Chapter 13 #2
The powerful emotion that flitted over her features indicated that I had finally gotten through to her. She hadn’t dropped down all her defenses yet, but I could see that she was coming around. And that was all I could ask.
“But what if… what if I don’t survive this?” she asked with the type of vulnerability she had never displayed before.
For the first time, my strong and undaunted Eleni needed me to lift her up, be her rock in the tempest, and reassure her that all would be well. I failed her once, but I would never allow that to happen again.
I gently reached for the Amulet resting against her chest. I held it in my palm and carefully ran my thumb over it.
“Pharos said that there exists a path where you and I will lead a long and happy life together. Whatever it takes, we will follow that path, and we will prevail.”
She looked at me with a depth of emotions that turned me upside down.
A grateful smile filled with what I knew to be her blossoming love for me stretched her lips.
Eleni cupped my face with both hands and drew it towards hers.
She kissed me with a tenderness that had my heart on the verge of bursting.
Our tongues mingled, and her hands began gently roaming over me.
It held nothing of the unbridled passion that usually consumed us.
And yet, it moved me in a way that couldn’t be put into words.
We hadn’t been intimate since our return from the Sanctuary.
I hadn’t attempted to initiate, nor had she displayed any signs that would hint at a possible refusal.
But my woman was hurting and distraught.
My sexual appetites had taken a backseat to focus on her physical and mental well-being. As much as I enjoyed the communion of our bodies and souls, I would gladly spend a thousand years of abstinence if it meant keeping her safe and comfortable.
It was only once her touch became a bit more adventurous that I finally picked her up and carried her back to the guest room. The whole way there, we continued to exchange tender kisses. It was only once she realized I was opening the door to the guest room that Eleni stopped me.
“No,” she whispered against my lips. “Take me to your room. To our room…”
My throat constricted as the most wondrous heat spread in my chest. By the gods, how I loved that woman.
I nodded and walked the short distance to the master suite.
I carefully laid her down on the bed, eyes locked with hers.
She kicked off her sandals and removed her dress as I joined her on the bed.
With a mere thought I willed the illusion of my skirt to disappear.
For the next eternity, we embarked on a journey of rediscovery.
With our hands and mouths, we explored and worshipped each other’s bodies.
Until this moment, I had not understood what it truly felt like to be loved.
The heat of her palms on my chest, on my arms, on my back sank deep into the very core of my being.
Our touches were gentle, tender, devoid of any lust. They lingered in all the sensitive spots, teasing and caressing.
I adored how brushing my lips against her nape had her skin erupt in goosebumps.
The sound of Eleni’s sighs as I kissed a path down her spine or teased her wrist with my tongue was the most divine music to my ears.
But it was the way she looked at me, the reverence with which she traced the streaks on my skin with her fingertips or with her mouth that had me turning into mush.
With a will of their own, each streak began to glow.
Even I could feel the soft heat that emanated from them.
Eleni purred and rubbed her face over my chest and pressed her body all over mine to feel more of that warmth.
The glow intensified, bathing the room in an almost oneiric light.
Only then did I realize that my luminous wings had extruded.
I didn’t understand that gift from my mother.
In fact, I had no control over it. But they only came out when I truly felt at peace or extremely happy.
And nothing could bring me greater happiness than this moment of deep connection with my soulmate.
My mate lifted her head to look at me, her eyes widening with wonder as she peered at my wings before locking eyes with me again. A silent communication passed between us.
This entire time, we barely touched each other’s genitalia.
It wasn’t about sexual gratification, but the coming together of two souls and two bodies as one.
So when Eleni reached for my cock, a soft gasp escaped me.
She kissed her way back up my chest and straddled me as she reclaimed my mouth.
With one hand slipped between us, she inserted my length in her slit.
For a split second, I worried that she might not be ready to receive my girth as I hadn’t prepared her the way I normally did.
In truth, I hadn’t even expected for us to get to this part.
But my mate was indeed wet for me. She gently rocked her hips as our tongues mingled, carefully taking more of me until I was fully sheathed.
We didn’t move right away, content to savor the intimate connection as we continued to kiss and caress each other. I couldn’t say how much time passed before Eleni began to rock over me. They were slow movements, like the lazy ebb and flow by the shore of a peaceful body of water.
I let her maintain control of our coupling for a while longer before finally taking over. Without breaking our connection, I gently flipped us around and maintained the measured and tender pace she had set. Eleni whispered my name, her fingers sinking into my hair as she reclaimed my mouth.
Behind me, I felt my wings grow bigger, although not heavier.
In fact, they didn’t really weigh anything that I could perceive.
But they just gave me a jolt of energy and power which increased with the intensity of the glow.
It expanded gradually, illuminating the room, like a sunrise on the horizon.
And with it, so did our pleasure. It built slowly, steadily, with irrepressible fervor until it reached its zenith.
Our voices rose as one, not in a savage roar or in a loud shout, but in throaty gasps and shuddering sighs as our spirits soared together.
For the briefest instant, a mesmerizing prism of shimmering lights swirled around my mate that even the shadows at the edges couldn’t snuff out.
Although dim, it still took my breath away.
Too soon, it vanished. But I didn’t doubt that I had stared at my mate’s naked soul.
Rolling to the side, still buried deep in my woman, I held her tightly against me as our hearts settled down. No words were needed. The possessiveness with which she embraced me and buried her face in my neck told me everything that mattered.
For better or for worse, we were one.
Two days later, Eleni began displaying visible signs of weakness.
The distress she felt about it echoed mine.
The full moon was still a week away. Although Kali said the ritual could be performed at any time, with the apparent low success rate, waiting for that specific date would significantly increase our chances.
But delaying too much might cheat us out of a chance of even trying.
For the past half hour, my mate had been exchanging messages with Paulus and Prefect Ewan, hoping for any positive updates. But we still had no trails to follow.
She put down the piece of parchment and dropped her quill with a dejected expression.
“Maybe we should go to the temple early,” I said at last when she rubbed her neck, looking strained.
She shook her head, her face taking on a mulish expression.
“It is better if we do it during the full moon. I rather we wait an extra week for it,” she said in an imperious tone.
“You may not last that long, my love,” I said carefully.
“But what if we go too early and fail?” she challenged.
“Then we will at least have a few more days to try again until we succeed,” I replied, having toyed with that idea for a while now.
“And what if each attempt weakens me or builds some sort of resistance to the ritual?” Eleni argued.
I pursed my lips. That possibility had also plagued me.
Some rituals indeed built-up resistance against a specific Arcanist or Summoner the more failed attempts they racked up.
We couldn’t say for certain if it was a form of self-sabotage caused by increased doubt and built-up lack of confidence, or a true form of magical barrier accumulated by failed residual magic.
I opened my mouth to respond, but Morrech entering the living area interrupted me.
“Master, you have guests,” Morrech said. “Your brother and his mate request an audience.”
My brow shot up. “Pharos and Kali? Of course, invite them in,” I said, rising to my feet from the couch I’d been sitting on.
“No, Master. It is your other brother, Asheron, and his mate Ronika,” Morrech corrected.
This time, my jaw dropped. I’d had few interactions with him.
There was a time, he and I could have been close.
Sadly, it would have been in the era of his total madness as a Wraith, which wouldn’t have been too conducive of fraternal bonding.
However, since his mate had allowed him to find peace again, he had regained too many of his angelic traits.
Or rather, of his angelic personality. The curse that had been inflicted upon him had stripped him of his true divine light.
But he still had a kind heart, eager to help and support others.
As someone prone to violence and mischief, I always felt awkward in his and Pharos’s presence. I hid my acute sense of inferiority compared to them behind a snarky and provocative attitude.