“Yes,” she said. “I had to leave them there as Derno and Cenan were quite taken with them.”
Ryluth smiled, satisfied with the way things were progressing. Now they just had to find a way so that none of the females died.
Everyone was busy with their own work so he opened the journal and began his reading. It was dry and just as boring as the old High Priest had probably been. The journal started some months before the murder of Coalna where the Dragon had lost his hearing and sanity. He paged through, trying to find something, and his gaze found the symbol in Ancient Drakkos for tears and he stopped. Backing up he caught the beginning of the thought and read through, and it pulled him up short. Why would the old priest have stopped, in the face of what he knew would be catastrophic to his world and his god, and collect moisture from a dead dragon’s corpse. Coalna had been a true dragon and mate to Threlzin, who had imbued her with immortality and eternal youth to watch over Wushin with him. They had been together for thousands of years before her death. Ryluth came from her familial line.
He sat up and began reading the entire account, wanting to miss nothing, as he had a strong feeling, which he didn’t trust, that this was important.
The voices of the others faded from his consciousness and even Sofia’s scent lessened as he read of the priest’s terror at what he found and what he felt was necessary, for some reason that he had not bothered to put down at that point. So, he determined to read the entire thing in the even the priest had explained why he had collected those tears. What significance did that hold? It had to mean something.
With that thought in mind, he called for the modern Threlzin High Priest for some clarification. He should be in on this, in the event there was a religious component to it all that he had never gleaned. Then he remembered that he had told Lennalth to bring him the High Priest, regardless of duties. Where the hell was the Drakkos?
He sent a message to Lennalth asking where the High Priest was and was told that a messenger was being sent to the aerie where the Drakkos was in communion with their God. He nearly growled in frustration, but knew it was important that he not offend Threlzin at this precarious time.
Dinner was brought in and still Ryluth proceeded in his single-minded transcription of the priest’s journal.
He got a message back from the High Priest that he was busy with a ritual and would not be able to join them until the next day, so he continued on. Ryluth asked Lennalth to check it out as he had gotten two, conflicting messages.
He had chosen to translate the journal from page one until the final one and it was tedious and time consuming, because he had to consider how words and phrases change over time.
This had to be what Sofia had been talking to him about and how many things had been changed in translation. She had explained to him about her shock when she returned to Earth and found so many to be irreligious, and by that she meant that before she’d been taken, most of her region of the world was one sect of one religion and most of the world was that religion. She had not recognized the book that they all used to explain their god to them, or their rites and traditions. She’d been raised in that religion, even though most magical folk didn’t recognize any religion at all and remained agnostic since they never saw any proof of their god in their day to day lives.
Wushin was odd among magical worlds in that they worshiped a single god and not a pantheon. As far back as anyone knew Threlzin had always been the only god, even after he mated Coalna and she watched over them alongside him. There was no worship of her as a goddess, but there was a deep and abiding respect for the female dragon who had garnered a god’s attention and regard enough for him to mate with her and bestow upon her his gifts. It was also why they still worshiped Threlzin after his curse. He had not denied them anything else he’d given them, but mates.
He finally noted that it had grown quiet and that he and Sofia were alone in his office.
“Where did everyone go?” He said, taking notice that the sun had already gone down and it was way past dinner. Why had no one notified him?
Sofia laughed and shook her head. “You were so lost in your work that you forgot about the rest of us,” she teased. “We had an orgy, by the by. It was glorious.”
Ryluth tried to look stern, but he ended up feeling his face heat with embarrassment. “I didn’t think it would be possible to forget about you while still in the same room, so the orgy makes sense now,” he teased right back.
She gave a short snort, then a full bellied laugh.
“Even as attentive as you were to your work, I think you would have noticed an orgy going on in your office, Ryluth.”
He got up from the chair he’d been sitting in and walked up to her, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her in for a deep kiss. How had he lived all afternoon without that?
“I think, my beautiful Sofia, that you would have pulled me away from my studies had you disrobed.”
She cocked her head at him and raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know about that. You were pretty rapt.” She gave him a small chuckle. “You must be starved. You totally ignored the dinner tray brought in.”
He raised an eyebrow and brought her in for another kiss. “I am starving, in fact.” He stated. “For you.” He kissed her deeply.
He remembered his promise of his quest and decided that the night’s lesson would be that love could be found in more places than the bed. That started with him pushing a thought to his office doors which closed and clicked into the locked position.
“Ryluth,” she breathed into his mouth. “What are you doing to me?”
He smiled, even while kissing her senseless. “I will consider your inexperience in these matters for asking that question, Sofia,” he nibbled down her jaw and she threw her head back to give him better access. She didn’t seem to notice that he was slowly undressing her as well. He’d already disappeared his clothing. He yearned to feel the warmth of her naked flesh upon his. He had her shirt and bra off without her even noticing it until he knelt to help her get her shoes and pants off. He stopped so lick her nipples while his hands were busy and keeping her off balance mentally so she wouldn’t have time to fear him.
Once her clothing was off, he quickly picked her up and seated her on the edge of his desk and began an immediate assault of the part of her that he hungered for the most. She cried out and without being aware, she lifted up her knees, opening herself for him. Her scent drove him over the edge and he attacked her clit with gusto that had her moving her hips into his mouth while he had two fingers inside her. She was soaking wet and so damned hot he nearly lost it right then.
He popped up and placed his cock at her entrance and slowly pushed his way in, then kissed her so deeply, wanting her to taste herself on him. He held her hips still while he rocked inside her. She moaned then pulled away from his kiss to throw her head back and push her hips into his. He could feel her coming around him, her sheath undulating around his cock and milking him. Just the idea of it in his imagination caused him to pour his seed into her willing body. Even then, he couldn’t stop moving inside her, wanting more, wanting everything.
“I need more, Sofia,” He groaned into her mouth, trying to re-ignite the fire that was her. “Please tell me you’re not too sore.”
“I’ll kill you if you stop,” she moaned, biting his lower lip. “And I’ll tell everyone why and no one will judge me.”
He chuckled as he continued his long, slow pump in and out of her. Laying her back, he was able to bend slighting and lay assault to her wonderful breasts. With every pull of his mouth on her, he could feel her channel tighten around him. Soon, the fire pitch was built in both of them and they shouted out their release and he lay on top of her, totally drained.
“I am a husk of a Dragon, Sofia. You have drained me.”
She was running her fingers through his hair, hugging him to her tightly.
“As Cassie says, ‘What a way to go, eh?’.”
The both lau
ghed and he leaned up on his elbows, leaning down to kiss her smiling mouth.
“May I spend the night in your bed, Lady Sofia?”
She chuckled as he pulled her up into a seated position, then began casting about to find her thrown clothing.
“If this is the way you ask for favors I can’t imagine that I would deny you much.”
He gave her an arch look then wiggled his eyebrows in a very human gesture.
He helped her dress and then they retired to her room, where he quickly undressed her and he spent the night showing her how dedicated he was to his quest to show her where love hid.
Chapter Eleven
Sofia discreetly ordered a very large breakfast the next morning with the guard she found outside her door, while Ryluth lay asleep in her bed. She, on the other hand, was full of energy. And, she found herself amazed, full of happiness. It was like a fountain, somewhere within her that bubbled over with joy. She had never thought to experience this. She was enjoying her body, actually loving what happened to it when Ryluth loved her. It was completely outside her sphere of experience and she was grabbing on to it with both hands. She realized she owed the half-elf twins more than she could ever pay for dulling the edges enough for her to accept Ryluth’s touches and body without fear.
With that thought in mind she grabbed a thick, fluffy robe that Ava had gotten her and her bunny slippers that Lauren had given her and run down the hallway to the wing where the others were staying and knocked on the half-elves door. She waited, bouncing on her feet like a young girl anticipating a suitor.
Nei opened the door and looked exhausted, Sofia gasped.
“Are you well? Should I summon a healer?” She looked down the hallway to Kjersti’s door. The Norwegian healer was a very quiet woman, but friendly. Sofia got the feeling that she was just shy.
Nei shook her head and Sofia heard footsteps coming up to the door and expected Meira to peek around and say hello, but it was Derno. Sofia felt her jaw drop to the floor and she just stared at the two.
“Whe -- Uh,” she looked up and down the hall. “Where is Kristo?” She finally asked. Avidly curious, yet loathe to ask the obvious question.
“Dannash and some human are watching the fledglings,” Derno said, then shut the door quietly in Sofia’s shocked face.
Well, hell.
Sofia walked slowly back to her room, constantly throwing looks behind her to see if she had, indeed, fallen into Alice’s looking glass. When she got to her room, Ryluth was still asleep, but breakfast was waiting on the bistro table. She smiled and prepared his food.
She walked over to the bed, climbed in, and then began kissing his body. She had never done that before either. The thought that she would want to have never entered her mind. She loved the heat of his skin on her lips as they caressed his body. He was lying on his stomach so she started at his shoulders, kissing, licking. She smiled when he moaned in his sleep.
“Gods! Sofia!” He finally cried out by the time she got to the small of his back and was kissing the dimples there. He turned over quickly and grabbed her and Sofa froze up.
*****
No, no, Ryluth wouldn’t hurt her, had never hurt her, but her mind flew to the past when males had hurt her and she couldn’t find her way back.
Ryluth had not yet been fully awake when he realized what Sofia was doing and lay there enjoying her exploration of his back with her mouth. When she got to his lower back his cock was so hard that he was ready to explode, so he just rolled over and thought to have her quick and hard, nothing that had not done before, but this time, she froze and he called to her, hoping to snap her out of wherever her mind went, but she looked so frightened that he let go of her and backed away, getting off the bed and using his magic to clothe himself so he would appear less threatening.
He rubbed his chest as he realized he hurt for her to be this terrified, and that she was terrified of him just made the ache worse. He felt moisture in his eyes and he finally knelt on the bed, taking her into his arms, gently, holding her entirely platonically, protectively.
“Sofia,” he whispered into her hair. “Please come back to me, my love. I will not harm you. I am sorry for scaring you.” He repeated that over and over until she finally relaxed in his arms, and she began crying into his chest. She slightly turned into him and her hands grasped at his shirt as she cried. He could only hold her and try to whisper words of comfort that he hoped got through her fear somehow.
He began to worry when her sobbing went on longer than he thought was healthy and yet she continued crying. He was on the verge of calling for a healer to help her when she began to hiccup and rubbed her nose on his shirt.
“I’m sorry, Ryluth,” she was still crying but it was at a level considerably less than before. “I’m so sorry. You moved like that and I went right back to that place I never want to be again.”
Ryluth began rocking her in his arms, saying nothing, and lightly kissing her head, like a parent would a child. His only desire at this point was to comfort her. He felt a tear trail down his face. He realized he hurt for her. Even after what her friends had told him, he knew it had to be worse than they even alluded to him. It frightened him on a very deep level that he could lose her to her own fears and memories. He could not fight those.
He had heard the tale of Arminius and Aliera and knew that female had been horribly used, and he had the feeling that Sofia had been as well. He should have given it more and her more care, but he’d been so determined to have her. He blamed no one but himself for her current fear. He had scared her by his actions, not taking a split second to think about how he needed to handle her. He could not forget that she had to be handled with care.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Sofia,” he whispered into her hair. “This was my fault.”
Her head shook against his chest.
“No, it’s me, Ryluth,” She began crying again. “Sometimes I just can’t get past the fear of being hurt.”
He shushed her and kept rocking her, trying to comfort her in any small way. His heart broke with each sob, over and over again. He felt hollowed out over her sorrow and her disgust with her own reaction. He felt wretched that he had caused this.
“I love you, Sofia,” he finally spoke to her softly. “Nothing you do could turn me away. I am only sorry that I caused you to feel such fear.”
Her head snapped up and he only just avoided having her head slam into his chin.
“What do you mean?” She asked. Her face was blotchy and her eyes red from all of the crying. Her small nose was delightfully red. He conjured a handkerchief and handed it to her.
“I mean,” he smiled down at her. “That I love you to the depths of my being and that you are my mate.”
She just stared at him.
“How... What...” She just stared in amazement. “How long?”
He chuckled. “Almost from the first time I caught your scent in that receiving room of Seth’s. I began questioning Cassie then and started the talks to have females come here to seek mates and permanent attachments.”
Her brow wrinkled up and her beautiful chestnut colored eyebrows took a dive towards her nose.
“But —That was years ago!”
“I am a dragon, my love. I am patient when it’s something I treasure.” He saw her eyes widen and her mouth open in wonder.
“You —You treasure me?” This was asked in such utter disbelief that such a thing could be that Ryluth sat in wonder that Sofia always came across as so self-assured. How could that be when she seemed to think she was not worth his time or thought?
He nodded, looking into her eyes, praying that his love for her to shone in his eyes, so that she could understand.
“You are my greatest treasure, my love. You fill my heart until I want to change forms and trumpet it across the entire world that you are mine and that no other may even think of you.”
She gasped and just stared at him.
“I just realized this morning that wh
at I felt for you was love, by how much you made me happy and how I was driven to care for you. The fact that I can easily...” she stopped and looked away, but quickly regained her composure. “I can easily accept your touch,” she reached up and cupped his face in her palm. “I love you, too, Ryluth, King of the Drakkos.”
He tipped his head down and gave her a chaste kiss. She surprised him by grabbing his head and giving him a better one. When they separated, both were laughing.
“I ordered your breakfast, figuring you’d be hungry after your exertions last night,” Sofia teased him.
“You have sucked me dry, woman. I will become a dried up husk of a dragon.”
Sofia laughed as she scrambled out of his lap and off the bed. “We will prop up your husk on your throne and no other being will know the difference.”
He chose a regal look. “The universe would be diminished while you ran everything in my name.”
“And, loving every moment of it.”
She heard a growl as he got up off the bed and giggled. She grabbed a piece of toasted bread and turned, stuffing it into his mouth as he came up on her. “Eat, mio diletto.” Then she laughed at the shocked look on his face.
“I am sure that so many of your ministers and diplomats wish to do that very thing.”
They both burst out laughing and the scare of just a short time before was gone and their usual easy-going repartee was back in place.
They plowed through their breakfast, laughing and talking. Ryluth explained why he was determined with the translation of the journal, while Sofia gossiped with him about her visit that morning to Nei’s room.
“Derno?” Ryluth asked. This was obviously not an outcome he had foreseen. “He’s so dour, so I can believe him closing the door in your face, but it was still rude to treat his future queen in that manner.”
Sofia stopped chewing in mid-bite and stared at him, but Ryluth continued talking about Derno’s behavior, not even noticing his ‘slip’.
The Air Witch's Dragon Page 14
