Page 13

Rachel

T he descent feels different than our earlier rise to the Queen's office. Both dragons seem more at ease as the elevator carries us deeper beneath the city, as if drawing closer to the earth's core settles something primal in their nature. Zahraxis even relaxes his death grip on my hand, though his thumb still traces idle patterns against my skin that send shivers up my arm.

"You two look more comfortable going down than up," I observe.

Finn's lips quirk. "Dragons are creatures of fire. The deeper we go toward the Earth's core, the more we feel its power." His eyes gleam with banked heat. "Especially now."

The elevator opens directly into a vast chamber that steals my breath. Veins of jade in every shade imaginable stretch as far as I can see—deep forest green bleeding into seafoam, shot through with ribbons of gold and midnight blue. The stone's surface ripples like water frozen in mid-flow. No, not frozen; the stone itself seems alive, undulating in patterns that suggest both liquid grace and flames licking at the air. The effect is hypnotic, making it impossible to tell where one curve ends and another begins.

In the center of the chamber, a raised platform draws my gaze. The jade here has been shaped into something like a massive chaise or bench, its edges smooth and inviting despite the hard material. Around the chamber's perimeter, I count perhaps a dozen dragons in human form, their auras pulsing with carefully contained power.

My steps falter. "I didn't realize we'd have an audience."

"They're here to help channel healing energy," Racha explains. At my obvious discomfort, she exhales a long stream of green smoke that coalesces into a shimmering curtain around the platform. The barrier sparkles like diamond dust caught in sunlight.

"You won't see or hear anything beyond the veil unless you choose to," she says. "And they won't perceive anything from their side." Her green eyes meet mine. "The stone will amplify their power, feeding it into your bond as it forms. The rest..." A small smile plays at her lips. "Well, I suspect you three have that part figured out."

Zahraxis makes a low sound of impatience, his skin already beginning to ripple with scales. The raw need in his golden gaze when he looks at me makes my knees weak. Finn's hand settles at the small of my back, steadying me even as his touch sends fresh heat coursing through my body.

"Shall we?" he murmurs close to my ear.

I manage a shaky nod, and they guide me toward the platform. The moment we pass through the smoke barrier, the rest of the world falls away. The only sound is our breathing and the faint hum of power from the jade beneath our feet.

The jade chamber breathes around us, its living stone rippling with anticipation.

We're alone in our own pocket of space, but the air itself feels charged with possibility. When I activate my dragon sight, I can see threads of power weaving through the stone like veins of precious metal, waiting to be tapped.

"Beautiful," Zahraxis breathes, and when I turn to look at him, I realize he's not admiring the chamber. His smoldering gaze is fixed entirely on me.

Finn circles behind me while Zahraxis steps closer, both of them moving with predatory grace. The air grows thick with anticipation, and when I peek at their auras, they pulse with barely contained need.

"The marking comes first," Finn says, his voice dropping to a rougher register that sends heat pooling between my thighs. "It creates the foundation of our bond." He brushes his knuckles down my spine, the simple contact sparking electric currents through my nerves.

Zahraxis reaches for me, cupping my face with a reverence that belies the hunger in his eyes. "You will wear our marks upon your skin, and we will wear yours." His thumb traces my lower lip, and I can't resist drawing it into my mouth, tasting the salt of his skin.

His pupils dilate, golden irises reduced to thin rings of fire. "I would see all of you," he says, the formal cadence of his speech slipping as desire takes hold.

"May we undress you?" Finn asks against my ear, his breath hot on my neck.

I nod, already breathless with want. "Yes."

They move in perfect synchronicity, as if they've choreographed this dance for centuries. Zahraxis lifts my arms while Finn slides his hands beneath the hem of my shirt, drawing it upward with tantalizing slowness. The fabric whispers across my sensitized skin, and I shiver when Finn unclasps my bra and cool air kisses my exposed breasts.

Finn's appreciative growl vibrates against my back as Zahraxis drops to his knees before me. He looks up, ancient eyes holding mine as he hooks his fingers into the waistband of my pants. The position—this powerful, ancient being kneeling at my feet—sends a rush of heat through me that has nothing to do with dragon fire.

"May I?" he asks, his formal speech pattern returning, though his voice remains thick with desire.

"Please," I whisper, my own voice barely recognizable.

He slides my pants and panties down my legs with excruciating care. I step out of them, now completely bare between them.

Finn cups my breasts from behind, his thumbs circling my nipples until they peak into hard buds. "Perfect," he murmurs, his arousal a hard ridge against the small of my back.

Zahraxis remains on his knees, his gaze traveling slowly up my body with such intensity I swear I can feel it like a physical caress. When he leans forward to press his lips just below my navel, I gasp at the contact. His tongue traces a hot path upward, between my breasts, stopping at the hollow of my throat.

"Here," he says, pressing his palm flat against my sternum, directly over my racing heart. "This is where our marks will join."

Finn slides a hand around to cover Zahraxis', both of them now pressed against my chest. Through my dragon sight, I see their auras intertwine—crimson and gold weaving together like molten metal.

"Kneel," Finn says, his voice gentle despite the command. He guides me around to face them on my knees on the jade bench, which radiates unexpected warmth against my bare skin.

Both men shed their clothes with dragon magic, wisps of red and gold smoke dissipating to reveal their magnificent bodies. Their cocks stand proud and hard, making my mouth water with anticipation.

"I mark you first," Finn says, kneeling before me. "Then Zahraxis. My mark will act as an anchor for his."

He brings his face level with my chest, and I watch in fascination as his human tongue transforms. It elongates, the tip splitting into two delicate points that shimmer with crimson energy. The sight alone makes me clench with need.

"This will burn," he warns, peering up at me, "but only for a moment."

When his dragon tongue touches my skin just above my heart, I gasp at the sharp sting. It feels like a hot needle tracing intricate patterns, but the initial pain quickly transforms into something else—a pleasure so intense it borders on agony. I arch into the sensation, my hands finding purchase on his shoulders.

Through my dragon sight, I watch crimson light follow in his tongue's wake, forming elaborate whorls and curves that pulse in time with my heartbeat. Each stroke of his tongue sends waves of sensation radiating outward, connecting to every nerve ending in my body.

Zahraxis moves behind me, his chest pressing against my back as he cups my breasts. He rolls my nipples between his fingers, the dual sensation of his touch and Finn's marking making me cry out.

"Yes," Zahraxis encourages, his voice a rumbling purr against my ear. "Feel it all. Accept our magic into your body."

Finn's tongue traces the final curve of his mark, and when he withdraws, the completed sigil pulses with brilliant crimson light. The magic sinks deeper, past skin and muscle, wrapping around something fundamental within me. I feel him now—not just physically, but on some deeper level, as if a part of him has taken root inside my soul. The mark itself resembles a Celtic knot surrounding a dragon's silhouette, the undulating lines make it appear to move with every beat of my heart.

"My turn," Zahraxis says, his voice tight with restraint. They trade places with fluid grace, Finn moving behind me while Zahraxis kneels in front again.

His dragon tongue emerges, longer and more angular than Finn's, gleaming with golden light. When it touches my skin, directly atop Finn's mark, the sensation is entirely different—not sharp pain, but overwhelming pressure, as if the weight of centuries presses against that single point of contact.

I gasp, my back arching as golden light blooms across my chest, intricate patterns weaving through and around Finn's crimson sigil. His tongue traces new dimension into the mark Finn gave me, and adds more details. Where their marks overlap, the colors blend into something new—a warm amber that pulses with combined power.

Finn’s touch on my breasts is both soothing and inflaming. "Breathe through it," he murmurs against my neck. "Let it settle."

Zahraxis completes his mark with a final flourish of his tongue, then presses his forehead against mine. "You are ours now," he says, his voice thick with emotion. "And we are yours."

The combined marks pulse in perfect synchrony with my heartbeat, sending waves of magic coursing through my veins. I can feel them both now—Finn's steady presence like a banked flame, Zahraxis' ancient power like molten gold. Their emotions bleed into mine through our newly formed connection, desire and possession and something deeper that makes my throat tight.

When I look up, I find them staring at each other over my shoulder, something unspoken passing between them. The air grows heavy with tension, but not the kind that preceded my marking. This is different—laden with history and unresolved emotion.

Finn breaks the silence first. "It's time," he says quietly. "For us to mark each other."

Zahraxis goes still, his golden eyes flaring with a complex mix of emotions I can't fully decipher. "You ask me to break three thousand years of tradition," he says, his voice tight. "For one who answered only to the Dragon Council to bear another's mark?—"

I watch the tension ripple across Zahraxis' face, his jaw tight with three millennia of ingrained hierarchy battling against the need I feel pulsing through our new bond. The amber mark on my chest throbs in time with both their heartbeats, connecting us in ways I'm only beginning to understand.

"The world has changed," Finn says, his voice gentle, yet unyielding. He reaches out, palm hovering just above Zahraxis' chest. "I'm not asking you to submit. I'm asking you to choose."

Zahraxis' golden eyes find mine, searching. "What say you, Raelesha?"

The formal address—my dragon name on his lips—sends a shiver down my spine. I rise to my knees, placing one hand over my freshly marked chest and the other against his cheek.

"I say that power flows in all directions," I tell him, the words coming from somewhere beyond conscious thought. "That's what makes it stronger."

Something shifts in his expression—pride giving way to possibility. He captures my wrist and presses his lips to my palm, then turns to Finn with newfound resolve.

"Then mark me," he says, his voice a low rumble that vibrates through the jade beneath us. "And I shall mark you in turn."

Finn's aura flares crimson with barely contained desire. He moves to face Zahraxis directly, both dragons kneeling before each other with me at their side. Finn leans forward, his dragon tongue emerging—split and gleaming with red energy. I can't tear my eyes away as he brings his face level with Zahraxis' chest.

The first touch of Finn's tongue against Zahraxis' skin draws a hiss from the ancient dragon. His hands clench into fists at his sides, every muscle rigid as crimson light traces intricate patterns across his dark skin. Echoes of the sensation cascade through our new bond—burning pleasure that borders on pain, resistance crumbling beneath overwhelming connection.

"Breathe," I whisper, echoing Finn's earlier guidance to me. I take Zahraxis' clenched fists in my hands, gently uncurling his fingers to twine with mine.

Our gazes lock, his pupils blown wide with sensation as Finn's mark takes shape on his chest. I lean forward and capture his lips, swallowing his gasp as the final stroke of Finn's tongue completes the sigil.

Crimson light pulses once, twice, then sinks beneath Zahraxis's skin, disappearing from ordinary sight. But through my dragon vision, I see how it weaves into his very essence, creating new pathways of power that flow between him and Finn.

Finn straightens, breathing heavily. "Your turn," he says, voice rough with emotion.

Without changing positions, Zahraxis leans forward, his dragon tongue emerging, gleaming again with golden light. When it touches Finn's chest, just beneath the dip of his clavicle, Finn's entire body goes taut. His head falls back, throat exposed in a gesture of trust that feels more intimate than any physical act.

Golden light blooms across Finn's skin, intricate patterns weaving themselves into his flesh. Where the mark takes shape, his crimson scales shimmer into existence, then fade back to human skin, as if his dragon form can't decide whether to emerge or retreat in the face of such powerful magic.

I feel it through our bond—the ancient power of Zahraxis flowing into Finn, no longer constrained by hierarchy or tradition. Something new being forged between them, a connection that transcends their long and complicated history.

When the golden mark is complete, it pulses once before sinking beneath Finn's skin. All that's left are the subtly glowing outlines of the dragon scale tattoos that cover one side of Finn's torso. Both dragons exhale in unison, as if they've been holding their breath for centuries.

"Now," Zahraxis says, his voice thick with need, "we must complete the circle."

They turn their attention back to me, and the hunger in their eyes makes me tremble. Through our new bond, I feel their desire amplified by the jade chamber, by the marks we now share, by something ancient and primal awakening within all three of us.

"You must mark us as well," Finn explains. "With your own dragon essence. You should feel it even stronger now that you carry our marks."

"How?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper. I'm positive I can't replicate the wondrous magic they just displayed to mark me and then each other.

Zahraxis turns back to face me again, both dragons looking at me with identical expressions of reverence and desire. "Your desire," he says, "will bind the magic into its final form. All you must do is want it. Here." He reaches out and touches his fingertips to the place in the center of my torso. Not the pulsing, tingling marks, but a place just below them, where that bubble of power swells inside me. I'm still getting used to the sensation that feels so much like a knot of anxiety, it's easy to mistake. But anxious is far from what I feel when I take a moment to focus on it.

He's right. It's desire. A potent, pulsing need for connection. And it's been there for ages, ever since I set foot on Bear Island.

Understanding dawns, sending liquid heat pooling between my thighs. I reach out, placing one hand on each of their chests, directly over their newly formed marks. The knot of power swells like a bubble, just the way it did when I tested it before. The moment my skin makes contact, the bubble pops and energy surges through both connections, drawing a collective gasp from all three of us.

"Yes," Finn breathes, leaning into my touch. "Just like that."

He grips my wrist gently with one hand, holding my palm against his chest while the magic flows. Zahraxis places his palm over my hand, pressing it harder. Between us, both their cocks harden to thick, rigid lengths.

My hands feel rooted to them by the magic still flowing, and some force draws us closer together. Whether it’s our own bodies obeying some primal edict, or the way the jade bench subtly flows to tilt us closer together, I can't be sure, but within a breath, my elbows are bent and both men are close enough for me to feel their quickening breaths against my skin.

Finn is the first to hook his free arm around my waist and bend to capture my mouth. Our kiss only mirrors the flood of magic where my palm rests against his chest, as if another physical connection only opens up a new conduit for the power. Then Zahraxis presses his mouth to the side of my jaw and yet another conduit begins to flow. When their thighs brush mine, even more magic floods between us.

My entire body is throbbing with the power by the time Finn breaks our kiss and Zahraxis takes over, but Finn doesn't let his mouth stray too far from my skin. He nuzzles my neck as he coasts a hand down my stomach, then dips his fingers between my legs.

I am molten with need, and his touch only makes me moan and try to spread my knees, but they have me trapped between them. Sensing my desire, Finn gently hooks a hand behind one knee and lifts my leg, placing my knee back down between his own. Ever the observant dragon, Zahraxis does the same, scooting closer to Finn in the process. When my knee settles between his, I'm practically sitting on both their knees, mine spread wide between them.

"You're drenched," Finn murmurs, coasting his palm up the inside of my thigh and grazing gentle fingertips close to my core. My breath hitches at the pleasure of that scant contact, and I tilt my hips in an attempt to get closer to his touch.

Zahraxis releases my mouth to watch as Finn begins to lightly tease my clit with the softest, most excruciating caresses. Both their cocks beckon, but my hands are still adhered to their chests by the flow of power. I'm trapped, but there's nowhere I'd rather be, especially when Zahraxis claims my mouth once again and Finn begins teasing my breasts with his agile tongue. At the same time, he teases my opening then pushes several fingers into me. His thumb rests against my clit, unmoving at first, but the pressure itself makes me pulse with need.

Zahraxis moans as if he feels the same pulsing desire, and perhaps he does. Through our increasingly strengthening bond, I can feel my need magnified.

"You should see your aura right now, Rachel," Finn rasps. "You look like you're wreathed in fire. So beautiful."

I break the kiss with Zahraxis, who dips his head to kiss the side of my throat. He coasts a hand down my back to cup my ass and tease at the wetness between my spread cheeks. His fingertips probe lightly at the place where Finn penetrates me, fucking into me slowly with his fingers while his thumb slowly pushes my desire higher.

Finn's gaze is reverent when he looks at me, his red eyes shifting to slits. I'm enthralled by his focus, his touch, the sheer need on his face every time my core clenches around his fingers. When Zahraxis slides a wet fingertip to my rear opening and pushes in past the tight barrier, I gasp.

Finn's expression darkens and he lets out a growl, fucking me harder with his fingers.

"Come for us, Rachel. Feed the magic into your mark so we can fuck you."

Is that what I have to do to release myself from this marking trap? I'm desperate enough that I'm grateful not to have to hold back. It takes only a few quick plunges of Zahraxis' finger into my ass, accompanied by Finn's hooking into my G-spot in front, and I go over in an instant.

I arch my back with a cry, my fingernails digging into the flesh of their chests. The pleasure grips my body in waves, cascading through every limb, magic surging up my arms and into my hands that glow brighter with every pulse. I'm mesmerized by the rhythmic pattern of it, the sensation of heat where my palms meet their skin.

When I finally start to come down, I relax and my arms fall to my sides, revealing an intricate knotwork of glowing patterns.

Each man's mark is a little different; Finn's is a golden threaded design entwined with deep violet, the shape of the mark Zahraxis gave him a dragon rising in flight in a position that looks like a blooming lotus blossom. On Zharaxis' chest is a dragon rampant enclosed in a Celtic knot, the red inscription outlined with purple as well. The glow is subtly iridescent, and it's almost as if faint purple smoke rises from their marks.

I reach out a finger to trace the edge of Zahraxis' mark. "Is that my color? Purple? What does it mean?"

"Purple usually signifies a blend of passion and spirituality in your nature," Finn says. "But this is more than purple. This is ultraviolet. I think your magic is a blend of red and black dragon magic." He touches the design on his own chest, marveling at it. "After we're done with you, we can explore it more."

I lift an eyebrow. "Done with me? What do you want to do next?"