by Zara Zenia
My mom was never all that great at it. She was better with Katie than me, but really, I’m not sure she ever wanted to be a mom. Having kids was all my dad ever wanted though. So they’d had us. Katie came first and she was more like mom. She hated the woods, loved shopping, and longed to live in a place with restaurants nearby. Mom and Katie had always been best buds, but that only got more obvious once I was born. Dad and I were two peas in a pod, never far from each other. I still didn’t know why he was with my mom, or vice versa. They seemed like such opposite people. But I guess that was love for you. Strange and mysterious.
Mom refused to stay after Dad died though, and she wanted to take me into the city with her. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave everything behind like that. I think for the first time, when my mom was leaving, she realized that she’d failed to ever really form a connection or relationship with me. I didn’t even know if we’d ever bother to see each other again, but that memory made me swear to myself that I’d be a better mom. I’ll be there for my kid. I’ll try to get into the things he or she is into. I’ll be the mom I always wished I’d have by being like my dad.
Eventually, my tears dry up and leave my face stiff and sticky with their salty tracks. I’m still hugging the pillow when I fall asleep, my head still oscillating back and forth between acceptance and rejection. Whatever I was going to land on, I wouldn’t do it until I had a good night’s rest. I close my fingers around the necklace Dad gave me and finally slip into a fitful sleep.
Chapter Thirty
Trylor
I’ve waited as long as I can. I’ve given her all the time I can bear to give. But now, I need to see her. Brandt warned me that I might be pushing her, that we need to wait for her to come to us, but I’m a man of action. A king. I don’t just sit around and wait for things to come to me when I can go out and take them.
Of course, I don’t have any plans to be quite so forceful with Eva. I just want to see her, to hold her again, to reassure her. Even if she says she doesn’t want to help us, that she can’t do what we ask of her, I just want to see her. I wouldn’t blame her for not being able to do it. I’ve always thought it was a lot to ask of one person, and after seeing her reaction, I realize it’s even more to ask than I thought.
We’d already asked Eva to give up her way of life to join us, and now we were asking her to give up the hope of ever going back to it. I take a deep breath, stopped outside of her door, and let it out in a long sigh before raising my hand to knock.
It’s a strange feeling, being the king and knocking on a door in your own palace. But I’m not going to just barge in without permission and make things worse. I’m not an idiot.
I wait for a long time before I knock again, starting to think she isn’t going to answer the door when I see the handle turn and a sliver of light breaks through. I hold my breath hoping she won’t spot me and immediately slam the door in my face.
But she doesn’t. The door opens wide enough for her to look at me, her eyes ringed with exhaustion and bloodshot. Her hair is mussed too and she looks like she didn’t sleep well.
“Hi,” I say, the whole speech I’d rehearsed fleeing my mind like whispers on the wind.
“Hi,” she says back, her eyes looking down.
“Can I come in?”
She looks like she’s debating it and I’m almost certain she’s going to say no, but then she finally takes a step back from the door with a sigh, letting me in.
Once the door’s closed, some of my anxiety drains out, but not enough.
“How are you?” I ask, cursing internally at myself. What kind of question is that? It’s obvious looking at her that she’s not doing well. Focusing on that surely won’t make it better.
“Not great,” she says, slumping into one of the over-stuffed chairs in her sitting area. “I had weird dreams all night.”
That explains the tiredness creasing her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I wish we had told you in a different way.”
She shrugs, hugging herself, her whole body language cut off from me. I ache to reach out and touch her, to pull her tight against my chest so she can feel how she makes my heart race, but I know if I reach for her now she’ll just pull away and I don’t think I can bear that.
“It doesn’t matter how you tell me if what you’re telling me is the same. So it’s true? I’m supposed to have your baby?”
My throat tightens, blood surging to my cock with the image of Eva swollen with my child, but I have to shake my head. “Not mine exactly. One of ours. We don’t know who though.”
“Which is why I’m supposed to sleep with all of you,” she says, her voice flat.
“Eva, I know it’s insane and I understand if you can’t do it. We all do. If it’s too much for you, we’ll find another way,” I say, knowing it’s a lie. If there was another way, we’d already be working on it.
“There’s not though, is there? Another way. You’ve all already said as much. I’m the only hope. So what happens if I don’t do it, really?”
My head drops forward, my heart heavy. “I don’t know. I don’t want you to feel any responsibility for what happens, though. The evil will attack us with or without you.”
“They already have, haven’t they?”
I look up, startled by the gentleness in her voice. She hasn’t forgiven me, that much is clear, but Eva’s looking at me with such compassion and sympathy that it makes my heart clench in my chest. How does such a wonderful woman exist? Even after everything we’ve put her through, she finds it in herself to care about me.
“Brandt left abruptly one morning and I didn’t see either of you for days and when I finally did see you, you held me like you were seeing a ghost. It’s not hard to put the pieces together.”
I shake my head, dropping it to my hands. “I’m sorry, Eva. I wanted to shield you from it.”
“What happened?” she asks, her voice still gentle, but demanding.
“There was a massacre. A slaughter really. An entire Desergan town wiped off the planet.”
A gasp escapes her and Eva covers her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide. “H-how… How many?” she asks, tears sparkling in her eyes.
I shake my head again. “Impossible to say exactly. Thousands at the very least. It was a thriving coastal town. Now it’s nothing but ashes.”
Eva looks at me for a long time, and I’m not sure what the expression is. She’s clearly thinking about something, her eyes bright with intelligence, but her face isn’t giving anything away.
“Can you show me what you look like?” she asks softly, almost like she’s afraid to.
But it just puzzles me. I’m standing right before her, so I open my arms wide. She shakes her head.
“No, I mean the real you. The dragon you.”
I suck in a sharp breath, readying myself to deny her, but then I see the way she’s looking at me, uncertain and considering and I think that maybe this is what she needs. Maybe she thinks she needs to know what’s really at stake. But I’m not sure she’ll like what she sees. A dragon in his true form is a fearsome sight and I’m more worried about scaring her than I am about convincing her to stay with me. I never want to frighten Eva.
“Eva… It’s likely not what you’re thinking. You may not like—”
“Please, Trylor. I need this,” she says, and my resolve fails.
“All right,” I say, resigned. “Just remember that I will never hurt you.”
She nods and I step back, away from her chair, into the open space in the room, craning my neck to make sure there aren’t any chandeliers to knock me on the head.
I take a deep breath and search in my heart for the burning ember of the dragon soul, the same flame that’s linked to the flaming oceans. I focus on that flame, willing it to grow until it consumes my whole chest with blazing heat. Scales pop out of my skin, covering me in their impenetrable armor. Dragons come in all colors, but my scales are golden — the color of a sovereign. My body begins to change too, li
mbs growing thicker, torso getting longer until I’m towering over ten feet in the air on my hind legs. My face morphs into the long sleek muzzle of a dragon, and finally, my wings pop out of my back with a searing pain that lasts only a moment.
Suddenly everything is so much smaller. The room, the furniture, even Eva. I’m looming over everything, so I drop down to my forelegs to be at eye level with her. Dragons normally stayed upright like their human counterparts, but I didn’t want to frighten her any more than I had to already be.
Eva’s eyes are wide, her mouth dropped open in an ‘o’ of shock. She slowly stands and takes a step forward, lifting her hand hesitantly to touch my shoulder. I try to stay as still as possible as her nimble fingers trace the ridged line of my spine, but when she brushes over my wings, I can’t help the shudder.
She snatches her hand back like I burned her. “Did that hurt?”
I shake my head and stretch my wings out again toward her, letting her pet the soft leathery skin there, more involuntary shudders rumbling through me.
“Oh, it feels good, doesn’t it?” she asks, smiling.
Good was an understatement, but I can’t exactly tell her that while I’m like this. Every touch of her fingers on my sensitive wings is like electricity, lightning shooting through all my veins, burning hotter than any fire ever could.
“You’re beautiful,” she whispers, her voice full of wonder and awe.
I almost don’t believe it. I thought she would be terrified. I thought she might run from the room screaming. But here she is telling me I’m beautiful and all I want to do is make love to her. I want to show her how much I cherish her and how much she means to me. But I can’t do it like this. I promised her I’d never hurt her and trying to make love to Eva while I’m a dragon would certainly hurt her. But if she keeps stroking my wings like that, I’m not going to be able to hold back.
I shudder again and force the shift to wash over me, shrinking back down to size, my scales retreating back into my skin. Only now, there are no clothes to cover my nakedness and Eva gets to see me in another way.
“Thank you,” she says, breathless, her eyes darting frequently below my waist. “I mean it, you really are beautiful.”
“You’re not frightened of me?”
She shakes her head, her cheeks bright with heat and I catch her looking at my cock again.
“You’re free to look your fill,” I say, teasing her. “I’m not shy.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Eva
“Obviously not,” I say with a giggle, my hands itching to reach out to touch him. I don’t know what it is about Trylor, but his presence is enough to erase all that hurt and betrayal I felt before he showed up at my door.
I wanted to be mad at him. I wanted to hold a grudge. But he made that impossible. He was forthright with me, honest and open, he didn’t hide from me when I wanted to see him and he certainly isn’t hiding anything now.
I swallow, looking down at his thick swollen cock. He’s so big. I had enough trouble accommodating Brandt, but Trylor looks even more intimidating. Still, the sight of him floods me with warmth, my blood running hot, liquid need pooling between my legs.
Trylor steps forward and combs his fingers through my tangled hair, pulling me closer to him with a gentle tug. “I’d love to see what you look like too, Eva,” he purrs, his voice smooth and rich like caramel.
I’m pretty sure right now, I’d give this man anything he wants. He’s turning me to jelly and only a few minutes ago I was determined not to give them an inch. Now I’m practically volunteering miles.
I start to reach for the hem of my shirt, lifting it slowly, eager to show him as much of me as I’ve seen of him. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know why this keeps happening to me. Maybe it is the prophecy. Maybe it’s fate. Maybe it’s something else entirely that I’ll never have a name for. All I know is that when I’m near Trylor, I can’t not want him and I’m done fighting it. There may be a prophecy that says I have to sleep with him, but I can still choose to do it of my own free will.
His hand covers mine and stills my movement. “Come,” he says, taking my hand gently in his. “I have an idea.”
Trylor takes me into the attached bathroom and turns on the tap to the bathtub. For as long as I’ve been here, I still haven’t taken a bath. It seems wasteful to fill the entire swimming pool-sized tub just for me. Besides, I’ve always been more of a shower girl myself and the shower here is incredible.
Water gushes into the tub, filling the room with steam while Trylor adds various oils and liquids to the water, making the room smell like perfume while bubbles built up on the surface.
“Come here,” he says, grabbing me by the hips and pulling me close. He drags his hands up my sides, lifting my shirt with them, exposing inch after inch of my over-heated flesh to the steamy room. Then he does the same with my pajama pants, sliding his hands down my sides, over my hips, dragging the pants with him until I’m standing naked before him. Now we’re both naked and for a long moment, we just stare at each other.
Trylor’s all muscle, big and brawny, his skin a warm golden brown, his body completely hairless. His cock twitches as I gaze at him and then I meet his fiery eyes, seeing my own lust reflected back at me.
He takes my hand and steps toward the tub, helping me in before he joins me. There’s plenty of room in here. Honestly we could probably fit another half a dozen people in here without it getting too crowded. But I’m much happier with it just being the two of us.
The warmth of the water envelops me and the sweet scents wafting in the air relax me, erasing worry from my mind. Trylor pulls me against him, so my back is to his chest, his arms and legs wrapped around me as he starts gently running a rag over my skin. He massages me, loosening the knots of tension in my muscles until they’re all jelly. It’s not even really sexual, the way he’s touching me, it’s more like he’s taking care of me. But somehow, that does more to turn me on than foreplay.
I can feel his cock pressed into the cleft of my ass, but neither one of us seems in a hurry to do anything about it. Just content to be together. He helps me tilt my head back and massages warm water into my scalp, his fingers so gentle my eyes start to get heavy. Then he’s working up a lather in my hair, washing it with a floral-smelling shampoo that leaves it feeling silky and soft. When he’s done, he holds me against him and kisses down the line of my neck, the rag in his hand going under the water, disappearing between my thighs.
His kisses make me shiver, so soft, so gentle, but hot. There’s in intensity behind every touch, like he’s holding on to his control so tightly and it makes me want to see what he’s like when he’s not so controlled.
But honestly, I’m really enjoying his slow methodical exploration of my body and when his fingers spread my folds and stroke me softly, I sigh, sinking back against him. His fingers dance over my clit, his lips fluttering over my neck, but it’s not enough. He’s only teasing me, he’s only winding me up, slowly urging me toward the precipice. And as much as I like this, I don’t know how much longer I can stand slow and methodical. I don’t know how long I can take his torture before I beg him.
But why should I beg him? He’s right here. I know how this works. There’s no need to want more than I’m getting.
I turn in his arms, kissing him deeply as I lift my hips up and position myself over the tip of his dick.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says, his eyes creased with worry.
“Shh,” I say, kissing him again, sinking a little further down on him. “You won’t.”
“If it hurts, stop,” he says, pleading with me, his hands still on my hips, practically hovering there the touch is so gentle.
“I will. But you’re not going to break me, Trylor, I promise.” I slide down on his impossibly thick length, every time I’m sure I’ve taken him all, there’s more to take. But every inch is nirvana. In the warmth of the water, my senses are heightened, and I’m already so turned on that the
re’s no resistance to him sliding in. But still, it feels like Trylor is holding back. His hands on my hips are tight enough now to slow my pace so that he’s controlling how fast I sink down on him.
I lean forward and kiss him again, taking his hands from my hips and putting them on my chest. He growls, palming my breasts, rolling my nipples between his fingers, sending shocks of lightning all the way to my toes. With his hands off my hips, I’m able to sink all the way down on him until I’m sitting on the tops of his thighs, our hips joined.
“Gods,” he breathes, burying his face in my shoulder. “I didn’t think anything could feel this amazing. Eva… Gods,” he pants, words lost to him.
I know the feeling. I’m having trouble forming coherent thoughts myself with his cock buried inside of me and his hands all over me. Because now that he’s fully inside of me, his hands start to roam, covering every inch of my body with his sizzling touch.
My hands go to his shoulders and I use him for leverage, lifting myself up on him before I go crashing back down, making water splash over the edge of the tub. But that doesn’t bother me because it feels so good that all I can think is to do it again and again and again.
Water’s splashing everywhere around us, but neither of us seems to care. Trylor’s hands are on my hips, gripping me tighter now, pulling me down on him harder with every thrust, my cries of passion echoing off the tiled walls. He kisses me like I can give him his last breath, like he’s dying of poison and the only antidote lies in my mouth. He kisses me like there’s nothing else he ever wants to do. Like he never wants to stop kissing me. It’s intoxicating and addicting and leaves my head spinning and light as cotton as I careen toward release.
“Trylor,” I pant, every syllable forced through another breath, “I’m going to—”
“Do it,” he demands, his voice low and gravelly. “Come for me, Eva. Don’t hold back, beautiful.”
