by Anna Edwards
“Where are you, Princess?” I mutter to myself, rising to my feet.
Shirt damp and shredded, it’s hanging uselessly off my muscular frame. Stripping the rags off, I check over my shorts. At least they’re intact, but I’m missing one shoe. Discarding the other, I leave it abandoned. I have an island to search. Focusing on the tree line, I frown when I don’t teleport. It’s an unsettling sensation, and not one I’m used to. I’ve never been without the ability to travel using the power of thought. Palming the back of my neck, I concentrate again.
Nothing.
“Son of a bitch.” The words are spoken low as my mind whirls with unpleasant thoughts.
Leaving this place has just become ten times harder. Selene’s warning slithers insidiously into my head. I’ve been arrogant enough not to inform my father where I was going. Instead of leaving him the information, I came without backup. No one save the oracle knows where I am. Sighing, I pad toward the jungle. I’m going to have to search the place the old fashioned way. What should take a handful of hours is going to take days. Getting the fuck off the island will be a problem I can solve later. Right now, I need to find the female I’m looking for.
The air is fragrant with the scent of flowers. Birds take off into the sky, startled by my presence. They’re colorful plumes create dazzling splashes among the foliage. This place is a paradise. An untouched jewel. Music, the essence of my powers, sounds differently here. The natural noises of nature that sustain my abilities aren’t the same here as in the outside world.
Whatever spell or incantation the island is steeped in, it has to be powerful to render my teleportation useless. Apprehension dances down my spine. All this beauty hides something more sinister.
Pluto was indeed unimpressed that his chief breeder had been murdered. He took me against my will again. His little dick not hitting any sweet spots. The first time I was scared, but this time I was frustrated because all I wanted to do was get back to Fontus and check on him. After he had his fun, Pluto had my water abilities limited, so I couldn’t drown anyone else. I was returned back to the house, and after a quick trip to collect some more papaya, I’ve been seated in the room Fontus and I commandeered as our own. It’s in the top of the house, and away from the other rooms where the noise of sex emanates from. The room is sparsely decorated but has a massive bed which Fontus is currently spread out on, the white sheets damp with the sweat of a fever. His wounds seem to be taking forever to heal. I’m sure the salt of the water we usually swim in is what heals us when we’re at home. I asked for a bucket of salt water to be brought to me, but the guard laughed at me and walked off. A few of the other breeding men have come in to try and talk to me, but I made it clear I’m not interested, and my reputation, thankfully, precedes itself, so they’ve left with their dicks tucked between their legs. All I need now is for Fontus to wake.
Pushing myself off the chair, placed next to the bed, I meander wearily over to the window and move the lightweight drapes aside to stare at the lush jungle outside. I can’t remember the last time I had a good night’s sleep. I’m uncertain how long Fontus has been this way, but it must be approaching three days at least. My body aches. I’m sore in my muscles from running hard and then sitting constantly. I long for the sea, or water of any sort, to swim and be free in.
A groan comes from the bed behind me, and I spin around to see Fontus’ eyes flittering between open and shut.
“Fontus.” I race back to the bed and grab his hand. He opens his eyes and looks at me before shutting them again.
“Eva,” he moans, his voice cracking from lack of use. I pick up the glass of water beside the bed and place it at his lips. He drinks and pushes it away when he’s had enough. “Where are we?” The chirp of crickets outside the window answers his question before I have a chance to confirm: we are still at Pluto’s breeding camp. “You didn’t make it,” he says, opening his eyes again. Lying there in the bed, he’s weak and looks a lot older than his twenty-seven years.
“I tried.” I feel a guilt weighing heavily on my shoulders. If I’d run just a little bit faster, I would have made it, and we might both be back in the safety of my father’s seas.
“This island is cursed.” He breaths heavily. His skin still feels clammy from the fever that arose as his body fought to repair itself.
“It’s because it belongs to Pluto,” I respond.
“No … the strange birds … the magic.” Every word is an effort for him, and he drifts between the realms of consciousness and the dream world again.
“Fontus.” I place my hand on his chest. “Please, tell me how to help you.”
He’s always been a fountain of knowledge when it comes to the nature of the world. I admit I’m the foolish girl who longs for trinkets and a good tan.
“Please, Fontus.” My head falls forward so my lips touch his, and I plead with a kiss on his dry, cracked lips.
He groans and tries to shift in the bed again.
“Ginger ...” He breathes the word back into me, his voice strained. “Honey and lemon … all natural … will help. Mix and feed … me ...” The last word is too much of an effort, and he falls silent again except for his labored breathing made visible by the irregular rise and fall of his chest.
Leaning forward, I press a kiss to the top of his head.
“I won’t be long,” I tell him and grab a spare sheet from the bed. There isn’t an abundance of clothes here for me to choose from, so tying the top of the sheet around my neck, I make it into a sort of dress to cover my body.
Thankfully, the house is empty when I leave, or should I say everyone is occupied. I don’t encounter another soul that I need to kill.
“Lemon, ginger, and honey,” I repeat to myself. Checking the kitchen first, I find some honey and a bag in one of the drawers. I place the honey inside it and look around. It’s not a big kitchen and is a mess. There isn’t much food in the oak paneled cupboards. I've lived off papayas for the last few days, so I’ve not really thought about what’s available to eat. Walking into the next room, all is explained. Lined up on a side wall are buffet style cabinets with a selection of meals from extravagant chicken and fish dishes to roast beef dinners and mini fish pies. Accompanying vegetables and carbohydrates come next. Lastly, there’s a cabinet filled with fruit, chocolate, yogurts, and various cakes. I spy a chocolate cake, and my stomach rumbles, desperate for something more nourishing than papaya. I look around wondering if we are permitted to take the food. I’m expecting to have an electric shock run through me as punishment when I reach out and grab a slice of the cake. It doesn’t happen though, so I shovel it into my mouth and moan with delight at how delicious it tastes.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” A feminine voice asks, and catching me unaware, it causes me to almost jump out of my skin. Spinning around, I see an older woman dressed in chef’s whites.
“N-no, this is g-good,” I stutter. Then spying a lemon, I grab it and put it into the bag.
“Interesting choice.” The lady raises an inquiring eyebrow at me.
“My friend is sick. He needs something to make him feel better.”
“The new man.” The lady comes forward and picks up another lemon and hands it to me. “Anything else he wants?”
“Ginger,” I blurt out.
“I don’t have any in the kitchen at the moment, but there’s some growing behind the house.” She opens my bag and looks inside it. “I better add honey to my shopping list.”
“I’m sorry.” I go to give it back to her, wondering how I can get some more.
“Keep it.” She reaches out and touches my hand. It’s a comforting gesture, and I warm to the old lady, who’s obviously a mother figure in the house. “If you need anything else, just ask. It’s my job to keep you fed.”
“Thank you.”
I grab a handful of grapes and head to the door but stop when she calls out to me.
“Don’t try to stop Pluto. As soon as your friend’s well enough, g
et him to give you a child. It will make you safer. Take it from someone who’s known what it’s like to live here all her life.” She turns away from me and goes back into the kitchen—her shoulders are slumped in defeat. I couldn’t imagine spending all my life here. She’ll probably never recover from the horror she’s been through here, it must have left deep rooted scars. I can’t think about that now, though. I need to find the ginger and get Fontus well. Until he’s awake, I’m vulnerable to the other men, and we’re not able to figure out a way to escape this place and return to the sea.
The rest of the house is a blur as I walk through it and outside into the heat of another summer’s day. I wonder where this island is. I thought my father, with his knowledge of the seas, would be aware of all such places on Earth, but he’s never spoken to me about a magical island like this. I would have explored it before now and probably gotten myself into a lot of trouble … as I’m in right now.
I eventually find the back garden where the ginger grows. There are rows upon rows of the flat leafed plants that I know, when pulled out of the ground, reveal roots that will help me cure Fontus. I tug hard at one, and it pops out of the soil. I break off the green leaves I don’t need and brush off as much dirt as I can. I’m about to go back to Fontus when a dark shadow looms over me.
“Eva.”
I look up to see a handsome blond man staring angrily at me. He’s dressed in only a pair of shorts that have seen better days. His muscular chest takes my breath away—its curves are like a marbled vision of a god on display in a museum. He grabs my hand as my brain catches up with my body, and I kick him. My foot goes straight into his knee. He curses and lets go of me.
“Haven’t you lot learned your lesson yet. I’m off limits. Touch me once more, and I’ll kill you just like I did Invidia.” I prepare to storm back into the house, but he grabs me again—this time, being careful to keep his distance, so I can’t hurt him.
“I’m not in the mood for games, Princess. I don’t know what the fuck you’re doing here, but it’s time to go back home to Daddy,” he spits at me while I struggle against him.
“What?” I freeze.
“You heard me.” He digs into his pocket and produces my necklace. I stand there staring at it and gasping.
“Who are you?” Tentatively reaching out, I take it from him, a powerful surge of strength cascading through me as I’m reunited with my spirit of the sea.
“Apollo. But until we get the hell out of this place, don’t tell anyone. This island is eerie.” He looks around warily like he’s expecting something to jump out at him. “Why you chose this place to have your diva tantrum is beyond me.”
I place a hand on my hip and stare up at him. I’ve heard of Apollo—he’s one of Jupiter’s sons.
“You think I want to be here? I’ve tried to escape already, and now my friend Fontus is upstairs almost dead as a result.”
Apollo pulls me to him. He’s on his guard constantly, and it’s scaring me because as a full god, he’s extremely powerful. Little scares a purebred god.
“We need to leave.”
“Well teleport me to Fontus, and we can leave from there in the same way. I’m not going without him,” I order, but the way his eyes flick to the side uneasily tells me it won’t be that simple. “You can’t teleport, can you?”
He shakes his head, telling me no.
“What is this place, Eva?”
I slump back against a nearby brick wall.
“It’s Hell on Earth. Welcome to camp seven of Pluto’s breeding army.” I place my hand on my stomach. “Where if you’re lucky, you’ll die in childbirth because it’s the only way you’ll get off it.”
It feels as though I’m being seared from the inside out. Moaning through dry, cracked lips, I fling my arm over the side of the bed. I’ve no idea when Eva left. Time is drifting brokenly as I slip in and out of consciousness. My fevered mind is a whirlpool of past and present. Half-forgotten dreams edged with half-remembered nightmares. I crave the cool relief of the water … the ocean. A longing to dive deep into the endless blue and touch the sandy bottom. Will we ever reach its safety again? Find our way home?
A hand touches my face. Groaning at the shock of coolness, I flinch as a large palm presses against my forehead. It hurts.
“His fever is raging.” A male voice I don’t recognize says to my left.
“I was collecting herbs to make him a tonic to bring his temperature down when you found me.”
Eva.
Concern is thick in her sweet, young voice.
Cracking open my heavy eyes, I focus on her where she’s standing at the end of the bed. A man is beside me. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, his handsome face is carved in worry.
“Who?” I manage to get out hoarsely.
“Apollo,” he replies. “Eva’s father asked for help in locating her. I had no idea there were more of you. Now lay still,” he advises when I try to sit up.
The god Apollo. Relief washes over me. Jupiter, the King of the Gods, will have an army on the way to save us all.
Eva moves closer, her gaze flicking between me and Apollo. “Can you help him?”
“Yes. I have the power to heal although for some reason my abilities seem to be limited here.” He frowns.
Whatever magic holds this place in its sway, it has effected all of us. That realization sends a tremor through my body.
“Easy now,” he soothes, mistaking my reaction as a consequence of the fever. Crawling onto the bed, he urges me to roll onto my side. Confusion swamps me, but I obey without protest. Lining himself up, he snuggles against my back. I'm aware of a muscular chest, strong legs tucked behind mine, and an arm curling over my waist.
“What the hell are you doing?” Eva’s voice is full of disbelief.
“I told you something is interfering with my powers, which shouldn’t be possible. If I’m going to heal him, I need as much body contact as possible.”
From her expression, I can see she’s not sure what to believe. I know she’s torn between her anguish for me and an urge to escape.
Moving my hand weakly on the sheet, I pat the place in front of me. ”Lay with me, Eva.”
Without hesitation, she quickly moves to join us. Brushing my sweat soaked hair from my cheeks, she cups them gently. “Please get better, Fontus.”
Her eyes bounce between mine, shimmering with unshed tears. She’s been so brave. Endured so much. Pluto will pay for what he’s done to her.
Pressing my lips to hers, I kiss her. It’s an innocent gesture, filled with hope and the love I feel for her. Energy gathers along my spine. Tingling, dousing as it spreads through the fire of the fever alight within my system. With it comes a pulse of desire. Magic so compelling it sweeps away all rational thought.
Moaning softly, Eva’s tongue seeks entry into my mouth. The hard, powerful frame behind me rocks into mine from behind. Lean hips cradle my ass, a thickening length sandwiched between us. As the heat of illness breaks, I'm overwhelmed with these other sensual sensations.
I weave my fingers into the length of Eva’s hair and kiss her deeply. She tastes of papaya and of the ocean I miss so badly. Hand winding around my neck, she draws me closer. With each passing minute, my vigor returns through Apollo’s healing energy. It flares, building with every intimate exchange.
Lips find the nape of my neck. Firm and insistent, they scatter kisses to my shoulder. Apollo doesn’t stop there. The hand resting on my hip begins to caress, swirling patterns over my skin.
Breathing rapidly, Eva takes my hand, placing it on the curve of her perfect breast. Her makeshift dress out of a bedsheet does little to hide her nakedness. Cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling with lust, she watches Apollo’s hand drift down to encircle my cock. We’re slaves to the magic that has us in its thrall. Prisoners of a wanton need.
Teasing the peak of her nipple into excitement, I dip my head to bathe it with my tongue. Eva mewls, head falling back on the pillows. Straining against me, she�
�s desperate for the pleasure. The confident hand around my cock pumps up and down my length. Apollo knows just how to touch me. Teeth nip at my shoulder. Moaning, bucking my hips into his palm, my hand moves down between Eva’s legs to her waiting wetness.
“Yes, touch her,” Apollo urges, his voice low and raspy with arousal. “I want you to make her come. Just like I’m going to make you.”
I can’t fight it.
Seductive and enslaving magic thrums around the room. A decadent trap of lust and desire. The whole building vibrates with it. My curiosity as to how Pluto has kept his breeding camp successful has been answered. It’s just another manipulation. Free will isn’t a factor.
Now beautifully naked, Eva cries out as she twists on the mattress while Fontus toys with her clit. Her long brown hair a mess of silky waves over the pillows. He’s just as lovely as she is. Muscled, tanned skin with attractive features. The contrast between feminine and masculine has my magic induced craving for them spilling out of control.
I need release.
Whether it’s a tight pussy, a snug ass, or a warm, welcoming mouth is beside the point. All I know is this urge won’t end until I come.
“Eva, wrap you lips around my cock.” I order, still jerking off her lover with merciless strokes. Long and thick, his length has been a pleasing discovery.
She obeys without a word. Somehow, we all move at once, attuned to our joint need for completion. She helps me strip out of my shorts, and I abandon them on the floor. Cock hard and bobbing free, it points eagerly toward her. Eva’s pouty lips find the crown as she laps at the pre-cum. Engulfing it with her mouth, she takes my shaft down her throat, gagging prettily when she reaches her limit. Tangling my fingers in the locks of her hair, I direct her movements to the pace I need.