The ecstasy of the moment, the bliss floated around me as I lie naked in the bed of the flowers. Every nerve in my body pulsating with the delectable pleasure.
I felt myself being lifted into the sky. The flowers falling far beneath me as I floated up and into the stars. A breeze lingered against my skin as I rose, sending sweet shivers up and down my spine. The stars wrapped around my body, drawing circles and leaving traces of the stardust. I pushed my tongue out to catch more of the sweet powder.
Alder was there again, his face close to me, his naked body hovering over mine as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. He was floating, too. We levitated in the night sky, tangled up as one.
His face came down to my lips, his beard rough against me and sending shooting sensations through my body as he kissed me. Then he pulled back.
Leo. Sweet Leo, his blonde hair rustling in the night wind as he ran his fingers through my hair. His fingers grazed my cheek. I felt I should tell him something, felt there was something I had forgotten, but I couldn’t remember and I didn’t care.
He leaned back down and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him as we drifted through the stars. Their dust covering us, leaving us with a coat of blue and green shimmer.
I wrapped my legs around his back as he entered me. Soft moans of rapture leaving my throat with each thrust. The stars frolicked around us. I kept my eyes glued to them as each movement he made sent waves of pleasure through my body.
He lifted his head, Alder’s emerald eyes returning to me. His golden tan face seemed to glow pink.
His soft, brown hair grazed my chin as he reached down to kiss my neck again. He kept going. Each push and pull felt like a million tiny explosions reverberating through my body. I arched my back as he deepened. The music kept playing around us, sweet, soft, intoxicating sounds. Hypnotizing sounds.
I ran my fingers through his hair, blonde hair. Leo’s face reached up and kissed me on the cheek as he continued. I let my grip tighten around him, my body humming against him.
I closed my eyes and leaned back, leaned into the embrace. I felt the stars kissing my body, his hands all over me.
I lifted my head and gazed at him. Benci’s chocolate eyes roamed over my body as he thrust. His dark skin glowed in the starlight, rich mahogany muscles tensing as he drove into me again and again. His hand came up to my breast, then my neck. He tightened his grip around me as I threw my head back in euphoria.
His strong arm pulled my head back up to him, and I opened my eyes. Daemion’s ice-blue eyes met mine. They stared into me as he gripped my hips and back, pulling me tighter to him as he moved in me. His black hair and blue eyes, such a delicious contrast, pushed my pleasure up higher and higher. His strong jaw flexed as he bent down and kissed the center of my chest, right below the hollow of my neck. I ran my fingers through his dark locks, it felt like the softest silk in my hands. He kiss burned like flames as his lips touched my skin. I longed for him to take his mouth lower.
I felt him throb inside of me, pushing me right to the edge with each synchronized movement. The stars circled around us in a pirouette.
I felt my climax rock through my body, and I let out a moan. I gripped Daemion, pulling him to me as we fell back down through the sky, all the way back to the flowers. Their velvet petals felt like sweet whispers against my skin. His body clutched mine, hard in me still. The sensations of the world deepened. The mist swirled and swirled around us. I opened my mouth, inhaling in as much as I could of the sweet bliss.
I suddenly felt so far away, as if my soul had detached itself from my physical body. I glided away into the sky, looking down at the two of us tangled below. Alder, Leo, Benci, Daemion. They were all the same to me, all the same.
I felt the stars ahead calling me. The flowers below waving goodbye as I drifted off into the night sky towards the pink moon. The euphoria still echoing through me. I heard my name being called, but it was far away, oh so far away.
Chapter 45
Valeria… Valeria… Valeria….
I heard my name meander to me as I floated in the sky. I heard it, but continued sailing through the darkness. I saw a swirl of bright white, immense happiness and peace. I reached out for it, wanting to touch it, wanting it to engulf me. My fingertips almost grazed it.
Then I felt myself falling away from the white, through the darkness, past the multicolor stars, crashing back down to the earth.
I hit the ground with a sudden thump. It sent a wave of pain through my body.
The lights faded, the sky changed. I felt myself on a hard floor, someone’s hands on my chest.
Then my vision focused.
Alder’s face, glowing a melancholy blue with a forehead wrinkled with concern, looked down at me. He was kneeling over me as I came back to consciousness, saying my name over and over again.
I gasped in a deep, clear breath as my eyes focused. The mist was no longer around me. I realized I had been carried somewhere, away from the intoxicating flower dust.
My head swam and ached, throbbing as reality repositioned itself around me.
I felt nauseous. I pushed myself up and turned, retching, but nothing came up. Alder’s hands rubbed my back.
As I finished, he pulled me to his chest in a hug, his hand gently caressing my hair.
“Just breathe, breathe, Val,” he said, his voice a soft whisper against my ear.
We sat there for several minutes, letting the effects of the mist leave my system with every breath in and out. His power reached out to mine in a loving reunion. His arms held steady around me, patiently holding me up as my strength gradually returned.
Finally, I looked up at him. There were so many words I wanted to say, so much I wanted to tell him, so much I wanted to ask him. I didn’t know where to start. Tears came to my eyes with relief that he was here, that he had found me.
He kissed my forehead. Seeming to understand the overwhelming emotions within.
I pulled away from him and looked at our surroundings. We were against the amethyst walls of the Labyrinth. It was just him and I.
“Nightingale flowers. They emit a hallucinatory toxic gas that will place you into a comatose state. A few more minutes and it would have been too late,” he whispered, pain in his voice.
“It felt incredible,” I told him, his eyes perked up with curiosity. “I was floating through the sky, I could touch the stars. I thought you were there. It felt like you were there, we… that was all in my mind?” I asked, thinking back to those moments, those delicious moments.
“Yes,” he said curiously, one eyebrow raising up into a question. “What did you see?”
I remembered then that it was not just Alder that I saw. Shame boiled up inside, but I pushed it away. It wasn’t my fault what I had hallucinated.
I gave him a sly smile. “Hmm, let’s just say it was… erotic…” I trailed off, my voice still weak but teasing him.
He grinned and tightened his arms around me.
We were picking up exactly where we had left off, as if the events of the past few days hadn’t even happened. It felt good, felt right to be back with him. The power inside me felt more alive, like a piece of it had been missing before, but was whole again.
Then I remembered Leo. My face and heart dropped.
“Leo, he was… he is in the Brotherhood,” I murmured, tears welling up in my eyes once more.
His eyes met mine. I expected to see anger, but there was just sympathy.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice strained, echoing my pain. I leaned into him, letting the emotions and tears flow out as he held me.
“Labyrinth City is ok, we had a loss of two citizens and one guard. I announced a week of mourning in their honor. But the Brotherhood failed in their plans to attack the palace. We slaughtered them all,” he said, still holding me. “I didn’t know you were in the city. I thought you were safe. Minka said you were in my bedroom. In all the commotion, I didn’t check until it was too late. Alistair saw a ship leave the h
arbor from a hidden point of entry. I knew you had to be on it, I couldn’t sense you anymore.”
“How did you find me, then? Why couldn’t you sense me?” I asked, wiping my tears away and leaning back away from him.
“Did they use heartsbane on you? Is that how they kidnapped you?”
“Yes, it incapacitated me.”
He grimaced. “I should have told you about it, should have warned you. I’m sorry. It didn’t just block your power, it dulled you and made it impossible for my power to sense when you were taken. So, I tracked the ship that took you until I found it floating in Caligo Bay with all the men dead. I figured you swam to shore, so I began searching for you on foot. I used my power, and it felt you when I got close enough, thankfully.”
“I-, they used it on me. I couldn’t do anything. They kept me tied to a pole, said they were taking me to where the Dark Lord had commanded them. I had a chance to escape on the first day, but I squandered it. Then-” I stopped. Should I tell him about Daemion? Should I tell him what the red-haired man had almost done to me? “Then, a few days later, the ship was attacked by a Siren. She set me free and helped me to shore. I walked for a day and then Leo found me. I thought it was a godsend, but he knew where I was because he was working for them. I almost killed him I was so angry, but I just left him and well, then I found that flower field.”
“I’m sorry, Val. I should have gotten here sooner, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok, I took care of myself. I always have.” I looked down as I spoke, not wanting to meet his eyes. Not wanting him to see the fear behind them, that fear of being alone that had nearly cost me my life.
He lifted my chin gently. “Yes, you can. But that doesn’t mean you should always have to.”
His words hit my heart hard, I wanted to crumple against him. To let my walls down and cry. He leaned down and kissed me. His lips against mine filled me, rejuvenated my power, and made me feel warm. I had missed him.
He pulled back and smiled, pushing some hair from my face as he gazed into my eyes.
“Where are Minka and Jubilee? Did they come with you?”
“They stayed in Labyrinth City. We have to do this next part on our own.” He turned his gaze to the path ahead of us.
I nodded, thinking of how much of the journey still laid before us. We could be a mile away and we could be a hundred miles away. I felt exhausted.
“I saw the captain, he wasn’t drained of his blood like the other men. Did you kill him?” he asked, bringing me back from my thoughts. His eyes were kind as he spoke and I could feel what he was really asking but didn’t want to say, what did they do to you?
“Yes,” I said, an edge in my voice.
“Did he hurt you?” His voice was full of concern. He looked me over, searching for injuries.
“He tried,” I said. His gaze met mine, the look in my eyes hard and strong as the power within me flared with the memory. His glow changed to gold. Pride.
We spent a few hours just talking, comforting each other. It felt necessary after the days apart and the trauma we had both been through.
My strength eventually returned, thanks to food and water that Alder had brought and the rest in his arms. Alder was patient, waiting for me to be ready to continue. I asked him if he had any idea how close we were, but he didn’t know.
I asked him how it was possible to live a hundred years in this Labyrinth and still not know where the tower was? He shrugged his shoulders and simply said the curse kept it shrouded.
We finally stood and looked forward. The twisting, turning path of the Labyrinth laid before us.
Alder took my hand in his and gave me a reassuring squeeze. I wasn’t on my own anymore, everything would be ok.
Chapter 46
This was the first time Alder and I had been alone, really alone. No village nearby, no Leo, no Minka, no Jinx, no Jubilee, no Labyrinth City. It was just him and I. And the walls of the Labyrinth.
When I walked with Leo, there had always been tension between us. But not with Alder. He liked to take in everything as he walked, examining every wall, looking at every stone, every flower or vine. He looked up at the sky and told me interesting facts about all of it as we walked.
“These are made of amethyst, as you guessed. But the real treasure of this portion of the Labyrinth are the secret caves and hidden underground hot springs.”
“Hot springs?”
“Like swimming pools of warm waters.”
“I know what hot springs are, but where are they?”
“It’s like everything else, hidden. You just have to find the right wall.”
“Hmm, a warm bath sounds heavenly, we should try to find one.”
“We can try,” he laughed.
“What was special about the obsidian walls? What did that portion of the Labyrinth hold?”
“Pretty much just the villages and Labyrinth City. There’s five villages hidden in the obsidian walls. It’s the most populous portion of the Labyrinth by far.”
“Why didn’t we see anyone walking around then?”
“Well, the towns have portals between them. People can go from town to town without entering the Labyrinth. A safety measure I added for them.”
“Portals? Why didn’t we use a portal to get to Labyrinth City, then?”
“Labyrinth City is different. It needs to be protected, so its only accessible by boat. Makes it harder for the Brotherhood or other dangerous people to sneak into, but not impossible clearly.”
“What about whirling? Couldn’t you have whirled us in?”
“But what would have been the fun in that?” he laughed.
I shook my head, and we walked a bit further.
“Did you know those nightingale flowers are used as a drug? People extract their powder and sell it as a form of sex drug.”
“Oh, so you did know what I saw then.”
“I had an inkling,” he laughed.
“You let your people get high? Or is it illegal?”
“Why would I care what they do in their bedrooms with their free time?”
“But it’s dangerous, I almost died.”
“Yes, you, surrounded by thousands of flowers almost died. But just a bit of the powder is very safe.”
“Have you ever tried it?” I asked, my face looking at his for a reaction.
He smiled. “I hadn’t found anyone I wanted to try it with, until now, that is,” he said with a wink.
The enchantress purred inside. “Hmm, we absolutely must try it together when we get back then,” I said with a pompous voice and a sly smile.
“It was that good, huh?”
“Better than you could even imagine.” He gave me that wicked grin that made me bite my lip.
“Careful, you keep that up and we won’t ever make it to the tower,” he breathed, his gaze lingering at my lips.
“Fine, with me,” I laughed. He shook his head with a smile.
“So, what else don’t I know? What about the stars, why do they dance in here?” I asked, thinking of my hallucinatory journey through them.
“Oh, those aren’t stars.”
“What?”
“Yeah, it’s the magic that made this place. It loves moonlight. Many mages believe magic came from the moon in the first place. The magic loves to twirl and dance in it whenever it can.”
Now that was a beautiful thought. It almost took my breath away.
“Magic comes from the moon? That is beautiful. Poetic.”
“If it’s true.”
“You don’t believe in it?”
“I don’t know what I believe. It could come from the moon. Could come from the sun. Could come from a creator.”
“I like the moon theory best.”
One side of his mouth turned up in a smile. “If you like the moon best, then so do I.”
I looked down at my feet and smiled. We had been walking for hours. I should feel tired, but I still felt great. I could walk and talk with him forever if I had to, he
just made everything better.
“The siren who saved me, her name was Sierra. Have you ever heard of her?”
“Ah yes, the siren of Caligo Bay. She is quite famous. Most people avoid going through that Bay because of her, it’s far too dangerous. I was surprised the Brotherhood took that risk. They probably thought the mist would hide them from me.”
“She didn’t come for you when you were on their boat?”
“She probably didn’t notice me. If she did, she wouldn’t have come, anyway. I’m the King after all, I allow her to continue living there in the first place.”
“But if she is dangerous, why let her live?”
“She can’t help what she is. She stays in her bay and doesn’t bother anyone else. Why would I kill her for that?”
I considered his words. “Many men would have killed her out of fear. Men don’t like monsters.”
“She’s not a monster, she’s just a siren.” I felt his words had a double meaning as he looked at me.
“She said I would bring the kings of this world to their knees, that thousands would bow before me with just a wink, said I was ‘the best of us’. She even called me her Queen, that’s why she saved me.”
“And you don’t believe her?”
“I just- I can’t imagine being that powerful. I couldn’t even handle six men.” I thought of what the palm reader had said that day in Labyrinth City. A shiver went down my spine.
“You are that powerful.”
“How do I access it then? How do I use it?”
“It will come to you, eventually. It’s been less than a week, you have to give yourself more time and practice.”
I nodded.
“And, you’ve already brought one King to his knees. Don’t sell yourself short,” he said with another wink. My heart leapt in my chest.
“Ok, my turn to ask the questions. Tell me about the orphanage. Why did you leave it?”
“The headmistress was a bitch. She would hurl insults at us all day. The other kids were kind to me, but I saw how beat down they became after years of living under her. When I was eight, I couldn’t take it anymore. So, I left.”
The Labyrinth King (The Labyrinth Series Book 1) Page 25