Chapter 2 #3
"Lieutenant Rion of Korrath. Recently returned from campaign, experienced in traditional bonding practices, but.
.." Myris hesitated, studying my face with sharp attention.
"His previous partnerships have been severed before completion.
His superiors believe exposure to scholarly perspective might help him access aspects of bonding he's struggled with. "
Lieutenant Rion. The name conjured immediate images—bronzed muscle earned through combat training, hands skilled in both violence and tenderness, a body conditioned to follow orders and respond to authority.
Someone who might kneel as beautifully as they fought, who might surrender with the same intensity they brought to battle.
A warrior trained to be strong, disciplined, utterly capable of resistance—which would make their submission all the more intoxicating when it finally came.
"And they think I can help with that?"
"They think you might be able to reach him in ways purely militant partners haven't.
" Myris's voice grew gentler, though something in his expression suggested he understood more about my reaction than I was comfortable with.
"But Kaelen, you must understand—militant bonds are designed to end.
Twenty-eight days, no more. Their entire philosophy is built around demonstrating emotional discipline through successful severance. "
The warning should have discouraged me. Instead, it sent a thrill of challenge through my chest. Twenty-eight days to explore everything I'd dreamed of but never experienced.
Twenty-eight days to discover whether my fantasies of dominance could translate into reality.
Twenty-eight days to command the submission of someone trained to be strong, disciplined, utterly capable of resistance—which would make their surrender all the more precious when I finally earned it.
"You're asking if I can handle loving someone I'm meant to lose," I said quietly. ‘Love’ crossed my mind, though 'love' felt like too gentle a word for the hunger building in my chest.
"Can you?"
I considered the question seriously, but not in the way he probably intended.
Could I handle having absolute power over someone for twenty-eight days, then walking away?
Could I command submission, guide pleasure, be trusted with complete vulnerability, then demonstrate the ultimate control by ending it cleanly?
Could I teach someone to crave my guidance so completely that losing it would feel like losing air?
The idea was both terrifying and exhilarating. The ultimate test of dominance—not just claiming surrender, but releasing it when the time came. Proving that my control was so complete it extended even to letting go.
"Perhaps," I said slowly, "the more interesting question is whether the bond is truly designed to end, or whether that's simply what we've convinced ourselves must happen."
Myris raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
"Meaning I've read enough historical precedent to know that exceptional partnerships have occasionally challenged expectations.
" I met his gaze directly, wondering if he could see the hunger I was no longer trying to hide.
"And meaning that if this Lieutenant Rion and I discover something worth preserving, I'm not inclined to let arbitrary timelines dictate its conclusion. "
What I didn't say was that twenty-eight days might be exactly enough time to break down his defenses completely, to teach him to crave my guidance, to make him understand that true submission was the greatest gift he could offer.
If I could accomplish that, if I could make myself essential to his pleasure and peace, then perhaps the arbitrary deadline would become irrelevant.
"Kaelen." Myris's voice carried a note of warning, but also something that might have been approval. "These aren't theoretical constructs you'll be dealing with. These are real emotions, real people, real consequences. The militant Orders don't appreciate having their traditions challenged."
"Then perhaps it's time their traditions evolved to match their actual needs rather than their inherited fears." I set down my cup, decision crystallizing with surprising clarity. "I'll do it."
The words came out with more force than I'd intended, driven by hunger I could no longer deny.
I wanted this. Wanted the chance to explore power I'd only dreamed of wielding.
Wanted to discover whether my instincts toward dominance could be channeled into something sacred, whether commanding another's submission could become a form of worship.
"You're certain?"
"Absolutely." I smiled, feeling the familiar thrill that came with approaching uncharted intellectual territory—though this time, the territory was far more personal than any I'd explored before. "Besides, someone needs to test whether love is truly subject to institutional regulation."
What I really meant was that someone needed to test whether dominance and submission could transcend the artificial boundaries imposed by different Orders.
Whether the hunger for control I'd spent years suppressing could finally find its proper outlet.
Whether I could take a trained warrior and teach him that his greatest strength lay in surrender.
Myris studied me for a long moment, then nodded. "Very well. You have some time to prepare—not just intellectually, but emotionally. You may discover that some knowledge can only be gained through experience."
As I left his study, scrolls and theories swirling through my mind, I found myself wondering whether Lieutenant Rion had any idea he was about to become part of the most fascinating—and intensely personal—research project of my academic career.
I had days to prepare. Days to ready myself for the chance to finally explore what I'd only dared imagine in the dark hours before dawn.
Days until I discovered whether my dreams of dominance were merely fantasy, or the deepest truth of my nature finally demanding recognition.