“What the hell happened?” Neph yelled.
Llyr’s brows contorted and he gave Deva an agonized look, then turned to Neph. “I am sorry. I failed you. I failed my duty, but if it gives me any reprieve, you must know that I love her. I would die for her, so if he wants to set me on fire, let him.”
“Nikhil, stand down,” Neph said, though his aura was no less filled with dissonant colors of anger and disappointment. Deva ached with worry that any of that might be directed at her, but perhaps reason would return now that Neph was here and she could explain to them what she saw once they settled down. “Llyr, explain to me why you blatantly disobeyed my order. You were to guard her, nothing more.”
“And I did. I only did what was necessary to ensure the success of the ritual. That was my intention all along. But when she sang . . . Gaia and Dion forgive me, but when she sang, there was no going back. It would have happened one way or the other, but it needed to happen today for her to complete her task.”
“Bullshit!” Neph yelled, his eyes swirling wildly with anger. Deva flinched and let out an involuntary gasp as his stature swelled into its true primal shape, every bit as glorious as Llyr’s had been, but far more terrifying for the rage that bloomed in his eyes when he was full-size. “You were to tell us what was needed. We had reserves to tap into. Other participants. Zorion and his sister had yet to add their power. Dion could have given even more. What you were not to do was take it upon yourself to seduce my daughter.”
“Didn’t you hear him?” Deva jumped in, her body alive with anger at their repeated accusations. “It was my song! I sang him a mating song. It’s my fault, not his!”
Neph snorted. “That song is a poor excuse. We all know your powers have yet to hold any potency. The only potential power you possessed was your virginity, which was clearly too strong a temptation for him. Did you enjoy the conquest, Llyr?”
Llyr pushed himself up to his feet, muttering under his breath. “She wasn’t a virgin, so I gained no boon from being the first to make love to her.”
Deva’s skin grew cold, her chest tightening. How could he still say that? She hadn’t lied to him.
“What did you say?” Neph and Nikhil both snapped.
Llyr lifted his head and speared both men with a whirling aqua gaze. “I said, she was not a virgin. She had no wellspring of power a virgin should possess when she first makes love. So either she was born without it, just as she was born without a soul, or someone got to her before I did. But I swear to you, I was not her first.”
“Deva, is this true?” Nikhil said, confusion now a sparking addition to the crazed lights that flashed in his aura.
“No! I swear. Llyr was my first!” She turned to Llyr, tears springing to her eyes. “Why would you even say that? I have no reason to lie!”
“Don’t you?” Llyr asked bitterly. “Would it be a lie to say you loved someone before me, that you sang a different mating song before the one you sang to me? Perhaps that one was answered too, and you are just ashamed that you were ultimately rejected.”
“Deva,” Nikhil said in a low voice. “Is what he says true? I will defend your honor at all costs.”
“No!” she yelled, panicking at the accusations. “Ozzie didn’t reject me. He just couldn’t come . . .” Tears streamed down her face now and she hated herself for the display of weakness.
“Was Ozzie the one who did this?” Nikhil snapped. “I will destroy him.”
“No, Daddy, Ozzie never touched me, I promise.” She shook her head and clenched her eyes shut, her heart aching at how much she wished those dreams of hers were true. She wished even more that he were here, because at that moment, nothing but his music could have soothed her.
“Deva, that’s a lie and you know it!” Llyr yelled.
With a flash of raw anger, she turned to him. “What the hell does it matter? All I know is that I can’t trust you enough to protect me. Not when you won’t even believe what I say. I had no reason to lie to you. But I have every reason now to never want to see you again!”
The Source beneath her feet flooded into her as though summoned, its power setting her veins on fire. A split-second later she let it pull her under, not even caring where the current took her.
Chapter 20
Agony tore through Llyr at Deva’s abrupt departure when he realized his mistake. He had been too harsh, allowing his fear of Neph and his need to defend himself to cloud his judgment. It didn’t matter one bit to him whether Deva had loved Ozzie first, or whether she still did. She had a heart big enough to love them both.
A heart that he had just succeeded in breaking.
“Where did she go?” Nikhil yelled, charging at him and slamming him back into the tree with a hand around his throat.
“I don’t know! All I know is that she doesn’t want me or any of us to go after her.”
A worried Vrishti appeared at Nikhil’s side. “We should let her have her space. All of you should be ashamed of yourselves for what just happened. She wants nothing more than to know who she is and where she fits into our world. This ritual was her chance to do that. I take it she succeeded?”
“Yes,” Llyr said, his voice breaking over the lump in his throat. He longed to go after her and tell her he was sorry, tell her he didn’t mean any of it, and ask her to sing for him again.
But he had been linked to her mind at the end, witnessed the web of lights which comprised the bloodline as Deva sent her power out to reach every last person and deliver the message. He smiled to himself, though he was near tears now. She had proved herself despite having no power of her own aside from what he could draw from her with his touch.
“You still must be punished,” Neph said, moving to stand between Nikhil and Vrishti and crossing his arms.
Llyr nodded, ready to accept his fate.
“What?” Vrishti said. “Why? He really hasn’t done a damn thing wrong.”
“He disobeyed my order. It should not have mattered how she tempted him. He is a Thiasoi soldier, and he was given a task which included the command to keep his hands off our daughter. Failure was too big a risk to take.”
The ursa shaman’s teeth clenched and she jabbed a finger into the Dionarch’s chest. “Don’t you dare try to disguise the fact that you’re punishing him for taking her virginity. That was her choice! And from the sound of things, one she was perfectly in command of making at the time! She did it to complete the ritual. Why, then, should we punish him for that?”
Neph’s jaw clenched. Nikhil tightened his grip on Llyr’s throat, glaring at him. “Because she is innocent. She may not know better, but he certainly does.”
Llyr opened his mouth to object, but Nikhil squeezed and he couldn’t take in any air, much less speak. He shut his eyes, hoping the other man would cool down. Likely nothing he could say would change his mind, anyway. Humans never did quite grasp the conventions of the higher races.
“That may be, but disobeying a Dionarch’s order is still a grave offense. He must be punished.”
Nyx pushed through the crowd that had gathered with Nereus close behind. She placed a hand on Vrishti’s arm. “We will do no more than necessary. Trust me.”
No more than necessary. If Llyr had any breath, he’d have snorted at that. He knew what his punishment entailed and didn’t look forward to it.
A flare as bright as sunlight blasted his eyes and he clenched them shut with a wince. When he opened them, a beautiful woman stood before him, cloaked in fire and flanked by two men who could not have been more different had they tried—one a deep ebony with ultraviolet threads of fire beneath his skin, and the other bordering on transparent. He thought he recognized the woman, but it wasn’t until her light faded that he knew her.
“Nikhil, let him go,” Neela said, touching the angry man on the hand. A sizzling noise and the scent of burning flesh bombarded his senses. Nikhil cursed and abruptly released him.
“He needs to pay for what he’s done, Neela. She’s only a baby.”
“She’s a grown woman.”
“She’s a year old! And he should know better!”
Neela pressed her lips into a tight line and gave Llyr an apologetic look. He didn’t quite understand why this woman . . . one of the three women Deva called her mother . . . should come to his defense, but he was grateful nonetheless.
“That may be true, but she is not a normal creature. You and I both know what Meri’s experiments can do to someone. Just because she is dead now doesn’t mean we have escaped all the repercussions of her acts. This very ritual was evidence of that, as is Deva.
“The second Deva was taken from my womb, we lost the chance to control her fate. Last year we learned that she may not even have a fate, due to her origins. Yet I have seen her desire grow to find a place for herself. She is older in spirit than her true age suggests. If you spent more time with her, you would see that.
“Next time you see her, just look into her eyes. She is a creature made of all our souls even if she lacks her own, and somehow her creation gave her wisdom far beyond any a woman as new to the world as she is has a right to. Yet she has it. She made this decision. Don’t blame her for it, or anyone else for loving the amazing woman she has become. And be grateful that she was allowed to make the choice herself.”
Llyr decided he probably loved this woman almost as much as he loved her daughter. When Nikhil finally did step back, he wrapped his arms around her.
“Thank you,” Llyr said gruffly, barely conscious of the steam spilling off him into the air.
Neela laughed and pushed away. “I’m hurting you . . .”
“Nah, it’s just steam. I’ll survive. I would rather hug you than what I’ve got to do now, any day.” Taking a deep breath, he turned to Neph. “Let’s get this over with.”
He stepped onto the path, resolute, then stopped and turned. Neph was speaking softly to Vrishti, who had Belah and Neela at her side.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
With a solemn look, Neph nodded and the three women turned to go. “They are going back to the palace to wait for Deva. Perhaps she will return for them. It seems all the men in my daughter’s life have failed her today.”
* * *
Llyr’s feet felt heavier with each step into the damp, dark cavern. It might have been an effect of the magic protecting the Diviner’s lair from intruders, but he knew better. Punishment for his kind meant a bodily sacrifice to the creature who lived in this dark, secluded grotto cut into the stone of the Haven itself.
He would survive, but not without cost.
A moment before passing through the final barrier into the Diviner’s cave, he let his primal shape take over. He would obey every rule given to him from here on out, even if it killed him, and that included arriving in his true form to accept his punishment.
The incline leveled off as the passage opened up, and Llyr was nearly blinded by the sparkling of brilliant gemstones that covered all the walls. The cavern itself was half again bigger than he remembered, and he couldn’t help but stand and gawk at the beauty.
The others entered behind him in their various shapes until the massive room was filled with dragons, bears, nymphs, and satyrs, and a handful of falcons hovering in the air or perched on the nearest set of horns of their companions.
“What the hell happened to this place?” he asked. The only thing that looked the same was the shadowy mist at the far end of what was now an even bigger pool. Slithering noises filled the room along with the sounds of small waves lapping at the smooth stone edge of the pool.
“We helped the Diviner renovate a bit after Meri collapsed the tunnel last year,” Calder said. “Which means she’s been in a good mood all year, so that could either be wonderful or terrible news for you.”
The slithering grew louder and Llyr took a deep breath, forcing himself to step closer to the edge.
A resonant voice reverberated through the big chamber, sounding as though it came from all sides. “To what do I owe thisss pleasssure today? Are you all ssharing your Equinox ssselebration with me for once? Ssshall we have an orgy here?”
Calder shivered beside Llyr, despite the thick fur that covered his legs, and Llyr’s skin pricked into goosebumps. Neph stepped forward to greet the Diviner, his hooved feet echoing on the wet stone.
“The Thiasoi named Llyr has disobeyed my order today and requires discipline. Once that is complete, if it is your wish for any of us to remain and celebrate, we will happily do so.”
The water’s surface rippled and several thick tails appeared, their tips slipping past the lip of the pool and curling back and forth as though seeking something. Llyr swallowed thickly, remembering his initiation as a Thiasoi and what those tendrils did to him then.
“Only a year returned and a satyr has disobeyed his massster? How unfortunate.” One of the tendrils found its way to Llyr’s feet and tickled a slow path up and around his ankle. “What do you have to say for yourssself, Llyr Xanthosss? Wasss she worth it?”
Llyr took a deep breath and stepped into the pool. “Every second with her was worth the punishment ten times over.”
“Then thisss shall be easy for both of usss. Come to me, child.”
He dove in and was immediately surrounded by dozens of slippery tails. They twined round his arms and legs, carrying him across the water’s surface, teasing and exploring his entire body along the way. Then they stopped and he found himself lifted up until a pair of huge, feminine arms held him against soft breasts. He gazed up into eyes so brilliant blue, he wondered if she had a piece of sky in her soul. The lovely face that looked down at him smiled, displaying razor-sharp teeth.
“I am one-third dragon, after all,” the Diviner said, then laughed, and the tiny silvery snakes that coiled and writhed around her head seemed to quake with their own mirth.
As if to demonstrate that part of her, she pursed her lips into an O and blew out a breath. Dense, white mist coalesced around them both. At his look of confusion, she whispered, “Thisss is between the two of usss, I think. Calder was right, I’m in a good mood. Neph doesn’t need to know what I’m about. Besidesss, he did just offer me an orgy, ssso I may take him up on that.”
“What are you going to do with me?” Llyr asked with gruff uncertainty. It felt odd to be held the way he was, cradled like a babe in her arms, but to a creature as immense as she, he was no bigger than one.
“Sssimply help you sssee . . .” With that, the tendrils reappeared, wrapped around him and pulled him abruptly beneath the water. He barely had time to catch his breath before he was submerged, but that wasn’t the end.
Her tails caressed him with the gentle touch of a hundred lovers, driving his desire to a swift peak, then slowing. They tickled and teased around his cock, keeping it hard and aching painfully for a release despite the drawn out and very satisfying conclusion he’d had after making love to Deva. Then he remembered he had not made love to her and cursed himself.
“You could have had a deeper meld with her, had you taken your time,” the Diviner said, her voice as potent a caress inside his mind as her tendrils were all over his body. “You could have given her a piece of your sssoul—something she craves more than anything else.”
“There is a way to give her a soul?” Llyr asked, latching onto her words despite the unbearable pleasure she inflicted on him once more.
“Fate’s hounds are blind to her and cannot hunt her a sssoul mate. But there are some that may still see her without Fate’s influence. Without the hounds, the mate mussst come first, for a sssoul can only be shared through a melding of true love. Had you made love to her at the end, you could have granted her a piece of your sssoul.”
“I cannot be her soul mate unless she has that, can I? And there is no chance of Fate putting her in my path again if his hounds can’t see her.”
“You must work for her love, Llyr Xanthosss, as must all who wish to share in the Chimera’s power when she awakensss fully. And ssso you must work to find he
r if you wish to make amendsss. But you have an advantage there, don’t you?”
With that, her torment grew so acute he lost his hold on sanity for several moments, his body torqueing in the grip of all her tails. The tip of one was coiled around his cock, stroking him, another around his balls, tugging and teasing, and a third was buried in his ass, thrusting. She stopped right when he was poised at the edge of release, and he let out a vile curse.
The Diviner laughed and resumed her torture along with the mental lecture. “I am part dragon, and you did come here for punishment. There is just one more thing you must know . . .”
Llyr twisted in her grip, chasing more direct contact and wishing he hadn’t said the things he had to Deva to make her cry. “What is it?” he growled.
She didn’t the answer at first, but her torment increased. Her grip on his cock tightened and she pushed deeper into his ass. He climaxed with a roar, his head flying back, horns hitting writhing coils of flesh. Somehow she succeeded in pushing his orgasm to its very limit, semen erupting from his cock in violent spurts until his balls ached. His cock still spasmed for several more seconds after he was entirely spent and almost to the point of begging for mercy.
Nearly delirious from the torture, he soon found himself cradled again in her arms, oddly content within her soft embrace. Her breasts were a cushion beneath his cheek and he sighed, but tensed when she spoke again, this time her voice completely clear as it echoed through the big cavern.
“Fate’s hounds are on the hunt, drawn to the scent of the magic of the bloodline. The god’s blood makes the bloodline easy to track, and the hounds will hunt down every creature linked to it unless they are stopped.”
Llyr’s blood went cold as her tails drew him away from her, leaving him standing chest-deep in the water staring up at her. “Then we must go protect them all like we promised. How do we control the hounds?”
Dragon Avenged: Immortal Dragons Epilogue Page 16
