Vykor Page 9

  She moaned, and he moved again, this time to lift her legs and drape them over his shoulders. She leaned back against the rocks that cradled her at the perfect angle to watch as he leaned in and buried his head between her thighs. He went straight for her clit, sucking the delicate pearl into his mouth and lashing it with his tongue. Stars exploded in her vision, and just when she felt like she couldn’t take anymore, he slid two fingers into her channel, curving them so his fingertips hit a sensitive spot she didn’t even know she had.

  “Vykor!” His name rose from her lips in a shocked gasp, and then she was falling, tumbling into a breathless bliss as her orgasm bloomed.

  The rux had him ensnared and he wasn’t even trying to resist any longer. All he wanted was Lily. Her scent was a drug, her taste as intoxicating as the finest liquor. He rose out of the water and took her in his arms again, drawing her back into the pool.

  She wrapped her arms and legs around him, slick skin sliding over his as they sank back into the water, mouths already fused together in a kiss that was already better than any sex he’d ever had.

  “Need you,” he told her when he next broke the kiss to breathe.

  “Yes. Need you, too.”

  That was all he needed to hear. He moved back to one of the ledges he’d crafted into the stone and drew her into his lap, arranging her limbs so she was straddling him again. He kissed her hard as he guided their bodies together, barely biting back a groan of raw pleasure when he finally slid home.

  She moaned, the sound vibrating against his lips and tongue. It was a low, needy sound that broke the last threads of his control. She was so tight around him that every flex of her inner walls was almost painfully intense, and he knew it would only get better.

  He rolled his hips, arching upward to drive himself deeper, and she moaned again, her hands on his shoulders as she braced herself against his thrusts.

  She kept her eyes open, and he found himself lost in their violet depths. This was his mate, his sadina. Now, and forever. That knowledge drove him to new heights of passion, and he powered into her, his hands gripping her hips, controlling the pace, and at the same time, keeping her balanced above him.

  They raced each other to the heights of pleasure, too caught up in each other to take things slow. There’d be time for that, later. He wanted to unwrap her like a present, discovering her secrets one by one, but for now, all he wanted was her.

  The rhythm of their lovemaking grew wild and erratic, and as he hurtled toward orgasm he reached between them, pressing the pad of his finger to her clit. He wanted to bring her over with him. Her inner walls gripped him hard, pulsating around his cock as she came. His fangs ached with a sudden urge to bite her, but he didn’t give in. The next time he did that, they’d do it together, cementing their bond.

  Just the thought of her biting him took him over the edge and he exploded into release, crying out her name as he emptied himself inside her.

  Once the storm of their passion began to ebb, he folded her into his arms and held tight, their bodies still connected. For the first time in his life, he felt whole. He had his mate and his dragon, their presences filling him with a sense of peace and belonging he’d never imagined possible.

  Lily stirred in his arms, looking around the bower he’d created for her. “I still can’t believe you made all this for me. It’s…” she raised a dripping hand to gesture around them. “I don’t have the words to describe how amazing this is. Especially since you’ve only had your magic for a short time.”

  “Karos had a few suggestions,” he admitted. The older dragon had been generous with his ideas, support, and wisdom. He owed the male a debt of thanks he’d be more than happy to repay once they were together again.

  “But you made it happen. I don’t know the rituals of your species, Vykor, but I imagine there’s a moment when I’m supposed to accept this gift and what it means.” Soft fingers, still wet from the pool, touched his cheek. “This place pleases me. Hell, it amazes me! And so do you, my mate. Very much.”

  A fierce sense of pride tore through him. “And you please me, sadina. So much my heart is full.” He basked in the moment, knowing that he would spend the rest of his life trying to make her as happy as they were now.

  Chapter Nine

  Vykor slipped out of bed without waking Lily. The rux had taxed them both to the limits of their endurance, driving them into each other’s arms again and again. They’d lost themselves in the all-consuming madness of the mating fever, making up for the time they’d lost. Waiting had been necessary, but now that he knew what he’d been resisting, it was hard not to have regrets. If he’d claimed her right away, she would never have been hurt. Assuming the claiming would have worked, that is. Until his dragon had manifested, it might not have.

  He looked back at his mate, her naked body only partially covered by a blanket and felt a sudden need to return to bed. He could wrap himself around her, protect her while she slept. But he didn’t. He was thinking clearly for the first time in days, and there were questions he needed answered. Answers only his dragon could provide.

  He walked to the bathing grotto he’d made for them, pausing on the way to pick up the communicator they’d brought with them. Once he was settled in the steaming water, he worked his way through the messages, reading some, archiving others for later, and listening to the voice messages left by his friends and their mates. They’d spoken a few times since parting company, ensuring everyone was still safe.

  Jet and Hanna were back at the embassy, and their updates included news about who had been charged, how the humans were reacting to the news, and how the search for other malcontents was going. So far, Kyle appeared to have been the only one, but the investigation was far from over. They wouldn’t stop until they were sure the embassy was secure.

  It turned out that Kyle’s recruitment hadn’t been a question of belief in the cause, it had been about money. By the time he realized they had no intention of paying him what they’d promised, his part was already done, and he’d been left with no choice but to stay with the group in hopes they’d protect him. He’d been more than happy to discuss everything he knew with the authorities. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been much.

  The last message was marked as being from the Temple of Solun, on Romak. He set the unit aside without playing the message. He wasn’t ready to deal with them. Not until he had some answers.

  “Why have you only manifested now?” he sent the thought to his dragon.

  “Prisoner. Walls. Constrained me.” It was the same answer as before, but he didn’t understand it any better the second time.

  “What walls? Who imprisoned you?” he pressed.

  “You.”

  A tendril of pure ice coiled around his heart and he shivered despite being surrounded by hot water. “No! It wasn’t me. I spent my life waiting and hoping you’d appear.”

  “Your walls,” the dragon insisted.

  “Explain.”

  “Too much control. All the time. Could not move. You would not hear me. I slept. Waited. Then you found her. She called. Made me strong. I am free now.”

  The dragon’s simple explanation filled him first with horror, then fury. “Too much control? You couldn’t manifest because of the priests’ insistence that I control my anger? That’s why I was without you all these years?”

  “Yes.”

  Frost and Flame, he’d done it to himself. Convinced the priests were right and he was born without a dragon’s spirit, he’d locked himself down, channelled his anger and resentment into his research, never letting it out. Never even admitting it was there. Gods! He wanted to scream in fury and frustration. Lily had seen the truth right away. He hadn’t been rejected by the Gods, he’d belonged to both of them. But the only ones who should have known it, who were supposed to speak for the Lord of Frost and the Lady of Flame, had been so convinced of their own theories they hadn’t heard their Gods.

  He’d struggled to find a place for himself, to accept wha
t he was. Now he was something else. He held out a hand, summoning a swirling orb of violet energy a few inches above his palm, then dismissing it with a flick of his fingers.

  He was a dragon, but he was still a misfit. He had magic, but it wasn’t like any other Romaki’s. Who am I? What am I? He’d sought the answers to those questions once, and now, he needed to answer those same questions again. All because he’d listened to the priests and locked away a part of himself because he thought it was the right thing to do.

  “I was such a fool.” He rose from the water, conjuring a robe the moment his feet hit the floor. He wanted to wake Lily and tell her what he’d learned, but she was exhausted. He’d let her rest a little longer. Besides, there was one more thing he needed to do, first.

  He picked up the communicator and carried it outside with him, moving far enough from the structure there was no chance Lily would be woken by the incoming message. The forest was quiet, even the occasional creak of branches muffled by the snow. It was almost midday, but the sun was hidden behind heavy cloud cover, dark with the threat of snow.

  The message was a pre-recorded hologram, so he took a moment to reshape a section of snow into a table and placed the unit on top of it. Then, he activated the message and stepped back to watch.

  He didn’t recognize the pair of Romaki shown in the projection, though their attire was familiar enough. The male was a priest of Solun, the female was from the Order of Daga, and both of them wore an elaborate seal on a chain around their necks. These weren’t simple priests, they were the High Priests of the Temples, and they wanted to talk to him.

  He bared his fangs and snarled, already aware that whatever they had to say, he wasn’t going to like it. Not now he knew the truth. He might have been the one to lock away part of himself, but he’d done it at the instruction of priests like these.

  The female spoke first. “Greetings Vykor Halek. Word of your transformation has reached us, and we wished to send our congratulations. Welcome to the skies.” She intoned the ritualistic words.

  “Indeed. Welcome to the skies, and congratulations on the claiming of your human mate.” The male priest’s expression turned sour for a moment. “Though by now, I assume you have claimed her, and thus she is no longer human, but a proper Romaki.”

  He already didn’t like where this was going. A proper Romaki? What in the name of Solun’s frosty balls did that even mean?

  The male continued speaking. “I trust you already understand the importance of your transformation, not only for yourself, but for all Romaki. Once we have verified that you wield the powers of both Solun and Daga, it will be a powerful sign that the Gods wish us to continue exploring the cosmos and expanding our influence over other worlds and cultures.”

  The female shot a look of irritation at her companion. “Expansion can wait. You represent hope and healing for our species, a symbol for all to look upon as we seek to heal after the unrest and horrors of war.”

  The priest shrugged. “Perhaps. What we can agree on, is that you need to come home, Son of Romak. For the good of all your species, you are needed here. You and your mate will return as soon as possible so that we may verify your abilities and then train you to use them. If the reports are true, then you have tremendous powers, and you will need to learn how to wield them properly. A ship is already being arranged to carry you and your mate home,” the male said.

  “Once your time of seclusion is over, of course,” the female added.

  Anger tore through him, leaving his soul raw. Now, they wanted him back? Not because they cared about him, but because of what he represented. “Not happening.”

  He had heard enough. He paused the recording, leaving the hologram of the two priests suspended in the air over the snow-crafted table. A Son of Romak? He’d been treated as an outcast for his entire life. An ancient law prevented him from even knowing his name or lineage. The priest had named him, and they hadn’t used a lot of imagination doing it. Vykor Halek literally translated to the lost one from Halek, the town where he’d been found. If they hadn’t given up on him, he might have come into his powers years ago. What right did they have to command him to come back now?

  His anger grew as he replayed the message in his mind. He had no interest in helping the temples spread their influence, and even less in becoming a religious symbol. If they wanted to verify his powers, they could come to Earth. He’d be happy to give them a personal demonstration! He paced in circles around the table, growing angrier with every circuit.

  “Learn to wield my powers properly? You don’t even know what they are! You denied I could have them in the first place.” He stormed away from the table, letting his fury overtake him as an act of defiance to the ones who had taught him to control it in the first place. They’d beaten him down and used him as an example of the Gods’ displeasure. Now, they wanted to use him again. It would never happen. “My sadina will never be a proper Romaki, and neither will I!”

  The change took him unawares and in a matter of heartbeats he had taken to the skies as a dragon. As he flew, he gave voice to his fury, his bellows loud enough to shake the snow from the trees beneath him.

  His anger burned hotter than the heart of a star as he let himself revisit every bitter memory of his childhood. He would have done anything to escape, but he couldn’t. The priests had banned all travel off-planet, claiming it was the Gods’ will. The priests. It all came back to them. They’d done this, and he’d allowed it because he hadn’t known any better.

  It took longer than he should have to realize that not all the anger he felt was his own, and longer still for him to let go of his fury and start to think rationally again. They’d been right about one thing: he didn’t know how to be a dragon. He’d spent his entire adult life being something else. Lily didn’t know how to be a dragon, either. As her mate, he should be the one to teach her, but how could he, when he barely knew what he was doing? Doubts tore at him, as sharp and cold as the mountain winds that screamed past his wings.

  He was far from the valley when it finally dawned on him. He had never made the decision to shift forms. He hadn’t even considered it, but here he was. His dragon had done it on his own. So much for being in control. Even his dragon had more say in his actions than he did. That would have to change.

  “We need to go back,” he told the beast as he tried to wrest control away.

  “Never going back. Free!”

  “To Romak? Never. To Lily. We need to go back to Lily.”

  The beast didn’t answer, but some of the anger swirling inside him started to fade, and he regained partial control. It was enough for him to slow their flight and begin a long, sweeping turn that would take him back to their valley, and their mate.

  “Lily. Protect. Ours.”

  “Which we aren’t doing right now, because you flew away…and I let it happen.” Karos had been right. Keeping the balance between the two parts of his nature wasn’t easy, and he’d screwed it up. Badly.

  “Go back. Protect,” the beast sounded chagrined, and a second later it receded to the back of his mind.

  He tightened the turn and winged his way back toward their valley. Romaki youth all underwent a period of adjustment while learning to live with the dual parts of their nature. Both he and his dragon had scars created over the years they’d been kept apart. It was going to take time to work through them all. He could see that, now.

  “I will never lock you away again. And we are never going to allow anyone else to control us. We are free, now.”

  There was no answer save for a rumble of approval from the beast. For now, that would be enough. Later, when the rux was over and he could think clearly, the two of them would have to find their balance. At least they had one thing they could always agree on. Lily.

  He shouldn’t have left her alone, though the valley was safe enough. The nearest humans would be dozens of kilometres away at least, and the local carnivores would all be hibernating through the heaviest part of the winter. Stil
l, he wouldn’t let himself lose control like that again. She was too precious to risk.

  Lily didn’t know what had woken her, but something felt wrong. Had she heard a dragon’s roar, or was that just something from her dreams? She’d been dreaming of dragons for days, now. No surprise there. All her good dreams had been about Vykor, dragons, and magic. Her nightmares, and there had been a few, had featured John hurting her, mocking her from somewhere out of sight. In those dreams she’d been powerless, her limbs like lead, her mind screaming in fear as the moment she’d been shot playing out again and again.

  In the short periods of time the rux allowed them between bouts of lovemaking, she and Vykor had spoken in-depth about her new abilities. He’d introduced her to the basic idea of magic and conveyed the advice Karos had given him on their flight into the mountains.

  On top of all that, her dragon had started speaking to her. It was a lot to process, and she was still trying to make sense of it all.

  “Wake.” Her dragon gave her a mental nudge, and she belatedly realized that was what had woken her a moment before.

  “Why?” she asked aloud.

  “Mate gone.”

  “What? When?”

  ”Not long. Flew away.”

  Unease fluttered in her belly and she hopped out of bed, bare feet slapping against the warm floor. Even after two days, she was still fascinated by the magic that surrounded them. The entire building, including the furnishings, was made of what she swore was ice, but it didn’t melt, even after Vykor had done something to the floor when she complained about cold feet. She still couldn’t manage the simplest of spells, and her dragon hadn’t done more than speak a few words. It was frustrating. Vykor had managed to transform, kick ass, and build them an entire bower less than a day after his dragon appeared. But here she was, still a basic, boring, human.

  The place felt empty without Vykor’s presence, and her unease ratcheted up another notch. She couldn’t protect herself, yet. Vykor knew that. So, where was he, and why had he left her?