by Ryan Muree
Their breaths grew louder.
Clutching on to him, being one with him was what she wanted. Their lives as entwined as their bodies. Their love as passionate as their need.
She gave, she broke, and she let the sensations throw her over. She thrust her hips against him and reveled in the pleasure coursing through her and into him. He moaned as his movements deepened and cried out when he’d been sated, too.
They tumbled back down to the planet together, to the softness of their bed, to the darkness of their home, to the love in each other’s arms.
They panted, forehead to forehead.
“That wasn’t exactly,” he breathed, “what I had expected for our first time after—”
“I couldn’t wait,” she smiled. “I didn’t want to drag it out. We have plenty of time to take however long we want a hundred times over…”
He kissed her forehead, her nose, her mouth. “Tonight?”
“If you’re up for it,” she teased.
“If I’m up for it?” He laughed. “I have the stamina of a Stadholden soldier, thank you very much.”
She giggled, caught by the abyss in his eyes. “I love you, Grier Rinnegan IV.”
That abyss, it’d pulled her under, all right, and she hoped he’d never let go.
“I love you, Emeryss… Rinnegan? Or is it still Wavetamer?”
She laughed. “Typically, in Neeria, it’s the stronger family that keeps the name, but we can discuss it later.”
He rolled her over, so her head could rest on his chest. “The stronger family? By what standard?”
“Anything.” She nuzzled into him. “Stronger fishing. Stronger physically. Stronger builders. In the old days, all the Neerians would get together to argue who was stronger after a binding ceremony and sometimes fought. It got crazy. Now, it’s either pretty apparent or settled quickly.”
His fingers danced across her back. “Then it’s definitely Wavetamer. My brothers can carry on Rinnegan.”
“Grier Wavetamer?” she said aloud, traipsing the tip of her finger along the contours of his stomach and chest muscles.
“That actually sounds great,” he said. “It sounds like a title, like I’m a sea captain or some grizzled water Caster.”
“You could always get more sigils,” she said, kissing his chest and stomach and any other part of his skin close enough to kiss. “Some water sigils.”
In one fluid motion, he pulled her on top of him. He kissed her as if it was both their first and last kiss. “Maybe later.”
“Later,” she agreed.
Epilogue
Emeryss slid out of bed and away from Grier’s warmth.
“Done already?” he teased.
“Hah.” She tiptoed to the door. “I’m thirsty. I’m going to get some water for us if we’re going to keep at it all night.”
“You’re going naked?” He was lounging on the bed like a damn god looking back at her.
“No,” she chuckled, grabbing a full slip and sliding it over her body. She put on a fur-lined jacket overtop the slip and then stuffed her feet in some furry boots.
“That’s gonna be fun to take off,” he called to her with a smile.
“And you better still be naked when I get back.”
“Trust me, I will.”
She took the bucket from the counter and exited their home.
She couldn’t get over saying that. Her and Grier’s new home. They had a home together. They were bound to each other for life. They’d stopped the RCA, General Orr was no longer a threat, and Revel was rebuilding itself along with Ingini and Stadhold. It took a ton of people and lots of help, but they’d made the world better to live in for everyone.
And that’s all they could have hoped for.
She placed the bucket on the ground under the well and reached for the lever to pump the water. Something caught her eye, and she looked up.
The Goddess of the Dead appeared just beyond the ferns outlining the well.
Emeryss jumped and grabbed her jacket tighter. “What in the world— Are you real? Or have I lost my mind?”
Shenna stepped out of the shadows. “I’m real,” she whispered.
Her deepening eyes, her features, she seemed darker and more hallow than she’d seemed on the island. “I’m sorry for the terrible timing.”
“What’s wrong?” Emeryss asked, looking over her shoulder.
The village was quiet. Hardly anyone was stirring in the middle of a winter’s night.
Shenna folded her hands together. “Remember when I told you that the ether would bring you and others together if it was the end of everything?”
Emeryss nodded slowly.
“There are some people I need you to meet very soon.”
Thank you so much for reading Paragons of Ether! If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review!
This concludes the Kingdoms of Ether series, but my next romantic fantasy series is coming soon!
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Author Notes
My husband LOVED Grier so much that he created a Pathfinder character based on him (Mindblade Magus was the closest he could get to Grier’s abilities, for anyone interested). So, of course, he ALWAYS had feedback for Grier. He always wants him to be the strongest, baddest, fiercest character in the book.
“So, did I read this right? He just ‘tosses’ a javelin at the meteor lady?”
“Yup.”
“It needs to be… like a missile, ripping through her chest and exploding out the other side… like.. I need to feel the thud.”
“He’s wearing armor, he’s been fighting and using ether, he just reversed time, and you want him to torpedo a javelin toward her at break-neck, anime-ish speed complete with rays of light, etc.?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
*puppy dog eyes*
“You realize that Grier is NOT you, right?”
*puppy dog eyes*
“Okay, I’ll work on the descriptions.”
Thank you, Seth, for literally everything.
Thank you, Ellie, for being the best damn kid in the world.
Thank you, Katie. As soon as I’m able to conjure up a worthy sacrifice to you, it will be done.
Thank you, ladies of Enclave, for too real gifs, for Outlander recommendations, for being a venting space for a rough year.
Most of all, thank you, readers, for doing the thing you do.
It always starts off simple. A writer gets this crazy idea in their head: Wouldn’t it be cool if the world was like this? And then, they can’t help themselves when a new world just starts building itself around some silly idea, and characters develop, and things evolve as they work, until they’re like: Yeah.. this is a cool universe to be in. And then we post it up for the world. “Hey, wouldn’t this be a cool place to live in and experience?” And readers do their thing and go.. “Yeah. That’s pretty neat.” And just like that, we’ve traveled and explored a different world together.
Thank you for that. Thank you for the journey. <3
About the Author
I grew up a military brat, lived in several states, visited parts of Asia, and even lived in Okinawa. When people ask me where I’m from, I just say Earth. Honestly, it’s easier. I was a middle school teacher for nine years—no, really—but now I write, and love doing that even more. It’s usually fantasy. Mostly epic. Always magical. I like determined heroines who answer the call for wild adventures across crazy worlds. And I especially love to write young women who face hardships and consequences with grit and smarts. When I’m not inventing worlds for my characters, I game with my husband and daughter, draw, paint, use too many exclamation points!!!, and sometimes say funny things. Sometimes.
I’m always happy to chat with readers!
<3 Ryan
www.ryanmuree.com | Email
Pronunciation Guide
CHARACTERS
Emeryss – EM-err-ess
A
dalai – ADD-uh-lye
Grier – Greer
Vaughn – Vonn
Jahree – JAH-ree
Dova — Doh-vuh
OTHER
Fegrin — Fay-grin
Ori’dhai — Ore-edd-high
Gruskul — Gruss-cool
Sufford — Suffered
Halunder — Hall-under
Neeria – NEAR-ee-uh
Ingini – Engine-eye or Inn-GIN-eye
Delour – Duh-LORE
Ethrecity – Eth-RISS-itty
Aurelis – AW-rell-iss
Ethyrol — Ether-all
Zephyr — ZEFF-er
Pigyll — Piggle
