Chapter Five

 

Before Kuthar could return to his mates and finish the binding of the trion, he had to meet with Draven and Ook. His thoughts, however, constantly took him elsewhere; staying focused was difficult, as he wanted to return to Cynthiana and Ooen. Fate was shining on him, and he wanted nothing more than to reap his rewards. But his duties as ruler called to him. His people depended on him and his own needs, regardless of how great, would have to keep for this short time.

The heat and noise of the main thrusters room would keep them hidden from any prying eyes and unwanted listeners. At this point, he knew they could trust no one.

“You received my message?” he asked Draven.

“I did.”

“And did you have the time needed to do a thorough check?”

“We have both done some silent inquiries.”

“What have you learned?”

“It appears Vogeth has been a very busy and quite secretive Elder.”

Kuthar watched the green of Draven’s eyes fade to tumultuous black; anger streaking across them like waves in a dark pool across their depths. “How so?” he questioned.

“The magic was manufactured. But, beneath it we found traces of DNA and an odd, but interesting microbe.”

“Interesting in what way?” Kuthar questioned, brow furrowed in wonder.

“It is organic in nature. We’re still breaking it down, but the strain appears to be similar with the effects of those suffering in the latter stages of The Wasting.”

“Are we compromised?”

“Surprisingly, no.”

“The magic has somehow sustained it,” Ook added. “Or perhaps it is the DNA. We are seeking to understand it now. It may be the key to understanding the cure. As you originally suspected, it may be a combination of the three: Vranthian, Darengy and Offworlder combined.”

Each of them considered the possibilities. If someone had manufactured this deadly disease that was killing their people by the thousands each day, what could they possibly hope to gain from it?

“What news do you have?” Draven questioned.

“He is my third.”

Draven and Ook both smiled warmly. “You must finish this, before there is more trouble,” Draven warned. “We are tracing the source of the magic. We know the only way to obtain it on the market is to siphon it.”

“Ooen’s memories have shown Kantella meeting with Vogeth. He was drained repeatedly, forced to heal. It may be tied.”

“Is it possible that Kantella was involved in the purchasing?”

“Possibly,” Kuthar replied, his voice a rough growl. “What if he was on the trail of it? As we are now?”

Draven searched his brother’s face, seeking the threads of this frail tendril of thought. Kantella had always been the rebellious one by nature, even from birth. But he could not discount the personal history between him and his twin’s recklessness. There was bad blood and harsher feelings. Pain, and too many words said that could not be taken back only drove the blade deeper. But, was it possible that Kantella walked the edge of righteousness, for a cause greater than himself? And why would he? Better yet, the question should be, why had he been stealing Offworlders? Including Leah?

No, he highly doubted that his brother was remotely the saintly warrior cloaked in darkness. “I do not see a means to this possibility,” Draven growled and turned away.

“There is one that I know of who could possibly find out,” Ook remarked, filling the silence between the two brothers.

Draven turned and reached for his third, the strength of his large shoulders beneath his hands easing his distress. His magic was a gentle hum flowing between them.

“Please,” Kuthar gestured, palm open, giving Ook the direction of the conversation.

With a sigh, Ook continued. “You must understand that even among the Darengy she is not spoken of in open conversation, for she is an outcast. A rarity that is shunned.”

Draven reached for his mate’s hand.

“The Grave Warriors refer to her as the Mist of Death. To see her is to walk among the shadows of the end. It is said that her magic has the ability to fade in and out of time itself. That she can heal or end a life as she sees fit. And, that to pass into the land beyond the grave, you must first have her blessing. She is a Grave Warrior, a healer, a life taker and a thief of souls.”

“What do your people call this warrior woman?” Kuthar questioned.

“She is named Onya, but to find her, you too must be a seeker of souls, or within your last breath.”

Kuthar looked at his brother, the same thoughts crossing the path of their eyes. “Traegar,” they said as one.

“What is a Traegar?” Ook asked, uncertain.

“Not a what, but a who,” Draven told him. “Traegar is among the oldest of the Elders. He is part Vranthian and part Truenese. He is a mercenary, of sorts. A seeker of souls, as you say. And if anyone can find your Onya, it is he.”

“And what of Kantella?” Ook questioned.

“They will find him, together,” Kuthar stated. “In the meantime, follow up on the leads with the magic manufacturing and advise me when you know more. We will be in Vranthia in a few short hours. By then we will have much completed and many more answers. Until then, guard your woman and yourselves.”

The door to Cyn’s room closed softly behind him and the sight before him stirred the fire in his blood. Ooen’s large frame encircled the rich, warm cream of Cynthiana’s dark beauty, creating hunger in the pit of his stomach. The need to complete the trion burned within him.

He could feel Ooen’s magic race along his flesh. Watching the two in bed together caused his canines to ache with need.

Cyn jerked in Ooen’s arms, ready to pull away, but Ooen clutched her tightly. “Easy,” he whispered. “Prince Kuthar will not harm you.”

“Prince?” Cyn questioned, her eyes meeting Kuthar’s, briefly remembering Ooen’s tale.

Kuthar’s smile was gentle. Hunger and a disconcerting knowledge filled his pale eyes.

She couldn’t withhold the shudder of anxious yearning that trembled through her. Good grief, she thought. I’ve become a stark raving space whore.

Her stomach took that moment to interrupt her thoughts with a loud grumble.

Kuthar laughed. “It seems we have been lax in our duty, my brother,” he remarked, his pale eyes bright as they met Ooen’s. “Let us get you fed and I will fill you in on the remainder of your questions. We have much to discuss and accomplish before we reach Vranthia. Come, a shower and some food will go a long way in easing some of your discomforts.”

Cyn watched him with uncertainty. His pale eyes touched her in places she’d only recently discovered. And she found she wanted him to touch her again. Even while she lay in Ooen’s arms. What does that say about me?

“Do not think too deeply,” Ooen advised in a breathless whisper. “It is the trion, and we are helpless against our fate. Feel, and let the Prophecy carry you.”

Ooen rose from the bed with her in his arms and stood her before Kuthar, a thought separating them at her back. Their heat engulfed her as she stood naked between them, shivering...and not from cold. Kuthar’s gentle caress along her cheek brought her chin up, and she gazed into the heat of his hunger-filled eyes.

“Soon, Cynthiana. Soon we three will be one.” He trailed his fingers down the column of her throat, along her collar bone and across the swell of her breasts. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her breath staggered through her.

Ooen’s large hands gripped her hips and pulled her against his engorged flesh, a rough growl on his lips as he pressed them against the back of her neck.

Kuthar ran the pad of his thumb across her nipple and she trembled, her knees shaking as she tried to remain upright. “Soon you will know what it is to feel the heat of us taking you, body and soul, blood and magic. Filling every inch of you. Tasting and taking your every breath, your every wish, as we fulfill your darkest, secret desires, until you scream our names over and over and over again. You will know what it is to be thoroughly loved,” he whispered, trailing his fingers down the center of her body to her core, throbbing with need.

When he ran his finger between her wet, swollen lips, she groaned, “Please, Kuthar.”

Kuthar glanced at Ooen, the same glint of hunger and fire blazing in his eyes as he watched Kuthar touch Cyn the way he wanted to touch and be touched.

“You know not what you ask for, Cynthiana.”

“Please, Kuthar. Please don’t stop,” she pleaded. “I don’t understand any of this,” she breathlessly stated. “But there is something about being here, with you, and with Ooen. Something so strange, and yet it feels so incredibly right. It’s like it has always been there. Always been a part of me,” she whispered, clinging to him, his touch still stoking the flames of her body. Ooen’s heat circled her back, completing them. “I can’t explain it, and I certainly don’t understand it, but I know I can’t be without it. Without either of you.”

Kuthar looked deep into her rich, almond colored eyes and was lost. With a groan of surrender, he bent his head, simultaneously reaching with his other hand for the curve of Ooen’s neck, and the sweet, tender spot beneath his hair. All the while, he stroked the warm heat of her lush folds.

Her lips were pliant beneath his, surrendering, giving. His tongue delved deep as his finger dipped inside her. He swallowed her moan of surrender. When her legs began to falter, he released her and turned her in Ooen’s arms so that he could lift her. “Take her to the cleansing unit,” he growled, shucking his clothes in a heated frenzy.

Ooen’s eyes were a swirl of color. His skin glistened with the power of the magic flowing through him. His breaths came in rough gasps, need clearly writ on his features.

“Soon, my brother,” Kuthar promised, his own need spiraling out of control.

He watched as Ooen easily lifted her, the muscles in his arms and back flexing. The air was tense with hunger, magic and emotion. His body wound tightly as thoughts of completing the trion rushed through his frantic mind. He’d never felt so out of control, so out of sorts, in his life.

When he was finally naked and reached the cleansing unit, Ooen had Cynthiana pressed against the wall, water cascading around them. In the dim light, with the moisture flowing over their flesh, their bodies glowed in the spark of Ooen’s magic.

Stepping beneath the spray, Kuthar reached for Ooen, felt him tremble beneath his fingers as he ran his hand up the wide width of his back. He brushed aside the length of his hair and pressed his body against him. He’d never taken a man before, but the need for Ooen was strong. He knew they’d have a lifetime to taste of their desires, but now was about completing the trion.

With knowing fingers, he reached between the two of them to find Cynthiana’s swollen nub, stroking the flames of her overwrought body. He joined his finger with Ooen’s, and together they plunged deep inside her.

“Oh, God!” Cyn moaned, tearing her lips from Ooen’s as Kuthar drove a finger deep inside of her, next to Ooen’s knowing touch.

“That’s it, Cyn,” Ooen coaxed. “Come for us,” he demanded, stroking his thumb across her swollen nub.

Her muscles clenched around their fingers, her body so close to release. She looked out through the fall of water into two sets of eyes, each pair so different in color, but matching in need. Her womb clenched as Ooen circled her clitoris, stroking harder. Her body rocked forward as her orgasm tore through her. Spellbound, she watched as Kuthar lowered his lips to Ooen’s neck. Hunger, his and her own, knifed through her as teeth pierced Ooen’s flesh, and a rush of heat burst through her, another orgasm fast on its heels. She and Ooen groaned as one.

Panting heavily, Kuthar licked closed his mark on Ooen’s neck, his body thrumming with the fire of his blood and the heat of Ooen’s magic. Awareness danced around them like sparking starlight.

Ooen turned with Cynthiana in his arms, turning her to face Kuthar, and leaned forward, pressing his lips against his mate’s. Never in his long life had he ever thought to feel so needed. So full of life again. His magic churned deep in his belly, spreading outward through every limb. It danced behind his eyelids and glimmered against his flesh. He took that magic and poured it into his kiss. Pressing deeply, he shared his love and gratitude. Shared with Kuthar, the delight of his joy, and his freedom. Kuthar had given him this; released him from the darkness. And still the magic rose.

With a strangled groan, Kuthar tore his lips from Ooen’s and together they reached for Cynthiana. Lifting her easily, they spread her legs so she could wrap them around Kuthar, her ripe breasts pressed against his chest. Her womanhood open to their demand.

Ooen slid his fingers along her flesh and opened her to Kuthar, his wide staff slicking her folds. Ooen stroked her moisture, rubbed her throbbing flesh and coated his fingers with it, then he stroked the wide length of Kuthar, guiding him into her entrance.

Each of them groaned as she took him deeply inside her. Her body trembled, stretching to ease his way inside her. Kuthar pulled back slightly and pushed in deeper as Ooen pressed against her tight bud. Her body was on fire, each thrust going deeper, farther, fulfilling every need she’d ever known.

The touch of Ooen’s finger against the ring of her anus was both startling and exciting. Her breathless Oh was captured against Kuthar’s lips. Fingers teased her aching nipple and shots sparks through her body just as Ooen breached her, his finger sinking, then stroking. They timed their strokes together, Kuthar and then Ooen, back and forth, back and forth. Her body lost to the fire they’d built in her body.

When the head of Ooen’s shaft pressed against her entrance and Kuthar stilled, she momentarily tensed. “Easy, love,” Kuthar whispered against her neck, causing chills to race across her flesh, despite the heat and the desire. “We’ve got you.”

Slowly, tenderly, fingers rubbed her clitoris as Kuthar kissed a heated line of fire along her neck. Gradually her body relaxed back into the moment, the fire quickly consuming her once again. She could feel the orgasm building, burning inside her. Then Ooen pressed inside her, and she shattered. “Oh, God, yes!”

They began to move, and her orgasm continued on. Light after burning light stormed through her veins, ricocheted off her bones, and seared her heart. The moment Kuthar’s teeth broke through her flesh, her body imploded, fell to nothingness and reformed as Ooen’s magic blazed through her, remaking her, one cell at a time. “Kuthar, Ooen,” she moaned, her orgasm stealing her breath as she came undone in their arms.

Limply she clung to him, and Kuthar knew he needed to complete the trion. “Cynthiana,” he coaxed, lifting her chin. “You must drink,” he told her, then he sliced a line across his heart and pressed her lips to the cut.

Crimson bubbles welled against Kuthar’s pale flesh, mixing with the shower water. Cyn’s numb lips pressed against its warmth. Her body floated, lethargic, weightless and replete. She’d never felt so sated, so loved or complete in her entire life. She belonged here. She knew it with every ounce of her soul. Regardless of how she’d ended up here, or even how she’d come to be here. Here is where she was meant to be. With Kuthar and Ooen.

“Drink,” Kuthar whispered, and she unquestioningly obeyed. His blood was warm against her tongue, salty and sweet at the same time. She drew deeply, and it quenched the need and longing for fulfillment still coiling inside her. Somehow, instinctively knowing when she’d had her fill, she licked the wound and it closed on its own.

With lids half closed and sleep closing in on her, Cyn felt the heat and comfort of two bodies pressed against her. They’d carried her to bed, wrapped themselves around her and covered up with the cool, crispness of the bedding. The contrast of their heat and the linen soothed her aches and her worries.

“Rest,” Kuthar whispered, raking his fingers along her spine. “We will be in Vranthia soon. From now until forever, Ooen and I will see to your every need. We will take care of you.”

To Cyn, forever sounded like a really wonderful thing. With a sated sigh, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.