The kiss ended. I held on, enjoying the smell of her hair, the silkiness of her skin.
Sienn stiffened. She pulled back. Her gaze fixed over my left shoulder. “Gods…I don’t believe it.”
I followed her stare. There was only the bed, with shadows striping the mussed covers. “What is it?”
“It was here,” she whispered. “This is where I saw us. Our hands were marked, we…”
I knew exactly what she meant. “Your oracle spell. This is where you first saw me, before we met in Kael. You said it was the only time you’d ever felt…” I looked at her. She looked back. And there it was: the expression I’d wanted to see in Sienn’s eyes for so long. The one I didn’t think I ever would.
Despite all that had happened, all the bad that had passed between us, despite the uncertainty of tomorrow, Sienn was happy. I’d never thought to be the source of that.
Going down on one knee, I slid the dagger from my boot. “All I can offer you is one night. One night where I will share with you all that I have and all that I am. My blood.” I pushed the blade into the palm of my right hand. “My magic,” I said as the red welled. “My memories.” I carved the first line. “Every scrap of knowledge in the history of the Shinree.” I called to the scars, making them simmer. “My last moments of life.” I gazed up at her and smiled. “I offer you my soul, Sienn. Will you have it?”
FIFTY SEVEN
Magic bled out across the sheets. It radiated from my scars as her body slid over mine. It pulsed from the stones in her skin as I ran my tongue down her spine. Their shimmering color was the only light. The fire in the hearth had gone cold. Scant drifts of moonbeam filtered in through the open balcony doors. Night was far along. But I didn’t want to sleep. I didn’t want to waste one frantic beat of her pulse, one drop of the rising heat that beaded like dew on her skin. One note of her nerves singing as my fingers sought refuge between her legs. The way her pleasure resonated through me was arousing to the point of pain. As was the agony of anticipation as I brought her body to the edge.
Bonded, sharing in her excitement, knowing firsthand the reaction I elicited in her—and she in me—magnified the tension to unimaginable heights.
I was with Neela once while we were linked, but under the influence of Jem’s dream weave, I’d been driven by something dark that overtook the beauty of the moment and fouled the sensations. This was a whole other level of intimacy. It was more natural than my connection to the eldring. Deeper than any other temporary link I’d engaged in before.
Because it has nothing to do with healing.
The act hadn’t been done in haste or concern. I’d gone into the sharing open and unguarded, with great intent and honesty. The result was profound. It was near impossible to tell where one of us began and the other ended.
I slipped inside her. It was the third time since stripping off Sienn’s dress and carrying her to the bed. Yet the feel of her molding around me had lost no potency. My intrusion smacked into us the same every time: with the force of a storm fed surf crashing onto a rocky shore. Pleasure pulled us into its depths. The sight of her lithe body highlighted in the glow of our magic was almost too glorious to behold. I focused instead on her eyes as I thrust, on the strength in her hands as she gripped mine. The small, helpless sounds coming out of her as Sienn lifted up, wrapped her legs around me and pulled, drawing me—hardened beyond possibility—deeper inside.
It was a sensation I would gladly carry with me to the grave.
Sweat broke her grip and Sienn lowered her legs. Swiftly, I rolled her over. She straddled me without hesitation. Breathing the air threading through her lungs, I ran my hands over her lean silhouette. Breasts, sculpted pale orbs adorning her long, slender trunk, hung like ripened fruit for the taking. Nipples, slightly dark and enlarged, swayed toward me as she leaned down and started moving.
My hands on her slender hips, I watched a tiny dent of concentration form in Sienn’s brow. Her lips parted, caressed by a curtain of crystalline hair; sweeping back and forth as she rocked. The sweat-sticky strands clung to her flushed skin, reflecting the colorful tempest of magic and passion swirling in her eyes. The enticing, purposeful rhythm with which her body worked mine pulled at my blood, luring it all to one place, drawing it down fast and hard—as if my throbbing cock could hold anymore.
The coalesced feeling of what we sparked in each other was provocative beyond measure. Yet, as I stared at her, a woman who was the epitome of Shinree beauty, my mind shifted away from Sienn’s physical traits. As it did, the bounty of sensations dimmed. Even the magic faded for a breath into the background as I thought: she will lead them well.
It was only the wistfulness running through me that kept my body from letting go as ecstasy suddenly gripped her. Muscles quaking, nerves trembling, Sienn yielded to the fervor ravaging us both. Her pleasure rippled over the link in hot, undulating waves like the swell of a boiling sea. A groan fled her as relief set in, and Sienn slowed to a winded stop. She lifted up, freeing me from captivity, and I eased slowly out of her.
Sienn dropped down beside me. Stretching out on her side, her sweat-lathered head rested on my chest. Her breath, rising and falling in harmony with mine, blew across my skin. Our lungs slowed with each exhale. The effects of her contentment flowed in.
Sighing, I put my arm around her. I swept my fingers over her skin. “You should have told me your vision was this good. I would have put a tracking spell on this damn bed years ago.”
A current of delight swept through her. “That would have been most helpful.”
“I’m glad it came true for you. You deserve to be happy.”
I felt her amusement fade. “As do you.”
“I am, intae’a.” I pressed my lips to her forehead. “Trust me, I am.”
“You could delay. Travel to Langor and discuss this with Malaq. He will not be happy with your chosen course of action.”
“I can’t. Things would be said, and…I don’t want to leave him with that. Besides, Malaq will realize what I’ve done is for the good of all the realms. He’ll understand. Jarryd, on the other hand…”
“I will not allow him to fall into darkness. You have my word. And when Lirih has returned to normal, I will train her in the erudite ways. She will prosper. They both will.”
“Thank you. It helps to know they have you.”
Sienn sat up. She eyed the balcony. “Morning will break soon.”
“Soon. But not yet. Come here.”
Bending, walking her hands up my legs, Sienn’s mouth trailed after, tracing the scars painting my skin. At each meeting of flesh to magic, a shiver ran through her. It transferred to me a second later, followed by a jolt of her arousal that coupled with mine and skipped across my nerves, then hers—then mine again.
Riding the endless circle, my heart pounded in anticipation as Sienn’s tongue traveled over my body in a slow, torturous meander. Breasts pressed against my thighs. Her hands kneaded. Mine found sanctuary between her legs, and the heat rose inside her.
I clenched the sheets, unable to imagine a permanent bond with Sienn. Sharing in every sensation, experiencing each other’s pleasure; one night had me on the verge of madness.
Putting a hand under her chin to lift it, I caught her eyes. “Enough.”
With a grunt of amusement, she straightened. Sienn stared down at me, openly scrutinizing my appearance. “You look quite disheveled.”
I lifted up and tossed the hair out of my face. “You have no idea.”
“Oh, but I do.” Grinning, Sienn raised her hand, displaying the marks that bound us. “I know every inch of the great Ian Troy, quite intimately.”
I gave her a playful shove. She fell back onto the bed with a laugh, and I realized how much I enjoyed this new side of her. The alluring air of abandon Sienn was giving off nourished my desire in a way her naked body couldn’t.
I craw
led on top of her. I couldn’t help staring. I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
She smiled as I entered her, far more slowly than before. Knowing it would be the last time, I was determined to pay close attention to the details. Each touch of moist warmth and swollen flesh, each caress of taut nipples and arching hips—the nearly incapacitating quake rolling through as our bodies collided. Plunging, falling in and out of Sienn with the headlong desperation of a dying man, I rode my sensations as well as hers. It was intoxicating and maddening. The air wouldn’t move fast enough through my lungs. Sienn had become like liquid in my grasp. Yet, somehow, she slapped all the harder against me.
Still the enigma, I laughed to myself, realizing my first observations of the woman still rang true: impossibly strong yet fragile at the same damn time.
I put a hand on her face. A feverish ache tugged at my nerves. I slowed, willing my body to hold back. My voice trembled from the strain. “Ready?”
She hesitated. “Will it scar me as it has you?”
“I’m not sure. The runes attached themselves to the scars, but the scars weren’t a byproduct of accepting the library. They were part of the spell that drew me in. They were a test. A way for Fate to dole out bits of information, to ensure my mind could handle hosting it all. It also gave me access to spells I wouldn’t have otherwise known. That’s why my magic was changing when we met, how I was able to cast all those erudite workings without training.”
“It influenced you without you even knowing.”
“Your experience will be different. You won’t need to use the spells out of necessity and impulse. You can be patient. Take time to learn. Record them. Create a proper library. Teach our people how to live with their abilities without the sway of their addiction.”
“I will do my best.”
“You will be amazing,” I said, making her smile again. “Will you tell them about Fate?”
“Tell our people one of their gods is dead? No, I will encourage their devotion and prayers. And perhaps, in time, with enough commitment and belief, B’naach will be born again.”
“I hope so. I wish…” I stopped myself. Pain welled inside. I pushed it down, but the link had betrayed me. She’d felt the depth of my anguish, my regret, how acutely I’d miss her.
“Ian…”
“It’s okay.”
“No. It’s not, I—”
“It is. It has to be.” I put a finger to her lips before she could protest. “Whatever Death is, wherever I go, my heart will stay where it’s always been: with you, Sienn. Always with you.”
She bit her lip. The tears fell anyway. As they slid off to wet my skin, I started moving inside her. Still crying, she met my thrusts. As the tension built, and her sorrow eased, I turned my thoughts inward. It took scant effort now to uncoil the sweeping marks, and as I isolated and detached curves and lines, distinctions were made. Runes formed. They floated in ghostly layers, rousing overloaded nerves, gliding like sparks broken loose from a flame. The crown’s magic coasted beneath and alongside the runes, long wispy tendrils moving through my veins; glowing multi-hued snakes drifting on a gentle current.
My body felt too full, too small to contain such treasure. It felt impossibly perfect and whole, yet somehow broken at the same time; filled with the urge to grab her and run, to never let her go. But I’d been running for years, from the blood in my veins and on my hands, from the guilt and the truth, and the pleasure. I was done.
Determined, I planted my will behind the wealth of the spell and gave Fate a push. It was a small, firm nudge, like a mother bird sending her young from the nest. It was enough to make my intention clear, and as I loosened my grasp, the tether shook. The wall it was attached to shattered.
Sienn felt the jolt as the last barrier between us dissolved. It collapsed a moment later, like a thunderbolt. I wasn’t sure I could speak through it.
But the words had to be said.
Catching Sienn’s feverish gaze, I whispered, “I love you,” and let go. The seed flowed rapidly from my body. The runes flowed like fire from my skin. Both seemed to take impossibly long to expel, and I clung to her, caught in a scintillating release of euphoric agony, as all that I had, found a home inside Sienn.
FIFTY EIGHT
Furry bodies loped over the desert sand. Agile limbs, solid but smaller than a true eldring, gripped the grains with ease. Dust kicked as the beasts rolled and frolicked. I’d come outside the wall to watch them; my father’s creations, enjoying one last run in their animal forms. It was a pleasant alternative to standing in the arena and watching it fill. As heartening as it was to have so many Shinree in one place, the sense of finality had been difficult to abide.
Turning at a sound behind me, I shaded my eyes from the glare and watched Lirih and Jarryd exit the wall. They headed toward me, engaged in what looked like a serious conversation. Jarryd gestured at Lirih. She returned the motion with anger. The claws on her bare feet dug into the sand with purpose. Jarryd gripped her arm and pulled her to a stop. Their words were hushed but sharp. Lirih let out a hiss loud enough for me to hear, and resumed walking. Jarryd hung back. He crossed his arms and kicked at the sand.
I hadn’t lowered the wall between us since Kabri. I suddenly needed to.
I let him in and Jarryd stiffened. Caught off guard, he teetered as memories surged both ways across the link. His emotions were jumbled. His stomach was off. An abundance of drink the night before had left his head aching. He was sick with the conflict burning in him. Jarryd respected me greatly. Yet he hated me for what I was about to do.
I was glad for the latter. It made what I was going to ask of him somewhat easier.
I was still stowing his memories when Lirih reached me. Before she could object, I pulled her into my arms. I held her tight, soaking up the sensation of holding my daughter far longer than I knew she was comfortable with. When I finally let go, Lirih’s head turned toward the horizon, as if instinctively pulled by the sight of her kind. They were on their haunches, gazing at the mountains where the eldring had gone to make their home.
Lirih smiled slightly with her oversized teeth. “For the first time since they were born, all eldring will come together and live as one. You can’t know how that pleases them.”
“I’m glad.”
“You are a good man. A good father.” I moved to protest, but she went on. “You have shown the world that Shinree can be selfless and honorable. You’ve shown them eldring aren’t savage. Because of you, both races have a future. I am pleased to bear your blood…and theirs.” Lirih closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, somehow I knew what she would say. “I wish to stay as I am.”
My stomach clenched. “You don’t want Jem’s spell reversed?”
“No.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“All my life I saw attachments as burdens. I required no acceptance. My world was safe and secure. The dark was comfortable. Quiet was my friend. I had no need for anything else. I had no need for anyone else.”
“Lirih…”
“Please, Father, let me finish. Malaq was the first to threaten my reasoning. Still, I clung to it, letting in only those I had to, and only as much as required. I thought you would be no different. I planned to maintain my distance. With your reputation, I never expected you to care.”
“You didn’t expect it, but you wanted it.”
“Yes,” she breathed gratefully. “You and Malaq, and the others, you taught me what it was like to belong, to care and be cared for. You helped me glimpse what life could be. Now…” Lirih gestured at herself. “I’ve tasted it. Eldring are free in ways we never can be, with their emotions and their bodies. They lack prejudice, hatred, and scorn. All are cherished and treated equal.”
“That’ll happen someday for the Shinree, too. After today, with Malaq on the throne, things will change. Be patient, Lirih, please. You don
’t have to do this.”
“I want to do this. I have already spent too many years in the dark.”
“You’re afraid of being blind again, I get it. But Sienn has an entire library at her disposal. She can fix your eyes.”
“Being blind took far more than my vision. Just as being what I am now has given me much more than sight. No longer will I hide in the shadows because I am different. I will step into the light because I am.”
My throat tightened. I took her strong face in my hands. “I want that for you, Lirih. I do. But you aren’t eldring, and you aren’t Shinree. You’re something else. And if you remain something else, you’ll be alone, walking between two worlds the rest of your life.”
“Eldring are never alone. The wholeness of our shared mind is the true root of our strength. And…the others feel as I do.”
“All of you? You can’t be serious…” I glanced at the half-eldring, still some distance away, sitting patiently on the sand. They weren’t waiting for me to call them in and change them back. They were waiting for Lirih to say goodbye.
“Our pack will grow. Already, a few have taken a liking to each other.” The change in her tone suggested she was one of them. “Soon, mates will be selected and offspring born.”
I dislodged the unwanted image in my head and gave her a hard stare. “This was a failed experiment, Lirih. Jem forced this on you. It’s not who are, not what you were meant to be.”
“And what were you meant to be? A soldier? A well of knowledge? A sacrifice?” She shook her head, refusing to hear whatever argument I might offer. “I have been given the chance to do something great. I can bridge the gap between races, help the eldring evolve, teach them to co-exist, just as Sienn will teach the Shinree. Do you not see the potential? Do you not see the good I can do?”
The Crown of Stones: Magic-Borne Page 48