by Sumida, Amy
“There are a lot more people out there than gods,” Azrael waved his hand out to indicate the groups of people we were walking past. “I know you can't spend every day going out and finding people to share your magic with, but I thought you might actually enjoy spreading the love, as it were, every once in awhile.”
“Sweet sexy angel,” I shook my head. “You're something else, you know that? I can't believe I've watched you work tirelessly, helping humans to their afterlives and comforting those they leave behind, without ever once thinking about using my magic to help them too.”
“It doesn't have to be work,” he took one of my arms and looped it through his as he led me down the street. “It could be enjoyable. For instance, do you feel anything now? Any pull from your magic?”
I thought about it and realized that there was a small little flutter in my belly, the butterflies of love waking up. Oh yeah, they liked someone nearby. I looked around and saw a couple holding hands, talking to each other in whispers as they strolled down the street across from us.
“Those two,” I nodded my head toward the couple. “They belong together.”
“So give them your blessing, O' Queen of Love.”
“Alright, just don't call me that again,” I grimaced but couldn't hold it for long. When the butterflies flew out of me, I started to laugh. “You're right, I kinda like this.”
“Of course you do,” he laughed. “Magic wants to be used.”
“Okay, let's use it then.”
We walked around Barcelona for two hours, blessing lovers both young and old, sending faith into the hearts of those who had yet to meet their mates, and granting courage to the ones who had found them but didn't have the nerve to speak up. Then we came upon an older man sitting on a bench. He was hunched over, crying quietly.
“He's just lost his wife of thirty years,” Azrael whispered.
“Oh, no,” I deflated, all the happiness of the previous hours leaving in a rush. “Can you help him? This is your area of expertise.”
“I could,” he nodded, “but I think this time, you should give it a try.”
“I hardly think this is the time for a blessing of love.”
“This is precisely the time for a love blessing. Look at him, he's got a lot of years ahead of him. There's no reason for him to spend them alone. I can comfort, Vervain, but you have the power to heal the heart and bring new love. You have the greatest power on Earth inside you and you don't even use it. Help him.”
I looked over at the man and felt the butterflies rise once more. If I healed him as I'd done with Fenrir, I'd create a bond between us that would last forever. I didn't want that, I couldn't go around bonding people to me willy-nilly. Before I could take the thought further though, Love showed me how I'd created the bond with Fenrir on purpose. I'd used the power as a defense, almost an attack, and it had created the bond to protect me. I had been new to the magic and hadn't known how to direct it. Love could be given freely without binding me in the process, just as I'd done with the blessings. Of course it could, duh, it's not like Aphrodite had been bonded to thousands of people.
A weight lifted that I hadn't realized I'd been carrying around. I'd been afraid to use Love fully, afraid I'd make another link that I just didn't need in my life. As with anything, fear was a destroyer. It had been weighing down my magic and holding me back from my potential. All I had to do was trust in the Love and let it go.
So I did.
I felt the butterflies break free of my chest and swarm to the grieving man. He winced when they hit, his crying stopping abruptly. A few minutes passed and his shoulders began to straighten, he sat up slowly and took a deep breath. His eyes went heavenward, as if searching the stars for something, and then he nodded, stood, and walked away.
When the butterflies returned to me, I knew. They'd eased his heartache, showing him the moments of happiness with his wife that he'd treasure always before showing him a glimpse of the woman he was intended to meet. He was still grieving but it was more bearable now and there was hope where there was none before.
“Now that,” Azrael whispered, “was truly heroic.”
Chapter Ten
High on love magic, I stumbled back to our hotel with Azrael. He helped me along, an arm around my waist, as we made our way down Passeig de Gracia and then through the tall glass doors of the entrance of Hotel Majestic, where we were staying. I leaned my head back to admire the massive chandelier hanging above us while Azrael just laughed and hurried me past the wide-eyed front desk clerks. I glanced at one of them and he gave me a wink. He probably thought I was drunk.
By the time we made it up to our penthouse suite, I was a little more steady but still had the buzz of exquisite power zipping through me. I walked through the beautiful bedroom, paneled in dark wood, with a large bed and burgundy velvet padded headboard. It had the cozy feeling of the library at Pride Palace. The soft lighting enhanced the feeling and I almost paused to enjoy it but then I remembered where I was heading.
Our suite was at the far right top of the hotel and had its own private terrace, complete with lounging area, jacuzzi, and a view of Sagrada Familia. The last perk was the reason I wanted to go out on the terrace. At night the cathedral was lit up, looking like a beacon to the gods, and was impossible to ignore. I leaned against the railing and sighed.
The rest of the city appeared dark by comparison to the cathedral that kind of resembled a faerie castle to me. Now that I actually knew what a faerie castle looked like, I could say that with absolute certainty. In fact, Castle Aithinne, my home in the Faerie Realm, looked very similar to Sagrada Familia, except it was created from the mountain that formed a barrier between the Kingdom of Fire and the rest of Faerie. So even though the Sagrada Familia was awe inspiring, Castle Aithinne surpassed it for me. It's hard to compete with the fey though, when they built something, they kind of went all out.
I was surprised to feel a wave of homesickness for Castle Aithinne and for a second the image of Sagrada Familia was replaced with the towering spires of Aithinne, her walls also appeared to be made of mosaics but actually, the rock had been carved with images of fire, and the carvings revealed metallic deposits which sparkled when the light hit them. It made the images come alive, dragons and fire fey dancing in the flames that swept up over the surface of the castle.
If you looked quickly, you wouldn't even notice the carvings, the castle was meant to look as if Nature, or Faerie rather, had made it herself. Like the mountain had pulled forth the castle from its depths and lifted her up to the sky in defiance of the Kingdom of Air which, when facing in toward our Kingdom, was directly on our right.
At night, our castle was lit as well, though not as brilliantly as Sagrada Familia. Aithinne was illuminated by the glow of the fires below, the lava that flowed beneath our kingdom and out over the mountains to either side of the castle. They flowed down into a large crevice in front of the castle entrance, making a moat of magma. The light from the lava radiated upwards onto the castle, a soft light, like candlelight on a lover's face.
I smiled, enjoying Gaudi's masterpiece precisely for its differences from the fey architecture. Man had made this, without aid of magic, and it was impressive to me because of that. Overwhelming in fact, to think of the amount of labor that had gone into and was continuing to go into its construction.
“Amazing what man does to catch the attention of the gods,” Azrael's tone was hushed.
“Yes,” I turned to look at him. “What would I have to do to get your attention?”
“You have it already,” he smiled, pulling his eyes away from the view.
“Hmmm,” I pulled at the zipper down the side of my dress. “What shall I do with it then?”
He inhaled sharply when I pulled the dress over my head and dropped it to the tiled floor of the terrace. His hands crept around my bare waist and up my back to undo the catch of my red lace bra. I undid the buttons of his shirt and he paused, throwing aside my bra and then yanking off h
is shirt.
I walked away from him, heading toward the jacuzzi set smoothly into the floor of the terrace, and when I glanced back at him, he was smiling. I knew how much he liked pools. This one wasn't holy but we could probably make do. The pool of sacred wine might be invigorating but it didn't have bubble jets.
I coiled my hair and tied it into a knot before I pulled off my panties and got into the warm bubbling water, sighing as it closed around me. I heard Azrael come up behind me and then he was climbing in beside me, his arms pulling me against him. There were little braziers around the terrace and they came to life with a fling of my hand before I snuggled back with him.
“You're getting good at that,” he observed.
“I've been practicing,” I laughed, referring to my dragon-sidhe abilities to create fire.
“I have another fire for you to light,” he whispered and leaned down to kiss me.
I ran my hands over his back, kissing him with the passion he'd requested, and then pulled away to cock my head at him.
“I'd always thought your wings were just hidden under invisibility when I couldn't see them,” I stroked his back again, no trace of the wings apparent to me. “But they really seem to be gone.”
“I can retract them like you retract your dragon claws,” he laughed and pulled me onto his lap, my legs spreading around him. “They'd hardly be comfortable in here.”
“Nice,” I whispered, “though I do enjoy your wings.”
“Want to go for a flight over the city later?”
“Won't that startle a few people?” I blinked at his duh face. “Oh right, invisibility.”
“Yes, but for now,” his hands slid down my belly and started doing delicious things. “I want you fully visible.”
Then his mouth was on my throat, kissing his way down as he lifted me slightly out of the water so he could take the crest of my breast into his mouth. I sighed, leaning back while lowering my hand between his legs, to give him a little pleasure as well. He moaned around my flesh and I set a faster pace on him.
He took a sharp breath, pulling back and pulling me down so I sheathed him smoothly. I started rolling my hips against him but in the back of my mind, I had the thought that sex in water is never as fun as you might think. The water washes away important lubrication and I always ended up a little sore. Even as I was having the thought though, I felt my magic shine brighter inside me and from beneath the fluttering energy of Love, I felt the Lust come forth in a passionate red pulse. It shot through me and into Azrael. He pulled his face away from mine to stare at me in shock.
“What was that?” His body was shaking below mine, beautifully illuminated by the underwater lights set into the jacuzzi walls.
“Sex?” I laughed at his grimace. “Sex magic, remember I'm not just a goddess of love.”
“I hadn't even thought of that,” he grinned and then moaned as my magic pulsed through us again. “What else can you do?”
“I don't know,” I gasped as it rocked through me and threatened to send me into orgasm already. “Believe it or not, I've never tried it before.”
“So I'm your first?” He grinned like a little boy.
“Absolutely,” I whispered as I felt my magic rush lower, coating me with a lubrication I knew wouldn't wash away. I was so deliciously slick, I started moving faster, the water moving around us like a storm at sea. “So I think we should explore every possibility.”
“Take as long as you need,” he said before taking my mouth with his.
A surge of power ran up my spine and then seemed to explode out, sending star bursts of sensation through my limbs and out of my skin. I felt the shock wave hit Azrael and then he was spasming around me, inside of me, shouting out his pleasure in angelic baritone.
The city seemed to go quiet around us but we kept going, my magic keeping him hard within me, and I brought him mercilessly past his orgasm and into mine. I screamed, not nearly as impressive as he had, but it was joyous and free, and when it was over, my sensitive hearing picked up the soft murmurings of excited humans nearby. My magic was spreading.
I smiled as I slowed my pace, knowing the hotel and probably the surrounding buildings, would know a deliciously erotic night. Azrael lifted me from the pool, water sluicing off us in sheets and splashing all over the tiles. He took me to a lounge chair near one of the braziers, joined to me the whole way, and laid me down.
His dark hair was spiked with water and he flung it back before he lowered himself, settling deeper into me with a smile. His wet skin shone gold in the firelight and he looked more demonic than angelic, but at the moment, that was exactly what I wanted. I kissed him, tasting the chlorine on his lips briefly before his flavor overcame it, espresso and chocolate, and I licked him up like dessert.
His hips met mine with a hard thrust and I let him take over as my magic continued to pulse between us. My skin was super sensitized, every nerve flooded with pleasure, and wherever his skin met mine, I would glow. I felt warm and tingly beneath the red light, like the magic was condensing at those spots.
We both stared at the light for a moment, watching how it would pulse out like a heartbeat with every touch, before we smiled up at each other and joined our lips in a kiss. As soon as his lips met mine, the magic rose to meet them and when I opened my mouth to taste him, the magic tasted him too.
I felt it swirl with the movement of our tongues and then sweep into him, through him and back into me where we were joined below. A circuit of lust that gathered speed and pleasure with each round it made until his hips bucked into mine and I screamed out, breaking the kiss and the connection. I felt the magic shatter, breaking into a million stars that burst around us in a vibrant display of light before falling over us, sprinkling our skin with one last rain of ecstasy.
We were shaking, shivering through after-shocks, as the magic seeped into our skin and settled back within my belly. Azrael lifted his head and stared at me with his wide, sparkling, diamond eyes, all humanity stripped from his appearance. His skin glowed with power and sparks ran through his hair when I touched it. Above us, from out of his back, rose his midnight wings, blocking out the star-filled sky so that I could only concentrate on the Heaven between us.
“We are so doing that again,” I whispered and he began to laugh.
Chapter Eleven
I was in such a good mood when I got home to Pride Palace. I was thrilled to have found a new way to use both my love and lust magic, though I must admit the Lust was the most enjoyable. I was bursting with energy and happiness, using my magic had both recharged and invigorated me while providing the added bonus of helping people.
Azrael had gone back to Shehaquim to relieve Michael of his temporary duties, and I kinda missed him already. Az was the lover I could really talk to, relate to in ways that I couldn't with the others. He was almost human, having spent so many years deeply immersed in our cultures. Being with him was like the best of both worlds; I could pretend to be human for awhile or embrace the amazing reality of being loved by an angel.
I'd see him soon enough though, so the pang of missing him was minor, barely skimming the surface of happiness that the vacation with him had brought. I was smiling as I walked down the corridor toward the library, intending to grab just a few more moments of peace, maybe a little time alone to contemplate my new motivation. So the sound of crying was like that of a mirror breaking, jarringly disruptive and fear-inducing.
I rushed into the library and found it empty, the crying was coming from the little sitting room inside the library, off to the right. I passed the bookshelves filled with everything from Tolstoy to Sherrilyn Kenyon, barely giving them a glance, though the smell of the books filled me with a measure of calm. Just being around them was comforting to me, the words of thousands of human beings, and in the case of this particular library, many gods as well. It made me feel connected to all those people, reading their words made me a part of their world.
Obviously the person crying in the sitting room d
idn't feel quite the same way.
“Samantha?” I was shocked to find my Froekn friend curled up on the sofa, her arms around her knees, as she wept uncontrollably. “What the hell?”
“Vervain,” she looked up, startled. “I didn't know you were coming home today.”
“Yeah, just got back,” I slid onto the couch next to her and rubbed her shoulder. “Why are you crying?”
“Fallon and I have been trying to have a baby.”
“That's wonderful.”
“It would be, wouldn't it?” Her eyes focused off somewhere else for a second. “But we haven't been able to conceive.”
“Honey,” I patted her, “sometimes it takes a little while.”
“It's been more than a little while,” she sighed. “I went to see a human doctor. He told me I can't have children.”
“What?” I scoffed, “that's ridiculous. You've got magic in your blood, you're Froekn, you heal every time you shift. Your body must be healthier than any human's.”
“Healthy, yes,” she looked at me with heavy eyes, filled with pain, “fertile, no. Fallon's going to be so disappointed. He talks about having a little girl who looks like me, or teaching his son to hunt. He's been so excited about having the first Froekn-Intare child, he thinks it will draw our families even closer together.”
“Those are all lovely thoughts,” I nodded, “but there are other options. You could adopt.”
“Adopt who?” Samantha gave a grim laugh. “Vervain, what child could we bring into this world? What would we tell the adoption agency?”
“Honey, we have magic, remember? If you want to adopt a child, we'll make it happen. I could probably even make them Intare, I just need to figure out how to do that. It's gotta be possible though, Nyavirezi did it. The magic will show me how.”
“Oh,” she blinked. “Yeah, that would work. I just really wanted to give Fallon a child, have a little person who was part him and part me. A physical representation of how much we love each other.”