by Ophelia Bell
And all of it was down there, if he could only find the way to let go and fly.
A loud trumpeting blasted through his thoughts, and he opened his eyes. There at the edge of the falls, half-shrouded in mist, a massive, golden-winged shape appeared. Aurum in all her dragon glory, hovering just before him.
“I will carry you. Please come.” She hovered closer, reaching out her talons to him.
Behind him, Assana cursed incessantly.
“No,” he said, his entire body shaking from fear. “I can do this.”
With a stomach churning as violently as the water around him, he bent his knees and braced himself. He fixed his gaze on hers, forcing himself to lock onto her and not look away while he pushed off of the rock in a strong leap. Aurum threw her head back and let out a sonorous call into the sky.
Gravity took him as he sailed over the edge, his heart in his throat, pounding so hard he feared his head might explode.
As the white rush of the waterfall flew past, Aurum’s golden shape caught up to him, soaring down just before him. She turned in the air so she faced him as she shifted, until she was only the woman with golden wings shining from the water that coated them.
“I love you!” she yelled, but he could barely hear her over the roar of the falls, and then the icy wetness of the river engulfed him again.
He’d done it. He’d flown, for her. And for Calder. Thoughts of them both filled his mind as he kicked his legs to try to resurface, but the force of the water had other ideas.
“Do not fight it,” Assana’s voice said from the depths. “Let the River take us in. There is only one way to go now. Relax, Nicholas.”
He let his body go slack and the River pushed him along. A hand slid into his and he turned his head to the side to see Aurum’s golden hair flowing out behind her as the currents took them. She smiled at him, and he rejoiced.
Several moments later, Assana grabbed his other hand and pulled, directing them away from the route the ursa ahead of them were being carried. Nicholas’s side grazed smooth stone and the current they were caught in slowed, the water growing darker.
Finally, the constant pull and tug of the water ceased, and he swam to the surface of what appeared to be a large, dark cave. Outside the mouth of the cave were more rocks with water trickling down over every surface and vines hanging from above.
“You idiots!” Assana yelled. “By Dionysus’s balls, you’d think I wasted my time trying to explain what was at stake here. I want my brother to be happy, but why the fuck did he have to love two such insufferable fools? What the hell am I going to do with you?”
“We made it in!” Nicholas said, still buzzed from the jump and the swim.
Assana glared at him. “I could’ve made excuses for your sorry ass coming in without being on the list. That’s only the smallest issue. It’s her!” She pointed at Aurum, who stood in the shallow water with an anxious look.
“What about her?” Nicholas asked. “She was on the list, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah, as an eligible ursa male. Not as a fucking dragon. I doubt any of the ursa who came in with us saw that show she put on out there, but you can bet your ass all the Sanctuary guards got a good look. What do you think is going to happen when they report back to the Queen that one of the dragons snuck past and made it into the Haven? Just pray that I can keep her presence secret from my mother until we can see if this mating exchange goes smoothly. We need this to happen. And you …” She turned to face Aurum. “Get your pretty little dragon ass back into your man shape, sister. Pronto.”
She dove beneath the water and swam away, then back, and Nicholas soon got the sense she was just pacing to blow off steam.
“I’m sorry about that,” Aurum said softly. “I didn’t want you to have to dive without me, and there was only one way back up the falls after I went over. It was a dumb move.”
He gave her a grateful smile. “I’m glad you were there. And thank you for letting me do it on my own.”
Assana popped her head out of the water long enough to spew a string of curses before she swam away again.
“I guess you’d better get back into your man shape, Sunshine,” Nicholas said with a grin.
Chapter Thirty-One
Calder
Calder paced the wide balcony outside his quarters, waiting for word from his sister that her trip to the ursa Sanctuary had gone off without a hitch. She’d been gone two weeks, which had been the plan, but after the crazed display of sexual need she’d shown in the Diviner’s lair, he was worried she’d be able to pull off the mission to escort dozens of virile ursa males into the Haven without incident.
He kept reminding himself that she had things under control, including her libido, at least as long as she didn’t take her primal form while she was out there. She’d always been very deliberate in her actions, even as a child, which often was evidenced by her elaborate plots to flout their mother’s rules, or generally get into trouble while still skirting any actual punishment.
What really irritated him was that Nyx had forbidden him from joining Assana on this trip. He should have been allowed to go, but his mother no doubt saw through his request, realizing that the second he was allowed to set foot outside the Haven, he’d be off hunting for the lost Thiasoi.
She was right, so he was grateful for his devious sister’s presence, as well as her very logical argument in favor of letting her make the trip. If they were trying to entice the ursa males to mate with them, what better lure than one of the most beautiful nymphs in the Haven?
It still made him itch to have to wait for any news. He honestly couldn’t give a shit about the ursa males who came in, other than the fact that their presence would give him some reprieve from the incessant advances of nymphs trying to bed him. He just wanted word from the outside world, even if “outside” was relative. The ursa Sanctuary was freedom as far as he was concerned, though they were a bubble unto themselves.
Who was he kidding? He’d just wanted to go in the hopes of seeing Nicholas, at least. The young ursa had to have made it home by now.
A combination of deep longing and pride squeezed at his chest. How had Nicholas fared? Had he found his mother, learned his ursa name?
Once Calder found Nicholas, he liked to imagine the pair of them heading out again to hunt for their enemy together, to make her pay for leaving them to die in the dark, along with all the other horrors she’d brought to their worlds. But ever since his visit to the Diviner, that fantasy had changed. Instead, he imagined himself and his closest friend and lover seeking out the dragon Glade in the hopes of finding the golden-haired female the River had shown him so long ago, and whose gentle touch he still felt from the fateful day of their first meeting.
Now that he knew there was a way for him to be with her, she was all he thought of, all he wished for. With Nicholas by his side, he’d find a way to fulfill his vow and mate her at the same time. He had to.
Except that as long as his mother refused to let him leave, all he had was the promise of his sister’s tales after she returned from her trip. If this initial mating trade with the ursa went well, he’d try to convince Nyx again to loosen her reins on him. Once he was free of this place, he knew he’d be hard-pressed to return—not unless his mother somehow saw reason again. With any luck, if he found the lost Thiasoi—and his father—alive, that would turn her around.
He clenched his fists at the fresh reminder of how powerless he was against her. Gritting his teeth, he turned on his heels and headed back across the balcony for another lap, wishing his sister would return soon. She’d said sunset, and it was an hour past. The conspicuous absence of the trio of nymphs who usually came to keep him company was enough of a signal that something was happening in the Haven, though he hadn’t had any official word yet. He hadn’t exactly been approachable for the past two weeks, and his quarters were off the beaten path, so anyone
likely to tell him the news would have had to seek him out deliberately.
Movement caught his eye from the verdant shadows at the edge of the grotto. At this time of evening, the filtered twilight from above was nearly absent, the entire Haven gradually becoming lit from beneath in the eerie, green glow of the magic-infused mosses and sprites that made their homes in the plants.
When his eyes adjusted to the distant darkness, he frowned at the three figures making their way along the boardwalk path.
Not so lucky on the annoying nymph front, he supposed. If his usual trio of suitors were coming to share a meal with him, he hoped they’d brought their own food. Maybe tonight they’d share a bottle of Dionysian wine with him, and Assana could join them when she arrived to share her news.
Something wasn’t quite right about the profiles of two of the figures, and he squinted into the darkness to try to make out more details. One was very definitely female, and his heartbeat sped up when he recognized the familiar head tilt and swift, sure gait of his sister.
But the other two figures … If his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, they both looked distinctly male. Not only were they male, but they carried the muscular bulk that could only belong to ursa males. One like Nicholas. And both had pale hair that seemed to glow, even from this distance.
He gripped the railing and nearly toppled over it trying to see more clearly, unsure if he should believe his eyes.
It couldn’t fucking be … Even if Nicholas had made it home and was there when his sister arrived and made her offer, how could he have forgiven Calder for what he’d done? Not a day had gone by since they’d parted when Calder didn’t think about his ursa lover and regret the decision he’d made out of fear and uncertainty. They should have stayed together, but Calder was too terrified of breaking his vow upon returning to the Haven, and of being forced to recognize the strength of the bond he’d made with Nicholas over their years in captivity. They were melded more deeply than most, but without the official recognition of the Diviner, they weren’t technically mated by nymphaea standards, even if the nymphaea chose to recognize a bond between two males.
The closer the three figures came, the more certain he was, and the more his disbelief was replaced with pure and utter joy. They rounded the path and came into the glow of the lights from inside Calder’s quarters, and he moved to stand at the top of the steps, aching to run to his lover, but feeling the need to show some self-restraint too.
Then he glanced at the other male and realized the pair were holding hands, and both of them had anxious, expectant looks on their faces. A surge of raw jealousy gripped Calder in an icy fist, and he barely responded when Assana bounded up the steps and threw her arms around him.
“I’m back, brother mine, and I have a surprise for you! Gaia’s tits, what’s gotten into you? No gratitude for your sister? Look who’s here!”
Calder’s eyes met Nicholas’s and hot longing spread through him, almost melting away the sick feeling he had at seeing his lover holding hands with someone else. He barely gave the other man a glance, but something in the golden gaze directed back at him made him do a double-take.
He narrowed his eyes.
“Have we met?” he asked in a gruff, tense voice.
The man opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Assana’s hand going up in a silencing gesture.
“Not here, boys and girls. You’re going to want to take this conversation inside, I promise you.” She nudged Calder through his door, and the other two men followed them into Calder’s living room. “Close the shutters, while you’re at it. I am going to go report to mother now. Nicholas, as far as old Nyxie’s concerned, I am getting to know you a little better in case I might like to choose you as a mate, but it won’t work out, for obvious reasons … You kids have fun!”
She gave Nicholas a peck on the cheek, hugged the other male warmly while whispering something in his ear, then turned to Calder.
“You owe me big time, brother. I’ll come check on you tomorrow.”
Calder stood, silently staring at the two men while Assana swiftly closed all his shutters and then left them alone, shutting his front door behind her.
“Do you think it’s safe?” the blond-haired mystery man asked.
“No time like the present,” Nicholas said. “I think if you don’t hurry up, he might try to strangle you.”
“If you’d just explain …” Calder began, but the words died on his lips as the unfamiliar ursa’s face and body shimmered with inner light. He shrank by about a foot, his bulk rearranging into more feminine curves. His hair lengthened and curled, and his beard disappeared to reveal a beautiful—and very familiar—face.
A buzzing sense of disbelief began in Calder’s belly and rose up to his skull, drawing tears from his eyes. Standing before him was the golden beauty from his visions. The woman the River had shown him, and who Fate had intended for him.
“Hi,” she said, giving him a tentative smile.
“Hi yourself,” he replied and took a step closer. He reached up and cupped her cheek, staring into her golden eyes. “Holy shit, is it really you?” Turning to look at Nicholas, he said, “Did you do this? Bring her to me?”
Nicholas chuckled, “It was a mutual effort. I guess you could say we brought each other.”
Mirth bubbled up in Calder’s chest and he tilted his head back and laughed out loud. Clamping his other hand at the back of Nicholas’s neck, he pulled the other man into a hungry kiss.
“Gaia, I have missed you,” he said when they parted, their foreheads still pressed together. Then he turned to Aurum and focused on her fully. He took a deep breath, recalling the words he’d rehearsed in his mind thousands of times over the past month since he’d left her.
“Aurum, please forgive me for what I must have put you through. I was wrong, so fucking wrong to do what I did.”
She smiled and dipped her head. “Water under the bridge.”
“Not enough,” he said. “If it takes me the rest of my life, I will make it up to you.” He gazed earnestly into her eyes, and was met with a look of such longing he thought he may have stumbled across the perfect emotional mirror in her gaze.
Aurum’s chest rapidly rose and fell beneath the sheer gown that had taken shape to cover her when she’d shifted. Her breathing quickened even further when he moved closer, craving more of her contact.
This woman was almost all he’d dreamed of in decades. If he wasn’t careful, he would fall so deep into her his vow would be history. But one night of lovemaking wouldn’t destroy him. He needed one night. Maybe two. And if he hadn’t come up with a solution to his dilemma by then, he would have to tell her the truth of why he left her to begin with.
Turning to Nicholas with a feverish look, he said, “Remember our dreams?”
The other man’s gaze darkened and he nodded, moving into place behind Aurum and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. For nearly two hundred years the two of them had loved each other, but Calder never kept secret the existence of his future mate. Aurum had been a feature of their lovemaking almost the entire time. They’d shared dreams in their meldings of making love to her together.
Tonight those dreams would come true.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Aurum
Strong fingers tugged at the strap of Aurum’s gown, Nicholas’s lips sliding along her shoulder while Calder’s pressed against her mouth again. Sandwiched between the two, with their hard shafts digging into her front and back, her core heated with a flood of desire.
They were here. She was finally with the men she loved. Together at last.
Sighing with pleasure, she let herself be pulled back against Nicholas by her shoulders while he pushed her dress down over her breasts. He cupped both heavy orbs, flicked his thumbs lightly over their tips, and lifted them up.
Calder bent his head and sucked at each offered nippl
e, swirling his tongue around and around, then ending with a hard suck before he bent lower in front of her. He took over undressing her while Nicholas resumed his gentle attention of her breasts. She craned her head around and kissed him hard, her body aching for them both so much that she couldn’t bear to go a second without showing him.
Calder finished stripping her, then stood and took her hand. He stepped away, tugging her along behind him toward a wide chaise near the shuttered windows—the closest piece of furniture at hand.
She sat while both men stripped. Once naked, the pair of them reached for each other, their desperation and loss apparent from the heavy waves of their auras as they kissed like they’d been starved for one another. Their emotions flooded Aurum’s senses, bringing tears to her eyes. She briefly considered leaving them alone so they could have a proper reunion, but before the decision could gain purchase, Calder was kneeling in front of her, his hands on her knees, gazing up at her with open wonder.
Nicholas slipped onto the chaise to sit behind her, bracketing her hips with his thighs. She saw Calder give him a little nod, which made her suddenly feel as though this event were being choreographed.
“What’s happening here?” she asked. “I feel like I missed something.”
Calder smiled. “We’re no strangers to ideas about how we’d make love to you together,” he said. “We did have almost two centuries to plan this, after all.”
Aurum flushed. “You can’t read my mind, can you? Because Nicholas and I had the same ideas about you …”
