34. Adrian
Adrian
Scorchcross was a fairly big port town, with an equal measure of fae, minotaurs, humans, and shifters.
There were no other nagas, but that made sense.
Most like me preferred the more arid climate of Yerev, and so did I for a time, until I realized there was a whole world out there to explore, and with a ship, it was all at my fingertips.
The Traveler’s Inn was a cute place, one we stopped in by chance after another visiting a cobbler. Like Pointet Harbor, Scorchcross was a large trade destination, so there were more than enough pubs to choose from.
It seemed we’d stumbled upon a relatively quiet one.
Some of these places could be rowdy or crowded, but while this place had a good number of patrons, most of them were at their own tables, eating and keeping to themselves.
There was a lute player in the corner, playing soft, tavern music that gave the whole place a comforting feeling.
Sage and I took up one of the tables to the side, neither of us eager to chat with others at the bar.
“I’ll go grab our drinks,” I said, kissing Sage quickly before hurrying off. In this instance, I’d really hoped she’d be too worn out to come out, but as always, she insisted on tagging along.
I told her it was too late in the day to start our journey, and it was true, but I also needed a bit of time to scope out our route. I remembered slithering through town and a few moments in the woods, but the whole path wasn’t clear, and I needed it to be.
So I decided to ask around, but didn’t want to worry Sage. I’d told her I had this handled, and I did. I would.
The bartender was a short but burly man, with red hair and fae ears sticking out on either side of his head. “Can I get ya something?” he asked, his accent thicker than the fae I’d met in central Quvill.
“An ale and…” I looked down at the list, looking for a sweet white. “A glass of the Cherryblooms please.”
“Got it.”
He got the tap running on my drink and turned to pour the wine.
Once it was all done, he slid both glasses across the counter. “Four coins,” he said.
I passed over ten. His brows shot up, but he didn’t question it as he swept them from the table and right into his apron.
“Can I ask you a question,” I said.
“Depends. Six coins int worth that much.”
“I’m wondering if you know a mage called Maralda.”
His face remained static. “Say I do, what do ya want with her?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Just some assistance.”
“Are you plannin’ on tippin’ her only six coins too?”
I sighed, pulling out a handful more and throwing them to the counter.
“She lives out in the woods,” he said unhelpfully.
“I know that much. How do you get there?”
“What, want me to draw ya a map?”
His voice was raised, starting to draw some eyes. “No, but basic directions might be nice.”
I thought for a few moments he wasn’t going to help me at all, that I was having a scaleless conversation and I needed to look elsewhere.
“Fine, I’ll tell ya, but there better be more where that came from,” he said, gesturing to my pocket.
“Plenty.”
“You want ta head out of town through the south gate, tis the most direct route, then—”
“Everything okay?” Sage asked, scaring me.
“Fine,” I said. “Just… chatting,” I said.
The barkeep hummed. “Yup, just some casual chattin’.” It seemed he picked up the vague hint, thank the goddess above. “Nice talking to ya.”
Moons.
I was so close to getting the answers I needed. But I followed Sage back to the table, settling in next to her.
“What was that about?” she asked.
“Nothing, just a chatty old man,” I said, sipping my drink.
Her eyes were sharp, but she didn’t question me further.
We enjoyed our drinks, talking about nothing and everything. It felt so… easy with her.
“I need to use the bathroom,” she said, pushing from the booth and heading towards the back.
One of the waitresses walked past, and I realized this was my opportunity. “Excuse me,” I said.
She stopped, looking me over once, before leaning against the table, just a bit. “How can I help you, sailor?”
She was a shifter, with her pointed wolf ears stuck out of her head between her dark hair.
“I was wondering if you’d heard of the mage Maralda.”
“Course I have, who hasn’t? She’s the one who eats your kids if you let them get too close to the forest’s edge.”
“I think that’s an old tale,” I assured her.
She shrugged. “Kinda spooky though, right?” She leaned forward a bit more. “Why?”
“Do you know how to get there?”
“To her home? Nope. I’ve never even tried.”
“Do you know anyone who has?”
She looked thoughtful. “Mayhap Benni? It’s something most of the older people who live here know, and keep a secret.”
“Why?”
The barmaid shrugged. “Cause she eats children, mayhap?”
I huffed a small laugh, I obviously wasn’t getting anywhere like this. “Okay, thank you.”
“Is there anything else I can get you?” she asked. “Even anything… after hours?”
Her hand drifted to my arm, but I was quick to duck away. “A refill will be all we need, thanks.”
She shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
She wandered off, and when she moved, I caught Sage standing on the other side, watching the interaction.
She came back to the table, sinking next to me. “Order us more drinks?” she asked, as I was slid further into the booth, her sitting on the outside.
“I did,” I said.
“Good, I was parched.”
She wrapped her arm around mine, leaning into my shoulder.
I kissed the top of her head. “No need to be jealous,” I said.
She gasped. “I’m not being jealous.”
I lifted a brow. “Really?”
Her lips turned to a small pout. “Maybe a little. But she was so flirting with you.”
“She was,” I admitted. “But I only asked for drinks.”
“I know,” she said. “I watched.”
I laughed. Our drinks were dropped off by someone else, which was helpful.
After a few more rounds, we decided to get a room there. I wasn’t needed back at the Violet Ghost tonight, and it was nice to get away for a bit.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Just one more?” she asked me, her voice already sounding a bit slurred.
“I think it’s time to stop.”
She whined. “I don’t want to though.”
I leaned into her, letting my lips press right against her ear. “What did I say about not listening having consequences?”
When I pulled back she looked me right in the eye, a devious smirk playing on her face.
She rose her hand, and turned away from me. “One more please!”
Our waitress nodded and hurried to get one.
“You’re going to pay for that later.”
“Moons, I hope so.”
Upstairs we were greeted by a small but cool room, thank the goddess. The summer heat was really starting to beat down, so the room having some flow felt nice. There was a wooden bed, a hearth that was currently cleaned and unused due to the season, a few side tables and a desk.
“This is cozy,” Sage commented.
“Very,” I agreed. “It’s been a long time since I slept anywhere but the ship.”
“It feels like that to me too,” she said. “Though I don’t dislike it,” she was quick to correct. “It’s just a good change.”
“I agree.”
I brought her close and kissed her. It was only meant to be chaste, but now that we were alone, it was almost impossible to keep our hands off each other.
Clothes were thrown everywhere, until we were both perfectly naked. Her skin was so soft and pliant, and smelled slightly floral everywhere.
I let my teeth bite down between her shoulder and her neck, leaving little red dots. I wanted to mark her all over, claim her as mine in the worst kind of way.
I picked her up, carrying her over to the bed. It was pretty big, which was good. I wasn’t kidding when I told Sage I was heavy, and the fear of breaking a less-than-sturdy bed was real.
I sat on the edge, my tail out towards the floor and position her until she was stomach down against me, body draped over perfectly.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Punishing you like I promised I would.”
A shiver went through her.
“If it’s too much, or you need me to stop, say lantern. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Good.”
I ran my hand over the small of her back, down the swell of her ass, until I brushed them down between her legs, feeling the wetness already begin to form there.
I didn’t stay for long though. My hand reeled back and landed a hard smack across her ass, the sound reverberating through the room. Her skin reddened instantly, and I wanted to see more.
I kept going, landing blow after blow against her, watching her ass bounce and her body shake.
“That was ten,” I said after the final one. My hands ran over her sore skin, so warm to the touch.
She moaned in response, and the sound went straight to my cock.
“You’ll take five more, okay?”
“Yes.”
I smacked her five more times, all the while feeling her cunt dripping against me. At this point, I wasn’t sure if it was a punishment for her or for me.
When I finished, I put her on the bed, face down and rubbed down her sore skin.
“You did so well for me,” I praised.
I turned her so I could kiss her nice and deep, needing to be closer to her. She wrapped her legs around me, her slick cunt rubbing up and down my cock, until she hit the perfect angle and sank us together.
Her pussy was so tight and wet, pulling me in every time I moved away. Fingernails grazed my scalp, pricking the perfect amount.
“Adrian,” she breathed against me. I loved the soft way she said my name, as if she were caressing it with her lips. “Feels so fucking good.”
“Yeah,” I managed to get out.
I could feel my knot filling, begging me to sink it into her and lock us together.
As if she could read my mind, Sage pulled me in closer. “I want to feel all of you.”
I was holding on by a fucking thread. “You want to take my knot, flower?”
“Yes, I want to feel it.”
“Are you sure you’ve earned it?” I knew it was big, and she was human. She didn’t have a special place for it to go. Even if she liked it rough, I didn’t want to truly hurt her.
“Positive.”
I kissed her as I continued sinking forward, feeling her hole stretch to try to accommodate me.
“Breathe, flower.”
I could feel her tensing, which wouldn’t help. She relaxed, and it let me sink the rest of the way in, locking us together perfectly.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m going to come,” she said in stead of an answer.
“Give it to me. I want to feel you around me.”
Her entire body tensed and a rush of liquid coated my cock.
The perfect squeeze on my knot was enough to force me over the wave, my orgasm hitting me like a tsunami. I fucked in and out of her as much as my knot would allow until I was milked dry, giving her everything I had.
As if she didn’t have it already.
She tried to pull away, and I hissed, my knot keeping us stuck.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, quite the opposite,” I said, feeling my cock rallying. “But if you keep moving, I’ll never get soft.”
She grabbed my chin. “So what you’re saying is… round two?”
Moons.
After I was sure Sage was fast asleep, I slid from the bed, careful not to jostle her too much as I did.
Though the hour was later, I was sure someone would be downstairs to give me some directions.
The inn was even quieter now, the lutist long gone and only a few straggling patrons left.
One of them looked a bit older, making me think about what the barmaid said. He had a black fisherman’s cap on and a raincoat, probably some kind of dock worker or fishmonger. His beard was long and gray, and his skin was tanned and wrinkled.
I went and sat next to him, ordering myself a drink and asking for a refill of his.
“Thanks,” he said, taking the glass without question.
“It’s no worries, I like helping people out.”
He nodded. “So, what do you want from me?”
“Who said I wanted anything?”
He side-eyed me under his fisherman’s cap, his bushy gray brows following. “I’ve been alive long enough to know nothing is free.”
“Fair enough,” I adjusted in the bar stool. I didn’t prefer sitting in chairs, they were never the right size, but I made it work. “I’m looking for Maralda. Do you know how to find her?”
He rolled his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, kid.”
I hadn’t been called ‘kid’ since Tungesten was alive. “I just need her help.”
Something in my gaze, maybe my sheer desperation, had him shaking his head. “You want to go out the south exit of town. Travel that way for a while until you reach a fork in the path. Turn right. Once you’ve gone… a few miles, they’ll be a purple bush.”
“Purple bush?”
He huffed. “Do you want my directions, or not?”
“Sorry.”
“Make a left there. That’s where the path ends. From there there’s nothing to follow but the bushes. Keep going and eventually you’ll find her.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it,” he confirmed. “Just don’t get yourself lost. I don’t want that guilt on my conscience.”
“We won’t.”
He grumbled. “I want another,” he said, tapping his tankard on the counter.
I paid for that too before slipping back upstairs, leaving my drink all but untouched.
The directions ran through my mind, committing to memory.
South exit, fork in the road, purple bushes.
It sounded easy enough, too easy. Almost as if I was being tricked. But what other choice did I have?
When I got back to the room, Sage was dead asleep still.
I crawled in next to her, wrapping my tail around her and tucking her against my shoulder.
It was going well so far, I just needed it to keep happening.