Chapter 43
Non
Sometime later, I woke up wrapped in Dylan's arms.
When I rolled over, he nodded to the table he'd just devoured me on and asked if I was hungry.
A woven picnic basket sat on the table, bursting with fruits and cheese.
“I'm ravenous, but do we really want to be eating on that table, considering we just—”
His power grabbed the handle of the basket and brought it to the bed.
For a while, we managed to keep our hands to ourselves and enjoy the food Dylan had prepared for us.
But when he started rolling a blackberry between his teeth, things went south. Very south.
“Blackberries are my favourite fruit,” I said as I tried to snatch one from his lips.
“Which is exactly why I made sure there were plenty, and yet you're still trying to steal mine.” Dylan dangled the berry over my head as I tried to grab it.
“Do you even like them?”
“If they're your favourites, then they immediately become one of my favourites.” He hovered the berry in front of my lips but snatched it away as my lips went to close over it.
He covered my mouth instead and kissed me slowly, deeply.
His free hand tangled in my hair as he tilted my head for better access.
Breaking the kiss, he pulled away and nipped the end of the berry with his teeth. A drop of crimson juice trailed down his lips to his chin.
I was instantly reminded of the first time I had seen him training outside Llwyn Onn. How that single droplet of water had run down his Adam's apple, and all I could think of doing was lapping it up.
The tip of my tongue darted out and caught the drop of blackberry juice as it ran down the underside of his chin. I lapped it up until I reached his lips, where I clamped my teeth on his bottom lip and dragged them until his lip left my mouth with a satisfying pop.
Dylan was straddling me in an instant as he lifted the berry and took another bite of it, expelling more of its juice.
He sat back on his haunches and, with his other hand, guided my legs apart.
I frowned when I realised he was wearing briefs and ran my finger under the elasticated waist. Dylan gripped my wrist and pinned it to the bed.
Hovering the berry a few inches from my pussy he squeezed it within an inch of its life, and the juice dripped from my clit all the way to my arse cheeks.
The cold sensation of the droplets had me groaning just from the contact. I fluttered my eyes closed in euphoria.
Dylan cleared his throat, and when my eyes snapped open, he peered up at me from between my legs. I hadn't even noticed him move as he continued to squeeze the juice of another blackberry on me. When he was done, he popped the leftovers in his mouth and ravaged me.
Gone was the patience from his kiss earlier; he was starving again, and he licked and sucked until my voice was hoarse from screaming his name.
My hand gripped his hair for purchase, but this seemed to only steer him on more. “You taste better than the sweetest nectar from Annwn, Non. I've tasted it for myself, and you are a thousand times sweeter than the ripest pear.”
His words were a scramble in my head as I felt the tension build between my legs.
“Do you know what this reminds me of? When you'd slain the Afanc, and I kissed you covered in its blood. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to bend you over and fuck you right there and then in the marsh.”
Somehow, Dylan managed to flip me over onto my stomach in one swift movement and gripped my hips as I pushed up on all fours.
He spread my cheeks wider with his hands and then slowly slipped a finger inside me, pumping it in and out. Shortly after, he added a second, and the sensation was mind-numbing.
I muffled my cries of pleasure in the pillow as I came not once, not twice, but three times in succession as Dylan didn't relent with his fingers.
Utterly spent, we curled back under the duvet. I vaguely remember him handing me a washcloth to clean the juice. When he returned to bed, he tucked my head under his chin, and I fell asleep to the rhythmic and steady beat of his heart.
Something pulled in my chest.
I groaned and rolled over, but the tug came again, more incessant this time.
Opening my eyes, I saw that the pabell was still dark. The breeze that fluttered the fabric door open slightly showed it was also pitch-black outside.
Sitting up, I rubbed my palm against the spot I'd felt the pull.
Then it yanked again, so hard this time that my body jolted forward off the bed.
Clearly, something or someone wanted me to get up.
I was very naked, and my thighs were still stained with the remnants of blackberry juice despite washing them. I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower, but the tug pulled me in the opposite direction.
Next to my foot, I found the black shirt belonging to Dylan. I pulled it over my head and deemed it appropriate enough when it fell to just above my knees.
Dylan was sound asleep and clearly didn't sense any of the demands that I did.
A few more short pulls made me head towards the door and into the cold night.
The usually bustling fairway was strange to witness in the darkness, and the pull I felt seemed to lead me towards the opposite side of the camp where the attack had happened.
When a blur of purple streaked through the darkness to my right, I realised I wasn't alone. She wore a modest cotton nightgown, and her lavender hair fell in loose waves to her lower back. I knew this person's name, but as hard as I tried to think of it, nothing came to mind.
I called out to her, but she seemed completely transfixed by something in the woods.
A red light flickered to life deep in the woods. As I drew closer, I could see it crackling and sparking, clearly some kind of signalling flare burning in the darkness.
The woman's eyes widened at the sight as she took off into the woods to follow.
“I wouldn't trust that if I were you!” I called out as I struggled to keep up with her barefoot.
She wove and snaked through the trees towards the light without a care in the world. I shouted as much as I could, but nothing seemed to be heard; it was like the flare had her in a trance.
Once we got within a certain distance of the light, it became impossible to look directly at it. It was so bright that nothing in the copse of trees it shone in could be seen at all.
The woman didn't seem too deterred by the brightness and strode right up to the light with her hand extended.
Alarm bells rang in my head, and shielding my eyes, I lunged to grab her arm.
When her fingers brushed the centre of the light, it snuffed out in an instant. Such a drastic change from bright to dark meant that I could see even less in the darkness.
Where the woman had gone, I had no idea, but a gloved hand holding a damp cloth slammed across my face and pressed a substance to my nose and mouth.
I tried desperately not to inhale anything, but my screaming caused me to take in lungfuls of it. But instead of a chemical smell and taste, this cloth smelled fragrant. Almost sweet.
The person who'd grabbed me dragged me backwards deeper into the trees. My vision was still filled with darkness, no features in sight, but someone grabbed my ankles and tied them together. A male voice from behind me shouted something inaudible, and the cloth was replaced with a thick rope.
I was thrown to the ground—and I was furious I didn't think to put on underwear.
Thankfully, the two men, I assumed, seemed more concerned with something else as they argued with each other in muffled voices.
I prayed this was not the beginning of the third trial. I didn't trust Aeron as far as I could throw him. This was exactly the type of cruel shit he'd pull.
More male voices joined the conversation as the sound of something being dragged across the dried leaves came closer.
The woman who I'd chased into the woods also hit the ground with a thud next to me. My vision had returned just enough that I could tell it was her from the violet glow of her hair under the moon. The chemical they'd tried to force in my face had knocked her unconscious.
Whatever conversation these men around us were having grew increasingly louder, and eventually, I heard the sound of boots drawing nearer.
Someone picked me up with the roped knot at the back of my head, and the pain I felt as it bit into the skin of my lips was agony.
They placed me on my feet and untied the rope from around my mouth. As soon as it was gone, I screamed.
I screamed Dylan's name, then Zenn's. I screamed for Caerwyn and Lleucu, for Mercy and Efydd. Hell, I even screamed for Morgen, who—
Morgen. That's who the woman was.
How had I forgotten that in only a couple of hours?
As more of my vision returned, I could see a figure clad head to toe in black in front of me. The only feature I could see was his serpent-like eyes that peeked above his face covering.
He shoved a bottle in my mouth and pinched my nose as he tipped more of the sweet liquid down my throat.
I had never actually tasted this liquid before, but I'd apparently consumed plenty of it.
Foxglove.
Whoever these men were, they were afraid of my power; little did they know this would have no effect on me.
A blindfold was placed over my eyes, and I was forced to my knees. I stayed there for a while as the various voices spoke around me.
Then I heard the first words I could understand since being here.
“Get her to the circle,” someone said, and I was forced to my feet.
I kicked and I fought with all my might, but these masked men outnumbered me nine to one. Once I stepped into that circle, gods only knew where I would end up.
They dragged me along until one of the men let out a gargled cry, and the group fell silent. Not even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard until another man let out a similar cry, then another, then another.
I'd counted eight cries, meaning the only one left standing was the one who gripped my arm. As if he sensed he was the next to meet his demise, he hauled me towards the circle in desperation.