by LM Brown
Thankfully, his High Priest appeared in the archway before Caspian had to move from his bed. “Rafe, you must have read my mind.”
Rafe strolled over to the bed and sat on the edge. “Did you have an enjoyable night?”
“Yes, I did indeed. You?”
Rafe gave a half shrug. “It could have been better…if you’d invited me to join you last night.”
Caspian frowned at the possessive chiding. Rafe had become quite vocal recently about his displeasure with Caspian inviting other men into his bed. “You knew when you swore to serve me that I’m not a man who’ll ever stick to one lover.”
“I know.”
“But you thought you would be the one to change that,” Caspian continued.
“Do you blame me?”
“No. You aren’t the first to think so, and I doubt you’ll be the last. Now, enough of your jealousy.” Caspian gestured to his groin and Rafe dove onto his cock, swallowing him eagerly.
Caspian closed his eyes as he let Rafe bring him release. The priest teased him with his tongue and fingers, fondling his balls with a grip that was just a shade too aggressive.
His mind drifted as Rafe sucked him. After last night he had bedded every last one of Medina’s priests, a quest that had taken several years, thanks to the Goddess of Love’s own insatiable sexual appetite. Luring her priests into his bed when they had been largely satisfied in the goddess’ had been quite a feat.
He wondered what his next challenge could be.
* * * *
Caspian took his place at the council meeting, bored as ever with the tiresome wittering of his fellow immortals.
He turned to whisper to his sister Cari, Goddess of Prophecy, before recalling that Medina had taken Cari’s usual place at the table. He quickly looked away and tried to listen to his father reporting on the latest wars among the men who worshipped other pantheons. Once again, the Atlantean gods were relieved that they had protected their people by sinking Atlantis below the waves and gifting them with the ability to survive at great depths. While other pantheons were falling into chaos, their own continued to thrive.
“Wine?” a soft male voice beside him whispered.
Caspian nodded and the priest filled his goblet to the brim. From the corner of his eye, Caspian could see that the priest wasn’t one of his own, and his robes revealed him to be one of Medina’s. He couldn't remember bedding this one. Was he new?
The moment the meeting was over, Caspian made a beeline for the young priest. He was fair of hair with a clear and creamy complexion and Caspian was sure he hadn’t had the pleasure of his company.
“And who might you be?” Caspian asked as he matched his pace to that of the priest, who was hurrying to keep up with his goddess.
“Bai,” the young man replied with a hurried bow. “Your servant, sir.”
“Have you been serving Medina long?”
“Just two days.”
“And she already has you serving her at council meetings?”
“As you can see.”
Medina looked over her shoulder. “Keep up, Bai. We have much to do today.”
The priest scurried to catch her, but the goddess had come to a halt. She shooed him on past and waited for Caspian to reach her.
“Don’t even think about it,” Medina warned.
“He’s most pleasing to the eye,” Caspian replied. “Have you taken him to your bed yet?”
“Of course I have.”
“What a shame. I would have enjoyed initiating him into the art of love.”
Medina snorted. “What do you know about love?”
“I know as much as I need to.”
“You know nothing!”
Caspian laughed. “For the Goddess of Love, you’re equally ignorant in such matters.”
“I know that you’re leaving a trail of broken hearts behind you. I’ve had three of my priests begging me for help with capturing your heart.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“And what did you tell them?”
“The truth.”
“Which is?”
“That you don’t have a heart to be captured.”
Caspian clutched his hand to his chest. “You wound me.”
Medina smirked at him. “Not yet, but give me time.”
Quick as lightning, Caspian grabbed Medina by the throat. “You dare to threaten me?”
Medina slipped from his grasp with ease. “You take men to your bed and once you’re done with them, you cast them aside without a second thought. One day you’ll feel the pain that they have suffered. There will come a time when the one you love will tear out your heart, and I cannot wait to see it.”
“It’ll never happen.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“I won’t be falling in love, with anyone, so your threat will never come to pass.”
Medina reached into her robes and pulled out a small vial held on a chain around her neck. “Are you sure about that? Bai is most handsome. I knew he would catch your eye from the moment I saw him in my temple. You couldn’t take your eyes off him, could you? Tell me, Caspian, did you enjoy your wine?”
“Your love potions don’t work on other gods,” Caspian reminded her.
“Not usually,” Medina agreed, “but this has a little something extra, especially brewed for you. Love is coming for you, Caspian. I’ve made sure of it, but you won’t have it for long. You’ll soon know what it’s like to nurse a broken heart, and I will enjoy every second of your torment.”
“You’re bluffing,” Caspian said, though he did recall a certain tang to the wine that he hadn’t tasted before.
“I never bluff,” Medina replied as she turned on her heel and strolled back to her temple, a jaunty whistle on her lips.
Caspian watched her walk away as he wondered whether she had truly managed to concoct a potion that would work on a god. Maybe his mother would know. She and Medina were close friends, after all.
Caspian found Odessa in her garden, pruning her roses. “Mother, do you have a moment?”
“Of course. Take a seat.”
Caspian sat on the stone bench that was surprisingly comfortable for such a hard material. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Is it possible for a love potion to work on a god?”
His mother whipped her head around to face him. “You don’t have enough men in your bed already that you think to lure more in with magic?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then why would you ask such a thing?”
“Medina was hinting that she’d slipped a love potion into my goblet at the meeting earlier.”
“Oh, that’s what it was, was it? I did wonder.”
“You saw her?”
“Yes. I’m surprised you didn’t, but you were rather distracted by her new priest.”
“Damn. Do you think the potion will work on me?”
“Who knows?” his mother replied. “Most love potions are of short duration and merely invoke lust rather than the stronger and most lasting emotion of love. Even if she has brewed up a more powerful one for you, I doubt it would have any lasting effect.”
“Good. The last thing I need is to fall in love.”
His mother laughed airily. “I think it’s long past time you fell in love. You need to find a nice young man to warm your bed for many years.”
“I have plenty of men in my bed.”
“And I’ll bet you can’t remember most of their names.”
“Probably not, but what’s the point, when their lives are so fleeting?”
“Perhaps you should look to finding a lover from another pantheon, if you truly cannot find someone among the Atlantean immortals—not that I imagine you’ve been trying very hard.”
Caspian had no intention of doing anything of the sort. “The Egyptian gods are pretentious. The Norse are barbarians, and as for the Greeks and Romans—”
“You simpl
y aren’t looking hard enough,” his mother interrupted. “If you got to know them, you’d find the gods of other pantheons are not so different from us.”
“That may be true,” Caspian agreed, “but it still doesn’t change the fact that I have no intention of falling in love…with anyone.”
“Maybe Medina’s love potion, if she truly has slipped you one, will help with that.”
“I doubt it. She said quite plainly that she wants me to fall in love and lose him.”
His mother, who had been regarding him with mild amusement during the course of the conversation, paled considerably. “She’s cursed you? I’ll have her head!”
“Calm down, Mother. She didn’t invoke her powers. She was just ranting.”
“Still… A god or goddess should always be careful of their words. Let’s hope that you don’t lose your love.”
“How about we hope I don’t find him at all?” Caspian suggested.
Odessa sighed. “I don’t understand why you’re so opposed to finding a nice young man to share your life. Your father and I have been content for centuries, and I’d like to see you happily settled too. People do comment that I, the Goddess of Fertility, Family and the Home, have a son who openly shuns everything I stand for.”
“Don’t start…”
“I’m not,” Odessa replied, even though Caspian could see that she definitely was.
“I need to head to my temple,” Caspian said, making a quick escape before his mother could launch into one of her tiresome lectures on how he lived his life. He had heard it all before and had no intention of changing.
Chapter Three
Phoebus kicked the sand in frustration as his latest attempt to break his mating fever failed, just like the last.
“Maybe you do need a mermaid?” Ajax suggested. “I know you say you don’t find the female form arousing, but it’s not like you’ve ever tried to bed one of them.”
Phoebus shook his head. “The trigger to break my fever is supposed to be what I desire the most. I think I’d know if I wanted a female. Can't you think of something else to try?”
Ajax held up his hand and marked on his fingers. “I’ve penetrated you and you’ve done me, though you couldn’t release. We’ve tried you on all fours, on your back, on your side. Now I’ve tried using my hand on your cock, but nothing.”
Phoebus glared down at his aching erection. What would it take to get rid of the wretched thing? There had to be something they hadn’t tried, but he couldn’t think what. He had hoped that Ajax, a year older than he was and having participated in three other mating seasons, all with different mermen, might have had a few ideas.
“How did you find out what your trigger was?” Phoebus asked.
“I just found a willing body to stick it in and the fever vanished,” Ajax replied with a shrug. “I knew I wanted to do that with someone—I’d seen other mermen take their pleasure in such a manner—and it worked just as I expected it to.”
“Well, it didn’t work for me. Are you sure you can’t think of anything else to try?”
“I saw a mermaid getting a good spanking in the coconut grove last season,” Ajax suggested. “Do you want me to try that?”
Phoebus shook his head. “No, definitely not.”
“Then I’m out of ideas. Perhaps you need to consult an expert.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Atlanteans look to their gods when they have problems. They pray to them for help, and sometimes they answer.”
“You’re not suggesting I pray to them, are you?”
“Why not?”
“Well, for one thing, I’m not an Atlantean. I’m mer. Why would their god listen to me?”
“Goddess.”
“God, goddess, what difference does it make? I’m still mer.”
“The Goddess of Love, Lust and Carnal Desire has been known to show herself to the mer. They call her Medina, and she’s invited several of the mer into her bed.”
“Really?”
“Well, I don’t know for sure, but that’s what the gossips in the market say.”
“And you think she’d want to help me?”
“Why not? You’re a handsome young merman and those mismatched eyes of yours are most striking. I think she’ll be only too happy to invite you into her bed.”
“I don’t know. Goddess or not, she’s still female, and outside of the mating season, I’ve only ever felt desire for the male form.”
“She has many priests,” Ajax said. “If they’re skilled enough to satisfy a goddess, surely she could spare one of them to help you.”
Phoebus sighed. “I suppose it can’t hurt to try calling to her. It’s not as if I have any other ideas.” His mind made up, he returned to the sea, where he transformed into his half-fish form for the long swim home.
Back in the sunken city, it only took a quick enquiry at the market to discover which temple belonged to the Goddess of Love. Even though he was a little nervous—and a lot skeptical—he swam into the building. The temple was surprisingly crowded. Two priests, dressed in robes with the flowered trident emblem of their goddess embroidered on the breast, swam among the other visitors, smiling and talking to those who had come to seek advice and help from the goddess they served.
One of the priests glanced his way and did an immediate double-take. Phoebus realized that he was the only mer in the temple. He wondered if the rumors of the goddess taking mer as lovers might be nothing more than tall tales.
“Why do you seek advice from the Goddess of Love?” asked the priest, his voice as clear in Phoebus’ head as that of any of the mer.
“I, um, it’s the mating season…”
“And you can’t find a mate?”
“No, I went to land with someone, but we couldn’t… I mean, I couldn’t, um…”
“Ah, well, perhaps our goddess might be able to help you. If you call to Medina by name, she will hear your prayer, and if you’re lucky, she might answer it for you.”
Phoebus nodded, and at a gesture from the priest, he approached the statue of the Goddess of Love.
“Medina? Um, I don’t know if you can hear me, but they say you might be able to help with my problem. I can’t break my mating fever.”
Phoebus felt a little foolish projecting his voice to someone who might not even be listening, especially when doing so no doubt alerted everyone in the room to his problem.
“There’s no need to be embarrassed.”
Phoebus gave a small cry as he fell to the ground in a room that was the same as the one he had been in a moment ago, except it was on land. He flopped on the floor in front of the goddess.
“Welcome to the Isle of the Gods, Phoebus. I must say that it’s rare for one of the mer to seek my assistance.” Medina tossed him a sheet of fabric, which he used to dry his fins and regain his legs. She sat on a nearby couch, her gauzy robe leaving nothing to the imagination. “Unfortunately, I can tell that my personal assistance is not what you need.”
Phoebus ducked his head. “Sorry.”
Medina laughed. “No need to apologize, my darling. No one can help who they find attractive.”
“It’s not that I don’t find you beautiful,” Phoebus hurried to assure her. “You are. It’s just…”
“That you find the male body more arousing. Of course, this does present something of a problem for me in helping you to break your mating fever, since I obviously don’t have what you need.”
Phoebus hung his head. “Thank you for hearing me anyway. I guess I knew it wasn’t likely to help.”
“Now, now, don’t be so hasty.” Medina patted the seat beside her. “Come sit with me and tell me about yourself while I ponder which of my priests might be most suitable to assist you.”
“They won’t mind being forced to mate with me?”
Medina laughed. “Mind? Oh no, they’d be delighted to be given such an honor as to take you to bed to please me. Tell me, Phoebus, how many mating seasons have you suffered throug
h without release?”
“This is my second. The first wasn’t so bad, but the pain is worse this time.”
“It will get worse every season you go without release. What did you try?”
“Everything we could think of.”
Medina gave him a sly smile. “If you’ve only been trying for two seasons, I suspect that isn’t much. The art of making love can take many forms, but you’re young and inexperienced.”
Phoebus’ face heated, but the goddess patted his hand in a kindly gesture. “We were all young and inexperienced once, even me. Only with the passing of time can we learn.”
“And you truly think one of your priests can teach me what I need?”
Medina gave him a considering look. “I think perhaps there might be another who can help you more than any of my priests. Have you heard of the God of Justice?”
Phoebus shook his head. “I don’t really know any of the Atlantean gods. We mer don’t worship you like the Atlanteans do.”
“No, I suppose not, though many of us would welcome your devotion, if it were given freely and with love in your heart. Anyway, the God of Justice is named Caspian, and he, like you, is a lover of men. He knows as much about sexual desire between men as myself, but he has the cock I lack to put it into practice.”
“Would he help me if you asked him to?”
Medina snorted in a most un-goddess-like manner. “If I were to ask him, he’d definitely say no. We don’t get along.”
“Oh, well, is there another god who might help me?”
“You misunderstand me,” Medina said. “Just because Caspian won’t do anything I ask him, it doesn’t mean he might not assist you if you were to ask him personally.”
“Thank you, Medina. Um, how do I get back to the sunken city to find his temple?”
“He has a temple here on the Isle of the Gods. You can approach him there. Let me find someone to escort you.”
Medina led him from the temple and out into a beautiful garden. There were several handsome men in various states of undress stretched out on the grass. Two of the men were naked and rubbing up against each other with feverish moans of pleasure. Phoebus tried not to stare, but as they had to walk right by them, it was rather difficult to avoid watching.