At first, she wondered why the others stood stock still, eyes wide, mouths agape. Off to the left of the boulder, they had just rounded lay a great indention in the mountaintop where hot air, vapors, and smoke exited. As Sir Hestbone had predicted, Flame Mountain possessed a cork that vented the heat of its innards to the sky. However, the expression on the dwarf’s bearded face spoke volumes of disbelief. The stunned looks on King Zeadren’s, Kaedric’s, and Beron’s faces mirrored his.
Inhaling sharply, Sir Greensleeve pointed opposite of the crater. Ember turned, looking beyond her companions. There, in all its flaming red, liquid-rock glory, laid the legendary land of the Fire Giants.
Awe clenched her heart. She gulped, her throat as dry as King Zeadren’s homeland. “So Muspell is not a legend after all,” she said softly.
“What is Raya up to, Princess?” Kaedric asked.
“I’m not sure.” A quiver of dread resided in her voice.
Beron turned and fixed her a frightened look. “Sister”—he pointed at the vast, fiery realm below them—“this is part of my vision.”
“What is that void out there?” asked Kaedric. “That place out on the horizon.”
“Ginnungagap,” Sir Hestbone supplied.
“And the dark spot off to the right?” Kaedric continued.
“Niflheim, the world of dark and cold,” he answered.
“These realms are in our legends,” Ember stated, “but we thought that was all they ever were.”
Her brother shivered. “Now we know those lands are real, but why would the gods keep it secreted among myths?”
A seed of realization stirred in Ember’s mind. “I fear Raya—”
The screech startled her. She turned this way and that, but the wind ripped the sound away, distorting it and bouncing it from rock to rock. The dragon’s cry erupted again. The noise thundered over them, seemingly everywhere and nowhere at once.
“Ach!” The dwarf drew his short sword, his attention jumping from one spot to another. “Where be the monster?”
Beron and Kaedric stood back to back. King Zeadren and Sir Hestbone did the same. With their swords drawn, the men scanned the sky and the terrain.
“Mayhap this is not a good place to be,” said Sarenkesh. His gaze briefly met Ember’s before returning to the sky. “We are exposed here.”
“I will protect you,” said Ember. “My power knocked the dragon from the sky before, so I shall do it again if need be.”
Dimly, Ember heard Beron’s shout, but something wrenched her shoulders, and her equilibrium somersaulted until disorientation overwhelmed both her brain and her senses. She frowned at the shrinking forms of her comrades below her. Sarenkesh’s shout of anger and denial sliced the air.
Airborne and with a frightening thrill skewering her insides, Ember thought she might vomit. Finally, coherent thoughts filtered into her mind, and she realized something had snatched her from the mountaintop.
She looked at first from one shoulder and then the other. An arm looped under each of her armpits and large, strong hands locked over her breasts. Twisting her head, she glimpsed huge, leathery wings but couldn’t see anything more.
“Struggle,” a male voice whispered in her ear, “and I shall drop you into the fiery valley below us.”
Fear poked at her heart. She nodded once and tried not to think about the amount of distance between the earth and her feet. The force of her abductor’s wings traveled through his body and into hers, the strong tha-whump of each wing beat loud in her ears. She stared down at the rivers of molten rock and the explosions of red and orange liquid from various cracks and holes in the terrain. Even from so high, the heat and force of the eruptions created winds that buffeted her.
To Ember’s left, a fissure appeared in the mountainside. As her captor flew closer, the crack grew larger. Her abductor wheeled, dipped one wing, and soared downward. The sensation and speed at which they fell terrified Ember and snatched her breath away until she feared the contents of her stomach would burst out of her mouth. Her captor zipped through the fissure, bathing them in darkness. Gloom wrapped around Ember, but slowly, her eyes adjusted to the poor light. Smooth rock walls sped past her, and within seconds, the walls widened into a great chamber lit by torches.
Slowing, the winged man landed on his feet and set Ember down
Chapter Fifteen
She spun on her heels and faced her abductor. The man who had transformed into the black dragon regarded her with vivid blue eyes.
“You!” she said. “What do you want?”
“Mother knew you would be strong enough to reach Muspell,” he replied, his voice a rumble of thunder in the stone chamber. “I, however, did not believe her…until now.” He turned and walked over to the fire pit in the center of the room, his wings shrinking with each step. Dressed in only a leather loincloth, he picked up a couple of small logs and tossed them into the fire, his impressive body rippling with muscles.
Although hesitant, Ember found herself drawn to the fire too. Minerals glittered in the walls and floors. Dozens of thick furs covered a rock dais at the back of the chamber. She stood a few feet from his side, her attention fixating on him. The firelight caressed the man’s midnight hair, and threads of blue glistened within the strands. He looked up at her, his eyes a blue that mimicked Torr’s lightning.
Those eyes! Bluer than any she’d ever seen before—save for Raya’s.
“Raya is your mother, isn’t she?” asked Ember. The revelation shook her, and she stood trembling as she waited for his response.
The smile that crossed his face gave him a roguish look. “Mother was right about how clever you are too.”
His voice sent ripples of desire through Ember. She swallowed hard, battling the lust that began to course within her. She was in love with Sarenkesh, so why did she feel desire for this stranger?
“What does she want with me?”
He turned away and focused on the leaping flames. “You have all but completed her agenda.”
“Which is?”
“To release Muspell on the world.”
Horrified, Ember could only gape at him as she wrestled with the revelation. Finally, she asked, “Why would Raya want to do such a thing?”
He shrugged. “I know not. She does not find it necessary to share all things with me.”
“Who are you?” Ember needed answers. She was being used, and as a result, it put not only her family in danger but also the worlds of Fae and Man. If Raya had her way, the lives of every Mortal and each Fae race would be altered forever. “Why are you here, and how do you fit into your mother’s plan?”
A sigh drifted from him, one that held centuries of boredom and heartache. “My name is Drakyrr. I am a bastard child. When Oshin discovered Raya coupling with Torr, he cursed the seed Torr put into her womb. She gave birth to a dragon and screamed out her fury at Oshin and her disgust for me. Raya put me in this cave and has kept me here to hide her infidelity from the world.”
“But you are a god.”
“And Oshin is the god of gods,” he countered. “I am a Torrn to both Raya and Torr.”
“I will not open Muspell’s doors.”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. Just that one simple look from him tightened the lust winding in her abdomen and urged a wave of heat to flow through her loins.
“You will,” he said.
“How can you know that?”
“Fate,” he replied. “Fate is greater than even the gods. I don’t know how you will open Muspell, but you will.”
“My mother was right too,” said Ember.
Drakyrr stood and approached her. He loomed over Ember, his body broad, muscles defined. He looked into her eyes. Tenderly, he touched Raya’s mark upon her temple. “Queen Honey warned you well. My mother is not to be trusted.”
His simple, innocent touch ignited a hunger in Ember she’d kept at bay for days. She took a step back. No, she shouldn’t feel this way about someone else. She wanted onl
y Sarenkesh.
“I have been confined to this cave and the sky for centuries,” Drakyrr began, his words like a lover’s caress. “To never love another leaves an empty hole in my chest.”
“Have you never had a lover?” Ember’s legs trembled beneath her, and her breath hitched as he closed the distance she’d put between them.
“Oh, I have lain with many women.” He trailed his finger over her cheek to her lips. “But I have never been permitted to love.”
“So sad,” she whispered.
“Pity me not and allow me to love you instead.”
Sir Greensleeve’s face appeared in her mind. Guilt sliced her heart, and she tried to turn away from Drakyrr but could not. Something kept her transfixed and rooted to the spot.
“Ah,” he said. “You love another.”
Yes, she did love the Gloaming Elf, loved him so much she felt as if she’d burst from the emotion.
“Hmm, you do love another,” Drakyrr continued, his voice a low hum over her skin. “You love him with such fierce passion, but”—he frowned, tipping his head to one side—“you cannot be with him due to the gift the gods have bestowed upon you.” Drakyrr cupped her cheek. “If I cannot have you in heart, then perhaps I may enjoy your body before you must leave me.”
Somehow, digging deep within, Ember found the strength to back away from him. “I cannot,” she said. “I must not.”
“Your power will not harm me.” Drakyrr followed in her footsteps. “I am a dragon god. I can wield fire as you do, so we belong together.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I cannot.”
Drakyrr moved closer. “I desire you, Daughter of Trinity, and I feel your lust for me emanating from your body.”
He was right. Not only did she love Sarenkesh, she also desired Drakyrr. But if she loved her Gloaming Elf, then how could she physically desire another?
“I have other powers besides fire,” he answered her unspoken thoughts. “I am able to woo, to seduce. You have need of a man between your legs, but you fear destroying those you care about with your magic. Together, we can be one and revel in one another’s powers.”
With Sarenkesh’s image firmly in her heart, Ember found the strength she needed and spun on her heels, darting up the fissure. She had to escape Drakyrr, but dread wrapped around her. How could she destroy Raya’s weapon who was just as powerful if not more so than herself?
“You cannot run or hide from that which you are, dear princess,” Drakyrr’s velvety voice rumbled along the rock walls. “You are mine now.”
“No!”
She ran faster, her boots pummeling the pebbly floor. Peering into the darkness, she leaped over large rocks and the carcasses of animals Drakyrr had killed, their hides dried and curled. Once she reached the outside—if she reached it—what would she do? How could she escape?
“Give up, halfling.” Wing beats sounded in the fissure and reverberated in Ember’s ears. “You cannot escape me.”
The light grew brighter, and with a final surge of energy, Ember burst out into the sunshine. She scanned the mountaintop. There, across the valley, stood her comrades, their capes and hair streaming in the wind behind them. She shouted to them. Sarenkesh moved to the cliff’s edge and waved back at her. Turning, she glanced at both sides of the fissure, chose the left side, and began the arduous climb. As she clawed her way upward, she concentrated on blending with the rock. Perhaps if she could camouflage herself, Drakyrr would not find her.
The sound of the dragon god’s wing beats drew closer. The shouts and cries of her traveling companions reached her ears, but the wind distorted their words, ripped them away, and swirled them down into the valley’s flaming mouth. To her side, something large and black burst from the fissure, the air from its passage whipping her hair across her face. Blindly, she groped for the next handhold in the stone.
Ember sensed Drakyrr closing in on her.
“Princess!” he called and snatched her from the rock face. “You can not use feeble faerie glamour to hide from me.”
“No! Do not touch me!” Airborne, she struggled against Drakyrr’s iron hold. “Either leave me here or take me back to my friends!”
“Don’t you want me?” Drakyrr spoke into her ear, his breath hot, caressing.
Gooseflesh rippled along her arms, neck and breasts. “I-I love another.”
“So you do.” He beat his wings faster, his arms cradling her as he rose above the mountains looming over Muspell. “However, if you let my power consume you, you’ll never love anyone but me.”
“I do not want to love you. Let me go!”
“I shall make you mine, Princess.”
“What good is godly glamour?” she shot back over one shoulder. Oh, but he smelled good! The aromas of his manly scent, wood smoke, and something spicy like one of Cook’s rich, liquor-laced cakes tantalized her senses. “If you take me through magic, you will not truly have me.”
He chuckled in her ear. The sound forced lightning through her veins. Her toes curled in her boots, and warmth flooded her womanhood. The sound of his laughter vibrated in his chest and into her back, further tantalizing her.
“I have no need of using only my seductive magic to woo you, Princess. You have not lain in a man’s arms for days now. The need for release surges through your body. I sense it and”—he sniffed along her neck and in her hair—“I smell your desire. You know coupling with me will free you.” He nipped her neck, and pleasure spiraled through Ember to settle in her core. “The aroma of desire simmers in your blood.”
The distance between her feet and the earth grew farther apart. The forms of her friends looked like specks on the mountain, the hot, riotous molten earth and fiery rivers in the valley no more than red, orange, and yellow blotches and curving lines.
“What are you doing?” she yelled over the wind. “Where are you taking me?”
“To the heavens,” he said in her ear. “I shall love you like the goddess you truly are.” Drakyrr turned her in his arms so their noses were only inches apart. “Let me love you, Daughter of Trinity. Allow me to revel in your power, your beautiful body, and the passion that makes you one of the Fae.”
He captured her lips, his wings beating rhythmically behind him. Startled, Ember stiffened in his arms, but as his mouth continued to move against hers, the lust within her rose to the forefront of her mind, defeated the reason there, and prompted her body to respond so intensely it wiped all coherent thoughts from her head. Need swept through her like a raging ocean wave. Her body reacted to his touch and his kiss, and her undergarment grew hot and moist. She moaned against his questing mouth. His tongue flicked her lower lip, and Ember opened to him, his arms tight around her body.
“Cling to me,” he ordered breathlessly.
She clasped his shoulders so tightly her arms ached. Beneath her palms, the muscles that controlled Drakyrr’s wings worked repeatedly. She marveled at his strength and agility. Quickly, he tugged her tunic from her body. Dragon talons formed on the ends of his fingers. Using them, he sliced her breeches away, leaving only her cape, headdress, and boots. His talons transformed into fingers again, and he palmed the swollen, wet mound between her thighs.
He continued higher with her, their bodies rising into the heavens. Ember found it difficult to breathe, but she marveled at the stars that glowed brighter the more they advanced, each one a glittering crystal against a deep, sapphire background. Shivering, she pressed closer to Drakyrr’s warmth.
“Call upon your power, Princess.”
She met his searing blue gaze and drew upon her magic but only enough to warm her body.
“Your magic allows you to do many things,” he told her with assurance. “Look below us. The world looks like a dazzling blue-and-green gem, aye?”
She nodded, the beauty below silencing her.
“You are part of the gods, dear princess,” Drakyrr continued. “You have been blessed by Raya and touched with magic by Lochri and Hyrrokin. Divine blood is in yo
ur veins now. Join us.”
“I will not,” she said. “I have family, friends…”
“And you love the Gloaming Elf.”
“Aye.”
He pulled his loincloth aside and pressed Ember’s hips against his. “I will make you love me,” he said.
“You can make love to me, but you cannot force me to give you my heart.”
A wicked grin slid across his face. “We shall see about that, Princess.”
“I do not love you, nor will I ever give you my love.” A plan formed in her mind, but she shuttered it, blocked it from Drakyrr. She didn’t want to hurt Sarenkesh by coupling with this god, but if her scheme worked, she’d be able to end the threat to the Fae races as well as Mortals.
Yet if she succeeded, she’d have to seek refuge from Raya’s wrath.
He shifted her body and penetrated her with his cock in one movement. Ember’s eyes widened, and a shocked and pleasured gasp burst from her. A satisfied look settled upon Drakyrr’s beautiful face.
“Oh…aye.” Ember wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing his hardness to settle deeper within her, his girth stretching her. The vibration of his wings traveled through him and penetrated her loins, fueling her lust. Cool air flowed over and around Ember, but her passion and magic kept her warm. The wind raked through her tresses, the ends trailing along Drakyrr’s arms, the long beads of her headdress snapping in the atmosphere’s cruel breath.
“You are silky and tight within,” he said breathily, “and as hot as the fire that flows within you.” Drakyrr moved inside her, his wing movements shifting to meld in time with his thrusts.
Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she leaned backward, using her fingers like hooks over his shoulders, her hips bucking and grinding against his. Something low in her body tightened.
“Love me,” Drakyrr growled, his hips pummeling hers. “Take me as your mate.”
“No.” She reached for that precipice and strove to take hold of it and throw herself over its edge into euphoria, but it remained unattainable and taunted her with its proximity.
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