Bound to the Battle God

by Ruby Dixon

  It doesn’t feel fair.

  I cry and cry, feeling sorry for myself. For being the one that’s responsible for Aron’s death. For being the one that has to make a choice, and for the fact that there are no good choices at all. There’s no right answer in any of this, only more heartbreak.

  If I’d known that taking Aron’s hand that day would have led to this, would I have done it? I think for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. Like I had any other choice? I was going to be executed—a cleaver bride sacrificed in the god’s name. Beyond that, though…I can’t regret volunteering to be with Aron. I think of him with another anchor, holding her close, laughing with her…

  And I’m hit with an ugly gut-wrench of pure, seething jealousy.

  I’m shocked at how violent my thoughts get. Just imagining Aron with someone else makes me want to claw his—and her—eyes out. Fuck that. He’s mine.

  Somewhere along the way, I’ve come to care for the arrogant jerk.

  I love him. Not that I want to admit that to myself, but isn’t that why I’m not going to return to Earth? Why I’m going to let that connection thread snap and take with it my hopes of living past all this? Because I can’t abandon Aron.

  Because I love him.

  I am such an idiot.

  Shaking my head, I bury it in my hands again, marveling at how stupid I must be to fall for a guy that’s been nothing but an arrogant prick since I met him. A guy that holds me tightly and strokes my hair, who touches me and makes me come because he wants me to think of him and only him. Who got jealous when he thought Solat was flirting with me. Who won’t let anyone touch me because he wants to be the one touching me. I wipe away my tears, sniffing.

  Yeah, Aron’s a jerk and a half, but I still love him. His arrogance is the perfect foil for my salt. He doesn’t care that I’m a potty mouth, that I’m surly in the morning, or that I have a soft heart underneath all my vinegar. He likes all of that about me.

  Thunder crashes outside, and I lift my head, surprised. Uh oh. That’s not a good sign.

  I get to my feet, rubbing my temples. So far, no brain-shattering migraine, which means this is just a show of temper and not an actual drawing on his powers. Even so, I need to find Aron and talk to him, calm him down.

  I head down the ramp, mindful of what the Spidae said. Bottom of the tower. He’s there. I head in that direction, picking up my football and my skirts so they don’t drag on the floor. I can still see the discarded strands everywhere at the Spidae’s feet and fight back a shudder. I can’t imagine those were anything good.

  Another blast of rage echoes through the tower, and I wince as the parapet I pass by lights up with lightning. The sky outside is fading to twilight, the evening sun bleeding red across the horizon. I need to find Aron before it’s dark because I don’t see a single torch, and I don’t want to think of what’s waiting in the shadows. I clutch my football to my chest, suddenly a little afraid of this tower and its denizens. I know I saw a giant spider in the room with the Spidae. I don’t want to know what he eats.

  I mean, the answer could be “travelers” like Yulenna suggested. Then all my choices will be made for me. I bite back the hysterical laugh bubbling in my throat and walk a little faster.

  I pass by a new pair of rooms, where I see Markos and Kerren lying on pallets on the ground. They get to their feet at the sight of me, Kerren pulling out his sword. I shake my head, indicating that they should stay, and continue on. The next room has Solat and Yulenna, but they’re completely unaware of me, judging by the way Solat looks like he’s trying to suck Yulenna’s face off. Okay then. I don’t say anything to them, just continue on as more thunder rumbles.

  Aron’s the one that matters. I have to get to him.

  Every crack of lightning, every peal of thunder hurts my heart. Not in a physical sense, but in an emotional sense. I know Aron’s hurting. He’s upset, and I want to help him.

  He thinks he can save you.

  Has my big arrogant jerk fallen for me, too? My heart hammers at the thought, and it makes me speed up.

  I can hear Aron before I see him. The boom of his voice carries through the hall, shaking the cobwebs as I approach.

  “You have to let me see her! She is mine!”

  “I do not have to do anything,” the Spidae says, the voice cold and utterly familiar. It sounds just like the man I left upstairs…but this is future, isn’t it? Unless the one I talked to was future. Unless they don’t have divisions like that at all. Unless he was just fucking with me the whole time.

  Entirely possible, given that he’s a god of fate. Or an Aspect of one.

  Thunder crashes again, and I inwardly wince, imagining Aron’s fury. My head is still okay, and when I put a finger under my nose, it’s still dry. No nosebleed. This is all just flash.

  “You don’t understand,” Aron’s voice carries as I hesitate outside the doorway. “I hurt her. I have to let her know I didn’t mean to. I have to make it up to her. She’s mine to protect. My responsibility.”

  “Why should I let you see her at all?” the Spidae asks.

  Thunder crashes so loudly that I jump. “Because she’s mine,” Aron roars, fury making the small hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The air is charged with lightning.

  “And look at how you break your things.”

  The thunder dies away.

  I’m surprised to hear this—that Aron’s anger is over me. That he’s demanding to see me. Wasn’t the whole purpose of coming here to find out where Aron’s other Aspects are? Wasn’t that the whole goal?

  “Tell me what you need from me,” Aron says, his voice deadly calm. “I know you have her hidden away somewhere in this tower. Tell me what you need to return her to me.”

  “Well, you can ensure me that you will not harm her after we’ve gone to the trouble of saving her.”

  “You know I would never—” More thunder, but it dies just as quickly. “I need her back, my old friend. I need you to return her to me.”

  “Mmm.” There’s a long pause, and I wonder if I should enter the room. Just before I decide to step forward, the Spidae speaks again. “What if I told you that you could have another anchor? Surely the raven-haired wench would suit your needs.”

  I stiffen, horrified. That fucking bastard. Is the Spidae trying to replace me? I’m convinced now more than ever that the fates—the spider gods—are toying with us, holding information over our heads and using it to confuse.

  “I want no other anchor. I need no one but Faith. She is mine.”

  “Any anchor will belong to you, Aron—”

  “Faith is MINE.”

  I wait to hear more thunder, but instead, all I hear is a faint, eerie chuckle. The Spidae laughs. “Have you fallen in love with a human, Aron? After all this time? How many Anticipations have you gone through and never given your heart? Such a thing has never occurred before. You know no good can come of a mortal pairing with a god.”

  Silence.

  My heart pounds in my chest, and the only sound is that of my quick breaths.

  “What if I told you,” the Spidae says, “That to ascend to your place in the Aether you must destroy her?”

  I hold my breath. Is that their game? Turn us against one another and see which one of us breaks first? But if so…the Spidae has to know I’m listening. He has to know I’m here. He knows what I chose.

  “Impossible,” Aron says after a moment.

  “Is it?”

  “You spin lies to confuse me.”

  Fuck yeah. You tell ’em, baby. I silently fist-pump, wishing I’d had the balls to go back and give the Spidae hell for throwing so much misery on me.

  “Fate is a tangled web,” the Spidae agrees, amusement in his voice.

  “Just let me know she is safe,” Aron says, and there is such weariness in his tone. “Nothing else matters but her.”

  “She is safe. I do not keep her from you to play games.”

  There’s a long, slow exh
ale of breath.

  Aron was…holding his breath? He was that worried about me? Does he not realize that I was just upstairs chatting with the other Aspect?

  I clutch the football to my chest. He really does care for me. He might even love me, in his Aron-ish way.

  “You know you cannot take her with you, Aron,” the Spidae says, and his tone is surprisingly gentle.

  “I am an Aspect and she is my anchor. That is all that matters.”

  I can practically hear the scowl in his voice.

  The Spidae laughs once more. “Yes, well, your anchor awaits you, my lord of storms.”

  64

  Before I can step inside the room, Aron’s rushing out. He nearly bowls me over, and I stagger backward, about to lose my balance.

  Aron doesn’t let me, though. He grabs me and crushes me against him, his big arms wrapping around me. “Faith!” A moment later, he claims my mouth in a hard, brief kiss, and then runs his hands all over my body. “How…do you hurt? Are you well?”

  I’m shocked at how out of sorts he is. He looks as if he’s just seen a ghost. I was just upstairs, though. “I’m fine. A little tired and hungry, but…why are you so freaked out?”

  To my surprise, he drags me against his chest again and holds me close, his expression fierce. “You’ve been gone for days. I thought—I thought they’d sent you back to your world.”

  Days? Huh? I pull free of Aron’s grip—not the easiest task—so I can look him in the eye. “What do you mean, I’ve been gone for days? I was sleeping upstairs next to Yulenna. I went looking for you and ran into one of the Spidae and we had a brief conversation. That’s all. I don’t think I’ve even been awake an hour…”

  My words trail off because he’s shaking his head, his expression furious. Thunder rumbles outside. “You’ve been gone for days. They manipulate time, move it back and forth to suit their needs. It’s been days since Solat saw you leave the room. I nearly killed him thinking he had lost you, and then I knew the Spidae were just manipulating us to see how we would react.” Aron’s gaze roams possessively over me again, his hands moving over my body. “They did this purely to toy with us.”

  “They’re dicks.”

  “Huge dicks,” he agrees.

  “Massive, massive dicks.” I reach up and touch his face, loving the electric shock between us. “I’m fine, truly. All I did was talk to one of the Spidae.”

  He grabs my hand and presses a fervent kiss to my palm. “I thought I’d lost you,” he murmurs against my skin. “That they’d convinced you to leave me behind.”

  “They tried,” I admit.

  Aron’s jaw clenches. “I will murder all of them—”

  I shake my head, putting my other hand on his chest. “It’s not important. They were talking to both of us, trying to get responses from us. You know how a cat toys with its prey? That’s what it felt like. They were prodding us to see how we’d react. I’m thinking they need to get a new hobby.”

  A hard, barking laugh erupts from him and he drags me close again, pressing me against his chest.

  Oh. My heart squeezes for Aron. I know he likes to pretend he doesn’t have feelings underneath all the arrogance, but he keeps hugging me and holding me so tight that I know he’s upset. The constant thunder tells me that much. I’ve never seen him this messed up.

  And I know I can never leave him, not to save my own skin. “I’m at your side until the end.” I reach up and caress his strong jaw, letting my fingers trail over his gorgeous face, the scar that carves down the left side. “You’re mine and I’m yours, remember? You tell me that every time I turn around.”

  I expect him to laugh, because his mouth turns up in a hint of a smile. Instead, he lowers his head, and then his mouth is on mine.

  We’re kissing. We’re really, really kissing for the first time since that fateful banquet in Novoro. This is different, though. Then, he was staking his claim on me in front of everyone. Here, it’s just us and it’s far more intimate. He cups my chin, tilting my face up to his, and then his tongue slicks into my mouth and he’s claiming it like he’s claimed my pussy with so many touches. Funny how he’s given me orgasms repeatedly and yet we’ve kissed so rarely.

  Everything feels different today. It’s not the push-pull game between us. It’s not the endless dance of teasing him and having him tease me back.

  The time for teasing is over.

  Aron’s hungry mouth claims mine with a fierce stroke of his tongue, and hot waves of pleasure rush through me. The spark moves between us like it always does, but it feels like it’s just driving the pleasure of his kiss even higher. I love the press of his mouth on mine, the way he claims my mouth as if it’s always belonged to him, the feel of his big body looming over me. For a moment, I want to forget everything and just revel in Aron’s touch.

  With a groan, he hauls me up against him, his hands on my ass as he lifts me. I wrap my legs around his hips, my arms around his neck, and I don’t lift my mouth from the kiss. It’s too wonderful a kiss to ever let it go. In this moment, I’d cheerfully let him consume me if he’d only keep stroking his tongue over mine.

  “I can’t lose you,” he breathes against my lips. His mouth nips at mine, unable to let up for a moment. “I can’t.”

  “I’m here, Aron,” I manage. It’s hard to speak between kisses, but I’m not complaining. His mouth feels too good—too right—against mine.

  I moan when my back bumps into the spiderwebbed walls, and then I’m crushed between the stonework and Aron’s heavy body. His tongue thrusts deep again, claiming my mouth, and the stroke of it makes my hips arch with need.

  “You’re mine,” he says, even as he rucks my skirts up, shoving them up my hips.

  I gasp at the feel of his hands on my bare ass, my nails digging into the shoulders of his tunic. I’m not wearing panties, and in a moment, everyone’s going to be able to see all of my lady business. “Aron,” I manage between intense kisses. “We’re in the hall—”

  “No one would dare interrupt us,” he growls, and smothers my protest in another heated, drugging kiss. I moan against his lips, even as he tears at his belt, his hand moving underneath my thighs. “Tell me you don’t want this right now, Faith, and I’ll stop.”

  Stop now? When I’m moments away from riding that glorious body of his that I’ve lusted after for weeks now? If he says no one’s going to bother us, then I don’t care. “Fuck no. Never stop.” I lean in and bite at his jaw, then lick the red mark I leave there. I tangle one hand in his long hair, twisting my fingers into it. I need him to feel my urgency, to feel how badly I’ve needed him. Hasn’t he always been the one that’s held me at arm’s length? Does he think I’m going to let him get away now?

  Aron growls, clearly a fan of the biting. A moment later, both of his hands are on the undersides of my thighs and he spreads them wide. That’s the only warning I get before he pushes me back against the wall once more and slicks his length through the folds of my pussy, wetting it with my arousal.

  I gasp at the feel of him against my most sensitive parts, and he looks me right in the eye when he drives his length along my folds once more, the thick, fat head of his cock rubbing against my clit as he does. “I’m going to take you hard against this wall, Faith. You feel my cock? You feel how big it is? How hard it is for you?”

  Oh god, do I ever. I whimper, nodding.

  “I’m going to claim all of you,” he says, moving one hand to caress my jaw, and he drags his thumb over my lips. “If you don’t want that, tell me now. Tell me to stop before it’s too late.”

  Is he trying to get out of this? Fuck that. I bite down on the thumb that’s teasing my lips, letting him know I want it hard and I want it rough.

  The groan that shudders out of him is unholy. Thunder rumbles overhead again, and then his mouth is on mine, hot and fierce and so, so good. Our teeth clash as we kiss, and it’s frantic and deep and wild and—

  And then he shoves that big, hulking length of him int
o me and I gasp, shocked.

  Knowing that Aron’s got a big, godlike cock is very different than having it thrust into me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex—a really, really long time—and everything feels tight and stuffed to the brim. “Oh fuck,” I exhale, my body shocked at the sensation. My legs are quivering around his hips, and I’m not sure if I want him to stop or do that again. “Aron—”

  He reaches between us, pressing me back against the wall and pushing that enormous cock deeper into me. One hand cups my breast through my nightgown, teasing my nipple, and I gasp, my inner walls clenching around him. I feel like I’m impaled on his length, but god help me, I’m starting to love it. Everything’s rippling and tightening, and when he flicks my nipple with his thumb, I feel it deep in my core, and I choke on another moan.

  “My anchor,” he murmurs. “My mortal. You know you’re mine, don’t you?” And he thrusts deeper into me, impossibly. He’s claiming all of me, driving me down on his length. “You know that this cunt belongs to me. That these legs are going to clench around no hips but mine.”

  I twist my hand in his hair. “You have to promise me the same.”

  He laughs, and I feel the movements all through my body, but especially in my pussy. “How demanding of you, my anchor.” The words are full of affection. “You think I would touch another when I can touch you? No mortal has interested me in millennia. They are nothing to me. And then you come along, and…” He thrusts deep into me, and I cling to his neck, whimpering. “You have bewitched me. You have made me want things I have not wanted in a very long time.”

  “Good,” I manage, rocking my hips against the massive length of his cock. “Good. I don’t want you to want anyone but me.”

  Aron laughs again, and then he pumps into me once more. Not as hard, but when his hips begin to rock in a steady rhythm, it sends all kinds of new sensations through me. I don’t know if this is better or worse—killing me fast with each hard, rough stroke, or killing me with small, quick pumps.