Page 19

Alaric

T he dream of the mad priest doesn’t come back…

but the other dreams do. I see myself kneeling to kiss the place between Sister Beatrice’s thighs…

only to look up and see a new face looking down at me.

This face is beautiful—ethereally lovely like an angel from the stained-glass window of the Temple of the GodKing.

But then her lips part and I see her fangs and know that she’s no angel after all.

Run—leave—go! commands a deep voice. You must flee from evil before it can infect you!

But I don’t want to go. I don’t care if she’s NightBorn, I want to stay with the beautiful woman who made me kneel and kiss between her thighs…

I wake up with my cock aching and realize that, for the first time in my life, I have a naked woman in my arms.

At first I’m sure I’m dreaming again. Unlike the other knights, I never bed the tavern wenches who are eager to come to a man’s room for just a few coins.

But none are eager for me—they know about my Holy Fire.

And besides, I can’t sleep with anyone—it’s my Purity that gives me power. Purity and pain…right?

But at the moment I have a beautiful, wicked Sorceress sleeping naked in my arms and the Celestial Fire is high inside me, proving that Purity isn’t the driving force I thought it was. And maybe pain isn’t either.

I remember everything then—the way she bound me to her in the ritual, the way she let me kiss her goodnight and then the dream that came to torment me. And then how she filled her breasts with nectar, just for me to suck, and stroked my cock while I drank from her. Gods, her touch is so sweet!

Speaking of my cock, I can feel it nestled between her thighs right now. I wonder if her pussy is wet…if I might accidentally slip the head inside her sweet, sucking depths…

“That would be no accident, I think, my Paladin.”

Her soft, purring voice startles me and I look down and see that her eyes are open as she looks up at me. The green gem is pulsing on her temple—no doubt telling on me and my illicit thoughts.

“It’s all right, Alaric, you needn’t be ashamed. It’s normal for you to be curious about how it would feel to mount me,” she murmurs, a little smile dancing at the corners of her mouth. “Look,” she continues and throws back the covers.

The golden glow from her lamps comes up at the same time and I groan at what I see. Sylvanna has parted her thighs so we can both watch the way the broad head of my cock is nudging at her pussy.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” she murmurs, looking up at me. “Would you like it to feel even better?”

“Gods, you know I would!” I growl, trying to hold myself back.

Sylvanna gives me a stern look.

“And can I trust you to be good? Not like last night when I asked for a simple kiss and you know you went too far.”

I feel a stab of shame that I broke my word to her.

“I’ll be good, Mistress,” I promise her. “Do what you want with me as punishment.”

“I think I will. Now watch.”

She opens her thighs more and reaches down to grasp my shaft.

I groan as she rubs it against herself—parting the lips of her pussy to slide the head against her slick folds.

Gods, she’s so hot inside! And so wet. I want to feel more of her—I want to thrust deep inside her and feel her heat enveloping me. I want to be balls deep in her!

“Patience my Paladin. I will not take your virginity yet,” she cautions me. “This is just a little taste of what’s to come.”

As she speaks, she rubs me against her. I feel her opening to me and for just a moment, I feel the head of my cock slip completely into her warm, wet pussy. Gods, it’s so tight! I feel it sucking me almost like a mouth, begging for more.

Somehow I hold myself back from thrusting, though I don’t fucking know how. All my life I’ve heard the other men around me talk about how hot and wet a woman feels inside—how good a warm, willing pussy is wrapped around your cock. But I’ve never felt it myself and never dreamed I could…until now.

“That’s right, it feels good, doesn’t it?” Sylvanna murmurs. “You’re doing so well, my Paladin. Just relax and let me give you pleasure for a little while.”

I don’t know how long she teases me like this.

I can feel myself wanting to come multiple times…

but of course the damn ring around my shaft keeps me from it.

I clench my fists at my sides to keep from thrusting into her and all the while I can feel her soft, wet pussy kissing the crown of my cock over and over as she slides just the head in and out of herself.

Finally, when I feel like I’m reaching a breaking point, she pulls away and turns on her side to face me.

“I’m so proud of you,” she murmurs, stroking my cheek. “Your self-control is truly amazing. This is an excellent start to your training.”

I don’t know why her praise gives me such a warm feeling inside but I try to ignore it and act gruff.

“Is all my training going to be such fucking agony, my Lady?” I ask sarcastically.

“Possibly.” There’s a wicked twinkle in her glowing red eyes. “Come—let’s get dressed and talk about it.”

She gives me a new set of clothes—breeches and a linen shirt that are both a bit too tight and promises to get me something else later…

“But for now, these will do.”

She allows me to dress her, which is now apparently one of my duties—not that I’m fucking complaining.

I help her into a deep purple corset which pushes her full breasts up and out and a new pair of lace panties and some delicate stockings with garters that attach to the corset.

The gown she wears is made of black and purple silk and it drapes lovingly over her full curves.

Last, I kneel to slip some dainty slippers on her small feet.

I suppose it should make me feel like a servant—which in fact, I am—but I don’t mind.

In fact, I find that I love being of service to her.

She’s so beautiful and powerful and I enjoy being able to touch her soft skin without fearing I might burn her.

Dressing her is a privilege, though I’m sure I wouldn’t feel like that with anyone else.

When we’re both dressed, Sylvanna leads me down the spiral staircase to the level where her kitchen and dining area are located.

There are windows that show the outer world, still bathed in night though I think it seems a bit brighter than earlier.

Maybe there is a subtle difference between the “day” and “night” here and I’m just now starting to pick up on it?

There’s a pot of porridge already on the stove and a jug of cream and a glass jar of honey on the wooden table. Everything is immaculately clean and the warm smell of cinnamon hangs in the air.

“And your invisible servants did all this?” I ask as I sit at the table and look around.

“Of course.” Sylvanna nods as she dishes up a large bowl of the porridge and places it in front of me. “The power I build every night goes into the tower’s reservoir and keeps things running for me.”

“What if you have to leave for a while? Leave the tower, I mean?” I ask curiously.

She shrugs.

“Things eventually run down but they start right up again when I return.”

“So you have left in the past?” I ask.

“I lived in the City of Night for a while.” For some reason she won’t meet my eyes and I sense that something is bothering her. I wish I had a fucking jewel like the one she wears that lets her look into my thoughts. I want to know more about her.

“Where did you live? In the palace?” I ask. “And who did you live with?”

She shakes her head, still not meeting my eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. That was three years ago. Now I’m content to stay in my tower.”

“But we have to go back to the city to get The Heart of the Eclipse,” I point out.

“And we will,” she says lightly. “But not until your training is finished. For now, eat your breakfast.”

I dig into my porridge, but this isn’t over. I want to know more about my new Mistress and why she won’t tell me about her past. She knows a lot of mine already, thanks to that fucking Jewel of Knowing. I’ll have to keep my eyes and ears open to find out more of hers.

After breakfast, she takes me on a tour of her garden and the area surrounding the tower.

I get to see the special bees that make her Binding honey and the flowers they feed on—deep purple blooms that are almost black.

They fill the air with a heavy, sweet scent.

The bees themselves glow in the dusk-like gloom, little spots of light buzzing here and there.

I get to visit my horse, too. Destrider looks perfectly happy, munching hay. It’s clear he’s been groomed and his tack has all been cleaned and the metal bits shined. Obviously he’s being well taken care of by the invisible forces that Sylvanna keeps going with her magic.

I wonder about the magic in me—if it truly is magic, as she claims. All my life I’ve been taught to believe I was God-touched and filled with the Holy Fire for a reason.

But now I wonder if maybe I’m like Sylvanna—just someone who somehow inherited my powers.

My parents were normal, as far as I know, but there were rumors that my grandmother was put to death for being a witch.

Could the Celestial Fire come from her? Or is it from another source?

When I ask Sylvanna about it, she looks thoughtful.

“It’s possible your Light magic came from your grandmother,” she remarks. “The only other people I’ve ever heard of who have such extreme fire magic in their blood are…” She stops and shakes her head.

“What? Who?” I urge. I want to understand this part of me. All my life I’ve been told I was born to be in service to the GodKing and that’s the reason I have the fire inside me. But what if that’s wrong? What if there’s something else going on—some other reason I bear the Celestial Fire?

“The only other people with fire magic are Drake Shifters,” she says reluctantly. “But they all died out long ago. Tell me, what do you know about your father?”

“Almost nothing.” I shake my head. “He and my mother met for a single night and then he moved on.”

“Hmm…” She looks thoughtful, then shakes her head again. “No, but you would have Shifted by now—if you had a Drake inside you, it would have manifested.”

“A Drake inside me?” This sounds worse than the Celestial Fire! I’ve killed a dragon in the past—they’re fucking ferocious. To be honest, without my Holy Flame I wouldn’t have survived that encounter.

“Never mind, I’m certain you don’t,” she tells me. “Come now, it’s time to start your training so you can control your magic.”

And she takes me back inside the tower, though I still feel like I have more questions than answers.