Chapter 20 First
FIRST
Ihead back to my drakes after speaking with King ?rn Magnussen.
His soul has departed this world; I feel how the silver triptych mirrors in the vault are empty, now that he’s said all he needed to.
The four silver rings gripped in my fist, I walk the ancient halls with my head full of memories and ancient horrors.
For the first time in ages, however, I feel the hope that lights inside my chest.
As Aesa’s Truthstone flares upon me.
Because Aesa and her drakes did all they could to provide help for the ones who would come after them, battling the Black Dragon. I will not squander it; I will honor them as I clench those silver rings in my fist.
And head back to my drakes with purpose in every stride.
I make it back to find everyone has dispersed.
As I close my eyes, I feel for each of my drakes through our Bloodbonds; sensing I was in no danger, Strom and Baldur have headed back to the library to continue studying Hedda’s scrolls and combing the stacks for anything useful.
Mikkel is with Laerke, cooking up a storm for all of us in the kitchens, since busy dragons get hungry.
Bjorn is nearby; I feel out for him along our bonded connection, then move through our room to an adjacent bathroom area I’ve not explored much. I’ve only been in it to use the magically plumbed toilet and have a brief shower in a warm sluice of water that pours down one wall.
As I continue through that area now, then traverse a short hall, I come into a luminous underground paradise of hot pools, steaming in the chill air.
My eyebrows rise as I marvel at the plethora of vines and trees growing here; though I can still see stone in the gargantuan hall, the glowing nature down here has devoured the entire space, like a rainforest.
It’s steamy and damp like a rainforest, too, as little lizards and glowing moths flit about everywhere. As I maneuver through the trees and step over enormous roots, which dig down into the floor, I finally find Bjorn.
My First Drake relaxes in a steaming hot pool, the edges coated in luminous moss but otherwise clean, thanks to some ancient trick of magic.
He glances at me as I arrive, as if he felt me coming through our bond; his massive arms spread out along the rim, I feel pleasure and relaxation sigh off Bjorn as I arrive.
He makes a deep rumble in his chest, his eyes sparking gold with delight that I’ve come to him. As I get close, he pushes up from the water, snagging my robe and pulling it off me as he grips my thigh.
I let Bjorn strip my robe away, growling with genuine pleasure now as he grips my thigh and bare ass.
As I set my hands to his brawny shoulders, he lifts me effortlessly into the water with him.
He slides me down his strong, wet body; I revel in being together with him, alone now, as I ease right down to a seat on his rock-solid thighs.
Bjorn turns us in the water, then leans back against the side of the pool, already hard as he presses against me in just the right spot. With a growl, he’s pushing in, slowly thrusting up inside me as I gasp, catching my breath.
I forget the four silver rings in my fist until he’s all the way inside me. Then, as we rock together in the water, he pulls my fist down from his shoulder.
Opening my hand and inspecting what’s within.
“You’ve found something during your time away.” He rumbles as he glances up at me, golden fire blazing in his eyes as he feels what I do from the rings.
Power—lots of it.
“They’re for you,” I say as he grips my ass beneath the water, kneading me as we fuck. “You and all our drakes.”
Bjorn eyeballs them again, then looks back up at me. “Which one is mine? Where did they come from?”
“The where is a long story, but they were once Aesa’s and her drakes,” I tell him now as we move together, fucking slowly and deliciously in the slick, mineral-rich hot springs.
“I didn’t know it, but I discovered last night that my ring was Aesa’s, not Hedda’s.
As for which one is yours… I don’t know. Which one speaks to you?”
Gazing down at the four men’s rings in my palm, Bjorn frowns. He stops moving as he contemplates them, ceasing our underwater sex, though he remains inside me.
He frowns harder as I watch his golden gaze peruse them. At last, he snorts, then reaches out, picking out one that has a silver dragon same as mine, but done bigger for a man’s ring. It’s coiled around a bright red fire opal, which seethes with beautiful gold all through it.
Matching a similar fire opal in my ring, right near my silver dragon’s heart.
“This one,” he says now as he takes it. As he does, I feel a bright wind of rage and righteousness whip through us both, via our bond. It makes us catch our breaths, as Aesa’s Truthstone flares upon my chest, and the silver ring I wear seems to shine with a red-gold light.
As Bjorn takes his silver ring, slipping it on his left ring finger like a wedding band, a deep pulse of togetherness rocks us. It shoots right through us, making us both exhale like we’ve been punched, but in a good way.
As a roaring Bloodwind rushes out around us, from both our dragons surging up hard, cascading through each other in our Bloodbond, our bodies are hauled together. Bjorn grunts, and I gasp; he moans, as both his hands grip me now. As he hauls me tight against him, we suddenly fuck again—hard.
Because this magnificent togetherness can only be sealed with the real deal. With a short roar, needing to go deeper than he can in this position, Bjorn turns me now, and I quite agree.
He heaves me up against the side of the hot pool, my hands on the rim and my knees on the bench underwater as he stands. Bjorn thrusts inside me again, doing me hard now, doggy-style, at the edge of the pool.
As he grips my hips, he pounds into me; I rush and roar, arching back now, needing him to take me. Because the togetherness we’re feeling from the rings is just too good; we have to celebrate it with sex, as Bjorn pounds that perfect spot inside me, over and over.
And I come.
He comes, too, as a bright, rageful whirlwind rushes through both our magics, hurtling us up into the stratosphere. Our dragons are thrust together so hard by that magnificent surge of power that I don’t know where one begins and the other ends, as they roar hard through the skies.
We form that bright Ouroboros before we come back down to earth. And then it’s with laughter, cascading from both of us as we settle back down into the water.
Bjorn cradles me on his lap, as we heave hard breaths, cheek to cheek.
“Holy hells!” He coughs as he chuckles, growling deep in his chest. “Just when I thought our magics couldn’t bond any closer—”
“Then we find some magical rings to seal the deal for us.” I laugh also, hauling his strong arms in tight around me. “Jesus! That was a rush. I wonder what else these things do?”
I glance at my hand now, at Aesa’s ring on my finger. I set the other rings beside the pool as Bjorn and I had our sudden, spontaneous sex; as I glance at him, I see how his ring now lives on his left ring finger. Suddenly, having mine on my left index finger somehow seems wrong.
I frown, then move it to my left ring finger instead.
And inhale as it magically sizes down—a perfect fit.
“Well. I guess it’s supposed to be there,” I say as I gaze at my hand, amazed.
“Mine was always supposed to be there.” Bjorn holds his hand up next to mine, so we see both our rings.
Right where they should be if we were married.
He nuzzles my cheek, then takes my hand, threading our fingers together. As the rings touch, I feel a deep synergy flow through us, sealing our fate. It feels so very right, though, as I cuddle back into him, then turn my head, kissing his lips.
“Do you ever want to get married, Bjorn?” I ask suddenly, curious.
“Maybe someday,” he says as he nuzzles my nose. “After all this shit is done… it might be nice to celebrate our life-mate bond in front of witnesses. Family and friends.”
“Then let’s do it.” I am decisive, as something inside me feels tremendously bright, burning with love for Bjorn. “Once all this is over, we’ll have a ceremony, a party… the whole shebang.”
“I love you, Rikyava.” Bjorn is serious now, as he turns me in the water so I sit sideways on his lap.
He stares into my eyes, his bright golden ones intense as he regards me.
“I don’t need some magic rings or a ceremony to make it real, even though they’re nice touches.
All I need is this: what I feel for you, deep inside.
This bond we share, and you in my arms. That’s all I’ve ever needed. I hope you know that.”
“I know,” I say as I nuzzle his nose, then kiss him. “I love you too, Bjorn. Always.” We rest with our foreheads together a moment, before I pull back again, searching his eyes. “Are you… alright? After everything that happened yesterday?”
“You mean with Baldur?” Bjorn’s eyebrows lift now.
Even a subtle blush taking his cheeks—adorable.
“I never dreamed I’d ever have such an experience,” he says quietly now, as if even admitting it to himself out-loud is new.
As he heaves a deep breath, Bjorn makes intense eye contact, sober.
“Some part of me has always wanted to try something with a drake; some part of me was always curious. But being raised where I was… bisexuality is not looked upon well in Magnussen lands. My clan has always placed a high importance upon relationships only to create offspring, since we lived in such a cruel place, where younglings often died. I just… never even allowed myself to consider it.”
“What do you think about it now?” I ask him, enjoying sharing this with Bjorn in such a calm heart-space.