by Jillian Keep
She’d had good times doing it, discovered curious wildlife, played with magic. However, it was dark and the storm was biting through her, the thin clothes she wore not enough to keep the chilly fangs of ice from biting through her.
She cowered from the first two strikes of lightning, but on the third she managed to keep her head up, and in the dark of the night she saw the outline of something ahead.
“Something” was about as specific as she could get, for it could’ve been a person, a monster, or merely a pile of rocks. The flash of light was too brief.
What wasn’t too brief for her, however, was the sense of terror. She was alone. Abandoned.
With desperation in her veins she took off as fast as she could, but the way was rough going. The stones jagged and uneven, though as the lightning flashed again and she looked behind and saw it closer, gaining ground!
All her friends had abandoned her; she was on her own. Even if she got away from that thing she’d probably freeze to death, the realization sank into her deeply.
The panic of that thought made her trip, her ankle twisted and she fell, a rock gouging into her leg as she landed.
While over her it looked. It’s silhouette large, ominous. Terrifying.
She tried to remain still and quiet, hoping that it couldn’t see her shivering form. There was no fleeing or escaping, not with the sharp pains that traveled her ankle and calf. There was nothing left, nothing she could do to escape the thing that threatened her.
As he bent towards her, its great visage blocked out the rain, and she was able to see clearer. The ruddy-dark flesh of Varuj as she’d first encountered him entered her view as he picked her up in his mighty arms. The heat of his body was so prominent and soothing as he cradled her against the storm.
“I won’t abandon you,” he said in his deep, rumbling voice.
Her arms went around him and she wasn’t sure if it was the rain or tears that streamed down her face. She couldn’t recall ever feeling such relief, such warmth flood over her. He saved her from the rain, but also that crushing loneliness and her fingers clutched him almost painfully tight.
Cradled against that massive, broad chest, only the heat radiating off his hard muscles to warm her, she was carried through the storm by the giant demon. The pelting rain was blocked from her by his form, and the more she saw his broad, masculine face, the less terrifying it seemed.
The prominent horns in his head and chin, so pitch black, were less and less intimidating as he brought her to the shelter of a cave, the howling of the wind behind them. “You’re safe now,” he said in that gravelly voice, a warm little smile formed on those thick lips of his, the fiery eyes less like pits of hell and more like warming flames.
She just wanted to be close to him, to feel not only the physical heat but the emotional as well. She hadn’t realized how frail she felt, how lonely she was. She’d managed for so long on her own, with her friends, but they couldn’t understand her.
Not like he could.
With tender care, the giant fiend knelt down, holding her in his arms as he sat back, sheltering her even from the cold draft that emanated from the cave entrance. With a soft kiss to her forehead, he nuzzled against her clammy face, the unearthly heat so pleasant as he rubbed his hands along the length of her calf and thigh, her forearm and bicep.
“All might leave you, but I wouldn’t. The world might fall apart, but I would snatch you up from it and save you, Firi,” he husked to her lowly in such a loving voice, so ill-fitted to his demonic rumble.
Just the reverberations of his words soothed her and she nodded against his body. It felt so right, so natural. So peaceful.
Nothing else mattered except for this moment.
The radiance of his hard, muscular body, the tender friction of his strong hands. The sweet kiss of his lips as they pressed to her forehead, her nose. Her lips. It all warmed her so deeply, and he squeezed her a little tighter. “I love you,” came his words.
She awoke then to a loud snap, a terrifying crack, her familiar battling the wards at a greater intensity than she had seen it ever before. It was almost frightening to behold, if not for what she knew it portended.
Her breath was so much faster and she pulled back on her bed, curling into the corner. She still managed to feel so loved, despite the alarm she felt. She tried to slow her pulse, to calm her mind, but her entire body screamed with desire.
With a near blinding flash of light she heard the last of the wards give way and cave in. The burst of magical energy made the little hairs on the back of her arms stand on end.
It was done. The wards were gone…
Her familiar swirled faster, and she felt it subsuming the excess energy in the air before reforming back into the familiar fox she was so used to. It lay down immediately, looking weary. Exhausted.
The darkness that took over the room then was so complete. The room had been so excessively bright since she’d started assaulting those wards, but…
She heard something move. A small little flicker of light from the corner of the room lit up, and shed just a smidgen of light upon a man’s visage.
The orb of reddish light grew, and as he stepped closer she saw the familiar sight of Varuj. Not as he had been in her dream, but youthful, lean. His smooth chest on display from beneath his robe as he smiled at her lightly. “I’ve missed you so badly, Firi.”
How could she have forgotten how much she enjoyed his presence? His company?
She swiftly jumped from the bed and leapt to his arms, hugging him tight. The first day, when she realized she hadn’t felt him, she’d been so afraid but she pushed it down. Hoped for the best.
Now that he was back with her, though, she was surprised by how badly she needed his comfort.
Varuj released the orb to float by itself and put his own two arms around her, holding her up off the floor as he squeezed her tight. His natural heat radiated through her, though only a fraction of what it was when he cradled her in his original form in her dream.
“It’s okay,” he muttered to her in that charming accent, kissing the side of her head, her hair. His one hand stroked over her black strands down her back and he took her back to the bed, lowering themselves both down to it, but not parting from her. “It has been too long, sweet Firi,” he murmured.
“Are you hungry?” Her voice was still hoarse from sleep, but it was the first thing that occurred to her. He’d been lost so long, within her body. Within her soul? She didn’t quite understand it but she knew that he was trapped inside her.
He pulled back from her just enough to rub his hand over her cheek and smile at her longingly. “Yes,” he said, “but it can wait. I am just so glad to be back with you. I long to hear about all your trials and tribulations without me. To know all I have missed about you, sweet Firi.” He leaned in and kissed her gently upon her cheek, just lightly touching the corner of her lips.
The touch of his mouth was so sweet, not like Bran’s. It was so warm, loving, and… invited. Not like that young wizard’s had been.
Yet it still made her breath hitch and her cheeks turn pinkish as her face dropped. “I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know until I got here. I’ve been… struggling.”
With a smooth motion Varuj moved back to the corner where her bed met the wall and cradled her against him so comfortably. Her head rested to his chest and he stroked her hair with loving repetition. “If only we had more time for me to show you the things I know. But we shall… sweet Firi, I shall show you.”
“Now that you’re back.” It felt like she was at home now. At peace. Like she was somehow complete once more, and she clung to him like a child as she began telling him about her studies. Her issues with the professors, how dire it was for her to pass.
Yet she never mentioned the vivid dreams, nor her experience the day before with Bran and Mae’lin.
She just couldn’t bring herself to express what she was feeling about all of it. She could barely make sense of it in her own
mind, let alone verbalize it to him.
To Varuj.
Her demon.
It must have nearly been daybreak by the time she finished her long story of life at the academy, and he had listened to every word of it with rapt attention, combing his fingers through her hair again and again in such a soothing manner. Showering her head and face with soft, caring kisses from time to time throughout.
“You have struggled so long and hard, yet it has only just begun with your entry into the academy,” he said with a soft sigh. “You have been brave and diligent without me, sweet Firi. But you no longer need go it alone.”
His words filled her with gratitude and reassured her of what she already knew.
He’d never abandon her. He’d never misunderstand her.
He was a part of her, wasn’t he?
With gentle care he tilted her face up towards him, showed her his dazzling, handsome smile before placing a soft kiss on her lips. “We shall take pains not to be ‘separated’ again, no?” he remarked before pressing his mouth to hers once more, lingering there in warmth and closeness.
Perhaps it was the drowsiness, the excitement of having him back. Maybe it was all of the stress and anguish that simply made her body more responsive, but she didn’t pull away from him. It wasn’t with the shock and surprise as it had been with Bran.
This time it was because it somehow felt right and natural. Welcomed.
She trembled in his arms and tugged herself closer before her lips left his and she stared at him with lidded eyes.
What am I doing?
Varuj had the looks of a dashing foreign prince, his sleek black hair framing such handsome, smooth features. Yet when he smiled at her then, it made him look so caring – no, loving – rather than suave. “Go and get me some food, sweet Firi. I am famished after so long.” He stroked his hand over her cheek and along her jawline, “Do hurry back, please.”
She scrambled from his arms, and it was only then she realized how little she was wearing. The light nightgown was so much less proper than what she usually wore but she’d been so excited. So desperate.
Quickly she threw on her robe and she was grateful for a chance to get away from him, even if she longed to be with him. She felt like she was being torn into pieces, uncertain of what to do next. For so long she’d been alone, and now she was being forced to choose between three men.
Well… two and a demon.
She exited her room, the night’s curfew ended it seemed, and she confirmed why when she exited out into the light of morning outside.
The eating hall was open, as she’d been told it was round the clock, and she was able to go in and beat the lines to retrieve a rather generous assortment of meaty foods to Varuj’s liking. Only a couple people out of the whole of the academy occupied the great dining hall, and none seemed to pay her any mind as she made her way out, pockets and satchel stuffed with food.
When she returned, she took a deep breath then pushed open the door, heading back into her room. What she saw then, stole her breath, however.
Absolutely bare, the ruddy-brown demon stood with his robes hanging down from his elbows as he inspected himself in the mirror. The fullness of his nude form on display in profile, from his lean, hard chest which she’d become so familiar with, down across the firm abs and beyond a small, neatly trimmed tuft of pubic hair to a gorgeous piece of manhood.
He wasn’t even erect, but it looked so large to her eyes, and rested above powerful thighs that looked like they belonged to a long-distance runner.
She stared, dumbfounded. She knew she should apologize, close the door. Hide her face. Maybe never even tell him that she’d intruded.
But she couldn’t do any of that. She was transfixed, and it felt like hours passed as she watched him inspecting himself.
It was very nearly hypnotic, for he was the picture of male beauty. She saw as he licked his own full lips, ran his fingers down over his chest, across his abs and…
It twitched. That organ swelling with life and growing so fast before her very eyes.
It distracted her, and she didn’t notice anything else until he pulled his robe back closed, covering the thick organ before it reached its fullness. He turned then as he knotted his cloth belt and smiled. “Ah, welcome back,” he said as he approached her so casually. He didn’t know she was watching. Did he?
Certainly he could figure it out by how red her face was, by how she refused to look him in the eyes as she brushed past him to lay out his breakfast. “Thanks.” She felt like slapping herself. Thanks? Thanks for what? For the welcome back?
Or for the titillating show?
She was so lost in thought she didn’t even detect him move beside her, rest a hand upon her hip. “You brought so much,” he said with his curious tone of excitement, “and it all smells so good, my sweet Firi.” He reached around her, plucking up some and taking a bite. “Mm, to go without real, material food for so long…”
“This place has a lot of food.” She should know, she was already softening in the hips a bit, and his hand felt so nice against it. It seemed more sensual in some ways.
It was probably the fact that she’d been gawking at him so recently that made it so.
“If you need more…”
Varuj sat himself down and pulled her onto his lap with his strong hold upon her hip. “Eat with me?” he asked softly, offering her a tiny morsel upon his fingers as he smiled. “I have missed the little things. Like company while I eat. Even though… we got to experience it so little together as is,” he lamented.
She accepted the offered food but squirmed on his thigh. She knew what lay beneath it, so tentatively hidden from her, and it made her adrenaline rush. She didn’t know what she wanted, of him, of anyone. But she couldn’t deny how seeing him nude made her feel, and being so near to him – to it – thrilled her as much as it frightened her.
Her motions had an effect she didn’t intend however, and she felt him stir beneath her, and she could see the light flare of his nostrils that went with it. “You are anxious?” he asked softly, taking another bite of food himself, squeezing her hip as he took up yet more to offer her, such a small bite she had to use her tongue to take it from betwixt his digits.
What was the right response?
What was the real one?
She chewed thoughtfully but it tasted of the salt on his fingertips and instead of disgusting her it made her yearn for more.
Somewhere in the back of her mind she pictured Mae’lin, looking so hurt and betrayed by Bran kissing her. Yet this man… this demon. He posed such a larger threat to the sweet elf.
“I have to get to class,” she finally managed.
With a slow nod he said, “I know. But we have a moment more, do we not? I would treasure savouring it with you,” he said so sweetly, though that contrasted the thick throb of his manhood beneath her that signified so much that confused, frightened and aroused her.
Her breath was quick and shallow, but she didn’t want to leave. Or, at the very least, she didn’t move away from his body. It felt so comforting, so inviting, and her blue eyes fluttered closed. “What if someone catches you?”
“I will set about measures to protect the room,” he said, continuing to eat and feed her at intervals. His smooth motions were so suave, his tender rub of her side so pleasant. “We will need such privacy when we begin anew our training, sweet Firi. The academy is swimming with magic and the magicians who wield it. We must be careful for the time being,” he moved in towards her, pressed his nose to hers, their eyes locked. “I will look out for us.”
“Well, you better, because it took long enough to break those wards and I don’t know how to make new ones yet.” Her nose felt so small against his, and it was a struggle to keep her gaze on his. She kept picturing him, naked and staring at himself in the mirror.
A corner of his lips crooked upwards and he gave a low laugh. “Those wards did us no good, don’t fret. I will handle everything. And someday tea
ch you how to do the same. For now, however, we do not have the time to wait.” He gave her rear a squeeze and kissed her cheek, right at the corner of her lips again. “Rest assured at your classes.”
Her mind went hazy as his mouth touched hers, and she inhaled his scent.
She’d missed him more than she thought possible.
“I have to go,” she whispered and slunk off his lap.
Varuj stood up and brushed his hands off. “I know. I shall miss you all the same,” he said with a resilient smile. “Do hurry back to me though, yes? We have much to do if you are to be prepared for what’s to come. And I do not care to leave anything up to chance when it comes to your future.” He reached up and cupped her cheek, stroking his thumb over the soft flesh. “Sweet Firi.”
She took a quick step back, needing to be away from his touch. From his flesh.
He felt so good, so warm, and she was greedy for it and that frightened her. “I’ll see you tonight,” she promised as she reached for her bag. “Please be careful.”
“I shall,” he said, a hand upon his belt as he turned sidelong to her and plucked up yet more food. The pose was so similar to when she’d walked in upon him that it was nearly dizzying to think of how he’d looked beneath that wizard’s robe…
Her body buzzed with the fantasy and as she exited her room, the air felt so much cooler on her scorched cheeks.
Chapter 28
Classes went much the same as usual, which is to say a lot of complicated jargon that Firia was only beginning to grasp. Though something she couldn’t help but notice was the absence of Mae’lin from the day’s lessons. Neither he nor Bran were present that day, and the only response she could get out of Ala’nase as to their whereabouts was a shrug, a smirk and a teasing: “Off fighting over you, no doubt.”
“You’re not helping,” she muttered back ruefully.
She didn’t know which she sought distraction from more. The two men, or the demon that awaited her back in her room. Either way, it was becoming too much, too quickly, and it fogged her mind from what she should have been focusing on. School.
