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SILVANUS

The Raven Forest,

Shadow Realm

I should deny her these visits: when she races off to the forest to find me, for the two of us to be alone.

As a god in my own right, I should have more control.

But, alas, I do not. I enjoy her spunk, her naughty inclinations and her zest for living.

I have lost that zest long ago—I find it amusing to witness in another.

I wrap my arms around her and manifest the two of us into my small pocket realm tucked away between worlds.

The Raven Forest is ours only.

Though it had not been my intention to awaken this side of her, it was a fond discovery for both of us.

I had merely intended to watch her—to keep an eye on her comings and goings but I found myself drawn toward her.

Perhaps it is simply because she is beautiful.

And as I am a male, of course I desired her.

And as I am a god, she was simply mine for the taking.

And take her I will. Repeatedly. The time has now come…

Eilish leans against the side of a tree, long, elegant lines and tantalizing curves on display. She is seduction even though she does not know why. I watch her, chest heaving. Her scent is thick on the wind. She is ready.

Eilish’s eyes observe me in turn, tracking my actions closely like a feline in the night. “Why won’t you let me stay here with you?” she asks beguilingly.

“You know the answer to your question.”

“This isn’t the place for mortals, only gods,” she says and rolls her eyes at me. She takes liberties with me she should not. But I have never reprimanded her so she does not understand her error in judgement. Perhaps one day she will.

“There are bad men after me, Silvanus—men who would do me harm if they found me.” Eilish lowers her head bashfully, a pretty pink tinging her cheeks, but I know it is merely manipulation. I have taught her well, after all.

“I am your protector. You know that,” I respond.

“But, you can’t protect me every minute.”

“I am a god, or have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” she says and gives me that suggestive smile. “And I know I’m not the only one hiding,” she goes on. “Tell me, Silvanus. What are you so afraid of that you hide here in the forest?”

“I am afraid of nothing,” I growl at her.

“Then why are you hiding?”

“I am not hiding so much as I am biding my time.”

“For what?”

“It is not your concern,” I say, rather impatiently.

She appears hurt. “You've barely spoken a word to me lately. Did I do something wrong? I’ve followed all your instructions closely. I’m getting better with magic—”

I stop her ranting with a kiss to her forehead, moving quickly before she can even comprehend what I am doing.

She curls her fingers around my shoulders.

We are hidden here, in shadowed captivity, and yet I find myself cautious.

She is young and yet she has the power to undo me with a single look.

Though I steel myself against her wiles, there is a part of me that yearns to claim her like a ravenous beast. If only she knew what dark forces lay beyond her glade. .. she would not be here with me now.

A warm, inexperienced mouth slides over my own and Eilish releases a pitiful whimper. I can feel her need—it circles me like a heavy fog. She has not known the feel of a male before. Her body is still virginal but it calls to me, all the same.

It is time she became a woman.

I grip her wrists painfully and wrench them above her head.

She squirms, and it is delicious. I brush my hand down her chest and lift her up to accommodate the difference in our height, crowding her against the tree by pressing my body flush to her curves.

Eilish gasps, feeling the prod of my erection as I slip my tongue into her beckoning mouth.

Her scent fills my lungs, causing my head to spin.

I do not fight it, though her power has little effect on me.

“You should be punished,” I say.

“W-why? I don’t know what you mean.”

“You forget your place. You forget who I am—what I am.”

“You’re Silvanus—the god of the natural world.”

“You would do well to remember that.”

“I don’t understand,” she says, shaking her head as her large eyes fill with tears. “What have I done to upset you?”

“You tease me.”

“How?”

“There are many examples but I will give you one.” I take a breath and stare down at her.

“Lying in bed while you pleasure yourself, knowing that I watch you always.” She inhales as her eyes widen and she pretends to be surprised by this information.

“That coy smile on your mouth is quite telling,” I say with a laugh.

Eilish’s face grows flushed with embarrassment and arousal. “I had hoped... perhaps…”

“That I would want you? That I would appear as you touched yourself and slide inside of you, right then and there?”

“Y-yes…”

I smile as my hands continue to roam freely, sliding up her thighs until I brush her wetness. Yes, she is ripe and she is ready to be plucked. “It is time for you to become a woman.”

I rock against her thigh, grinding my bulge against her. My hand wraps around hers, trailing it down my body and forcing her to grip my hard cock. My clothing has already melted away, into the dirt of the forest floor.

“You are going to take my virginity?” she asks. “My mother warned me to save my innocence for my husband.”

“You will never have a husband,” I respond.

She does not seem to be upset by the information or perhaps she is too nervous to respond.

“You didn’t answer my question,” she breathes, her large eyes wide with anticipation.

I chuckle at her insolence. “Yes, I am going to take your virginity.” Her tongue flicks out and traces my bottom lip. “On your knees, Eilish.”

I brush my fingers through her hair as she drops to the ground. She looks up at me with those big blue eyes before she faces my erection.

“Take it into your mouth,” I tell her.

She swallows and brings her face closer to my manhood, taking it between her lips.

When I feel the warm wetness of her mouth, I brace myself against the tree as I hold her head in place.

She pulls back only to catch a breath and then she brings her head forward again, taking my length into her mouth as far as she can, causing me to shudder slightly.

She inches forward, taking me from her mouth and grasps the base of my erection while she slides her tongue along the slit of the crown.

I moan as she dips her head lower and sucks the throbbing length of my cock between her full lips.

I yank a little on the strands of her hair and she beams up at me, smiling with her eyes as her tongue rolls.

She releases me with her hands and grips my legs, offering her mouth to be used for my pleasure.

I do not deny her. I thrust deeper and she swallows more and more of my hard flesh.

I growl in the back of my throat, wordlessly praising her.

I grip myself and arch off the dirt ground as seed bursts from my loins. The wet splash against my abdomen is burning hot and uncomfortable. I lay there, panting, until something breaks through the fog. The ethers are shifting.

After wiping myself off, I walk over to the ancient wellspring. The glittering pool of magic swirls and I see Eilish climbing the mountain, inching closer to the Incubus’s sanctuary.

Though I know she only wishes to see the creature who sired her, he is no father.

Gildlorthoine is a demon, a monster at heart, and I must go to her before she is killed.

The forest quakes with fear. The trees groan and I realize if I leave this place now, I may never return.

There are lines in this world, lines that I risk my life to cross and lines that I will defend to the death.

The Raven Forest does not wish for me to leave.

This is my home, my domain. Another may stumble upon this pocket of peace that I have created, from the soil to the breeze.

The brush, the crisp green leaves, the blackened bark, and the white halo of light that appears in the sky. .. it is all by my design.

No hooves have trampled through these lands, no blood has been spilled.

And I intend to keep it that way. If I cannot seek refuge within the Raven Forest, then no creature shall.

Dipping my hands into the wellspring, I churn the waters until it glitters no more.

My eyes well with unshed tears as I gaze at the melting image of the trees.

Insects wriggle out of their hiding places in fear.

The sky begins to warp like a painting left out in the sun, bereft of its vibrancy.

I begin to sink into the muck as my sanctuary is bled of its life.

I am buried beneath the weighty blanket of earth, moving and shifting with the changing of the realm.

And when I surface, there is no grand celebration as there once was, no song sung in my honor by a bard upon his steed.

Flowers no longer fall from the sky to cushion my steps as I bestow a gift upon those who are devout…

no, none of that remains. Why? Because most believe the gods have abandoned them.

I am the last of my kind until a new pantheon shall rise from the ashes of the old.

Morrigan and her filth do not belong here, but neither do the rest of them.

What they have done to the realms sickens me.

And yet I stroll through the forest surrounding the Delendren Glade as if time itself has reversed.

But this is no merry greeting on a fine spring day, when the air is filled with the laughter of two happy girls and their mother.

The glade is cold and colored by sadness that reaches into the very depths of my being.

Eilish should not be here, for if she knew the truth, I fear she would never recover from it.