Chapter 39 #2
—I’ve got no choice, pulu. Stay quiet…and if I have to come in swinging, just tell me—
Shit.
As the healer sucks up vials of blood, I look ahead placidly, while telling my Lumina to keep calm and let this happen.
After a couple of minutes, the woman straightens up and snaps off her gloves. “I’ll run these to the lab, Doctors. Shall I call the professor back to escort her to the dorm?”
“Not yet, thank you, healer. But I do want that blood in the lab immediately.”
As soon as she exits, I’m alone with the Harts, which includes Wes. My chest aching at the sight of him.
—Wes? I’m back…sorry I haven’t seen you for a few days but we had to go and do something really important…we haven’t forgotten you though, I promise…and your parents are here, so stay hidden—
Janine strides over, then tilts my chin. “Now, Theodora, I want you to be a good girl. Sit quietly and do not remember a single thing that happens in this room tonight."
I keep my gaze vacant. “Yes, ma’am.”
She presses a hand either side of my head. I can feel her dark energy swimming around the surface of my mind.
“The girl’s levels are completely stable,” Janine murmurs to her husband. She releases me. “If only we could say the same for Wes. I’ll study his brain and spark once we've processed Theodora. We can't afford the same thing to happen again. What’s the Drakeward boy’s latest report?”
“The AUA is still completely calm and docile. Look at her, there's nothing to worry about."
Janine’s voice suddenly rises. “Nothing to worry about? We are twelve days from the next Dunamis Pulse and we have no vessels apart from this one untested AUA. It is a disaster in the making.”
Wes’s dad shuffles his feet. “Thomas has troops in the north, even as we speak, dear. And according to your own calculations, we’ll be able to use the AUA dozens of times before she breaks.”
Dozens of times.
A calm falls over me. If I can take the place of dozens of children, then so be it.
“Hopefully. But, Gods, Jonquil, I’m torn. Do I take her in now to be on the safe side, or keep her in this calm state and stand by my previous theory?"
“I’ve never seen you have so much self-doubt.”
“I’ve never been under this much pressure. The success of this entire regime change hangs on my shoulders, and mine alone. Could you control the dark energy without my genius?”
“You know I couldn't, dear. You are irreplaceable. That’s why, if necessary, you can postpone the next ascension. What choice does Tyrus have?”
Something occurs to me.
Oh. My. Gods.
It’s the answer.
But...
But my thoughts are terrible.
“You make sense for once, Jonquil.” Janine sighs. “ I’ll trust in my instincts and leave her here until the day of the next Dunamis Pulse.”
I sit frozen, staring at the wall.
After a beat, Janine walks towards me then leans in close to my face. “This was completely routine. You now wish to return to your dorm and have a restful night’s sleep. Come along, Jonquil. We’re done here.”
They walk through the sickbay doors, and a second later I head straight to Wes, picking up his cold hand.
A mix of adrenaline, fury and incredible sadness at the state of our world makes my whole body shake.
Leaning over Wes, I brush my lips against his cold cheek and whisper into his mind.
A minute later, Alexis comes rushing in. “Pulu, we have to go.”
I don’t argue, just grab my bag and follow him. “I need to see Ludo.”
“No, with the Harts on campus, security has just been doubled. Come upstairs.”
I wrench my elbow from where he’s holding it. “I. Need. To. See. Ludo. This isn’t up for discussion.” Turning heel, I march to the basement door.
No guards in sight.
I quickly run down the stairs. “Theo!” Alexis hisses after me. “Please.”
“I’ll be OK. Go back to your duties. Don’t give them a reason to think anything is abnormal.”
“Pulu,” he croaks.
I spin and pin him with a stare. “I love you, Alexis, but I need Lu. I’ll explain later.”
With a groan he leaves, closing the basement door behind him.
—I’m coming into the tunnels— I tell Lu.
—Is that wise? Is it safe—
Probably not.
But there is nothing in the world I need more than Ludo’s arms around me.
—I’ll see you soon—
???
Ludo cradles me in an embrace that feels like the foundation of existence; solid, steady, permanent and perfect.
—Nymph—
“Let’s go back to your room, Lu. If the worst happens and they discover I’m missing, I’ll just have to stay down here with you forever, and that’s not a terrible future at all.”
—You joke—
“Yes and no.”
I take his hand as we walk side by side along the tunnel system. “I don’t want to have to flee until everything has been taken care of, but if I had to spend an eternity hidden away? Having you with me would make it…a dream.”
—It’s strange to consider being part of a dream and not a nightmare—
Nightmare. This world is a living nightmare. My mind suddenly spins out of control. The danger, the evil…the hideousness of it all.
Sobs erupt from my body and my knees give out.
—Nymph, Nymph, I’m here…I…I love you…please—
I cling to him but cannot get a hold on my emotions.
“It’s all so awful, Lu. I can’t stand it. Don’t leave me again, I can’t bear it—
—Never, never, never—
“When you were hurt,” I tell him, “it was as though a piece of my soul had been ripped away. I knew I’d never be whole again if I couldn’t get you back.”
He squeezes me.
—I would have battled back from Hades to be by your side, nothing will keep me from you—
Picking me up, Ludo cradles me like a baby, but I just can’t stop crying.
—Nymph, oh, Nymph—
“Luuu…oh, Gods. Gods…” A low groan comes out of my throat, filled with anguish and pain.
“N-n-n…”
Within my misery, a sound pierces my consciousness. What is it?
“Phf-phhf…n-n-n…”
“Lu!” I sit up in his arms and clamp my hands either side of his face. “You…said my name. I love that you did, but you never have to force your voice out for me. I love you with or without, you know, verbal sounds. I just love you.”
His hand splays over the small of my back, pressing me further into the absolute safety of his embrace.
—It will take years to speak aloud all the things I need you to hear. I want to tell you there is nothing in this world without you. You are everything—
Now I mostly stop crying, Ludo carries me to his room and gently places me on the mattress. —You remember our Boggle games, Nymph?—
“Of course.”
—You once told me that Ludo was a word that could not be boggled, not be broken into pieces—
“I remember.”
—But there is one word that LUDO makes…—
“There is?” I ask, as this thumb wipes away my tears tracks.
—There is…LOUD—
His lips crash down on mine and the kiss is not quiet. It’s hot and wild. Ludo slips his hands under my shirt, where he begins to stroke my belly. Heat instantly builds in my core.
—May I…continue?—
—Please…please don’t stop—
The calloused palm shifts under my school skirt, then skims higher. It’s an agonizingly slow journey for his fingers to reach the lace edge of my panties.
—I dream of tasting you again—
Before I can get my scrambled brain to think of a response, he heaves me up, so his face is level with my now soaked underwear. He kisses his way up my quivering thighs and I let out a sigh when Ludo pulls the silk down my legs.
When his tongue dips into the crease between the top of my inner thigh, and the mound of my pussy, I push myself towards his mouth. His breath is hot against my skin.
“Please…”
Finally, he leans in, swirling his tongue around my clit, then changing to suck on it slightly. My thighs grip his head in a vice as two fingers press inside me, gold and lilac sparks flashing in my vision.
I’m literally seeing stars.
Heat rushes throughout my veins, but at the same time it’s as though I’m weightless, just Ludo and I floating through space as a sweaty, perfect, tangled mess.
Any second I’m going to explode.
But Ludo pulls away.
After a second, I prop myself up onto my elbows, panting slightly. “Lu?”
There is a full smile on his face, the first I’ve ever seen.
If I thought my minotaur was gorgeous before, right now he’s stunning.
And not finishing his job.
“Lu?”
—The hound told me…sometimes to wait…bring you to the edge then wait—
Fucking Maximus, I’ll kill him.
“What else did he tell you?”
—Many things that I very much look forward to trying—
“And what, pray, did he tell you to do after you’ve got me all worked up but are not following through?” I ask, arching an eyebrow.
Ludo frowns. —Are you…upset?—
—No! I’m so turned on I’m going to die!—
—Then the hound was correct…pausing makes you desperate for my touch—
Agh!
“Yes, I’m extremely desperate.”
Flashing me another heartbreaking smile, he dives back between my thighs. I writhe against his face as he flicks his tongue quickly over the peak of my clitoris, and I just explode—hard.
When my vision returns, I watch as Ludo sits back, my juices running down his cheeks. He looks extremely pleased with himself, though still with a giant erection.
Well, well, well.
Two can play this teasing game.
My eyes trail over his body, then focus on the hard length beneath his sweats. I trail my finger across the material, pausing just as my fingertips are about to brush his cock.
—Nymph—
“Oh, baby, you like that? Want me to do something about your frustration?” I give him a wicked grin then pull down the waistband, exposing his beautiful cock.
So fucking beautiful.
I had intended to maybe swipe my tongue around the tip, give him a taste of his own medicine, but my body has other ideas. I want to feel him in my mouth, my throat. When I wrap a hand around the bottom of his shaft, Lu freezes.
When I take him entirely into my mouth, doing my best to relax my throat to keep from gagging, he makes an unearthly sound.
Beast-like
Thoughts of playing games disappear.
—Kneel— I command.
He blinks hard then pushes his legs beneath him, gets into position and tangles his hands in my hair.
My mouth barely loses contact with his body for a second. I swirl my tongue around the ridge of the head, watching his reaction.
It’s more than I could have dreamed of, a look of ecstasy appears on his face. I pause and very gently scrape my teeth on the underside of his shaft. His body convulses.
—N-n-nymph—
Taking him deep once again I hollow my cheeks as I suck and lick. Up and down, up and down, my fist constantly rotating around his shaft. Ludo’s hips buck in rhythm. He’s trying to hold back.
That’s not what I want.
—Take control, Lu…fuck my mouth—
—Nymph—
—I demand it—
I stop moving completely, so after a moment he has no choice but to comply. His thrusts are not tentative but a full claiming. My eyes water, and breathing is hard but I love it. Every. Fucking. Second.
—nnnnn—
Hot, salty cum floods the back of my throat. I swallow again and again, greedily keeping every drop. My Ludo.
Mine.
Collapsing against his warm broad chest, the steady beat of his heart thrums against my ear, the sweetest sound in the world.
“Lu?”
—Yes, Nymph?—
“Wes and Donovan’s parents ordered me to the sickbay earlier,” I whisper.
—Nymph? Dangerous…what happened?—
“They were checking I was still under their spell. Gods, Lu, it was awful. I acted completely passive while they talked about how Wes is going to be discarded like worthless trash. And then they discussed how I’d be used over and over in the ascension.”
Ludo sits up, his mismatched eyes darkening dangerously. —They will not touch you…I will tear their bodies to shreds and bury them deep in this earth before they lay a finger on your skin—
“There’s more. Janine Hart said no one could wield the dark energy apart from her.
Without her, there would be no more ascensions.
” I look at Ludo, and a sense of peace comes over me.
He’ll help me through this. “So, if she was gone, it would all be over.” A lump forms in my throat.
“I think we have to…” I choke a little, “...kill her.”
—Yes, Nymph. I see that—
“But she’s their mother, Lu.” This is the conflict tearing me apart. “Donovan and Wes... how could I ever look them in the eye again? Even if she’s a monster, she’s their blood. Murdering her... it feels like I’m becoming the very thing we’re all afraid of.”
Ludo cups my jaw tenderly, forcing me to look into his steady gaze.
—Am I a monster for the lives I took at the facility?—
“Of course not, but that was different. Those guards were killed in a battle, not murdered after carefully plotting. The idea of that feels so wrong…like it will make a stain on my soul that will never go.”
—That female doctor is part of this war…a general in the war….take out the general and the war is won. Your twins were born from a rotten womb…free them from that final umbilical thread—
Closing my eyes, I allow our breath to mingle in the cool basement air. “That’s very well said, but the other thing to consider is she’s probably got more dark energy in her than anyone else we’ve encountered. She may be near impossible to kill.”
He presses his forehead against mine. —Nothing is impossible for you, Nymph. You are our miracle and an army of beasts at your back…—
OK.
I guess that I’m going to murder my mother-in-law.