CHAPTER 17 MILI
A s promised, one of the volcano’s guardians walks me to the bathing rooms. She’s quiet, but she looks at me with some skepticism.
She walks beside me, matching my pace, and I feel somehow caught in some strange power game. I slow down to give her time to go ahead, but she stays right beside me. Odd. I glance sidelong at her and see her with a mean glint in her eyes, although she’s nearly smiling. Her hair is shiny and brown, like polished bronze, and her eyes are cold blue. Her eyes flick to mine, and I swear her smile twitches a little higher.
“What’s your name?” I ask, uncomfortable with the silence.
“Kallichor,” she replies.
After pausing awkwardly, and waiting in silence for her to ask for my name in return, I just say politely, “I’m Milica, the healer of Ethelinda, but please call me Mili. Do you like living here?”
She nods. “Yes. I like serving Cory, too. He’s brave, wise and ... very handsome,” she remarks with a cutting grin.
I frown quietly. Is she ... jealous? Yes, he’s very handsome but that’s not why I’m here. I wouldn’t have come unless I absolutely had to, and I certainly didn’t plan on injuring myself and having Cory’s mouth juice all over me. It was his choice to help me by engaging in full service first aid on my body - tongue and lips edition ... though I know I should be grateful ... for more than just the healing. Perhaps she can tell that I have no intention of leaving the volcano until Cory agrees to help me – some feeling that I’ve encroached upon her territory, maybe? I need Cory to help me save Ethelinda, though, so I don’t have a choice but to stay. He helped me heal, anyway, so he must not entirely begrudge me for coming unannounced and unwelcomed. But what about his guardians?
“You should know,” she interrupts cheerfully, “that Cory submits to no one, and commits to no one. I’m sure you think he’s very handsome and everything, but he doesn’t let himself get ‘tied down.’”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I lie.
The girl turns to me with a bright smile, though her eyes are cold. “No, I suppose not.” She looks me up and down, and I realize I’m half naked in torn clothes and glistening with Cory’s saliva.
The memory of him licking me overcomes me all of a sudden, then, and my breath hitches. He felt warm, but dangerous, too – it was completely erotic, in a way I’ve never experienced before. Then I look to the guardian girl, and my mind begins to reel with the thought of Cory and her together. At the thought of them both, touching and moaning, my frown deepens.
She stops in front of a door and opens it with a flourish of her hand – magick, so she must be a wizard. My heart suddenly aches with the memory of Chrysthinia, but I steel myself so as not to appear weak in front of this girl.
Steam billows out from the doorway immediately, along with the smell of eucalyptus and lye. There’s a whiff of fresh apple and green leaves, too; reminds me of the crisp air and clean feel of the rain.
“Goodbye,” Kallichor says without ceremony. “By the way, Cory asked that a silken robe and linen towels be brought to you, they should be inside.”
Then, just like that, she’s off down the hall, quickly turning a corner and vanishing from my sight. I shake my head at the strange encounter, then make my way into the bathing chamber.
The smell of fresh rain grows stronger, and it’s clearly a masculine essence but I don’t see yet who’s causing it.
Maybe there was a man and he left. Since I’m here, and the man is nowhere to be seen, I suppose I have to bathe. I sigh wearily and wince as I remove what’s left of my clothes and put on the robe, the lovely, silken thing Cory left for me. It’s a soft, muted shade of purple, and it makes me think of a lavender field in a late summer day.
I wonder where he got such a delicate garment from, and why he even has it when he lives in such a brutal place. I’d always heard that the volcano’s dragons were fierce, violent, and merciless – it seems strange they’d leave room for such small beauties as this. He licked me so tenderly, too, almost like a healer. Very strange.
Suddenly, a quiet voice calls to me, “Milica?”
I whirl around with a start, crying out from the pain of the sudden movement, and see one of the would-be assassins in a kimono-style robe behind me. The refreshing scent of apple and green leaves is strong, radiating from him like a summer rain, and I marvel how I was so deep in thought as to not better sense his presence.
“Don’t be afraid,” he says softly raising his hands towards me to signal he’s not a threat. “I’m so sorry we met on such ... questionable terms. I’m Porthos, but please, call me Port. Everyone does.”
I press the unfurled silk robe to my body, trying in vain to cover my exposed skin. He doesn’t so much as glance down, though; he maintains intent eye contact with me, hooded dark blue eyes like the sea, vibrant but serene.
He’s handsome, like Cory, but in a much different way. Port has a smooth, fair-to-light complexion. His skin appears luminous, with a natural glow leaning toward a clear, porcelain finish. Where Cory has a rugged look, with messy, tousled hair, Port has a fresh and polished look. His hair is dark with a blue shine to it, long enough for his subtle layers to reach below his shoulders. I have the sudden urge to wrap my fingers in it and pull him into me. His lips are full and round – he looks like he’d be an excellent kisser.
Something about him automatically draws me in, but not with the tantalizing force of Cory. This man is sensual in a subtle way, like tendrils of steam you can twine your fingers warmly in. He feels like an equal, almost; like we could tangle up together and never leave the bed, just taking turns loving each other gently.
The thought of it makes me blush, and he cocks his head to the side sweetly.
“Are you nervous?” he asks. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make you worried. Please, let’s get in the water.” Then, without a hint of self-consciousness, he removes his robe and hangs it on a silvery rack. My eyes go wide at the size of him, and I quickly avert my eyes as my cheeks redden more.
He gets in the water, oblivious to my embarrassment, and gently motions for me to join him. I use the robe to cover myself as I get in, then discard it on the tiles behind us.
The water is warm and luscious, and the steam rising from it makes Port’s scent fill the air. As a faery, I don’t rely much on my sense of smell, but these men have such distinct scents that it’s hard to ignore. Port’s reminds me of walking in the forest, fresh after the summer rain has hydrated the earth; his aura is refreshing and invigorating, yet familiar and comforting. He’s enticing, and I have to remind myself that we’ve just met –and I was running from him, terrified, only hours earlier.
“It’s nice,” I murmur, brushing circles in the water with my hands. There is enough steam that we can’t see each other naked and the bathing pool is just large enough that we don’t risk touching each other in the water – to my relief –so I’m not as shy as I might have been. Still, I speak quietly, nervous around this stranger.
He smiles softly, “It is, isn’t it?”
We sit in silence for a moment as he reaches for a bar of soap, rubbing it along his shoulders and arms. He hums quietly, almost too quietly for me to hear, and I find myself almost – but not quite – recognizing the song. Then, I realize, it’s a dragon’s hymn: a common song for passing the time while flying.
“Are you really a dragon shifter?” I blurt out suddenly.
Rather than admit or deny it, Port simply smiles bashfully, almost blushing. He shrugs his shoulders and asks, “Cory told you, then?” I nod, and he continues, “Ah. Well, I am a dragon shifter, and I would have shown you right away, but I didn’t want to frighten you any more than Max and I already did.”
The other man is Max, then –the dark hair, dark eyes man. I nod quietly, wrapping my mind around the thought of having met three dragon shifters all in one day. Three beautiful shifters, at that.
“It’s okay,” I say, nearly smiling. It’s hard not to be charmed by Port’s endearing quietness. He just relaxes me, somehow, even though we’ve only just met. “So, three alpha dragon shifters, living together as a pack in Ethelinda’s volcano?”
“I don’t buy into the whole alpha thing.” Port replies and after a brief moment he breaks the quiet moment we were having and continues. “Dragon shifters are rare, there’s not many of us, and finding one without alpha instincts is even more rare. But you know what, letting myself driven by the desire to dominate and protect what is mine, the uncontrollable urge to help, not to mention the strong mating instincts - no, not for me - I decided a long time ago that I will not let myself be controlled by my alpha instincts.”
I realize as Port is talking that I touched on a complicated subject when I mentioned the word alpha. It was more like a joke to me, but I see now that it’s a serious topic and my mind goes back to Cory again, maybe I misjudged him. It sounds like his alpha instincts are quite a big responsibility.
I tuck the thought away and I continue listening to Port.
“I much prefer my water instincts.”
“Water?” I react in surprise without thinking.
“Of course. I’m a water dragon.”
Before I can say anything else, I feel Port moving one hand in a circle under the water, barely touching the surface, and a rose made of steam appears right in front of me, like magick. “For you, my fair lady,” he says with a charming smile.
“It’s beautiful, thank you. Is it magick?” I chuckle and reach for it but it dissipates when I touch it.
“It’s not magick, I can manipulate water in any shape and form, that’s one of my powers as a water dragon,” he explains. “Just like Max has the power over fire because he is a fire dragon, and Cory ... Well, Cory is really special. His powers go beyond water and fire. He can call upon all the four elements of nature.”
I must look as shocked as I actually am because I feel my face frozen with my mouth open. Port notices and tries to put me at ease as he leans forward and whispers to me: “Although I don’t mind telling you, Cory overuses his fire power.” He winks at me and whispers in an even lower voice. “Fire is highly overrated, water is much better,” then leans back against the edge of the pool, eyes closed, smiling mischievously.
He manages to put a smile on my face yet again, but barely. These three dragon shifters are really powerful, especially Cory. This feels dangerous but I also feel hopeful. Perhaps Cory is powerful enough to help me save Ethelinda.
I inhale a deep breath, trying to relax my thoughts and lean against the back of the bathing pool.
With the contact, I cry out in pain, seems like I still have some internal bruises left, or maybe it’s the state of Ethelinda weighing heavily on me again. Port comes to my side in an instant. Without thinking, I close my eyes and yank myself away, my instincts still fried from the terrifying day. Port tuts softly, and I exhale shakily and open my eyes again.
“You know, I’m really, really not going to hurt you,” he murmurs. He brushes my hair back, and I feel my eyes well up with tears at the gentle touch. Of what, I can’t be sure –of relief? Exhaustion? Or both perhaps.
“Okay,” I whisper, my breath hitching.
He nods, eyes full of concern and tenderness, and I nod back. I’m exhausted, I realize, and I slump back in the bathing-tub as I take a shaky breath.
“Oh, Milica,” he murmurs, and I gaze at him. I try to muster a smile, but I manage nothing more than a pathetic twitch of my lips. He seems to debate something internally, then he smiles softly and opens his arms to me. My eyes go wide, but I am pretty starved for affection or comfort.
Without another thought I fold myself into him, desperate for the first glimmer of comfort I’ve had in this stony volcano. He’s kind, I can already tell. Although possibly dangerous, I don’t feel scared of him. Not at all.
After a moment of just sitting there, breathing, upper bodies entangled in embrace, my breasts pressing against his chest, feeling his smooth skin against mine - I can’t help but get a little excited.
I wonder if his cock got hard or if I am the only one jumping from chaos and fear to passion and desire. I want to know if he’s longing for me as I seem to be for him. I wiggle my hips to get closer to him, seeking the hardness of his cock but I don’t manage to get close enough to feel him. He pulls back in one move, slippery agile water dragon man that he is. He holds me at arm’s length, but doesn’t remove his hand from my shoulders.
He looks at me, eyes swimming with questions about my sudden move to reduce the already close distance between us, but I give him nothing except an inquisitive look of my own. He then asks, “Do you feel uncomfortable? Should I leave?”
I break eye contact and smile. It’s such a small thing to ask, when I was just pressed naked to him in the bathing-tub, but it makes me blush. He’s so different from Cory, from what I can tell, although I find myself – it’s hard to admit – drawn to both of them. Port seems to move carefully, slowly, whereas Cory acts on instinct, ferociously and powerfully. Where Port is focused on being considerate, Cory seems more like the type that takes what he wants.
“I’d rather you stayed,” I whisper closing my eyes and leaning softly back in the water.