Chapter 18
Sir Keyon
Elpis and I ate in silence, though she really didn’t do much eating. She picked at her food, seeming equally strained. I was becoming an emotional wreck trying to deal with our current situation. I desperately wanted to tell Elpis that she was my fated mate, but the coven mothers warned me against it.
Her connection to her beast had gotten too twisted, frayed, and strangled by the curses. If I tried to convince her that we were destined for each other, and she unintentionally pushed herself too hard to connect with her beast to activate our bond... there was a risk of the connection to her beast snapping outright. The mind was a fragile thing, and the thought of Elpis losing her beast as soon as she’d discovered she had one was simply too devastating to bear. Just accidentally tugging on her beast right now could hurt it. They both had to be ready. Elpis had to ease into her bonds as naturally as possible. They’d never seen anything like this before, and we all agreed that it was best to be patient than risk her health.
Maybe I could convince her to let me guard her until her first shift. That was when she’d know I was hers. She’d already brought up going separate ways, and that scared the fuck out of me. I’d never known terror like that. I’d not known it in battle, and I’d certainly not felt that level of fear from Toast’s panic attacks. No, I had to convince her to stay without making her feel rushed. I could tell she was drawn to me, but she was becoming too self-sacrificing, and that wasn’t acceptable.
Toast, you’ve been quiet. I need you to talk to me, big guy, I said, dreading this conversation.
I’m here… I heard it all, he replied. He didn’t sound nervous, just depressed.
What do you think of all this? Do you think you can hold me back if she goes into heat? You’re quite good at yanking me away from females. It sounded like something I’d say to joke around, but I was serious. Toast was an absolute dominant. If anyone’s dragon could hold them back, it’d be mine.
Probably… but do we even want to? He sighed like he was giving up a lifelong dream.
What do you mean? I asked, puzzled. I bit slowly around a piece of cheese, turning it into a circle while I waited for his response.
If we don’t mate her, she’ll think we’re rejecting her. You know that, right? You see that on her face, right?
Since when did you get so good at reading Elpis? I asked, extremely curious about this change. It didn’t sound like he was talking out of paranoia like he usually did. He sounded like he was seeing pretty clearly.
I don’t know. Just happened slowly. Probably after we played with the pinecones. It was a… connecting experience .
Hmm… I guess I’ll try again to make sure she’s honest with me about what she wants. She’s very difficult when it comes to that.
Keyon… I don’t know what to do anymore. We’re at a threshold here. We’ve reached a crossroads. If we mate her and emphasize that we’d like to stick around until her first shift, maybe she’ll be more inclined to stay near us. If we don’t… we continue with our strange interactions and confuse her even more .
So, you want me to say, ‘Hey, can we hang around and see if we’re destined because we like you? ’ I asked, becoming more distressed. W ouldn’t that rush her? Gods, I can’t find a safe way to do this! And how long is all this going to take? We have so many things to do. I’m worried about our people, Toast.
Who’s more important right now? Elpis or… well, whatever is happening out there? We don’t even know. It could be resolved by now, Toast argued.
Elpis is our life, I reminded myself. Our present and future. Fuck… I know, I know.
Let’s just see what happens in the next couple of days, Toast said. Somehow, we’d switched roles, and he was comforting me. I had no idea when the fuck that’d happened. My trauma isn’t forever, but Elpis is. We have to be honest with ourselves… remember that was you who said that.
Right… Ok, Toast… Good talk, big guy, I said, only feeling slightly better.
I looked over to see that Elpis had eaten half her food and was staring listlessly at the rest of it. “We can pack that up if you’d rather finish it later,” I suggested, and she nodded.
“Good idea.” She crawled off the bed to stash the food in her bag.
“Are you ready to leave, Elpis?” I asked, anxiously watching her stiff movements.
“I am. Let’s go,” she said and opened the door. Arevik and Tesni were waiting on the other side with patient smiles. They were seated at a small table, drinking tea.
“All ready?” Tesni asked and started guiding us out of the building. The inside was beautiful; it looked like the building was carved right out of the heart of the mountain. I wished we could have stayed a bit longer. I was sure Elpis would have loved to explore the coven.
“When it’s all over,” Arevik said, as though she’d read my mind, “I’d love for you both to visit again. Don’t take this as a sign of disfavor.”
“Yes,” Tesni piped in, “and I’d love to do a follow-up on Elpis’s health too. Make sure y—” Arevik cleared her throat to interrupt, and Tesni subsequently coughed. “Yes, here’s the exit. The large torches will take you straight out! Sunlight preserve you both.” Tesni’s farewell blessing was repeated by Arevik.
“Thank you,” Elpis said humbly and gave both the coven mothers a loving but lethargic hug.
“Thank you both. I’m deeply in your debt, Mothers,” I said, bowing instead of offering a hand to shake. Toast might be more accepting of Elpis but not so much anyone else. “I see that Gunel’s not here to see us off. Tell her it’s been… a pleasure.” I raised my brows, smiled, and turned to depart the coven grounds. The door closed behind us, and on the other side, the two witches burst into muffled cackles.
“What in the Sun God is wrong with those women…” I muttered and reached down for Elpis’s hand. I held my breath, and my stomach cramped with worry. Would she take it?
Please… Please don’t pull away from me, Elpis.
She looked at my hand and slowly accepted it. I sighed in relief and strolled to the huge rock archway that marked the threshold of the Solar Coven grounds. I looked back one last time, taking in the stone paths and the succulents that covered the ground. I smiled at the passive-aggressive garden; the witches certainly didn’t like people straying off the path. Elpis and I would stick to ours the best we could.
Once we were a mile from the coven, I sensed we were being followed. Before I could confront the stalker, they stepped out from behind a redwood and lowered their cowl.
“Great gods, Gunel. Why the fuck are you following us?” I growled and placed myself in front of Elpis.
“So disrespectful,” Gunel said with a scowl. “Your generation… so rude to your elders…”
“What is it, Gunel?” Elpis said, staring past me at the witch while clinging onto my cloak .
Gunel’s scowl relaxed, and her expression dropped into one riddled with guilt. “I’m here to give you… information. Information I’d rather my sisters not know I have,” she said in a lower voice, coming closer and looking over her shoulder.
“Which is?” I asked, fairly certain she wasn’t lying but unclear about her motives.
Gunel’s shoulders drooped, and she gestured tiredly to Elpis. “That second curse on your head. I… that was me. I did that when you were a child.”
“What?” I snarled, enraged. I took a protective stance. Was she a threat to Elpis?
“What…?” Elpis gasped. “Why? How? I was at Adelmar’s mansion as long as I can recall.”
“He summoned me…” Gunel explained, shifting uncomfortably and looking at the ground. “It was not during the proudest chapter of my life. I… owed him a favor. He said he found you at a slave auction and was intrigued by your odd looks but realized you were already sold to a male named Franco.”
“Yes… I know that name,” Elpis said cautiously, paying close attention to the witch.
Gunel continued, smoothing her skirts nervously. “When he poked around and overheard that you were to be… bled dry once you reached adulthood, he stole you.”
Elpis released a whimper and staggered. I steadied her and glared at the witch, seething that someone had planned such an atrocity with my female—if this story was even true. Elpis was my life, my precious gift from the Moon Goddess! I huffed a blue flame, trying to vent my rage through pure heat.
“He said it was the dumbest and most dangerous thing he’d ever done,” Gunel recollected, “but he and his mate had just lost a hatchling, and… his common sense went out the window. When he brought you back, he intended to just keep you as a slave and away from Franco. Then… when he decided he wanted to change your collar, he realized that something was off abou t it.
“That’s when he asked for me to visit. I couldn’t get a good look inside the collar to understand the full depth of the curse and wanted to consult my sisters, but Adelmar refused. He didn’t want anyone else to know about your existence, so I offered to place a second curse down to try and delay the inevitable.”
“And that’s why I was the only one put in a chastity belt…” Elpis whispered to herself.
“Why didn’t you just take the collar off?” I asked. “I melted that fucker off immediately.”
Gunel’s lips pulled in, and she kicked at a small rock. “Adelmar was afraid! Wanted to let the sleeping curse stay asleep… I wouldn’t have been able to undo it myself anyway. I know that now. Many poor decisions were made over your curse. Mine was practically pointless… without your beast, you wouldn’t have been able to recognize your mate anyway. I just hadn’t had enough information to work with,” Gunel rambled, seemingly lost in her memories.
Elpis became extremely agitated as facts sank in and created more questions. “Why did Adelmar just hand my belt keys over to a male? He almost gave me to another slaver! That could have killed me! That would have killed me! Thank the gods that Keyon’s not one to force a female!”
“I’m not Adelmar…” Gunel said, accepting Elpis’s growing fury with surprising tolerance. “You’d have to ask him.”
“So, why are you telling me all this?” Elpis shouted. I angled slightly to pull her against me. “To sleep better at night?”
“I know who placed the first curse. I’m not proud of knowing this person, but if you want to find the ones who are still hunting you and end them before they end you… this is how,” Gunel murmured and held out a rolled parchment. Unless she was a master of her body, I detected no lying—about any of this. I scoffed internally, doubting that Gunel had any sort of self-control.
I snatched and unrolled the parchment, noting that it was only directions. I glanced up to see Gunel ambling away from us. She turned one more time and said, “I’m sorry your life began like this, Elpis. I’ve made… dreadful mistakes.” Her eyes flickered to me, and she muttered, “Take good care of her, Sir Keyon.” She walked toward the nearest tree and disappeared.
The air had never been more silent. I knew I had to act fast, though. I turned to Elpis and dropped to a knee, grabbing her hands firmly and shaking them so she’d look at me.
“Elpis,” I said urgently, staring at her confused face in worry. “Elpis, listen. One thing at a time, ok? I’m here. I’m here for you. We’ll sort this out, I swear on my life. Just breathe.” I searched her eyes and waited for her to nod and take a deep breath. “Good. Good job, moonflower,” I said encouragingly. “Now what we’re going to do is set up camp. Then you’ll eat a little more, ok? Tomorrow, we’ll look at our options, and we’ll do what you want to do. I’m with you, one hundred percent. Do you hear me?”
She nodded again and just collapsed to her knees, hugging me as tightly as her weak arms could. I returned her embrace and rubbed her back. “It’ll be ok, moonflower. It’ll be ok. I’ve got you.”
Elpis
I nibbled on my leftovers while Keyon built another roaring campfire. I watched him split firewood with ease, mesmerized by his prowess. Every movement he made seemed to preserve the trance that’d engulfed me. I didn’t want to think about anything else because I knew one more piece of straw might break my back.
Keyon was the safest place for my mind to be. None of his crowded back muscles wept, none of the cords on his neck strained, and none of the might in his arms trembled. I gave myself permission to stare at his butt too. I knew from one of his many shifts that he had nice, tight butt muscles. It had been a brutal day. I was allowed to be a little shameless, I think.
You’re not the only horny one, my beast said flatly.
What’s your name? I asked, eager to catch my beast in a talkative mood, but she fell silent. Too horny to talk, I suppose, I grumped to myself. She’d better not be doing anything unsavory in the back of my mind.
Keyon sent me the smallest smirk when he caught me staring, and I pulled my hood over my head. At least it was cold enough to use the cloak as an excuse to hide my embarrassment. It wasn’t like he was naked, and besides, he stared too. It was only fair.
“Warm enough?” Keyon asked, settling next to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder to share his cloak. It was the little familiar things like this that made me nervous. It was like he knew something that I didn’t, and it gave him confidence while I was left in the dark.
“Moonflower?”
I jolted slightly. “O-oh! Um, yes. I’m comfortable.”
“Good,” he said softly and paused for a moment. “Do you remember the moment Leof saw Adelais?”
I nodded. “Yes, she was terrified. Poor Adelais…”
“But do you remember what he said?”
“He said she was his. He mentioned she was his fated mate… Oh…” I connected it with what Arevik had told me. “I’m seeing their meeting in a new light now. I understand now. That was significant, wasn’t it? Their lives changed in that moment, didn’t it?” I said in wonder. “They became complete.”
“‘Mine’ and ‘mate’ are the two most anticipated words in a person’s life. If you’re lucky enough to run into your fated mate… it’s a dream come true. You were there to witness something very rare, very precious, Elpis. I thought you’d appreciate it more now. You remember how they looked at each other? Despite all the sadness, it was still the happiest moment of their lives.”
“Must be nice… to belong with someone,” I said quietly. I yearned for it. I wanted something like that, desperately.
“You’ll find them, Elpis. I have a good feeling. Who knows, maybe it’ll be me?” He chuckled and nudged my shoulder playfully.
Oh, how I wish it were true and that I was a dragon.
“That wouldn’t be so bad…” I mumbled my confession with a blush, grateful once again for my hood. “I suppose I’ll find out whenever the sleeping ninny wakes up,” I muttered, trying to keep my longing for him out of my voice.
“No rushing her, Elpis. She’s recovering,” Keyon ordered firmly. “She’s been through a lot too.”
“Right…” I replied thoughtfully.
We sat in silence for a while, and I considered removing my cloak. I was getting a little too warm. Keyon took a deep breath before speaking. “So... I spoke to Toast about our… situation.”
That immediately put me on edge, and I froze where I sat.
“He thinks he may be able to hold me back, Elpis. He’s pretty strong,” Keyon said.
“Oh,” I replied and winced internally. I’d just sounded as disappointed as I felt. Fiddlesticks! Fiddling fiddlesticks!
“I’m not comfortable with getting your answer when you’re in an altered state of mind, so I need to know now. What do you want me to do when you go into heat? What do you want me to do if you end up… urging me? I just want to prepare for the extreme-case scenario. I’m not saving myself for anyone, Elpis. Toast is only comfortable with you right now, and he’s… willing.” Keyon took a deep breath. “Do you want me to take you?”
That last question felt like a lightning strike. My heart almost forgot how to beat, and my stomach twisted into sizzling knots. My face may have even lit on fire, and I nearly waved a hand to fan myself. “I appreciate you th-thinking it through. I cer-certainly wouldn’t have thought that f-far ahead,” I stuttered, flustered within an inch of my life.
I worried at my hands in my distress. What did I want? My body was already screaming for him. Should I let it have what it wanted? Maybe I owed myself a little happiness, a little pleasure, as fleeting as it might be. Keyon seemed… keen enough.
“I s-suppose it’d be an opportunity to expose Toast to it… to help him,” I said, unable to speak the truth. I wanted to slap my self silly. What a stupid response. Poor Toast was becoming my scapegoat!
“I’m afraid I’ll need a yes or no, moonflower,” he said gently, rubbing my shoulder with a thumb. I smiled abruptly, thinking back to when he’d freed me, and I hadn’t caught on yet. He knew I was more comfortable with yes-or-no questions.
“Y-yes? Yes… if I press the matter… then I give my consent,” I said in a tiny voice and pulled my knees up to my chin. I held my breath, and he released his.
“That’s all I needed to know. At least we’re prepared. It’s been an exhausting day, and I’m ready to nest,” he said with a yawn, standing to stretch before settling. Like he did every night, he released his wings and raised one for me, offering a spot next to him. I was so pleased that little dragons fluttered in my belly again.
I tried not to seem too eager when I changed into my warmer pajamas and curled up next to Keyon. He lowered his wing to tuck us in and trap his body heat for me. It was bliss. It was like I could be anywhere, and he’d always shelter me, rain or rime. His palm landed hesitantly on my waist, then slid around to pull me against him. He nestled his head into my hair, and I fell asleep, hoping the Sun God would sleep in tomorrow.
I woke up covered in sweat, panting from an incredibly erotic dream. A dragon had flown down from the sky to cage me, but he turned into a man and… did barbaric things to my body until I crumbled in ecstasy. As the dream dissipated, my mind sharpened. Anxiety struck me hard and fast.
I froze in place, knowing that what I’d been fearing had finally arrived. I gritted my teeth through a wave of arousal and ran my hands over my body. Everything felt swollen and sensitive. My breasts and sex ached, and I nearly let out a whimper when I discovered that my underwear had been soaked through with my desire.
I squirmed out of Keyon’s grip and crawled out from under his wing. I knew that I’d consented, and I knew that I wanted him, but this was so much more embarrassing now that it was actually happening. I didn’t feel like myself at all; my body was a stranger to me. I was feeling parts of my body that I wasn’t used to feeling, like the muscles that were clenching within my core.
I collapsed around the corner, breathing hard, and crouching on all fours. I placed my face on the cold mountain stone to let its chill ease my swelling, then I groaned and arched my back, sticking my rear up for absolutely no reason. There was no one there. I rolled onto my back and grabbed my breasts for no reason as well. None of this made sense, and I was miserable. Hot, aroused, and absolutely miserable.
I whined, almost in tears from discomfort, but I couldn’t bring myself to bother Keyon. The thought of waking him up for sex was horrifying to me. So I panted and prostrated under the stars and the eyes of the Moon Goddess, occasionally flipping onto my back and repeating the process all over again.
I grew too heated and ripped my clothes off, simultaneously freezing in the frigid mountain air. The wind on my sensitive skin was brutal, and I worried that Keyon would wake and scent me, so I moved farther away into the trees. In the striped darkness, I started walking, feeling lost, vulnerable, and alone.
I stumbled farther through sparse trees and rocky paths in my growing delirium. I was losing myself to my heat. I wanted hands on me, a male on my back, and fangs in my neck. I whimpered and started running into the night, unsure of many things except for the fact I was going wild.
Race the breeze, my beast urged. We need a male. Find a male.
My mind was too far gone to understand her words. All I felt was the wind and the deep ache in my body—the void that needed to be filled. At the same time, I felt fear. I felt like prey, and I knew it was the worry of being followed.
There was a shout in the distance, then a roar and a crashing from where I’d run. Something was chasing me, and I gasped for air, torn between fleeing and giving in to whatever wanted me so badly. I fought for breath and grabbed below my left rib. A stitch had formed in my side, and I squealed from the pain. I was a weak beast, and I had doubts about my survival. I’d been caged and kept from the wind for far too long.
A virile growl from behind spurred me, and my fear turned into excitement. A thread of my arousal dripped down my thigh, and the growl turned into a snarl. A male was chasing me! Perhaps he’d be tough enough to look out for me while I grew stronger. Perhaps he’d provide. Could I risk stopping?
I turned sharply around a corner and jumped down a small outcrop. The footsteps were close now, nearly on my heels, and I was expecting breath on my neck any moment now. I moaned, and my legs finally failed me. They buckled and I crashed down into pine needles and grass, but I couldn’t even think about the pain of the impact.
I writhed on my back again, burning out of my skin. No rubbing of my thighs together could free me from the ache and the rebellious muscles of my core. I arched deeply, palming my neck, breasts, and belly in a rapturous tease, wishing my hands were someone else’s.
A colossal shadow fell upon me. It blocked the moonlight, and I rolled onto my knees, prostrating at their feet and whimpering. “Female,” the masculine voice growled, feral yet clear as a bell. “Didn’t anyone tell you not to run? Creatures like us enjoy a good chase.” I stared up at the shadow, only seeing blue flames flicker within a fanged grin.
I whined and lowered my head again, arching my back for the male who’d clearly won the chase. The figure prowled to my side, and a rough palm landed on my lower back. Lips brushed against my ear, and a low, inviting voice purred, “Is it time now, moonflower?”