by Willow Sova
“I… I’ve never denied your effect on me,” she admitted, weak and breathless.
The elf pressed against her, folding an arm around her waist, while the fingers of his other hand whirled, unabated, in her wondrous wet. “Yet you’d refuse my love by leaving me?” Those eyes were questioning her, both pained and passionate.
“O-only to s-save you!” She dug her nails into the green moss while he thrummed her nub with deliberate tenderness until it throbbed, setting her thighs and tummy to twitching. “Oh my God! Thalion, p-please, please, I… I want to stay, but—” Molten waves of pleasure rolled one upon another within her core, sweeping the wind from her. She trembled as each wave coursed through her body, pulsating… pulsating… pulsating the walls of her sex. Instinct overcame her, and she began rocking into his hand, wishing those frisky fingers would never cease, desiring more of him, all of him, until that heavenly release ensued. Then once the warm tides ebbed, between gasps, she whispered, “But I… I want more so to… to save you.”
“My dear Sparrow, you already have,” he replied, smiling. Thalion moistened her lips with a kiss and then looked down at the glossy spot left from her arousal. “Your nectar is so sweet, I’m sure this moss will lure a myriad bees.” She blushed as her cunny puckered at his words. “But now I want a taste of you.” Atop the steep slope, she clung to the earth, fretting she would slide off the slippery moss and into the water. Before she could tell Thalion as much, he said, “You should hold on to these, my lady.” On two sinuous vines, each to a side of her, he curled her fingers so that she was clasping them like the ropes on a swing, each time passing a glance, one imbuing a serious intensity with just a smidgen of mischief.
“What do you intend to do?”
The elf clutched her hips and drew her in closer, widening her thighs with his body, and slipped a hand between them and teased that fleshy pearl again. Sparrow gasped and trembled.
“Why, pleasure you with my tongue and lips, my lady,” Thalion whispered over her mouth after kissing her. “And make love to you with the same. For I’ll love you now and always.” The pulse of her jugular raged such that she was sure he tasted it as he kissed her neck. And her sensitive flesh clenched and ached, wanting more of him.
“And always.”
With swirls and flicks of his tongue, he teased her nipples into tight buttons. Heat swarmed her sex and made her shudder.
“And always.”
Thalion slunk into the water, chest-deep, his mouth wandering south along her tummy as he eased toward her nest of raven curls. Gingerly, he moved her thighs apart, blooming her pink-fleshed flower before him.
“Aaaah, how like your petals glisten after a summer rain.” He gazed at her beauty below and coiled his arms around her thighs before leaning in to lap her lush rose. “Mmm. How glorious, like coaxing honey from the hive. Simply intoxicating.”
Sparrow stayed his head, panting in bursts as he swept her wetness. “Thalion! Wh-what on earth are you doing?”
Never had she been kissed there before.
With a soft smile on his face, he paused, his eyes seductive and the most striking violet she had ever seen; her breath quickened as she viewed them.
“All I want is to feel every luscious drop of you glide over my tongue, to savor that sliver of heaven and take you there while I do.”
After speaking those words, he nudged closer to purse his lips over that delicate nub and gave it a few gentle tugs before suckling her. The elf chuckled and moaned when she squealed in response. He flickered his tongue over that tender button of flesh, arousing her to moan and legs to quiver before they melted in his arms. He lapped that honey from her lips and sheathed her with his tongue, his warm whirls radiating to her belly button and beyond.
The girl bit her lip, abashed. “Oh, Thalion! I think I’ll lose control. I… oh… dear God, I can’t hold on much longer!”
For a moment, he pulled away, regarding her awhile.
“Only a little while, love, and you’ll be floating high among the angels.”
She saw his lips were inflamed with passion, flushed with the fervor of his endeavors, and she found the sight of them… erotic.
And true to his word, with every hungry kiss and luxurious stroke, Sparrow verged higher toward some heaven… and floated high amongst the angels.
CHAPTER 15
ERYNION
Only after asking why Medlinya had called her a “half-blood” did Thalion reveal the truth about Erynion. And with this revelation, a part of Sparrow died.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Tears bled onto her pillow as she lay waiting for an answer. Under the arching limbs of the tanglewoods, petals of vibrant colors spiraled around them, sprinkling cerulean, scarlet, and violet on the pale yellow sheets. But, unlike the night before, she did not revel in the beauty of their aerial dance. Now, once they landed on the bed, she only dwelled on their lifelessness.
Then Erynion’s.
And her mother’s.
“I was afraid to pain you with another loss.” The elf sat beside her on the bed and combed his fingers through her hair. Sparrow closed her eyes, fighting to shut out images of Erynion’s cruel death by fire. She did not need to know Erynion to realize the hurt of betrayal he felt from humans. Though, unlike him, the girl had escaped with her life. “You’d only recently lost your mother. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you your father, one you never knew, was dead as well, especially given how he died.”
Sparrow understood his reluctance and forgave him for it. After all, Thalion was only trying to protect her. To shield her from further sadness was a manifestation of how much he cared for her. Still, despite the inevitable passage of time, she could not imagine ever accepting the tragic news of Erynion’s death, and how she would never know her true father. And the torment her mother suffered for so many years was unbearable for her to think on.
She propped herself up to face him. The whirls of vivid violets in his eyes had lulled to clouds of slate blue, revealing his sorrow; she found some solace in his empathy. Aside from her mother, never had Sparrow experienced the caring, selfless spirit of another soul. In Thalion, she found a passionate lover and compassionate friend.
“You’ve convinced me to stay here with you,” she said, her voice hoarse from crying, “but at what cost? I don’t want to lose you like my mother lost Erynion.”
“There are no witch hunters in Aeweniel, Sparrow.” Lifting her chin, he swept away her tears with his thumb.
“Maybe not witch hunters. But a witch, there’s one.” The thought of uttering her name made the girl cringe. Medlinya’s pale brows against that even paler skin only emphasized the malice in her eyes. She could not shake the evil in them. Something sinister dwelled there, biding its time, calculating, before the princess would strike. Sparrow worried for Thalion. “If we’re to be together, and there’s nothing more in this world I’d wish for, then I think it’s best we leave Aeweniel. Even if only for a while.”
The elf was silent for a moment as he grazed her cheek with the back of his fingers. Thoughts seemed to stir behind those brilliant eyes, and she was compelled to ask what they were. Did he worry over losing his magic and dragon… forever, if he left Aeweniel? But Thalion spoke before given a chance.
“I’ll take you wherever your mind will be at ease, wherever you are safest, my lady. More than my life, you matter most.” As he leaned in to kiss her, she looked upon the lips that spoke those words and knew he meant them.
Tender lips, tender words. Even with only a chaste kiss, Thalion made her long for him.
Air rushed above them while they kissed. They broke away to the flutter of wings and to chatters and squawks. When they glanced up, Limwen was perched on a twig that reached out like a dainty white-gloved hand from the walls of the tanglewood gazebo. A petite tube of rolled parchment was tied to her foot. The elf stood up and snatched it. He read it silently.
“What is it?” From his grimace, Sparrow figured the news was unfav
orable.
“It’s Aranhil. Saeldur found him not far from Lady Maple. He was exhausted to the point of collapse,” he replied, diverting his eyes from the note. “I fear my brother’s obsession with her is only weakening him. But he doesn’t see it.”
“Then you must go. Be with your brother.”
“The remedy of counsel is what he wants from me.” His jaws clenched tighter as he shook his head. Sparrow sensed he was beyond frustrated with Aranhil’s increasing fixation. As Thalion would tell it, the arboreal lady’s words surpassed any he or Saeldur could offer. And once, she had listened to him wonder aloud if even Evelyn, were she still alive, could outshine the alluring Lady Maple. “My friend has already given him an elixir to raise his strength.”
“If it’s fine by you, I’ll stay here and gather what rest escaped me earlier. Either way, your brother needs you. We can leave our talk on departing Aeweniel for another time.” Sparrow slipped onto the buttery yellow sheets. The silk was cool on her skin. Though the day was bright, her spirits were far from it. All she wished to do was sleep away her sorrow.
“Saeldur and I have traveled this road before. Too bad the Spiritswayer doesn’t have a tonic to soften that thick skull of his.” Exasperated, he crumpled the note and tossed it onto the bed. “I doubt Aranhil will heed our advice this time around. Besides, it will trouble me to leave you now.”
“I’ll be fine. Maybe this time will be different with him.”
“I hope so. Perchance Saeldur won’t mind if Limwen stayed to keep you company. What say you to that, little one?” The regal owl stopped preening herself and hooted twice. The chartreuse of her eyes tripled as her pupils nearly shrank to pinpoints.
“I’m guessing she’s in agreement,” Sparrow said with a lukewarm chuckle. She reached out to invite Thalion in for an embrace.
The elf closed in to grant the girl her wish. “Get some sleep, sweetling. You need to rest your mind from what I’ve spoken here today.”
Wrapped within the strength of his arms, she felt secure, reluctant to let him go. The sweet and earthy scents of forest on his sage tunic reminded her how much Aeweniel was a part of him. Am I fair in asking him to leave his home? She offered a weary smile and said, “I’ll be waiting for you.”
“I’ll try not to be long, dear lady.” Thalion cast her a wistful glance, turned around, and walked through an arched doorway of the gazebo and across the glade skirted by a mass of towering oaks, maples, aspens, and pines.
Once he neared the edge of the bluff, a halo shimmered around him, sparkling rainbows of light as the elf shifted into his dragon. The metallic blue-violet sheen of his reptilian skin glimmered as his flaxen form materialized. When the creature spread his wings, the sunlight filtered through their translucent flesh. The swirls of heated purple, blue, and cream evoked her memories of sun-touched stained-glass windows emblazing the walls of churches back home.
The beast then leapt off the cliff and soared higher and higher through the sky. Sparrow watched him drift farther away until her eyes grew heavy and she fell asleep… dreaming of dragons.
CHAPTER 16
’TWAS A DREAM
Sparrow shifted on the bed when he lay down behind her. The delicate tickle of her gown draping off her shoulder made her smile. “Mmm, Thalion,” she said, her voice heavy with sleep.
“Mmm, you taste divine, love.” The elf kissed the length of her arm and inhaled her sweet rose scent, then rolled her onto her back and tore away her blush pink gown. “I’ve been anxious to get back to you.” He plunged his face into the valley between her breasts before inching toward one of those rosy nipples.
“I can see that,” she replied, stroking his hair. “How did things fare with Aranhil?”
“Same as usual. But, for now, I’d love to do more with my mouth than talk of my brother,” Thalion replied, smiling over her nipple. The melon scent of tanglewood flowers rushed through her nose before she exhaled. But as her chest sank, so did her heart. As much as Sparrow wanted to please him, she was brimming no less with sorrow over the revelation of Erynion.
“I fear my mood isn’t bright enough for what you ask.” Her tone was apologetic. “You understand, don’t you?”
“Maybe I can convince you otherwise.” His lips gave a hint of mischief before meandering down the contour of her belly where he circled her navel with slick licks and probed it with his tongue.
“Thalion, please. I can’t…” she whispered, brushing his hair behind the pointed pinna of his ear.
“Would you deny me the pleasure of pleasing you, tasting you?”
“Of course not, but—”
“Then say no more, and close those lips between your cheeks, so I can feast on those between your thighs,” the elf urged as he coaxed her legs apart. His eyes were hypnotic. The weight of them weakened her so she could not resist him.
Sparrow chastised herself, feeling selfish for dwelling on her grief and denying him his wish. Hence, she relented and allowed Thalion to partake of her while struggling to calm her sadness. Images of her mother and Erynion stormed her mind, their times of courtship and thriving love in Forest Aeweniel mingled with the shouts of angry crowds surrounding a flaming pyre—killing her mother’s one true love and the father she never knew.
And never will.
Soon Sparrow emerged from the world in her head, reawakening to the more tangible, when she sensed the friction of Thalion’s fingers circling her sex. The heat on it from his snickering unnerved her.
“Wh-what is it?”
The elf peered up from between her legs. “If you wish to quench the thirst of this eager patron, my dear, then the tankard shan’t be dry.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re not wet for me. Have you no desire for me?” Disappointment tainted his voice.
Sparrow flushed scarlet and snapped her thighs shut. “I’m sorry, Thalion, but I have much weighing on my mind.”
He laid a hand on each of her knees, widening them and his saucy smile. “Yes, but where there’s passion, patience is of no virtue. And now I have much need weighing on my cock.” His eyes darted to the bulge burgeoning beneath his trousers.
“Thalion! To what can I attribute your impetuous nature? You know of my dark humor.”
“Yes, but I thought I’d lighten it for you by kissing your cunt,” he replied, flicking his brows. “Now let me get to it.” And before she could protest, he thrust her legs apart and dove between them.
“Ouch, that hurts!” Sparrow felt the sting of his teeth as he bit that tender bud.
“I’m sorry, my dear. I must learn to better temper my mouth when sucking your clit.” The vibrato of his muffled laughter tickled her thighs. She shot him a glance and saw those eyes, leaden and lusterless like a sullen winter sky, staring up at her. Beady and menacing.
Those eyes! It was Medlinya looking up at her.
“Oh my God!” Sparrow flung up from the bed, scrambling to escape, but the princess pushed her back down, seized her wrists, and pinned her arms above her head. She then wedged the girl between her legs.
“I’m afraid God can’t save you now. Neither can your sweet Thalion,” she scoffed through gritted teeth.
“Let go of me!” She wriggled to free herself.
“You don’t make demands of me, you little bitch!”
She cried out as Medlinya pierced her nails into her wrists until they bled. “You’re hurting me!”
“That’s the idea, love! How else am I to have fun with you?” Those sinister eyes were shades of onyx flecked with sapphire and sheened like moonlit coals. Their darkness, Sparrow feared, gave only a glimpse into that spiteful psyche and wicked heart. Every second ensnared by that stare stole the wind from her and left her depleted.
She peered into the sprays of tanglewood flowers, only to realize the branches of a nearby oak were writhing like ferocious snakes. They swooshed through an entryway of the gazebo and slithered up the bed and around her wrists and ankles. The coarse bark burned as th
ey formed ringlets, shackling her.
When Sparrow screamed, Limwen screeched in reply, swooping toward Medlinya’s head, talons first. Her metallic-tinted wings fluttered wildly, flinging feathers into the air as she resolved to yank the princess by her hair. But before the owl could clasp her locks, another tree limb lashed her gut, throwing the bird back with such force she fell to the ground.
“Limwen!”
“Oh please! No ill has befallen that pellet-retching creature!” Medlinya smirked at the owl’s motionless body. “Not yet anyway.” She laughed and took a dagger from the scabbard on her hip. She traced the blade with a finger, fixing on its edge, and said, “Before you came along, traipsing through the forest of Aeweniel, Thalion loved only me.”
Sparrow remained silent.
“What have you to say on that?” the princess asked, peering over the point of the dagger.
“Wh-what’s there for me to say?”
“No doubt you have something twittering about in that bony, little brain cage of yours, you paltry mongrel. So I advise you to tell me and be truthful. Otherwise, I’ll use your feathered friend here for extra filler for my bed pillows.” Boughs of the giant oak whipped through the air and gave rise to fearsome rumbling as they scraped the sky. Winds shrilled around them, and a sinuous branch flung Limwen up to meet the point of Medlinya’s dagger.
Sparrow lurched forward, but the oak’s hold was unforgiving; its wooden cuffs choked her wrists and ankles with the slightest resistance. Her hands and feet grew heavy, dead as tree stumps. She paused to collect herself, stifling a scream, her face distorting under the pain. The waterfalls hummed in the distance, calling to mind how Thalion had protected her, advising against any retort to the princess’ venomous words. How she wished to be in his embrace, in the comfort of his arms, far away from this darkness.