Corruption of the Rose

by S. J. Sanders

  The first severed tendril in the maw of a lupo brought the cacophony of shrill shrieks into a new height. It was all that was needed to set off the pack. Barbed tendrils struck and buried into tough hides, only for the tips to snap at the brutal attack of the lupi.

  Depositing his mage in a safe place, Saris joined the fray, teeth snapping, rending tendrils as claws dug into the toxic outer hull of its body. The poison that spurted beneath his claws puddled beneath the numerous thin tentacles supporting its body. When two males joined their efforts, pulling its jaws open until bone cracked and ligaments tore, the last of the creature’s defenses fell away with an agonized scream as it writhed. Growls and snarls rose from the pack as the lupi descended on it all at once, sweet and juicy flesh tearing from the inner body of the creature filling their gullets. If a few of them were streaked black with the poison, no one noticed or cared. Some even broke off the barbs to devour the chewier candy-sweet flesh of the tendrils.

  Glancing over at Rose, who waited on the edge of their feeding, Saris growled at the males who ventured too close to where he ate and cut a large slab of the raw meat from within it and carried it over to her. At his approach, she opened her mouth to protest, but he held the sweet meat against her lips in silent entreaty.

  Be one of us. Join us!

  Staring into her eyes, her lips parted and her mouth opened to allow him access as he slipped the tenderest of morsels onto her tongue. Streaks of dark blood from the meat dribbled from the corners of her mouth as her lips closed and she began to chew. Something sparked in her eyes, and she licked her lips.

  “More,” she hissed.

  Pleasure gripped his heart hard, and he drew her to the corpse where he stripped away more, feeding her bites between his own mouthfuls. Slowly, the other lupi broke away to recline contentedly on the grass until they were ready to continue scouting. Saris took advantage of the lull to feed his female, watching her dark pupils expand and the blue of her eyes turn the deepest hue of sapphire. She ate greedily from his hand, licking the blood from his claws that had long since neutralized the poison. The combination did something to her and she murmured and moaned against him until they finished the last morsels between them, riding the high of their feast.

  It was only with great reluctance that he corralled his female and set her once more on his back to continue their hunt into the forest. Saris thought he saw a vulpi watching them from a distance, but the moment passed quickly and without altercation, so he couldn’t be certain what exactly it wanted.

  Could Rose be right? Was the vulpi merely watching, looking for the next opportunity to kill her? His resolve hardened as he hissed at the thought. They would have to destroy him first.

  Chapter 24

  In the garden, Saris crept up on his lovely female, bathing in moonlight as she sat on a long bench. He just wanted to watch her. Watching her from the shadows, he was able to pretend that they might enjoy the sort of future that other mated pairs enjoy. Couples who didn’t have death hanging over them.

  He grimaced. The illusion never worked for long. There was no pretending that Urgal Mountains wasn’t a place of death. Nor that he didn’t crave it. But then, it seemed that Rose wasn’t so different. Perhaps he shouldn’t weigh their relationship by common expectations.

  What did it matter that they were surrounded by gloom, only truly enjoying unfiltered glimpses of light during the dead of night when the moon and stars shone down upon them? Would he adore her more if she were like any other woman from the towns scattered near the mountain?

  Saris frowned as he tried to imagine her as how the women were when he was human, tending to their households and daily chores beneath the sun with all their naïve innocence and ignorance of the dangers of the world. Rose was not a gentle soul who needed to be sheltered from the darkness, only touched by the unblemished light. She was dark and hungry even as she was compassionate, like the queen of the night embodied. How he loved her.

  The revelation flowed through him easily, accepted and welcomed, serving as a cooling balm over the hot, achy part of him susceptible to the moon’s pull, giving him comfort and a sense of joy. Of course he loved her. How could he not? He was a Master, and not one to delude himself or deny his feelings. He loved her inquisitive mind, her wild spirit and her keen intelligence that hungered for the greatest of prizes—knowledge. He respected her, adored her, cherished her… He loved her with all his being.

  It had not been intended, and perhaps Gnaval was correct that it made him overprotective, but what the male didn’t understand was that Saris knew his female could stand on her own and wield her own power. He had no doubt that she would conquer them and rise as Darthar’s heir. He had seen the strength within her. Even when she was subdued by him, he had seen it rippling through her and knew that he only controlled her with her agreement.

  Pretending that she, or they, were “normal” was a disservice, and he shook his head in amusement that he engaged in such illusions. It hurt to think of the danger that she had coming, but he wouldn’t want her any other way than how she was now. What other woman would be sitting on a bench in the midst of a garden on a hellish mountain for the pleasure of enjoying the moonlight as she read? And a tome of arcane arts, at that. He grinned at the sight of the grimoire in her hands. She was bent over, studying the text with a lantern off to her side providing just enough illumination to read by. It lit her cheek and the full lips that pulled slightly together…

  “Saris, you are staring,” she said as she flipped a page. Her eyes rose just enough that he could see humor in them before she returned her attention to her book. “Come sit with me.”

  He moved out of the shadows, nuzzling her as he sat upon the bench beside her. “I seem unable to keep my presence hidden from you any longer,” he commented with amusement.

  She looked up and smiled at him then. “I would like to say that it is the fates drawing us closer together, or something equally mystical, but I suspect that your feelings won’t be hurt if I inform you that you growl near constantly, especially when you’re deep in thought. What were you thinking of so intently while you were lurking?”

  “Your beauty,” he rumbled. “And your strength,” he added when she raised a dark eyebrow. “For another monster of this mountain, you are by the far the most enchanting of beings—and I wouldn’t have you any other way,” he finished, the corner of his mouth curving.

  Rose’s smile fell slightly. “Am I truly so monstrous then?”

  “Yes. In the best ways,” he told her. “Your uninhibited, unapologetic hungers and the frenzy that grips you in the death of your enemies may frighten humans, but in my eyes, they are glorious. You are a dark goddess, like the lady of the moon herself striding over the mountain. Deathly, wild-eyed, and chaotic, as well as fair and merciful, the lady of the moon dwells in unending darkness, drinking her goblets of blood, and yet she is the most beautiful of all… as you are,” he finished quietly, feeling foolish at his lengthy prose as he kept his eyes trained on her face.

  A pleased flush stained her cheeks as her smile widened.

  “I suppose I don’t mind if you call me a monster then, but if I am, it is because you set it free within me. So if I am a monster, then you are partially to blame—or take credit, depending on how you look at it. I suppose I should thank you?” she purred as she slid closer, nestling against him.

  “I take all the credit,” he snorted, secretly delighted, when she laughed like he’d hoped she would.

  “Ah, so you did corrupt me, then,” she murmured.

  “Entirely and completely,” he said shamelessly. “I corrupted you exquisitely so that you would shine all the brighter without fear of the dark, without need for the rays of the sun.” He brushed her hair back. “Now, my corrupted flower, tell me why you are out here by yourself—again—where any fiend can easily carry you away. It is dangerous out here.”

  “It is peaceful out here, and we both know that seldom do any of the mountain’s creatures enter int
o the garden. Even if they did, I would have little problem in dispatching them.”

  He blinked lazily at her. “You have extraordinary confidence in your abilities. I wonder how well it would fare against the moon-maddened.”

  Rose stilled. “Moon-maddened?”

  Saris nodded his head. “The lupi are susceptible to the pull of the lady moon. It is one reason we revere her so greatly. Of all the gods in the heavens, she is the one who demonstrates the greatest power over our nature—but we aren’t alone.”

  “And what happens during this moon madness? You don’t seem any different.”

  “Are you saying that lupi are naturally maddened?”

  “If you can say I am a monster, I can say it is probable you might suffer from moon madness on a daily basis,” she replied with a smirk.

  Saris threw back his head and laughed, startling the female at his side.

  “Perhaps there is some truth to that,” he admitted when his laughter finally died down. “I am trying to control it and deal with the increasing influence of the moon heightening to her fullest phase. It makes my blood boil with aggression.”

  “That explains those days when you were more than a little uptight,” Rose muttered, and he gave her a small unapologetic smile.

  “It is our nature, but I try to spare you from it as much as possible.”

  A frown tugged at her mouth. “And the full moon comes on the Night of Veils. Is that going to cause a problem?”

  He hesitated, considering lying to her in order to spare her some worry. He dragged a hand through his mane, his ears flattening.

  “Don’t sweeten the truth with lies. Just tell me,” she said softly.

  Grunting, he nodded with reluctance, eyes boring into hers to wordlessly convey the seriousness of the matter. “The lupi are already in a maddened state when the veils part. We are at our most primitive and territorial, defending our mountain, and the human world, from the onslaught of the underworld that tries to slip out with the deceased returning to their families. This is not a bad thing. It makes us very effective, and we are able to scent out foul creatures who slip by. On those years when the full moon shines, we are dangerous to anyone who doesn’t have full command of us.”

  Her tongue touched her upper lip—a most enticing sight if he ever saw one—and tapped her index finger on the open page of the book lying forgotten in her lap. He had no doubt that she was already putting everything together with her sharp mind, knowing with the hallowed night coming upon them that she wouldn’t have Mastery over the lupi in time. She paled slightly, her fingers curling into a tight fist for a moment before relaxing once more.

  She understood.

  She swallowed thickly, not looking up at him as she spoke.

  “Surely you have had other mages in the castle when it was a full moon on a Night of Veils.”

  “Yes, and each of them were preserved by locking themselves in their rooms.”

  She glanced up at him sharply.

  “Then that is what I will do! I will lock myself in our bedroom—or the workroom, if you think it would serve better—and then you can…”

  He shook his head, interrupting her words with the simple motion.

  “There is one thing you have that would make it impossible where it wasn’t before.”

  Her voice dropped to a whisper.

  “What?”

  He curled an arm protectively around her, drawing her closer to him so he could feel her heartbeat against him. He took solace in its even rhythm, his head ducking down to rest on top of her hair. Rose poked him in the ribs.

  “Don’t leave me in suspense. What exactly is the danger for me?”

  “Me,” he whispered hoarsely. “My mind will be broken, caught in the madness, but I will be called by your scent. You have ensnared a monster, and this beast will not be gentle or hold back his strength when that time comes. I will abandon my duties to break through that door to get to you. It will not stop me. And when that happens, I am afraid I will rut you, and when I do, I will kill you.”

  Rose reared back and stared up at him for a long moment, her blue eyes wide. Clearing her throat, she bent her head, tucking it against his chest so that he might rest his chin at her hair once again.

  “Well, we can’t have anyone being fucked to death. That would spoil our plans just a little,” she muttered.

  “No, we can’t,” he replied. A loud, shrieking moan broke the silence, and he stiffened, eyes sliding over to the rocky formations that left an opening to the creatures of the mountain. Rubbing his hand down her arm, he nudged her gently. “Come, let’s go inside. Nagas are hunting tonight.”

  His female lifted her head from his chest, trying to peer around him. “Nagas… really? I’ve never had much luck contacting them. They technically belong to the Water Kingdom, but they are connected to the entrances of the underworld too… Oh,” she murmured. “Are they invading too, or do they naturally inhabit this mountain like some of the spirits do?”

  He wrinkled his nose as he helped her to her feet. “They pass at will as they always have. Some nagas are very peaceful beings, but others are not. It is difficult to know which one you encounter, and I choose not to take chances with your welfare just yet.”

  Rose tipped her head up to smile at him as he herded her toward the balcony that led back into the castle.

  “So you’re saying when if I gain Mastery at the castle, then you will allow me to tempt fate?” she teased.

  He shot her a sharp glare. “Within reason,” he growled. “I have a feeling that your Mastery will be the death of whatever peace I currently enjoy.”

  A chuckle escaped her, and her fingers wrapped around the base of his tail, tugging lightly, just enough to make his cock swell and jerk within its sheath.

  “You like my kind of trouble,” she hissed.

  He shivered with desire and moved her faster into the castle, where he could do something about it. They fell in bed, limbs entwined within minutes of stepping into their bedroom, and before long, his snarls and her cries were echoing through the room as he rutted into his teasing temptress.

  Gods, how he loved her.

  Chapter 25

  Rose walked down the long hall, examining the numerous tapestries that lined the walls leading to the central room. One caught her eye in particular, and she paused to study it. In it, a man stood. The symbol of elemental earth illuminated around him, dropping into his center as he was surrounded by and converged with the other elements. Darthar, she guessed. As an earth mage, he would have connected to the rock formation of the mountain itself and woven in the other elements. Her path would, by necessity, have to be different.

  Her eye roved over the diagram of the mountain situated behind the mage. It was all impressive. Flames licked the peaks where the sun hit bare stone, and the winds curled around the higher slopes. That, in itself, was interesting. Saris had seemed surprised by the appearance of creatures from the Fire Kingdom on the mountain, but according to the tapestry it was not unusual when Darthar was in power. For whatever reason that the fire beings left, it seemed to be a positive sign that they returned despite their penchant for consuming a surplus of wildlife indiscriminately. It was worth pointing out to Saris.

  Rose’s eyes dropped to the woven waterways beneath the mountain, bringing to mind the bubbling spring in the lower recesses. The water was the very heart of the mountain. If she were to succeed at all, she would have to tap into that foremost as she established connections in the process of distillation and the final purification of her being. Then she could move into coagulation, in which the energies would all permanently merge within her.

  It was a dangerous transition. Only by completing the last two steps properly would she be able to claim the mountain and the lupi as hers and take complete magical control of her domain. Only the correct performance would purify and seal the magic within her blood with the aquatic vortex of her own power, creating the base of the transition as it merged with the water spiri
ts of the mountain.

  If what she read was correct, this entire process could easily kill her. None of Darthar’s extensive writing told her how exactly, but that to incorrectly attempt to harness the powers of the mountain would result in the terrible forces she was attempting to control and bind to her tearing her apart. She wished she knew more details on how and suspected that the skulls that stared at her sightlessly from the floor of the workroom knew the answers intimately. She was also aware that the lupi knew—they had to—but they weren’t sharing that information.

  She loathed the secrecy, but that was nothing new. That Darthar didn’t openly disclose it in the books was not out of the norm for mages. Much was left for the apprentice to discover and learn rather than being told what to expect. In the end, each mage had a different experience from the same material, and that was the purpose of the trials that an apprentice faced— to force them out of the comfort of learned expectations.

  If she had remained an apprentice and went through the trials of Mastery, she would have had to confront similar problems—although she wasn’t certain that they promised such lethal ends. A loss of self in one’s own mind, yes, but death was rarely something she had ever worried about when she had entered into apprenticeship at the conservatory.

  “Mistress?”

  Rose turned and smiled at the nereid hovering just off to the side. Much to her relief, Serina had returned the day before, wholly recovered, but her bubbling enthusiasm had been tempered by coming so close to touching the darkness of mortal death. She seemed all the more ghostly, her energy moving along deeper currents from the knowledge and experience that the nymph gained. Dark eyes met Rose’s with a shimmer of understanding in their midnight depths.

  “Are you afraid?” Serina whispered, her soft voice moving through the space like the distant sounds of flowing water in a cavern.

  “Perhaps,” she admitted. “I can’t place a finger on exactly what I feel. Apprehension and frustration are both there… It is possible that they are both rooted in my fear that I might fail and everything will disappear. I do not fear death, but I am not ready to die yet. There is so much more that I want to experience and know first.”