Chapter 26 Rumpelstilzchen
twenty-six
Rumpelstilzchen
His true name rolled through Rumple like an autumn breeze shaking loose the leaves from the trees. His Heart had chosen him, and instead of the savage sting of poison, he felt the shedding of his form as if he were being forged anew.
He pressed a kiss to Boy’s lips. “Say it again,” he urged.
“Rumpelstilzchen,” replied Boy, with a quiet giggle.
Rumple cradled Boy’s head in his hands, but it wasn’t close enough. He magicked his leather gloves away and relished the soft and warm skin beneath his fingers.
“Are you certain?” he couldn’t help but ask.
Boy nodded again, and a fresh round of tears rolled over those cinnamon freckles Rumple adored so much.
They bubbled on contact with his skin, and the sensation heated Rumple’s core.
Still, he needed to be completely clear on the matter of Boy’s consent.
“You wish to be my Heart? To form that bond with me?”
“Yes, I want to be your Heart. My Shadow’s Heart.” Boy’s blush made his eyes seem more vibrant.
“A Shadow’s Heart,” Rumple mused. “How perfect.” His fingertip slid down the bridge of Boy’s nose. “Tell me, my Heart, how would you like a true name of your own? One that only we would ever know.”
Boy’s blinding smile was all the answer Rumple needed. He closed the distance between them and kissed his Heart properly. Soft and plump lips merged with his own, and into the welcoming space of his mouth he whispered, “das Herz des Schattens.”
His Shadow’s Heart moaned in appreciation of his new name, and Rumple devoured the delightful sound.
The tips of their tongues skated over and around one another, and his Heart pressed himself closer, greedy for more.
Rumple empathised. He held his Shadow’s Heart close, and into the kiss he poured his truth, and his magick.
This was something he’d never been able to do before, and it was something only his Heart could withstand. Rumple no longer needed to separate his human form from his shadowed one, no longer needed to hold himself back—his Heart had set him free.
When those smaller hands locked tightly around the back of Rumple’s neck, when his Heart’s knees parted to frame Rumple’s hips, and when no space existed between their flush torsos, Rumple melded his two forms. Darkness and magick enveloped them both, and his Heart breathed the shadows into his body.
Rumple stood then, and his Heart came with him, but the action broke off their kiss. Already fevered with desire, the hushed whine of protest tugged at every part of Rumple, but his Shadow Heart’s clothing was in the way of his licentious intentions.
Rumple remained resolute, yet attentive, while he untied the cord on the patched and tattered breeches.
The thick woollen material rustled when it fell and pooled over his scratched feet.
Shadow magick permeated the exposed skin there, and his Heart gasped when the litany of fine cuts healed before his eyes.
“This is just the beginning, mein Herz. Soon my magick will be as much a part of you as it is me, and never again will you know pain.” Rumple’s low voice held a smoky quality, even to his own ears, but the sound raised goosebumps along the skin of his Heart’s neck.
So responsive. So tantalising. Each raised morsel of flesh was capped with a freckle, and Rumple’s eyes followed their trails until they disappeared under the open collar of his tunic. Without further delay, Rumple gripped the hem and lifted it clear, discarding it to the stone floor.
His Heart stood bare before him, the golden thread of possession around his neck the only exception.
Rumple had never felt more alive, and he couldn’t suppress the groan of appreciation that rumbled from his throat.
His Heart blushed and his eyes twinkled, but when he made to kneel, Rumple stopped him with a firm hand upon his shoulder.
He held his Heart’s gaze as he trailed the back of his knuckles down his chest, and when the simple action summoned that same peaked response of his flesh, heat pooled low in his body. To think that he would have eternity to explore and indulge in every debauched fantasy he’d ever had…
Rumple gently turned his Heart to face away from him. Instantly, he knew eternity wouldn’t be long enough.
The freckled expanse of his slender back dipped sensually in toward his spine, and it drew Rumple’s gaze downward.
There, his knuckles traced the divot, they rose and fell over the notches, and the smoky wisps of shadow magick that he left in his wake seeped under the pale skin. He marvelled as ancient runes and symbols appeared and disappeared from under the surface: completion, possession, and love.
Rumple’s fingers continued around, and then under, his Heart’s perfect bottom, and the action elicited another one of those moans that called to every part of him. His Heart yearned, and Rumple was the only one who could sate that longing.
Furious pride rose within him, and Rumple’s clothes vanished in an instant. Leisurely, he stroked his length as his other hand rounded over the temptation in front of him one final time. Soon, he promised himself, very soon.
His Heart’s hands were fisted by his sides as he all but vibrated with restraint, and Rumple stepped in close behind him, his hardened cock nestled into the cleft of his bottom. “Good boy,” he purred, and rested his chin on his Heart’s shoulder.
The keened response was loud in the otherwise silent cell, and the scent of precum filled the air. Rumple bit into his Heart’s shoulder to stifle another wanton groan of lust, and even more shadow magick instantly assuaged the wound.
He kissed the reddened flesh and resumed a secure hold on the back of his Heart’s neck, then steered him around to face the shadowed cot he had conjured earlier.
When he pushed down, his Heart gave no resistance and hinged from his hips until his face was embedded in the soft mattress of shadow magick beneath him.
Could fate have given him a better Heart? Rumple didn’t think so.
Beautifully presented, Rumple pumped his cock a few times, then nudged his Heart’s feet further apart and sank to his knees behind him.
With one hand, he took a firm hold of his sac, thumb pressed directly onto his perineum, and he kneaded the sensitive organs until another dribble of precum leaked from his engorged tip.
His poor Heart was already on edge, and things were only going to get harder.
Rumple released his hold in favour of prising apart his Heart’s cheeks, where he eyed his target closely, and then spat directly onto his puckered pink hole.
His Heart grabbed fistfuls of thick shadows, and when Rumple smeared the slick around his rim, he rolled his hips with pure want.
He ran his finger around a second time, then sank it in up to the first knuckle without any further prelude.
His Heart moaned and bit into shadows that smothered him, and Rumple smiled before replacing his finger with his tongue.
Then he feasted. He licked and sucked, he massaged his thighs, he spread his cheeks, he licked some more, and when that ring of muscle finally relented under his efforts, he speared his tongue inside as far as he could reach.
Unable to withstand the onslaught, his Heart bent a quivering knee up onto the bed.
Rumple sank even deeper, and then dissolved his tongue into a shadowed tendril that lapped and curled and stretched him wide.
His Heart could barely contain the wild buck of his hips, and he fucked himself on Rumple’s shadows.
Rumple pulled back to watch. Another glistening bead of pre-cum dripped from the tip of his Heart’s cock, and when Rumple reached through from behind and brought it back to taste, they both moaned out loud.
He might be the one who needed to imbue his human with shadow magick, but as the velvety fluid coated his tongue and throat, he knew without doubt that the forging of the Heart-Bond worked both ways, and he swallowed greedily.
Shadows filled his Heart on the inside, and Rumple sucked him deep on the outside.
Enveloped at both ends, his Heart’s resistance to the inevitable could only last so long, and his whole body stuttered to a tense stop a moment before he came with a cry.
His hot release spurted to the back of Rumple’s throat, and he sealed his lips tightly.
Each pulse that started in his human ended in Rumple, and he gathered it all safely in his mouth.
When the last of his Heart’s pleasure had been wrung from his body, Rumple set him free and spat his load into his hand.
“Roll over, mein Herz, let me look at you when I take you.” The demand had the desired effect, and despite his heaving chest and sweat-slicked skin, his Heart flopped onto his front before hauling himself onto his back.
The golden thread pooled in the hollow of his throat, and each breath caused it to glint.
His Heart smiled a blissful smile, but his insatiable need made itself known when he stretched his arms forward while opening and closing his hands as he grabbed for Rumple.
Powerless but to obey, Rumple knee-walked onto the shadowed cot until he was between his spread legs.
There, he commanded his shadows wrap around his Heart’s ankles and secure his legs up and over his shoulders.
Perfectly exposed, Rumple dripped the cum in his hand over his shadowed length. In this form it was larger and girthier, but his human was born to be his Shadow Heart, and with the magick that already flowed through his veins, he could take it.
Rumple wiped the remains of the slick over his Heart’s puffy rim, and then pushed his way inside with a long, smooth glide.
His Heart tilted his head back and opened his airway, but the breath that was lodged in his lungs didn’t move until Rumple slowly pulled out, each ridge widening him further.
Rumple pushed in again, then deliberately dragged the shadowed ridges out at an angle. On the next thrust, his Heart’s breath was forced out of him with the exertion. And again. And again. Rumple set a punishing pace, and eventually his Heart matched him.
He pushed back with each stroke and used the brace of the restraints at his ankles for leverage.
Rumple leaned forward and his long black hair, one of his few remaining human features, brushed along his Heart’s flushed chest. Their gazes locked, and in those chestnut eyes he could see his shadowed reflection, but when he looked deeper still, he could see the swirling vortex of his magick.
Soon their Heart-Bond would be forged, and the knowledge spurred Rumple on.
He fell forward and entwined their fingers together. His Heart raised his head—their kiss was raw and spoke of the promise of forever. White heat spread out from the base of his spine and Rumple’s steady rhythm faltered.
His staccato movements were the precursor to the most potent orgasm he’d ever had.
His vision temporarily lost, he leaned on his Heart, pressed their foreheads together, and felt the cooling coil of a shadow tendril wrap around his torso to prop him up.
In his moment of weakness, his Heart had commanded his shadows to support him.
Rumple pulled out and lay on the bed. Immediately, his Heart lifted the dead weight of his arm and rested his head on Rumple’s chest. Those honeyed curls, damp with sweat, contrasted against his dark and shadowed skin, and Rumple laughed low and deep.
His Heart tilted his head back, confusion etched into his features, and Rumple brought his hand up to cradle his face and smooth away the furrow. “I cannot tell you how relieved I am, mein Herz, that I didn’t have to kill you to claim you.”
His Heart’s jaw fell open, and Rumple had hooked a finger under his chin to close it when the cell door rattled on its hinges.
Shadow magick cocooned the cell. Whoever it was wouldn’t be able to gain entry, but his Heart hadn’t yet learned the extent of Rumple’s powers and he stiffened beside him, clutching tightly at his shadowed skin.
In turn, Rumple secured him against his chest and reinforced the shadow layer around them.
“I know you’re in there, Pet.” Queen Schon spat the moniker with venom, and her manic tone belied her desperation. “You’ve destroyed half my palace, so I’m here to destroy something precious of yours.”
His Heart scrunched his eyes shut, and Rumple placed a finger over his lips. “Shhh, I made you a promise.”
A thundering boom from what Rumple knew was the battering ram at the door ricocheted through his Heart’s body, and Rumple hooked their legs together and brought them closer.
“I found another spell, Pet!” The Queen’s threat fell on deaf ears. He had his Heart now. There was nothing more she could do to him.
Another thundering boom, this one accompanied by the sharp splintering of aged wood.
His Heart attempted to bury his face, to hide, but Rumple caught him by the chin. “Are you ready to see the shadow realm, mein Herz?”
Those rich brown eyes widened, and he nodded.
“Then watch.”
When the final impact struck, the cell door exploded inward, and a strong gust of shadow magick blew out the flames of the Royal Guards’ lanterns. Rumple dematerialised then, and took his Heart with him.
Their sentient shadows crept along the wall, and when Queen Schon pushed past her guards and into the cell, Rumple and his Heart flowed out. Undetected, they swept through the undercroft and toward the outer bailey, as the Queen’s deranged screams echoed behind them.
“Rumpelstilzchen!”