A Golden Heart

by Alia Johnson

  “You will love me as Mar, Vashti.” At her hesitant nod, Mar leaned down to growl in her ear, “But tonight you will fuck the Horde King.”

  At this last statement, he buried his cock deep inside her, rejoicing in her scream. He had decided to thrust through the barrier quickly to make the pain leave her quicker. Hoping he was right, Mar watched her eyes glaze over with passion when he gently rotated his hips to feel how her body responded. Her pussy was starting to become wet again. When she became restless and tried to move against him, Mar knew it was time to take her how he had dreamed.

  He jerked his hips back while moving his knees in closer to her body to tilt her hips up in the air. He would bury his seed deep to create their heir. Taking his hand away from one of Vashti’s and then gathering both of her hands in one of his, he stroked a hand down her smooth stomach.

  Mar began to move harder, thrusting as deeply as she could take him as he growled orders in her ear, “Yes, my queen, fuck me. Fuck the King’s cock.”

  Vashti’s body was nearing an orgasm; Mar could feel her walls clamping tight. He was struggling to move in the tight area. Instead, Mar moved closer to bury himself as deep as he could to join her in release. “Feel me inside, Vashti. Take my seed deep and grow our child.” He leaned down and captured her moan with his mouth, sliding his tongue deep into her mouth to duel with her tongue. Vashti felt his cock growing inside her, making it impossible for her to move, but the pleasure it caused made her free her hands. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he tensed and buried her nails in his back, scoring them deep through their shared orgasm. Mar bellowed, throwing his horns back, his dark hair moving away from his neck.

  It gave Vashti the perfect opportunity to taste him. Her fangs descended, her eyes turning a brighter gold in preparation.

  Mar looked down and was fascinated by the color Vashti’s eye had changed to. He felt himself getting harder, his body moving faster over her. He needed to cum again, needed to feel her orgasm ignite around him one more time. His hands pinned her hips down as he buried himself deeper, trying to connect to her in every way possible. That’s when he felt the first prick of her fangs on his neck. The pain he had expected from a vampire bite wasn’t there. Pleasure ripped through him, starting at the point her fangs met his skin and ending at the base of his spine. It constricted him, this feeling as if he was a slave to her and would deny her nothing. When Mar felt her draw his blood, he lost all control. He slammed into her, bellowing to the sky, to let Baklan know that this pleasure was unlike anything he had ever felt.

  He needed to seal the bond, to take her blood into him. Vashti’s white column of her neck called to him beckoned him to taste. And he would.

  Then, he would never let his wife go.

  Vashti had heard that a mate’s blood was indescribable. Mar’s blood was dark and addicting, like the chocolate she remembered eating as a child. She buried her fangs hard into his neck to mark him as she knew she would be marked. She would never be without this demon.

  He was claimed.

  The final thrust of his cock made her come undone, the heady blood and orgasm rushing through her body as if it would never disappear. When Vashti felt the prick of his fangs on her neck, her body roared back to life, gifting her into another spiral of pleasure. She wanted to push his head down harder, wanted him to bury his fangs into her very soul to seal their bond. She released her hold on his neck at the same time Mar released her. They were now one, and no one could destroy their bond.

  She felt her body relax and felt Mar’s arms loosen as he lowered himself down to her side to not crush her. He gathered her in his arms and held on tightly, while they tried to recover from their bonding.

  The gentle sounds from the rushing water were peaceful and soothing, helping her relax. Her body throbbed with the pleasure she had just experienced.

  Vashti realized this was what she imagined heaven to be.

  Edger watched the King in front of the waterfall about to take his mate, knowing it should’ve been him instead. His brother had claimed the golden one in the woods, first by spoken word. That made him the one to inherit the responsibility of caring for his brother’s widow. Vashti didn’t know it yet, but she was already taken.

  When the King took her back to Baklan, he would be waiting, biding his time. Turning away before he attacked the King. He hurried away to prepare for Vashti’s arrival. He wanted his bride and nothing would stand in his way from claiming her. Not even the Horde King.

  “You seem to trip a lot,” Mar remarked casually.

  They had woken up from a short nap in front of the waterfall. Vashti had decided to get up by herself in the dark, waking up Mar when she had tripped over a tree root. Luckily, Mar moved quickly. He caught under her arms before she could hit the ground.

  Ignoring his statement, Vashti turned to look up at him in awe and whispered, “What is this place?”

  The glow of the glen was their own personal oasis. Nothing from the surrounding forest was glowing, only the vegetation and rocks giving them a clear look at the small pond.

  Mar picked her up in his arms, wrapping her up tightly, before taking her over to a glowing rock to see the water better.

  He brushed her hair away from her face and answered, “Dramon once told me that Baklan used to live under the waterfall. Baklan would speak with the animals and heal their wounds. The volcano became jealous of her beauty, kindness, and the attention that she gave out.” Mar smiled down at Vashti. “It bubbled with rage, fire shooting from its mouth into the forest, causing the fire to ruin a part of the forest that Baklan loved. Taking up her sword, Baklan faced the volcano and its fury.” Mar tilted Vashti’s face up to his own to look into her eyes. “Instead of conquering the volcano, Baklan understood its loneliness and pain. She fell in love with the fire and became its queen like I hope you will be, Vashti.”

  The vulnerability in his eyes showed, waiting for her answer. The strong Horde King was laying down his reservations to let her see his true self. On the outside, the Horde King looked a monster, but on the inside, he was fierce, yet gentle.

  Instead of conquering her, Magnamar was giving her the option of choosing her fate. She could walk away from being queen, the volcano, and its people if she wanted to. She could just be his mate in name only. The fire in her heart flared to life, her decision made, she placed her hands on both sides of Magnamar’s face.

  Speaking softly, she said, “I, Vashti, choose you, Magnamar the king of my heart and soul, to stay by your side in the fire, forever.” His bony face morphed into another beautiful smile, his eyes closing with bliss to hear the words pulled from deep inside her heart. So many things had stood between them, but together they had conquered all the challenges.

  “Vashti, I couldn’t tell you how I felt that day in the magma chambers of the lotle worm, fearing someone was listening to our conversation. I tried to show you by using the dragon, but I knew I was running out of time. I hope I can make up those days we spent apart and show you how much I love you. The bravery in your eyes captured me from day one. You stood up to the Horde and showed them you chose their ugly King over all. It warmed this dead heart beating inside my chest for the first time.” Mar smiled down at her, gently hugging her tightly.

  Putting her arms around his neck, she felt Mar wrap his wings around the two of them until she was hidden in his shadow. The veins of his wings pulsed with magma, firing with life around them, like stars twinkling. No wonder he stayed deep inside his wings. It was fascinating to trace the pattern of lights, and you could still hear the fall of the waterfall and the birds chirping. He smelled like a warm fire and chocolate.

  Like home.

  “What now, Mar?” she asked softly, never wanting to leave this spot. Reaching out, she traced the lines of the magma, causing him to tense in reaction. Taking a deep breath in, he scented her hair.

  “You have chosen me. And I have chosen you. When we are ready, we will go home,” he returned just as softly.
He gently traced a claw down Vashti’s face while waiting for her reaction. Mar breathed in her soft smell, like flowers and heat all in one, beginning to crave that smell. She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck to hold tightly to him. “My little sister was captured with me in the Forest. I’m not sure where she is now, but I have to find Saphira.”

  Mar nodded. “When we get back to Baklan, I will make sure she is found, Vashti. Saphira is a part of our family. I will use every resource I have to track her down,” he reassured her, tightening his arms.

  She kissed him on his rough cheek, “Thank you, my love.”

  Mar shuddered, loving the feel of her wrapped around him. Suddenly, his wings flared out. Hesitating, he hoped she liked where he had decided to take her. It was where he had found peace in the past. The large wings pushed them off the rock, his body angling toward the waterfall. Vashti gasped, ducking down when the spray of water was about the hit her, but she didn’t feel a drop. Mar had protected her with his body and wings, making sure he only felt the spray of water.

  The other side of the waterfall was a large open room furnished with a bedside table and a large bed. It was a bedroom of some sorts. The sounds of the Forest with the falling water in the background helped the owner fall asleep. Curious, Vashi took a step out of Mar’s embrace to inspect the room closer. It was bare of personal items and decorations, but the simplicity was what made it comfortable. Running a hand down the soft bed full of furs, she looked back at Mar to ask him if this was Baklan’s room, but when he began to dry the water from his body with a stray cloth, she became distracted. Mar shook out his wet hair, water splashing the rocks around him. He slicked back his hair with his hands causing her mouth to dry when she noticed the ripple of hard muscles across his abdomen. There wasn’t an inch of fat to hold onto across his body. His body reminded her of the stones surrounding them, hard and ridged. She was so used to Mar hiding his body with his wings; it almost made her trip over a rock. He noticed her distraction, raising an eyebrow, waiting to see what she would say.

  “I think I’ve been tripping over things because I know you will catch me.” Swallowing tightly, Vashti added casually, “I would have killed every competitor just to be here in this moment.”

  Mar didn’t even blink an eye, returning just as casually, “I would have set loose the lotle worms across Romule if I would’ve known you were there.”

  Vashti’s heart swelled with love for this fierce demon. She pointed toward the bed and asked, “Was this originally Baklan’s room?”

  “No, I brought everything here. Baklan didn’t hide from the forest and chose her bed among the trees and leaves. I found this cave while exploring as a child. Dramon couldn’t find me after I wandered off while hunting. He screamed to the heavens for me, but I stayed behind the waterfall, wondering where I came from. Why was I left in the magma to die, while Gorius had a family that loved him? I sat here for hours until the answer finally came to me.” He took a deep breath. “It didn’t matter that Dramon hadn’t fathered me. I am a brother to Gorius, and I am son to Dramon. I would make them proud to call me one of their own, but more than that, I would set an example for the other demons. I would be the best that I could be among them. Whenever I need to think or reevaluate myself, I come here. The lotle worms are great when I can’t leave Baklan, but this is calming to me. Do you like it here or would you prefer we go back to Baklan? My rooms are large there and better decorated by the guardians.” He hadn’t thought that she would prefer to be back in Baklan.

  This privacy seemed more intimate. Mar would take her anywhere and anyway she wanted.

  Vashti decided that a nervous Horde King was not a pretty sight. He was glaring at his surroundings as if he would set the entire place on fire just to make her happy.

  She walked to him and enfolded her hand in his, causing him to look down into her eyes. Gesturing around them, she assured him, “I would go anywhere with you, be anywhere, anytime with you, but this place… I think I’ll have to steal it from you.”

  Laughing she let go of his hand and ran away from him, knowing he would chase her. Growling, Mar folded his wings against his back and ran after Vashti. His hands slipped around her curves and threw her across the bed. Still laughing, Vashti looked up at him and watched him put his hands on his hips. Being naked together was helping her shyness go away.

  “You can’t steal this from me. Since we are joined, it is shared between us,” he stated matter-of-factly.

  Vashti moved up to her knees. Mar’s eyes zeroed in on her breasts, his tongue licking across his lips.

  Her hungry demon wasn’t moving fast enough for her. This was the first time she had truly wanted someone and had expected him to be touching her non-stop. Instead, he was standing too far away.

  Grinning, Vashti decided she would make the first move and remarked, “Why won’t you touch me, Mar?”

  “I was worried to join with you so soon after your first time,” he murmured absently.

  “Oh, Mar… I have a pain that I can’t reach. Will you look at it for me?” Great Freyja, her acting was horrible, her voice coming out as a strangled croak, but Mar didn’t seem to notice. Instead of the hungry glance he had leveled at her, he became concerned, moving closer to the side of the bed to get a better look. Falling to his knees, Mar’s hot breath raced across her thigh, causing Vashti to shiver. Mar thought her reaction meant she was in intense pain, so he hurried to find the source of it.

  “I can’t see a cut, Vashti. Are you sure it is here? Where does it hurt?” Mar asked. His hands lifted to her thigh to feel if there was an open area that he couldn’t see.

  Moaning when she felt the touch of his hands on her thigh, Vashti whispered, “It’s higher. Touch me higher, love.” Freyja would forgive her deception, she was sure. She eagerly waited to see what Mar would do next.

  Hesitating, Magnamar did as she requested. His thoughts were becoming fogged with the intense need to run his hands up both of Vashti’s legs, but he would wait until she was ready and not in such pain that she shook with it. Her moan made him look up from his task. The eagerness in her eyes gave her ruse away, but he decided to play along with it.

  Running a hand over her belly, his voice became deeper. “Here, my queen? Maybe it’s the child I planted in you earlier, eager to grow.” Mar could tell she liked that response. Vashti had placed her hands on her stomach to feel the flat area imagining, as he had earlier, what it would feel like for a baby to grow inside her.

  Vashti grabbed his hand and moved it lower to her golden curls. “Here. Touch me here.” They were done playing their game. Both of them knew what each wanted.

  “And do you want the Horde King… or Mar?” He smiled, teasing her, but she surprised him with her answer.

  “Both. Give me both. Now. Before you get an evil queen and I take your kingdom.”

  Mar decided to do just that before he faced the golden hearted champion of the Trials of Baklan.

  Chapter 20

  “Do we have to go back, Mar?”

  Vashti and Mar had stayed in the glen for the last few days, catching small game, fishing, and enjoying each other’s company. Each day was better than the last. Vashti didn’t want it to change when they arrived back to the volcano, even though she was excited to see Medorah and Cassira again. She wanted to ask Rah if she was bonded to Gorius, and if so, how it went. Vashti didn’t realize she must have said the words out loud.

  Mar snorted. “You know Gorius is my brother, even though he is not blood. He wouldn’t have let her go, just like I wouldn’t have let you go. He was obsessed with the snake-woman in the first trial day.” He was searching the trunk for a shirt she could wear back to Baklan that didn’t expose her to the elements. Mar also seemed intent on hiding all of her assets for when they arrived home.

  “You were obsessed with me from the first trial day?” Vashti asked innocently.

  Shaking his head, Mar grunted, “From the very first day, when you stood over me on the b
ridge in the mess hall, I could smell the perfume you wore. It was like a flower on a rainy day that had just bloomed in the Forest. I thought I would kill every person in that room to keep you to myself. To see those golden eyes every night before I went to sleep.”

  Vashti shivered at the intensity of his words.

  “But yes, we must go back. We have stayed away long enough. Think of the lotle worms, they are going to be hungry soon.”

  She perked up when he mentioned the worms, secretly wanting to visit them first when they arrived but wasn’t going to tell Mar that.

  “Do you think Saphira is safe?” Vashti worried out loud.

  Mar nodded decisively. “If she is anything like you, she has already conquered the entire Forest.”

  Vashti laughed, relieved at Mar’s words. Saphira had been different in that box. She hadn’t been scared or worried; she had analyzed the situation and reported her findings like an Incendie. Maybe there was more to Saphira than Vashti thought.

  Mar handed Vashti one of the dark tunics they had washed in the pond yesterday. It was short-sleeved and went to her knees. She put it on and gathered the things they would be taking with them.

  Mar had put his armor back on that he had shed in the Forest when they had first arrived. His sword was strapped at his side to protect them as they made their way home.

  There had always been the fear of an attack, whether from robbers or animals, but when Vashti had explained the auction and how she had arrived, it had added a new level of danger to the Forest.

  Nothing would stop Mar from getting his Queen home safely.

  Mar decided to use one of the passageways that led to his rooms instead of going through the main living quarters. He wanted to introduce Vashti properly to his people after she rested. It had taken half the day to reach the entrance.