by Shea Malloy
My hips buck against him and the moan that rises up in my throat nearly bursts out loud. I grind my teeth together to trap the sounds inside my mouth, my hand fisting his hair as Adan licks me. He spears me with his thick digits, fucking me, his tongue honing in my clit.
After this truly awful day, what Adan’s doing to me feels amazing. Every swipe of his tongue sweeps away the fear and the anger and worry. What’s left in its place is absolute desire and need for this male.
I lean my head back, panting, my lips falling open in a silent cry as my release hits me out of nowhere. Barely supported by the wall, I tremble, gasping Adan’s name. He kneels there between my legs, drinking ever last drop of me greedily until I’m spent.
He stands and I pull him to me immediately, ready to climb him if I have to. I taste myself on his tongue when I kiss him. Eager for the hard length to be free and buried inside me, I work my hands between us to undo the ties on his pants. He laughs softly at my desperation, but it’s cut short by a hiss when my hand encircles his impressive girth.
We groan together. We both need this.
So of course that’s the moment Tess cries out.
We immediately lurch away from each other, putting ourselves together hastily.
“Stay here,” Adan says. “It could be the creature has returned.”
He’s only gone a short moment before he returns.
“There is no threat, but she fights in her sleep.”
“She’s having a nightmare.” I say, hurrying over to Tess. “She’s had them since the attack.”
Adan nods in understanding. “Do you need anything?”
Only you.
My body definitely agrees, but I know that that opportunity has already sailed by. At least for tonight.
“I just need to comfort her.”
Adan smiles. Then he cups my face, the desire still evident in his gaze.
“We will resume where we left off another night.”
With that delicious promise, he leaves the den.
13
Adan
—
Kneeling before one of the members of the Holy Order, I accept the oath and become the official Konai of Seca.
When I stand, it’s to cheers of joy. It is an overwhelming experience. The furs that sit on my shoulders were those my father and his father wore on their Oath Day ceremony. Nevertheless, I feel like an impostor.
This is not my place, says a voice. Yet I survey the many faces of my people and there are only smiles of pride. They press their hands to their chests in a low and respectful bow, accepting me as their leader. They are all aware of how I came to be the Konai, but none look at me with judgement or hatred.
Amid the sea of faces, Xia’s shine the brightest. My first inclination is to step toward her, but I am swarmed by many of my people who thank me for finally accepting my role as Konai. Their gratitude is so immense that I am ashamed it has taken me this long to overcome my doubts of taking the oath.
The deaths of our drakila has cast a pall over our community. So I pushed those doubts aside and took the oath to restore my people’s faith. To make them feel grounded and secure.
“Thank you, niha. Your toha would have been proud if he were still among us,” says my mother as she embraces me and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
For the first time since my father passed away, she is not dressed in black, but her favourite ruby-coloured robe. She has always loved that robe since toha—in a rare moment of husbandly love—purchased them for her as an anniversary gift during a trip in Naveth.
“I am glad you have finally accepted your place.” Then she smiles. “Now your next journey is to find a Konai sa.”
“And as a proper Konai, I don’t think that will be too much of a hardship, ah?” Figor says with a laugh as he joins us.
I shake my head in exasperation even if a small smile tugs at my lips.
“Let me overcome one momentous occasion before harassing me into another one.”
“I will return soon. I’m going to check on Zavi. He will be upset that he has missed the ceremony.”
Kaha leaves me with Figor. In the silence between the two of us, I focus on Xia as she converses with Tess and a Secan female. In her short stay, she has made friends, many who speak highly of her too. Dressed beautifully in a teal-coloured robe, she stands out with her dark hair among the white-haired Secan people surrounding her.
“You know, you can always tell when Lim is hungry,” says Figor. “She gets this evil glint in her eyes and her body becomes tense. Sometimes, she’ll stalk someone with just her gaze. Fixes her beady little blue eyes on them and follows their every move as if she’s fantasizing on pouncing on them.”
I frown. “Lim has never hurt anyone. She has been trained only to hunt hares and dunnya.”
“I know that but it isn’t why I am telling my story.” He grins. “What I am trying to say is you resemble Lim right now, the way you are looking at the human female.”
I return Figor’s grin sheepishly.
“She is my asafura.” I have not admitted this to anyone until now.
Figor’s eyebrows climb. “A human?” He shakes his head. “Kahafura has a love for the unexpected. I wouldn’t mind a human as my mate, but I hope the dragon mother does not decide to test my faith by pairing me with a fish. I have stuck my cock in many unsavoury places but some lines must be drawn.”
We laugh together and I’m reminded of our several aimless, uncouth conversations when we worked together.
“She will make a good Konai sa.”
“If she stays. I do not think she will.”
“Look at those lights.”
He indicates the lights appended to the walls that Xia has constructed with the help of the people in Vyaka. She has worked tirelessly these past few days since Zavi’s attack, using Vyaka’s heated pool as an energy source to power the lights. There has been no attacks since the lights went up and there’s a tentative hope among the people that peace and safety has been restored. Yet I am not convinced. I need to see the monster dead before my own eyes. So I continue my searches, hoping to find its hiding place.
“Why would she go through so much trouble for no benefit?”
“Because she has a good heart.”
“There’s that naivete coming out again, ta Konai.”
“Her father was murdered by a rur draki. She has not said it, but I sense she harbours some resentment to our kind because of it. When her friend is well enough to walk, she will leave.”
“Have faith, my friend.” He slaps my back. “No female can walk away from a handsome bastard like you, ah.”
Figor says nothing more on the matter and this pleases me. I don’t want to think about whatever the future holds regarding Xia and I. For now, she is here and I will enjoy her presence. While it pulls at me to reveal the truth, I know she is not ready to hear it. I don’t want to admit it, but I am fearful of Xia’s rejection.
The evening celebration is filled with a joy the Secan people have not felt in some time. Many instances I attempt to approach Xia, but I’m accosted by someone wanting to congratulate me or strike up conversation.
By the time I’m free, Xia is nowhere to be seen. Retrieving a few sweet buns Zavi likes, I decide to visit him too. I’m surprised to find Xia and my mother seated together in the Sohin family den my mother shares with Zavi.
Zavi is half-asleep on his bed. He is getting stronger each day. The monster’s attack took a significant toll on his young body, stealing much of his blood. He has not acquired the Shift yet, so his healing is not as quick as a Shifted draki.
“Rah,” he says, perking up. Xia and my mother turn at his call. Xia gives me a quick smile, her beauty inspiring a quick tightening sensation in my chest as hunger for her comes alive in an instant spark. The memories of her scent and her taste as I pressed my face between her legs have not dimmed in their clarity. I’ve replayed them several times in my head.
“Look at what I brought for yo
u, Zavi,” I say, handing him the buns.
His small face lights up as bright as the lights outside the den. Kaha frowns, and I know her well enough to hear her questioning the wisdom of Zavi consuming sweets in bed, but she relents without saying a word.
“Now that you’re really the Konai,” he says, one cheek stuffed full of the bun, “you’re going to ban tutors, right, rah?”
“Of course,” I nod emphatically. “I’m going to put an immediate end to that nonsense called learning. Nobody needs it.”
Laughing, Xia stands.
“I should head back and check on Tess. She’s probably asleep after all that wine she had at the party.”
As she leaves, I hasten my goodbye to Zavi and my mother. There’s a curve to my mother’s lips because she knows I want to be in Xia’s company. Truth be told, I’m certain that while they don’t know the whole truth, most of Vyaka is aware that Xia means more to me than just a human stranger I decided to give refuge.
“I know my way around now,” Xia says, smiling. “Sort of. I don’t need a guide anymore.”
“I don’t intend to be your guide.” Taking her hand I turn her away from the path that leads to the den she shares with her friend onto the path that leads to mine. “I made a promise to you a few nights ago. Tonight I plan to fulfil it.”
14
Xia
—
Standing in Adan’s den for the first time, I look around.
The fire pit is lit already, bathing the room in a warm, orange glow. On one wall is an array of deadly, vicious weapons. Clearly Adan has a hobby—collecting lethal devices created for the sole purpose of killing.
Everything here is large, perhaps to accommodate his size. From the room, to the furniture, to the bed.
My gaze lingers on the soft, inviting furs and my face heats at thought of lying there.
With him.
Beneath him.
“You definitely look like a proper Konai now,” I say, indicating his fur-lined jacket. It makes him look taller. Bigger. Fierce. Definitely like a warrior who’ll take what he wants, no questions asked.
The thought sends a little thrill through me.
“I do not feel like one.”
“Why?”
His smile dims. “I had a twin. Dwen.” He speaks slowly, watching me closely as if he’s waiting for me to bolt once he’s finished speaking. “Our father trained us both. But since only one could take the title, he had us fight for the title. Dwen… was determined to win at all costs, and I was determined to keep my life.” He cups my face in his big hand. “I lost the ability to shift that day until I found you. This is what I meant when I said my dragon woke up for you.”
“You really weren’t talking about your penis?” I smile then I step closer and press my hand to his chest. “I’m sorry you had to lose your brother this way, but I’m glad you were the victor.”
Adan regards me for a moment then embraces me, pulling me close to him. When he bends his head to claim my mouth in a kiss, I raise up on my toes to meet it. Wrapping my arm around his neck, I welcome his lips against mine. The kiss rapidly turns deeper and hungrier as he undoes the ties securing my robe.
I’m completely naked in his arms and he shows his appreciation by grabbing my bottom and squeezing me firmly against him. I let out a soft whimper when his cock, rigid and large, presses against my stomach through his clothes. Then he trails a hand over the curve of my bottom and up my back to my neck and into my hair. Bunching my hair in his fist, he tugs my head back and drags his lips down my neck.
I’m on fire. His touch his scalding, lighting an arousal so intense inside me, it terrifies me.
Every bit of me belongs to this powerful male, and that’s another thought that terrifies me too.
He walks me backward to his bed and lets me sink down onto the fur. I lay back, watching him with anticipation as he removes is own clothing too. His gaze is trained on me as he does so. When he’s naked, I drink in his magnificent body greedily.
He’s hard, toned perfection. His length and girth is as breath-stopping as the first time I saw it. Felt it.
I’m compelled to sit up, to reach for him and stroke him. Adan groans, grasping my hand in his and pushing me back down on top of the bed. Lying on top of me, he attacks me with more hungry kisses. I reciprocate eagerly, caught between wanting more and feeling like more is still not enough.
He rains kisses over my chest, cupping one of my breasts so he could suck the other. I buck and squirm beneath him, whimpering with abandon. I’m not sure I can handle waiting any longer for him to fill me. And as if he knows this and feels the same way, he moves between my legs.
I’m already so wet that when he enters me, it does not take much for him to drive into me entirely. We groan from the satisfaction of finally coming together after being denied our moment days ago.
He nuzzles my neck and I hold him to me as he moves inside me. Like our first time, I’m stretched by his impressive size but it feels so amazing.
He increases his pace and it’s exactly what I need. Adan claims my mouth in another demanding kiss, thrusting into me. I arch my body to meet every one, moaning softly into his mouth. He pounds into me and I feel my climax surging toward me, heat spreading throughout my body.
“You’re mine, Xia,” he says softly against my lips.
“Yes, Adan… yes…I’m yours…” I gasp.
Adan’s mouth is at my neck, licking there. Then I let out a cry of shock and pain when he bites me. The stinging pain is brief, replaced by a powerful wave of warmth and pleasure. I clamp down on Adan so tight that I hear him groan as he finds his release too.
In the aftermath as we recover, I hold him to me.
I’ve been kidding myself. Lying to myself. Hiding from the truth. In a short space of time, this rur draki has become so important to me.
I want this male. Not just for now. I want him in my life permanently.
And of all the scary thoughts that’s the scariest one of them all.
15
Adan
—
Just as I suspected, the monster still exists. In fact, it has company.
Due to Xia’s ingenious plan with the lights keeping them at bay, it seems the monsters have become desperate for blood. As Figor and I travel through the tunnels from a return trip to one of Seca’s provinces, four of them appear before us, screeching.
Figor and I barely have time to withdraw our weapons before they’re upon us. This is the first I’ve encountered one and I remember Xia’s description of them. No faces, just a hole for them to latch on and suck the blood out of one’s body.
They are slimy and cold to the touch, hunched but incredibly quick. We are not afforded a chance to create a safur so that it might ward them off. Instead Figor and I fight them off with our bare hands. Yet they are resilient to our attacks, taking our punches and kicks with ease.
Pushing them back, I’m given a chance to grab my knife. I race forward and stab one in the chest, but the sensation is as if I’ve sunk my blade into thick liquid. There’s no impact, no sense of flesh being torn. The creature makes no sounds of pain. It pushes forward into my blade, its blunt fingertips scrabbling desperately for my face in preparation to steal my blood.
This is enough. I shift into my dragon, the fire rising from my belly and out of my mouth to burn these monsters. I destroy three of them immediately, the fourth acknowledges that I am far stronger now and takes flight.
I follow after it as quick as I can but the space is cramped. When I am too large to fit I return to my primary form and give chase on foot. If anything, I will let the creature lead me to where more of its kind are located so I can rid Seca of their presence once and for all.
Figor races after me too as we follow the skittering monster through the serpentine tunnels. We hit a fork and Figor and I each take a path hurrying forward. However the creature is too fast. Despite our pursuit and lengthy searching, it escapes.
Figor and I hea
d back to where we first encountered them but there is nothing there.
I return to my den in a dark mood, angered that I was unable to learn these monsters’ hiding place.
As I’m preparing to undress, Xia enters my den. The sight of her washes away my anger immediately. It both amazes and disturbs me the kind of power this small, delicate human female has over me.
A few nights ago, I gave her the claiming bite, sealing her as mine forever. She also knows what I did to Dwen and she still accepted me, still held me in her arms and gave herself to me. Perhaps it is time I tell her the truth of what she is to me.
But her impassive features and stiff shoulders give me pause. I frown as I approach her. Something isn’t right. The morning after our very first intimate encounter, she behaved similarly. This wall of indifference as she tried to push me away and leave.
“I’m leaving,” she says with no preamble.
Those words have as much power as a physical strike, stunning me into momentary speechlessness.
“Tess is still healing from her injuries,” I say, recovering. “A new journey might hinder the process.”
“She’s better now. Medic Olhun said so. She can use her arm and leg without much pain.” She shrugs. “So it’s time for us to go.”
“Your decision seems sudden.” I say tightly. “What occurred that has made you choose to leave?”
“It isn’t safe here. There’s a bloodsucking monster hidden away in Vyaka.”
“There hasn’t been an attack since you constructed the lights.” I don’t mention that I just returned from battling four of them. I don’t want to give credence to her argument. “It is still winter. It will not be safe for you and Tess outside of Vyaka when you are not accustomed to the cold.”
“I made some friends during my stay here. I managed to hitch a ride for me and Tess. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.” She opens her mouth, shuts it, then shakes her head. “I just thought it would be polite to let you know, ta Konai. Thanks for your generosity.”
