by Morgan Rae
"Spread your legs," I encourage her.
She does so, but slowly, as though her bones have grown heavy. I part her knees and cup her wanting sex. Her nectar makes my hand slick, pouring from her like a trickling honey stream. Her sex opens like a wild flower when I insert one finger inside of her, and then another. My Goddess has been reduced to small mewls as she grips the pillow above her head and twists it around her fingers. I cannot take my eyes off of her.
I position myself between her legs and push myself inside of her. She is wet and warm and envelops me tightly, her small pulses inviting me deeper. She gasps loudly once I'm inside of her and I cup the back of her head and hold her attention. "Keep your eyes on me," I instruct her.
She nods and her eyes are so wide, so sweet. "You feel so good," she whispers.
"I have waited a long time to take you again."
"And?" she asks in breathless pants.
"You are worth the wait." I brush my lips against hers and feel my own breath coming quickly in my chest. "But let's never go that long again."
A soft laugh bubbles up from her chest. "Agreed."
I kiss her hungrily and savor every ridge of her mouth, the warmth of her tongue. She forgets to keep her hands above her head and I forget to chastise her when her fingers tangle in my thick hair to hold me close. I have a warrior's focus and control every deep, slow thrust of my hips. She opens to me and I praise her with my body. Every time I sheath myself completely inside of her, my Goddess gasps and clings to me tighter. My skin grows hot, my breath gets shallow, and every time I hear her whimper, it chips away at my self-control.
My Kaul energy burns like a ball of flame in my belly and it bursts erratically through my body. It flashes a deep blue and the light flickers over her pale body as it leaves me and latches onto her, like ripples on a still lake. She gasps and throws her head back in delirious ecstasy, pummeled by the strength of my manhood and the warmth of my energy sinking into her.
We make deep, hungry love in her bed. She wraps herself around me, all arms and legs and clinging fingers. For this moment, she is completely mine. Her body is mine and I am hers. With our energies combined like this, I cannot tell where I stop and she starts. I never want this moment to end, even as my muscles tighten as my pleasure spikes. I hold out as long as I can, but she feels so good and her soft sounds of surrender are driving me crazy. She's growing close, her sex tightens around me and her thighs begin to tremble with the effort of holding herself together.
"I am going to make you come," I warn her.
"Okay," she says breathlessly. She would do anything I told her at that moment.
I center the energy of my Kaul and dive it deep within her. My Goddess is wound tight, a vibrating ball of energy. I focus on it and connect our energies until we're momentarily the same, the same heart. Her energy is like a violin string, pulled taut, so close to snapping. I thrust deep inside of her and, with that push, I use my energy to unlock the deepest parts of her. Her orgasm explodes through her in pulsing waves, and she cries out loudly as it washes over her. I release with her, letting go of my tight control, and I moan as my abdomen clenches and years of longing comes pouring into her. I remember at the last second that we are to be quiet and I cover her mouth with my hand. She bites into my flesh and nearly breaks skin as she rides out her orgasm, whimpering and jerking underneath me.
I slow her down with soft kisses from her her chest up to her throat, and after a while her throbs diminish and she catches her breath. My skin buzzes with relief as our energies shimmer and still together and I take solace in tasting my lover's skin.
I realize then that she's quiet, too quiet. I shift to look down at her. Her arm hangs over her face and when I push it away gently, I see quiet anguish on her face.
"Did I hurt you?" I ask with alarm in my tone.
She shakes her head but it still takes her a second to swallow her emotion enough to get her words out. “No, it feels like...like I've come back home when I’m with you.”
“I feel it, too.”
I cover her mouth with mine. Her lips are soft and warm and she tastes vulnerable against me.
"I always felt like you had such high expectations of me," she says. "Like expectations I could never meet."
I knit my eyebrows. "You're perfect," I tell her. "You always have been."
Her wet eyes turn away from me now and she sighs. I've said the wrong thing. My chest aches. How can we be slow close one moment and so far apart another? It is though we are speaking different languages.
I am in her world, I think suddenly. "I love you, Kennedy," I tell her.
Her eyes snap to me at the sound of her name. She looks confused at first, and then relived, and she hooks her hands over my shoulders and pulls me in for a hard kiss. "I love you, too," she says once we break lips.
Relief fills my chest, we are connected again. I pet her hair back and rest my forehead briefly against hers. Satisfied, I shift to lie down beside her. "Come here," I tell her. She snuggles up against me and her body firs perfectly in line with mine. She rests her head on my chest and her hair tickles my face, but I don't mind. My Goddess, my Kennedy, is safe in my arms where she belongs. For now, nothing else matters.
"Look," she says suddenly and pushes her wrist to my face. There is a mark that was not there before, three swirls under her palm, the mark of my Kaul.
"Does it hurt?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "It feels like it's always been there."
I press a kiss to the mark. Kennedy is bonded to me now and I could want for nothing more.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: KENNEDY
Something is wrong. I should be at peace. Garock's body heat is like a furnace and I'm achingly satisfied between my legs. But when I wake, my heart is thumping in my chest and there's a nagging in the back of my mind.
I glance back at Garock, who is still sleeping. That's a good sign, at least. His mystical Kurah senses haven't caught on to anything out of the ordinary, so that has to be good. That's what I'm telling myself as I crawl out from his heavy embrace and tiptoe around the room. I grab a robe hanging off the door to the adjoining bathroom and wrap the tie around my waist to keep myself from an ill-timed wardrobe malfunction.
The room is bathed in nighttime blue and I quietly step into the hallway. I don't hear any strange noises, and there’s no sign that someone is here that shouldn't be. A soft humming catches my attention causing the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Maybe the appropriate response would be to go grab Garock and rouse him from his sleep to come protect me, but I've done this on my own for so long I don't know how to do it any other way. What if Garock wasn't the only thing that came through the portal between world? I think about Faron's lavender eyes and my jaw tightens. Never again. Never again am I going to let someone get inside my head.
Like any good single mother, I keep a bat in my bedroom closet and I pull it out before continuing down the hall towards the bathroom. The humming is loud here and my heart beats in my chest as I press my palm to the door. It creeks open slowly and I see...no one. The bathroom is empty, save for Garock's clothes strewn about the floor. Hard to imagine that it was only a few hours ago that he broke through both worlds and entered my life again.
My eyes find the source of the noise. Sting, Garock's axe, looks to have woken up from her slumber. She is glowing, her handle bright with white light, and she's humming on the counter, ready to strike.
"What do you know that I don't, Swing?" I ask the glowing weapon. It doesn't answer, just continues to hum. Honestly, I don't know how Garock spends all day with this thing.
A thought enters my head, and I rush quickly over to Ben's bedroom and throw open the door. His lights are off and his mobile spins on its own in lazy circles.
"Ben?"
Nothing. I pull back his covers and my heart comes to a dead stop. His bed is empty and there's no sign of my son anywhere.
"Ben!" Frantically, I rush
around his bedroom looking for him. Nowhere. The window is closed, the door was closed, but Ben is nowhere in sight. Fear tastes like metal in my mouth. I turn around and find Garock standing in the doorway in long pants.
"He's gone." My throat is dry, my voice sounds scratchy. "Where did he go?"
Surprise and concern registers on Garock's features. He looks around the room and his mouth curves into a deep frown. "I do not know."
"What do you mean, you don't know?" I snap. "Ben would never run away. He wouldn't vanish like this. And now you come and it's like he just vanished."
Clarity morphs Garock's features. "The ascension stone," he murmurs. "I gave it to him."
My jaw nearly hits the ground. "You gave a young boy, my boy, a stone with the power to transport between dimensions?"
"He knew not what it was," Garock says, though he hangs his head. "I thought he should have a token from his home world."
"Then give him a rock!" I shout. "Any rock from Naruda! Any rock but that one!"
Garock drops his eyes. "I will bring him back to you," he murmurs. "I promise."
"Well, your promises are shit," I bark. "You don't even know where he is."
"I will find him," Garock says sternly, meeting my eyes now.
My temper is a raging storm and I rub my hand over my eyes to try to calm the roaring of my blood in my ears. I take a deep breath, pull myself together, and then it hits me. "Oh," I whisper. "I know where he is."
Garock's eyebrows knit. "Tell me."
"It's my fault," I swallow hard and quickly leave the room. Garock follows tightly on my heels, but my attention isn't on him anymore. I dash to my room, to the bedside table, and begin to rummage through it until I find what I'm looking for. I pick out the smooth, black stone and hold it in my palm for Garock to see.
"I told him it was a wishing stone," I say. "Tell the stone what you want and it comes true." I close my fingers tightly around the stone. "He must have...he must have wished to be in Naruda."
Garock's eyebrows are furrowed in deep confusion. "You have an ascension stone?"
I shrug. I should be ashamed but I'm not, it's too late for that. "I wasn't ready to go back."
"And now?"
I purse my lips together. He wants answers to questions I don't know how to respond to. "Let's get our son," I say.
Garock holds his hand out to the door. The tattoos along his arm glow briefly, but Swing never comes. I see the realization dawn in his eyes. He has given his bond to me. His power is no longer in his axe.
"I will get Swing," he says.
"Quickly," I urge. He is remarkably quick, scaling the room in only a couple steps as he retrieves his axe from the bathroom and returns with it. He sheathes Swing, which is now just a weapon, before he approaches me and takes my hand. "Make a wish on the stone."
I clutch the stone so tightly I'm afraid it might chip apart under my grip. I say the words I swore would never leave my lips. "Take me to Naruda."
The world grows hazy and dims around me. The stone grows warmer in my palm until the heat is almost unbearable but I don't let go. As my world breaks apart and vanishes, Garock squeezes my hand tighter, and is pulled along with me. I feel as though I'm being squeezed through a narrow opening, reborn into something new, and my teeth chatter and my head spins as I struggle to retain my hold on reality.
Let go. I hear the words and I'm not sure if Garock is calling out to me or if it's my own subconscious leading me along. I squeeze my eyes shut and relax my body, forcibly giving up Earth. As soon as I make the decision, the pressure around my frame lets up and I feel myself shoot through the vortex of time and space like a pebble in a slingshot.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: KENNEDY
A bird chips at the swath of clear blue sky above me. I blink and reorient myself to get my bearings. Rolling green hills stretch out before me, The air tastes, mountain fresh and two suns hang in the sky, shimmering like diamonds.
Naruda. I'm back. It feels bizarrely familiar, as though I never left. Back on Earth, I felt nettles of anxiety bounce around my chest every time I thought about Naruda. Now that I'm here, I feel a deep calm in my bones. Whether I want to or not, there is a part of me that will always belong here now.
"Kennedy." Garock's voice jars me back to reality. His hand is still holding mine and I draw back quickly, especially when I realize we're not alone.
"Kennedy, how nice of you to join us." The voice feels like a snake slithering around my neck and I shudder. Faron stands in front of us on the open plain with two soldiers beside him with their weapons at their sides.
I quickly realize why. There, standing with Faron's long fingers curled around his shoulders, is Ben. I've always fashioned him as my young man, wise beyond his years, but he looks so small here. He's my tiny, sweet young boy, and he's scared. My heart feels as though it may rip clean out of my chest. I keep my eyes on his because I know as soon as I look at Faron, I'll turn into a mother bear. Right now, I have to keep it together for my son. "Are you okay, Ben?" I ask.
He nods but twists the corner of his mouth inward guiltily. "I made a wish on the stone. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, baby," I reassure him, keeping my voice level and soothing. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault. You remember that, okay?"
He nods, his soft eyes never leaving my own. Faron's fingers tap against his shoulders and my stomach curls. "He's grown into a very smart boy," Faron says and his sharp blue eyes catch on mine. He leans over to whisper in Ben's ear, loud enough for the rest of us to hear, "I remember when you were but a dream in your mother’s head and a seed in her stomach. Has she warned you about me? The voice inside her head?"
"Let the boy go," Garock demands, his voice as low and powerful as thunder. "Your quarrel is with me, not him."
"Actually, you're wrong." Faron straightens his back and his golden curls tousle in the wind. The scar across his face looks like it's grown uglier, a hideous, purple reminder of the viciousness that lies behind that pretty face. "I don't have any quarrels with you anymore, Chief Garock. Not while I have this."
He holds Ben's ascension stone in his hand. The stone shimmers in the sunlight.
"You have plenty of ascension stones of your own," I say.
"Smart girl," Faron smiles and my skin crawls. "But none like this. You see, an ascension stone remembers where it's been. You see, I've found Naruda filled with pests." He glares daggers at Garock. "And I'm looking to command a more civilized nation. One that will truly appreciate my power. The memories in this stone will lead me straight to your world."
"He's going to take the Selith and colonize Earth," I whisper in shock. A thousand thoughts fly through my mind at once. Humanity, Maya, Ben. Where will Ben go to school? Where will Ben make friends? Where will Ben ever get the chance to build a home for himself?
Garock’s markings flash brightly and he brandishes his weapon. "Not as long as I'm standing," he growls.
He is pure fury now as he begins to charge. "Garock!" I shout.
"That can be remedied," Faron hisses and holds up a palm. His irises burn lavender. "Kneel."
In his blind anger and determination, Garock forgets to shield his eyes. He halts in his path and his feet stick to the ground as though they've turned to led. He's fighting it, I can tell by the tightness in his jaw.
"I said," Faron repeats, "kneel, you flea bitten savage."
Garock jerks toward the ground as though chains are pulling him down. A bead of sweat forms on his brow and he growls as he presses his palm to the ground, trying to will his legs from bending. Garock has self-control, but his big heart makes him weak and, and right now, Faron is feeding off of that.
I can't watch this. "Stop!" I shout.
"You're right," Faron says. "I'm being unnecessarily cruel, aren't I? Let's get to the point. Rise." Garock gets to his feet easily and I brace myself for what's to come. "Garock," Faron says. "That woman there, does she look familiar?"
"She's a Selith imposter pretending to be your Goddess. Kill her. Free your Goddess from her clutches."
Oh god. Garock turns to me and his expression is distant and unfamiliar. "Garock," I whisper, my voice shaking. "It's me. You know me."
He starts to approach me. His Kaul lights up and it hums violently through the axe. "You are not my Goddess," he says. His voice is mechanical.
I grab the sides of his face. "It's me, it's Kennedy. Garock, please, look at me."
He pries my hands from his face holds me back, and lifts his axe. My breath catches in my throat and, as I stare down my own reflection glinting in his sharp blade, I think, I cannot die, I will not die, I cannot die.
Two blades clang together and the sound vibrates loudly in my ears. When I look up, I see Garock's axe is stalled by a long sword. Leyana. With a grunt of effort, she strains her muscles and manages to shove the hypnotized Garock away from me. "Go!" she shouts. "Go get the boy! I'll take care of this lump!"
A piece of my dream comes back to me and I shudder. No time to think about that now. Leyana is holding off Garock, but I'm not sure how long she can keep this up. Metal clinks against metal and they grunt and roar as they swing at each other with matched strength. I work fast and I make a dive for Ben. With every beat of my heart, I think: get Ben. Protect Ben.
"Tsk," Faron turns on me, the flash of his violet eyes stops me in my tracks. "You know better, Kennedy. I'm in your head. I always have been."
