Blood Flows Deep in the Empire

by N. Isabelle Blanco

  Ismini faltered mid-step, and he realized why. Dematerializing together would involve him holding on to her. For the first time since they’d met, she was uncomfortable near him. It was obvious in the hard set of her jaw, and in her hesitation to let him touch her.

  He was about to tell her that they should just walk when she nodded. She didn’t say anything, just stepped closer to him with her face downcast. That she wouldn’t even look at him massacred his emotions. Dyletri deserved it, but that didn’t mean he liked it. In fact, he downright hated it.

  He licked his lips and moved as slowly as he was able. He wrapped his arm around Ismini’s waist and gave her enough time to pull back.

  Well, he tried to. The moment he felt her heat, he lost control of his body and pulled her to him. It took everything in him not to groan when her breasts slammed against his upper abs.

  Beneath her breasts, her heartbeat pounded for him, igniting his own. Even through her obvious misgivings, she still reacted to him. It was that kind of knowledge that could push a male into doing something ridiculous. Like popping straight into his room and slamming her onto his bed.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to—” Dyletri began, voice rough, arm still tight around her.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered. Despite refusing to meet his eyes, her pulse raced faster.

  The sound of her blood rushing through her veins was catastrophic to his self-control. Flames licked at the wall of his restraint, and he realized he needed to fucking move before he had any more time to react.

  Dyletri willed them across Enzyria, reappearing on the far side—where the mountains broke apart, as did the woods. Ismini’s breath rushed out, her eyes full of wonder. He glanced down at the woman in his arms, unable to stop his smile as she gazed out into the valley below.

  “Oh my God . . .” she whispered.

  Dyletri slapped the asshole inside him back before he responded to that the way he really wanted to. Again. “You like it?” he asked, his face transforming with the tenderness he felt.

  Ismini hadn’t stepped out of his hold. She took in the glowing, empty temples spread throughout the valley. Her eyes widened even more when she noticed the huge waterfall to the left of where they stood. The water here was nothing like the water on Earth. It shimmered, different colors mixing below the surface as it spilled into the river below.

  A smile spread across Ismini’s face. “This place is . . . holy shit.”

  Dyletri bit his lip, fighting the urge to grab and tilt her head so he could take those lips.

  “Come. We can sit by the pool and eat.” He forced himself to step back, but he didn’t go far. He grabbed her hand and stiffened, waiting for her to protest. She didn’t. She just allowed him to lead her to the field below.

  Dyletri felt some of the tension in Ismini ease as he led her over the glittering stones that made up the path. He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye and caught her doing the same to him.

  Ismini bit her lip, her cheeks darkening, and looked away. “This place is like something out of a movie. It reminds me of the Haklanayasas.”

  “Nylicia’s realm?” Dyletri asked, surprised. “I’ve never been there.”

  “Really?” she asked, surprised herself.

  He shrugged, stopping once they were by the small pool. He materialized a thick blanket and began setting up where they would sit. “It’s not a place one can visit without her permission or outside the dream world. I guess she never needed me there.”

  He took out the contents of the basket, watching Ismini out of the corner of his eye. Her pace was slow as she walked toward the blanket, and he felt her stare on him. He was afraid to make any sudden moves lest he scare her away. When Ismini took a seat, it took everything in him not to exhale in relief.

  “Hungry?” he asked, gesturing toward the food between them.

  “Yeah. Did you prepare all this?”

  “I’d love to take credit and therefore up my ‘awesomeness-factor,’ as Cy puts it. But sadly . . . no.”

  Ismini burst out laughing before snapping her hand over her mouth as if embarrassed. She was so damned cute. And damn, she was blushing again.

  Dyletri swallowed, so hungry he wanted to bang his head against one of the stones behind them. But it wasn’t food he needed. Hell the fuck no. He wanted her. He wanted to shove every ounce of food to the side and feast on her. He trembled as he forced himself to hand Ismini one of the finger sandwiches.

  Ismini’s small fingers wrapped around the sandwich and brought it up to her mouth. “You’re not going to eat?”

  She took the first bite. Dyletri fought the urge to squirm in his seat, his cock punching out to full length. Without apology. Stupid fucker.

  You’re leaking.

  No shit.

  His pupils dilated and his powers surged forth, along with his teeth. Desperate to have something to bite into, he snatched up one of the sandwiches and shoved it in his mouth. He didn’t even taste it, too busy replaying the taste of her skin.

  Ismini took another bite, not looking in his direction. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”

  “I wanted to . . . spend time. With . . . you.” Right. Because he was Mr. Smooth.

  Wrong.

  And she completely ignored his quasi explanation.

  “So, what are all these buildings?”

  Ouch.

  He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to hide that he felt like he’d been coldcocked good and proper. “They’re temples. There’s one for each of us, but we don’t spend time in them anymore.” He shoved another sandwich into his mouth, needing something to do.

  “Wow . . . that’s amazing. They literally glow. Which one is yours?”

  He pointed to the silver and blue one toward the back of the valley.

  Ismini looked at the temple for a long moment, and then turned back toward him.

  He caught her stare and tried to keep his expression bland, but he failed. “What?”

  “I’m surprised you guys can eat,” she said, reaching for another sandwich.

  Dyletri shrugged one shoulder. “Our bodies burn through food before any real digestion takes place.”

  “You’re serious?” Ismini asked. “So your stomach acid pretty much disintegrates all of it before it can go any further?”

  His lips twitched into a smile. “Something like that.”

  “And Cy told me most of you guys are millions of years old. Explain that one to me, ’cause my brain doesn’t want to process that,” she said, smiling softly now, too.

  At least she wasn’t shutting him out. He could deal with answering any questions, but being shut out by her was a whole other matter. “Well, we were just sentient energy at first. We were that way for a . . . while. We were only given solid bodies about twenty thousand years ago or so.”

  “By who?”

  “The higher energies. They’re like the Fates but more sentient. And less violent, that’s for sure. There are raw energies that govern the fabric of existence and keep everything together. Destiny is one of those, as well.”

  “Isn’t Zexistr the God of Existence? That’s what Cy said.”

  She had been spending way too much time with fucking Cyake. “Almost all those energies are kept in balance thanks to his being alive. He’s tied to them.”

  “Just like you all have purposes you’re tied to.”

  Dyletri nodded. “Right.”

  “So those energies decide when to give you physical bodies. Why twenty thousand years ago, though?”

  “Because that’s how long it took the Illion to perfect any type of biological design in this galaxy. There was no real reason for us to take solid form until living beings existed on the planets in the ‘Milky Way,’ as humans call it. Every galaxy has its group of gods and beings.”

  Ismini’s eyes went wide with excitement. “So, the Andromeda Galaxy? How about M87? Messier 83? Omega Centauri? NGC 4414?”

  Dyletri smiled, amused and impressed that she
was able to name so many of humanity’s known galaxies.

  “Ismini, in a place as vast as the Universe, did you think we’d be the only immortal beings? And that humanity would be the only mortal life? And, just so you know, the beings that live in those galaxies have different names for them.”

  “I knew it!” She was almost vibrating in her seat. “Most people don’t even think about that, let alone believe it. And the ones that do . . . well, most are complete whack jobs.”

  He’d long given up trying to hide his fascination. His eyes were superglued to her face and weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. “Most people are closed minded and ignorant of the Universe.”

  Ismini’s eyes were all wide and enthusiastic. “Nylicia said that if you guys die, your powers need to be absorbed or locked away. Why?”

  “Nylicia’s told you a lot of things.” Dyletri stopped when Ismini gave him an odd look. “What?”

  “You have no idea. Some of the things she’s said I can’t bring myself to believe.” He wanted to know what she meant by that, but she pressed on before he had the chance to ask. “So, why do your powers have to be locked away or absorbed by someone else?”

  “If they’re not . . . handled, they’ll bounce back out into the Universe and disrupt the balance of power. When that happens, it’s bad. Think gravity failing and galactic-cannibalism-at warp-speed sort of bad.”

  Ismini nodded, her face pensive.

  Dyletri was intrigued with her. She liked science and was interested in the Universe. What else did she know about? While he’d gotten a peek at a lot of her memories during the mind-meld, he hadn’t gotten it all. There hadn’t been enough time.

  He wanted to know it all, damn it.

  He couldn’t bring himself to ask, though. He was too busy watching her throat moving while she finished her sandwich.

  And that was just the beginning of his agony.

  She moved on to the strawberries, and her eyes lit up when she saw that there was melted chocolate.

  Cue the screeching tires on his thoughts.

  Now, wait a damned second . . .

  Melted chocolate? And strawberries? Fucking Sil! Or was it Liz? Did it fucking matter?

  Oh, fuck, someone help me.

  Ismini dipped a strawberry in and raised it to her lips. Shit. Her mouth wrapped around it, and she moaned, the satisfied sound ramming straight into his frontal lobe. The way her eyes rolled into the back of her head shattered him.

  Ismini’s eyes popped open. All at once, she stopped chewing and stared at him. He told himself to do something. To look fucking normal instead of like the deranged animal he probably resembled. But he was struck stupid as he watched her swallow the last of her strawberry.

  “Dyletri?”

  “Huh?” was his semicoherent response. Damn it, there was a drop of chocolate right at the corner of her mouth.

  Before he could stop himself, he’d raised his hand and rubbed his thumb under the corner of her mouth. She gasped, and it seemed to echo throughout the entire valley. He forced his hand away from her face seeing how badly it was shaking.

  “Sorry . . . you had a . . .” He motioned toward his own face.

  Ismini swallowed again. Her cheeks bloomed with color. Her eyes flashed, and her expression changed. Moving slowly, she dipped another strawberry into the chocolate and swirled it around. Her breaths came faster and faster until she looked up suddenly beneath her lashes.

  “Want some?”

  The change in her sand blasted through him, freezing him in place as she raised the strawberry up to his lips without waiting for an answer.

  Dyletri couldn’t break her stare as he leaned in and took a bite. It was like he was losing all control of himself and becoming a captive, subservient to the call of whatever was coming off her.

  He almost choked when he realized her taste still clung to the fruit. His eyes took a trip into the back of his head with the clear intention of staying there. Distantly, he heard Ismini moan. His chest rumbled, and the beginnings of a growl echoed through him until—

  Ismini jumped on him.

  He grunted as she landed on him, the whisper of her weight taking him by surprise. Suddenly, her hands were in his hair, and his hands were pulling her to him by the back of her neck. They attacked each other’s mouths with raw fury. Her legs slid sinuously over his hips, and a thrill shot through him as he felt her heat.

  The girl moaned as he began undulating beneath her and palmed her tight little ass. They both groaned as he ground her down hard against his cock.

  “Ismini.” He panted with the effort it took to pull away. His head fell back as he tried to breathe and make sense of what was happening. Why the hell was she so out of control?

  Ismini didn’t make it easy for him, though. She attacked his exposed throat with her teeth and tongue. That’s all it took for his cock to slam against his jeans, an orgasm struggling to break free.

  “Baby girl. I didn’t bring you here to seduce you.”

  She pulled back and rotated her hips sensuously. “And I didn’t plan on this . . . but you want me, right?”

  He arched into her, his brain attacked by the image of her naked on top of him. He could literally see his cock inside her while she bounced on it and took him deep. Oh, fuck . . .

  When he answered her, his voice was splitting in two and his psyche along with it. “I fucking need you. You have to know that.”

  Ismini moaned and let her head fall back. Her jugular throbbed for him, making his incisors almost jump out of his mouth. Her nails dug deep into his neck, ripping a groan out of him. “I . . . we shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t tempt you. You’ll hate me.”

  “I could never fucking hate you. You hear me? Never.” He snarled, bringing her closer and attacking her neck. Her taste seduced his mouth. Made his instincts scream at him, urge him to sink his teeth into her neck and bite.

  “Yes, you will. Oh fuck . . . the way you look in this shirt, Dyletri.”

  He panted, licking his way up to her ear. Licking around and into it in that way he’d learned drove her wild. “I won’t hate you, baby. I would never. Trust me.”

  Ismini exhaled, tearing her ear away from her mouth. “Fuck. Oh, fuck. I can’t . . .” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again. Her tongue thrust in between his lips.

  A powerful throb surged up his cock, dragging him and leaving him dangling off that edge. Sure he was about to come, he went to pull away so he could warn her.

  Ismini groaned, lips wet against his. “I can’t anymore. Take me, Dyletri. I’m in pain, please.”

  An animalistic, distorted sound left him. He felt his powers break free with a triumphant roar. Dyletri knew he couldn’t take her right there on that blanket even though he wanted to. Wrapped her in his arms, he flashed them to the nearest place with walls, knowing there was no way he would make it all the way to his room.

  Chapter 20

  -Enzyria, Salicyar’s Temple, Valley of the Gods.

  They reappeared in a place Dyletri hadn’t been inside of for a long, long time. At least twenty thousand years. It was his most sacred place—the last one standing—and in all his years, he’d never once thought of bringing anyone here. His temple.

  He could imagine no better place to take what was his.

  They crashed to the floor of the temple, his back hitting the stairs up to the altar and Ismini on top of him. He didn’t even feel it. All he felt was the tiny body still writhing on him.

  She sat up and dug her nails into his shoulders as she rocked her hips into him. He moaned in response, incisors bared, more than ready to sink in and drink until all that ran inside him was her.

  “This is . . . it’s amazing in here,” she breathed, nails tearing at his shoulders. “I can . . . oh fuck. What is that pulsating inside the walls? I can feel it . . . it feels like you.”

  To him it was nothing amazing, nothing noteworthy, but considering how she continued grinding on him, even as she looked arou
nd the temple, there was only one answer to give her. “It’s my power. Comes from the Illion.”

  “Uh-huh. Okay,” she said breathlessly. “Keep talking. And the Illion is?”

  “The . . . the Source. It’s deep past the far reaches of the Universe, so in order for us to exist here, our essence had to be transferred.”

  “Dy . . . Dyletri,” she said, moaning and collapsing onto him. “I can feel you everywhere. It’s . . .”

  Dyletri let go of the stairs, his fingers cracking from the strain of doing so. He glanced down and saw every hair on her body standing on end. He hissed and ran his fingertips up her arms, feeling the nerves tingle as the soft hairs tickled them.

  He couldn’t breathe. Was about to start begging, because he needed her and he needed her now. “Fuck, baby.”

  “God,” Ismini whispered, her lips hot against the corner of his mouth. “Are you going to take me in here?”

  He licked the corner of her mouth. “Tell me to. I’ll take every inch on that sexy little body if you tell me to.” He nipped at her skin with one of his incisors.

  Ismini thrust her tongue into his mouth, moaning loudly and sounding like something straight out of a violent, sexual fantasy. His violent, sexual fantasy.

  “Do it,” she said. “I can feel you on every inch of my skin. I want to feel you inside me, too. Take me.”

  Dyletri flipped her over, slamming her into the same spot he’d just been on. In a flash, he had her completely naked. He managed to get his shirt off before his concentration was robbed. Her aura flared around her as sunlight poured in from outside and played with the curves of her body.

  Ismini opened her legs with a moan, and her scent punched him straight in the nose with the kind of force that could break bones. Dyletri grunted and locked eyes on her wet little pussy.

  “Dyletri . . .”

  He licked his lips and latched on to her wrists to lift them over her head. His chest heaving, he sent a wave of pure power through the walls and into her.