by K L Rymer
I snort. “How ironic that my father taught yours. God, Myrddin really is old...”
The handsome mage smiles. “He may be old, but he’s still ten times more powerful than my father will ever be. He doesn’t even hold a candle. Truth be told, Bryn... Myrddin has been more of a father to me than my own. So I’m sorry... but it looks like I ended up being your adopted brother after all...”
I smirk, biting my lip. “Stepbrother, hey...? Well, it just seems that things got a little steamier between us...”
Mattie actually looks at me appalled, and I cackle, throwing the firewood down by Thomas.
I bet he didn’t expect that to come from my mouth.
Thomas decided to build a fire from scratch in the end, despite the nine dragons and one demon we have floating around. They could burn down the entire forest for him if he wanted, but the shifter is adamant. He even has the pompous Maximus on his side, saying, “Knowledge is the greatest weapon of all...”
Aw, did he read that on a bathroom wall?
The logs scatter around Thomas’s feet, and he scowls up at me. “Must you, Bryn? I’m busy here...”
I throw my palms up. “Well, sorry, Mister Firestarter...”
Thomas sighs, then returns to his kindling. “If you must know about the origins of the comet... Myrddin froze it some thousands of years ago when it was on a collision course to earth. But he liked it so much, he decided to keep it and place it above the academy, and that’s how it came to be...”
I smirk, leaning down to his eye level. “Let me guess... did you read about it in a book?”
That’s where he learned about building a fire from scratch. The nerd...
Thomas blinks. “No. Myrddin told me... All you need to do is ask, Bryn.”
I exhale and stand back up again, meeting Matthew’s eyes. He inclines his head for me to follow him into the woods, and I turn back, making sure no one sees us.
Damien and Felicity bicker as they set up their shared tent. Zahara decides to help Thomas create a flame, and the shifter looks more than happy for the assistance. Yet it’s obvious she’s just using it as an excuse to be kinky with him (she blows on the kindling while he creates a spark with his bare hands).
Just what would Katy the cat think if she were around? I doubt she’d care much for Zahara flirting with her boyfriend...
Then there’s the silent, brooding Jack as he crushes rocks inside his hands, getting ready to make some projectiles.
Angelina and Nora go about setting up their own tents, and the dragons are sleeping in another clearing not too far off.
Good. Matthew and I need the alone time.
Quickly, I follow him into the woods, and the moment we’re out of sight, he pushes me up against a tree, helping himself to my lips.
I groan inside his mouth when I feel his pulsating member on my stomach (I just always wanted to call it a member... so cheesy).
Yet when he yanks down my pants, he doesn’t give me his hard member... Instead, he offers me his rough finger, slipping it between my wet folds, and now my groan turns into a loud moan.
Fuck... that feels good.
“Harder...” I breathe, and harder he goes. Next, he finds the swollen nub of my clitoris and rubs, rubs, rubs, and he really does have the magic touch.
I mean what do you expect? He shoots lightning from those fingers.
He really does know how to rub a girl the right way, and not to quote Christina Aguilera or anything, but... I really am like a genie in a bottle...
In fact, if he keeps at this smooth, glorious space... I will scream a fine tune just like the 90s’ pop sensation.
Jesus... I’m still the queen of references... even when I’m getting fingered.
His finger goes in deeper—ooh, and his thumb too—and now he squeezes on my clit, making lights explode behind my eyes.
“Oh, sweet Jesus...”
So close...
My slick makes delicious slurping sounds as he doesn’t stop, and now I open my eyes, finding his gray ones.
There really is something magnetic between me and this beautiful, chiseled guy. Just looking at his sculpted lips is enough to make me come, and when he presses harder on my nub, I squirt all over his hand, and now fireworks go off inside my brain.
When the lights finally leave me, I’m left breathless and delirious in a sweet fog of euphoria, blonde hair sticking all over my face.
I’m drenched in sweat while he remains bone dry, the beast.
He slips out of me next, scrutinizing his fingers. They’re dripping with my slick. “Not bad, human...” he drawls, his eyes burning white-hot. “But do you think you could beat me at my own game?”
I smirk. “You want me to finger you too? I never knew you liked it up the ass, Mattie...”
He rolls his eyes, wiping my slick on his black shirt. It leaves a greasy stain. “No. I’m talking about you making me cum.”
I sigh playfully, yanking him closer by the pants. I undo his top button. “If you insist...”
Mattie holds his head back and shudders when I fist his cock. It’s rock-hard, just like his sculpted chest, and now I rub up and down its length, pulling the skin taut.
It throbs beneath my fingers, and I love the way the sweat gathers on his dimpled upper lip as I make him cum inside my hand. His eyes roll back into his skull, and I can literally see the lights flashing behind them.
This was just what we needed before our big battle tomorrow. A chance to unwind. We’re so tense after all. It’s the least we can do for ourselves.
Unfortunately, someone comes stumbling heavily through the bushes behind us, or more like some people, and I pull my hand away from Mattie’s pants and gasp.
Damien and Felicity...
The demon asshole lifts her off her tiny feet and shoves her against another tree, and I watch in horror as the pixie wraps her legs around his waist.
“Oh, Damien...” she moans into his ear, biting his earlobe, and the demon growls.
“Tinkerbell...”
He nips the tender skin of her neck and she arches her spine, heavy gasps leaving her lips. Her hot breath clouds the air as he gorges on her throat, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t look away. Neither can Mattie, and he’s hard for a very different reason now...
It’s like we’re watching a porno. The pixie even makes all the right facial expressions, and I never knew she had it in her. She’s a bloody natural, and I knew that sweet act was all a farce.
My Little Pony my ass...
This little pixie has been watching porn all along.
At least with that shortened haircut, she doesn’t look so young anymore, and it really has aged her but in the right way. Now she’s just a regular, sexy midget with elfin features.
Felicity opens her eyes, and the moment those big, sparkling blues find me and Mattie, she lets out a blood-curdling scream. “Bryn!”
“What?!” Damien drops her back to her feet and spins around, and I jump when I meet those flaming eyes.
He snarls, producing a thick cloud with his own scorching breath. “What the fuck are you two doing here?”
Mattie and I laugh.
“Well, we could say the same for you?” I joke.
Damien doesn’t look as if he’s messing around. In fact, his horns sprout, and now flames dance upon their tips. “Fuck. Off. Now...”
We don’t move. In fact, we both cross our arms, standing our ground.
“No,” I reply. “We were here first.”
Those demon’s eyes never leave me, and now I can feel him burning black holes into my soul.
Yet I stay put.
He won’t touch me after all because he knows I will kick his ass.
Felicity still covers her face in shame, muttering, “No, no, no.”
I don’t know what she’s so embarrassed about. She looked hot.
I was tempted to push her up against the tree myself and make her scream, “Bryn, Bryn!”
I bet our men would love
that...
Damien continues to scorch us with his eyes, and it’s clear we’re all at a stalemate.
No one’s backing down.
That’s when another pair stumbles noisily into the forest, ripping and clawing at each other’s clothes, and now Mattie, Damien, and Felicity and I draw a loud gasp when we see who it is.
Zahara and Thomas.
I guess that trick with the fire worked for her, and it seems she finally managed to ignite Thomas’s spark.
They’re like a pair of animals and so rough. The Unseelie tears the shifter’s shirt from his back with a long pair of claws I have never seen before, giving us all a view of his beautiful back muscles, and now I watch in awe as his body ripples like water.
He’s resisting the urge to shift as he sucks on her face, and now the wolf throws his head back, releasing a loud howl toward the sky.
The hair rises on the back of my neck when I get an earful of that mystical howl.
Wow...
Zahara growls as she digs her claws into his back, drawing blood, and we may as well be invisible.
They’re so far gone in each other’s bodies that they’re blinded by everything else. (Thomas’s glasses have fogged up, so he won’t be seeing much of anything anymore.)
It was about time they fucked I guess.
Mattie and I look to Felicity and Damien, and all four of us release a collective sigh.
We’ve been beaten.
The forest belongs to them now.
Chapter 23 - Bryn
We pack up the next morning.
The moment we arrived back at camp, we told Angelina, Nora, and Jack all about Zahara and Thomas.
Jack smirked for his shifter buddy. Nora gasped, throwing a palm over her mouth. But Angelina grimaced.
“Ugh, who cares...” she said.
Maybe Vampire Barbie just needs to get herself a little action too. I mean, the last time she had any must have been when she was still dating Mattie. She did kiss me that one time in Hell, but that wasn’t much to rave about (even though we were at a rave).
I don’t think the girl has actively pursued anyone after Mattie, and maybe she’s just not interested in dating.
Good for her, I say. She doesn’t need a man or a girl to be happy.
If all goes well and we win today, we will finally be reunited with the rest of the student body. Nora and Jack can finally be with Orion and Clara again.
I guess Thomas and Katy are over. Good. She was a priss anyway, and never really deserved him. She said so herself, “I picked him because he’s an alpha.”
When we finish packing, we huddle around the dying embers of the fire that Thomas and Zahara created, and talk battle strategies.
Mattie and I keep Brynmawr and Gwyneira in on the loop via telepathic communication. As dragons, they are far too big to fit inside camp, and they need to keep an eye on the babies anyways. They can’t be left alone. We’re taking a big enough risk as it is camping a few miles out from the academy.
Even though they’re not babies anymore, it’s hard to call them anything else. That’s just how I’ve always seen them.
A shame our dragons can’t shift into human form like Diafol. I don’t know how he does it; he’s a true freak of nature. Brynmawr and Gwyneira could only do it briefly before the spell wore off.
Thomas draws in the dirt with a stick, Zahara close by his side, and they seriously have no idea that we saw them. The Unseelie keeps giving the shifter bedroom eyes, and judging by the flexing of Thomas’s muscles, he likes it.
Meanwhile, the rest of us roll our eyes at one another. They need to tone it down a notch.
“Matthew and Bryn will ride in on Gwyneira and Brynmawr from the east and west...”
The shifter draws a pair of dragons with people riding on their backs, and he’s not half bad.
They actually look like dragons, and I’m starting to see the wolf with a new set of eyes (he can draw me like one of his French girls any day).
I should stop. I have a boyfriend... and he has a new girlfriend now. One of my best friends too.
Zahara croons, rubbing his bicep. “You’re so hot when you strategize...”
Angelina winces in disgust.
Thomas offers the Unseelie a reproachful look, but there’s no denying the desire pooling inside his liquid gold eyes...
Matthew becomes impatient now, crossing his arms with a sigh. “So.... you were saying, Thomas?”
Thomas shakes his head, turning his gaze away from Zahara at last. “Right... of course. You and Bryn will fly in from the east and west and fly a full circle around the academy to scout the area... No doubt the enemy will pull some nasty trick, so stay cautious. Don’t ever let your guards down.”
I scoff, imitating Angelina by flipping my blonde hair back. The vampire notices, and does the exact same.
“Please... when have I ever let my guard down?”
Everyone looks at me as if I’m the stupidest girl who ever drew breath.
Matthew exhales. “Do you really want us to answer that, Bryn?”
I blush. “N-no...”
They go back to talking strategies, and I grumble to myself. That’s what I get for having a big mouth. I’ve been betrayed more times than I can count on one hand...
In the end, we decide that Mattie and I will do our sweep of the land to scout for the enemy. Then when Diafol turns up, we’ll be ready.
And when Diafol’s distracted, the babies will swoop in from the heavens in a surprise attack and kill the son of a bitch.
It’s not the best plan, but since none of us are war generals and therefore “inexperienced”, we’ll have to make do.
A shame Myrddin couldn’t be here, but he had an ‘errand’ to do. How convenient (he’s totally finding us our Deus Ex Machina).
We plan to attack by dusk. Again, dawn would have been better because “We attack at dawn” just sounds so much cooler. But we’re students. We don’t do early mornings.
We need our beauty sleep.
Before long Mattie and I bid farewell, and the atmosphere around camp is somber. Tense. We don’t know if any of us will survive after today and it’s bleak.
Once again, Felicity wraps her arms around my waist and cries into my clean shirt, but I pat her head and comfort her. At least I know she will be safe. Damien will not let any harm come to his sweet little Tinkerbell.
Then Nora throws her arms around me, and I hug both of my Magnanimous girls. They’ve always been so kind and generous, despite the fact that one of them can turn you into stone, and the other will steal your left shoe when you least expect.
Then Zahara offers me a noogie, which is just her way of showing affection, and Damien does the same, and now they’ve messed up my glorious mane. Then Jack lifts me off my feet in a massive titan hug, and I just hang limp like a ragdoll.
So big... so strong...
Thomas is clipped and formal, but he soon caves and flings his arms around me, and I just take a moment to appreciate the raw muscles of his back.
He really is ripped. Zahara’s lucky, and I’m glad she bagged herself the hot nerd in the end.
The goth and the nerd... like something straight out of a fairy tale.
Last but not least is Angelina. She stands before Mattie and I with her arms folded, frosty as ever, but I can tell she’s refraining from crying.
As a half vamp, the girl can cry just like any human. She can even secrete venom from her eyes just like the time she tricked the font during the sorting ceremony, and she truly is Ingenious.
“Well... don’t die, I guess...” she says, flipping back that long sheet of silvery blonde hair.
The three of us fall as silent as headstones, and it’s so awkward. It’s all water under the bridge now and we’re all technically “family” (our dragons are family).
But we’ve just never been this intimate before.
That’s when Angelina rolls her azure eyes and pulls us both in for a hug, and she’s so strong. Eve
n Mattie struggles to breathe.
“Don’t you two make an orphan out of my poor Azure now. You take good care of her parents... and yourselves...”
I laugh at the irony. Angelina couldn’t stand dragons once upon a time and hated Brynmawr and Gwyneira with a passion, but now she wants them to live.
“You too, Angie,” I reply. “Take care of our dragons’ child now.”
“Oh, I plan to...”
We pull away and Angie wipes a venomous tear from her eye. She tells us it’s just allergies but whatever, and soon we leave the rest of Mendacious.
Our dragons are waiting for us just outside the woods, but truth be told? I don’t feel ready...
Yet I put my game face on, climb up my dragon’s back, and soar into the clouds.
Our next stop—the academy.
We’re coming for you, Diafol and Mathew senior.
Chapter 24 - Bryn
We fly over the clouds in the direction of the academy, and it would be an understatement to say that I’m nervous.
Ah, fuck it. I’m shit scared...
My heart thumps like the beat of a war drum, and I squeeze my eyes tight shut against the icy wind.
What if we fail?
“It will be fine, Bryn... We will “kick his ass” as you say.”
I chuckle as Brynmawr’s deep, guttural voice fills my mind, and now I reopen my eyes, fixing them on the horizon.
“Thanks. I needed that.”
Brynmawr shoots through a thick cumulus cloud, and he ruins its pretty, cottony shape.
“Are you seriously mourning the loss of a cloud, Bryn? For the love of God, girly... set your priorities straight!”
I growl. “Hey! That was a pretty cloud, and don’t call me girly! I’d prefer human...”
The dragon releases a loud, rumbling growl of a laugh, and it echoes across the sky.
Mattie and Gwyneira aren’t too far off as they fly eastbound. In the end, Brynmawr and I decided to fly in from the west so we could do our sweep of the academy.
This time... we will take that Black Dragon down and kill him.
Before long we pass below the frozen comet, and the temperature becomes so hot and clammy, I almost can’t breathe.