Nightsong

  “Take it off. Take it off now. No more teasing, I want you,” I demanded.

  He nodded and took a step back from me and unbuttoned his pants. Sliding off both pants and undergarments, his sizable cock sprang forth. I eyed him with lust. The carpet matched the drapes.

  I pulled at my pant buttons, but his hands stopped me.

  “Let me,” he breathed. His touch was like fire as he pulled off my pants and moved to my plain undergarments. He purred. “I’m certainly not a fussy man, but I can only imagine how good you’d look in lace.”

  “Maybe next time.”

  I took in a gasp as his hands dipped below the band. Slowly, he pulled my undergarments down over my legs and off my feet, leaving me exposed. Nyx took in a deep breath as he marvelled at me. The look he gave made me feel like a goddess.

  I beckoned for him, taking his hand and drawing him in. His heat warmed my body as he took his place above and between me. As he hung over me, I reached up and pulled out the tie in his mane. Hair of moonlight spooled around me.

  “You are beautiful,” I whispered to him.

  The starlight caught his smile as he bowed down and coaxed my legs up high. Nyx brushed my inner thigh as he brought himself in close. He sat at my entrance, hot and hard. I held my breath in anticipation.

  “Say it again,” he whispered.

  “I want you!”

  At my cry, he entered me, sending sparks of pure pleasure throughout my body. I moaned his name as he continued to gently slide in more and more. He stopped once fully sheathed, leaning down to kiss me deeply. As I entwined my legs around him, he began to move slowly. I held back my cries as the heat burned between us, taking in sharp breaths as Nyx continued to thrust. His eyes did not break from mine, and his hands held firmly on my hips, guiding him towards me over and over.

  Our pace quickened, and his expression grew ravenous as a pant built between us. My face flushed as the pleasure intensified, cries slipping out into every breath. Nyx grinned, pleased at the music he was making. Slowing his pace once more, his hands dipped down to the sides of my buttocks, squeezing tightly. Rolling his hips back, he lifted me higher to meet his new position, bringing my right leg up to his shoulder. At this angle, Nyx pushed himself deeper inside me, the sensation new and intense.

  As his momentum built again, I couldn't stay quiet. My cries erupted into the room with every push. My body was aflame. Digging my fingers into the bedsheets, I forced back, building a fierce rhythm with my lover. To my absolute glee, Nyx began to utter sounds from his sweet lips, his cries soon matching mine.

  “Ahh, fuck,” Nyx managed to cry out between his pants, his thrusts only increasing. “I can't… hold on much longer,” he panted.

  My own pleasure was already threatening to overflow. I didn't want him to hold back any longer.

  “Don't! Don't hold back. Come for me,” I demanded.

  At my command, he lowered his body close to mine, and his strokes became hard and vigorous. My eyes began to see stars as I neared my peak.

  “Fuck, Sabyr,” he moaned, his words my undoing as I climaxed, pleasure burning through me, alighting every sense.

  I bucked underneath him, screaming his name while I clawed at his back. Nyx cried out mine once more as he came, spilling himself into me with his passionate thrusts. His face didn't hide a single moment of his elation. It was raw, vulnerable, and exquisite. As our climax fizzled out, he leaned to kiss me again, on my breasts, on my cheeks, and on my lips. Gently he withdrew himself, leaving me feeling empty, and he crawled behind me, holding me in his arms. Wordless, he held me as we caught our breath. I could feel his heartbeat, the sweet rhythm lulling me to sleep inside his warm embrace.

  Chapter 13

  My eyes flickered open as the sun began to peek through the window, disturbing me from my rest. The room was blurry before me, and my head felt like it was filled with lead. How much did I drink?! I moved to sit up, but a weight held me back. I rubbed my eyes clear. This was not my room, and a large warm arm was wrapped around me. Shit. The night before came flooding back, and my face flushed as I remembered the sight of Nyx above me. I rolled over to watch Nyx as he slept. He mumbled softly as I began to stroke his hair.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” he mumbled as his eyes fluttered open.

  “Good morning,” I smiled in return.

  His hands ran under the covers across my stomach, grazing his fingers across my breast. I inhaled sharply, and a gentle trill passed my lips.

  “I love that noise. I love all the noises I can conjure out of you. I want to spend every night doing that,” he said as he edged closer.

  I brushed his cheek with a finger and frowned at him.

  Nyx pouted at me in turn. “Sorry. I know you wanted to go slow.”

  “No, no, I'm equally to blame. I'm honestly just a little disappointed that I couldn't keep it in my pants for more than a few days,” I huffed.

  He poked his tongue out at me. “I won't complain. And, if it makes you feel any better, Illyd often start a relationship with the physical side first. No one wants to spend eternity with an ill-matched lover.”

  I shuddered at the thought. “That would be bloody awful.”

  Nyx began to kiss my shoulder and neck softly, muttering words into my skin.

  “Out of curiosity. Knowing what you know now, do you think I'd be able to satisfy that area for even a few hundred years?”

  “Let’s just say that you have probably ruined human men for me for life,” I sighed.

  He grinned, full of cheek. “If I have it my way, there won't be any or anyone else for that matter.”

  I leaned down, our lips meeting in a long, drawn-out kiss. “Silver-tongued devil,” I whispered.

  Nyx moved closer to me, his naked body pressing against mine, a familiar firmness pressed into my side. “You know, we probably have some time before work. I have a great idea on how we could use it,” he purred at me.

  I returned his grin, rolling around to press the front of my naked body against his.

  “You two are late!” A woman's voice yelled through the door, and as it was opened, Nyx and I scrambled to pull the covers over our bodies.

  “Ophelia! What the fuck! You're supposed to knock, then wait!” Nyx hissed at her.

  “And you’re supposed to lock your door, Nyx!” she grinned at him.

  Ophelia turned to me, “I'm so glad you decided to see him last night. Looks like things went well too!” she hummed happily. “But perhaps next time you take it to that soundproof inn I keep hearing about? The walls are thinner here than expected.”

  I could have died. Arndell strike me down right now. If I ever get my hands on this wing's builder, I would throttle them to death.

  “Ophelia,” Nyx growled.

  “What? You're late!” she snapped.

  Nyx shook his head at her. “We need to get dressed! Can you please leave?”

  “It's not like I haven't seen you naked before,” she said while pulling a sour face.

  I raised an eyebrow at Nyx, and he shrugged innocently.

  “You live in a house with people long enough, you're going to see them naked. It’s just a fact! Accidents happen!”

  Ophelia giggled before waving at me, “Alright, I'll go! I'll let the others know you’re coming!”

  She went to leave, but I called out after her. “Wait, Ophelia! Can you please not tell them that I'm here?”

  Ophelia smiled at me like a devil, “Oh honey, it might be a little late for that.”

  And she was gone. Fuck.

  “Are you alright?” Nyx asked gently.

  “Yes,” I sighed. “Just not looking forward to a lecture from my brothers.”

  He began to kiss up my neck again, I melted into his touch.

  “Well, I'll just have to work harder to make it worth it.”

  I almost cried out in anticipation.

  In a heated rush, Nyx and I pulled on our clothes and rushed down to the garden. It was Celia’s turn once
again, and she had chosen to continue in the same venue. Raest and Celia’s meeting had already begun, with Verona and Kero keeping watch. Kero shot daggers at me on approach; Verona indifferent as ever.

  “Sorry we’re late. We got caught up,” I said as I walked over to Kero.

  He glowered at me dubiously. “In each other?” he said flatly.

  My cheeks flushed crimson as I caught Nyx smirking to my right. Verona didn’t even blink. Walking closer to my brother, I grabbed his collar, bringing his ear close to my mouth.

  “I know what you did, sweet brother. Stay out of my business, or I’ll tell Elren about that pretty little farm girl you met last year,” I growled into his ear, low enough for the others not to hear. Kero turned white, frantically nodding his head, backing away from me.

  “Well, we will take over now,” Nyx beamed.

  Verona nodded in confirmation and began to leave, Kero quickly following her lead.

  “And don’t think we won’t talk about this later!” I called after him as the two vanished down the hall.

  “You are terrifying when you want to be, and I love it,” Nyx purred in my ear. “I’d happily take you right here right now.”

  “No, no, no. None of that. We are professional, and we have a job to do,” I scolded as I poked him firmly in the chest.

  Nyx pouted as we took our positions, significantly closer this time, and together we began our vigil. Just like before, Raest and Celia chatted about the flora and fauna of their homes. Celia conjured up examples to show him, and he did the same. I was beginning to think Celia was enjoying being able to show off for once. All of us had lived closeted lives in the castle. Teachers came to us for private lessons. The boys, and I were at least allowed to wander outside once we had reached adulthood. The girls, however, still didn’t have that option without heavy escort. It didn’t leave many opportunities for us to make friends.

  The morning meeting continued until the bell tower chimed noon. Full of smiles like before, Celia bid Raest goodbye and came to join me on the veranda. Raest eyed Nyx and me, a little off, before warmly thanking me for my time. As we parted ways, Nyx shoved something into my hand. Celia was oddly quiet on the walk back, and it wasn’t until we reached her room that she spoke.

  “Is that man your friend?” she said, eyes full of curiosity.

  I wiggled my lips, trying to think of what to say.

  “Yes, he is, and the friendlier we all become, the better off this alliance will be,” I smiled.

  Celia tilted her head. “The lovely lady, ummm, Ophelia! She told us that you were with him this morning, and Kero was pretty angry. What were you doing?” she asked.

  I blushed and ruffled her hair, just like I used to do when she was a child.

  “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

  As I strolled away, I pulled out a tiny piece of paper Nyx had given me. Scrawled onto it, in utter scribble, were four words.

  Crowing Hen at six.

  Chapter 14

  At dusk, I travelled cloaked to The Crowing Hen. Nyx waited at the doorstep for me, and hand in hand, we walked towards our private room.

  “Tonight might be a little bit of a surprise,” he smiled as we ascended the stairs.

  I raised both my brows. That could mean anything with him. He opened the door to our room, and to my surprise, Ophelia and Verona sat at the corner table. Ophelia waved enthusiastically at me while Verona merely nodded in acknowledgement.

  “I figured you should properly meet part of my family,” Nyx said as he led me to the table, passing drinks around to everyone.

  We spoke about the weather, food, and other general small talk until our conversation withered into silence. I looked at Ophelia then Verona, noticing her soft fluffy orange ears sitting on top of her head. I had never seen anything like it, and I imagined she would likely cut off my fingers if I asked to touch them.

  “Is everything alright?” Verona asked.

  I waved my hands apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. I just haven’t seen one of your kind before,” I admitted.

  “Fair enough,” she said as she gulped down on her dark ale.

  “Verona is a Vulpin,” Nyx added.

  I frowned at him. “I don’t really know what that is. My knowledge about your people is pretty limited, our libraries are lacking. My people have always been healers, hunters, and farmers, not scholars. It has been quite detrimental.”

  “Well, we can help you there,” Nyx beamed at me. “Verona, you start.”

  Verona shifted a little uncomfortably in her chair. “If you insist. Vulpin, we are a kind of shapeshifter. We have the ability to transform into a large fox, something we refer to as a primal form. Our size, shape, and power is dependent on our genetics and partially, our magic skill. With enough training, we can manipulate our forms further, even appearing as a regular fox if we wanted to, very handy in my line of work. You will primarily see us in our humanoid form though, and as you can see, we still bear some of our fox-like features in this form.”

  This was the most I had ever heard from Verona. The information buzzed around in my head like an angry bee. I felt like I should be taking notes.

  “I’m an Ashmere, and so is Raest. We were the first race to be created by Circae, made in his image. Ashmere take up the largest percentage of Illyd in Naedis,” Nyx smiled.

  “What else is there?” I asked, eager to know more.

  Nyx hummed as he thought. “Well, you’ll likely meet Esu soon enough. He is another piece of our circle. He oversees the magic academies, among other things in Naedis. Esu is a Kera, a cat-like race. Unlike Verona here, Kera only have one form, and it’s a mixture between cat and humanoid. Their appearance can range from that of a household cat to that of a tiger.”

  I had trouble imagining such an exciting being. All my life, I had only ever seen people that looked similar to me, bare-skinned humans and elves.

  Ophelia began to speak up. “Some of the more common populations are Dragil, Lamia, and Raphin. Dragil are lizardfolk, a mixture of reptile and humanoid, like the Kera. Raphin are a rabbit or jackalope type race, mostly humanoid with beast features. Lamia are quite different though. Their powers can vary, but most revolve around seductive and manipulative magic. They are all stunning creatures, look a little like an elf, but most have horns and wings. The catch with them is they have a frightening primal form.”

  Nyx continued. “Last but not least, we have a few rarer races. Worg, Scion and Sanrir Ashmere. Worgs are quite like Vulpin, but their primal form is humanoid, scary-looking things really. They come in canine, feline, and ursine varieties. Sanrir are a subgroup of Ashmere, all sharing a rare gift; they can use their magic to steal energy from others.”

  Nyx paused before his next words. “Scions are a totally different kettle of fish. They are primarily a female race. Males are rarely born. They look a little like moon elves in colouring and appearance, but they have horns, spikes, and tails. These features almost look like obsidian metal. Scions have the ability to use Thex magic, the rawest form of magic there is. Their use of it changes them over time, scribing them with what looks like tattoos. You won’t find many Scions in Naedis. They mostly reside in Emathris.”

  “The queen of Emathris is a Scion,” Verona added.

  I noticed Ophelia’s fingernails digging into the wood table. “Nasty piece of work at that,” she hissed.

  An uneasiness settled over the room. Another story I had yet to hear. I moved to change the subject.

  “This primal form stuff, can I see yours, Verona?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “This room is a little too small for that, but another time, yes.”

  I was a little disappointed. I had never met or seen anyone who could do it before. My curiosity was burning.

  Ophelia took in a big gulp of her wine before speaking. “It’s not just Illyd that can take primal forms. My people, the Life Wardens, and a few others are also blessed with this gift.”

  I t
ilted my head at her. “I gather you need water for yours?”

  She nodded at me, taking another swig from her glass. Primal. The word invoked many memories from my personal studies in the library.

  “I’ve read that some of my people used to be able to take on primal forms, our most powerful druids anyway. They could become Dryads, as well as some other things. Unfortunately, that magic has been long lost to us,” I said to them.

  Ophelia made a sad face. “That is dreadful. I hadn’t realised the Silence had been so brutal here.”

  “Arndell was conservative with his gifts to begin with. I think that’s why it has made us so weak so quickly,” I sighed as I looked over to Nyx.

  He looked at me sadly in return, but it wasn’t before long that his face cracked into a grin, and he began to laugh.

  “I’m sorry. I just keep imagining what your reaction will be when you get to see Ophelia’s form. It’s bloody terrifying,” he scoffed.

  Nyx barked in pain as Ophelia kicked him under the table. Looking at Ophelia, I tried to imagine what it must look like. It was difficult imagining her as anything but a stunning woman.

  We continued to chatter and drink into the night. I learned that Verona was older than the others, no mention of her exact age. She had also held her position for longer than the others. Ophelia was a little older than Raest at the age of sixty. This absolutely baffled me. Ophelia looked as if she was twenty while Verona, not a day over thirty. Neither were currently married or engaged with anyone. Both joked that their work made them far too busy for romance.

  Once the moon reached its peak in the sky, Ophelia and Verona decided to retire. Nyx was keen to spend the night here in the inn. He had been whispering naughty things into my ear all night, causing me to choke on my mead multiple times. Together we escorted them outside The Crowing Hen, bidding them goodbye. They both began to make their way back to the castle, but Ophelia stopped, running back to me. She leaned down to whisper in my ear.