughter bubbled inside her at his teasing. “She would never hurt him, as I would never hurt you.”

  And the blonde wolf nodded at her. “I know. And even if what’s between us took us both by surprise, I never thought I’d find it. What my parents had. What my uncle and aunt shared.” He tenderly replaced a strand of hair behind her ear, caressing her cheek at the same time. “I know our time together is coming to an end, but because it is, I have a last request.”

  “If I can give it to you, it’s yours, Asher.”

  “Bond with me.”

  The term was familiar and foreign at the same time. How she wished her mother could have told her more about shifters. “I don’t know much about bonding. It’s between shifters, mates, if I remember. Is that right?”

  “Yes, between humans, it could have been called marriage, but for us, it has a deeper, more sacred meaning. If I can’t have you for eternity, I will have you, all for myself, this night.”

  Her heart beat frantically against her ribcage. “You want to marry me?” Could her voice be more shaky or surprised? It was then that she remembered James’s question and realized how it didn’t touch her so deeply or affect her so thoroughly as Asher’s sideways demand. Instead of allowing tears to well up again, she opted for light sarcasm. “Let me tell you that I had a more romantic demand, not too long ago.”

  Asher’s face turned fierce. “Don’t mistake me. A bond between mates is no wedding. It’s more primal, strong and undeniable.”

  Valeria cupped his cheeks, reveling at his scratchy stubble against her palm, running her fingertips over his golden beard and his soft lips. “I’m not making fun of you. I just don’t know anything about it. What I know is that I love you. And that right here and now, I can’t deny you anything. Am I only to say yes, or are there other words I need to say out loud to bond with you?”

  The blonde wolf blinked. “Is that a yes? You must say it. I need to hear it.”

  “Yes, Asher Stonelake, I will bond with you. Right now, tonight.”

  He took a deep breath, and let hit out slowly, his whole body relaxing in relief. “I love you too, my dragon witch.”

  Did he think she would have refused him after this declaration? Hearing the words that echoed her own? Not in this moment, not now. Maybe never if she had had the opportunity.

  “So, Stonelake, how do we bond? What’s the trick?”

  Asher shook his head. “There is no trick. It’s a vow, of Body, Heart and Soul.”

  “Wow! Seems ominous. So nobody officiating, just you and I alone?”

  “Yes. The bond is only between us, sealed by magic. And done in a way that protects both parties. It ensures nobody is forced upon one another.”

  “But we’re not the same species. Will it even work?”

  “I’ve known it to work between species, but I know nothing of dragons.”

  Valeria smiled, joy bubbling inside her. “Let’s do it.”

  “Okay, first, you have to take me inside you.”

  Valeria shifted to straddle him. “Me on top?”

  Asher almost rolled his eyes, but instead, he winked at her. “It’s to make sure the females are not raped into a bond, one of the many safeguards.”

  She saw his hands lying by his side, and realized that she was also the one in charge of that task too. Valeria shifted to take his rigid member into her hand and guided him inside her. She was so slick from their previous lovemaking, entrance was easy. Once deep inside her, she ached for him again, tempted to start moving, but as if sensing her need, Asher shook his head.

  “Not now, love. Wait.”

  Valeria gritted her teeth and s
ettled. “What’s the next step?”

  Asher sat up, jostling her enough to make the sparks of desire difficult to ignore.

  “The Body is linked; the next step is the Heart. Blood. An exchange of blood.”

  “Like a blood trial.”

  “Not quite. It’s not just a taste. You must drink my blood, the same time I drink yours.”

  Her stomach roiled a little at the idea, but she pushed her disgust aside. “And then what?”

  “You’ll see. Just remember, don’t be afraid. The bond will act upon us, but won’t hurt.”

  Before she could ask another question, his lips hovered on her neck, his sharp canines piercing her skin. Pain paralyzed her at first, but soon, she could feel magic surrounding them, making her dragon stir in expectation. The bond. Unexpectedly, her dragon roared inside her, taking control of her body until she realized that her own teeth had elongated, her mouth close to Asher’s strong shoulder. She was no vampire, but suddenly she craved blood. His blood. Her body pulsed to a point where she thought she would lose control and combust. Her hips rotated and pleasure spiked, feeding her need to taste him to a point where she couldn’t hold back. Before realizing, blood gushed into her mouth. Asher’s blood. And she couldn’t get enough of it. Her body, restless, moved, again and again, until only the animal in her reigned supreme. Magic swirled, and Valeria feared she had lost herself forever.

  When she felt Asher release her neck, gently licking the wound with his rough, healing tongue, Valeria forced herself to do the same, although her thirst was far from quenched.

  Although her hips restlessly moved against him, she finally straightened, and when she saw the face of her beloved, her breath caught. She recognized his face, she would everywhere for all eternity, but his eyes were glowing like his wolf. The way he stared back at her, she guessed that she must have looked the same, even though she had never had the chance to see her dragon form.

  When he spoke, his voice was slow and growled like his beast. “Repeat after me. I willingly bond with you, my beloved.”

  “I willingly bond with you, my beloved.” It was a voice that wasn’t quite her own, and at the same time fully hers when she spoke.

  “And forever I will lay my life at your feet and offer my heart to your care, as I can only breathe when I’m with you.”

  As she repeated the words, she felt the magic intensify at the same time as the pleasure. She grabbed Asher by the shoulders, trying to hang on, as he did, circling his strong arms around her waist to the point of bruising.

  “You’re my life and mate. Soul bonded for eternity.”

  Gasping for air, lost in sensation and in him, she forced the words out of her lips. “You’re my life and mate. Soul bonded for eternity.”

  Before she could realize the intensity of the magic, she came. Pleasure not only took her by surprise but made her shatter into thousands of pieces. When her shattered pieces reformed, she felt more being added that she had never known about. It was Asher. After several minutes, she was whole again, and back in her body.

  Valeria was trying to catch her breath when she felt something inside her. His wolf roamed for a while with her dragon before finally settling down. But when she moved, new sensations made her still again.

  “Easy, my love.” Asher resonated strangely in her ears which made her jump. Only Asher’s hold on her prevented her from fleeing. “Trust me, what you feel is normal, your body and your animal are getting acquainted with me and mine.”

  “But I feel as if I’m you. Your body…”

  Asher smiled, as marveled as she was. “Yes. I know. And I feel as if I’m in your body too. It’s the bond, Valeria. But it’s only because this is so new, it’s so overwhelming. Breathe, calm down. It will fade, and you’ll be able to control it. Connect with me.”

  Tentatively, eyes still closed, she let her hand slide down from his shoulder to his elbow and shivered as she both felt her hands touching Asher and the sensation of her own hand on his arm. It was mind-boggling. But she did as he instructed and breathed through the sensation until she felt more settled. Only then did she open her eyes.

  This time, tranquil blue eyes met hers, bright and filled with a tenderness she had never seen before.

  “Hey there.”

  “Hey yourself. It’s strange to have that many people within me. My dragon, your wolf, you.”

  “You’re not the only one. So strange to be connected to your dragon. My wolf is trusting, but unsettled. We must give it time.”

  Time. The one thing they didn’t have.

  Asher rubbed his cheek against hers. “Don’t think about that, my love. Please. I’m sorry to have distressed you.”

  That’s when she felt it, his own sorry and honest apology - their connection. Closing her eyes again, she opened her heart to him, hoping it would be enough for him when she was gone.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  The sun rose too soon, and Valeria felt restless. Being surrounded by friends reminded her that more than her own life was at stake. She had even been tempted to order them to stand down or sneak out by herself, but she was a sensible woman. There was no way she could hide from Asher now, nor Sera and Violet. As for Ian and Finn, they were attached to her as some kind of debt and wouldn’t go away, to Violet’s visible and vocal displeasure.

  At the edge of the Lancaster estate, Valeria closed her eyes. She could feel the invisible wall in front of her. A protective spell she knew too well. It had been her primary fault; she relied on what she trusted, never questioned anything until now. But deep down she knew she was on the verge of getting answers.

  Asher stood silently by her side, awaiting her next move. Part of her wanted to send him back to safety, but she knew better than to ask him. He was determined to see this through, to stay by her side no matter what. Now, if Soren was true to his word, and had lessened the High Council’s protection, they would be able to approach as close as the first safeguards. And for that, she would need Sera and Violet. They had to remain as invisible as possible, even in the rising dawn, as if detected, she feared for her mother lying helpless in her room, a potential leverage that her father could use, and it didn’t reassure her. She needed to focus if she wanted to come out of this alive.

  Violet came to her side and whispered low in her ear. “The guards are retreating.”

  Valeria nodded. “Guys, it’s important that you wait for Sera or Violet’s signal for each step. If we trigger one protective barrier, my father’s guards will be upon us like angry hornets.”

  “We’ll follow your lead, Valeria.” Asher's voice was warm and so full of trust, it steadied her.

  Pushing fear from her mind, she followed one step behind Sera and Violet at a slow but steady pace. Soon, her friends stopped, detecting a weave, a spell acting like a spider’s web. The best she could, she instructed them how to remove it. Time passed, but they were successful and continued. From the corner of her eye, she saw something shiver. As she expected, her father still did all the outer protective barriers, using secret Lancaster signs, and old symbols created by her family long ago. She started drawing symbols with her fingers to show Sera and soon the curves and lines appearing like a shimmering golden light in the air from her friend’s fingertips.

  It was a tiresome exercise, but it was imperative to have the right sequence. Once she felt the sequence fit, she told Sera to let the symbols float.

  Again and again, they faced traps, and each time Valeria dug into her mind to instruct her witch friends on how to take it down, until they reached the demarcation between the end of the woods and the beginning of the property. They had walked around, and were in direct line with the circle of stone behind the manor.

  “Guys, this is the last gate. I just hope my own personal key still works.” And she pushed them forward. The gold started buzzing and jumped and swirled as if caught in a vortex. The invisible wall became tangible. Thousands and thousands of symbols intricately woven like a high wrought-iron gate. Then her
symbols turned red and expanded, starting to beat like a heart. A swooshing sound, rhythmical.

  Valeria let out a breath when the red section opened up. She nodded to the little troop and moved forward.

  All on alert, Valeria took the lead. She knew that all the safeguards were placed in the forest, just at the property’s edge. As they arrived at the circle of stones, they would be relatively safe and undetected. Also, it would be the closest point to approach the manor from the woods without requiring an invisibility spell.

  The woodland started to clear, and the sunlight piercing through the colorful trees created a slight mist in the forest, cloaking them even more. The air was very humid, but as they advanced, something caught her nose. When she turned to Asher, she saw him and Ian frowning, looking around, already trying to detect the smell and its location.

  They stopped in an instant. Valeria wasn’t skilled enough, and it seemed that the nose of a dragon couldn’t compete with those of two wolves. Asher and Ian took the lead as the women followed, Finn bringing up the rear. As they entered the clearing, Asher and Ian stopped so suddenly, Valeria and Violet bumped into them.

  “What’s going on?” As the men stayed silent, Valeria sidestepped them and cursed.

  The stone circle she knew so well looked like a blood bath. No sign of corpses, but by the quantity of blood, there had to be more than one person murdered there. And by the flies, a couple of days had passed since the execution. Or ritual. It seems that her father had performed dark magic after all. Seeing the blood and the lingering magic confirmed her greatest fear. However, when she turned to the werewolves, they hadn’t moved or blinked. Valeria called their names, but they didn’t respond, and when they approached the wet stones, they all followed. Sera and Violet’s moods were questioning, but Finn’s was somber. And then it clicked in her head.

  According to the ritual, a shifter had to be sacrificed. On that particular night, Valeria realized that not only one, but two werewolves died in the hands of Lionel and his sadistic plans. Robert and Ellen were gone.