by Ophelia Bell
“The enemy will be hiding in plain sight, as we should as well,” Nikhil said. “The temple’s protective cloak remains around it, so it blends in with the desert, appearing as a sand dune to the casual observer. We are close to the Pyramid Gardens, so it is safe to filter out of the temple and pretend to be tourists before making your way into the city. Do whatever you need to blend in with the locals until you receive my command. Travel in small groups, no fewer than two, no more than four, with at least one dragon and turul per group. Watch and listen for the enemy and neutralize any you come across as swiftly and silently as possible, ideally without their knowledge. We don’t want their leader alerted to the danger until it’s too late. Go now. Alpha team, you are with me.”
The dragons and turul funneled toward the end of the room and through the huge doorway, heading up the stairs to the rooftop exit that Neph had ensured was the only part of the temple not submerged beneath the sand. Within half an hour, only a group of about two dozen remained behind, all now clad in garb similar to what Nikhil and Belah wore.
“Time to get dressed,” Aodh said, and with a breath Neph felt his body being covered by a soft, comfortable robe that fell to his feet and was topped off by a snug turban. Vrishti’s pretty red dress transformed into a black garment identical to the one Belah wore. When the costuming was complete, she blinked up at him, her long, dark lashes even more pronounced now that only her light brown eyes were visible through the little window of her head covering.
“You need to fix your eyes,” she said, the corners of her own crinkling the way they did when she smiled.
Neph calmed himself with some effort, forcing the swirling in his irises to cease and display a uniform color. “How is this?” he asked, smiling back at her.
“Very pretty,” she said. “Aqua is a good color for you.”
Joining the others beside the table map again, he resisted the urge to hold her hand, but was relieved to see Aodh slip his arm around her waist and tuck her close.
“Can you create an accurate local map for us, Aodh?” Nikhil asked.
The dragon nodded and exhaled a lungful of white smoke, which descended onto the table like a heavy mist falling over the surface of the world. Beneath it, the stone shifted, became liquid, then bubbled up and reformed into the strangely angular modern landscape Neph had only spied in visions.
When the fog lifted, the table displayed the familiar snaking banks of the Nile River and the villages that dotted the shores on either side. A complex web of crisscrossing lines denoted the streets of Cairo that extended north, covering the landscape in a net of human thoroughfares all the way to the sea.
“Show me where this portal is that you believe is Meri’s target,” Nikhil said.
Neph studied the length of the river to get his bearings. “There is no portal any longer, but it was once here.” He tapped an upraised island that floated in the center of a wider portion of the Nile south of Cairo. “We used it frequently and even had a temple built there that we shared with the dragons before. The portal is inaccessible now. The bigger ones were blocked entirely when she was banished. The smaller ones only locked. None can be opened from the outside now, either way.”
“Meri wouldn’t know this,” Nikhil said, looking at Neph for confirmation.
“Unlikely. Nyx only took that final step since the last dragon ascension. She didn’t dare before that, as long as she held out hope of Nereus and Calder returning. When Calder came home, she’d given up on Nereus—when she believed her son couldn’t find his father, she lost hope and shifted her focus to protecting the Haven.”
“The three of you will go there to wait for her. Set a trap if you can. My team will secure her base along with Calder’s team.”
As if on cue, a pair of figures materialized behind Nikhil. Vrishti let out a pleased squeak, then rushed around the table to envelop Nicholas and Aurum in a big hug.
The dragon and ursa accepted her embrace in bewildered surprise at first. Vrishti tore off her covering and said, “It’s me, Vrishti!” The revelation incited a round of more enthusiastic hugs, which involved the big black-haired ursa hoisting her up and spinning her around.
Neph prickled at the sight, even though he knew Nicholas was very happily mated to his nephew and the gold dragon. Seeing Aodh’s happy smile put him at ease, however, and he moved up to greet the newcomers, too.
He assured himself of their good health and some of his tension eased when Aurum confirmed Calder was alive and that he’d succeeded in releasing Nereus and the other Thiasoi soldiers. Everything was going their way. Hopefully it would continue to, but there was still one issue to resolve.
“We still don’t have a way back into the Haven.”
Nicholas set Vrishti back down and rubbed his hands together. “On the Equinox, my mates and I will be able to enter the Sanctuary with no issues, now that we’re blood-melded. We’ll head straight to the Haven. Hopefully the prospect of being reunited with Nereus will convince Nyx to reopen the way into the Haven, at least long enough to allow her mate to return home. If you three are still out here then, you should be able to go home then as well. If our attack on Meri must continue beyond tomorrow, we’ll need the way open for the ursa and nymphs to exit so they can assist us in defeating her.”
Belah nodded in agreement. “Then with the enemy defeated, we can relax the security and allow the higher races freer access to each other’s realms. It can be like it once was.”
Neph regarded Belah’s blue eyes as they glanced around with hope at the remaining dragons and turul who had volunteered to join Nikhil’s army. The veil she now wore was a human construct, but was the perfect parallel for the barriers they had erected between their races all along. Taking them down would not be so easy. There were many members of each race who still believed in sticking to their own kind, but one thing he was sure of was that Fate might have other ideas. If he and his mates were any indication, their four races would soon be more integrated and far stronger for it.
He met Nikhil’s gaze over the head of the commander’s mate. In his mind’s eye, he saw the former human’s past as clearly as he had when visiting it with Vrishti earlier, but he could see a future for the man, too, one that was no longer driven by blood or vengeance, but by love and family. They would win, but what would be the cost? And why the hell did he still feel as nauseous as if he’d fallen under his own hypnotic spell?
“Are you ready?” Nikhil asked in a low, even voice.
Neph nodded. “Keep in contact with us and let us know your progress. If anything goes wrong—or right—we will let you know as well.”
“We will do the same. Be safe,” Nikhil said with a nod, and he, Belah, Aurum, and Nicholas moved to the crowd of waiting soldiers. They split into groups of eight, linking hands with the other dragons and turul. As a group they shimmered as though they were merely a desert mirage before they faded out of sight.
A small hand slipped into his on one side and he glanced down to see Vrishti smiling up at him, her veil pulled down so he could see her face. Impulsively he bent and kissed her, unable to suppress a desperate moan at the overwhelming emotions that bombarded him.
“You stay within sight of one of us always,” he said.
“Please don’t worry about me,” she said, giving him an earnest look as she pressed a palm to his cheek. Aodh came up behind her and rested both hands on her shoulders.
“Until we’re completely bound, you have to understand we will worry,” Neph said, speaking the words that Aodh’s serious look told him he agreed with.
Vrishti pressed her lips together. “All right, I will compromise, but not yet. We need to be blood-melded to get you into the Sanctuary on the Equinox anyway, but I don’t want to chance getting pregnant at all before I go home. I know what the barrier can do to an unborn child, and it would kill me if that happened to our baby. Just before we go. No sooner, all right
?”
Aodh inhaled slowly and nodded. “I can accept that. Shall we go take care of this bitch once and for all, then?”
Aodh linked hands with Vrishti, and Neph completed their circle, wrapping his hand around the dragon’s. A spark of hope shot through him at the gentle squeeze Aodh gave him just as their bodies dematerialized with the force of the drift.
Chapter Forty-One
Vrishti
They landed in a lush temple garden that might have belonged in another era. The only evidence of the wear of time was the ruined, broken state of what had once been several stately columns decorated with carvings of papyrus fronds. The morning sun shone bright above them, warming Vrishti instantly through the dark fabric of her robes. She gritted her teeth against the growing ache in her lower abdomen. Now that she knew it signaled the swell of fresh power from the Source, she didn’t want to beg for release. She might need that magic to cast a spell soon.
Her skin tingled with excitement when her senses told her the ruined temple gardens they’d arrived in were empty.
“We’re alone, aren’t we?” she asked softly.
“For now,” Aodh said, pulling her into the shadows of a fallen sandstone column and peering past a stand of palms toward the reeds at the edge of the water. Neph crouched, his body shrinking into itself, and a moment later, a slender-legged egret had taken his place, shaking off the conjured robes into a pile around its feet before stretching its wings and taking to the air.
Vrishti followed Neph’s path as he soared above them in a wide arc that stretched out over the shoreline of the river before sailing back down to land in the shadows beside them.
He shifted again, appearing naked and shaking off feathers for a second. “No sign of her. She’ll drift in, but it’s unlikely she intends to do anything until midnight, which gives us the rest of the day to prepare a trap and wait.”
“A snare, perhaps?” Aodh asked.
Neph nodded. “Simple, easy to conceal.”
Vrishti frowned. “Wait, you’re going to catch her with that kind of trap? Will that work? I thought she was some kind of super-powered villain.”
Aodh chuckled. “Not a snare made of rope, sweetness. One made of magic. You can help. Come, we’ll show you.”
She followed them to the water’s edge where they stripped and followed a naked Neph through the reeds into the river. The coolness of it eased some of the ache inside and she followed the two men as they dove beneath the surface. They were in a small cove where the water was relatively calm. Something about the way the light filtered in made the deep pool as magical as one of the many pools she’d bathed in during those brief weeks first living in the Sanctuary. But this pool had a sense of abandonment. She held her breath and followed Neph down to the bottom where he yanked at reeds until he’d revealed a stone circle of glyphs set in the ground, nearly concealed by river silt.
“This is where we set it,” Neph said, surprising her with the clarity of his voice inside her mind. “The portal opening was here. When she tries to activate it, she’ll be trapped and we can deal with her after dispatching her army.”
Vrishti nodded. “What can I do?”
“Show us your stuff,” Aodh said with a grin made sinister by the streams of small bubbles flowing from his nose and the corners of his mouth.
Neph gave him a playful shove. “Aodh and I will set the trap for her. What you can do is work on other hidden traps for any undesired visitors—other Ultiori who come to her aid once we trap her. Those vines of yours … can you prepare them to trigger when intruders step into the zone?”
“I think so,” she said. “Let me just catch my breath.” She started to swim to the surface when a big hand wrapped around her thigh. Glancing down, she saw Aodh shaking his head, his hair swirling around his face like seaweed. He pulled her back down into his arms, enveloping her and holding her close. She thought he was only going in for a kiss, and pushed to protest, her lungs already aching from lack of oxygen. His mouth covered hers, his tongue dipping between her teeth to urge her to open. Just as she started to panic, a cold current flooded her mouth and she inhaled reflexively. Her eyes flew open at the infusion of power he’d given her, suddenly no longer in need of breath.
When he pulled away, he regarded her with a heated stare for a second. “Stay close,” he reminded her before turning to join Neph at the edge of the circle of glyphs.
She swam several yards away and settled down among the reeds, keeping her eyes focused on them while she pressed her hands to the soft, silty floor of the pool. It took some effort, but she was able to harness the churning knot of power in her womb. Uncertain whether the chant would work if she only said it silently, she spoke the words, which came out in fat, glowing bubbles that sank as though filled with stones, rather than floating to the surface.
Beneath her hands, the earth shifted, writhing as though a colony of serpentine shapes had awakened to her touch. She settled the mass of vines with her chanting, focusing the energy on the command to attack when their enemy came. Having never encountered one of the Ultiori herself, she altered the spell to universally trigger upon the proximity of any other creature who meant them ill will.
By the time she was finished, her lungs ached again, but the ache in her core had diminished to a dim throb. She swam back to the ring where Neph and Aodh had encircled the dormant portal with their own hidden magic. The glyphs glowed for several seconds until they each brushed their palms across the surface, replacing the layer of silt and returning them to their unused appearance.
She reached Neph first, touching his shoulder gently, then pointing to the surface with raised brows. He shook his head, pointed at Aodh, then himself, then touched her lips with his fingertips. He gripped her hand and she floated close, surrendering to him as he tilted her head back with one big hand and pressed his mouth to hers. She inhaled deeply when he breathed for her, marveling at the difference in the breath he gave her compared to what Aodh had provided earlier.
The water pushed against her back, and a second later, warm skin slid against her naked backside as Aodh joined them. He made no pretense of offering her air when he took over, his mouth covering hers and his tongue plunging deep in a passionate kiss instead. She wrapped her legs around Neph’s waist to keep him close while she returned Aodh’s kiss. The ache in her core returned with a vengeance when Neph’s fingertips brushed along her outer folds before teasing deeper.
Vrishti moaned into Aodh’s mouth when he slipped his hand down her back, meeting Neph’s between her thighs. They both filled her with their fingers, working her until she couldn’t help but inhale sharply. Aodh was prepared, his mouth still sealed over hers and his lungs ready to feed her precious air infused with his euphoria-inducing magic.
Neph moved his thumb to her clit, gliding through her wet heat to press at the little nub while they continued to stretch her opening as though preparing her for something. She didn’t care much between the constant thrum of pleasure pulsing through her body from both sets of hands driving her higher and higher. Their mouths went to her breasts, and she couldn’t help but expel a sudden cry that came out oddly muffled and strange beneath the water.
When Aodh moved behind her, Neph cupped the back of her head and pulled her into another breath exchange that became a deep kiss. Aodh closed his hands around her hips, lifting her up, and she went easily, floating gently under his control. Neph kept hold of her lower legs, ensuring she remained hooked to him while the dragon moved in close, brushing his lips down the side of her neck.
The thick, doubled-tips of both their cocks pushed at her aching opening and her need soared. She bit her lower lip hard to keep from releasing any more precious air while they guided her back down onto their cocks, the delicious stretch of them something she was certain she would never get enough of, regardless of whether they were full-sized or not. They were still huge, their collective girth enoug
h to remind her how much attention her previously virgin pussy had received in only a short time, but the pleasure was more than enough to compensate for the pain.
The buoyancy of their bodies made their movements even smoother than before, and they moved her up and down their cocks with languid ease, in no rush to race to climax. She arched her back, hooking both hands behind her to hold onto Aodh’s neck while still clinging hard to Neph with her legs. There was nowhere she could go, as solidly buried in her as they were, and Vrishti thought that this moment, in this place, with the world blotted out by the water above them, she could forget that they may have to fight a war in only a few hours.
But they would win, and then she would blood meld these two men she loved and take them home, make them both her mates. And when she and her mother completed the ritual to grant her Summer’s Spirit, nothing would ever part the three of them again.
With that thought, she let go, eagerly accepting Neph’s mouth so he could breathe in her orgasm as her climax overtook her. In the middle of her series of delicious tremors, the pair of them drew even closer, their cocks shoving deeper in perfect synchronicity as they both came. Their essence filled her as the flood of excess magic flooded out of her and into them.
When she opened her eyes, they both glowed with subtle, shimmering blue-green light.
Aodh slipped out of her first, pressed one last kiss to her shoulder and smiled down at her. “Let’s go,” he mouthed to them both, pointing toward the surface.
She and Neph both nodded, but the satyr didn’t release her right away. As Aodh swam off, Neph’s grip tightened and she gave him a questioning look. Something in his eyes startled her—a subtle fear that made no sense. She slipped her fingers through his hair and pulled him into a kiss, hoping to impart some comfort. When they parted, he smiled at her and finally released her. She kept hold of his hand as they swam side-by-side to the shore.
Chapter Forty-Two