by Erin R Flynn
Darius and Jaxon finished not long after I did, all of us too wound up. I glanced between Cerdic and Kristof, knowing I wanted more.
“Tell us, love,” Cerdic practically begged.
“Lay me next to them and finish on me.”
“Oh, fuck me dead,” Jaxon groaned.
They did, Cerdic and Kristof both giving me almost feral looks that promised I was theirs whether they marked me or not. It felt weird but oddly satisfying. Not like the few porn videos I’d ever caught on tablets or anything I’d found and charged. No, this wasn’t on my face or demeaning. It was primal and something more.
And so were all the things three of them wrote on me in blood.
“Soon,” I whispered to Kristof, hating how he got left out because he was too powerful.
“There’s no rush, and this was more than I deserved,” he murmured against my lips.
“Glad you think so,” I whispered as I pulled him on top of me, much to his surprise. “Will you do something to me that they can’t? Use all that crazy speed to finger me again?”
“My pleasure.” He licked his lips, and suddenly I was seconds from orgasming, he moved that fast and pushed my body that hard so soon.
I actually covered my mouth to keep in my screams when I had multiple orgasms, not wanting to be completely obnoxious for those around us who could hear. My body was twitching as I gasped for air when he stopped.
“Birthdays are awesome,” I moaned. I glanced over at Darius and Jaxon. “What would you want for your birthdays?”
“A day of eating you out. Nothing else, just being able to feast on you as much as I want and nothing else to interrupt or any reason to get out of bed,” Darius answered immediately.
I shivered. “That sounds way more like a present for me.”
“I was going to say a lazy day of playing and trying treats naked in bed,” Jaxon said with a chuckle. “Just us and leaving the world completely outside. No apocalypse or bullshit or worries. Us and wherever the mood takes us.”
“Again, that sounds like a present for me,” I giggled. “I think both of those are doable as long as Darius promises to eat other things and gives me chances to rest.”
“Of course,” he snickered.
“Deal.”
“Okay, I’m really glad my birthday isn’t for another six months because we might be engaged by then and I can get spoiled as they are,” Cerdic muttered.
I leaned over and kissed him. He’d been much more open about what he was feeling and wanted from me since very loudly declaring he was on my team. I liked it.
I liked him. I even liked the scary one.
“I’m glad we figured out a plan,” I told Kristof as my eyes got heavy, the four of them surrounding me on the bed and all touching me. My head was on Kristof’s arm, but Jaxon was snuggled up on the other side of my neck, Darius with his arm around my waist and Cerdic had my legs over him, running his hands over me in a soothing way.
And that was how I fell asleep.
Best birthday ever for sure.
7
A few days later we were finally moving out to Prince George, the cargo ship already loaded and heading out to Ireland… And without Dennis and those nobles, as there was just no room.
Yeah, right, there was of course, but Sebastian felt the message was louder that we would be assholes back if people fucked with us. So they could go the next trip, and if Olivia had some time to falsely believe everything was going to her plan, all the better.
Really, it was like flipping her the bird from across the world.
“We’re all going today?” I asked my four nobles as they gathered after breakfast and tai chi when I was supposed to head out with Kristof and Cerdic to retrieve another item for the quest.
“We’re making a stop so we can catch you up on a few things,” Kristof answered vaguely.
I nodded, glancing between Darius and Jaxon. “You guys can’t keep up with them.”
“I’ve got you, and Kristof has them,” Cerdic explained as he swooped me up in his arms.
“You can carry two at once?” I asked Kristof, even more impressed.
“Not safely given their size and bulk,” he corrected, shrugging. “Two trips. I’m twice as fast as Cerdic after all.”
“My life is so weird,” I chuckled, nodding that I was ready. Cerdic held onto me a few moments after we arrived so I could settle. I bit back a giggle at the crazy when I realized Darius, Jaxon, and Kristof were already there waiting. It was so, so crazy they could move so fast they covered huge distances in what most people could run a mile. “Where are we?”
“Everett, a northern suburb of Seattle,” Kristof answered as we looked out onto the water from a beach. “We’ve all seen you check out the navigators at this area as if trying to figure out logistics of your larger, long term plan, and we thought it time to share a bit and make other things clear.”
“I don’t understand,” I admitted, rubbing my arms when a hard breeze came off the water at us. I realized it was more than that, slowly looking over my shoulder. “Holy fucking shit, that’s a lot of corrupted.”
“Yes, and not a settlement anywhere near here, as apparently something went down, as these were not the original numbers Seattle, Vancouver, or Portland had,” Cerdic agreed. “We were scouting. There’s word that most of California actually evacuated their major cities before bombs hit, as the governor or whoever took the rumors and reports seriously before most did.”
“And then most became corrupted after surviving that,” I whispered, sad down to my soul. So much death and destruction. Even looking out at the water, there were wrecked ships and tons that showed things weren’t what they used to be. “So what are we showing me?”
“First, there’s a bit of a lesson we all thought the other gave to you,” Cerdic explained as he took my hand and led me to what was next. “So you know nobles have powers, yes? One of them told you that some have spirit animals or could work with ghosts as you do.”
“Yes, but that was all really,” I admitted.
“Actually not, but I understand now you didn’t get it,” Darius corrected. “But what I didn’t tell you was most won’t tell you what their powers are. It’s like a hidden element. Their birth coven would probably know, the princess for sure, but some have powerful gifts or spirit animals.”
“And princesses would trade for you guys worse than your houses and you’d really become disrespected, toys for a full collection or whatever.”
“Yes, that was what it became,” Kristof agreed. “And why several of the most powerful princesses at the time made the ruling that it was to end. Nobles could tell if they wanted to or persuaded them to be accepted, but it became something others looked down on. It was taboo and became a gift to share with his or her princess the night she accepted their vow just as she shared her body and blood.”
“Wow, so I was court proper for once and didn’t even know it by not asking,” I bragged, beaming at them as if I really cared, but they found me amusing. “So are you guys telling me then?”
“Some, as some of us have more than one,” Cerdic told me, nodding but then angling his head to Kristof. “And then some of us are freaks.”
“I’m really fucking old. Of course I kept accruing gifts,” Kristof drawled. He gave me the quickest look that there might be more to that and he wanted me to know that since he’d promised to never lie, but right then wasn’t the time. I could understand.
“Please turn this building to energy beads, love,” Cerdic told me as we stopped at a business that looked like it had rented boating and water sports equipment. “We’ve already been through it and cleared out what was needed.”
I nodded, walking over there and putting my hand against the wall. I let out my power, and the whole place collapsed into energy beads. “So what am I missing?”
“That when I said I could use those for building materials, you didn’t get what I meant,” Darius answered. He held out his hand to the piles, and slow
ly beads started to move towards him. They weren’t as fast as when I remade an electric semi, but he was very controlled and focused, which would undoubtedly be safer.
I gasped as the beads started turning into new rebar rods and a pile of what I thought was cement that just needed water.
Jaxon moved up next to him, held out his hand, and started calling other beads. My eyes went wide as large wood beams that looked fresh from the sawmill started piling at his feet.
“Fuck me dead,” I breathed.
“That’s my Irish influence on my princess,” Jaxon chuckled. “Next I’ll get you calling assholes ‘langers’ and we’ll keep making progress.”
Darius stopped before Jaxon, taking in and letting out a few slow breaths. “Wow, I’ve not done that in so long. I’ve got to get back to my fighting weight.”
“Yes, your powers are like any other muscle,” Kristof agreed. “You lose them if you don’t use them; however, that was an impressive display for one so young. Excellent control. Your parents taught you well, and I would ask you for guidance on teaching how they did, as none of my students reached that control.”
“Thank you, Mother took training seriously, and my father wouldn’t hear of any of us leaving the coven unless we were masters of our powers even if not as strong as we would become,” Darius said, a sad smile on his face as he thought of them. I hugged him, needing to when he got that way. He kissed my hair, and we watched Jaxon keep going for a bit more.
By the time they were done, there was a huge pile of wood, enough to fill a shipping container for sure, and hundreds of pounds of rebar and cement. There were very few energy beads left from the starting pile.
“You guys are like the coolest recyclers ever,” I whispered, completely shocked at this turn of events.
“Yes, and we plan to do just that to help you move the world along to its next phase but once you take our oaths,” Darius told me.
“If you take them,” Jaxon corrected, clearing his throat nervously.
“She loves us,” Darius growled.
“Yes, but until the blood is exchanged and oath accepted, things could change, and we tell her to take this off her mind and shoulders, not because we assume that she accepts us or will because of this.”
“Of course not.” He hugged me tighter. “We love you and we want to help you understand that as a team we will handle what needs to be done.”
“Thanks, that helps,” I sighed, relieved at least people who knew what they were doing could jump in. “So what are your gifts specifically?”
“I can manipulate inorganic materials,” Darius answered. “Crumble concrete back to powder or build something with it. Manipulate metal to its liquid state and reform it. I used to do that when I practiced to help the coven’s swordsmith.”
“I can manipulate organics, but there are lines as you found when you tried to put the wood energy beads back to a tree. I can’t do that either. But mine still has a wide range of applications if you’re smart. I can pull salt from water, making ocean water into drinking water. I fertilize fields or work with compost without having to touch it. I can give other nutrients to soil with ease.”
“Cool, seriously, that’s so cool,” I praised, turning and hugging him too while Darius still held onto me. I glanced between Cerdic and Kristof. “So you guys aren’t showing me yet?”
“We’re each showing you one that’s relevant,” Cerdic corrected. “For me, most know it’s common of my house, so it’s not much to let out though most nobles do not until they’re sworn to a princess and then it’s brag all day and night how powerful the noble of her court is.”
“Or we could just be normal,” I drawled. “Okay, so what superpower do you have?”
He turned and held out his hands to the water, and my heart thumped twice as fast as normal as a huge wave came towards us. He moved his arms, and the wave split in half and flowed out to either side. “Water manipulation.”
“Useful to clean water and get my big river going to make ocean access to the coven,” I muttered. “Damn, that’s cool and almost made me pee myself.”
“Don’t do that, love,” he chuckled. “And yes, I can do that, but it’s also snow and rain and even ice. Any form of water so I can help crops and more as well.”
“Cool.” I hugged him in thanks for showing me, and then I turned to Kristof.
“First, I need you to tell us specifically what you see for this river,” he said, handing me one of the navigators.
I nodded, taking it from him and zooming into where we were. “Whidbey Island and some of these other ones aren’t in my dreams. This whole area is cleared to unobstructed access, and the river starts at this inlet or cove here by Everett and follows along the highways sort of, but that would mess up the roads.” I sighed. “And I see it getting wider over time. I don’t get that part.”
“I do,” he muttered, kissing my hair before moving off the paved area to the beach. He slowly pushed his hands out from his chest, and I watched as the whole section of the beach to the water started moving like he was shoveling snow.
“Dude, we got the guy from the Bible who’s parting seas and now someone who forms new rivers.”
“I think that makes you the human god if you can destroy cities and reclaim land for nature,” Cerdic teased me. “Plus, that was before my time.”
“You know what I mean,” I drawled as my eyes stayed on Kristof, riveted by what he was doing.
He turned to me, and my gaze locked with those sexy mocha eyes as he scratched his scruff, which once again was there since he seemed to only have it just before he got a beard or too much facial hair to annoy him. “The gift is earth manipulation. So rocks, dirt, anything natural, not concrete that has natural components but blended and element bonds have formed.”
“So you can dig the river if I clear the path?” I checked, relieved when he nodded. “Okay, and then what? I mean, the path screws with bridges and stuff and we can’t take out roads when it will take a long time to clear all these areas fully.”
“I can make a bridge over time,” Darius promised. “And fix roads if you turn them to energy beads. Otherwise I’d have to break it all down and then put it together and lay it like a machine would. Your breaking elements down to energy beads makes our part exceedingly easier. Like ridiculously.”
I bobbed my head as I took it all in but then realized another problem. “So what do we do with all the dirt and whatever we dig up? We build up huge walls of it?”
“No, we find an area to bring it. I would vote for putting in a mountain range around the coven and farms. It’s a good spot for outposts like castles used to have, and it would make it much more difficult for any who would come try to take what’s ours or try attacking.”
“Dude, you can make mountains?” I whispered, staring at him with wide eyes.
“I have,” he chuckled, shrugging. “Use the muscle or lose it. Mostly hills or building up land when disasters strike or volcanos are about to blow. But yes, I can or I would also suggest using that to fill in those areas that are now huge craters from bombs. Convert what’s left and rebuild up those areas with fresh, clean dirt for nature.”
“So moving it all will be the complicated part,” I muttered.
“Yes and no because I move it to fill up shipping containers, so if we’re smart about loading at the dock and then unloading close to areas to fill in, it shouldn’t be too bad. It also won’t be done tomorrow. This is the starting line and it’s daunting, but I believe your dreams were even showing you it will grow and to not push too hard.”
“Got it.” I blew a raspberry. “That’s still a long and complicated fucking list of all we have to do. It seems a bit too much of a split.”
“Yes, but there are steps to help,” Jaxon reminded me. “We need to clear all the corrupted out of here before we could even start. But we’re being smarter so we’ll clear everything from this immediate area as step two instead of taking some off here and there. And we finish your q
uest. That’s the focus so we can get to your coven and figure that next step out.”
“So there is a lot at play, but it all builds on each other or has its own course, not so much crazy,” Darius added. “So now you understand this part and we go get a few of your items and bury them. We’re doing much, much better than we were a few months ago, and we will do things better and more efficiently in a few months than we are today.”
That sounded awesome and I agreed, so we got a move on it. Kristof took Jaxon and Darius back while Cerdic and I headed to Michigan to handle the items there, both of us agreeing to get them out further from those problem areas of covens or what was left of the US government.
Kristof met up with us, and we did it even better, Cerdic having holes and places ready for us to bury items miles apart from each other but getting progressively closer to where the coven would be. He marked the GPS, and we made sure to carefully wrap them for the coffins he’d already found.
“We make a good team,” I praised us as we arrived with the last item for the day. We’d handled Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Four states, sixteen items in seven locations, one with four in their collection.
Damn.
“We do,” they agreed.
I went over to Kristof and hugged him, brushing my lips over his. “Thank you for showing me how awesome you are. I didn’t get a chance to say that because we moved on. And thank you for helping me with this, really, it’s a huge relief to get this done and it makes me less anxious. I am sorry you have to go back and forth with each item.”
“I’m not,” he chuckled, his lips sweeping my skin again. “I have you in my arms for longer and you hold me so tightly as you adjust that I long for that closeness with you.”
“I don’t know if that’s romantic and sweet or you’re a perv,” I admitted.
“Both probably.” He snuck a quick kiss while I was thinking. “Let’s get back and lunch because I heard your stomach grumble.”
