He finally managed, “I am mated to a goddess.”
Miranda groaned. “Zule, I am no goddess. Stop that, or rumors are going to fly out of this valley. If the hierarchy wants me assassinated for being an outer world Ancient, imagine what they would do if they think I am an inner world goddess. Chill out a little. You are so not coming to the sabbat rituals.”
“Miranda,” Tempest called out. She was still standing by the altar with all the excited woman.
“Zule, I am the same woman whose hands you tied to the bedpost last night, and hopefully the same one you will do that to again. I am no goddess. Think about the danger of such a rumor, please.” She stretched up on tiptoe, and still had to pull his hair to bend him down enough to kiss. She walked over to Tempest.
Zalana was beaming, and Miranda’s heart skipped at being in the center of such a group. “How do you feel? I mean, isn’t it the best? I told you it would rejuvenate you and clear out the old cobwebs.”
“Miranda, this will be the first of the new scrolls,” Zalana said excitedly. “Until we get a scribe, I guess I will have to write it down, and you will have to remind me of some of the words.”
Miranda’s face went blank.
“Oh man, a vision in the middle of our party. Get ready to grab her if she decides to deep six on us again.” Tempest got behind her.
The cloistered women could not have moved if an ibila was attacking. The Celestial was having a vision. On top of the ritual… they were in shock. Miranda's eyes began to refocus. “Terena.”
Terena stuttered, “Yes, what do you need, Miranda?”
“No Terena, it is you. I saw you. You were in this big crystal library thingy, and there were a lot of people writing like crazy, but you were the one with the originals they were copying. You have a photogenic memory.”
Terena looked confused, “A what?”
“It means you can remember exactly. What you see and what is said, you remember all of it. It’s true, isn’t it? You remember all the blessings.”
“Of course I do. No one could forget what happened here tonight.”
“But, they do not remember it exactly, and you do. You are the one to write them down. I knew I sensed a power in you. Tempest, maybe I’ll finally figure out what you’re supposed to do.” Miranda was thrilled as her abilities were beginning to have meaning for her.
“By the stars, Zalana.” Terena was still in shock. “I am to be scribe to the new scrolls as decreed by the Ancient herself.”
“I am so happy for you. Personally, I am scared witless. How am I to guide the Ancient when she can do things like this? It is like asking a child to teach its mother.”
The circle began to disperse. Mothers proudly hugged their daughters and begged for information on their experience. The gossip of the ritual would hit Laquista before dawn.
It was agreed the parents should stay in Ethram's quarters for the night. There was no way to properly guard the house and the valley the night before the ceremony. With so many people witnessing the ritual, the Majors from all three regiments tripped over communication lines reaching the Magistrate of Battle. He insisted on lengthy descriptions of the ritual and the Celestial’s trance as he shuffled papers, deciding how to best protect her.
He was not the only Magistrate making plans. The enemy Magistrates learned their kidnapping attempt had failed and, worse, the Magistrate of Battle already had a signed confession implicating them. All they could do was tell the commission the word of men with dubious character could not be trusted, and if that did not work they were going to say Zulien tortured the renegade soldiers until they lied. They knew the men would never reach Latisqua to refute whatever story they devised.
Now, the Ancient had begun holding rituals and trances… in public. With over thirty warriors in attendance, there would be no way to lessen the impact. They had to make the commission agree to order the Ancient brought to Latisqua... for her own protection, of course.
Miranda entered the joining chamber and stretched. She turned to her mate sitting on the sleeping pallet in the middle of the room. “Zule, will you stop staring at me like I have three eyes or something.”
“I would love you if you had three eyes, my mate.” He frowned and added, “I might have a problem with scales, though.”
“So, it’s just this touchy feely I have going on with the moons that upsets you?”
“I am not upset, Miranda.” Her handsome warrior looked at his feet. “I just do not understand why a warrior, with no real knowledge of the Old Religion, would be mated to you.”
Miranda felt like she had been punched in the stomach, and tears welled up in her eyes as she whispered, “You wish you were not mated to me, Zule?”
“No, oh gods, no. That is not at all what I mean.” Zule rushed over and pulled her against him, a feeling of loss was crushing his chest. He could feel her trembling, and felt guilty after the happiness she was feeling earlier. “I want you to teach me the Old Religion,” he confessed. “I want to feel the joy and passion I saw on your face tonight. I am a warrior, and I do not know if it is possible.”
Miranda was astonished. “But, your mother… I don’t understand.”
Zule guided her over to the joining pallet. “My mother had a vision when she was very young. She is convinced it came from an Ancient, and most of the women of visions she knows say the same thing happened to them. They believe it is the Old Religion, but nobody knows for sure. It was lost long before they were born. She does not know any rituals or blessings, and we only have vague knowledge to honor the moons, suns and our worlds.”
A far away look shone in his dark eyes, “We do know that the time of the Old Religion was a time of enlightenment. No one knows if there was ever a war before the Battles of Chaos.” Zule looked down at her. “This is what the inner worlds want back, peace and harmony. Mother watched what you did tonight, and she is questioning herself. She is afraid you are going to think she is a fraud,” he admitted.
“Zule, your mother lives the life of the Old Religion. It is not just a series of rituals. It is a way of life.” Miranda shook her head. “She must hate me and the pressure I’ve put her under. I feel terrible about this. I could be undermining her whole belief system. This has to stop. I’m no leader. I simply believe the way I believe, and I don’t want to mess with what works for other people.”
“Do you not see, Miranda? You are what works. Even if you do not think you are a leader, the people do. I heard Tempest whisper, ‘Just do it the way we do back home’. That is all you have to do, Miranda. That is living the life of the Old Religion, and it is what the inner worlds want back.”
Miranda gazed across the chamber, willing the light to dim. She pulled her caftan off, lay down on the pallet and held her arms out to her warrior. This was all so overwhelming. “Hold me, Zule. I need you to hold me.”
He quickly shucked his clothes and drew her close. The warmth of his strong bronze body felt comforting. “What does it feel like, when the moon joins with you?”
“Light, like you do not even realized how heavy all the junk inside you is until its weight is being held up. When the beam pulls back, it feels as though it takes all the ugly stuff, things that are wrong or troubling, back with it. That is why I call it my cleansing ritual. I feel so clean and free when it is finished.” Miranda began tracing her finger on his chest. A slight pulse twitched her core.
“Can a man share this ritual?” Zule’s fingers traced lightly down her back. His cock began lengthening and twitching in time with her pulse.
“I really don’t know, but I don’t see why not.” Miranda tried to think. She realized it was becoming more difficult with each brush of his hand and smell of his scent. “There was a man in the disastrous esbat in the glade.”
She felt the vibration of a growl rumble through his chest. “You will not share this cleansing with another man, Miranda.”
“Calm down, Zule. Cripes, the guy is on another planet.” Secretly, she was pleased
he was jealous.
Zule felt much better. The man would be swallowed with that world soon. “Would you teach me?”
Miranda scooted up and leaned over him. In the dim lights, she could see his sincerity. “Of course I will. I should have had you by my side tonight.” She leaned down and kissed him as his arms circled around her, pulling her close.
She lifted her head and he brushed her long shining hair away from her face. Her azure eyes were wide, and he looked deep into their depths, feeling her power, wisdom and love. “Never has a mate been as beautiful as you, Miranda. By the stars, I know this is true. You have made the centuries of my yearning seem but an instant, and I would gladly wait twice as long for your discovery, knowing your arms would be held open to me.”
Miranda wiggled her hips as they resting on his stomach. Their arousal was building and she felt the weight of his shaft on her bottom. “I’m sure glad you didn’t have to wait twice as long."
His hand tangled in her hair and he pulled her lips to his again, opening and devouring her mouth. Her hands rested on the pillow on either side of his head, and her fingertips stroked his wild mane as he lowered his hands and lightly kneaded her bottom, pulling her into him. Involuntarily, she rubbed her dampening sex against his flat stomach. Her channel felt empty, longing for him to join with her.
Desire mounted, and she could not understand how her nipples became so sensitive when he touched her. As her passion grew, she quivered with anticipation, and as she felt one large hand stroke the length of her side, her nails dug deep into his shoulders. The warrior groaned into her mouth.
Her lips left his and kissed their way down his chin and onto his chest. She found the tight peak of a darkened nipple and bit lightly. “By the stars, Miranda. I am in such need.” Her tongue licked the trapped peak. Hands circled her waist, squeezing in time to the rhythmic pulse of their sex.
Miranda abandoned the nipple and continued to leave kisses along the corded muscles of his abdomen. His hands found their way to her silken hair as she traveled lower. Miranda was curious. She had never been this close to a man’s shaft, and decided to take her time discovering its wonders.
Her core spasmed wildly at the first inhale of his scent. Zulien felt her little fingers brushing the thick curls surrounding his manhood, and when they ran up the length of his shaft, he gasped. Miranda studied the small drop of fluid glistening on the slit of the crown, and a tentative tongue reached out to taste him. One hand gripped him to hold the trembling staff still, while the other searched the sack at his base.
Zulien gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw tightly. By all the stars of the inner worlds, he needed to be inside her. Her mouth came down on him, able to take little more than his thick tip inside, and as her tongue swirled under the ridge it caused his nerves to fire and shoot through him like sparks. Her grip tightened as the object of her attention jerked in her fist.
Her other fingers continued to travel around his balls, tracing and then gently squeezing one side, rolling the marble inside in wonder. She sucked at the velvet smoothness in her mouth and he reached under her arms, pulling her away. He pushed her on her back and kneed her thighs apart.
“I wasn’t finished,” she whispered her complaint.
The warrior braced himself over her, his dark hair hanging almost to her chest. “I can stand no more of your torture for fear I will split my little Ancient open with my spear. It needs the grip of your wet sheath. Now.”
He lunged forward and into her with one deep thrust. His shaking arms buckled and he dropped to his elbows. “Aaargh.” His scream of passion echoed off the walls, and Miranda was lost.
She scored his back in mindless passion as she thrust her hips to meet him. “Oh goddess of the moon, what is happening to me?” she cried. With all his agonizing size, she needed him deeper, and her thick cream drooled to the pallet on each of his retreats, while she demanded his return to her gripping channel.
Zulien’s teeth chattered with the force of his desire. He felt himself building towards eruption, and thrust with a frenzy. Miranda sensed the thickening of his shaft within her, and then she was holding an open palm to the moon behind the crystal pyramid. Her other hand reached out to the blackness of space, and a white line left her fingertips focusing on a point in the distance, concentrating its light until a new star appeared.
When she came out of her trance, Zulien was holding her quivering body. Tears spilled down her face and onto his chest, mixing with the sweat from their exertions. His mouth was buried in her hair, lips whispering tender words. “Your mate holds you, little Ancient. No one will harm you, my mate.” She balled her fist on his chest and he realized she was coming back to him.
When he had cum, he had seen her face mirror his passion, and then her expression went blank, and he thrilled with her vision until fear passed into her features. It frightened him, and he held her close. It was several minutes before her eyes began to clear. “My stars, little one, you gave me a bit of a fright that time.”
She brushed a kiss on his chin and he lay her down. Melting her body beside him, she held the strong arm of her protector around her until she could finally settle down enough to sleep. Her last conscious thought was, Cripes, I’m getting married tomorrow.
CHAPTER IX
Zalana had been up for an hour, nervously pacing Ethram's quarters with Terena. “This whole joining has been unpredictable.”
“Yes, but Zalana, what you are suggesting.” Terena shook her head. “To interrupt the mates in their joining chamber? I do not know.”
Wringing her hands, Zalana replied, “We must wake them. If the Ancient wants a morning feast again, we will be late for the ceremonies.” She turned to her mate. “Zibula, what do you think?”
“If I were answering for Zule and Tali, I would say lock the door and throw away the keys. The boys finally seem to have them settled down and accepting things, and I only heard Tempest shriek once last night.”
“No, she did it again right before I nodded off,” Terena admitted.
Zibula continued, “Why not prepare the feast? Then you can wake them, and if she is not hungry we can give it to the guards.”
The mothers agreed this was the best course. Zalana made a stack of the flatbreads she had carefully watched Miranda make. She was pleased she remembered the recipe, as it was used in the blessing the night before. Terena sent one of the guards after more pallachi juice.
When everything was ready, the mothers smoothed their dresses, ran their hands through their curls, straightened with as much courage as they could muster, and headed towards the joining chambers.
Zule heard the soft knocking on the door and woke Miranda as he bounded out of bed. Not knowing if the Major was bringing him a warning for his mate, he threw the door open. “Mother, is anything wrong?”
“No, Zule. I just wanted to let you and Miranda know a feast is prepared if you are hungry.” Now, Zalana felt miserable for disturbing them. “If you desire to feast, we must do it soon or risk being late for the ceremonies.”
“Thank you, Zalana,” Miranda called from across the room. “We’ll be right over. I’m starving.”
Zalana beamed. “I have made the ritual flatbreads.”
Miranda smiled at yet another misconception. Was everything she did to be attributed to ritual? “I hope we have enough of the syrup, er, pallachi juice left.”
“Terena sent the guard to get more,” Zalana assured her.
“Okay, see you in a few.” Miranda reached for her caftan.
Zalana met Terena as she was leaving Tali’s chamber. “As I expected, my son was not thrilled by the interruption, but my daughter was already dressing before I finished speaking.”
“You answered the door butt naked, Zule.” Miranda handed him his breeches.
“I was butt naked when the door was knocked upon,” he explained.
“Yes, but you answered the door to your mother… naked,” Miranda emphasized.
A confused look pa
ssed over the big man’s face. “My mother has seen me naked before, mate. I was not born wearing aaragon breeches.”
“I hope to imagine you’ve changed some since you were an infant.”
His mate’s ways were difficult to understand, he decided.
Tempest caught up to them as they passed the altar, and she grabbed Miranda's arm and pulled her off to the side, whispering, “Is your guy as incredible in the sack as Tali?”
Miranda leaned in with a conspiring closeness. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in the sack with Tali."
Tempest punched her lightly in the arm. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, Zule is undoubtedly the most incredible man I could have ever imagined. I feel so safe when he holds me, Tempest. It is like nothing can hurt me, and the sex… let’s just say it is a good thing shallistones are not flammable.”
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