Caedmon’s Curse

by A. J. Nuest

  But they petitioned for something she didn’t possess. “I’m nothing but an ordinary woman. The person you seek does not exist.”

  A ray of morning sunlight broke over the trees, warming her cheeks and the crown of her head. The dew-covered moss sparkled and she squinted inside a fleeting beam of incandescent rays. Leather wings ruffled the air and a humid draft lifted the hair from her shoulders.

  One by one, the Dreggs fell to their knees.

  She slowly lowered her weapons and stared at their bowed heads. They were paying homage to her? Kneeling in reverence? She nearly laughed. The idea the sun indicated her divinity was ludicrous beyond measure.

  “Candra-ssscinlæce…andra-ssscinlæce…ssscinlæce…” whispered through the trees.

  She dropped her chin to her chest and pinched the bridge of her nose, heaving a soggy breath. “Save it. I’m not who you think I am.” Though never in her life had she wished with such bitter realization she was wrong.

  Exhaustion burdened her muscles, laden with gut-wrenching heartbreak. She tossed her weapons aside. Piss on it. Once they discovered the truth, they’d surely kill her. The joke would be on them, though, since they’d be doing her a favor. At least she’d be with Caedmon, here, at the end of all things.

  “We are not asss we onccce were, Candraaah.” The leader stood and, with his ascent, the rest of his ranks lumbered to their feet. “Our ssstrength fades, allegiance sssplinters, numbersss weakened.”

  A second Dregg loped forward, shoulders more stooped than the others, gray strands mottling the dusky patina of his coat. What was he supposed to be? The Dregg version of an elder? “And the sssilver flame ssshall bathe her mate in the tearsss of the nine, exchange light for dark, one sssoul to sssave many.”

  The words echoed deep into bones. A shiver coursed through her body, ushering in a glimmer of recognition. The tears of the nine actually existed? Here? In this vile place?

  “Yet, heed thisss warning, Sssorceresss.” The leader held up his palm, easily the size of a large dinner plate. “The gloaming of the goddessesss is deccceitful. Once the cave is entered, time within their realm doesss not exissst.”

  Her thoughts reeled and she staggered unsteadily to the side. A cave of tears…tears of the nine goddesses. Of course! Others had entered this forest and never returned. Or had come back years later, not having aged a day. She slapped a hand to the top of her head. Sweet tits, could the prophecy be true? Did it even matter? If, by some small miracle, these mysterious waters they spoke of contained healing properties which could save Caedmon’s life, she would go wherever, do whatever they said.

  “Take us there. To the Cave of Tears.” She strode forward and fisted her hands at her sides. “Take us there and I swear on my life I will do whatever is within my power to restore every last one of your kind.”

  With a nod from their leader, two of the Dreggs moved to Caedmon’s still form. They draped his limp arms over their shoulders and she shielded her eyes with her hand as the wind from their powerful wings buffered her cheeks. A leap of their hulking forms and she lifted her face as the three of them soared into the morning sky.

  A pair of clawed hands cinched her waist and she gasped, slapped her palms over the backs and clutched the Dreggs’ wrists. A swirling gush of moist air twirled her hair and the marshy ground surrendered and shrank beneath her feet.

  They flew north.

  Chapter Four

  Thus my angel comes…

  Clear liquid spilled over the rim of a golden chalice, splashing his shoulder, his torso. It moistened the line of his lips. Water. Thirst. Yet his dim glimpses of the celestial being that tended him so resembled his beloved Rowena—the slim column of her throat, the white-blonde cascade of her hair, the tender touch of her kiss to his forehead and cheeks—he fought at first to rebel.

  Pain screamed through his shoulder whence he struggled to deflect her nurturing and bid her away.

  “Shhh, my prince,” she murmured, returning the cup to his mouth. “Drink.”

  Fury turned his fingers in on themselves even as agony gnawed at his consciousness. Did Helios despise him so much, the fiery god sought to torment him even in death? Curse the traitorous father and his malevolent ways. The fires of hell reaped no punishment compared to eternity spent clasped to the bosom of a seraph that embodied everything he’d lost, everything he’d sacrificed.

  Tears scalded his closed eyelids and slid down to merge with the waterline lapping his temple.

  A pool. Drifting. The suffering eased.

  Darkness…sleep…

  Caedmon blinked and squinted at the strange formations suspended above him. Fragile blue and pink light played off the crystalline rock, in constant motion as if water sprites frolicked along the faceted tines. Down the shimmering façade of a roughly hewn stone wall, rivulets of water trickled and gullied in shallow iridescent pools.

  He licked his lips, yet no dryness parched his tongue. His muscles lay relaxed and well rested. A feathered mattress provided his comfort, thick pillows cradled his head and the woolen blanket covering his legs lay neatly folded at his waist. Warm air easily stretched his lungs with his deep inhalation and he pressed three fingers to the small wound in his upper chest. No blood, no soreness, only the faintest hint of a scar…

  He frowned and grasped his shoulder, working the joint and flexing his fingers. Not a bit of stiffness lingered.

  ’Twould seem his attending angel had healed his physical ailments. He sighed in resignation and closed his eyes. Her spiritual balm, however, had not stemmed the profound ache in his heart. He’d breached the gates of eternity, yet rapture had not been granted as his reprieve. Indeed, how long would he linger in this ethereal plane before the goddesses deemed the sins of his earthly deeds had been compensated? How many eons would pass before he and his love were reunited? Whatever the duration of his interment, paradise would evade him until such a reward had been bestowed.

  “What the hell is this thing?” A loud clang resonated against the stone walls and he scowled, tipping his head. That voice. It sounded like—

  “Useless piece of trash, if you ask me.”

  Another cacophony of crashing metal and he sprang to sitting. Across the span of a damp, uneven floor, the delicate frame of a fair maiden sat hunched over a large stockpile of weapons, carelessly flipping various pieces of armor aside. Silver hair tumbled like a waterfall past her slim shoulders, veiling her face from view. Her thin sleeveless chemise hid the angle of her bent legs, one narrow strap hanging limp off the curve of her pale shoulder, the hem a crumpled mass of creamy petals at her feet.

  Yet the sensuous line of her bowed back, the determined swiftness of her motions, the slight incline of her head…

  Joy surged through his veins even as despair fisted his hands into two unyielding stones. His love had succumbed to the dangers of the Black Forest and died at his side. If not for Helios’ absent heart, he would rout the gates of heaven and skewer the pitiless sun god himself. “Rowena,” he breathed.

  She gasped and whirled to her bare feet.

  Goddesses wept. Even in death her beauty outshone that of the nine combined.

  A resounding gong bounded through the cavern as she cast off a dented shield and sprinted straight for his arms. All thoughts of death, all regret and misery faded to dim inconsequence as she straddled his legs and rained fervent kisses over his cheeks and eyelids, his forehead and chin.

  An irrefutable craving for more razed all his reason to the ground. This…this was the welcome he had longed for since his return.

  He gathered her around the hips and dragged her flush to his chest, capturing her lips and swallowing her gasp of surprise when the heated flesh of her inner thighs met the cool skin of his waist. Her mouth parted and a hungry growl grated his throat as his tongue gained entrance to swirl and explore. The sweetness of her detonated on his palate. He nipped and supped, tipping his head to feast from her mouth. The insatiable need to tear the shift from her body, expos
e every curve and valley of her soft skin to his greedy hands, pulsed through his veins…fierce, gluttonous. Pressure weighted his balls as her fingers raked through his hair, fisting and tugging the strands. She bucked her hips and his cock stiffened and throbbed when she dragged the nails of one hand down his back.

  “Thank the nine.” Her arms cinched his shoulders, legs clamped around his sides as if she fought the boundary of her skin to get closer. The pointed tips of her breasts prodded his chest as she swept her cheek back and forth along the rasp of his unkempt beard. “I thought you’d never wake up.”

  He quickly withdrew, one hand centered on her spine, the other cupping the base of her neck. Surely he’d misheard. Not dead, merely slumbering?

  Her bottom lip had plumped from his kisses and he gnashed his teeth against the unending urge to suck it back into his mouth. This woman could so easily be his undoing. “I have been but asleep? For how long?”

  She shrugged, her pale fingers combing a lock of hair away from his brow. “It’s hard to tell. The light here always stays the same. But I’ve slept three times since we entered.”

  Faint memories eddied and coalesced as he stared into her sparkling green eyes. The black fletching of a poisoned arrow. A desperate escape on horseback. Entering the Black Forest. Love’s final kiss.

  He’d died. He was certain of it, and no one held the power to retrieve a soul from the afterlife, barring mayhap Fandorn. He lifted a brow. Or a powerful sorceress.

  His hold on her instinctively tightened as he glanced around their otherworldly surroundings. Though the mattress held superior quality, it lay on the stone floor. Clusters of glittering rock sprouted from every surface of the cave like candles arranged upon an altar, the hues ranging from clear to midnight blue. Heaps of elaborate treasure garnished each nook and cranny— traveling wardrobes, arms and weapons, a chest overflowing with gemstones and gold coins. A shimmering pool rippled behind him, catching clear run-off weeping down a wall worn smooth with age.

  Yet the most peculiar aspect was the incandescent light. It seemed to come from nowhere…and everywhere all at once. “What is this place?”

  “I’m not entirely sure.” She dropped her gaze to the healed hole near his shoulder. The soft pad of her thumb circled his scar and his curiosity faltered. The moment his concerns regarding their safety had been satisfied, he’d forgo such delays in favor of slaking her other, more tantalizing, distractions. “The Dreggs call it the Cave of Tears.”

  Astonishment squeezed the air from his lungs and he carefully studied the porcelain beauty in his arms. For centuries, many had sought the cave’s location only to return empty-handed, more the worse for wear, or not return at all. Over time, tales of a sacred pool in which the healing tears of the nine goddesses fell to earth had turned to legend…legend to myth. If asked, he would have scoffed such divine intervention ever existed.

  He narrowed his eyes. Yet all this time, the Dreggs had secreted this holy relic within their realm—perchance the true reason behind their fierce allegiance to so vigilantly guard the Black Forest. “And they freely escorted us here?”

  A smile rosied her cheeks. “They flew us here, actually. It was incredibly daring, soaring through the air like that. I’d love to do it again someday.” Sadness muted the light in her eyes and she trailed the tip of her finger along his lower lip. “Given different circumstances, of course.”

  Pride surfaced on a surge of protective avarice and he clutched her upper arms, applying a little shake before whisking her tight to his chest. The foolish, foolish girl. A chuckle escaped all whilst he fought the urge to bend over his knee and soundly smack her bottom. Willingly risking her life in such a way. Agreeing to such a dangerous endeavor for his sake. She should have never partaken in such a perilous chore.

  The visual of her standing strong, opposing a clutch of giant beasts which most men cowered at the mere utterance of their name, near propelled him to the brink of madness. Had not those same creatures swarmed in and delivered him to Castle Seviere? Had not their interference ensured him two torturous years in a sallow dungeon? That she’d convinced them to likewise aid their cause was a feat of unparalleled intellect and bravery. “How, my love? How has this come to pass?”

  She clung to his neck, burrowing closer when he palmed the silken tresses blanketing her back. “I promised to help them in exchange for bringing us here, even though they believe I’m something I’m not. I tried to convince them otherwise, but they—”

  “You are everything they believe and more.” Awe tempered his voice and he closed his eyes, cinching her tighter still. She’d saved him. By all the nine goddesses, she’d stormed into the very bowels of hell and bartered for his soul. What scourge could ever make her suppose she was anything less than the utmost beautiful, compelling woman Helios had gifted his world?

  Her lips met his shoulder even as her warm tears dotted and tracked down his back. “But I’m not, Caedmon. I don’t have any special gifts or magic powers. I’d do the same again in a heartbeat, and yet I’m scared what might happen once the Dreggs figure out I’m nothing but an ordinary woman.”

  He tossed his head back and his hearty laugh ricocheted off the glistening walls. Ordinary? She’d traversed realms. Overcome insurmountable odds. Goddesses’ tits, the woman was misled. “Oh, my sweet Rowena. Of that, you may rest assured, you are not.”

  She sat back, chuckling through her tears, and a groan nearly leaked from his lips when the globes of her luscious bottom cradled his groin. “You really think so?”

  “To the depth of my soul, I believe you are the most captivating, miraculous creature to have ever graced this realm.” Her hair slipped like sliver spun strands through his fingers as he cupped her cheek and guided her forehead down to his. “And to the end of my days, my heart will always be yours.”

  A flood of fresh tears coated her lashes. She clamped a trembling hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, turning away from him.

  He frowned and tugged her arm, batting her hand aside until her face was nestled in both his palms, right where it belonged. What had he done? Whatever offense he’d dealt, he’d recant his words immediately. His thumbs cleared the dampness from her cheeks and he attempted to kiss away new tears all whilst struggling to meet her gaze. “What is it, my love? What troubles you?”

  “It’s just…” She glanced at him and shook her head, her lowered lashes two dark fans lying atop her cheeks. “For the first time, I realized…” Her chin rose and she locked her gaze onto his. “I really missed you those two years you were gone.”

  His lips parted in surprise. But, she’d not known him. For her, their first true meeting had been the day of his return. And yet, somewhere, deep in the fabric of her soul, she’d longed for his presence at her side.

  A shudder rocked his body and something unnamed, wild and primal battled to be set free. His cock pulsed and he crushed his lips to hers, devouring, gorging on the sweetness of her, the hint of salt from her tears lingering on his tongue.

  She supplied equally to what he gave, nipping his bottom lip, tugging it into her mouth to flick her tongue and sooth the slight sting. A small whimper hummed in her throat and she squirmed against the barrier of the blanket. Pressure tingled and built in the base of his spine, surging into his aching member.

  The bend of her knees seated perfectly in his palms. The width of her thighs was an ideal span between his thumbs and forefingers as he glided his palms higher. Her chemise buckled and gathered along his hands, the tan of his splayed fingers ran in dark harmony against her snowy skin. The thin fabric tumbled to his wrists as he clutched her hips, dug his fingers into her tender flesh and dragged her forward and back along the ridge of his cock.

  He ground his teeth as heated friction mounted between their bodies. The urge to delve inside her, explore the slick tightness of her sheath, sent blood pumping straight into his throbbing shaft.

  Rising to her knees, she whisked the blanket down his thighs. His cock jolted in
to the cool air and she sharply inhaled, eyes wide, and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

  She lifted her gaze to his. “We’re gonna have to take this slow.”

  He smirked…and then grinned. “Imagine my sublime contentment to learn I possess the one thing which gives you pause.”

  Her jaw dropped a moment before they burst into shared laughter.

  He skimmed his palms up her alluring curves, bringing the chemise with them until she raised her arms and the fabric tumbled off her hands to the ground.

  His mouth dried at the sight of her, naked, on her knees before him, a beauty sculpted by the goddesses and cast in human form. With both hands, he reached up and cupped the graceful slope of her shoulders, thumbs balanced along the delicate frame of her collarbones. Her pulse stuttered through the thin skin. Her lashes fluttered then closed. The urgency to toss her beneath him and propel her to a soul-shuddering climax nearly overcame him.

  No. He clenched his jaw. He would commit her to memory first. Consume every feature with his fingers and mouth until the exact intricacies of her arousal became fixed in his mind. So he would always know the most fulfilling ways to pleasure her.

  The muscles in her slender arms belied a skill envied by most men, and he marveled at their velvet texture beneath the coarse glide of his palms. Strength under satin. Power and agility masked by feminine curves. He touched a moist kiss to the crook of one arm and she moaned. The stroke of his tongue, a heated puff of his breath, and she wavered unsteadily, her mouth parting.

  Her breasts hung full and round, topped with hard, ripe berries the exact blush of her lips. He leaned forward, a wretched pauper to a glorious bounty, and drew the first of her succulent fruits deep into his mouth. Her breathing increased. Her ribcage heaved beneath his hands. She burrowed her splayed fingers into his hair, clasping him tight to her chest when he flicked and teased the pointed nub with the tip of his tongue.