Epilogue Aegir
IN WHICH ENDINGS ECHO BEGINNINGS WITH REMARKABLY SIMILAR RESULTS
F or a time, Aegir stood with Elspeth and simply enjoyed her closeness.
“Where are we headed then?” She asked.
“Hillskerry, I strongly suspect that once the Empire discovers that that flotilla has been destroyed, they will only send more towards your home. I think we should arrive first and work out a plan.”
“What do you think we should do? We aren’t equipped to fight them. Hell, I can only think of two or three people who even know how to fight worth a damn, and that’s only because they have a penchant for getting into them.”
“I think you’re right. Now that the Empire has remembered your people, and has learned of a way that they can bend them to their will, they will likely capitalize on that. I think we have a few weeks, maybe a month before they are back, and attempting to take more captives. I can’t say how many, it depends on how valuable they think you are, which, I suppose Feann could probably give us some insight where that is concerned. I propose that we meet with your leaders and come up with a strategy. I think you’ve mentioned other communities of selkies, perhaps your people could go there, or maybe they are prepared to fortify the island and fight back? Whoever wants to leave would be welcome in both Sanctuary or Berggeheimnis, I know that for a fact. I’m sorry that your people are being dragged into this. You didn’t ask for this, but you are getting it nonetheless.”
Elspeth’s next words were quiet. “And me? Would I be welcome in Sanctuary?”
His chest swelled, pride filling him up until he thought he might burst. He turned her toward him, so that he could look into her eyes. “You will be absolutely welcome in Sanctuary, and on my boat, and in my bed, and in my heart. Though you already have taken up residence in the last one.”
Elspeth bit her lip and leaned into him. "Have I? "
Smiling and blushing, she was everything he'd never known he wanted, everything he'd never allowed himself to want.
"Of course you have. You consume my every thought, suffuse the air I breathe. Do you want more? I am not sure what else I have to give but if you need more, I will find it."
Elspeth spun in his arms, looking up at him through her lashes. "Could Jokith take over for a while?"
Gods, he had no idea what her plan was, but with that mischievous smirk on her face? Surely Jokith had done something to secure the hellion he’d liberated from the Empire by now. If Jokith found it in him to tear himself away from staring at the confounded dryad. If he hadn’t, the boat could drift for all he cared. He'd let the boat go straight into the fucking rocks to follow her. "Jokith, to the helm!"
Swaying her plump hips, Elspeth sashayed from the bridge and toward the stern of the boat. When they arrived, she peeled away the layers of her clothing. "Fancy a swim?"
"Always," he rasped out. His breaths already came rapidly out of him, the tension of his desire coiling around until it held him fast. He shed his clothes, unable to remove his eyes from Elspeth as she revealed more of her supple skin to him. With a flourish, she wrapped her pelt around her shoulders like a cloak. With her hair blowing in the wind and the light of freedom in her eyes, she was a wild ocean goddess. She raised her eyebrows and dove into the ocean. Though it was well practiced, his own shift was not quite so quick or effortless and it took him a moment to focus enough to trigger it. Hopefully this wore off at some point, because surely being this distracted around her all the time would get him killed. As soon as he felt his lunula go to work, he was diving after her, splashing into the dark sea below.
In seconds, he was engulfed, the dark waves roiled above him, but below he focused on the smaller eddies Elspeth would have created. Casting about his senses, he searched for her. After hunting for nearly a minute, he noted a small current leading away toward the shore.
Got you.
Her scent followed the eddy, and as the night inevitably followed day, so was he compelled to follow her. Confident in his course, he pumped his massive tail and plunged through the water after her.
Now that he better knew the shape of their bond, he could feel the edges and limitations of it. He could feel it, a faint connection, a single point that he could follow to her. But more importantly, it didn’t have anything to do with how he felt about her. He was bound, not bewitched. His feelings for her, though, were a raging inferno that he was shocked didn’t incinerate him where he stood, a molten heat that permeated his very being. And it was a wonder that he didn’t evaporate the ocean around him.
Following the scent of her, that tantalizing tug that drew him inexorably toward her, he raced through the dark water. His very blood thrilled at the sight of her, as her tail appeared through the dark nothingness of the sea. Now that he knew her, he could see that her movements weren’t erratic, they were simply too aware. This wasn’t a seal that knew the movements of an orca at an instinctual level only. These were the calculated movements of the centuries of selkies passed down. This was the collective knowledge of how orcas hunted, and practiced techniques to evade those hunting tactics. Now that he saw how she moved, it was a wonder he had ever thought her unwell. In the correct context, her movements were so clear, so calculated, so obviously meant to subvert expectation.
She looked behind her, spotting him, and the game began in earnest. They sliced through the currents, and in a dance as old as time immemorial, and as new and seductive as fresh as the first glints of sun after a storm. Back and forth, she led him, testing the very limits of his skill. Every stroke of her tail showed how strong and worthy she was, and every tilt and adjustment made him remember how lucky he was to have ever caught her.
And yet, she was better now. Her turns were more precise, her calculations more measured. Instead of panic, excitement colored her movements, and joy suffused her choices.
She led him on a merry chase, narrowly evading capture several times until they approached the shallows near a beach. So close, Elspeth shifted partially, switching to her more humanoid top half. He followed suit, an action that shrank him considerably, though he was still nearly twice her length. Elspeth pulled herself from the water as the faint rays of predawn lightened the sky. Her hair clung to her, running rivulets of seawater down her breasts. Every fiber in his being compelled him to lick them from her skin, from the faintly sueded texture she bore in this form.
Those big, deep eyes beckoned him, pulling him, unerringly toward her, toward his destiny. For she wasn’t a detour, she was the destination. The Pathians had it all wrong, which was no surprise, she was the direction in the destination, the path and its terminus.
She pulled herself from the water, laying on her side on the sand, and Aegir settled himself next to her. His eyes traced the shapes of her body, focusing on small details that fascinated him as never before. Her ears, he noted, were folded in slightly different places, and her whiskers were not white as he had once thought, but clear. Her long brown hair held shades of gray and auburn, and then an umber so deep as it might just be an inky black. He could look at her for years, and still find details to fascinate him.
He had never once, he realized, in all of their time together, squirreled away a sample of her DNA, or analyzed it as he did with his usual conquests. Further, he found that he had no desire to do so. Why would he obliterate the mysteries of her? Why would he deny himself the pleasure, the adventure, of discovering them organically?
When she licked her lip, that small, pink tongue, darting out to taste the traces of the briny sea. He couldn’t decide if he was more jealous of her lip or her tongue, for each had usurped his place.
“You didn’t bite me this time,” she said.
“I didn’t catch you this time.”
“Haven’t you?” Elspeth quirked an eyebrow. “I feel well and truly caught.”
Aegir smiled and tilted his head. “I think you’ll find that it’s you who has caught me.”
“In that case, I suppose I must decide what to do with you.” She tapped her chin, as if thinking. “I haven’t need of a beast of burden, nor of a spy, in particular, but…”
Her pulse stood out against her neck, its rapid quivering drawing his eyes like a magnet.
“But?”
“But it seems I am in need of a partner” she blushed, as if somehow adorably shocked at her own words.
“I don’t think you are,” he said.
His teasing had the desired effect, her eyes were momentarily hurt, but he continued before it could truly take hold. “You’ve already got one, if you’ll have me.”
Her smile lit up the morning like the first rays of sun. “I think I will. Do you—what I mean to say is, you mentioned that in your culture, you have a binding of your own. A mating mark given and received to show commitment..."
She trailed off, getting less excited and more visibly nervous with every word.
"We do, is that something you'd like? With me?" He'd meant to reassure her, but his own vulnerability crept in. It was so difficult to fathom, so foreign still, that someone might want him for him, rather than some character he'd devised to suit them. But somehow, she'd stripped away his layers of artifice, pushing through until she'd located the core of him and seized it for herself.
Elspeth bit her lip and nodded. "Yes, I'd like that. Now. With you." Her eyes glistened with tears, and for the first time, he didn't hate them. He loved those tears.
He cupped her cheeks and leaned in to kiss her. The bright saltiness of the ocean mingled with the sweet, refreshing taste of Elspeth herself, an intoxicating flavor combination perfectly designed to be his downfall. Her warm tongue danced with his, toying with him the way they'd played in the water, teasing and darting away before allowing herself to be caught. Her hands tangled in his hair, holding him tight, though the idea that she'd ever need to hold him was laughable. He was well and truly a pathetic sod for her. A card-carrying member of the club, it seemed. 1
When they'd kissed themselves breathless, she pulled back, gasping. "So how does this usually go?"
"Well," he said, smirking. "Seeing as I've never done it before, I haven't any real idea."
Elspeth growled at him and pushed his arm.
"Sorry, sorry," he said, laughing. "I had to!"
She rewarded him with the smallest smile but raised her brows, expecting an answer.
"It's usually done in private, so we're on the right track there." He traced a finger along her neck and down across the top of her shoulder. "Usually around here..."
Elspeth shivered, her eyes wide and mouth dropped open to accommodate a shaky intake of breath.
"It's said..." he whispered in her ear. "That after the bite, it's extremely pleasurable, and that spot becomes as sensitive as say... a nipple."
Elspeth remained pliable in his arms, and her eyes fell shut but he was careful to watch her reactions to make sure she was still present with him. He teased the peak of her nipple with the tip of his claw, with so little pressure that it was sure not to hurt.
"And do I get to bite you back?"
"Of course."
Outwardly, it was a simple, nonchalant answer, but inside he was screaming and leaping with joy. His heart certainly raced as if he were.
"Can I bite you first?"
Aegir crumpled. His shoulders rolled forward with the force of his relief. She really wanted to bite him, and had there ever been anything better? Surely not. Surely this, knowing she wanted him back, wanted him enough to claim him was the pinnacle of existence.
Weakly, he nodded, as he felt tears gather in his own eyes.
"I want you Aegir. For now and always." She shook as she said it, but everything else in her demeanor told him she was sure. "If you'll allow me?"
"Always."
Elspeth leaned forward and ran her nose along the juncture of his neck and shoulder, teasing where she'd bite. He gasped as her tongue flicked out to lick him. She explored, as if testing various spots, driving him mad with anticipation and need. His own breath was ragged and he trembled with need. Sweat beaded and mingled with seawater on his brow and chest and the realization that she was lapping it off him nearly made him extrude from his slit.
Finally, she seemed to settle on a place, humming happily and lavishing the spot with attention. He was writhing under her when she pulled away, exposing the spot to the sudden chill of the air.
"Please," he gasped, unable to hold himself back from bucking his hips. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to hold it together, but really, how was he meant to act seconds before she claimed him as hers forever? He didn't need to wait long, as the sharp points of her teeth pressed into his skin. The pressure increased, slowly as if she were reluctant to use too much. The pressure bled to pain, but he embraced it as the harbinger it was, the prelude to the greatest pleasures of his life. With a sudden sharpness she was through, clamping onto him with surprising strength.
And then just as suddenly, she released him with a gasp. His blood clung to her lip in smears and he was shocked at how seductive it was.
"Now what?" she asked.
It took the words a few moments to penetrate the haze of euphoria he felt, but once they did, it made complete sense. Of course she had no idea of what to do next, nor could she forge the pathways that would make their marks special. That was his task and if he had any hope of accomplishing it, he needed to focus.
"Now, you clean it. With your tongue, I mean. I'll do the internal work, but I'd like you to clean it." The softness, the vulnerability in his voice surprised him, but Elspeth only smiled and nodded before bending back to his neck. With gentle, careful flicks of her tongue, she lapped at his blood, soothing his raw soul more than the wound itself .
Turning his head, Aegir placed a kiss on her head and focused inward. The nerves he needed, the connections he'd strengthen were already there, but he paid special attention considering he'd need to replicate the process in her, without her assistance. He followed the nerves to their terminus, branching and multiplying them as he healed, leveraging his lunula to accomplish the task faster than any normal human could. He followed those nerves back, pulsing electricity along them so he strengthened the synapses to his pleasure centers. With every lick, he sent sensation, multiplying exponentially until he could take it no longer. Every muscle in his body tensed, bowing him off the sand as he came with a shout, spilling inside his slit where his cock was still contained inside its pocket.
"Oh!" At his shout, Elspeth pulled back in shock. "Did I do it wrong?"
Aegir chuckled between breaths. "No, you did it very, very right. I essentially just built that patch into a clit, or a cockhead right now, so I just got a little overwhelmed."
"Really?" Elspeth drawled, her eyes alight with interest. "And that will happen to me?"
"Yes."
As fast as he'd ever seen her move, Elspeth faced away from him, snuggling her ass into him, and flinging the length of her hair above her head. She looked back at him over her shoulder, so eager that he couldn't help but laugh.
"I take it, it's my turn?"
She scrunched her nose at him in the way he loved. "Yes."
"Perfect."
If she'd teased him that meant it was only fair if he teased her back. Turnabout was fair play after all. With utmost care, he nipped her neck, eliciting sharp little yips at each. The moans that followed spurred him on so he soothed each one with sucking kisses. She squirmed against him, the most wonderful writhing motions that told him she was still enjoying herself. He kept one arm tucked safely under her head and the other cupped her breast. He was not about to ruin the moment by roaming too far. When her cries took on an air of desperation, Aegir knew it was time.
Perhaps if her pleasure were not so tenuous he might have pressed in slowly, but he wanted the pain over as quickly as possible. So, with a smooth, decisive motion he sank his teeth into her until her blood burst into his mouth.
There it was. That delectable, intoxicating taste that had gotten them intertwined to begin with. It played along his palate and danced with his taste buds as if beckoning to him. Unlike last time, though, there was no horror, only pleasure, pure and sweet, as after her initial yelp, Elspeth relaxed in his arms.
He lavished her with kisses and licks, soothing and healing the bite. While he'd needed to concentrate to create his own mating mark, this was as easy as breathing. Instead of directing his lunula, the magic flowed out of him, eager for its task the second he summoned it. With each slow caress of his tongue, Elspeth's pulse sped, rewarding him with more of her taste and the confirmation that she wanted him.
"Aegir!" she screamed, scrabbling frantically at his hand. "Touch me, please!"
She shoved his hand lower, toward her own slit but he stayed his hand.
"Elspeth, are you—"
"Yes, now please !"
With tentative, shaking fingers, Aegir moved his hand to hover over the slit in her pelt. With another forceful push, she positioned him so that he was touching her. Aegir's claws retracted back with a thought. His fingers hadn't stilled when he stroked along her seam, but Elspeth moaned at his touch, so he took it for a good sign.
Without forgetting his ministrations at her bite, Aegir toyed with her edges, taking note of when she seemed especially keen on his touch. When he slipped inside and he focused in on her clit. If she was in any place like he'd been, she would be in no mood to fuss around. Two circles of his fingers had her head relaxed back in ecstasy and a few more had her screaming her pleasure to the brightening sky.
As the first rays of morning streaked through the morning's fog, Elspeth relaxed in his arms, smiling and spent.
"The—" she gasped when she spoke. "The first time you bit me wasn't nearly as fun."
"Oh?"
"I'm sorry, was it just as fun for you?"
Fuck he loved it when she was feisty with him.
"No, though I did wonder why you tasted so fucking good."
"Did you really?"
"I did. Speaking of which..." Aegir wiggled the fingers still encased in her slit, withdrawing them to display them, glistening in the air above. Holding her gaze, he brought them to his mouth and licked her essence from them. "I do love how you taste. I wonder..." he said after cleaning his last finger. "If you might indulge me, just a bit further? "
Elspeth's eyebrows raised in interest as he shifted to his more humanoid form and crawled down next to her tail.
"If you would be so kind, milady, would you remove your coat?" He waved a hand over her legs and watched, fascinated, as she peeled it away to reveal her perfectly curved legs. "Why don't you tuck that under your head?"
"Oh, such a gentleman!" she squealed.
"It's all an act," he said. “I'm a rogue. A rake of the highest order. Truly the worst sort imaginable."
He smiled so she'd know he was jesting, though it was, strictly speaking, quite an accurate description for him only a month before.
"Oho, but from what I hear, a tame rake is the best sort of mate!" Elspeth dropped her knees open, inviting him between.
"I can't speak to that one way or another, but tell me, just how are these rakes supposed to be the best?" He lowered himself so he hovered over her mound, the dense curls that shielded her tantalizing him with her scent.
"Well," she began, just as he lowered himself to lick her. "They are apparently supposed to be quite skilled lovers." Her voice was pitchy and breathy, modulating to mimic the movements of his tongue .
"Mmmm," he hummed against her. It was not only encouragement for her to go on, but in enjoyment of the tangy taste that only she possessed. It was somehow so uniquely Elspeth in a way that he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to place, but would never cease to enjoy.
"Th—they have—tongues," she gasped out.
"As do most folks, honestly," Aegir said.
Elspeth growled in frustration and grabbed his head. Oh yes, he loved feisty Elspeth. With a grin, he pressed back against her hands when she tried to move him back to her cunt.
"Ah, ah, ah, my siren," he teased. "You're having trouble speaking, so you need a break, I think."
The shock on her face was tempered by a smile and increased pressure on the back of his head. She let out short affronted gasps as she tried to wrestle his head back into place.
"What is it, my sweet, biddable siren? Is there something you want?" He cocked his head to the side, all feigned innocence.
Instead of responding, Elspeth wrapped her legs around him to try to get better leverage.
"It feels like you want something..." Aegir opened his mouth wide and allowed his tongue, which he'd just modified, to hang free. Elspeth's eyes bulged at its length, and her mouth dropped open when he split it into two independent halves.
"Are you aching, my siren?" He slipped two fingers back between her swollen folds, dragging them through her wetness but refusing to touch where she wanted him most. "You once mentioned a desperate, pounding, want. Would you say that is an accurate description of what you're feeling?"
"Aegir!" she screamed.
"Yes, my love?"
"Why are you being such an ass?"
"Because it's just so much fun." He teased the tops of her thighs with his tongue.
"Aegir, please!"
Drat, there it was, the magic word, playtime was over. His mate—his mate —needed him, and he wouldn't let her down.
"That's my gorgeous girl."
1. Again, there is NO card, there is NO real club, and I am still angry about it.