Chapter 45 Katarina
I was trying so hard not to laugh at the old, naked man dancing around us. And when I say old and naked, I mean very old and very naked.
The blue ink that covered most of his body formed a variety of different circles and spirals that reminded me of those tribal tattoos college kids liked to get.
Or at least that’s what I always thought college kids did, considering I never studied at a university.
From the back of his neck all the way down to his buttocks, up his thighs, and across his chest, he had symbols and ruins decorating his tanned, leathery skin.
We were sitting on the beach in a circle with crossed legs.
I was perfectly positioned in the middle of my men.
Everyone had changed into comfortable clothing, which meant leggings and a baggy sweatshirt for me and sweatpants with no shirts for the guys.
I didn’t mind looking at a bunch of bare chests, but that druid…
I didn’t know where to avert my eyes as he stomped out a choreographed routine that made his balls swing freely between his skinny yet muscular legs.
At one point, he leaped and shouted into the sky, and his dick nearly smacked Dorian in the back of the head.
I hunched forward in a fit of laughter, trying my hardest not to make any noise.
Dorian, sitting directly in front of me, reached out and squeezed my knees, amusement burning through his eyes, which told me he was also doing his best not to laugh.
“Shh,” Roman snapped at us.
“I’m sorry, Roman,” I whispered to the vampire sitting behind me as the druid continued to let it all hang out while he sang a song that sounded like an old Celtic hymn. “He’s just…” I cleared my throat to swallow the giggles. “He’s flinging his junk everywhere, and I can’t take my eyes off it.”
Aiden, on my right, let out a quick laugh and then quickly nodded his apology to Roman while giving me a wink. He was still wearing his baseball cap, and something about the way it complemented his taut chest and abs had me swallowing my desire so I wouldn’t make the druid mad.
“I know it’s strange,” Roman whispered to all of us. “But we need him. And because of that, we have to give him a chance.”
I instantly felt bad and vowed not to giggle anymore. That lasted about thirty seconds before Cormac rushed up behind Blaise and rubbed his old druid body against his back as he leaned into him. With his hands on Blaise’s shoulders, Cormac said, “You are air.”
He then rolled off to the side, arms flying through the night sky like a modern dancer before pressing himself against Aiden. “You are fire.”
Stomping his feet and bouncing his body against the sand, he made his way to Roman next.
“Water!” he shouted with arms raised to the heavens.
Then he fell to the ground and rolled over and over until he was sitting behind Dorian.
When he popped up and slid his hands around Dorian’s chest and squeezed his pecs, he whispered in his ear, “Earth.”
I swallowed the giggles down when I saw how shocked the guys were. Did they know what was happening? I almost asked but then the druid pointed at me. “You are the power that connects them all, Katarina.”
Aiden squeezed my shoulder. Dorian winked. Blaise grabbed my hand and rubbed his thumb over my palm. And Roman stretched his leg out far enough to touch my lower back.
“Witches draw their power from the elements, and demons pull their magic from the souls around them.” Cormac continued to sing and dance around us, and I swear I felt an unnatural wind start to circle our group.
“Her witch magic calms your beasts, and her demon blood requires payment.” He stomped and clapped, his rhythm increasing until he shouted something I didn’t understand into the air.
Cormac then dropped to the ground and filled his fists with sand.
With a leap as graceful as a ballerina, he pushed off the beach and jumped into the air while throwing the grains over the top of our circle.
But they never landed, and instead the sand started to glow blue as they danced around our heads.
I looked up and marveled at the sight. Hovering over Dorian’s head, the sand grains formed some type of rune.
And just as it finished forming, another appeared above Aiden, followed by Roman and Blaise. It must represent their elements.
Cormac clapped loud enough to make me jump, and when I looked at him, I shivered with the way his eyes bore a hole into my soul. “Calm their beasts, Katarina.”
“What?” I whispered, totally frozen by the force of his gaze.
“Take their power and subdue the monsters inside.”
I looked over at Blaise and then Aiden. Dorian and Roman. All four men had their eyes locked on the rune floating above their head like some sort of trippy sand sculpture.
“Feel their magic and take what is yours,” Cormac continued to direct me.
Take their magic? I didn’t know how.
But just as that thought crossed my mind, something inside of me started to warm.
I stared wide-eyed at Dorian as the hazy form of a wolf’s head released from his body and lifted into the air.
Made up of what looked like the same glowing blue sand grains, the outline of his wolf grew until it was large enough to touch me.
And when it did, I sucked in a sharp breath at the feeling of complete ecstasy that shot through my bones.
“Earth!” Cormac shouted, still dancing and stomping to his own rhythm around us.
Dorian and I stared, mouths gaping, at each other. “Did you feel that?” I whispered to him, and he nodded.
But no sooner had the words left my mouth than Aiden rocked back and forth as blue flames of sand erupted from his body and grew until they reached me.
The sandy flares lapped across my right arm and entwined themselves around my head until I felt another pulse of energy surge across my skin.
I let out a whimper, unable to stop myself.
And to my left, Blaise released a growl as Cormac celebrated the fire element caressing my skin.
Along my back, a cool sensation tickled my spine, and I knew, without turning around, that Roman’s beast had been called to me.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the shivers erupting across my body while the watery drops of blood created from the magical sand swirled around my neck and stroked me like one of Roman’s kisses.
Letting out a gasp, I squeezed my core tighter as I tried to stay focused and not think about Roman’s lips and teeth scraping my skin until I begged him to stop.
I sensed the men around me, and I swear I could feel their arousal meeting my own.
Roman tried to clear his throat but I heard the strain in it.
He pressed his leg closer to me, and I reached behind my body until I could rub my fingers across his calf.
The outline of a wolf, along with the flames and the droplets circled my head, rubbing against my skin as though the men themselves were touching me.
“Water!” Cormac shouted into the sky. I swear I heard drumming in the distance that matched the movements of the druid. “And now, dragon, give her your beast!”
I turned my head to the left until I could see Blaise.
His eyes were almost fully red as he stared at me and the elemental magic swirling around my body, jaw tight and hands clenched at his side.
But when I gave him a small, reassuring smile, he visibly relaxed and shook his body like he was trying to free the dragon.
“That’s it,” cooed Cormac, who now stood directly behind Blaise, looking like he wanted to touch him but didn’t dare. “You can control this,” he whispered.
We all watched in fascination as semi-transparent dragon wings spread from his back, outlined by the floating sand.
Folding forward, they wrapped Blaise inside as they also reached for me.
I leaned toward them, craving their touch.
And when they brushed against my face, I tensed under the heat racing through my core.
Moving around my body in waves, the air from his wings brushed across my nipples, wrapped around my waist, and dipped between my legs in a silent caress.
I almost orgasmed at the feel of it all, glad I could hold on to some semblance of control… if only for a little while.
“Use them, Katarina,” Cormac said in a sing-song voice. “Let their beasts feed your power.”
Feed my power? Well, sure. If my power was an uncontrolled libido, then they were doing their job. But when the thought of sex swirled through my mind, Cormac clapped his hands together loud enough to make me jump. “Focus on the energy. Control the power they share with you.”
Focus. Control. Two words that didn’t really mix well with my life at the moment. Roman nudged me again with his leg, and I welcomed the reassuring touch. If Roman thought I could do this, then I could do this.
Control the power.
I squeezed my eyes shut and envisioned the elemental magic in the form of monsters dancing around my soul.
They moved in and out of my skin like the barrier didn’t exist, and each time one of them brushed against my body, I shivered like it was the first time I’d ever been touched.
Heat pulsed between my legs, and I found myself clenching and unclenching those muscles just to work through the array of sensations threatening to make me lose control.
Someone growled at the same time one of the other men let out a deep breath.
But I kept my eyes clenched shut and did my best to focus on gathering all their beasts to me.
It felt like I was taking a part of their souls as each tendril of their spirit slowly absorbed into my own body.
And every time I swallowed up one of them, the heat inside my center grew.
“That’s it, Katarina. You are doing it,” Cormac said. “Now, imagine that you’re taking that energy and balling it up inside. Control the power and let it fill your soul. Make it yours.”
Fill my soul.
Fill my soul with the beasts of my men.
I think it was working. Fire roiled in my stomach as the power stirred and settled beneath my skin. Pulses of energy trickled beneath the surface. And with each throb, my body ached with need.
“Touch her,” Corman shouted. “Combine your powers into one.”
Four sets of hands instantly found a spot on my body. Dorian grabbed my knees. Aiden held my hand. Roman rested the side of his face against my back. And Blaise clutched my left thigh and gripped it as though I was about to disappear.
“Give her strength,” Cormac chanted. “Give her energy. Give yourself and let her be a conduit for—”
A flash of light exploded through the nighttime air.
An unnatural pressure around us popping into existence and making itself known.
A dome of power that reached far beyond our circle yet seemed not to touch us other than the wind rushing through our hair.
I lifted my chin to the sky and watched the blue sand circle us in a cyclone of sorts, keeping the five of us protected.
Red curls smacked against my face. Aiden’s ball cap got swept up into the funnel.
Dorian lost his bun. I couldn’t tell what Roman was doing, but when he started to kiss the back of my neck, I melted into him.
“Focus!” Cormac shouted from somewhere outside the dome of sand. “Focus that energy, Katarina. Feel their love and use it!”
Use it.
Like a weapon.
I sucked in a deep breath until my lungs burned with fullness. Until every cell in my body was filled with energy and power. And when I couldn’t hold it anymore, I screamed into the sky and released it all.