Immortal Dreams (Immortal Realms Book 1)
Page 11
“What is?” she asked, thinking he may be reconsidering his statement already. A weird insecurity rose hot and fierce within her all of a sudden.
Confusion painted his expression before he responded. “Disconnecting from you when all I want to do is bury myself so deep that the only name on your tongue, is mine, of course.”
Lightning went from her ears to her core as he spoke those words, making her feel another aftershock of the intense orgasm again. Isabel closed her eyes a moment to try and gather herself. Dammit, this was going to be hell. Sweet, beautiful, insanely disastrous, hell. Groaning, she stood up with his help, noticing that he was still noticeably—very noticeably—aroused. She knew enough to know that had to be painful for him, and something dark swam to the surface of her feel good moment. She felt so selfish all the sudden. Biting her lip, she looked up at the beautiful man before her.
“I’m so sorry. I…”
He looked confused for a moment until she looked at his pants again, and then he just grinned. “Don’t ever be sorry for that. I’ll savor the memory of you all day until you return. Don’t you know yet, that the benefit of having your partner is that you feel their pleasure, too? So, no apologies, please. I shared that intense rupturing of the realms with you, I just refuse to spill my seed onto you. When it’s time—and that time is coming—you will be screaming for me to fill you with it. Which of course, I shall oblige,” he said, and then winked at her.
Oh my God, was he serious? That was a bit presumptuous, she thought. She stood there, her lips parted a bit, and her eyes still ravaging the man before her. For some reason, she was less angry than she should be about his words. Maybe it was because her body was humming a tune that had a lot to do with that presumptuous mouth, at the moment? It was as if he’d opened an entire world of new hungers within her, and when he said the words he just did to her, there was nothing pompous in it. He’d just been sure of them.
She wanted to feel that way so badly; sure. She was sure that there were a whole lot of things that she wanted to do with him right now, but not about anything else. She was insanely curious what that would taste like, and would she even like that? She wanted to understand what he meant by shared pleasure, and she wanted to argue and tell him that he shouldn’t get to be so sure about her when she wasn’t sure about him, but she was humming far too much with the sated pleasure he’d just given her to do anything at all other than stare at him heatedly.
An image of Morkain flashed through her mind and she felt a pang of guilt strike hard and relentless in her gut. Which one was she cheating on with the other? They were both so far out of her league, and she didn’t know what the hell she was supposed to do with either of them. She would really like to speak with Keiren and find out the reason for being put in this damn position. Surely there had been another way? Someone was going to get hurt, and she was definitely going to get hurt right along with whichever man did. She already liked them both for different reasons, but that had felt too good to her. So had the words they’d both spoken. And she couldn’t imagine letting both of them have at her that way. No, she couldn’t channel her inner Amele…not for that. Her heart was going to get squashed in this whole ordeal.
He ran his hands through her hair gently and pressed his forehead to hers before whispering, “Il meilev ruoc’ni, Shei’sa ne lariekt ne’shante.” I want more. Soon, we will have all the time in the world.
“Insatiable, aren’t you?” she whispered back before she realized she understood him speaking in a language that was definitely not English.
His head snapped up, “Isabel, how did you do that?”
The cloud of passion was dissipated somewhat by the confusion within her. “I don’t know, I couldn’t really understand the words when I think of them…more so the intention of the words. It’s strange, I have no idea what language you spoke. I know it wasn’t mine, but that’s the extent of it.” She looked as puzzled as he did.
“Well aren’t you going to be full of surprises, Princess? A Senseti as well as your mother’s gifts of being a Foresayer and Time Sifter, surely. A daughter usually has the same gifts as the mother, after all. A Senseti can understand any language, even unwritten ones. You feel them, rather than having to study to understand them. I’m a bit envious, actually. Do you know how many hours I’ve spent tutored to learn all the languages of the realms?” he said as he nipped her shoulder. “No, of course you don’t, but you’ll learn.” He gazed at her with a loving look of…pride? Was that pride she saw in his eyes? She couldn’t tell, but it made her feel incredibly special to be at the receiving end of it.
“I’ve spent centuries readying myself to be King of Loveryn someday, and with that comes an immense responsibility to all the magical realms. You’ll see soon, My Queen, and you’ll not have to spend all those hours as I did to understand the realm languages. You’re going to have quite the resume, I think. Not that you’ll be leaving my—our—bed long enough to practice these newfound, wondrous skills…not for a century, at least. There’s no rush for my father to step down, especially now that you’ve finally been found. We’ll need a long time, you and I, to get acquainted before talks of thrones and realm etiquette mar our perfect existence. It would be expected of us to need time.” There was that pride in his eyes again that she didn’t understand, as well as the inherent, radiating joy that she was learning was just Prince Bodhe. She just quirked her head to the side at the last remark, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.
Really now?
Shaking the thoughts from her head, she changed the subject reluctantly, moving into a safer territory than love. “Bodhe, is that all a Sensati can do—understand languages? And, very importantly, does this present require that we move from this field?” She stretched her arms over her head and took a moment to bask in the languid jelly that at least her body felt like at the moment. What was with this place? Were there pheromones in the very air that made everyone completely lose all their inhibitions? She sure had, in the first taste of his mouth.
He looked up at her and smiled, white teeth flashing brilliantly. “A Senseti can also channel thoughts from people, and guide another with their own after a great deal of training. As far as the moving from this spot, you don’t have to,” he said, nipping her lip, “but there is a very important thing somewhere else…and I assure you that I can kiss you there just as easily.”
She looked at him and giggled a little. “Alrighty, then…somewhere else for something mysterious, it is. Though, I may find a suitable torture for you for making me leave this moment,” Isabel teased, and then made a mental note to ask Amele more about the Senseti thing later.
“I don’t think you’ll want to torture me when you see this, but I’ll accept any retribution you seek for me taking you from here to there,” he said as he winked at her.
This didn’t feel like her at all…this woman who was flirting and comfortable in her skin. Is that what happened to women that have been ravaged by their lover? They’re happy to let it all hang out, vocally and physically? Well, that would certainly explain Amele, at least, who’d slept with half the Dragon kingdom. After something like that, well, what’s left to be modest about?
Bodhe kissed her softly, taking her from her thoughts, and let her drown in the sweetness of his mouth once more for a moment. They were flying again before she even understood what was happening. He rose into the sky with her and set her down again in far too few minutes later.
She reluctantly moved from the warmth of his arms and looked around. They were in a quiet valley, desolate of any living creatures she could see, yet teeming with life. Green grasses and wildflowers surrounded a stream that bubbled from an enormous waterfall nearby. Much bigger than the one she had awoken next to, this one was ten stories high and had just as many shelves that the water fell into before continuing on again with its journey to the stream. Pristine cascades of silvery water mesmerized her with their exquisite dance, and a fine mist kissed her skin—even from th
e distance they were at. Rainbows of fractal light danced all over the surface of the enchanted waters.
“Bodhe, it’s…wow, it’s beautiful,” she stammered, looking around. Her eyes feasted on the simple grandeur of this place and her body was tingling with…was that excitement? No, there was something about this valley, a magic different from Loveryn’s was here.
Bodhe took in a deep breath and laced his fingers in hers. “Are you ready?” he asked, excitement in his gaze when he looked at her.
“For what?”
“For your present, of course.”
She looked around the canyon not knowing what present could come from here but nodded anyway. Watching him closely, she saw him take out what looked like a tiny golden flute from his pocket and blow on it, fingers gently pressing to the small holes. No sound came out that she could hear but just when she was about to mention that his flute was broken, a great white horse-thing came pounding through the waterfall. She gasped at its strength and speed and grabbed his hand tighter. It was a horse only in the sense that it had the shape of one, but the resemblance ended there. It was so much larger, and she couldn’t tell if there were feathers or fur on the creature. Also, the mane and tail seemed made of stardust and sunbeams the way they shimmered. A shiver of awe moved down her spine and she felt fearful, but was also struck mute by the beauty and grace she was witnessing.
“Don’t be afraid, Isabel. This is the mother of the larien. What you’re about to experience is an age old tradition in these lands and one that you should have taken part in a long time ago, when you were still a child. She comes to greet you. Be calm and kind, she will feel your emotion and intentions.”
He looked on reverently as the great being neared them and held out his hand. She came up to him and he bowed to her. Isabel looked into the blue eyes of the larien and bowed the only way she knew how—which wasn’t really at all—the blood rushing to her damn cheeks at her clumsy attempt. Bodhe laughed and the larien reared up a bit and snorted as if she were doing the same. Giving him a sideways glare, he just laughed some more. The larien bowed her head in return and then walked around her, smelling her hair and skin. It tickled to feel its breath and mouth nuzzling about and she couldn’t help but to laugh and squirm a bit.
Just as quickly as she’d come, she whinnied and took off toward the waterfall again. Isabel looked over to Bodhe and he just smiled and put a finger to his lips, telling her to remain quiet. He pulled her close and whispered, “She likes you,”
Before she could even respond, a thundering tremor was felt beneath her feet and she saw a whole team of the larien rushing toward her. She squeezed Bodhe tightly and was surprised when he pushed her forward a bit. “It’s okay, Isabel, they’ll not hurt you. Go to them and stay very still.”
She looked over her shoulder, unsure, and he just nodded to her, motioning her forward with his eyes. She began timidly walking toward the horde of beasts coming her way. All of them were massive and majestic, and it really didn’t give them justice to be compared with horses even though the similarities were striking. These were the beings that were grazing the first night she was here. How beautiful they were, even the ones with scales that scared her a little.
Bodhe had told her a little bit about these strange creatures—like the fact that they can fly—but not nearly as much as she wished to know right now as they came pounding over the valley floor at her. She stopped in the center of the field and looked back once more at the Prince. He was standing by a tree with one leg crossed over the other and his arms crossed over his broad chest as his back leaned casually against the trunk. His smile remained, so she turned again to face the mysterious onslaught.
Just as she thought she would be stampeded to death, the creatures circled around her and came to an abrupt stop, all of them looking to the one he called Mother. A small sound came from Mother, and the first larien stepped forward, doing as she had done to Isabel, nudging and smelling. That one was a fiery red in color, and its skin was almost like scales. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to see what that one transformed to. The next came forward, repeated the procedure, and stepped back.
This happened repeatedly until finally, a smaller one came from the back of the circle. She was beautiful. White feathers everywhere except for a single dark patch that formed a diamond on her brow. She shimmered gold and white on her mane and Isabel felt nearly giddy as she came closer to her. As soon as the larien touched her she felt a strange current surge through her and then the beautiful creature bowed her head to her. All of the other larien ran off at that moment except Mother, who came closer. The two were a mirror reflection of each other except in size. Sleek, white feathered beauties and the only true difference other than height was the black mark on the younger one’s brow. Isabel reached her hand out and the smaller one put her head into it, nudging her gently. The current of energy was pleasant and warm—it felt safe. The breeze picked up behind her and suddenly Bodhe was there, whispering in her ear.
“You have been chosen, Isabel. Meet Mother’s daughter, Toressa. You have a fine companion here for the rest of your days. I would have guessed that it would be her,” he said, beaming. Her mouth stood open, disbelieving the words he just spoke.
“What do you mean she has chosen me? You mean this—this is my gift?” She stood, utterly spellbound.
“That she is. Toressa will never let another rider upon her back, and she will always come to you when you call. She will only answer to you now, even above Mother. They have gifted us with their presence since the beginning of time as we know it, and all Sidhe get chosen by one when they’re coming into their powers. Time is much slower here, however, and even though it would seem a Sidhe child is only a five year old mortal, they would be closer to fifty years old here. If we even counted in mortal time, which we do not,” he said teasingly.
“That’s a lot to process. If you don’t count in mortal years, how would you understand birthday presents?”
“Just because time is different here, doesn’t mean that we don’t celebrate days of birth. As I told you, I will always want to celebrate the gift of you in my physical world. You will be spoiled immensely, always.”
Isabel blushed and looked down, biting her lip. “A lot to process,” she repeated, not daring to look up at him this moment.
“She’s Mother’s youngest, and it is a great honor for you to be the one she has felt. Do you feel the connection with her?”
“The current?” she asked, eyes meeting his once more as she felt excitement rising. “Yes, I feel that. It’s so beautiful…and so incredibly warm when I touched her. It’s like I’ve known her for a long time and we’re re-uniting, even though that’s absolutely impossible.” Tears pricked at her eyes.
“Nothing is impossible, you’re going to learn this. And I felt the same way about my larien, Sattave.”
Isabel heard a roar overhead and gasped as she watched a larien circle overhead that was the night to Toressa’s day. Fire shot from his mouth and Bodhe laughed, shaking his head. “Showoff,” he muttered. “Isabelle, meet Sattave,” he said, as he gestured skywards. She was secretly really grateful that hers was so much smaller and didn’t seem to breathe fire. She smiled up at his larien, and then back at Bodhe, excitement overflowing from her. She noticed a ginormous black cloud in the distance then, and realized it wasn’t a cloud at all, but thousands of larien in the distance. Wow.
“I just can’t believe this, thank you. This is the best birthday, ever!” She grabbed Bodhe and jumped into his arms kissing him everywhere on the face. His delighted laughter made her grab his hair and kiss him again, nipping his lips with her teeth as he had to her. She slid slowly down to the ground then, and faced the lariens.
To Mother she bowed again in thanks which was returned by her, and to Toressa, she touched her and whispered, “We will have great adventures together, you and I,” and gave her a light kiss. The larien responded by nudging her softly. Isabel sure didn’t have the slightest idea where sh
e belonged, but she knew she was already in love with Toressa. Irrevocably in love.
“Do you want to know what she transforms into?” he asked with a grin.
“Oh yes, please tell me.”
He spoke in his native tongue and Toressa made a small sound before gliding into the sky on great, expanded wings. She got bigger and stronger as she rose up, her mane and tail turning into silver light that seemed to drop glitter all around her. A silver horn extended then from her forehead too, making her a vision of a unicorn if she’d ever imagined one. Isabel put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from squealing…unsuccessfully.
“No freaking way!” she screamed, jumping up and down. “Oh my God, it can’t be, Bodhe. It can’t. She’s like a dream come true! Really, she’ll let me ride her?”
He had that joyous look on his face again that belied man from boy, “Yes, of course she will. She’s yours until the end of time.”
She jumped up and down like a child and watched Toressa fly around in smooth circles, her stomach in knots. “What if I fall off?” she stammered, a little sickness taking up residence in her due to her fear of heights.
“Impossible. The bond between the larien and their chosen is too strong. A rider has never fallen from one that has chosen them. Now, if you try to mount one that is not yours, that can be tragic,” he replied with a chuckle.
She looked sideways at him. “That I’ll remember. But, it would’ve been good information before, since I almost couldn’t resist the urge to do so when I saw them the other night.”