by Ophelia Bell
Aurin moaned and tilted her hips into his touch. Her eyelids fluttered halfway closed, but her gaze still held Rowan’s.
“Submit,” Geva said, his lips brushing against her ear.
The bound Gold turned her head, her eyes seeking out her tormentor. Geva clutched her chin with his free hand and captured her mouth hungrily with his own in a tangle of lips and tongues. When they pulled apart a second later, Aurin simply said, “Yes.”
She nearly collapsed when her bindings released, but Geva caught her and lowered her to the ground until she rested on hands and knees in front of him. His wicked smile grew broader, his red eyes glowing when they met Rowan’s.
Rowan had barely known her brother for two days, but had the distinct impression that he was showing off for her. She’d have been lying if she said she wasn’t impressed. He let his thick cock nestle along the cleft of Aurin’s ass and leaned over her smaller body whispering in her ear.
“This is only the beginning, love,” he said, and sank his teeth into the back of Aurin’s neck.
Aurin cried out and pressed her hips back against him in urgent invitation. He chuckled and tilted his hips back far enough to gain entry. Both dragons let out sighs of enjoyment when he plunged to the hilt into her with a smack of hips against her ass.
Rowan’s pussy ached in sympathy. The base of Kol’s cock still brushed hotly against her own ass, the soft velvet of his balls pressed just close enough for her to make out their pendulous contours. His hands rested at her hips now, holding her tighter against him as they watched their siblings begin to fuck.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rowan sensed movement. The tall bulk of Gavra, the immortal Red, moved past into the center. His massive cock stood thick and nearly perfectly erect in spite of its size. His thighs flexed as he lowered himself to one knee before Aurin.
Aurin’s wide golden eyes looked up at him reverently as Gavra caressed her cheek and tilted her chin up with one fingertip.
“Are you ready for more, little one?” he asked.
Aurin’s eyelids fluttered closed, and she whispered the word “yes” and opened her mouth. She raised both hands to clutch desperately at Gavra’s thighs as he slid almost his entire thick length deep into her throat.
Rowan swallowed and breathed deeply, wondering how the delicate, beautiful golden girl could take all that. At the same time, her mouth watered at the very idea of such a glorious cock being shoved into her own mouth. She hazarded a quick look at Rafe and their eyes met. His dark eyes flashed with the same lust she had seen the first time she’d allowed him to fuck her mouth like that. While Rafe watched, Kol’s hands slid back up to her breasts and lifted their heavy weight, teasing her hard nipples for her mate’s benefit.
“If you submit next, you can let him watch while I shove my cock into you like that. I know Rafe. He would enjoy it.”
“I want to hear him tell me he wants it.”
“Very well,” Kol said.
A split second later, the vivid image of her very memory of the taste and texture of Rafe’s cock blazed through her mind, along with the sensations that accompanied that first experience. For a moment she was no longer in the glade, but in Rafe’s bedroom, with his palms on either side of her face, his hot length sliding between her lips and along her tongue. When she returned to the present, Rafe was watching her and smiling.
The scene in the center escalated, the threads of magic that permeated the air in the Glade clinging to the three participants like sticky webs. Rowan’s ears buzzed with the increasing volume of the men’s lusty groans, and Aurin’s muffled moans. Her mouth slid off Gavra’s cock and she abruptly cried out, bucking back hard against Geva’s steadily pistoning cock. Rowan’s brother let out a yell and rammed into her, his entire body quivering with his climax.
The glimmering threads of magic sank through them as though seeping into their pores until they both glowed from within. In the span of a breath the floor beneath them where they made contact with it shimmered with red and yellow light that surged toward the center. The Verdanith glowed brightly again for a moment, then subsided, but its pulses remained more luminescent than before, shining along the underside of Gavra’s still erect cock and casting a dark shadow against his belly.
Rowan’s arousal had her almost too dizzy and distracted from pleasure to follow events after that, but soon enough, the center was filled with writhing bodies again. This time it was Aurik, who obediently submitted to Gavra. Rowan blinked several times before she realized it was no longer Aurin in the center, but Aurik with Roka’s cock his throat and the immortal Red, Gavra, sliding his cock deep into Aurik’s ass until all three of them came with loud yells.
“It’s your turn again. Second chance,” Kol said. He drifted a hand down her belly and cupped her cunt, sliding his fingers along the soaked lips and drawing his hand back up to hold it before her. “You need to come so badly you can taste it.” He slid one glistening fingertip along her lower lip. Her own heady scent wafted into her nostrils at the same time Rafe’s moan hit her ears. His gaze was fixed on her mouth and he licked his lips as though wishing she would do the same. No thoughts reached her from him, but the intensity of his desire nearly overwhelmed her.
She restrained herself from even tasting her own juices, though it took all her willpower.
“No! I want promises before I do.”
“What promises?” The immortal Gold, Aurum, appeared before her again, as quietly as before. “I can promise you pleasure beyond your wildest dreams.” Aurum bent to her knees and snaked out a forked tongue that tickled at the top of Rowan’s pussy. The twin points of it slid further, parting the slick, swollen folds, moving slowly and sensually as though Aurum intended to taste every inch of her. The tongue slipped deeper, pressing into the dark, place Rowan desperately needed to be filled.
The pleasure was maddening. Rowan tried to pull away otherwise she feared she’d lose her mind. She knew from the proceedings so far that she would have no release until she submitted. But she needed guarantees, first.
“Promises…” she gasped. “That Rafe and I can stay together, that the Unbound will be freed, that our children…our families can enjoy a full life the way h-humans do.”
The incessant teasing ceased, and Kol loosened his grip on her slightly. His breathing grew silent, his body tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop, she guessed.
Aurum stood. “We heard your petition during the assembly, Princess. Yet you keep restating it. Your submission is not a condition of your request being honored.”
“I have no reason to trust that you will follow through, I guess. So, if you want my submission that badly, you’d better honor my request, and all the other ones that were made.”
It wasn’t precisely anger that flashed through Aurum’s eyes, but something like intense frustration. Frustration not unlike what ached deep in Rowan’s core at the moment.
“You do need my submission, and badly, don’t you?” she asked.
“Yours and your mate’s, yes.” The Gold’s gaze heated when she looked at Rafe. “His love for you is what is keeping him from giving in. If things change the way you hope them to, this generation will need strong guidance from someone familiar with the new world we live in.”
Aurum seemed sad when she turned back to Rowan. “We always encouraged bonds of love for all dragons. We knew some would follow out of a sense of obligation, but most would be happy with the humans who woke them. We chose the ascendant teams so carefully. The team that awakened this generation was perfect. Each human an ideal mate for a single dragon among the Court. It’s the first time we’ve been so lucky. We finally had hope that our work would bear fruit. But then the matings didn’t go as we intended. The Catalyst wasn’t meant to choose a mate from the Court, yet he did. The Guardian was meant to have a single female mate. The Twins were meant to be a choice for the young Dimitri to make, yet he someh
ow succeeded in waking them both.”
“I’m sorry things didn’t go your way,” Rowan said, “but that’s no reason to punish the dragons for the choices the humans made.”
“On the contrary. In spite of our carefully made plans going awry, the results were even more amazing than we could have imagined. When the Catalyst’s Twins were conceived, we wondered if it was only in the areas where we had no control—where the Brood made their choices against our wishes—that the results we hoped for might finally be achieved. And then when you arrived, we were presented with another sign that in spite of how rigorously we make our plans, fate has a way of asserting itself. You are a miracle, as are the unborn children of the Catalyst. So we have decided to let fate take its course. We are giving up, Rowan. After we finish here, you will have your wish. The Court will take over jurisdiction, and we will simply control the use of the Verdanith as we did before.”
Rowan’s heart ached for the tall, lovely woman. She involuntarily pressed at her bindings, hoping to comfort Aurum, but the tightening of the coils reminded her there was still no escape.
“What do you think went wrong with your plans?” Rowan asked.
“You did. But it was inevitable anyway. We were fools to think we had full control. Dragons have always been victims of fate and we thought we might stay a step ahead of it for a change. We were wrong.”
“Wrong about what? Just me? I’m sure I’m not the only one out there like me.”
“No. But you’re the only one birthed of multiple generations of Queens. The only one who could be a harbinger of what might come.” She lifted a delicate hand to Rowan’s cheek. “Your presence here is enough of a sign that we were mistaken all along. We have failed and it is up to your generation to protect our race.”
“Protect us from what?” Rowan asked the question even as every other member of the Court in the Glade sent it to her telepathically.
“That I can’t yet say,” Aurum replied. “But we know we are in danger without your help.”
“You’re giving up… allowing the Court to rewrite the laws. Yet you still seem intent on punishing us. Why?”
“Punishment is necessary for more than just censure. It’s also a test to determine whether you are a viable conduit to recharge the Verdanith. You couldn’t have known, and neither could the others, but one of the other three would have been chosen for the task. Punishment was to encourage your complete submission, which is required to transfer our power into the Verdanith. We’d like you to have the honor for other reasons, however.”
“Don’t tell me you have more secrets.”
“No more secrets. Just this last task if you choose to submit. But before you agree—before we give into fate completely—there is one last thing we must do.” She turned and strode to the edge of the platform, took a breath, and turned back to look at Rowan, her expression resolute. “Kris’s children are sacred. Right now I hope the Udara are ensuring the children thrive until we can complete this task. The Twins will need protection as they grow. But they are not destined to be our protectors. They are the ones who will power and protect our savior. You are the offspring of Queens. If you are willing, when you submit we all will infuse you with our essence. When you leave the glade, you will be impregnated with the Ashemis. The essence of all our power, combined with yours.”
“Ah…so what will my hypothetical baby be saving us all from?”
Aurum didn’t answer. The larger form of Ked, stepped in front of her. “You will save us from ourselves.”
“Ked, no. It isn’t time.” Aurum moved back in front of the large dragon with an irritated look.
“When is it time? When Sutylutha’s curse is already tearing us down? We failed, Aurum! We’ve doomed ourselves out of our fear of our own race. The Mother created the six of us to ensure the race’s safety and longevity and we failed. Rowan is right to request what she has.”
“The curse hasn’t come to fruition as far as we know, but the presence of the Twins and Rowan are signs that it will come to pass in spite of our efforts to avoid it. Fragmenting the Verdanith was the only way we could control the bloodlines. And now reassembling it is the only way we can find the source of the curse if it exists. We can’t even be sure what form it will take, but once the Verdanith is at full power we will know soon enough. We need Rowan to recharge it and her daughter’s power to help us repel the curse.”
Kol’s gentle nudge was enough of a signal. In spite of her reservations about all the other things they’d just suggested, this was what they were hoping for, and the thing Rowan vowed she’d do anything to secure.
“If that option is on the table, I will at least negotiate.”
The pair of dragons turned to stare at her.
“You’re at our mercy, yet you suggest negotiation?”
“Are you going to give the Court jurisdiction or not? If not, I will continue to refuse you.”
“And if so?” Ked asked, moving close. The dragon seemed much larger right up against her. She pressed back against Kol’s solid body and he wrapped both arms around her. Ked’s black eyes focused on hers, then slid down her body, leaving every inch of her skin tingling. One large hand cupped her breast, toyed with her nipple with excruciating tenderness, then he bent and flicked his tongue against it.
“You do taste different from the others,” he said, humming in appreciation. “Purer. I wonder…” He dropped to his knees. Rowan watched him mutely as he eyed her pussy, then slid two hands up her thighs to spread her open. A second later he had his entire tongue shoved deep inside her and she writhed against his mouth.
Holy fuck, Ked’s tongue seemed to vibrate inside her. She clutched at Kol’s arms, pressed her ass back against him. That cock of his needed someplace to be…
“Ked!” Aurum yelled.
Abruptly the invasion ended.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Ked said.
Kol’s fingertips sank hard into Rowan’s hips.
“Sweetie, if you’ve got something to share, out with it,” Rowan said to him.
“I am not at liberty to speak to the Council now. Only the accused can make arguments. Tell them the Court would gladly continue protection of the race if we also have jurisdiction over the laws.”
“Um…What question was that?” Rowan asked out loud.
“If we give the Court jurisdiction, what will you do? Will you refuse our request?”
Rowan closed her eyes tightly. She wondered for a moment if she could request he go back to what he’d just been doing with his tongue.
“No. As long as Rafe submits and is a part of it, I will do it.”
“Every dragon here must be a part of it, the males with their essence, the females with their magic. Now that we are all inside the glade, the Verdanith won’t accept our sacrifices until they are equally given. To the stone and to its proxy. That would be you. As soon as it’s charged, our first task will be to channel energy to the Catalyst’s children.”
Kol’s whisper tickled her ear. “Good work. Let’s just hope our loverboy is on board.”
A single glance at Rafe spoke volumes. He smiled at her and in a soft voice filled with reverence said, “I submit.” The two words he spoke out loud were only half his full message, however. In her mind Rowan heard the rest: “…to you for eternity.”
Racha released a relieved sigh and hung back while the others converged. Roka was the first to reach his friend. He led Rafe to the center of their circle and urged him to kneel. Kneeling in front of the Shadow, he made quick work of stroking Rafe to completion with one hand before the others came forward.
Rafe leaned back on his heels and looked at Rowan, his eyes bright and his chest heaving from his orgasm. He smiled and said, “You want to watch?” He gestured and the others came toward him. “Whatever you plan to do to her, you’ll do to me, first,” he said, fixing his gaze on each
of them in turn.
“I will be right back,” Kol whispered in her ear.
“You don’t have to, do you?”
“I plan to do it to you, love. So yes. I do. This will at least give you an idea what you’re in for.”
Still tied, Rowan had no choice but to watch while the others took turns coupling with her lover, and through it all she received the vivid impression that he enjoyed every second. They all took their turns, sometimes two or three at a time. Each time Rafe or one of the others climaxed, the Verdanith grew brighter
Rafe lay limp and gasping after they each finished, one by one leaving to plunge into the pool to bathe. The Verdanith pulsed brightly beneath him, lending an unearthly glow to his skin.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Rafe’s lips twitched in a smile and he lifted his head. Sweat soaked his hair and it clung to his forehead and neck in dark strands. His eyelids drooped low, but he focused intently on her. He said nothing, only the smile on his face and the intense emotion that washed over her indicated his understanding of their shared situation and his acceptance of what they both knew she must do.
Breath of Fate: Chapter 8
“Do you submit?” Kol asked Rowan for the final time after the group had bathed.
“Yes.”
The bindings instantly released. Her strength left her, but Kol caught her in strong arms. His beautiful face was before her, kissing her. “You did well,” he whispered. “This is the easy part now.”
“The part where you fuck me finally?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, the part where we all do.”
He held her close and laid her down gently in the center of the platform. Deep warmth seeped into her back. “What is it?” she asked, trying to move to see, but the hands of all the others held her down.