Chapter 19
Emmie
AND SO IT BEGINS - KLERGY?
We travelled back home the next morning, Portarius not letting me out of touching distance while we packed.
Insisting on rubbing my hips intermittently throughout the journey.
Only once did his fingers slip further, exploring my pussy until I was a whimpering mess begging him to make me come.
He wanted to go down on me again, a newfound fascination with foreplay, but the logistics of trying to do anything on the back of Equina was simply not feasible.
Maybe next time we visit the village, we can stop on the way and spend the night camping on the roadside.
Steve had grunted his goodbyes, and we rode off at dawn, the red sun not having crested the horizon yet.
We have barely any of the items we purchased with us, only what could fit in the two saddlebags.
I managed to try on the clothes that Selene made for me, and they're perfect.
It was like she could read my mind and see exactly what I was hoping for.
There is one dress, though, which I insisted we take with us.
Made from some sort of silk, it feels like butter against my skin.
I plan to surprise Portarius with it the night we bond.
I know it's silly, but it really does feel like I'm getting married, and I'm thrilled to wear something beautiful after being stuck in hand me downs.
I know initially I was thinking it would be nice to die in something beautiful, and even though I've been physically drained from the poison and I'm probably not reacting in a way that's healthy.
Lord knows I should be a withering mess, crying on the floor like so many humans before me.
I'm just excited about the possibilities.
In a weird way, this is like getting a second chance at living while being surrounded by all of your most interesting topics.
I feel like an anthropologist just starting out, but also falling in love with my hot as fuck sidekick.
Portarius is my version of Brendan Fraser in The Mummy.
Okay, that's minimising his entire existence, but you know what I mean.
It just feels like I'm getting a second chance, and I'm not taking all of the pressures I felt on Earth with me.
I'm not concerned about anyone's opinion, and I'm not trying to fit in with the latest trends.
I can just be me, and it seems like, for the first time ever, it will be enough.
The moon flames were high in the sky when we arrived home late last night.
Apparently, we are closer to the place it comes from.
I tried to explain that I think he meant it's orbit, and that the sun and moon just circle this planet.
Portarius burst out laughing, wrapping his arms around me, saying that I was cute when I acted human, whatever that means.
The red sun and the moon flames have a home in this realm, kind of like pits in the ground that they rise and set into.
It's their job, was the explanation I was given.
They work together to give us light and warmth.
A perfect symbiotic relationship in a place you would not expect such harmony.
I began to relax as we hit the edge of the wheat fields, and then we rode for what felt like a million hours until we turned a bend in the road and I could see the tiny white cottage in the distance, glowing under the light of the moon flames.
There is no bath or shower in the house, but there is a bucket and a cloth that I use to wash myself after we arrive.
There is not a lot to unpack, and Portarius made sure Equina was comfortable and fed before coming inside to join me.
He insisted on taking over washing my body and spent so long exploring my pussy with his tongue, his large hands massaging my ass and breasts that I was jelly by the time he was satisfied and carried me to his bed.
Everything is different and nothing is different at the same time.
In the span of four days, when we first set out to Inferloch, I have somehow managed to develop some pretty big feelings for Portarius, and I'm almost certain he feels the same.
When he was explaining the bonding to me, all that came to my depraved mind was the copious amounts of monster and shifter smut that I've read, and if it's anything like what they experience, then sign me the fuck up.
That's genuinely the only reason I can think of as to why I'm not creeped out by falling headfirst into an eternity in Hell.
My smut addiction is finally paying off, and I'll reap the rewards by finding and having my fated mate absolutely rail me. And love me… of course.
The red sun is high in the sky when I finally crack my eyes open. Portarius has a plate of bread and jam ready for me next to the bed, and Equina comically sticks her head through the bedroom window at almost the same time as I fully open my eyes.
“How come you haven't gone back into the Gate?” I murmur, stroking her muzzle as I crawl over the bed to scratch behind her ears.
Her snorts draw Portarius into the room, and he leans against the door frame, watching us, or watching my naked body.
I conveniently went to sleep without my clothes on.
He looks so relaxed right now, breathtaking as the red sun glints off his brass adornments.
“Equina wanted to say goodbye. She waited for you to wake, but I think she was becoming impatient,” he says, smiling.
“I'm sorry, I didn't realise.”
I'm still groggy from sleep, but I quickly get off the bed and throw the nearest item of clothing I can reach on.
Conveniently, it's clean and one of Portarius' large shirts.
I imagine it's the one he was planning on wearing today as he stands blissfully shirtless in front of me.
I kiss his chest before squeezing under his arm, grabbing a piece of bread from the counter as I race outside.
I make it all of three steps out the front door, my eyes locking on a white blob before strong arms wrap around me, and I laugh, sinking into his embrace.
“How long have you been awake?” I chuckle as he lifts me high enough to nuzzle into my neck.
“Since the red sun crested. I wanted to make you something,” he says, grinning at me.
Stroking my hand over his cheek, I rub my thumb against his soft, bronzed skin, staring at him affectionately. It's only now that I understand what this feeling is deep in my chest. It all makes sense. We're soulmates. Bonded.
“Is that what you've been working on, over there?” I say, pointing to the white sheet.
It sits roughly halfway between the cottage and the Gate.
This must be what Samwise Gamgee felt like when he ate potatoes, because other than being on the fast track to having a second death, everything feels right.
I’m completely at peace, grateful that I fell through Portarius' Gate.
And even though this looks like a simple existence, I already feel how light my chest is knowing that my future is set and I get to spend forever with someone who makes me smile without trying, that my world is brighter and safer with him in it.
Picturing him out here making something just for me makes my breath catch.
“We will need to see that it works first, but I will show soon.”
He nods his head toward the dark water of the Gate as Equina trots past us, stomping her feet in the shallows.
I'm still a little hesitant about getting too close after what happened with the Ananea, but I'm also one hundred percent confident that the Gate wouldn't hurt me …
I think. Portarius puts me down near the water's edge, and I stand there timidly.
“Hi there, Gate. Mr Gate? I mean, you could be a Mrs, but … I’m sorry, I'll stop. Just a hi from me,” I whisper.
Equina walks back to us from where she trotted around the edge, thrusting her muzzle into my side, throwing me off balance.
She pushes me forward a few steps, and in less than a second, the endless black water has shot out and has some sort of arm beneath my shirt, moving over the small mark left from the Ananea.
“Portarius?” I gasp, trying not to scream or make any sudden movements.
“I'm sorry, they conspired against me and want to be sure there is nothing that can be done … other than bonding. Do not be afraid, Emmie.” I gently lift off the shirt I was wearing, dropping it to the ground, keeping a laser focus on where the water glides over my body.
He moves to stand next to me, taking my hand in his, touching his free hand between Equina’s eyes, rubbing her head gently. Breath hitching, a slow feeling of contentment begins to grow and build. The now constant ache in my stomach, easing.
“We are stronger like this. We are connected. We are whole.”
And he’s right. We are. The Gate water touches me, and I touch Portarius, who touches Equina, who is currently standing in the Gate's water. Legs lost in the darkness of its shallows.
“It will be like this, but stronger when we are bonded.” A chuckle escapes him as he looks at me. “The Gate wants to bond very much. They insist on tonight, but we can wait another night if you need more time.”
He is so earnest as he gives me yet another chance to back out. I know this decision needs to be mine, but I think even if I weren't poisoned, I would want his bond. I feel at peace like this. The world falls quiet.
“Your tattoos, they’re fading?” I state, noticing they seem to be half as black as they once were.
“I do not need the strength of my warrior as much. I have yet to fully call on him, so we are experiencing my warrior marks for the first time together. They will fade over time as the threat leaves us, or they may reappear in a time of need. My warrior presents when I need him the most.”
The Gate's water slowly recedes from me, and I take a deep breath as I observe it.
At the same time, Equina steps forward, hanging her head over my shoulder, and I wrap my arms around her as best I can.
Turning, breaking our embrace, she steps further into the water, standing on her hind legs, letting out an impressive neigh that echoes around us.
She is so beautiful, I'll miss her company until our next journey.
“Come. You will see Equina again, but for now, I have a gift I think you would like to use.”