by Missy Jane
Man and horse were directly in front of the tree when a scurrying creature ran up to them. The man glanced down and chuckled before saying something she couldn’t hear. A pet? That seemed unlikely for such an intimidating person, but it appeared to be true when the small creature fell into step beside him. Darkness hid the features of his face other than a short beard, and his shaggy hair didn’t move with the breeze. It was dark but not black. It almost appeared to be gray. She watched in fascination as they continued on past her hiding spot without so much as a hitch in their step.
Albain waited until they were well out of sight before speaking. “That was one of the Masters.”
“Masters?”
“The Gargoyle Masters of Halstrid. Protectors of the realm and faithful servants to King Kadmos. They are a dangerous breed.”
She peered at the road again as if she could still see the fascinating man and his four-legged companions. A gargoyle. She’d thought they were myths made up by bored mothers in the fishing village.
“He’s far from home,” Albain said. “I wonder why.”
“Are they friendly?”
“Oh aye, very friendly until you do something they don’t like. Then they turn deadly in the blink of an eye. It’s best to steer clear of those creatures. You never know what one’s thinking.”
She shivered, remembering the size of the man, and quietly made her way back to where she’d slept. The night wasn’t cold but the campfire had been soothing and had given her a sense of security the darkness quickly stole. What if the gargoyle came back?
Albain moved closer and appeared to be gathering his things. Her pulse leapt at the idea of being left alone. “Are you leaving?”
He paused and looked at her, though the dim light hid his expression. “Yes. Where a Gargoyle is, I’d rather not be. He’s far from home which spells trouble. I’ve had enough trouble in my life.” Then he went back to gathering his few belongings.
He didn’t rush but she panicked anyway and jumped to her feet. Her few things were on her body or in her small pack. She shouldered it quickly and stood waiting when he finally straightened. He looked her over but said nothing as, with staff in hand, he turned toward the forest and began walking parallel to the road. She followed in silence. They made their way in the direction of the Bogs of Tristitia. She’d never traveled that far before, staying in the Outlands her whole life. Though her mother said she’d been born in Halstrid, Theda had never seen anything north of the Rim.
“It will be light soon and perhaps we can travel on the road again,” Albain said quietly.
She nodded her agreement and stayed one step behind him.
* * * * *
Kephas remained perched high above in the strongest and tallest oak he could find. The branches creaked in protest and he gently unfolded his wings for balance. He watched the woman and the cloaked figure walk through the trees and wondered at the strange impulse he had to follow.
Never before had he so immediately been intrigued by a female. It was daunting to know he’d veered away from his task to watch this one. He’d almost missed her and her companion hiding among the trees. As he’d led Triton and Giga down the road an unsettling panic had gripped him. He’d frozen and waited for it to pass or for another creature to come flying out of the gloom of dawn. When nothing happened he’d tethered Triton to a tree and told Giga to stay. Then he took to the sky as quietly as possible, hovering over the woods in search of what had unsettled him.
His gut had tightened in apprehension, as if he had missed something along the way, and the need to fly back over his path became overwhelming. He did so and found his current perch. Then he waited.
It didn’t take long to see movement below and realize what he was seeing. A woman traveling with a companion. But what was calling to him? He couldn’t tell the gender of the cloaked form, but his attention kept straying toward the woman. What was this strange and unexpected malady? He shook his head hard to clear it but the feeling remained. Though he was strong-willed enough to force himself away, he didn’t want to.
After an internal debate, he forced himself from the tree. He had a task to complete regardless of the mysterious female below. There were two other females he needed to find. That thought brought him up short. How did he know they weren’t the same? Taking almost no time to decide, he returned to Triton and Giga and turned them back to the path they’d just traveled. Neither creature seemed bothered by the change.
He was certainly bothered by it, and fought himself every step of the way, but he couldn’t fight his instincts. They were clamoring for him to follow the mysterious woman and her companion regardless of his given task. If the fates were with him he would find her and the cloaked figure to be the missing Queen and Princess. Why they were hiding in the woods was a mystery, but he knew leaving them to their stealth was the best way to proceed. If they’d welcomed strangers, they would have been on the road.
He followed them to the edge of the forest and looked up at the rising sun with dismay. The road through the Bogs was clear of any foliage. It was possible a mist still clung low to the ground, but he wouldn’t know until his feet were already on the path. His best bet was to let them gain a fair distance before following. He looked down at Giga who was sniffing nearby wildflowers.
“No chance of losing them, eh? There’s no other way through and veering from the path will put them in the bogs themselves.”
Giga looked up and nodded as if it understood. Maybe it did. Kephas wondered just how smart the creature could be.
“Bogsssss baaaaadddd,” Giga said with another nod. Then it went back to sniffing wildflowers.
Kephas chuckled and took a moment to drink from his waterskin. He ate some dried beef while Triton grazed and Giga rolled through the grass. After Kephas was sure enough time had passed, he grabbed the reins again and returned to the path. “All right, enough stalling.”
They set out to follow the mysterious woman and her equally mysterious companion.
Albain knew Kephas followed behind them but didn’t know what to do about it. Confronting a Master had never been in his plans. He only hoped Kalypso and her friend were still on schedule and would be at his disposal once they reached Pastel. He’d have to incapacitate Theda before then. One look at the fiery redheaded Kevan and Theda would know he wasn’t her friend.
He hadn’t meant for Kalypso to kill Feshara, and the Kevan definitely had some explaining to do on that score. But at least now Theda was on the run and desperate for help.
A smile spread across his face. His plans were finally coming to fruition. Months had passed since he’d been ejected from the Twenty. Some days he’d hoped would end with his passing into the spirit realm, but then he’d remember himself, remember what he was meant to be.
The remaining wizards may think they had an eye on him but he knew better. Once they’d stripped him of his magic they had lost all interest in what he was doing. They no longer considered him a threat. He had made his way south to the little fishing village in the Outalnds, and waited.
Now, at last, his waiting was almost at an end. He could feel the magic returning to his quickly aging body. Once it did, the wizards, gargoyles, and the King of Halstrid himself would be sorry. They had underestimated him for the last time. He would make certain they paid. And all thanks to one long-lost little princess.
He glanced at Theda and gave her a smile of appreciation. Surprise registered on her face before she smiled weakly back. He chuckled to himself. So innocent and so trusting. She would make an excellent bride…
…but an even better sacrifice.
Chapter Six
Wynn held Zephara’s hips and groaned. She was killing him. First she had surprised him by vanishing both of their clothes with a thought. Now she was using her womanly wiles rather than her magic, but still amazing him with every heartbeat.
Her tinkling laughter b
rought a smile to his lips and he opened his eyes. “By the Gods you’re beautiful.”
Her smile froze and slowly faded. “I could say the same of you.”
“Oh?” He ran his hands down her hips to her thighs and squeezed the firm flesh. “If you don’t move soon I might die.”
Her smile returned and she flexed her inner muscles to grip his cock. He hissed out a curse in the language of his kin and fought the urge to roll her under him and take over. He’d been the one in control in the bedroom since their first time together. Now it was her turn.
“What was that?” she asked.
“What?”
“What you said. What language was that?”
He shook his head and tried to think clearly enough to answer. “Ours. My brothers. And mine. Wizards taught us.”
“Ah. Then perhaps I’ll learn it soon.”
He grunted and wondered how she could string a whole sentence together when he was having trouble remembering his own name. Obviously he wasn’t doing something right. He slid his hands back up her legs to where their bodies met and slipped his thumbs to rest on her skin. He found the spot of her greatest pleasure and began to rub.
“Oh!” She shivered and threw her head back as he set to pleasuring her with both fingers and cock.
“That’s right,” he said. “Feel me inside you, Zephara. Feel what I do to you.”
“Yes…yes.”
Watching the ecstasy on her face almost pushed him over the edge. His breath caught at the sight as if it was the first time, though they’d been indulging in each other for weeks. They were at the fourth wizard’s castle, Gregori’s, and had spent every night in each other’s arms, but Wynn almost felt as if it wasn’t enough.
“Wynnston, follow me,” she gasped. “Come with me to paradise.”
He gripped her hip with one hand while the other continued pleasuring her most sensitive spot. Then he thrust more vigorously, lifting his hips from the bed. She called out his name and climaxed. Two thrusts later he followed her. Pure bliss filled him as it did every time he came within her sweet, willing body.
She collapsed onto his chest and sighed in contentment. “Perfection.”
“Yes, you are,” he agreed.
She usually laughed when he said such things. This time she lifted her head and rested her chin on a fist as she gazed at him. “Do you truly think so?”
“Of course I do.”
A skeptical look crossed her face even as his hands continued to roam over her body. She smiled weakly. “I’m glad you do.”
“You don’t look glad. What ails you, sweetness?”
She hesitated and looked away, something he wasn’t used to from the usually confident woman. Fear gripped him and he wondered if this was the beginning of the end. Was she about to say goodbye even as her body still held him within her? This wasn’t something he’d experienced before. When he bedded human women he explained up front that he only sought a single night of pleasure. The Kevan women also knew of the gargoyles’ preference. But the thought of never waking to Zephara’s sleeping form again terrified him.
“What is it?” he asked when she remained silent. “Please, tell me.”
“How long do you plan to travel with me among the wizards?”
The question surprised him, though it shouldn’t have. He’d been away from his duties longer than any of his brothers ever had before, but none of them had remarked on it when he and Zephara flew back to the castle to strengthen him.
“As long as you’ll have me,” he replied. “Is that a problem? Are you tired of me?”
Her head snapped around and her eyes widened. “No. Of course not.”
“Then what is it? I’m certainly not tiring of you, nor do I foresee that happening.” He cupped her lovely face in both palms. “I’m enamored by you, Zephara, in a way I’ve never felt before. I’ll happily follow you until you grow so weary of me you run a sword through my heart.”
She gasped. “I would never!”
He chuckled and kissed her lips. “I’m happy to hear it. But you still haven’t told me what ails you?”
She chewed on her bottom lip in an uncharacteristic sign of nervousness and sat up. He groaned at the sensation but then she slipped off him.
“Where are you going?”
“I shouldn’t touch you while we have this conversation. I don’t want to accidentally influence your thoughts.”
That had him sitting up as she grabbed his large shirt from the floor and pulled it over her head. He frowned at losing sight of her amazing body. “All right, but speak quickly so you can get naked again.”
She laughed before taking a seat in a chair across the room. He sat on the edge of the bed and crossed his arms, but made no move to cover his nakedness. Her gaze roamed over him in obvious admiration before her expression turned serious.
“As you know, I’m full-blooded Pastelle. That makes me quite different from human women. Mostly it’s my physical looks that make me different, but I’m also psychic to a degree.”
Though he’d heard as much in passing, she hadn’t displayed the talent in front of him so he hadn’t been sure. Though he did know she was already powerful in other ways.
“What that means is, there may be times that I get a sense of things to come. I never see clear pictures unless it’s in a dream. And even then, they’re often vague images I don’t understand or fully remember once I wake…until I dreamt of you.”
That gripped his attention from where it had wandered to the gaping front of his shirt, almost revealing her perfect breasts.
“You dreamt of me?” he asked.
“Yes. Many times. I didn’t know your name at first, or much about you other than what you look like…and that you are meant to be mine.”
He kept his face blank, afraid to show any particular emotion. Inside of him fear, excitement, joy, and confusion fought for prominence. If she truly felt he was meant to be hers that would mean she would also be his. A claim he slowly came to realize was already cemented in his soul.
“All right. Explain how you came to that conclusion.”
Zephara could read nothing from his expression, and her instincts were silent. He either didn’t believe her at all, or was reserving judgment until she finished. Panic tried to freeze her tongue but she pushed it away. She wouldn’t allow him to simply walk away. This was one battle she planned to win, no matter how tiring the fight.
“One trait of the Pastelle is each of us has an eternal-mate. Somewhere out in the lands there is one other who is our perfect match. For most it is another Pastelle, but it isn’t unheard of to find our mate in a different species. We often dream of our eternal-mates for years before meeting them. But even if we don’t, once we do meet that one special person we know it to the bottom of our soul. You’re that person for me, Wynnston. I feel it without a doubt, though I realize it isn’t the same for you.”
She forced herself to stop talking. Though tempted to fall to her knees before him, pride held her in check. That wouldn’t last long. If he chose to walk away from her now she would find a way to follow. Even if he took to the air, she knew how to get to the castle he called home.
He stood and walked toward her, unmindful of his nakedness, but it was hard for her to ignore the glory of his body. Everything about him told of his strength. She admired that and loved that he seemed unaware of his perfection. He kept speaking of her beauty, but he was glorious in a way no male of any other species could boast.
He went to his knees before her and set his hands on her hips. “Zephara, why do you look so wary? Do you think I would feel anything but flattered and amazed at what you’ve told me?”
Those weren’t exactly the emotions she’d been hoping for. “I wasn’t sure what to expect. I know humans have different beliefs than we do, and having an eternal-mate isn’t one of them.”
> He toyed with the shirt and seemed to think over his next words carefully. “True. But I’m not really human. Two of my brothers have found women they can’t live without who have brought them more happiness than any of us thought possible. I hate to admit I’m even a bit jealous at times. But now that I’ve found you,” he pulled her off the chair and into his lap. “Now I’ve no reason for jealousy or envy. Because now I too have a woman I have no desire to ever be without.”
“Truly?”
He kissed her breathless until she forgot her doubt. But then he pulled back to look into her eyes. “Oh yes, truly, my love. You are more than I ever thought I’d deserve. How can I not love you?”
Unexpected tears burned her eyes and she pushed them away. That was one weakness she refused to show anyone, even her eternal-mate. Instead she straddled him and moved the billowing cloth of his shirt out of the way to guide his now erect cock back into her ready body.
He released a deep sigh of pleasure. “Yes. Ride me again and feel how much I desire you…always.”
“Always,” she agreed before setting herself to the pleasurable task.
* * * * *
Wynn watched Zephara sleep and marveled at how such a mundane task enraptured him. Eternal-mate. He’d never heard the term before but it had become one of his favorites. Now he didn’t have to worry over wooing her to stay at his side. If anything, his biggest concern seemed to be convincing her he had no plans to leave.
True it wasn’t always easy finding ways to occupy his time while she trained, but that didn’t concern him too much. Every town they visited was populated with humans, and humans invariably caused trouble to some extent. More than one local law-keeper had been visibly relieved to see him walk into town, and he’d interrupted his share of ne’er-do-wells before they caused too much trouble.
