by Raven Li
He ached to tell her that he loved her, small recompense that it might be. Yet even that was denied to him—Arath’s sickness had sullied even the concept of love in her mind. That more than anything made him regret his long-ago defeat. If only he had not been betrayed, if only he had not been hurt, if only he had been able to defeat Arath, then none of this would have happened. The Goddess would not have been banished to the status of a monster to frighten children, and the worship of the God would not have been perverted into a tool to subjugate women and make people afraid of the very natures that the deities had given them.
Forgive me for failing you, he thought, offering it up both as a prayer to the Goddess and a more personal apology to Sasha.
He loved his little Summoner, desperately. That she could ever come to love him, even if she did learn that love was not the abomination she feared...he doubted. He’d had lovers before, and all of them had been friends—despite what Arath claimed, he was not one to treat sex casually—but none of them had awakened his heart the way Sasha did. What would he do if she turned away from him?
Trying to push aside his own morose thoughts, he yawned and sat up. As he did so, pain spiked unexpectedly through his skull, as if someone had shoved a pair of hot pokers in through his eyes. He gasped and clasped his hands over them, trying to let the pain flow through him and out again.
“Are you all right?” Sasha gasped. In an instant, she was at his side, her hands touching his bare shoulders tentatively.
The pain was beginning to recede already. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously dropped his hands and nodded. “Aye. My eyes hurt sometimes, that’s all. It’s a small price to pay to see again.”
She sat down on the edge of the bed, peering at his face with a little frown on her lips. He wanted to kiss it away, but it was obvious that she needed to talk, so he refrained. “Is it...true?” she asked hesitantly. “I mean...did Arath really have your real eyes gouged out?”
Desire wilted. Elodan frowned, not particularly wanting to remember the incident. “Yes,” he said, his voice wooden even to his own ears.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. One of her small hands moved to rest on his, a gesture of comfort that heartened him. “I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories. No matter what you did, I can’t...I don’t believe that you deserved that.”
“Thank you for your vote of confidence.”
“Your eyes are fascinating,” she went on, ignoring his sarcasm. “I’m just an apprentice, so I don’t know much about the fashioning of mystical objects, but I’ve never heard of anything like them before. How did you make them?”
“I didn’t. I couldn’t have—I was in too much pain at the time, not to mention blinded.” He shuddered at the memory of that bleak time. “The elementals created them for me, as a gift.”
Puzzlement showed on her lovely face. “The elementals? How? You speak as if they are sentient, but they’re not.”
Elodan remembered the struggling, suffering fire elemental old Farius had commanded when attacking Sasha, and anger rose in him like a dark flame. Sasha drew back just a little, perhaps sensing the dangerous shift in his mood. “Then what are they?” he asked coldly.
“The elementals? I don’t know. They’re...like bugs, I guess. Alive, but not really aware....”
“How do you know what an insect thinks? Have you ever been one? Spoken to one?”
“N-no.”
He waved an impatient hand. “That is beside the point for now, though. The elementals are intelligent creatures, Sasha. A powerful mage can coerce them to do his bidding, yes. One can also ask them for help. Convincing may take more time and be less reliable in the short term than coercion, but I believe that the results are far better in the long run. Of course, Arath was never interested in the long run—he wanted results now, and didn’t care who or what he hurt in the process. I see that he is passing on that attitude to the newer members of the Order as well.”
Sasha was shaking her head, a look of confusion on her face. “I’ve never heard anyone say such things,” she said, sounding so lost that his heart softened immediately.
He reached out and laid his palm against her soft cheek. “That’s why I’m a dangerous man, my darling,” he said with the most suave smile he could summon. “Would you like to try a Summoning using cooperation rather than coercion?”
Although she couldn’t hide the spark of eagerness that appeared in her eyes, Sasha shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m just an apprentice—I’ve never worked with elementals before.”
“Excellent. You won’t have any resentment to overcome, then.”
“I don’t know if I should.”
He caught her chin with one finger, tilting her head back so that she had to look at him. “You are afraid of committing some sort of crime against Arath’s teachings. But look to your own heart. Is it better to force or to ask? Is it better to command through pain, or through loyalty? You know the answer, beautiful Sasha.”
Reluctantly, she nodded her agreement. “I’ll try, then.”
For the next hour, he explained to her what she must do. It didn’t take long to learn that she regarded the Summoning of earth and water elementals as evil—small wonder, considering those were the very ones Arath had never been able to easily control, even using coercion. So he suggested instead they Summon an air sprite. Although they could be capricious and destructive, even as the wind could blow down a tree or flatten a house, for the most part they were gentle and would make a good choice for a beginner.
Fortunately, Sasha was not far enough along in her studies to have acquired too many bad habits from Arath’s way of teaching. Elodan led her through the Summoning spell step by step, first invoking the sacred names of the God and Goddess to construct a protective circle, then showing her how to drop into a trance-state where her mind could touch other levels of reality. As soon as he felt she was prepared, he instructed her to call upon the air elementals. Because their need was not urgent, he made certain that she approached them only with curiosity and an open heart, a gentle Summons that would catch the attention only of those who had no other task at hand.
She was a marvelous student, and his heart rejoiced as a faint glow took shape above the palm of Sasha’s hand. In a moment, the elemental had materialized fully into their realm of existence. It appeared in the form of a diminutive woman with sharp, elfin features, dressed in a gauzy outfit that blew and swirled in an unfelt breeze. A pair of tiny wings like those of a dragonfly beat steadily from her shoulders, their jewel-like tones catching the firelight.
Sasha’s eyes opened wide in wonder, and only then did he realize how different the sprite must appear from the tormented creatures Arath forced to do his bidding. “I did it,” she whispered, her voice barely audible, as if she feared disturbing the spell.
The sprite cocked her head to one side, her piercing black eyes like those of a bird. “I heard your call. I do not know you.” Her voice was like the whisper of many voices twined together and blown along on a sweet breeze. Then her attention shifted to Elodan. “You I remember very well indeed.”
There was a teasing note to her voice that made him smile. Air sprites were mischievous, unlike their stolid cousins of the earth. “It is good to be back among friends,” he said simply.
She laughed, her voice high and clear, and swirled closer to him. For a moment, they were almost face-to-face, and he wondered if she had been one of the elementals to help restore his sight. Then she was gone, vanished back to the realm she had come from.
“So, it isn’t just mortal women you ensorcell,” Sasha said with a wry smile. Her green eyes glowed with the pleasure of her accomplishment, and he felt his heart lift at the sight.
“Perhaps it is only you who find me irresistible,” he suggested with an arched brow.
A smile flitted across her lips, too soon gone. “Right now, the only thing I find irresistible is food,” she said wryly. “I didn’t realize a simple spell could be so draining.�
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An idea took shape in his mind. “As my lady commands,” he said, giving her a short bow and a smile. “Rest here a moment; I’ll see what the innkeeper can provide for us.”
* * *
While he was gone, Sasha straightened her clothing and sat at the table. The sense of pride that infused her over successfully Summoning the sprite without resorting to threats made her feel good, even though a tiny voice of doubt nagged at her about the wisdom of accepting lessons from the Dark Mage. He wasn’t anything like the stories had claimed, and she was finding it harder and harder to remember that he was supposed to be a monster.
She found herself wondering how long it would take for him to bring dinner, and if the barmaid downstairs might be flirting with him while he waited. The thought made her scowl.
I shouldn’t care, she chastised herself sternly. It shouldn’t matter to me one bit whether or not she’s making eyes at him. Or touching him. Or dragging him off to the cellar to have sex.
That last thought made her scowl deepen, and she clutched her skirt in her hands just to have something to mangle. She couldn’t go down and check on him—it would be admitting that she was jealous, which she refused to do.
Just as she was about to give in and go downstairs anyway, she heard his boots on the steps. A moment later, he pushed open the door with one hand. The other was holding a platter laden with covered dishes. Even with the simple linen covers, though, the smells that wafted from the platter were like nothing she had ever experienced, and they set her mouth to watering instantly.
“What did you bring?” she asked, wondering if he could have conjured up some enchanted food. Surely nothing prepared by human hands could smell that good!
He smiled and carefully set the platter down on a chair beside the table. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a bit of everything. What do you usually eat?”
She blinked, taken aback. “Gruel. White bread. Porridge. What else do people eat?”
His obsidian eyes widened in obvious surprise, but he said nothing, only removed one of the covers to reveal a bowl of strawberries. Each one gleamed a deep, ripe red and she could smell their sweet scent in the air. He lifted a single one and held it out between his fingers, clearly intending to feed it to her. “Try this.”
The strawberry looked so lush and delicious that she lacked any will to resist. Leaning forward, she took a bite, her lips brushing across his fingers as she did so. Sweetness exploded in her mouth, so intense that she almost moaned aloud. The rest of the berry was still in his fingers, so she took it from him, sucking his fingers as she did so, mingling the taste of his skin with the forbidden sweetness of the fruit.
“Good, isn’t it?” he whispered huskily. She could see the outline of his cock against the tight fabric of his pants. “Now you need something to drink.”
He reached over and uncorked what must be a bottle of wine, although she had never tasted such a thing herself. A pale, golden stream splashed into the delicate glass the innkeeper had provided, and within moments the coolness of the wine caused droplets of moisture to form on the glass. Holding it by the stem, Elodan offered it to her, and she drank. The flavor was tart, contrasting perfectly with the sweetness of the strawberry she had eaten before. She could feel Elodan’s gaze on her like a fever, watching her throat work as she swallowed.
“Now it’s my turn,” he said mysteriously and rose to his feet. She automatically stood as well, and he reached out and quickly undid the laces holding her blouse closed. Her heart beating faster, she let him remove it and tug her skirt off just as swiftly. Then he lifted her up and lay her full length on the table.
“There,” he murmured in satisfaction. He picked up another strawberry, brushing it over her lips and letting her suck on it a moment before taking it away. She whimpered a little—then felt his hands between her legs, spreading her thighs wide. Something cool and round that must be the strawberry touched her labia, then spread her entrance, making her jump with a gasp. A moment later, he had tucked a second strawberry into her, then a third. The round, ripe berries spread her like a miniature cock, and she moaned, rocking her hips helplessly, with nothing to thrust against.
He smiled at her eagerness, then pulled up a chair and settled himself between her thighs. His hot tongue flicked at her swollen clit, teasing, then caressed her labia. Just when she thought she might go mad from his teasing, he suddenly fastened his mouth onto her, sucking hard. One of the berries slid into his mouth and he ate it, then delved for the next with his tongue. She cried out, her hands clutching at his hair, as a combination of her spasms and his sucking and probing retrieved the final strawberry.
Looking as if he had never tasted anything so sweet, he leaned over her and kissed her, sharing the mixed flavors of woman and berry.
He’ll take me now, she thought, seeing the hard length of him through his pants. He has to!
Instead, he went back to the platter of food, and this time selected a small jar. With a sensuous smile he dipped his finger into the jar and withdrew it coated with honey. Holding his fingers to her lips, he let her taste; she sucked frantically at it, and heard him let out a stifled groan. Pulling away, he held the jar up over her, drizzling the warm, golden honey over her naked skin. It made swirls around her breasts, glazing her erect nipples, then wandered down to pool in her navel, then again between her thighs.
Setting the jar aside, he bent over her to lick the honey off. He began with her left breast, first his tongue flicking the hard peak teasingly, then his entire mouth closing over it and sucking so that she arched her back for more. Moving slowly, so slowly, he followed the drizzle of honey, licking and sucking every inch of coated skin until it was clean. She moaned at this slow torture of lips and tongue, interrupted now and again by the light scrape of his teeth, startling rather than painful.
“Please,” she moaned when he was done.
His smile was devilish, full of mischief and lust alike. “Please?” he asked teasingly. “Oh yes, that’s right—you’re hungry, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she growled, knowing that it wasn’t food he meant.
“Well, then, you should eat.”
He stripped his clothes off with agonizing slowness, revealing his firm, well-muscled body. His cock was so stiff it stood almost straight out in front of him despite its heaviness. Seeing where her eyes were drawn, he sat down in a chair, reached for the jar—and very deliberately poured a stream of honey over his cock, coating the member thoroughly.
She licked her lips, unable to resist such a tempting treat. Sliding off the table, she dropped to her knees before him and immediately set to licking the underside of his cock. The sweet taste of honey mingled with the flavor of his male skin, and she devoured it eagerly, licking and sucking until he groaned helplessly. Licking a path from base to head, she slid her mouth down over his cock as far as she could, savoring the taste and the feel of his heat in her mouth.
The ache between her legs grew, and she knew that it could only be soothed by the feel of his hard member sliding into her. Yet even as she sucked the last drops of honey away, he made no move to take her to table or bed and impale her. Rising to her feet, she looked down on him, staring hungrily at the erection that taunted her.
Well, if he would not take her...perhaps she could take him? She didn’t know if it was possible in this position, but she was willing to find out if it would release her from the relentless desire that made her clit throb and her cunt ache. Feeling suddenly bold, she moved to straddle him, saw a smile cross his face that told her she was doing what he’d hoped.
Bending her knees, she slowly lowered herself. The tip of his cock nudged her hot, aching clit, then slid between her labia. Bracing her hands on his shoulders, she slid down further, feeling the head penetrate her easily, the shaft stretching her open. Moaning, she lowered herself all the way, until she was seated in his lap facing him, his balls pressed against her buttocks and his cock a lance impaling her.
“Yes,
” he gasped, and his hands gripped her hips, encouraging her to move. Clutching his shoulders again for support, she pushed herself up until his cock was almost out of her—then slid down again, agonizingly slow. Control slipped as she took him fully, and she began to move faster, grinding her clit against his body as she rode him frantically. His hands tightened on her hips, guiding and supporting, and she felt him thrusting back against her. She arched her back, exposing her breasts to him, and he immediately sucked one nipple into his mouth. Her movements became even more frantic, twisting and grinding against him, until an explosion of ecstasy took her once again. She felt him stiffen as she tightened around him, and he cried her name as he pumped his seed into her.
Elodan slid his arms around her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. His hands stroked her back gently, tenderly, and she felt...she wasn’t sure what she felt, really. Content. Cherished. Safe.
Safe...with the Dark Mage himself? How can I feel this way?
Troubled by her own thoughts, she leaned back and looked at him. He smiled faintly, a satisfied, drowsy look on his face.
“Shall we finish dinner, then?” he asked.
Chapter Eight
The next day, they left the inn and walked through the village, heading into the countryside.
“We’ll return this evening,” Elodan said. “First there’s something I have to do.”
Sasha walked beside him, unable to keep herself from admiring his body as she did so. The muscles rippled on his strong thighs and buttocks, and his long, black hair blew around his face in the breeze. He had once again used illusion to disguise his false eyes, but somehow she found the semblance more disturbing than the awful truth beneath. She had gotten used to his black, gleaming gaze.
