Chapter 16
Darrow
The agony coursing through my body blinded me to all thoughts, except one—I’d do anything for it to end. One moment, I was screaming in unimaginable pain that I never should have had to endure again, and the next, I lay naked on the snow, surrounded by trees.
My breath came in ragged pants as I tried to make sense of what happened. The chill soothed my heated skin. Slowly, my blurred vision cleared as a figure raced over and wrapped her arms around me. My wife’s familiar floral scent filled my nose, bringing me a measure of peace I desperately needed.
I embraced her in return. She felt real—everything did—except beyond her shoulder, I caught a glimpse of the God of Wrath. He’d only appeared in person twice for initiation days. The rest of the time, we’d only heard him in our heads or saw him in our dreams.
“You’re okay, Dare,” Aella said in her sweet, soothing voice, but her hands shook as she pulled away to grasp my face. “It’s over now.”
I could still hear myself screaming across the field—the younger version of me—which implied I hadn’t gone far when the nameless god summoned me to this place among the pine blood trees.
Looking back, I spotted the seven blazing infernos still going and shuddered.
I was more than grateful to be back in my current body.
“Don’t.” My wife turned my gaze back toward her. “Focus on me, Dare.”
“Gladly,” I said, pulling her into a kiss. Wrath could wait after all he’d put me through these last days. I needed to wipe the memory of what I’d endured, and Aella had a way of making me forget everything.
The nameless god cleared his throat. “Remember our deal, little druid.”
I jerked at hearing his words, dismayed she’d bargained with him. “What did you promise?”
“Only to hear him out.” She helped me to my feet as I narrowed my eyes at her. “That’s it, I swear.”
“It’s never that simple with him,” I growled.
The God of Wrath lifted a white brow. “You can either listen or return to the flames.”
For Aella, I’d endure them, but the pleading look on her face said it had been torture to watch me in there. I forced myself to address the deity with some semblance of respect. “Very well. What do you want?”
His lips thinned. “First, I will tell you what I can offer you.”
I shifted uncomfortably as I wondered where this was headed. Aella backed herself into my chest, offering what warmth she could with her slighter form in only a nightgown. Why wasn’t she fully dressed? Did the god intend to anger me by dragging her here like this?
It should have been me covering her with my heat.
So far, I’d resisted shivering, but the longer I stood there, the harder it became.
I embraced my wife’s heat, pulling her even closer to warm and cover us both.
My training in these mountains ended more than two decades ago, and my tolerance had declined since then.
Aella gripped my arm around her waist as she addressed the god, “What could you do for us?”
“Two things.” He gave her an amused smile.
“I could help you complete the mating bond, which you are fighting against with such tenacity. After that, Darrow will be able to share his and my power to help you open the intergalactic portal, which you’ll need unless you want to wait another ten to fifteen years to become powerful enough to do it on your own. ”
I swore under my breath. Wrath had hit upon the two issues that had been lingering in the back of my mind.
With all that had happened since Aella and I finally consummated our marriage, I had ignored the problem in favor of more immediate concerns.
Also, I hadn’t wanted to make her feel bad that she’d resisted our bond.
It was understandable under the circumstances, and we could have worked on it in the coming weeks now that she was free of her uncle.
Her hand squeezed mine, trembling slightly. “How could you complete our bond?”
“If you allow my goddess wife and me to merge into your minds and bodies for fornication, we can use the pleasure and feelings we would all generate to pull the bond into place. A pair of gods did this once before for fated mates with a similar problem and succeeded.” His expression was serious, but an excited gleam lit his eyes. “I am certain we can do the same.”
“No,” I said, unwilling to subject my wife to that.
Aella stiffened in my arms. “Is there no other way?”
“You could quit fighting your feelings for him and fall in love,” he said, shrugging.
“It would be much simpler, but I’ve been inside your mind now.
I have seen how much distrust you feel toward almost everyone after what your family did to you.
Giving yourself fully to Darrow right now is likely next to impossible, I would guess. ”
I looked down at Aella and saw her clench her eyes shut.
Unfortunately, the god was saying what we all knew.
She’d stayed strong through the torture and manipulation of her uncle and cousin, yet she felt betrayed that others had looked the other way when it happened or failed to notice her suffering.
Aella hadn’t faced that trauma or found a way past it, which was why she couldn’t allow herself to depend upon anyone easily or develop strong feelings.
It had gone on for too many years, with only her garden as a reliable solace for her. I hadn’t dared to push her into completing the bond yet, when I knew I still had a long way to go to earn her trust. She needed to give her heart when she was ready.
I simply intended to use every weapon in my arsenal to make that happen sooner, rather than later.
Time was running short. If I had a choice, I’d give her years to work through her pain, but we didn’t have that luxury, so I’d aimed to win her over in the coming weeks.
Wrath didn’t seem to believe my plan would work. How much had he seen in her mind?
Aella angled her head to meet my gaze. “I’m sorry. I care about you, but I can’t fall in love right now.”
“I know.” I grazed my fingers along her cheek. “But don’t think I won’t keep trying to own every part of you because I want to be your sanctuary—the one you can always rely upon. You will be mine, heart and soul, eventually.”
She snorted. “There’s the Dare I missed.”
“Do you see how my offer may be your best option if you hope to save Paxia in time?” the God of Wrath asked, lifting an arrogant brow.
Aella squeezed my hand. “So, you mean we’d both have to relinquish ourselves to you and the other goddess for sex? Like some people do during the winter solstice celebration?”
I knew what she meant, since we usually had one or two daring couples who offered themselves in exchange for heightened pleasure. I’d never tried it, but mostly because it seemed too intimate to do with just any woman. There were plenty of other activities to do with temporary lovers.
“Yes, it is very similar to solstice. You’d have to invite us inside you the same way as those couples do.
Then we will drive all our passions and feelings to their peak.
Upon our simultaneous release, my wife and I will have the ability to pull the cords of your bond into place.
” He gestured around him. “It would be best to do it in the dreamscape while your real bodies are in a safe location, and there are no distractions.”
“Now?” Aella’s voice cracked.
I stiffened at the suggestion. It was a serious decision to make, and though I certainly wanted the benefits, I wasn’t so sure about us relinquishing control of our bodies. We would be allowing two gods—one I didn’t know—to use us while we couldn’t stop whatever they chose to do.
“What do you stand to gain?” I asked.
He smiled. “My wife finds great pleasure in joining with mortal bodies. She hates waiting until the winter solstice celebration every year, and when I told her of your troubles, she devised a solution that benefits us all. Trust me when I say that keeping her happy makes my life easier.”
I’d always seen this god as cold and cruel. It was hard to believe there was another side to him, and he willingly showed it now. Did his wife influence him that much?
“You know I can hear your thoughts.” He shook his head. “You’ve been with Aella for a short period, yet you’ve both made considerable sacrifices for each other. Gods are vastly different in many ways, but not when it comes to love and mating, I assure you.”
Aella raised her chin. “If we agree to it, we’ll finally gain all the benefits of mates, and I’ll have access to the power I need to retrieve the fountain?”
“Yes.”
I leaned toward her. “You don’t have to do this. We can find another way, such as power boosting crystals.”
“That won’t be enough,” the nameless god said, shaking his head. “She’ll need another decade to grow further into her powers before the crystals would be sufficient.”
I gritted my teeth. The gods could trick us and skirt around the truth, but they couldn’t outright lie. If he said we needed the full mating bond for me to help her, he meant it. This world was rapidly dying. We didn’t have years to wait.
Aella drew in a breath and turned to face me. “It’s only this one time, right? The benefits would be worth it since we could have our full bond with all that comes with it. Most importantly, we can save Paxia. All we have to do in return is sex. There are far worse prices to pay compared to that.”
Her arguments were valid, but I needed to be sure of her true feelings on the matter. “The idea of giving them control doesn’t bother you?”
“I’ve seen her memories of past solstices, and I must say she isn’t as bashful as one might assume,” the God of Wrath said, giving Aella an impressed look. “She can be quite daring when she chooses.”