Empyrean: Return of the Fire Faery

by Twyla Turner

  Rafe

  “I thought I’d lost you,” I whispered fervently against her thick hair.

  “I’m sorry.” I felt her lips move against my neck, and I shivered.

  I placed her back on her feet and pulled back slightly. I released her waist. My hands immediately finding her soft freckled cheeks. My thumbs brushed at the smudges on her smooth skin.

  “Don’t ever look at me like you’re going to give up again! Do you hear me?!” I growled as I clutched her face and looked into her amber eyes.

  “I won’t. I promise.” Immy said softly, a single tear falling down her cheek.

  I lowered my head towards hers, not caring whether we had an audience or not. My lips found hers, and I groaned at the feel of her plush lips against mine. She gripped the sleeves of my shirt in her fists and then pulled away with a gasp.

  “Warley! I almost forgot.” She looked at me in shock. “Their leader. He’s still up there.” She pointed at the Dark Isle.

  Reluctantly, I let her go for the moment. I turned to Wakeley, and he nodded his head in understanding. His imprints turned dark green as he raised his hands up. As he curled his hands into fists, the floating island crumbled in on itself. As if it was imploding. Then he threw his hands apart, and the island exploded into a million pieces and fell to the ground like it was raining rock and dirt.

  A cheer went up through the soldiers. Everyone clapped each other on the back, excited to have won this battle. Suddenly, some of the rocks began to move in the pile of debris. Immy pulled out her sword that was tied to the saddle on Daegan’s back, ready for her once she was rescued. She moved towards what was left of the island. I stayed by her side as the others followed closely behind us.

  I bent down and lifted a heavy boulder from on top of the injured gryphon and tossed it to the side. Its piercing black eyes looked up at us, and a shiver ran through me at the evil I felt.

  “You won’t win.” Warley gasped. “Hafgrim will defeat you and darkness will fill Empyrean and Earth. There’s nothing you can do to stop it. Because even if the dark ones didn’t try to spread hate and darkness here, the humans on Earth are doing all the work for us. You, humans, are your own worst enemy.” He laughed venomously. “Now go on. Kill me. I know it’s what you want.”

  I saw Immy’s hand tighten on the hilt of her sword. She leaned down to get in his face.

  “Humans are not inherently bad. There is more love and hope in us than you could ever know. And to show you just how much love and mercy we have, I’ll let you live. Live to watch your plan fail.” Immy stood up and looked over at Rae. “Can you heal him?”

  “Y-Yes. But are you sure?” She asked Imogen skeptically.

  “Yes, I’m sure.” Immy nodded.

  “Ooookay.” Rae drew out the word.

  I was just as skeptical as Rae and everyone else appeared to be as well. But it was Immy that was running the show. She had been right numerous times before, so I wasn’t going to be the one to tell her she was wrong. I just hoped that she knew what she was doing.

  Rae’s healing pulses arced out from her hands. Warley’s broken body snapped back into place, and he slowly stood. Once he was healed, Rae moved her hands over Immy and healed the gash on the back of her head.

  “That gash has been giving me a headache for days.” Rae teased.

  “Thank you,” Immy smiled at the purple faery gratefully. Then she turned to the gryphon. “Now go. Fly back to Hafgrim and tell him that we’re coming. And he will be defeated.”

  Warley spread his wings. He flapped them a few times and lifted off of the ground. We watched as he flew off to the west. Deep into the darkness of Myrkur. Immy took a deep breath she must have been holding and turned to me.

  “Two gauntlets down. Two more to go.” She said wearily. “This war business is exhausting. Why would anyone chose to be at war like this?”

  “Those in charge chose it. And they are rarely the ones that actually have to do battle. So they rarely care, as long as they win and get what they want at the end of it.” I explained to her, and she nodded solemnly.

  “Well, at least we’re still winning the battle for good,” Immy commented. “Now, I think it’s time we release Daegan’s family.” She turned to Wakeley. “Hey, do you think you could bring back Unicris to the way it once was?” She asked him.

  “Of course,” Wakeley smirked.

  He kneeled down to the ground. He placed his hands on the brown grass. His imprints turned a very light, and pastel green and they waved wildly. Slowly, moving out in a circle from his hands, the land began to turn from the dreary gray of death, back to the verdant green it was before. The dead shrub wall burst with green leaves.

  Daegan walked towards the vine entrance to his lands and touched his horn to them. They unraveled and opened immediately. Immy and I followed him through the doorway. We looked around in awe as Wakeley’s healing earthly touch continued to spread.

  The brown leafless vines of hundreds of eerie weeping willows slowly turned back to their pink and purple hues one by one. The thorny walls that kept the unicorns prisoner finally unraveled and fell, and they stepped joyfully over them. One of the unicorns, I assumed was his lady, trotted towards us and straight to Daegan to nuzzle his neck.

  “Daegan! You saved us. You all did,” she said with relief.

  “I couldn’t leave you all to die, Kaya. No matter if I’m welcome or not. This is still my home, and you’re all still my family.” Daegan said graciously.

  “They were wrong about you,” Kaya said as she looked at his new wings. “Your differences weren’t a sign of evil. They were just proof that you are special. And I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. I’ve always cared for you, I was just too shy to tell you.”

  “Thank you, Kaya,” Daegan said bashfully.

  Two more unicorns stepped forward hesitantly. Kaya stepped out of the way so that the three could talk.

  “D-Daegan. I’m so sorry for not believing in you, son.” The emperor said gravely.

  “We will never forgive ourselves for treating you so poorly.” Daegan’s mother spoke up, her voice filled with shame.

  “Well, I forgive you,” Daegan said kindly. I was impressed by his ability to forgive what most wouldn’t. “So you should forgive yourselves too. Now, how about we find a way to refill the lake and watering stream? Rafe? You can help, right?” He looked to me, and I grinned and nodded. That was that. All was forgiven.

  Daegan began to walk towards the dried up lake and stream as Immy, and I followed. As he walked through the gathered unicorns, they parted to let him pass. As he did, each unicorn dipped their front legs and bowed their heads respectfully. It was a sea of pristine white. His gleaming black coat and new wings stood out among them, in beautiful contrast. He held his head up proudly as he walked by.

  I glanced down at Immy, and her amber eyes sparkled with tears. She looked up at me and a beautiful smile spread across her face. Joy for her friend radiated from her soul and seeped through every pore.

  She was stunning. And no matter what she said, she was mine, and I was hers.

  Chapter 35

  Imogen

  I sank deeper into the little secluded rock pool connected to the lake that Rafe had refilled about an hour ago, with his power over water. I sank down until I was completely submerged. I opened my eyes underwater to watch the soapy bubbles float to the surface. It felt so good to be clean after days on that grimy island of darkness and death. The faery soap I had in my satchel was some type of miracle soap. Not only did it clean my body, but it did wonders for my natural coiling hair. It cleaned, conditioned, and detangled the bird’s nest my hair had become.

  I wonder if I could take it to Earth and make a couple million in just a few years, give it all away like a redheaded Santa Claus, and then come back to Empyrean when I’m done? It’s a thought. If things didn’t work out, it could always be my plan B.

  I felt my lungs start to burn, and I pushed up off of a rock and broke thr
ough the surface of the water. I sensed eyes on me, in the middle of my private bath. I turned and saw Rafe sitting on a rock at the water’s edge. I instinctively wrapped my arms around my upper half and sank lower into the water till it came to my chin.

  “What are you doing, Rafe?” I asked, scowling at him.

  “I just came to check on you, to make sure you hadn’t drowned or anything.” He grinned at me.

  “Well, I’m fine. You can go now.” I responded sternly.

  “What if I need to bathe too?” He taunted me.

  “Then I’d tell you to wait your turn.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” He cocked his head to the side. “Look, I promise I won’t cross the line. Unless you want me to.” Rafe coaxed me as he began to remove his vest and shirt.

  “What are you doing?!” I began to panic.

  “Getting undressed so I can take a bath.” He said as if he was talking about taking a stroll through the park.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see him in all of his glory. It wasn’t even that I wasn’t curious about sex. I was falling, or honestly, had already fallen in love with him and being intimate seemed like a natural progression of that emotion. But that didn’t mean I was comfortable in my own skin just yet. And it definitely didn’t mean that I wanted him to see my full-figured body in all my glory.

  So my mouth flapped opened and closed in an attempt to say something, but nothing came out. My eyes widened as he bared more skin. I turned my head away and squeezed my eyes shut as he began to undo his pants. My curiosity got the best of me, though and my right eye cracked open just a little. I just wanted a small peek. He tried to be somewhat discreet and had turned his back to me. As his pants dropped, I saw that he had an adorable ass. Also, I finally got to see if his imprints went further down. They did. They traveled down the right side of his back, the side of one cheek, and down his leg to his foot. He really was quite beautiful.

  I watched as he backed into the water, keeping his back to me so that he didn’t flash me with his private bits. Once he was waist deep in the water, he turned to me and smiled reassuringly.

  “See? I’m behaving.” He grinned.

  “Uh huh. We’ll see.” I gave him the side eye.

  “Could you pass the soap?” He asked sweetly, and I gave him a look.

  I knew he was trying to get me to come closer to him. Well, I wasn’t that stupid. I took the bar of soap and tossed it to him. I wasn’t the best at sports, and the soap flew over his head and plunked into the water behind him. Rafe gave me a knowing look and then dove under the water. I started to get nervous when he didn’t come right back up. In fact, he was under for far longer than most humans could stay under water. I started to panic and was about to scream his name and dive under when something grabbed my foot and pulled me down. I screeched before I was pulled under the water.

  The water was crystal clear, and once I was fully submerged, I could see that it was Rafe that had pulled me under. He grinned slyly at me and kissed me under the water. Then he pushed us both up to the surface. I sputtered and pushed my hair out of my face before shoving him hard.

  “You are such a jerk!” I shouted. “You scared the shit outta me! I thought you’d drowned or something.” I scowled at him.

  “I was just messing with you.” He tried to swim closer to me, but I pressed my hands against his chest to stop him.

  “You stay right there,” I warned. I tried not to think about the fact that the water was so clear, he probably saw all of my naked body under the water. Instead of thinking about it, I decided to keep talking. “So you can hold your breath for a really long time? Or is it that you can breathe under water?”

  “I’m a blue faery that has control over water.” He shrugged. “So, of course, I can breathe under water.”

  “Wow,” I said nervously as he moved closer and I moved back.

  “Why are you running from me?”

  “Because I’m not comfortable.”

  “Not comfortable? It’s me.”

  “Um, you’re fine. For the most part.” I turned away from his piercing blue gaze and continued softly. “I…I’m not comfortable with my body.”

  With my back to him in embarrassment, I didn’t realize that he’d moved closer to me until I felt his skin and his heat against mine. His chest to my back. Startled, I whipped my head back to look at him. The look he gave me was the sweetest most loving look I’ve ever received from someone that wasn’t my parents.

  “Let’s get a couple of things out of the way, alright?”

  “Alright.”

  “You. Are. Beautiful. To me, you are perfect in every way. No two people’s bodies are the same, and there is someone for everyone. You just so happen to be for me.” His lips touched the shell of my ear as he spoke. My eyes closed, feeling his words caress me. “What I love most, though?” My breath hitched at the word love. “Is this.” His fingertip touched my temple. “And this.” His arm came around, and he rested his hand against my chest, over my pounding heart. “Your mind and your heart are just as beautiful as the rest of you. “This…” Rafe rested his hands against either side of my thick waist. “This is just an added bonus. A bonus that I happen to like…a lot!”

  I laughed shyly at his teasing. “Thanks.”

  “But like I said, I won’t push you until you’re ready. I just wanted to be close to you. To touch you. Skin to skin. The thought of losing you earlier shook me, and now I just want to be near you.”

  He turned me in his arms and wrapped me up in a warm embrace. Our bodies were flush against each other. He remained respectful and let my body get used to touching his, to know what he felt like. Which he definitely felt like a human male I had seen in the anatomy section of my biology book. And I could tell that he really did like my body. His erection laid against my stomach and pubic bone, like the proverbial elephant in the room that we decided to ignore. He also took the time to help me feel comfortable being naked with another person. With my soft body pressed against his hard, muscular body. After a while, I relaxed almost completely.

  Rafe raised his hand to the side of my face and caressed my skin gently. I leaned my head into the touch. His cobalt eyes sparkled with affection before his full, sculpted lips claimed mine. The kiss escalated quickly. Soft, nibbling pecks moved swiftly to tongues stroking and entwining deeply. He pulled me tighter to him, my breasts pressed against his chest. Of their own accord, my legs wrapped around his waist and my hips rocked forward, causing a delicious friction between his rigid length and my soft folds.

  “Ahh! Immy, you’re killing me.” Rafe broke away from my lips.

  “Me?! You started it,” I said and kissed his chiseled jaw.

  “I’ll be honest. If we stay in this position and you keep kissing me like that and rocking your hips against me, I’m gonna be tempted to take your virginity in this lake,” Rafe admitted.

  “I’m tempted to say, ‘Screw it, just take it!’” I panted against his lips.

  “This isn’t the way I want to do it. But there is something…” Rafe trailed off.

  He reluctantly pulled me away from his body. He turned me and pressed his front to my back once more. I felt his warm breath on my ear. Rafe’s lips touched my sensitive earlobe and his warm tongue flicked out to taste my skin. I gasped and shivered in his arms. Arms that moved from around my waist and slid up my body to cup my heavy breasts.

  His long, slightly calloused fingers found their way to my sensitive nipples. Never had anyone touched that part of me before. Even I hadn’t touched them in a sexual way before. The sensations Rafe evoked had my back arching, pressing my breasts even further into his eager hands. His kisses scorched my skin as he trailed them down my neck to my shoulder and back again. As his fingers made me seek more, his lips made me squirm against him, searching for more down below.

  “Rafe! Please!” I begged. For what, I didn’t know.

  His lips found my ear again and he whispered breathlessly, “I’ll take car
e of you.”

  His right hand slid away from my breast. I began to protest, but stopped when I felt where his hand was headed. His fingers glided over my rounded tummy to the thatch of hair at the apex of my legs. One thick digit slipped between my folds and I couldn’t stop the cry of pleasure that escaped my lips.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God, t-that feels amazing!”

  “Do you want more, Immy?”

  “Y-Yes, please.”

  Rafe quickly obliged me. His finger dipped into my most secret place and my inner walls contracted around his finger.

  He growled in my ear and then bit down on my lobe. “You feel incredible. So hot and slick. I can’t wait to make you mine in every way.”

  My hips undulated against his hand. I felt something stirring deep within me, but I didn’t quite understand it. Rafe then slid his finger out from my heat and glided his finger to the bundle of nerves that had hardened and become more sensitive from my arousal. The rough pad of his finger gently stroked my clit in a circular motion and I bucked wildly. Water splashed and I pressed the back of my head against his shoulder as cries of ecstasy burst from my throat.

  Rafe continued his erotic torture on my body. That stirring that had begun before, built up swiftly, spreading tension through my entire being. With his left hand, Rafe rolled my nipple between his fingers. Below, he strummed my little button. The tension within my body exploded in a shower of pure rapture. Rafe had to clamp his hand over my mouth as I screamed. The other hand continued to stroke me in slow motion, in an attempt to bring me down from my euphoric high. But my body continued to spasm and tremble.

  Rafe finally released my mouth and my now overly sensitive clit. He wrapped me up in a comforting embrace as aftershocks rippled through me. My very first orgasm left me in awe, near tears, and ready for more.

  If sexual acts and sex itself is like this all the time, sign me up for a lifetime membership. I smiled in blissful exhaustion.

  I’m not gonna touch that with a ten foot pole. I heard Daegan comment.