Page 11

Chapter Eleven

Calix

Watching Asteria as she sat among our friends, our family , and laughed along with the others as we ate dinner, something settled deep inside my soul.

Since the moment she was taken, I was on edge and volatile. It was only seeing her here now, safe and happy, that truly soothed me.

She never laughed enough. She had never felt safe enough to let her guard down enough to be happy, not to mention having to deal with tumultuous emotions she didn’t understand because her mother had suppressed her magic. It had left her feeling like she didn’t belong in her own skin.

Oh, I was sure Aurelia had a good reason. There had to be something I was unaware of that was dire enough for her to carry out such an extreme act. I was at a loss for how she even learned to accomplish such a powerful feat of magic.

I was thinking of this as we walked out of the restaurant and headed over to the bar. I watched Asteria with a smile as she had fun with the others, happy she was able to at least let her guard down with us. Even if Baach bumped my shoulder, wiggling his brows at me as he tilted his head toward her.

I shook my head at him, opening my mouth to tease him back about Ilta, when I stopped short.

My sister was standing outside The Otherworld Bar. That wouldn’t be so strange if she hadn’t told me she couldn’t come tonight.

“Liv, I thought you weren’t able to make it?!” Ilta bounced up to her, but Liviana just looked past her, at Asteria, and then at me. I recognized the look in her silver eyes then, and the sudden hush told me the others had as well.

I moved forward, putting my hand on the small of Asteria’s back as I came up beside her. Worry about what might be coming rushed through me.

“Once you have gained control of the stars, you must follow Arawn’s instructions,” Liviana intoned, her voice layered with many others. It sent a chill down my spine, as it always did when she spoke prophecy or delivered a message from the gods.

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but the way Asteria’s back went ramrod straight, and her breath caught in her throat told me that she might.

“You both must journey through the Otherworld,” Liviana spoke again in that strange multi-layered voice, silver eyes swirling as she looked between Asteria and me. “Find your way through Tartarus and Elysium, until you reach the city of the gods.”

I drew in a sharp breath, unable to believe what I was hearing. No one was allowed into the Otherworld, and certainly not the city of the gods.

“Only the stars can lead you home. You will know when the time is right.” Liviana finished, before her silver irises stopped spinning, and as she collapsed, Titan was already there to catch her.

Asteria’s breathing was all I could hear as she let out a harsh breath, like she’d been holding it in too long. I rubbed my hand along her back but kept an eye on my sister as she stood up, with Titan’s help, and made her way to us.

“I’m sorry.” She gently grabbed one of my hands and one of Asteria’s, her entire bearing apologetic. “The gods were quite insistent on the message being delivered.”

“I suppose Arawn is a bit impatient,” Asteria grumbled. “It hasn’t been that long.”

Liviana laughed, to my confusion, having no idea what Asteria meant. “No, it hasn’t been. But the gods aren’t exactly known for their patience.”

“I suppose I better try to get my magic under control a little harder.” Asteria gulped but the worry in her eyes quickly shifted into annoyance. “How in the Otherworld are we supposed to actually traverse the damn Otherworld?!”

I couldn’t help the small laugh in my throat. “Why don’t we start with what you’re even talking about? Arawn’s message?”

Asteria looked up at me, surprised, like she expected me to know what she meant. She shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment, leaving me waiting in anticipation. “When I was dying, before my magic kicked in, Arawn came to me.”

I blinked in surprise for a moment. “ What ?”

It wasn’t every day the gods made their presence known. I couldn’t remember a time since they’d closed the portals and left us in charge of their protection that’d appeared so directly to anyone. “What did he say?”

“He told me that I must make my way to the Otherworld, but not by dying. That the gods needed to speak to me. He said that the fate of the world depended on the information they must give us. I honestly kind of thought I might have hallucinated that bit.” She admitted sheepishly.

I blew out a heavy breath, running a hand through my silvery-white hair. This was unheard of. As was the number of visions Liviana had of Asteria. I was becoming increasingly sure that whatever was coming, Asteria was the key to it. Liviana had said before that she would not only be the catalyst, but the reason and the answer.

I couldn’t help feeling like we were getting closer to figuring out what this all meant. What our roles in this coming war would be.

“We’ll figure this out. For now, let’s go get drunk. We can worry about gods, prophecies, and wars tomorrow.” Ilta popped up, laying a hand on both of our shoulders.

Asteria laughed, her head falling forward before she looked up at me. I couldn’t help the smile that crept up my face just seeing the one on hers. She reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together as hope lit my heart in turn.

“Come on. You heard Ilta.” She teased, pulling me along.

“Of course. Nox forbid we don’t listen to Ilta.” I agreed sarcastically. Asteria’s laugh was worth the slap to the head Ilta delivered on her way by.

Walking into The Otherworld Bar, right after the message about our necessary journey into the Otherworld itself, had me looking around the bar in a more serious light.

Tartarus was filled with all sorts of horrors by every account. The deepest pits of despair and the most deranged tortures imaginable. My own power could recreate that pain and turn it on others, something I always tried to avoid using. Unless those I loved were at stake.

But the thought of walking into Tartarus, of Asteria walking into Tartarus…

By Nox, I was sure the gods had a good reason for this, they’d never steered me wrong before. But fuck .

Asteria seemed to have easily blown off the news just dropped on us, already downing a shot at Ilta’s urging. I noticed Callisto and Priscilla were already here, having chosen to have dinner together instead of with the group. I was happy to see they’d joined us. Priscilla was Asteria’s best friend, and she’d need her support in the midst of all the changes in her life.

“Stop brooding,” Baach complained, his arm landing around my shoulder.

I snorted. “I’m not brooding, you ass.”

“Then let’s drink!” Baach declared as he steered me to the bar, grabbing two shots off the tray Ilta had ordered. I grabbed one and shot it back immediately. Feeling the alcohol burn pleasantly down my throat. From the way Asteria was moaning at her next shot, she’d discovered the joys of drinking alcohol as a dragon.

I let a smirk cross my face as I watched her wide-eyed reaction. I leaned down to whisper in her ear, “It’s the dragon in you. We burn our throats all the time, if it didn’t feel good, it would be miserable. You’re meant to spit fire , my réalta.”

A sly smile rose on her face as she tilted her head to me. “Then maybe it’s time to enjoy the burn.”

With that, she tossed another shot back, and I joined her, grabbing a double shot for myself to catch up to her before she dragged me out to the dance floor.

I relished the feel of her body as she pressed against me. A part of me feared I’d never feel it again after everything that had happened. The way she’d pulled away from me.

I knew she wasn’t ready for everything a mate bond encompassed, but I would take whatever she was willing to give.

My hands found her hips, while her own snaked around my neck and into my hair, earning a small growl as she tugged on it. Her giggle was entirely worth it. It was adorable, frankly, and something she should be doing way more often.

I was determined to make that happen.

Dancing with her proved as dangerous as always. Her hips and ass swaying against me to the beat quickly drove me to distraction, and I buried my face in her neck to try to gain some control over myself. But my cock refused to listen to reason.

Knowing this was my mate in my arms was overwhelming enough, but that it was Asteria…

It was almost too good to be true.

Her body had to have been crafted by the gods themselves. My hands roamed over her sides, the hourglass shape leading to her hips and an ass I wanted to sink my teeth into. I trailed them back up and skimmed the sides of her breasts, which brought me right back to the Festival of Faunus and watching them bounce as she rode me wildly. The memory of getting to explore all of her as she laid underneath me. Nox, I was fucking wrecked just from dancing with her.

That adorable little giggle returned as she ground that ass I was salivating over against my cock. Her all-too-brief dress was just too inviting, and I retaliated by running my fingers up her thighs, her dress riding up as I teased her in turn.

I could just make out the sound of her breath catching over the music, attuned to everything Asteria as I was now.

She spun around to the music before plastering herself against me. She hitched a leg up my thigh, and I couldn’t stop myself from grinding into her. Her moan, as my covered cock hit her at just the right angle, was absolute torture.

I knew what she was wearing under that dress had to be nothing more than a tiny bit of lace, easily torn away. By the smell of her, she’d be soaking through them in minutes. A growl left my throat at the thought, and I grabbed her ass, palming both cheeks before pushing her solidly against me.

But my Asteria was a dragon, and she retaliated by biting my throat. I moaned, running my teeth down her neck before sucking and nipping along the slender column. Her panting breaths in my ear surely matched my own, but I was too lost in her to hear.

We kept up the dance, moving back and forth as we grinded into each other, my cock twitching and begging to be released.

I’d found Elysium inside Asteria, and I would do anything to return to it.

Anything but push her.

I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that she wasn’t ready for this yet. Her body might be, but her mind wasn’t. Pushing things too far now would only result in her pushing me away later.

But even knowing this, I couldn’t help myself from leaning into every movement. Cherishing every moment.

The heavy scent of starlight, vanilla, and raspberry where my nose was buried in her neck, covered in the curtain of her hair.

The soft feel of her skin as my fingers ran over every exposed bit of it my hands could reach.

The stars swirled in her eyes when we pulled back to look at one another. It reminded me of Nova Falls, with all the falling stars spiraling down. One of my favorite places was reflected in her eyes.

Her arousal crept up my nose, and I inhaled it like a drug. My fingers tightened on her hips as I pulled her roughly into me once more. Her breathy gasp was like music to my ears. Her own hands explored my chest, letting them fall into the gap where my black shirt was unbuttoned and scattering across the iridescent black and purple scales decorating my chest.

With soft fingertips, she trailed from my chest to my neck, where she traced the tattoo on my neck.

“What does it mean?” She breathed into my ear, tracing the rune in the middle. “I’ve seen a lot of you with this same tattoo. Eryx, Baach, and Titan, even Harpina.”

I groaned, the sweet torture she was subjecting me to making it hard to think. “It’s the symbol for warrior in the old language of the gods. We get them when we complete our training as fully fledged warriors.”

Her mouth closed over my neck, and I moaned as she let out a hum. “Hmm. And the scales?”

Her fingers trailed from my neck back to my chest. I grunted, leaning down and nipping at her shoulder, getting a sultry laugh in return.

“Represent my dragon form.” I finally forced out. But her hands were already sliding down my arms, to where my forearms were exposed. Since my hands were still on her hips, she leaned back, hands clasping my forearms as she looked me in the eye. A dancing Aurora meeting a storm of stars.

“And these?” she questioned, raising a brow at me.

I smirked down at her, leaning a bit closer until we were nearly nose to nose. So close it would barely take any movement to close the distance between our lips.

“That, I’ll tell you later,” I promised, my voice rough with arousal.

Her eyes flared, and she leaned closer as if she might either kiss me or tell me off for not answering when starlight blasted out of her, momentarily blinding me.

Screams and shouts rang around the bar as Asteria’s magic brought everything to a standstill. The music cut out, and the concerned murmurs of those around us took over.

Asteria’s mouth was hanging open, her eyes wide and scared. I blinked at her, a little stunned by the force of her power that just exploded in the bar, and admittedly still a bit lost to arousal. Her show of power didn’t help that in the least, increasing it, if anything.

But I could see how skittish she became immediately. Pulling back from me, she opened her mouth several times, as if she might say something. But no words came, and I watched helplessly as Asteria turned and ran with all her new Fae speed. A blast of wind rushed through the bar as she escaped.

I heard nothing but my own voice calling her name as she disappeared, echoing around me.