by Aline Ash
These are hopes I should have ruthlessly stomped out the moment I started to feel them. This is a war, and nothing good ever comes from opening your heart to somebody when life and death are so precariously balanced on a razor’s edge. I knew that and opened myself up to Tulo anyway. If there’s anybody I should be upset with, it’s myself. I knew the risks of getting involved with him, and yet I did it anyway. The pain I’m feeling right now is entirely of my own making.
“Will you come with me?” I ask, taking one last shot. “We can take your sister with us and get out of here.”
He sighs once again and runs a hand over his face. “I do not know, Eva,” he says, his voice deep and choked with emotion. “What if we fail, she is killed, or you are killed? I doubt there is anything I can say or do to convince you to stay, to keep you safe. But I want you to weigh things thoroughly. I understand your choice, but there is nothing left for Daca and me outside Wylto’s compound. At least here we have the hope of seeing each other from time to time.”
I look down at the ground, fighting off the tears that are blurring my vision, and try to ignore the feeling of my heart shattering into a million pieces. I nod, since there is nothing more I can do.
I look around the arboretum and breathe in the heady mix of fragrances that saturate the air around us. As beautiful and aromatic as it is, I wish to breathe free air. I wish to walk among the trees of the Tabia, feel the sun upon my skin, and take in all of the natural beauty of this world, not the beauty that’s been caged and walled in by Wylto.
If I have only a handful of days left with Tulo, I don’t want to spend them arguing. I would rather enjoy and cherish what time we have left together.
I step over to him and stand on my tiptoes, sliding my hand behind his neck, and pull him down into a kiss. He seems taken aback at first and stands where he is, stiff and unyielding. But then he seems to relax, parting his lips and allowing me to slide my tongue into his mouth. Our kiss is deep and passionate, our tongues swirling around one another. He pulls me to him, our kiss growing desperate. Frenzied.
Tulo’s large hand slides up and down my body as he slides the tip of his tongue down my neck, making me shudder beneath his touch. I feel his hard, thick cock pressed against me, and as I look into his eyes and see that softly glowing halo around him, I slip to my knees, pulling his breeches down with me. As I grab hold of his cock, Tulo takes hold of my wrist.
“We might be seen,” he says gently.
“I don’t care.”
Gripping the base of his cock in my fist, I squeeze it for all I’m worth. He moans as I run the tip of my tongue along his shaft. I tease the soft spot beneath the tip with my tongue and I feel the shudders running through his body. I take him into my mouth, sliding as much of him in as I can, then tighten my lips around the shaft. I move my head and hand in unison, sucking and stroking him furiously. If this is to be our last time together, I want it to be memorable.
I swirl my tongue around the head of his staff, the raised ridges along his shaft tickling the palm of my hand. I feel Tulo’s body tense as his breath quickens. I use my other hand to grip his balls firmly and keep sliding my hand up and down his cock as I lick and suck on them. A low, throaty growl passes his lips, and when I look up, I see him watching me closely.
“Eva…”
His groan is sultry and filled with desire, and I feel myself growing wetter by the second. His muscles all tense and I know he’s getting close. Tulo moves to take a step back, but I tighten my grip on his shaft and his balls as I take him back into my mouth, keeping him from going anywhere. I suck him even harder and he lets out a moan that reverberates around the arboretum as he explodes in my mouth. His cock pulses as he fills my mouth with his seed. It’s too much for me to swallow down, and thick, pale blue rivulets slide down my chin, splashing onto my chest.
Tulo looks down at me, his eyes alight with desire as I wipe his spilled cum from my chin. He reaches down and pulls me to my feet, then quickly pushes my own breeches down. I step out of them and he picks me up, setting me down on a broad, flat stone. I part my legs for him as he steps forward, and after a long, lingering kiss, Tulo buries his face between my thighs.
I gasp when his tongue hits my clit and yelp when he nips it with his teeth. My body fills with warmth and goosebumps march up and down my skin as he laps at my pussy with fervor. I cry out as he pushes his tongue past my wet, swollen lips and slips it inside me. He licks and sucks on my pussy wildly, sending wave after wave of sensation rocketing through me.
Reaching down, I grip his fur and pull his face harder against me. He growls and the deep, baritone rumble of his voice against my most intimate parts nearly makes me come on the spot. My body is like a live wire and I throw my head back, crying out as he slips two fingers into me, pumping them in and out as he continues lapping at me.
“Tulo, oh fuck yes…”
As he drives a finger deep into me at the same time, he rolls my clit between his lips, I feel my orgasm crash down over me, pulling me deep beneath the waters of my desire, my entire body bucks and thrashes. I cry out, and with my thighs clamped around his head, hold tight to him, riding out the maelstrom of sensation spinning wildly through me.
My breathing gradually slows, as the intensity of my orgasm fades, but my entire body still tingles. Tulo smiles as he lifts me up, carrying me as if I am light as a feather. He takes me over to a thick, soft patch of purple grass beneath a tree with a wide, green trunk and vivid yellow foliage. He gently lays me down on my back and I smile up at him as he positions himself above me. He braces himself on his arms and I part my legs, allowing him to enter me.
Tulo nestles the head of his stalk between my lips and gently rolls his hips. I close my eyes and bite my bottom lip hard as I revel in the feeling of those raised ridges on his cock sliding along my inner walls. He pushes himself deep into me and holds there for a moment. He’s stretching me wide open and though there’s a slight pinch of pain, I feel weightless at the same time.
He gives me a sultry smile as he starts to move his hips, moving himself inside me. The rush of sensation is powerful and fills me with a surge of electricity that lights me up from the crown of my head to the tip of my toes.
Our bodies move together in a slow, sinuous rhythm. Unlike when we’ve coupled before, Tulo is taking his time. His movements are deliberate and languid. It’s as if he is determined to relish every last moment of us being together.
Tulo holds my eyes with his own and the intensity of his gaze burns through me, heightening the sensations that are coursing through my body. I bite my lip as soft whimpers and moans drift from my mouth. I feel every muscle in my body tensing and the pressure building as Tulo gently thrusts himself even deeper inside me. I turn my head and bite his arm, digging my nails into his skin as it feels like fire is coursing through my veins.
With every thrust, with every movement of those ridges along his shaft gliding along my inner walls, Tulo pushes me toward the brink. He kisses me, forcing his tongue past my lips, swirling it around mine. We remain locked together like that, moving and flowing like water. But then he pushes deep and holds himself within me, the tip of his cock pressed against the button inside me that triggers an explosion unlike any I’ve ever known.
I writhe beneath him, my body bucking and thrashing as I come. I’m shaking so violently I don’t even feel in control of myself. The world about me is spinning wildly and I feel lightheaded. Stars burst behind my eyes, and the long, shuddering cry that escapes me startles a group of birds perched nearby. They take wing noisily, their deep caws sounding somehow disapproving. But I’m wrapped so tightly in a bubble of orgasmic bliss that I don’t care.
Ever so slowly, I’m able to draw breath. And although I continue to see pinpoint bursts of light exploding in my vision, my writhing ebbs and the feeling of being consumed by fire slowly abates.
A few moments later, I’m left looking up at Tulo, my body still tingling, but finally, mercifully, back in control o
f myself again. I look up at him, a watery, wavering smile upon my lips.
“My God, that was incredible,” I say.
Tulo grins at me and slowly starts to move again. I feel his cock swelling and see the desperate need for release in his eyes. A lopsided grin curls the corner of my mouth and I tighten the muscles inside me. My body is still singing with sensation as he moves inside me, and his body is as taut as a drawn bowstring.
Gripping him with my inner muscles again, he lets out a long, slow groan. Tulo pushes himself deeper into me one more time and I can see by the glint in his eye that he’s done. His cock swells once more, and then he bursts. His body is rigid and his entire body shakes as he comes. I lean my head back and close my eyes, reveling in the feel of him spurting his thick, sticky spunk into me.
Sweat dots Tulo’s brow, and he quickly wipes it away and leans down, kissing me once more. His lips linger on mine and I flex my inner muscles, milking him for every last drop of his seed. And when he’s finally spent, he rolls off of me and flops onto his back in the grass beside me.
Neither of us speak for long moments, letting the buzz of the insects and calls of the birds fill the silence between us. He reaches down and takes my hand, interlacing his fingers with mine. I stare up at the sky beyond the sonic shielding of the arboretum. There is so much to be said, but I find that I don’t have the words. I don’t know if there are words to convey the sense of fullness I feel right now, being with him, and the sense of loss I already feel knowing this will end soon.
As I lay there, trying to come to grips with it all, a lone tear slips from the corner of my eye and spills downward.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tulo
Seated in the small antechamber, I listen to the crowd just beyond the door. For so few, they can certainly make a lot of noise. Wylto’s subterranean chamber, built below his manor house, is much smaller than the outdoor pit - the one he’d had me punish Eva and where he entertains all visitors to his estate. He says this chamber is more intimate and only caters to his wealthiest clients.
In my experience, the wealthier the client, the more deranged and bloodthirsty they are. Unlike normal crowds who simply cheer for a well-fought death, these wealthy beings expect savagery and gore. The bloodier, the better.
A shrill bell chimes in the antechamber, letting me know it is almost my time. Getting to my feet, I find my thoughts raging, torn between my sister and Eva. After our tryst in the arboretum a few days ago, the tension between us became too hard to bear. We did not speak much since then, and I can’t help but feel as if we were actually saying goodbye and have already separated our ways.
My mind is in chaos because and I do not know how to feel about it. On the one hand, maybe it is for the best. If, and that truly is a big if, Eva can escape Wylto’s estate, she can go back to the tribe that has accepted her and rejoin the fight. It will ensure that Daca remains safe and unharmed. It will also ensure I am here to continue watching over her and doing what I can to protect her.
On the other hand, though, I cannot deny that I yearn to breathe free air. I long to climb the craggy mountain trails of G’osha land, surrounded by the fragrance of the trees and the earth. I would give almost anything to feel the cool waters of the mountain rivers flowing over my body, or to sit in the natural hot springs that lay within the mountain.
But the G’osha are gone. My home, my family, my whole tribe is gone. And likely, Daca and I are the last of our kind. The last two G’osha that remain in the world. If we attempt to escape and are killed in the process, I would be responsible for the final eradication of our people. Of course, that is only delaying the inevitable. Our people, the G’osha, will die out. With only Daca and I remaining, that is a certainty. But attempting to escape or taking up arms against the Gargolians is only hastening that end.
There is also the implication of what Wylto is attempting to do with me to consider. If I stay and let him continue testing, and he somehow achieves these vaccines Eva spoke of, would I be responsible for the slaughters that would follow? Would it be my fault when he wiped out another species on a world distant from here?
I think so.
Though there is so much to think about and consider, and so much weighing down on me, the one though that cuts through all of the darkness is her. Eva is a bright, shining beacon in the middle of the tempest in my mind. When I think of her, I am filled with nothing but pleasant warmth and a rush of desire. But now, there is an unbearable sadness blended in with it all, knowing that in all likelihood, my time with Eva has come to an end.
A second shrill bell sounds, I step out into the chamber and sigh. There are high walls standing in an oval around the pit that I stand in. It is made of a dark wood, as tough as metal, but is scored deeply in many places - artifacts of the many battles in this pit before my time here. Faces of beings from a variety of different worlds look down at me.
There are several dozen, no more, but their cheering seems louder, somehow more amplified in this enclosed space. The stink of piss and death is also worse, the odors trapped in this subterranean pit of misery, without any fresh air to wash it away. Though Wylto seems cognizant of it and burns heavily scented oils in braziers standing all around the chamber.
A door on the other side of the chamber opens, and two Revians step out, both of them looking fierce and ready for battle. Revians are half my height. They’re slender but muscular, dark-skinned, and have large, red eyes. Revians are known for their ferocity in battle, but they’re not the smartest beings. They charge in when they should hold back, their hyper-aggressiveness overwhelming weaker fights, but it can also get them killed quickly when they’re fighting somebody who knows what they’re doing with a blade in their hand.
Wylto apparently wants to give me a little bit of a challenge, while still ensuring a bloody spectacle for his clients.
The bell chimes once more, and the Revians rush at me, snarling, fury in their eyes. I sigh and step forward, blocking both of their thrusts with ease as I spin to the side and lash out with my foot. I catch the Revian closest to me with a foot in the back and send him sprawling to the sand.
The second is on me in the blink of an eye, but I’m ready for it. I block his slash with my blade and step forward, driving the crossguard of my sword into his face. I hear the sickening crunch of bone giving way beneath the steel and the Revian staggers back, thick green blood flowing from its ruined nose. He clamps a hand over his nose, a wet growl coming from his throat as he narrows his eyes at me, his face twisted with a murderous rage.
I hear the second one rushing me from behind and I spin again, the sharp ring of steel on steel as I block his thrust. As I spin, I slash with my blade and open a gash on its back. It’s blood spills down his body, dotting the sand with its thick green fluid. Surprisingly, they both take a few steps back, seeming to be wary of me. I didn’t think Revians possessed a keen sense of self-preservation.
The crowd around us is howling at the sight of blood on the sand. They're chanting my name, and it is annoyingly thunderous in the small, enclosed chamber. I look around, staring at the faces of so many different species in the stands, and Eva’s words echo through my mind. She had asked me whether or not this was all I wanted…to live my life killing for the amusement of others. Dancing whenever Wylto called the tune. She asked me if this is how I want to spend my days. And her words are louder in my mind now than they were when she first spoke them.
I hear the snarling and spitting of the Revians, and it brings me back to the here and now. I’d let my mind wander and gotten distracted. I spin as I slash out with my blade, but it’s too late and they’re ready for me. I feel the bite of the Revian’s steel as it slashes along my side, opening up a wide gash. The blood is warm as it spills down my side and I grimace, staggering away from them.
The crowd is silent for a moment. This is the first time I’ve ever been blooded so heavily in one of Wylto’s duels. But then they explode in a near frenzy of cheers and applause.
The energy of their excitement, of their desire for blood, increases a hundredfold. To my surprise, Wylto too is cheering them. Is he done with his secret plans for me, or was it all some kind of conspiracy?
Every movement I make sends lightning bolts of pain through me and I turn to face the pair of Revians again. They smell blood and think they’ve weakened me. But although it’s bloody, the wound is not serious. They hit no major organs or arteries. It’s messy, but nothing that can’t be fixed. All they’ve really done is piss me off.
“You have gotten my attention,” I growl. “Now let us finish this.”
The chaotic cheering and the energy of the crowd’s anticipation are building to a fever pitch. The Revians rush forward, all rage and bloodlust, heedless of the danger they’re running into. Heedless of the fact that they will both be dead seconds from now.
I hold my ground as they run at me, both of their swords pointed forward, ready to impale me. I feint a spin to the right and they both bite. As they lunge for where they think I’ll be, I spin the other way and get behind them. With a two-handed grip, I bring the edge of my blade down on the first Revian, cleaving his head in half. The crowd grows wild at the sight of so much blood and brain matter spilling out onto the sand.
I press my hand to the gash in my side and grunt. The pain is a distraction and the loss of so much blood has me feeling a little lightheaded. Gritting my teeth, I stand my ground and wait. I don’t have to wait long as the Revian looks to his dead friend, then turns those baleful eyes on me. In a fit of rage, it charges me.
Given that I’m twice his height, my reach is considerably longer. Tired of the game and needing some medical assistance, I merely straighten my arm and hold the blade out. The Revian tries to stop, but his momentum carries it forward and impales himself on the end of my sword. His eyes grow wide and green blood spills out of his mouth. I step forward and shove my blade deeper into him, watching as the point bursts out of his back.
