Page 16

Chapter Sixteen

Calix

Since the night I’d helped Asteria unlock her power, we’d been training nonstop. She only had a few days before we had to leave for the Etheralta Mountains, and I wanted her to have enough of a handle on her powers that she wouldn’t accidentally blast her mother with starlight.

As hilarious as it might be to see Aurelia go flying across the room, I knew Asteria hated showing emotions she was uncomfortable with. And I wasn’t sure what could be more uncomfortable than meeting the mother who sent you away and locked you in a metaphysical cage.

And then there were the gods to consider, who were waiting for Asteria to have full control of her power before they’d meet with us. As much as I revered them, I couldn’t help the trepidation I felt at the request. What they had to tell us that couldn’t be communicated via Liviana was anyone’s guess.

The gods had never summoned anyone to the Otherworld before, as far as I knew. That’s why they had Oracles and seers to pass along their messages. It’s why they had us guarding the portals to Tartarus and Elysium, ensuring no one ever went through.

We had myths and legends of people trying to access the Otherworld, of course. Mostly they emphasized the consequences those people reaped as a result. Such as the man who tried to chase his love into the afterlife, but got stuck in one of the traps in Tartarus and remained stuck to this day, suffering in eternal torment. I assumed those stories were created to prevent anyone from ever trying to go the first place.

The last issue, of course, was the Cyrus of it all. Asteria would eventually have to face him in battle. The thought had a growl growing in my chest, my own desire to protect and shelter her, battling against the knowledge that she needed that chance to face him.

I just needed her to walk away from it.

Needed it, in a way I had never needed anything else.

She’d been a bit more open with me since we’d flown through the skies together. While she wasn’t ready yet, I knew the time we spent together helped break down her walls bit by bit.

Teaching Asteria to wield her magic had been helping her to regain the feeling of control she felt she’d lost. I hoped meeting her mother and getting the explanations she desired would further strengthen it. Her sense of self had been shattered entirely in the wake of her reawakening.

I knew I couldn’t put it back together for her, that was something she’d have to do on her own. But I was resolved to help wherever she’d let me.

Spending time with our own little messed up family seemed to bolster her, too, so after another day spent training, first with Titan in the sparring ring, and then with Ndrita for her magic, I’d planned for everyone to spend the afternoon together.

We just had to get through the harder parts of the day first. I shrugged on my armor, buckling the sides up before sheathing my sword and daggers, and made my way down to the yard. Titan was already there, warming up as he waited.

“Morning, Titan.” I greeted, and he smiled at me warmly.

“Morning, Cay. You ready for this?” he questioned, raising a brow. I hadn’t dared to let myself train with Asteria when we thought she was human. Fighting her was the last thing I needed when I was trying to prevent myself from fucking her into the ground. Now, however, she was the one who would decide when she was ready for that step. Knowing she wasn’t just waiting for me to snap and take her, it would be easier to keep control of myself.

Even still, I wasn’t sure I actually was ready.

Despite the memories being shadowed by what happened after, I remembered how sexy she looked, cutting down those warriors during the skirmish in Sunset Kingdom.

“I suppose we’ll see.” I shrugged, a smirk rising. Titan chuckled, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

“Waiting for me?” Asteria’s smirking voice had me turning my head automatically, watching her saunter over.

Fuck . She looked way too good in that armor. I swore it caressed every curve just as tightly as her clingy party dresses did.

“Well, we aren’t waiting for Priscilla.” Titan joked gruffly, eyeing the blonde who’d walked over with Asteria.

“As if I’d be here for any of you ,” Priscilla huffed, jokingly. But her gaze sought out Callisto at the other end of the yard. She turned to Asteria, giving her a quick smile and squeezing her arm before she moved in that direction.

The two of them were kind of adorable. I wouldn’t have ever expected it, not when they were such complete opposites. Callisto loved fighting, taking equally savage glee in every human she rescued and slaver she cut down. She never bit her tongue and told you exactly what she was thinking and feeling at all times.

Priscilla, on the other hand, seemed to prefer to stay safe, far from any fighting. She faced what she’d been through in Dusk with quiet resolve, instead preferring to support those who did the actual fighting. She was sweet and mostly soft-spoken, at least until someone she cared about was at risk.

But they somehow made complete sense together.

I looked to Asteria, thinking that they weren’t the only ones. The distance between us still ached, but I could feel her resistance melting slowly as time ticked by.

She was my mate, fated to be my queen. I just had to remind myself to be patient, that the time would come. A quick glance down at the silver bands around my forearms reassured me.

Run as she might…

Destiny couldn’t be fought forever.

“You’ve been making great progress, but I want to see how you fight against more than one opponent at a time.” Titan was telling her as I tuned back in. I shook myself, knowing I couldn’t afford to be distracted.

Asteria wiggled her brows up and down, giggling slightly, “So, you think you can take me?”

I raked my eyes up and down her body. She was small, for all her presence took up much more space in a room. But with over a foot on her, she only came up to my shoulder on a good day.

All our dragon-scale armor was sculpted using the fallen dragon scales from thousands of years of dragons in House Erebus. We shed them semi-regularly, and new ones would quickly replace them. Using the discarded scales gave our warriors the same protection as a dragon, and they hugged the body, since they were meant to shape and form the moving mass of a flying dragon. They were flexible, if impossible to penetrate. It gave us a huge advantage in battle.

But now, those dragon scales that had fallen from my forefathers were hugging Asteria’s breasts in a way that made me want to rip them off one by one and replace them with my own. She should only ever be covered by me .

Her cleavage in the armor, since the women only added a breastplate to them during battle, preferring the comfort this version offered, was frankly obscene. In the best way. I wanted to sink my fangs into the flesh offered up, feel the lifeblood seep from her plump breast into my mouth, and taste her essence dripping down my throat.

I blinked, shocked and vaguely disgusted with myself at the route my thoughts had taken. I’d heard stories that claimed mates used to share blood between them, but it was something that, if true, had gone out of fashion many years ago. Our fangs were supposed to be purely ornamental, growing when angered or aroused, but more so used for intimidation.

Shaking the errant thought away, my eyes continued down to take in the tight cloud leather encasing her thick hips and the slope down to her thighs. I wanted to lick that path down her body, worshiping her as I showed her exactly what I could do with more time than one night had offered us.

I licked my lips before curling them into a smirk, and was rewarded with her breasts heaving over the sweetheart-cut neckline of her armor as her breath caught.

“I think I’m up for that particular challenge,” I purred, and caught Titan rolling his eyes beside me as Asteria bit her lip, eyeing me like she wanted to devour me as much as I did her.

“We’ll have you two fight first since you’re unfamiliar with Calix’s style,” Titan instructed Asteria, but she kept her gaze on me for a moment, the stars in her eyes sparking to life before she forced herself to look at Titan.

He grunted, looking between us pointedly before continuing, “I’ll jump in when I deem you ready. And remember not to let yourself be distracted.”

Asteria huffed, rolling her eyes fondly, and I realized that Titan had clearly grown fond of her as well since they began training together. He looked at her with a soft, fatherly smile that I’d seen on his face many times.

I watched as Asteria bounced over to the swords on display, reminding me that I needed to get her a better sword. One befitting her status. Ideas ran through my head as I watched her reach out for one. The arm bands she wore looked unfairly sexy on her, too. I’d seen women wear them millions of times, and never had they turned me on in any way. They were practical.

The design allowed a plate to be added to the shoulder in battle, and the material of the glove itself protected and gave flexibility to the arm so it could bend and move. The fingerless aspect allowed for full range of motion when wielding a weapon while still shielding the hands. But something about the tease of skin where it stopped on her bicep, and the fingers peeking out…

Fuck .

I clenched my hand, concentrating on suppressing the change before my talons started to appear.

Asteria, meanwhile, picked up a sword and turned to face me with a dramatic flourish. I couldn’t help the small smile that slipped out, relieved to see her playful side emerging again. It was a side of her that showed itself the longer she’d been here, and I found myself hoping to see more of it.

I wanted to know every side of her, who she was when she wasn’t being shoved into a box and made small by others.

Now, she could finally be as large of life as her soul demanded.

I raised my sword to face her with a smirk that she matched. But she was smart, and I found myself impressed with what she’d picked up thus far. She was smaller, so she waited for me to make the first move, knowing she wouldn’t have a chance rushing me straight on.

So I gave in, swinging at her and watching as she twirled away gracefully. Titan had mentioned she fought like a dancer, able to twist and bend with ease. Even before we’d found out she was Fae. It made sense now, knowing her Fae abilities had been simmering just under the surface, repressed.

“I thought you wanted to actually fight me,” I taunted after a couple more moves where she danced around me. Asteria narrowed her eyes, a gleam forming in them. I shrugged my shoulders casually. “All I see is you running away.”

That did it.

She met my next strike with surprising strength. Even as a Fae, I was much bigger than her. But she was able to parry my blade, and as I twirled it back around and down at her, she met it with her own straight across, stopping the downswing in its tracks.

“That’s more like it.” I smiled slowly.

“If you wanted me to embarrass you, you should have just said so.” She smirked haughtily as she raised a brow. She kicked out at me, and not suspecting the move, it caused my leg to buckle.

She swung down and I met her blade with my own, forcing her back as I surged upwards. A flurry of strikes came next, and neither of us bothered to suppress the wide smiles forming on our faces.

Fighting her was as thrilling as fucking her.

The next series of moves I put more force into, and she panted as she was forced to retreat and defend herself. “Come on, my réalta, show me what you can really do.”

She narrowed her eyes, and I saw that glorious rage light up her eyes. She rushed me, and I raised my blade to meet each of her strikes. Our eyes were locked, and it began to feel like we could almost anticipate every strike and move as it came. I spun away just as she swung her blade to come at me from the side. She blinked in surprise, and we both paused for a moment, taking in what had just happened.

That wasn’t an almost—I had anticipated her move before she’d even started it. It had to be the mate bond. I didn’t know many mates, and my father had died too young to ask, so I didn’t know all the ins and outs. I didn’t wish to bring up Titan’s painful memories with him, so Asteria and I would have to figure out the bond together.

What we’d accomplish together would undoubtedly be the stuff of legend.

Lost in thought, I wasn’t paying enough attention. Suddenly, Asteria flew at me, and I fell backward to the ground, huffing out a laugh. She was now straddling me, and I raised my brows at her, “If you wanted to get me horizontal, you should have just asked.”

She blinked, before smirking slowly, her blade forgotten as she reached a hand up, caressing down my face gently. I closed my eyes, relishing the touch, but I opened them quickly as she continued her motion, running her hand down my neck and to my chest, over my armor. She leaned in to whisper in my ear, pressing those glorious breasts against my chest, her hips pressing down until she could grind herself over my cock.

“Don’t be so boring, my dorchadas,” she purred in my ear, making me shiver. “I can think of much more exciting positions to get you in.”

My hands grabbed her hips, abandoning my sword altogether. I dug my fingers in, and the slight moan she let out was music to my ears. I could feel myself growing harder as she rocked against me, and the scent of her arousal, which had been a low buzz since we started fighting, grew heavier in turn.

I growled directly in her ear before flipping us over in a whirl of movement, so she was underneath me. She bucked up, trying to fight me off, but I sunk my hips down into hers, preventing her from bucking again but more so to feel the press of her against me. I grabbed her wrists in mine, bringing them over her head and holding them with one hand. My other went to her throat, pressing my fingers into the skin of her neck and slowly tightening them.

“Well, now that you’re Fae, I can show you what I’m truly capable of,” I rumbled, delighted to feel her shiver. “If you think you’re truly up for it?—”

A dull training blade was suddenly pressing on my neck.

“If you two are quite done?” Titan drawled, annoyance lining every word.

I let my head collapse into her neck, and Asteria let out a muffled laugh, pressing her own face into my long hair. I lifted myself up to look down at her, thrilled to see her smile up at me, desire still swirling with the starlight in her eyes. Even as Titan removed the blade and I helped her stand, she didn’t run, she didn’t try to pull away. She just picked her blade back up and got back to the fight.

It was certainly encouraging progress.