Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“It’ll be any day now.” Kjeld crouched before the nest of dragon eggs bundled in blankets and surrounded by candlelight.
Caelian watched as he inspected them, carefully lifting each one, when he motioned for her to join him.
She pushed off the bed and knelt beside him. “How can you tell?”
Taking her hand, he placed it on top of the silvery egg with an iridescent sheen. “The eggs emit the faintest of glows.”
She watched as a sheen of silver floated over her hand.
“And if you are very still,” he continued quietly, his voice barely a whisper between them, “you can hear them hum.”
Caelian held her breath and listened, dulling the symphony of voices in her mind. At first, she could only hear the breeze tinkling against the stained glass windowpanes, but then there was the faintest hum, and the egg beneath her hand vibrated.
“Stars above.” Glancing over at Kjeld, she met his broad, dimpled smile with one of her own. “This is amazing. How much longer do you think they have?”
He sat back, resting his hands on his knees.
“A day at most, I’d say. The males will likely hatch first, females usually take a little longer.” He winked. “They like to make an entrance.”
“You already know two are boys and one’s a girl?” Caelian moved her hand to one of the onyx eggs, and a shimmer of shadowy black drifted over her fingers.
“I have my suspicions.” Kjeld stood, smoothing the wrinkles from his pants, then pulled her to her feet. He glanced out the window where the cobalt haze of dusk was slowly sweeping across the eastern sky. “They have some time yet. Until then, I want us to see the Caelora Bay.”
Together they traipsed through the forest toward the western edge of the Myrkwild.
They passed the willow where they said their vows and crossed a stone bridge over the River Thalorien.
The water sang beneath them, like the luring call of a siren, mystical and full of heartache.
Caelian wondered how the river was capable of keeping memories, if it pulled ones that were lost from its turquoise depths, if its currents collected them from fallen tears.
Or maybe the memories were freely given, in exchange for something else.
She supposed she would ask Morwyn about it sometime, but then the outer trees of the Myrkwild yawned open to reveal the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach from when they first arrived in Wenfyre.
Shimmering waves kissed the shore, leaving behind ribbons of foam that sparkled like starlight.
The sky was painted violet and indigo, and thousands of shooting stars glittered like diamonds as they fell from the heavens into the sea.
It was magnificent, the most dazzling display of celestial magic Caelian had ever seen.
Sticking out of the sand was another worn wooden sign, and the delicate letters carved into it read The Caelora Bay, Where Wishes are Born.
“Well, Starweaver.” Kjeld took her hand, leading her further onto the beach where the cool sand squished between her toes. “What do you think?”
“It’s…breathtaking.”
She gazed up at the sky as starbursts of silver, lavender, blue, and pink cascaded overhead. Wishes echoed in her mind—pleas of hope, whispers of love, cries of desperation—all of them stemming from places of longing. All of them born from sparks of wonder, from a sea full of promises.
Her magic churned, flowing through her like she was made of stars.
Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes, welcoming the energy as it recharged her, filling her from its well of power.
It was a summoning. A calling like no other.
It gathered in the center of her palms, causing the skin there to heat and tingle.
Her hair unfurled in messy waves, lifting from her shoulders.
Her skirts tangled near her ankles and legs as her feet sank into the sand.
Caelian opened her eyes, loosed a calming breath, and released the power building inside her.
Streaks of shooting stars whirred around her, creating a sphere of multifaceted light.
It crackled and hissed, a celestial force of reckoning. A storm of starlight.
The starstorm, her family’s ancient line of magic, had manifested itself within her.
Sprinting toward the ocean, she threw her arms out as she ran, laughing wildly. Sand kicked up around her, and she spun in dizzying circles, losing herself to the rush of divine magic flooding her blood with the wonder of the stars.
Behind her, she heard Kjeld call her name, his voice garbled and distorted beyond the shimmering wall of her sphere.
She twirled around to face him as he sauntered across the beach toward her. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his pants, and his grin was made all the more charming by his dimples.
“Look!” she cried, spinning again. “Isn’t it fantastic?”
“Incredible,” he agreed, stepping into her space.
Caelian lifted her arms, granting twenty-seven wishes, then let her magic ebb to a low thrum. Her sphere faded and her heart soared. “I’ve never felt more alive!”
“You’re incandescent.” He cocked his head to one side, admiring her. “A wonder all her own.”
“Do you swim, my lord?” she asked, her fingers curling into his vest as she rose up on her toes for a kiss.
“I go where you go, my lady.” Kjeld lowered his mouth to hers, but she quickly pulled away, spinning out of his arms.
A frown knitted across his brow until she slowly started untying the laces of her corset.
He watched as she tossed it aside, his gaze darkening with desire as she shimmied out of her dress, the embroidered cotton pooling at her feet.
He said nothing as she undressed, as she stood in the nude before him, her flesh kissed by starlight.
Flashing him a teasing smile, she turned on her heel and ran toward the sea. Gentle waves licked her ankles, the water warm and welcoming. She waded further so it reached her thighs, and as soon as it hit her stomach, as it washed over her scars, she dove under.
Caelian surfaced a moment later, shoving her wet hair back from her face, shrieking when a pair of strong hands encircled her hips.
Kjeld shot up out of the water, yanking her to him.
The smile on his face was nothing more than a promise of wicked pleasure to come.
His rough palms scraped under her thighs, lifting her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Draping her arms over his shoulders, she grabbed a fistful of his braided hair and kissed him hard.
His beard was rough against her mouth and jaw, but she loved it, loved the raw and rugged feel of him.
Kjeld was firm and unshakeable, a solid wall of muscle pressed against her soft, lush curves.
The salt of the sea clung to his lips, and she licked them, swallowing a sigh when his tongue tangled with hers.
This kiss wasn’t frantic or aching, it was mellow and languid. A melding of lips, a bonding of souls. The sea moved around them, with them, for them.
When Caelian arched away to float on her back, Kjeld let her go, but kept one hand resting lightly upon her thigh.
“Tell me why you were so determined to leave Aeramere,” she said softly.
He didn’t answer right away, and she dared a look at him to see if she had accidentally struck a nerve. Instead, she found him staring back at her, his gaze intense and focused.
“I felt lost. Like I no longer had a purpose in this life.” He shifted in the currents, his fingers tapping a sporadic rhythm on her damp skin.
“Odryss, Svartos, and Astrylys could fend for themselves. Drake no longer required the services of a general. And as a fae without magic, I didn’t quite belong.
Everything about me was overbearing. My presence.
My stature. I was too much, and I could not cope. ”
Though she knew they were having a serious conversation, Caelian couldn’t help the quirk of her lips. “I like you being too much.”
His response was a low, rumbling chuckle. “So I’ve noticed.”
He coasted his hand a little further, so his fingertips grazed her inner thigh.
Caelian tried to disguise her shiver by flicking her hands through the water, but her nipples peaked and goosebumps pebbled her flesh.
“Do…” She rolled her lips together and tried to ignore the way he was suddenly standing over her, like she was laid upon an altar and completely at his mercy. “Do you still feel that way now? Lost? Without purpose?”
“No.” Kjeld’s sapphire eyes raked over her naked body. His thumb grazed her slit and her breath caught. “I have a wife. I have three baby dragons to raise and train. My purpose in life may not be what I expected or planned for myself, but I am better for it. Because of you.”
Her eyes filled. “Kjeld—”
But her voice was lost as he lowered his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth.
She gasped but it was hollow, because then he braced one hand on the center of her back, keeping her afloat, while the other moved between her legs.
He slid two fingers inside her with ease and tension coiled through her.
He worked her slowly, his tongue leaving a river of heat as he laved and licked her breasts, all the way to the hollow of her throat.
Caelian floundered but Kjeld kept her steady. He pressed a kiss to her neck, humming quietly, and her voice wobbled when she asked, “What if someone sees?”
“Only the stars can see us now.” He shoved his fingers deeper, curling them, reaching her pinnacle. “Besides, wasn’t me fucking you in public one of your requests?”
Spasms of pleasure tore through her and she struggled to think clearly.
“Yes. B-but…”
“But what?” he crooned, planting kisses along her jaw.
“I didn’t mean with your fingers.”
Kjeld stilled his torturous ministrations, his fingers slipping out of her. The look on his face was one of primal hunger. His teeth scraped over his bottom lip, snagging on his scar. His eyes were dark, unreadable pools of midnight shadowed with greed. “You want something else, sweet wife?”
“Yes,” Caelian breathed, all the air pulling from her lungs as she vibrated with anticipation.
“Perhaps it is my mouth you need.” He lifted her out of the water, carrying her in his arms back toward the shore. “I would very much like for you to come all over my face.”
She shook her head, liquid heat pooling at her core at his bold language.
“No?” Kjeld clicked his tongue, padding across the sandy beach. He laid her down on a swath of burgundy cotton, and realization clicked into place. He’d planned this for her. Everything leading up to this moment had been intentional. Purposeful. He planned to unravel her beneath the stars.
Caelian propped herself up on her elbows, unable to tear her gaze from him as he spread her legs wide.
She tried to remain focused on his face, to not embolden his already supreme ego, but then he knelt between her legs, and she caught sight of his shaft.
Already he was hard, his erection thick and full, ready to fill her, and her mind emptied of all rational thought.
“Hm. Not my fingers nor my tongue.” Kjeld moved closer, lifting her left leg and draping it over his shoulder. “Is it my cock you crave, sweet wife?”
He nudged her entrance with his tip, and the most pathetic sound escaped her.
“Ah, so it is.” He laughed, but it was dark and arrogant. His mirthless chuckle sent a spear of longing straight through her, leaving her throbbing with need. “You want me to fill you, to push so deeply into your tight fucking cunt that you become delirious?”
“Stars, yes,” she cried, lifting her hips in a silent plea.
“Very well, Starweaver.” He adjusted his angle, gliding his head up and down her slick entrance. “But this time I want you to watch. I want you to see how well you take me, how perfectly you were made for me.”
Caelian nodded, glancing down, watching as he surged forward.
Kjeld shoved his full length inside her on one hard thrust, stretching her wide, and she grasped at the blanket beneath her for purchase.
With one leg tossed over his shoulder, she swore he went deeper than ever before.
Swore he was going to make her come undone without even moving.
She clenched as he filled her to the hilt, thinking for the briefest moment that she could die with him buried inside her and she would be happy.
“Look at you.” Kjeld grunted, pulling out and then pushing back in. “Taking every inch like a good girl.”
His praise was an aphrodisiac. A sinful temptation.
She continued to stare at where they were joined, mesmerized by how easily he slid in and out of her.
He shifted slightly, forcing himself deeper, and her body spasmed, tightening around him on the next thrust. Her muscles contracted and her vision blurred.
Pleasure exploded at her center. Violent and turbulent.
Dragging her closer, but that peak of ecstasy remained just out of reach.
Unable to keep up, she let the sand cushion her head as she fell back.
“Fuck, Cae.” He tossed her other leg over his shoulder and rose to his knees. Grabbing her thighs, he rocked his hips faster, driving into her. “Someone’s coming.”
“What?”
Panic collided with the knot of lust building inside her, heightening her senses.
Kjeld leaned over her, so her knees were almost near her head. But he didn’t slow down. “You’re so close, aren’t you, Starweaver? I can feel it in the fluttering of your pulse. In the way you squeeze and writhe like you can’t live without me.” His whispers were hoarse, his breath hot on her cheek.
Caelian clutched his shoulders, her nails piercing into his skin. “I can’t live without you.”
“Then come for me.” He speared into her, his shaft swelling, filling her so full she couldn’t think clearly. “Otherwise we’re going to get caught, and I have no plans on stopping until you come all over me.”
She bit her lip, and the metallic tang of blood coated her tongue.
“You’re bleeding,” Kjeld growled, and before she could respond, his mouth was on hers, swallowing her moans as the first wave of release crashed into her.
“I wish I could leave this place and travel somewhere new.”
It was Lira’s voice, clear and calm and pinned on hopeful dreams, that entered her mind.
Caelian broke their kiss, sucking in a harsh breath of air as her magic bloomed, pumping through her veins, intensifying her orgasm.
She felt the surge of pleasure everywhere.
Every inch of her was bright and glowing, tingling with the rush of satisfaction.
Kjeld muttered an indistinct swear, and his hips jerked forward one final time as he emptied himself inside her.
A wishing star formed in Caelian’s palm, and she let it go, granting Lira’s wish, while she basked in an aura of pure ecstasy.