Ascension

by Sadie Moss

  “We can’t delay any longer, or we risk them gaining even more supporters,” Sierian goes on, ignoring Paris’s comment. “It’s time. We’ll take the fight to Kaius and Zelus tomorrow morning. For now, I suggest you get some rest.”

  We leave Sierian lounging on her throne and navigate the dim, torch-lit halls to the room we’ve been given in the massive palace. I’m lost in dark thoughts about what to expect tomorrow, barely cognizant of anyone passing us through the bustling palace corridors.

  Echo slides an arm around my shoulders and tugs me in to kiss my forehead. “Cheer up, little soul. We’re still going to have more power than Kaius and Zelus. You, Sierian, and six other gods. That’s eight to their six. Those are good odds.”

  Callum reaches past me to open the door to our shared quarters, and I touch his hand, giving him a lingering glance before Echo and I step through the door together. I lean into Echo’s warmth, trying to draw strength from him because I feel like all of mine has faded away.

  Our room is warm and quiet, lit by a fire a servant must have come through to stoke while we were away at dinner.

  Echo peels away to wash up at the basin, and I move into the middle of the sitting area. Callum sinks down onto the couch behind me, his presence a comforting reminder that we’re all still together, though he gives me space to be alone with my worries.

  I stand before the flames and stare into the twisting, sparking fire, wrapping my arms around myself to try to keep the shivers at bay.

  I’m nervous. Not just that we got so few allies to join us, but that tomorrow, we’ll be heading into battle. What if something goes wrong? What if I’m not strong enough to stand up against a god? Any god?

  What if we lose?

  Worse still… what if I lose one of my men? Or all of them?

  As my thoughts continue to spiral, Paris steps in front of me, his tall form cutting out the light from the flames. His palms trail down my arms, and he tugs me against him until I’m on my tiptoes. He slides a finger beneath my chin and lifts my face to his.

  A small smile touches his lips. “You’re thinking too hard.”

  Farse, he’s right about that.

  I imagine smoke must be coming out of my ears from how hard the gears in my mind are grinding. But the honest truth is, there’s nothing more I can do. Tomorrow will come whether I want it to or not, and we’ll have to face whatever comes with it.

  But tonight? For tonight, at least, I’m still alive. I still have the three men who have embedded themselves in my heart. They’re here with me, and I can’t forget how precious this moment is.

  “I don’t want to think about anything for a while,” I say honestly, leaning more of my weight against him. Heat spreads through me at the way our bodies mold together, at the way we seem to fit so perfectly. “Can you help me with that?”

  He makes a humming sound in his throat, his face lowering to mine. “Little soul, I thought you’d never ask.”

  When he kisses me, I can tell it’s more than just my brain he’s trying to turn off. There’s a tightness in his shoulders that speaks of his own worry about the upcoming battle.

  As our lips move together, our tongues gently tasting and exploring each other, I knead the thick muscles of his shoulders, trying to draw out some of the tension I feel there. He lets out a soft, pleased noise, his fingers threading through my hair as he deepens our kiss.

  I hear a soft rustle behind us a moment before I become aware of two more large bodies surrounding me, bathing me in warmth.

  Echo’s mouth finds the back of my neck as he sweeps my hair out of the way. “You know,” he murmurs softly, humor in his voice, “we finally have a nice big bed, just like I promised.”

  I chuckle, the sound swallowed up by Paris’s kiss.

  We’re not done fighting yet, but my dark-haired soulmate makes a good point.

  Breaking away from Paris, I crane my neck to look over my shoulder, grinning at both Callum and Echo. “What do you think we should do with it?”

  Molten heat flares in brown and green eyes, and the sight sends an answering rush of desire through me.

  Neither man answers with words, but Callum moves quickly. Before I even realize what’s happening, I’m airborne. He tosses me over his shoulder with gentle, firm hands, and as he carries me over to the large bed, I can’t help the laugh that bubbles from my throat.

  This isn’t the first time he’s carried me like this. But the intention behind it now is so different it’s like night and day.

  Grinning cheekily, I reach down and grab two handfuls of his firm ass, feeling the hard muscles flex and move as he walks. He makes a noise almost like a growl, and my core clenches, arousal pooling between my legs.

  Then I’m moving through the air again, my body bouncing slightly as I land on the soft mattress. All three of my men tower over me at the foot of the bed, and the raw hunger on their faces is almost too much to bear.

  I reach for them, and they don’t make me wait. They climb up onto the bed with me, surrounding me as their hands skate over my body. Lips find my bare skin as the men work together deftly to undress me, unlacing my bodice and tugging off my dress.

  My shoes and panties follow, and I lose myself in a rush of sensation as they take turns kissing me, each man undressing himself slowly as well. My eyelids try to flutter shut, but I force them open, hungrily consuming the men with my gaze. Every article of clothing they remove reveals more toned, muscled flesh, and I lick my lips.

  I want to kiss every inch of them. To commit them to memory, not just in my mind’s eye, but in my entire body. I want to memorize the feel of them, the way they each taste and smell.

  When they’re finally just as naked as I am, they surround me again, kissing my lips, my neck, my shoulder, my breasts. I writhe on the bed, kissing and groping them back with everything I have in me.

  Paris begins to trail a line with his tongue down the flat plane of my stomach, drawing a yelp from me when he dips into my bellybutton. He presses open-mouthed kisses to the curve of my hip, then bites my inner thigh gently. I yelp again as a gush of wetness seeps from my core, arousal spiking inside me and making my breath pick up.

  When his tongue finds my slit, I shudder with pleasure. He drags it up through my folds before brushing over the hard nub of my clit, and I bite Callum’s bottom lip as sensation surges through me. Echo’s mouth is wrapped around my left breast, drawing it into his mouth with heavy pulls.

  I could come just like this.

  In fact, I’m on the verge of it already.

  But I don’t want to.

  I want… more.

  I want to be as close to all three of my men as possible. To feel them inside me when the pleasure finally crests and sends me over the edge.

  “Wait!” My voice is breathless as I grab a fistful of Paris’s soft blond hair, pulling his head away from my core.

  He blinks up at me, startled, as Echo releases my breast with a wet pop. Callum leans over me, braced on one elbow as he gazes down at my face.

  “Aren’t you enjoying this, love?” Echo’s voice is teasing, but there’s a hint of concern buried beneath it.

  I can’t stand the idea that any of them would think they bring me anything but pleasure, so I disabuse him of that notion by hauling him up to kiss him. When we finally break apart, I tug my swollen lip between my teeth.

  “Always. But I want more. Something else.”

  “What do you want, Sage?”

  Callum’s voice is rough as gravel, and the intensity of his emerald eyes makes me shiver. I don’t know quite how to put it into words, so I show them instead. Sitting up, I tug on Echo’s hand, guiding him to his knees before me. He’s fully hard, as affected by what we’ve all been doing as I am, and I lean forward, going onto all fours as I flick my tongue over his broad tip.

  His stomach muscles clench, and I grow bolder, lifting one hand off the mattress to wrap it around the base of his shaft, holding it steady as I wrap my mouth around him
.

  He lets out a shuddering breath, his fingers tangling in my hair. I draw him in deeper at the same time I shift my hips a little, silently beckoning the other two men.

  I’m wet. I can feel arousal slicking my thighs, and I’m certain they can see it from where they kneel behind me. I feel vulnerable and completely exposed, but instead of making me shy, it makes a thrill of excitement run through me.

  I trust these men with everything.

  My heart.

  My soul.

  My body.

  “Oh, farse, Sage.” Callum’s voice is thick, and I feel his large palms fall on my ass, massaging the flesh with the same possessive touch I groped his ass with earlier.

  My core clenches, my clit aching and throbbing. I groan when I feel two thick fingers breach my entrance, and when they’re replaced a moment later by Callum’s thick length, I almost lose the rhythm I’ve found on Echo’s cock.

  Callum presses inside me, and this new angle hits places I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before. Echo makes a choked noise, his hand tightening on my hair, and I try to imagine what he must be seeing.

  He’s watching his brother take me from behind, watching him fill me up. Callum is watching my lips wrap around his brother’s hard length, my cheeks hollowing as I bob my head. And Paris is watching them both. Watching me.

  Nish. Is he touching himself? Is he stroking his own cock watching the three of us as we move together, Callum’s thrusts matching the movement of my lips as they stroke up and down Echo’s shaft?

  I can’t turn my head to look, but the picture in my mind’s eye is enough to make my core clench. Callum groans, picking up his pace a little. He’s driving into me in slow, methodical strokes, bottoming out so deeply each time that his pelvis slaps against my ass.

  When he draws out completely, I almost gasp around Echo, so shocked at the loss of him.

  But then new hands are caressing the curve of my lower back, sliding over my hips. I recognize the touch, and I groan with pleasure as Paris slides inside me. He feels different than Callum, but just as good, his rhythm a little harder and faster—as if he can’t hold himself back.

  A wet sound reaches my ears as Callum makes a rough noise in his throat, and I know he’s doing just what I hoped Paris was earlier.

  He’s touching himself while he watches his friends take me. His cock is probably still slick from my arousal, and the thought of it makes heat coil inside me.

  This is what I wanted.

  To be surrounded by these men, completely consumed by them.

  To feel the connection between all of us hum with electric energy.

  Then Echo tightens his grip on my hair, stopping me just like I stopped Paris earlier. I strain against him, not wanting to let him go, but he chuckles, the sound warm and deep.

  “Switch.”

  He’s not speaking to me, I realize as I look up. He’s looking at Callum.

  The burly warrior moves forward on his knees, and Paris draws out of me as I wrap my lips around his brother. The mattress shifts with movement, and when someone new enters me from behind, I know it’s Echo.

  A loud cry spills from my throat, vibrating around Callum’s cock.

  Gods. It’s all too much. Too incredible.

  I can taste myself on Callum’s skin, the salty tang of his pre-cum mixing with my own arousal, and the feel of Echo inside me, Paris’s hand running down my side, and tension gathering in the man before me… it pushes me over the edge.

  My second cry turns into a deep, throaty groan as waves of pleasure course through me, making my limbs shake and my eyelids droop.

  It doesn’t seem to stop, going on and on, and I try to keep moving even as I come. My hand and mouth work together on Callum’s shaft, saliva dribbling down his length as Echo’s fingers tighten on my hips.

  “Farse. You’re so tight, Sage. Oh, farse.”

  With a deep grunt, Echo buries himself inside me, his cock pulsing as he floods my womb. It sets off an aftershock of sensation inside me, and the arm I’m holding myself up with nearly gives out.

  Callum’s large hand falls to the back of my head, urging me to take him even deeper as he roars out his release. The salty taste hits my tongue again, and I swallow quickly, still milking him with my hand. A second later, a splash of wetness lands on my back, followed by another shuddering groan from Paris.

  He came on my skin, I realize.

  He marked me.

  The thought sends an unexpected rush of heat through me, and I release Callum from my mouth, turning my head to peer over at Paris. He’s kneeling by my side, still fisting his cock. There’s a pink tinge to his cheeks and a slightly glazed look in his eyes, and I have a feeling we all look like that right now.

  Flushed.

  Messy.

  And thoroughly loved.

  The blond-haired messenger notices me looking at him and smiles down at me, warmth filling his eyes. “What are you thinking about now, little soul?”

  I grin back up at him as Echo slowly withdraws from me, his hands still roaming the curves of my ass. In front of me, Callum strokes my hair, fingers tangling in the strands.

  “You all. Only you.”

  25

  It’s a grim, silent party that leaves Aeheamel the next day.

  I find it strange to be traveling alongside gods I don’t know, though I’m infinitely thankful they’re here with us. The six Sierian managed to recruit for us are a mixture of men and women, most of them of kind disposition and level heads, which I suppose makes sense. Sierian takes her duty to her people seriously, and I imagine she recruited others who are of like minds.

  Sierian herself leads the way, showing me how to use the weave to travel the realm in the blink of an eye. It occurs to me that maybe she’ll teach me how to harness these new powers—how to use my weave magic like a true god.

  But of course, that means I’ll have to survive the battle first.

  We blink into existence outside of Ironholde. The magnificent city, lorded over by Kaius’s grand palace, looms over us with its front gate closed. Kaius and Zelus stand on the road leading from the city, a few steps ahead of four other gods, all of them wearing armor and holding weapons.

  Sierian told me she called this meeting with Kaius, insisting that both groups meet as fellow gods and not involve the souls under all their protection. I’m almost astonished to see that he actually obeyed and didn’t bring a thousand poor souls to die for him like the coward he is. Although Sierian holds a slight hope she can convince Kaius and Zelus to lay down arms, I know better.

  There’s only one way this meeting can go.

  Sierian bows toward the opposing men. “Thank you for agreeing to this parlay,” she says, her throaty voice carrying over the prairie.

  “I thought better of you, Sierian.” Kaius gifts her with a derisive sneer. “Working for a human soul? As if you serve her now?”

  Sierian gives him a slow, predatory smile. “I have much better taste in allies than you do.”

  “The humans are nothing but chattel,” Zelus spits, raising his sword as if to punctuate his statement. He points the tip of his blade toward me. “And that one needs to be put down. You’ve thrown your lot in with the livestock.”

  Sierian goes coldly silent, her dark gaze moving over the enemy gods one by one. “It’s unfortunate you feel that way. I assume you all feel this way? Because that’s not what we were put here for. Not why we exist. We are here to serve. To protect and watch over our subjects, not to use them in our petty battles.”

  The gods gathered around us offer a small murmur of encouragement and agreement. I wonder if their realms are as clean and happy as Aeheamel, and instead of being jealous, I just feel relief that they might be.

  “Humans deserve better than what you’ve given them,” Sierian goes on. “Put down your weapons and agree to a reformation. We’ll go inside Ironholde and draft a truce that will benefit you as well as your people.”

  “Never,” Kaius snarls. />
  Sierian shakes her head sadly. “Yes, I thought that might be your response. I’m sorry for what must be done now.”

  With the bearing of a warrior, she draws her sword. Weave magic flares like a beacon as it wraps around her weapon, and everyone on our side mimics her action, drawing their own blades as the magic in the air becomes so powerful it nearly feels like the field is vibrating.

  Then we all surge forward.

  The next few moments pass in a confusing blur of magic and ringing swords.

  I react immediately, manipulating the power of the weave as if I’ve been doing it my entire life. I take down one of the outlier gods, a terrifyingly ugly man with scars beneath his eyes, only for him to knock me off my feet with his own blast of power.

  I hit the grass on my side and roll, but when I come to rest, he’s clearly forgotten me as one of the other gods fighting on our side leaps in to battle with him.

  For the few seconds I’m on the ground, I realize what awesome power is filling the plain. All of the fighters, gods and my men, are battling with weapons and weave. The prairie has become an incredible light show of energy that feels as if it might break the world in two.

  Worry creeps in, filling the pit of my stomach. With the afterworld so rocked by magic, we risk that magic spilling over into earth. What I saw on the throne could come true—whole cities being wiped out entirely by the force of our battle magic, and it would be my fault.

  The battle has to be stopped before that happens. We have no choice but to win.

  If we don’t, all of creation will lose.

  “Don’t let up! Keep going!” I yell over the clang of swords, hoping my comrades hear me. Hoping my words will bolster them somehow.

  I leap back into the fight with renewed determination. The weave feels like an extension of my arms as I slash my dagger at a god, throwing an extra burst of magic into my blow. The boost carves my knife into his back and the god cries out, then whirls on me.

  I duck his fist, and another sword slides past me, slicing into the god’s abdomen. Straightening, I catch Paris’s quick, breathless grin before he leaps away to help Sierian hold off another god.