“Yes, my king. I will relay the message immediately,” he replied.
My lips brushed against Lyannìa’s forehead, then marched a trail of kisses down her nose. She giggled like a small girl and the urge to smash the Olympians to dust eased a bit. “You may ask me anything, wife. I will always speak truth with you. This day has been a trial for us both.” Slowly I slid the loose fabric of her dress up her legs. “I want no other in my bed. Let me prove it to you. Let me show you how much I love you.”
The relaxing of her tense body beneath mine was all the acceptance I needed, and I dipped down to capture her lips. My hands found the smooth flesh of her thighs, and I pushed the dress higher. Up and up the fabric went, revealing each luscious inch of her body as my lips devoured hers. I broke our kiss to pull the material from her body and my breath hitched as I beheld her pale form glowing with moonlight. My fingers trailed along her collarbone and between her breasts. I painted Greek words upon her skin with my fingertips—invisible brands that represented my devotion. Then I retraced them all with my tongue until she was writhing beneath me. The heavy globes of her breasts with their delicate pink tips beckoned me, and I suckled each one.
My hands traveled down her body as I feasted. I paused for a moment to rub the mound of her stomach and again urged our daughter to rest. Then my hands moved down to brush against the satin down between her thighs. Wetness coated my fingers as I swept them over the lips of her sex. Then my thick fingers dipped into that valley seeking out the treasures within. Lyannìa moaned and shifted restlessly against me.
I sank one long finger slowly inside her tight sheath, grunting at the feel of her arousal that spiked my own even higher. Pulling away, I quickly ripped the tunic off my body. My cock jutted out to graze against her thigh, and just that small contact caused the blood pounding through my veins to rise to a feverish pitch. I scooped my wife up to sit her at the edge of the bed and slowly eased her back down. My hands parted her thighs, and I began to rub my shaft against her.
I coated myself with her moisture to ease my passage, then carefully pushed into her. My cock stretched her entrance, gaining an inch and retreating only to push forward again to gain new ground. Lyannìa shivered beneath me as I worked myself deeper. The tight wet embrace drove me mad. All I wanted to do was plunge myself into her completely and pound us both into release. With the babe so near to birthing, I dared not give in to my desires. Gritting my teeth against the pleasured pain, I kept my pace slow. It felt like an eternity before I reached the point where she could take no more of me. Slowly I withdrew, wringing a moan from us both. My thrusts sped up slightly. My muscles trembled with restraint.
We were both near the edge when I leaned over Lyannìa and kissed her lips. “My star. My wife. I need to tie you to me. We will have many centuries together, but I need more. I need eternity. There is a way I can join us together. If you wish it.”
I rocked into her as she stared up at me with passion-glazed eyes. “Yes, Titan. Yes. I will stand by your side for eternity and beyond.”
My pace picked up once more as I prepared to use my powers in a way that had never been tried before. “What I did to create my brothers and sisters I will try with you. I will give you a piece of me that we may be joined forever. You are a fully formed being already where my brothers and sisters were not. You must accept me into your body.”
She nodded. Then gasped as I pushed harder into her. The mere thought of our joining on such a level was like a craving that I could no longer deny. I wanted to mark her so that all knew to whom she belonged. She was mine, and I would have all of her. I withdrew from her tight core and placed her hand upon my cock. “Say ‘I accept you Chaos Titan Theophanes’ as you take me into your body. By word and by action you will accept me.”
Lyannìa repeated the words as she guided me back inside her. My pace picked up as I let my powers flood through my body. Her muscles contracted around me and the night filled with her keening cry of release. I buried myself deep inside her one last time and threw my head back with a shout as I found my own pleasure. My power flowed out and found its home in her. Now it just needed to be anchored.
“Brace yourself, my star. I am sorry for the pain this will bring.”
I pulled her up into my embrace and traced my symbol across her back. I pressed a hand between her breasts and the other upon her back where the symbol would be. “Lyannìa Theophanes, I mark you as my bonded mate. The symbol you bear upon your flesh will let all know that you are mine. It will be the anchor by which we are joined. We will be as two sides of the same coin. I freely share all that I am with you. My life. My power. My mind. My heart.”
The kaleidoscope of colors glowing from my eyes bathed her face as I leaned down to kiss her lips. Fire spread from my hand upon her back, etching the symbol into her flesh. Lyannìa screamed and arched her back. I gritted my teeth, hating that I was the cause of her pain. My powers traveled across her skin like a black river whose surface glimmered with swirls of multi-colored lights. They rushed over her skin to converge at the symbol on her back where they sank deep and the connection snapped into place. “Body of my body. Soul of my soul. We are one.”
Lyannìa went limp in my arms as I absorbed the lingering pain through the bond. I could feel her inside me—not just her mind but an awareness of every aspect of her. I pushed the heavy weight of her hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. I used the bond to send apologies to her for the pain I had caused. Then I showed her the depth of my love and devotion. Her eyes flew open in surprise at how much we could share with the bond, and there in the depths of her eyes was a full explosion of the cosmos. We were joined now for eternity.
9
December 21st
* * *
The Olympians stood with their chins notched in the air, glaring from the base of the steps below us. The air was filled with a tense silence as my siblings and I sat on our thrones, coolly taking their measure. I had contacted my brothers and sisters the previous night with the details of what Athena had said. The Olympians were the most likely cause for the warning. Considering they followed Zeus’s lead in most things, it made sense that Athena would not have a say if he decided to wage war. As soon as the celebrations were over, the Order would be in session preparing for whatever may be coming. For now, we were anxious to teach these young fools a lesson.
“Why do we not destroy them all now?” Tartarus growled in my head. “Unmake that which we have created.”
Nyx purred. “Tarty, you have no imagination. I say we rip their powers from them and release them to the humans’ tender mercy.”
Tartarus snarled. “Sister you may be, but I will throw you into my fiery pits if you do not cease calling me that horrid name.”
My powers lashed out, sending the equivalent of a backhand to both of them. “You act like children when an enemy stalks us like weak prey. Will you offer up your belly for them to gut you this easily? Now is not the time for us to be divided. We must identify this faceless enemy and rid our world of their presence.”
“My apologies, brother,” they responded.
“The young ones have a point.” Gaia spoke in her usual calm voice. “The Olympians have gone their own way for far too long. They have walked among the humans urging them to worship them as gods. They breed nearly as fast as the humans and already outnumber us.”
“The old one speaks truth,” Nyx retorted mockingly.
My fingers tightened on the armrest of my throne in anticipation of more quarrels. Nyx, Tartarus, and Erebus were younger than the other two by nearly a century. It had taken me that long to decide that other, subtler nuances of dark and light were needed to help me balance this world. Eros, Gaia, and I had roamed the Earth creating all manner of things before I created the others. The planet was overrun by beasts dreamed up with just a thought, and we had been too enamored of what we had created to destroy them. Creation could not exist without destruction. Thus, Tartarus. His darker destructive tendencies for
med the underworld where he banished many of the more dangerous of our creations.
Then Erebus, who like myself was capable of either dark or light. Finally, Nyx, who also leaned toward the darker side. None of them were as powerful as Gaia or Eros. I had learned after making the first two not to give so much of myself into their creation. As powerful as I was, burning through that much energy could weaken me. This human form had limitations and could even die, given damage catastrophic enough that my energy could not repair. With the link to my father, my true essence—the energy that lived inside this human shell—could not truly perish, but I had no wish to be sent back to the heavens. My life and everything I loved was here.
That didn’t mean that I did not understand my younger siblings’ irritation. Their age and lesser power made them feel inferior. That is why they often banded together. It was also the cause of many fights, especially between my sisters.
Gaia was pure light and the peaceful one among us. Although her wrath could be cataclysmic; just ask the Minoans. The volcanic eruption that devastated the city of Akrotiri on Crete and damaged so much of the Minoan society wasn’t just any natural disaster. It was a lesson that they would not soon forget, to never anger a goddess. That my peace-loving sister was now casting her vote for punishment was revealing about how far the Olympians had pushed the boundaries.
Thankfully my sisters seemed to agree on this one thing, and I relaxed my grip. My eyes landed on Athena. I was hesitant to condemn all of the Olympians to death without proof of their betrayal. “I agree that action must be taken. Though not all have gone to such lengths as the others. Would you have us punish them equally?”
Several objections sounded through our connection. Eros shifted restlessly upon his throne. “Let us end this quickly. There is a very willing woman waiting in my rooms for my attention. Give the Olympians a trial. They will each stand for their crimes and be judged.”
Erebus snorted. “I am surprised you could be bothered to attend this session with the number of women who frequent your bed. The Olympians are not the only ones spreading their seed far and wide.”
“Luring women into the shadows to bed them is not sporting, little brother. If you want to watch, I will show you how it is done.” Eros smirked as he shot a blast of air at Erebus, almost knocking him from his throne.
“You—“ Erebus started to reply, but I cut him off.
“Enough! We will have a trial after the winter solstice for all of the Olympians to be judged. My advisor will gather the accusations to be brought against each. What say you?”
There was unanimous agreement.
I leaned forward on my throne to address the Olympians. “I took you from your homes—from your families—when you were no older than my son. A century I kept you here on this island, teaching you to wield your powers and training you in battle skills. We fought side-by-side to tear down civilizations and build others. Yet you wanted your freedom, and you won it through battle victory. I let you leave this island to establish your own home. I let you turn the Greeks into your followers and worship you as gods.”
I rose from my throne, disgust slipping into my voice as I let my gaze rest on Zeus. “How have you repaid me? You challenge my rule. You provoke and belittle my son. You spread lies and encourage your descendants to spit upon the Order’s rules. For too long have your people lived outside of Chaonian society. For too long have I turned a blind eye to your disobedience out of respect for our long and shared history. No more.”
Storm clouds gathered overhead, blocking out the sun as I gave my anger free rein. I leaped over the steps to land lightly on the level below just as thunder crashed above. The wind began to howl, and lightning lit up the now dark island.
“I am your king,” I roared, “named Chaos after my father the God of Chaos. Known to you under my earth name Titan Theophanes. I have roamed this world since its creation alongside my brothers and sisters. Our power over this world is absolute. Should we wish it, the Olympians would be wiped from this world as if you never existed.”
My brothers and sisters crowded in behind me in a united front. “It is through me that all Chaonian power flows, and you are as nothing if I deem it to be so. The taste for battle may have grown stale upon our tongue, but make no mistake that the Order of Chaos will fight to defend what is ours. As your rulers, we sentence you each to a trial three days hence. You will stand accused of your misdeeds. Until that time you will go nowhere without an assigned guard.“
Murderous expressions crossed several faces before they turned and walked away. Some maintained their arrogant countenance, but the underlying taste of their fear was a familiar drink that tempted me to sip again. I released the storm and watched. Athena was one of the last to leave. Her worried expression said clearly that this was not over.
10
December 22nd
* * *
The day of the winter solstice started with a bang. Literally. I was meeting with my advisor in the treasury located in tunnels deep beneath the palace that only a select few could access. His thin form was leaning over a massive stone table where a large scroll lay spread across one end. His raspy voice rattled off details of the monthly inventory of land, artifacts, and other assets that I had collected during my lifetime.
“Tartarus has raised his offer for Thermopylae,” Agamedes said, sweeping his long gray hair aside to look up at me. “The offer is good. The land has little value to you.”
His weathered hand lifted from the scroll and the words he had been reading over disappeared. He glanced at a stack of scrolls in the middle of the table, and the one on top floated over to hover before him. Writing appeared across the yellowed scroll as soon as his finger made contact. “He offers a pair of golden brooches fashioned like jasmine flowers for the queen, six horses from Thessaly, and one of his servants from the pits for the young prince’s new pet.”
I absently tugged at my beard while I considered the offer. Tartarus wanted the land because of its hot springs. As the ruler of the underground, he was obsessed with his lava pits. When lava flowed to the surface or near enough to cause the surface to react, as they did at the hot springs, he immediately tried to claim the land as his domain. This often led to a dispute with Gaia as she ruled over the above ground landscape. Her use of one of his most significant lava pits to cause the Minoan eruption of Thera had caused a fight that lasted for decades.
“The offer—”
The whole cavern started shaking, sending artifacts tumbling from their shelves. Agamedes stumbled against the table. The scroll he had been reading from dropped from the air and rolled across the floor. The studious man went crawling after his precious scrolls.
“Agamedes!” I called out as a tall gold statue wobbled upon its pedestal and toppled over in his direction. Quickly I called upon my powers to hold the statue suspended. I teleported over to grab his arm just as his fingers closed around the scroll, and pulled him to his feet. I shoved him beneath the heavy table and sent my powers whipping out around us to freeze the falling items. The cavern gave one final shudder before everything went still once more.
Precious vases, gem-encrusted jewelry, gold shields, and countless other items hung suspended in the air. With a sweeping gaze, I sent them all back to their resting places. Then I sent a message off to my brother.
“Eros, what has happened?”
His amused voice filled my head seconds later. “The joys of youth. I should ask Athena for a pet. One of her beasts would liven up my halls. It has been too long since I placed my mark upon history. Perhaps I should seduce a princess as well.”
“The last princess you seduced led to war with the Egyptians,” I replied.
“It was a splendid war. Princess Sheri Nebti. I remember her fondly. Her appetite for bed sport very nearly matched my own.” Eros hummed wistfully. “A shame her father did not find me a suitable match for his daughter.”
I laughed wryly. “It was finding you in the princess’s bed the night befor
e her marriage that her father took exception to. The bride price had already been paid. The princess had begged to remain with her family a few more days to have you in her bed before going to her husband. The king lost an ally. The princess was sent to live in seclusion. Even when she died, she was buried far from her family in disgrace.”
Eros was silent a moment. “I had not realized. There was a Mesopotamian priestess that caught my eye. She had the most amazing—”
“Enough, Eros,” I interrupted. “I felt trembles in the earth here in the treasury. Did you experience this?”
“Yes. Tartarus is furious.” Eros took too much joy in stating that. ”The stable master has been training the prince to ride his new pet. The prince was able to keep his seat for the first time this morning when they flew around the courtyard. Prince Nikomedes took his pet to the pits to treat her to a meal of lava rocks. The pit master left them for but a moment to attend to another matter. Fiamouria jumped into the pit, and the prince feared for her life.”
I closed my eyes briefly, understanding immediately what my fearless son would have done. Eros confirmed this when he stated, “The prince climbed down into the pit but lost his grip. Fiamouria heard his cry for help and overreacted to his fear. Already they are linked enough to feel each other’s emotions.” Eros laughed. “She saved the prince and “killed” the pit that threatened him. The eruption was mostly contained to Tartarus’s lands. The fires have been put out, and Gaia is working on rebuilding the landscape.”
“Good. Put the Olympians to work on this as well.” Agamedes peeked from under the table at me. I had forgotten the man in my haste to find out what had happened. “I will finish here and join you soon.”
Dawning Chaos Page 5