Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

T he blackness in which he resided was no longer nothingness. It was her black hair, long and soft and redolent with her feminine scent. It entangled him. It bound him. It held him prisoner in ways no ring of stone could ever do.

It was a prison he would gladly accept.

While he waited, drifting in the sea of black silk, he had plenty of time to think, and all his thoughts were of his little dark queen. He thought of how soft she felt, how sweet her lips tasted, both above and below. Those were good thoughts.

But most of all, he thought about the poison, and his queen's resistance to it. A resistance that went beyond what any mortal woman should have been capable of.

It was that resistance which had saved their child.

As a cambion , a demon-human hybrid, the child would be impervious to many things. Flames could not harm him. He could not drown. Even poison, eventually, would be ineffective against him. However, it would take some time for that latter immunity to develop. As an unborn infant, his body had not yet built up the necessary defenses against poison.

But his mother's body had.

How could that be?

Beliath had heard tales of mortal kings and queens who, fearing assassination, had routinely taken small doses of all manner of poisons in order to build up a natural immunity. But Beliath did not think this was the case with Malissa.

There was something else going on with his little dark queen. Something special. The next time they met, he would talk to her about it.

And he would have a look at that book of hers.

As if on cue, Beliath felt the sea of dark filaments parting, felt his consciousness lifting, rising from the black depths like a ghost rising from the tomb.

His queen was calling.

The last time she had summoned him, it had been broad daylight, and the sun had stung his eyes. This time, it was night—sweet, sweet night—and the only lights were the moon and the stars and the five candles flickering atop the low pillars of the darkstone ring.

And his queen.

Framed against the shadowy backdrop of the forest, her naked form almost seemed to glow. A touch of silver from the moonlight, a touch of gold from the candles, and a little touch of rose from the hot blood coursing through her veins.

His cock hoisted at the sight of her.

For a moment, he forgot all about the book and her curious resistance to the poison. All he could think about was how badly he wanted to be inside her, to feel her wet cunt gripping his hard shaft as he fucked her and filled her with his seed.

The queen appeared to have a similar idea in mind. Even though the night air was warm, the tips of her nipples were as stiff as Beliath's cock, and he could see a gleam of wetness down between her legs. As soon as she saw him, a big smile spread across her face.

She rushed into the middle of the ring and hugged him, pressing the side of her face against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her back and held her tightly.

Great hell, it felt so good to hold her like this, to know that she was safe in his arms.

"Did you miss me?" she asked.

"You know I did, angel."

She laughed softly and rubbed herself against his upright shaft.

"I can tell," she said, gently stroking his cock. "I've missed you too. I've missed having you inside me. Then again, I do have you inside me, all the time."

She leaned back and touched her belly, which was already bigger and rounder than the last time they had seen each other.

So were her breasts.

Her ripeness made Beliath ache with lust.

But there were other things that were more important than satisfying his carnal desires. He turned toward the altar and patted its smooth stone surface with the palm of his hand.

"Lie down," he said. "I wish to inspect our child."

Beliath waited until she was lying on her back on the altar, then he moved into position beside her and placed both of his hands atop her belly. It only took him a moment to sense that the situation was much better than last time. There were no traces of poison inside her, and the baby was healthy and comfortable.

He let Malissa know this.

"Good," she said, sitting up and hugging her knees to her chest. "I've been very careful. I've stopped taking the medicine the doctor of the castle was giving me, and I've been eating all my meals in the kitchen, so I can watch the cooks preparing it. Nothing goes into my body unless I know exactly where it's been…"

She glanced down at Beliath's throbbing erection.

"…Speaking of which, I trust you haven't been putting that handsome prick of yours anywhere it doesn't belong?"

"I would never dream of it, angel."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Her lips curved into a wicked little smirk.

"I'd better taste it, just to be sure."

"Don't you trust me?" Beliath teased. "I'm hurt."

The little queen had turned over, and now she was on all fours atop the altar. She licked her lips and gave him a look that almost made him paint her face with his seed.

"It wasn't my intention to hurt you," she said. "I want to make you feel good. I guess I need to practice…"

She opened her mouth and lowered her face toward Beliath's leaking tip, but he caught her by the hair and held her back.

The little queen gave him a quizzical look.

"Beliath? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, angel. I will be more than happy to train that beautiful little mouth of yours in a moment. However, there is one thing I wish to do before I forget."

"What's that?"

"I'm curious about your mother's book. May I have a look at it?"

"The grimoire? Of course. It's in my satchel."

The little queen climbed down from the altar and ran to where her satchel was lying on the grass just outside the darkstone ring. Beliath's cock throbbed at the sight of her bare bottom bounding away from him, followed by the equally appealing sight of her jouncing breasts as she returned. She placed the satchel onto the altar and opened it.

Beliath looked inside.

There was the book, just as Malissa had said. However, it was the other item inside the bag that drew Beliath's attention. The throbbing in his cock suddenly grew stronger.

Perhaps the book could wait just a little longer.