The Iron Altar Series Box Set One: Books 1 to 3

by Casey Lea

  She glanced at him for confirmation, but he closed his eyes too and his nostrils flared when he breathed in deeply. “No, it’s certain-sure not.”

  “You know a better smell than that?”

  “I think.” Wing turned toward Darsey and, with a distracted smile, gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face. His fingers curled around the back of her neck and he dipped his head to drink in the scent of her skin. His mouth brushed her throat and then settled there while he tasted her too.

  Darsey would have pulled away, but that was physically impossible. Something inside her seemed to be melting. Her legs were particularly treacherous and she struggled to stay on her feet.

  “Wing,” she finally managed to protest, and he snapped upright.

  “I’m sorr-”

  “Catch me.”

  If Wing was surprised by Darsey’s request, it didn’t slow his reactions. His arms closed around her, taking her weight when she sagged against him and they fell together into a totally unexpected embrace.

  Darsey resolved to pull back as soon as she could, but she did just the opposite. She pressed herself into the hug instead and her hands closed to grip fistfuls of Wing’s tunic. The silence continued, building from tense to intense, and he was the first to break it.

  “This is confusing.”

  “I noticed.”

  “You haven't changed your thought about a relationship...?”

  “No. No… have you?”

  “Not as such.” Wing sighed against Darsey’s temple. “I mean, it’s impossible…” His protest petered out and he abruptly pulled away from her. He stepped back to study her at arm’s length, his hands still supporting her elbows. “I’ve a different thought. How do you feel about sex?”

  “You mean in gener- Oh, my God, you mean us?”

  He shrugged a shoulder and offered a deceptively shy smile. “I promise no commitment and no romance at all. Just sex, without complications.”

  “You are such a male.”

  “Is that a no?” he whispered, and stepped in close again, so that his lips brushed her cheek. “It would be fun. We both know that.”

  Darsey sighed and tilted her head just a little, until the corner of her mouth rested lightly against his. “We’ll go our separate ways when we have to? No strings?”

  “No ties, unless you like such. Seriously though, when we needs must part, we will. I promise this is only physical.”

  “Who could refuse such a romantic offer?”

  Darsey scarcely had to move to seal their bargain. She simply leaned into Wing and that was enough to bring their lips into full contact, but the touch was surprisingly gentle. He left the kiss to her and she pressed her mouth to his very softly, tasting a last morsel of anticipation.

  Then she moved, pushing harder and parting her lips.

  He responded hungrily and what ever was between them was finally realized, for better or worse, and they were literally lost in each other. Their cells slid together and their mouths merged, turning the kiss into its own embrace.

  Darsey snuggled into Wing’s arms and then her body passaged too, straight through their clothes. Her bare skin met his when her breasts pressed against his chest and the unexpected contact made them both start. Their lips managed to part, but they kept their faces close while they gasped for air.

  “We should be careful,” Darsey panted, but Wing growled in response and cupped the back of her head with both hands, before bending to kiss her again.

  This time the passage of her body past cloth and into his skin was instant. Their cells merged with an intimacy that overwhelmed everything else. They staggered back through the hatch, managing to scrape their way past it without noticing. They rebounded from that impact to slam into a wall and their collisions continued until a seat edge collected the back of Wing’s calves, tripping them both. They separated as they fell, slipping apart a little, just enough to share laughter, and then they were on the floor, together again.

  “Someone might come,” Darsey managed to protest, but Wing growled again and she realized that she didn’t care either.

  He lifted her anyway, still wrapped around him and through him, and somehow they reached the cargo bay door. It opened, tilting in, to send them spinning into the dim hold. They tumbled across the floor together, but there was no laughter this time. Their shared world had become far too intense for fun.

  Their collision now was just that and much more raw than their first kiss. Their cells joined with the same abandon as before, but this time the intrusion was so ungoverned that it threatened their separate existence. Both distantly recognised the danger, but now neither cared, at least not enough to stop. They lost themselves more completely than they would have thought possible and all sense of self blurred, along with their surroundings.

  Vision became little more than a haze, a vague succession of cloth and bare skin, while only enough hearing remained to register each other’s ragged cries. There was no more thought of practicalities. No more thought at all. Their union worked, but not because of care and consideration. It worked because their bodies were driven to be joined in every way and no physical differences could stop that. They threw themselves into each other, careless of any cost while the rest of the universe fell away.

  ***

  Later that day, as twilight leached the gold from Blossom’s sky, Darsey watched Wing dress in the dim light of the cargo bay. His skin rippled when he moved, each muscle a contrast of shadow and some strange afterglow that still surrounded him. He almost seemed to have an aura of his own, but after the wonder of their afternoon that scarcely surprised her. He looked up from sealing his tunic, his near frond stirring toward her, and started to grin.

  “What?” Darsey demanded, and then belatedly realized that she already had a smile of her own, impossibly huge and out of control, an expression of uninhibited delight. She blushed and ducked her head in an effort to retain some dignity, but Wing was chuckling when he stepped through to the main cabin. She bit her lower lip, unable to resist looking up after him. However, he was turning away from her and raising a hand in greeting.

  “Free,” Wing called clearly, and Darsey was instantly moving, scrabbling for her clothes in the dim light.

  She pulled them on as she found them, cursing tight jeans, but still managed to dress before Free reached the shuttle. She heard him step into the cabin, but his greeting died in his throat. She looked up to see him staring at his cousin in shock. “Wing, Gods, what happened?” He strode to her lover’s side and gripped his shoulder, as if to support him.

  Darsey sensed Wing’s bemusement as clearly as her own, but she started to feel something more, as well. Pain. Pain growing behind her right ear. Her hand rose to check automatically, but the skin there was smooth and unharmed.

  “What’s wrong?” Nightwing wondered, echoing Darsey’s unspoken question.

  “You’re bleeding,” Free informed him grimly, and turned his cousin as he searched for the source of the blood. Darsey saw it then, starkly red against golden skin where it trickled down Wing’s neck and any worry for herself was forgotten.

  “Wing,” she breathed, stepping into the cabin, and he looked back at her with a slight smile.

  “It’s kay,” he reassured her, and she recognised his conviction, along with his concern for her. Strangely, she could also feel Free’s angry fear for his cousin, and with that perception she finally realized what she had done.

  She staggered and grabbed the back of a seat, needing support for the second time that day.

  “Your fronds,” she choked, and Free hissed in agreement.

  “The right is totally gone,” he stated, and Darsey felt the accusation behind those blunt words.

  She could hardly think, much less reply to his suspicion. She knew it was true.

  “Your frond is lost, Wing,” Free continued grimly. “I’m sorry, but there’s no remnant for regen. It’s just… gone. All beyond the skin and then from the insertion point back to th
e root. It’s been taken. You’ll be all time blind on that side.”

  There was a moment of silence, just enough for Darsey to start to find some words, before Free cut harshly across her attempt to apologise. “I also note that our guest has someway found a frond of her own.” He turned to look directly at her and she quailed at the icy touch of his mind. “An odd coincidence mayhap?”

  “Free,” Wing protested, shaking himself as if to throw off his own shock in order to protect Darsey. She sensed his anger at any blame being attached to her and it made her cringe with guilt. She had done this to him and she deserved to be blamed. Horror rose in her, pushing its way past shock and carrying her voice with it.

  “I crippled you. I stole your frond,” she choked, still struggling to absorb what had happened. “I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault-”

  Her mind was almost screaming, much louder than her words, but she didn’t understand why Free staggered back and Wing’s remaining frond furled tight, to tuck hard against his throat. It was only when he hurdled the row of seats between them and gripped her by the arms that she became aware of his distress.

  “Darse, calm,” he ordered, releasing her, but mentally underlining his demand until the thoughts roaring through all their minds grew quieter.

  However, despite being muted, they were still there, running frantically fast from Darsey’s head to her frond.

  “Calm,” Wing instructed more soothingly and then frowned at the words he could still sense. “None such,” he denied vehemently. “I don’t hate you. Not ever and you’re not the… the alien in some monster movie. And you don’t eat your mates.” He paused and raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you?”

  “No,” Darsey groaned, “not normally, but nothing about this is normal. Nothing about me is normal. Not any more.”

  Wing crouched beside her and she realized that somehow she was kneeling on the floor. “Hey,” he said with a wry smile, and a frond touch so warm it made her sigh. “It was worth it. That’s my truth.”

  Darsey stared miserably back and he winked before sending her a memory from their afternoon together.

  “Oh.” She gulped, but refused to be diverted. “Okay, it was great, right up ‘til someone lost a frond.”

  “That someone was me and I repeat, it was worth it. Any-all, it’s now past and done. Look at what you have.”

  Darsey looked down, despite herself, and the purloined organ swayed higher, to hover at eyelevel. She studied its sinuous length with fresh shock. “It’s changed.”

  “So it appears. It's not just been taken by your body, but integrated too. It’s now blue, because fronds are colored by the same gene that makes eye pigment. It's also grown more long and slender, because it’s a female frond. It’s truly yours now.”

  “No,” Darsey denied, “it’s not. Don’t say that, not ever. We’re going to see Grace and she is going to fix this.”

  “She had best,” Free growled, and an unexpected blast of pain and fury made Darsey cry out.

  Wing threw himself back across the chairs in instant response. He charged straight into his cousin and carried him backwards, to collect the far wall. They rebounded from that collision and Wing shoved Free hard against the metal again. His remaining frond radiated ice and its cold resonance was strong enough to cover the pain sent by his cousin.

  “Enough!”

  “Enough?” Free repeated, spitting the word into Wing’s face and making Darsey’s heart hammer. “As usual, you cry enough whenever you wish, but what of me, Wing? I live my life with utmost care, but always you saunter past again and shred it. I strive to cover both our duties and all times try to keep you safe, but still you refuse to hear me. I find happiness, but then you drag true bliss right under my fronds and ruin all peace of mind. You remain reckless-as and I have to share the cost of that.”

  Wing’s grip on his cousin’s tunic loosened and he stepped away. “Free...”

  “Do you know what Sharpeye did to me for helping you escape?”

  Darsey saw the image of Free’s scarred cheeks in Wing’s mind and felt sick.

  Free crossed his arms as if trying to hold himself together. “They dragged me out of Court to the dungeons.”

  Her gorge rose and she shared Wing’s horror. “Free, I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I can’t believe they locked you up ‘til you cut yourself.”

  “They didn’t. Do you think I’d hesitate to do what was right? They held me in the dungeon to keep my knife away from me. They wanted to be certain-sure I didn’t cut my cheeks until the Arck was free to watch. He made me wait a week. They left my knife plunged in a stalagmite outside the cell, just beyond reach. They froze it deeper every day by dripping hex oil on it.”

  Darsey was almost too shocked to follow Free’s story, but one detail stood out. What was hex oil?

  He turned to give her a sardonic look. “It’s a poison that freezes cellular function. It causes pain and disrupts regeneration. It leaves scars.”

  “Oh,” she choked and his hurt transmuted to molten fury.

  “Oh indeed. You’re far too perfect to be real, thieving alien. Make whatever choices you please, Wing, as you ever have, but I ask you to return to my ship first and send my shuttle back with my pilot.”

  “Free, you can attack me in every way you wish, because we both know I deserve it, but Darsey doesn't.”

  However, Wing’s response seemed to anger Free further. He pushed past his cousin and stalked from the shuttle, straightening his uniform as he went. Wing called after him, but Free ignored that plea and strode into the trees, each step thudding with ominous force, despite the carpet of fallen blossoms.

  Darsey flinched with each angry stride, until they finally faded. Her frond could see Wing in the doorway, staring after his cousin, but she stayed crouched on the floor trying to understand. She was an organ thief. She was a slut with an alien fetish. She couldn’t control her own carnivorous body. She’d just come between two best friends.

  “No,” Wing murmured and his arms closed round her. That was no fault of yours. Free has hid those resentments far too long. Even from himself. I’m the one to blame. Certainty/ comfort/ love.

  Darsey stiffened and Wing released her at once. He quickly stood and she scrabbled upright, ignoring the hand he offered. At least, she kept her eyes averted, but her frond could see it perfectly well, as a haze of gold and red. She staggered, suddenly lost in too much input, but he slipped an arm around her waist to steady her.

  “Your brain can’t analyse so much sensory data. Let’s get you to Grace. Right now.”

  Darsey gritted her teeth against vertigo and let Wing lead her to a seat. She collapsed into it and clutched at the arms, while her mind clutched at a single hope. The old lady would fix this. After all, she had to be good for something.

  48

  No Going Back

  Lady Grace leaned forward in her chair to study the approaching couple. They were gripping hands when they entered her quarters and Wing looked resolved. Grace sighed softly. Some things never changed. The old lady shifted her attention to Darsey and a hiss escaped when she saw a long, blue strand draped over the alien’s shoulder.

  “Tsss,” she snapped. “You've a new necklace, girl. What type of alliance led to this?”

  Darsey's thoughts slipped back to the afternoon and Grace’s thin hair stirred in response. Was that embarrassment? Well! That hadn’t happened in centuries.

  “Lord, girl, you’re louder than a chick and a good deal less innocent. You need to see Sparrow and I mean most quick.”

  Darsey’s brow furrowed and she pressed a hand to her temple. The frond sitting against her throat jerked convulsively. “Sparrow?” she asked far too loudly.

  Grace hitched further forward to study the twitching girl. Pain shot through the old lady’s hip, but she saw what she needed. She folded back with a sniff. “Sensory overload. Has she shown Beserk tendencies?”

  “Of course not. Not in the least.” Wing bristled even more than Grac
e had expected, which was truly concerning.

  “Good. She may be able to adapt. Let’s hope she survives your carelessness.”

  “W-wait,” Darsey protested. “So not Wing’s fault.”

  “I was blaming you both. I assume the alliance was consensual?” The couple had the sense to look abashed, so Grace let her sympathy show. “No need to fear, girl. We can likely save most of your brain. Sparrow’s an expert at frond integration and very skilled with children. He has patience and diplomacy and such.”

  Darsey had her head in both hands, but the emotions she sent made Grace purse her lips to hide a smile. “Now, now, dear. Language. Sparrow will join us soon and he’s much more polite than me.”

  Amazingly, the alien managed to straighten and push Wing away. She glared at Grace from a strangely pale face and her dark blue eyes looked like holes in sea ice. Grace shifted in her seat to hide a shiver.

  “No Sparrow,” Darsey stated. “Just return Wing’s frond. Please.”

  She gagged and swayed, but pushed Wing away once more. Grace had to hide another smile. She could almost like this girl. It was unfortunate that Wing’s genes were needed elsewhere.

  Her protégé looked far from happy. Grace hadn’t seen him scowl like that since he was a child. He folded his arms and turned to glare at her as well. My. She hoped her old body was up to such excitement. “Yes, Wing?”

  “Should I fetch Senior Sparrow? Darsey, you need to be stabilized first. That’s our priority.”

  “Agreement from Nightwing,” the old Lady purred. “The age of miracles is still with us.” An entry chime sounded and she smiled before she could stop herself. “Ah, Sparrow, please enter.” Her old friend limped past the heavy door and his face creased in an answering smile.

  “We’ve an utmost challenge for you,” Grace informed him. “Would you escort our young guest to a healing bay and re-task her sensory nerves. Then if you’re feeling truly brave, please teach her enough mental control to match the average toddler.”

  “Wait,” Darsey ordered. “We need to fix this. Right now. Please. You need to fix it.”