Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Caelian was pleasantly comfortable.
She floated through a state of eternal bliss, like walking on clouds and dancing through the heavens.
Her body sated, her soul at peace, while hundreds of voices drifted in and out of her consciousness.
With her magic finally returned to her, she would need to start granting wishes soon, to seek out the lovers, the dreamers, the ones who wished upon stars with the entirety of their beings.
But until then she would slumber and enjoy the distinctive hum of pleasure coursing through her blood.
Except that wasn’t right.
A trickle of awareness sent a rush of goosebumps pebbling across her skin, but her lids were still far too heavy to open her eyes.
Something scratched and tickled along her inner thighs, and fresh waves of heat spread through her, making her limbs soften and her breasts feel heavy.
She shifted into the new sensation, her legs falling open as her core started to heat and ache.
A moan slipped from between her lips as something warm and wet flattened against her clit.
Her pulse kicked, urging her to awaken, but she feared that if she opened her eyes, it would all cease and she would be left wanting with little release in sight.
Then she felt it.
The glide of a hot tongue as it delved into her center. Swirling and tasting. Licking and laving. Devouring her whole.
Caelian’s eyes flew open as her body convulsed, but a strong hand flattened against her stomach, holding her in place.
“Let me taste the nectar of a goddess, dear wife.” Kjeld’s rumbling voice reverberated through her womb, and elation crashed into her, drowned her as her slit soaked his face.
He was buried between her legs, his mouth fused to her, his scruff tickling her thighs, teasing her further. She’d never been more grateful to fall asleep naked. Perhaps she would start sleeping without a nightgown from now on.
“Blessed stars,” Caelian cried, her head tipping back. “Please don’t stop.”
“I have no intention of it, my lady.”
His tongue was decidedly wicked, the way it flicked and curled, leaving her senseless.
He was masterful. Digging her nails into the bed of earth for purchase, Caelian thrashed, her eyes rolling to where the seeping wash of twilight was overtaking the sky.
Above her, stars blinked in and out of focus, winking through the willow’s swaying branches, watching as she came undone.
When Kjeld ceased his delightful ministrations, he pushed off the ground, and she thought perhaps they were finished.
Instead, he settled against the base of the willow, his eyes fixated on her.
He was still shirtless, which she appreciated because it afforded her to opportunity to admire his expertly carved body.
His golden skin gleamed and he stretched his arms overhead, his immense muscles flexing, drawing her gaze.
Then he relaxed, hooking one finger in her direction as he reached for the seam of his pants, where a very distinctive bulge was straining against the fabric.
Caelian swallowed.
She knew what it was like to have him inside her, knew how wonderfully full she felt, but sweet stars, he was so big.
“Come here, Starweaver.” Kjeld’s voice was gravelly and magnetic, a tempting lure beckoning her into a world of illicit promises and midnight caresses.
Caelian sat up, the warm breeze enveloping her skin.
She was comfortable in her nudity, especially around Kjeld because he’d witnessed her at her best and her worst, and that bit of knowledge offered her an edge of bravery.
Planting her hands and knees on the downy patch of grass, she crawled toward him, then straddled his lap.
Stormy desire clouded his eyes, darkening the pools of blue to near black.
Tendrils of sinewy nightfall crept over them while glimmering fireflies danced in the pitch, winking in and out of existence.
Pulling the ribbons from her hair, she let the loose locks tumble around her bare shoulders, shaking out the tangles.
Then she summoned the rest of her courage and scraped her nails against his solid abdomen.
She trailed every ridge and dip, all the way to the light dusting of hair near his navel, then lower still.
Her fingers were nimble, making quick work of the buttons and snug cotton that constrained his thick shaft.
When she flicked open the last one, she couldn’t help but stare.
He was glorious.
And she had no idea how he’d managed to fit something of that size inside her.
Tentatively, she reached for him, the smooth flesh of his erection like a rod of velvet in her grasp.
The corner of her mouth twitched. Such imagery, perhaps she’d read it in a book somewhere.
“Do you find me amusing?” he asked, lifting his hips so her hand moved up and down his length.
“Not at all.” Caelian looked at him from beneath her lashes while she touched him. She fisted him first and he grunted. She repeated the motion with a hard squeeze and a tic of slipping control feathered along his jaw. “Do you like it when I do that?”
“There is very little I don’t like when it comes to you touching me.” Kjeld cupped her breasts, his thumbs stroking her nipples, his hands barely large enough to contain her ample bosom. “However, I would like it even more if you intend to do something about it.”
She leaned forward, rubbing her core against his length. “I would very much like to—”
The whispers circulating through her mind compounded, the pleading of the many quietly begging to be heard.
“I hate how insecure I am, I wish I had more confidence.”
“Why must this illness persist? I wish I knew how to brew a healing potion.”
“I wish Sylvan would notice me, but he doesn’t even know I exist.”
“I wish the River Thalorien would forget me.”
“Caelian?” Concern laced Kjeld’s tone and he caught her by the chin. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She winced, gnawing on her bottom lip. “I just need a moment.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s the voices, you see. The ones belonging to those who believe in the power of wishes.” Caelian rubbed lightly at her temples. “I hear them now, clearly, and they’re begging me to listen.”
He nodded slowly, a line of concentration knitting across his brow, like he was trying to make sense of the fact that she heard voices in her head. “Then what do you need? What can I do for you?”
Caelian smiled, grateful for the care he showed her, for his desire to help. “I need to grant them. Or at least the ones worthy of being granted.”
Kjeld arched a brow. “Worthy?”
“Yes.” She adjusted herself on his lap, turning around so her back was pressed to his chest. Tucking her legs under her, she continued to straddle him so his erection fit perfectly between her thighs.
Stifling a giggle, she held out her hands, eager to explain the workings of her magic.
“My mind is filled with thousands of voices daily, which was why when the stars took back my power, the silence was stifling. The quiet was so loud it almost drove me mad.”
“Mm.” He kissed her shoulder. “No wonder you were so desperate for conversation.”
“Exactly.” Leaning back against him, she stretched out her arms before her. “But not all of the wishes I hear can be granted. Some of them are absurd, others are born of anger or deceit, and those I ignore until they fade completely.”
“So, there are good wishes and bad wishes.” Kjeld draped an arm casually around her waist, his thumb tracing idle circles across her stomach. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“More or less. Out of the remaining wishes, I must listen to each of them and determine if I can grant them.” She sighed, opening her hands as beads of stardust began to bloom in her palms. “They must come from the heart, from a place of kindness and integrity. And above all, they must bring goodness into the world.”
“I see.” His fingers tapped an idle rhythm against her abdomen, gliding gently over her scars. “And you’re the one who decides?”
Caelian grinned. “I am.”
Kjeld’s teeth scraped her earlobe, and he licked the pain away with his tongue. “Does that give you a little bit of a goddess complex?”
She swatted at him. “Of course not. I am always fair.”
He trailed his tongue up the length of her pointed ear, the wet heat of it causing her blood to simmer. “And what of when I wished to fuck you all night?”
She snorted. “That was just me being nice.”
His answering chuckle rumbled down her spine. “Very well. Grant your wishes then.”
Caelian closed her eyes, focusing on the whispers floating through her mind.
It wasn’t a loud cacophony of sound, instead it was more like a soothing harmony of lyrical prose.
The words came in and out of focus, some were stronger while others were more half-hearted and weaker.
She sifted through them like she was searching for shells beneath the waves, picking and choosing ones born out of hope, need, and love.
Her magic crested inside her, a dizzying rush of power that sent tingles of energy shooting through her.
She was vibrating, alive with an aura of celestial balance.
Starlight crackled in her palms, sizzling, ready to take flight.
Finding her center, she pulled wishes toward her, plucking them out of the swirling chaos like wildflowers from a field.
“This isn’t who I am, I wish I had more patience.”
A mother in need of grace.
Caelian released a star into the night sky. Granted.
“I wish I didn’t feel so alone all the time.”
A child in need of friendship.
Another starburst soared overhead. Granted.
“I love seeing the fruits of my labor, but I wish I was better at gardening.”
A Druid in need of guidance.
Caelian’s blood hummed and power poured from her, answering her call. Granted.