by J B Black
“Fly in circles until she’s calmed. If her mate can calm her back down, I can break the outer curse, and they should be able to break the frenzy curse themselves,” the blond warlock explained to the dragon.
Nodding, Radek swung to the left, keeping a wide loop about the air high above the island. Still disguised from watchful eyes, the pair waited. Sure enough, Medusa calmed, and when she went inside the keep with her mate, Castor went to work on the curse. Bit by bit, he unwove the spell. With every section he undid, he looked back to the island.
“Has she moved?” he asked.
Radek shook his head. “Still in the keep.”
Breaking down the spell took time. The sun hung high in the sky when they arrived, but by the time Castor finished, it neared the horizon, dipping below as the curse broke. A shiver rattled through the air.
“Uhhh...Castor? She’s out again.”
Tentatively, the warlock glanced down. Sure enough - with the curse on the island itself broken, the spellwork of the god no longer wove itself across Medusa either. She waved her hands above her head, and though she couldn’t see them and faced the wrong direction, he recognized her intent.
“Bring us back down on the far side of the keep, so that she’s between us and her mate,” Castor instructed, undoing the spell, so they could be seen from the ground. This time, Radek landed without an argument.
Medusa watched them descend. Her golden eyes glistened, and the long dark coils of her hair fell about her shoulders. Her upper arms were decorated in gold bands, and when Castor brushed himself off and stepped forward, she smiled brightly.
“You are Castor?”
The warlock gave a slight bow. “Warlock Castor, at your service, my lady.”
“Please, I am no lady,” the naga laughed, smiling at him and then to the dragon. “And you?”
“Radek,” the red dragon offered. Though he kept to his larger form, he folded his wings upon his back. “Congratulations.”
Her brows furrowed. “On the curse being broken?”
“Your mate...we - uh - we spoke with her first,” Radek informed her, and from her nod, she had already known. “Congratulations on your children.”
Her entire face lit up, and half-spinning to look behind her, she beamed. No one could think her a monster if they saw how absolutely in love she was. “Any day now! We’re so excited.”
Coming to stand in the doorway, her wife smiled just as brightly. “And now we know the island is safe for our daughter once more.”
“Yes - about that,” Castor said, glancing over his shoulder toward the coast. “Word has gotten out about the island, and even if you hide it from view once more, there are enough captains who have dropped off warriors to know where it is. Do you mind breaking the curse on the men and letting us escort them back to the mainland?”
Medusa frowned. “If you can ensure they cannot return, I would do so. Those I turned to stone and left standing came either with no ill intent or after my frenzies began.” At Castor’s widening eyes, she added, “I did my best to curse them rather than to kill.”
Castor turned to Radek. “Think you can fetch us a boat?”
“You won’t need one,” the blind woman said. “Our island connects in strange ways to different places.”
“My sweet Arete is right. I can push people back through, and while I can ensure they do not come back through the island’s magic, I can’t stop them from chartering a boat from someone I can’t reach who might know the way,” Medusa explained.
“But before you begin, you must be tired. Come. Eat with us and rest. You can start to remove the men in the morning,” Arete said with a smile.
Medusa wrapped her arms gently around her. “Yes, please. You shouldn’t overextend yourself.”
Tapping her love’s arm, Arete tilted her chin up and the two shared a sweet kiss. Their love seemed to spread through the island, changing the ominous tension which once surrounded it into a peaceful paradise.
Cooing at the sweetness of the two, Radek sighed, “I can’t wait to be like that with my mate.”
“One day, my friend,” Castor assured him, patting the dragon’s side.
Though he had traveled to the island in hopes of finding Nasi, he breathed out a sigh of relief when the last man returned to flesh and had their mind wiped before being pushed back to their home city through one of the rifts that Medusa controlled on the island.
“Thank you again,” Medusa said. “It is unlikely you’ll ever be able to return to this island, so I wish to express how truly grateful I am.”
Castor’s brows furrowed. “About that…” The warlock reached into his bag, pulling out a communication mirror. “Since your island provides shelter from abuse, the odds are high an abuser will attempt to curse you again. If you ever need my help, call.”
Smiling brightly, the naga took the mirror. “Thank you, Warlock Castor.”
“Yes, thank you,” Arete agreed, but running her hands over her gravid belly, she sighed, “To be frank, I sincerely hope we never need to use it.”
“But it will be good to have it,” Medusa added.
After saying their goodbyes, Radek and Castor left the island. Without a particular curse to aim for, the blond warlock had no specific area as his goal, so when Ronan asked him if he wanted to accompany him to the new continent, the warlock asked only to be brought to the first village on the coast.
Chapter Eight
When the pair hit the coast, Radek found the first village, flying outside and turning into his human form to avoid scaring the villagers. It would also allow him to enter the continent without attracting any territorial disputes for a time.
“Can warlock’s speak in tongues?” Radek asked as he strolled alongside Castor. “I know fae also speak All Speech like the gods, but I’ve never heard of any magic users having the ability.”
Castor snorted, shaking his head. “It isn’t an ability for us. We actually have to learn the languages.”
“Then how will you get along on this continent?” Radek pushed.
Holding up one of his amulets, he allowed it to spin and show the emblems and runes on either side. “A few wizards thought the mess was unfair and created an enchantment to help. Anyway - I was born on this continent.”
The red dragon’s widened. “But Ronan was back on the other continent.”
“Warlocks journey as much as wizards. We keep strong communication all across the world,” Castor explained, running a hand through his hair. “We rarely settle where we were born.”
Radek nodded, toying with one of his braids. “Most dragons stay on the same continent at least. We have wings, but customs are strange from land to land as we’re a rather reclusive sort.”
“It is easier to be alone.”
“See - I don’t think that’s true,” the red dragon retorted. “Being alone is what happens when you have no choice. Though I’ve traveled here, it isn’t because I necessarily wanted to leave. I love my parents, but my mate wasn’t there. I met all the dragons on that continent. All of them are happy and settled, but I have a fate, and I want to spend the rest of my life with them.”
Castor chuckled. “You sound like Ronan.”
“I knew I liked him. The man has sense!” the red dragon proclaimed with a bright smile.
The warlock nodded with a soft smile. “Love doesn’t come how you expect.”
“What do you mean?”
Glancing away from the road to the dragon, the blond man smiled. “He spent his life searching for a mate that never seemed to come, and it turned out that his mate was his own familiar.”
Radek blinked rapidly. “Isn’t a familiar like an indentured servant?”
“No. It’s more complex. They’re a manifestation of magic.” Castor searched for the words, but in all his training, he had never found a good explanation for how it worked. “They exist - these consciousnesses. I suppose they’re elementals at the core, and when a magic user calls for a familiar, the one best s
uited to them awakens and melds their magic and the user’s to create a physical form.”
“Like a golem?”
With a sigh, Castor shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s more complicated than that…” Without really thinking, he reached out to Nasi. His mate shifted on the edge of his waking awareness, offering an explanation like in a daydream. “Like rain. The water is up there in the clouds, but the summoning makes everything grow heavy and fall.”
Radek nodded, but whether he truly understood or not, the warlock couldn’t be certain. It hardly mattered. The odds of Radek having a non-dragon mate were slim to none. Even if such a mate happened upon him, dragons transformed their mates - or so the warlock heard.
When the pair reached the first village in their path, they found a tavern and sat side by side. The dragon ordered a pint of ale, and after a moment’s hesitation, Castor asked for whiskey.
“Fancy,” Radek teased.
Castor scoffed. “I know what I like.”
“Do you?” Gulping nearly half his drink in one go, the red dragon grinned. “I hear warlock’s are particularly kinky.”
With a shrug, Castor sipped his own drink. “Seems a bit rude to speculate. I always heard dragons were possessive fucker. The kind who wanted their lovers constantly dripping.”
Radek hummed, tilting his head as if considering. “I wouldn’t mind plugging my mate up with a nice round belly.”
And wasn’t that a thought. Nasi’s muscular stomach softened and rounded with the sheer volume of his seed. Odds suggested any children they had would have to be carried by Castor - something which the warlock wasn’t keen on, but if it meant forming a family with his mate, the warlock intended to do what he could. Still, even if the process didn’t lead to conception, fucking Nasi full again and again until he rounded and came dry sounded like a pleasant evening.
“Hm, that does paint a pretty picture.”
The dragon blinked rapidly. “Are you…?” Humming awkwardly, the red-haired man made increasingly lewd gestures.
“Am I what?”
Holding his hands in surrender, Radek chuckled, “I didn’t picture you as the one painting.”
“Ah...well, that is my preference,” Castor informed him, and Radek gave another soft exclamation of surprise before finishing his drink in another large gulp and calling for another. “Is it really that surprising?”
Bright eyes glanced at him from their corners. “You’re tiny.”
“Not everywhere.”
“Your face is rather pretty. Even tanned and with that nest of hair, you have no scars or even stubble,” Radek informed him.
Rubbing at the smooth skin of his jawline, the warlock scoffed. “Some men like to be clean shaven.”
“Can you even grow a beard?”
“I get stubble,” Castor retorted. “And I’ve fucked enough men with beards to know that means nothing.”
The dragon’s eyes widened. “You aren’t waiting for your mate?”
“He didn’t wait for me.”
Saying the words out loud hollowed Castor in a way they hadn’t since the first time he got drunk and found himself in the arms of someone he knew wasn’t meant for him. He yearned for Nasi. A wanting lived inside him which he couldn’t put out, and his heart belonged to the man all the more each time they met in dreams - whether in nightly slumber or in daydreams.
Perhaps the whiskey after having so long avoided any drink caused the tears to come to his eyes. He had come to terms with the difference in their ages long ago. Nasi lived far longer than him. The black-haired man had no way of knowing he would have a fated mate, and his curse could very well be the only reason he lived long enough to be Castor’s mate in the first place. How unfair. If that were the case, the warlock could not help but thank whoever cast the spell which tortured his beloved for ensuring they could meet. Destiny entwined them in this way. Fate held hold over him, and unlike Fannar or Theron, he had no desire to fight it.
A hand fell upon his shoulder, and Castor smiled up at the dragon who looked so concerned for him. “I’ve known him most of my life. We dream together. I used to sneak out and nap in fields just to feel his presence even when he pulled away from me, keeping his distance until I was older.”
“Is he older than you?”
“Centuries older. He lived an entire life before being cursed. A life without me - without a mate. I can’t hold it against him,” Castor informed his friend, but as he inhaled a shaky breath, he released a wet laugh. “He’s tall and strong and scarred. Gods, Radek, he is beautiful.” Wiping the tears from his face with the back of his hand, he shook his head. “He’s been imprisoned so long. I want to give him unspeakable pleasure. Pin him down and leave him weak from ecstasy.”
Radek patted the warlock’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll find him and do just that.”
“I can’t help but wonder...sometimes - in the dark times, I wonder if he only will love me because I’m destined to free him. I grew up knowing of him even as he tried to let me have space to grow, and he’s been imprisoned so long. Are we even in the right place to love each other?” The warlock pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, groaning. “But I love him. Gods, I love him so much, and he’s made every effort to give me an out. I won’t take it. I won’t let him either.”
Leaning back in his seat, Radek drummed his fingers on the bar. “Seems you have your own answer then…”
Spinning to face the dragon, the warlock grabbed the other man by the front of his shirt. “But is it the wrong one?”
“No! Fuck, no, Castor!” the red-haired man exclaimed. “You are mates. You love him, right? Then there’s nothing else to wonder about.”
“And if he doesn’t love me?”
“Woo the hell out of him,” Radek cried, grabbing the blond’s shirt in return. “Leave no doubt in his mind that fate hasn’t made a mistake!” Casto laughed, patting the dragon’s chest and pulling away. As Radek’s hands fell from him as well, the two returned to their drinks. After a moment of silence, Radek added, “I can’t imagine sleeping with someone who isn’t my mate. Did it feel strange?”
Scrunching up his nose, Castor huffed. “I enjoyed my time with them.” When Radek frowned, not entirely sure he believed the warlock, Castor admitted, “I liked being skilled at sucking cock enough to make my mate melt.”
The pair joked, and when Radek left, Castor found a room and collapsed into bed after a bath. Having kept himself to only two drinks, he was slightly inebriated but not drunk as he found himself lying on the furs of Nasi’s bed.
“You’re a bit flushed,” the black-haired man murmured, brushing a stray lock of blond hair out of the warlock’s face.
Castor grinned. “You’re beautiful.”
“And you’ve been drinking.”
Sitting up, the warlock pushed his mate down in the furs. “Just a bit.”
“Am I to be your pillow then?” Nasi asked, laughing, but when the warlock started to steal away his clothes, those beautiful quicksilver eyes widened. “Wait, Castor, you don’t need to -”
“But I want to!” the blond asserted as he nuzzled against the taller man’s soft length.
He mouthed the flaccid member, kissing and licking the soft skin. Since the last time they had pleasured each other, Castor ached to have his mate’s cock in his mouth once more. One day, the weight would be familiar. For now, the feel of it upon his tongue as he swallowed it down inch by inch struck him as still new. Even better, where his desperate grinding and kisses failed to arouse Nasi, his cock responded so well now, rising to the occasion far faster, and the success settled warm in the warlock’s belly.
Fingers tangled in his hair, and as Nasi moaned, he dragged his short nails across the warlock’s scalp. “Castor,” the black-haired man breathlessly gasped.
He arched into every touch. His face flushed delicately pink which spread across his muscular chest, and his nipples hardened, becoming dark rosy pebbles. All Castor wanted to do was lick and c
aress every inch of his fated mate’s body. As he slid up and down the man’s cock, the warlock’s hands wandered the black-haired man’s thighs. Fondling his balls, Castor slid back, watching his lover’s face.
Nasi blushed. Pink and bright-eyed, he looked so beautiful. Maybe the alcohol made him bolder than he usually was - always constantly worried he would push Nasi too far, but Castor pressed his luck. Pulling off, he jerked the hard length as he sucked two fingers, getting them good and wet before he swallowed Nasi’s cock to the hilt once more. Sliding his right hand back, he traced two fingers along the smooth skin behind his balls to the tight furl of his hole.
“I-I’m going to come. Castor?” Nasi keened, fighting so hard not to thrust as if terrified he might break the warlock, but when the tip of the blond’s finger entered him to the first knuckle, the black-haired man wailed, coming harder than the last time their first time together.
Castor swallowed every drop, and sitting up, he withdrew his finger though he ached to tease his mate further. “Beautiful.”
Nasi reached out with open arms. His eyes were half-lidded as he sleepily, and almost weeping with joy, the warlock leapt into his lover’s arms, pressing kisses to his fate before he fell into a dreamless sleep with his head on Nasi’s chest.
Chapter Nine
A single year - not even a full one - and yet what a difference it made. At first, Nasi’s silence encouraged the warlock. His mate always seemed so reluctant to be found despite the care and fondness in his gaze, so Castor hoped the timidity in his warrior mate suggested the blond warlock drew near to where the curse kept him. Then, as his optimism drained, Casto considered perhaps that Nasi pulled away after he had pushed him down and pressed a finger inside him. As flushed prettily pink as he had been, Nasi always pulled away whenever Castor pushed the pair closer together, so some shyness ought to have been expected after the warlock moved the marker of their relationship further down the line, but something in the exhausted acceptance of Nasi’s posture whenever they leaned against each other itched at the self-loathing in the younger man’s mind.