11. Skylar

Chapter eleven

Skylar

M y nerves at going for a ride with Hiero were only in part due to the fact I’d never been on a motorcycle before. They were banned in Emrallt Valley, for the Guild had deemed them too noisy and disruptive for polite society, not to mention they were altogether too human. Most human inventions, even those that were allowed, were considered low-class by my kind.

Still, human artifacts were coveted by some and collected by others. Monica and I had done a good trade in human goods on the black market before the Guild started cracking down on smuggling. Summoners were almost banned in Emrallt Valley because of their access to the internet, Goddess forbid it!

But outside Emrallt Valley, it seemed there were fewer rules on noise and decorum. I could probably run naked down the street here and no one would even bat an eye. It was as freeing as it was frightening, for where were the boundaries in this lawless shifter realm ?

And in addition to my nerves, there was also the constant buzz of arousal I experienced whenever Hiero was near. My wings hummed with anticipation, which was distracting and slightly embarrassing. It didn’t help that the minotaur wore his tight leather pants and a black tank top stretched across his broad chest. His reflective sunglasses combatted the sun’s glare and his helmet had cut-outs for his horns. He was a leather daddy in all his glory with a beast of a machine thrumming between his thick, tree-trunk thighs. I hadn’t been so rattled by the presence of a man since I’d been a fledgling first experiencing sexual attraction.

Not that Hiero noticed, thank the Goddess. He seemed blissfully unaware of my half-hard cock and vibrating wings as he fit me with a spare helmet. He mounted his bike the same way I imagined him straddling my face and kick-started the engine. The smell of leather, spice, and oil struck me dizzy, and a snake of desire wound through me as he revved his engine (and mine as well). Such sweet torment.

“Hop on, gorgeous,” he said with a wide grin.

Hop on I did, making sure to tuck my wings tightly so they’d not catch the wind. I wrapped both my arms around him, drinking in his potent scent. He had bulk and brawn in all the right places, a nice, meaty man to cozy up to on cold, winter nights. Yes, Daddy, I thought when the bike first accelerated, then immediately scolded myself. He was my boss now, for Goddess’s sake. I’d never had a real job before, but I was pretty sure that banging your boss was a big no-no. Which was why I had to be careful not to sit with my groin rubbing up against him or else my throbbing erection would surely give me away.

Think of something else, Skylar. Literally anything else.

The weather! The weather was beautiful today, mid-spring with a slight breeze and the bugs merrily going about their business. The bees were out in abundance, which was always reassuring, since honey was the main food source for my people. They buzzed among fields of wildflowers, the air fresh and sweet as we climbed higher into the Dragonback Mountains.

There were no longer dragons here, as far as I knew, but the mountain peaks resembled the sharp points of a dragon’s spine, and it was rumored that they’d once built their nests on the craggy cliffs that overlooked the sea. The humans had hunted the dragons to extinction, polluted the land, and made trouble for magical creatures besides, which was the reason their kind were run off from the Arcane Isles in the War of the Realms many years ago. The war ended before I was born, but my mother said it was a bloody time indeed. And after the humans were forced to flee, elemental sorcerers magicked wards to hide our isles from humankind so that none would return.

There were still a few humans remaining here and there, mostly halflings like Hiero, but they were spread out amongst the isles and did not cause trouble.

I hung on for dear life during some of the hairpin turns and switchbacks, laughing with adrenaline and a bit of fear too. Hiero handled his bike exceptionally well, never giving me cause to truly worry, and he whooped it up along with me as if experiencing the thrill for the first time. My thighs brushed against his leather and reminded me of a few nights ago when he’d laid me out on his four-poster bed and told me exactly what he wanted from me in his deep, dominant voice.

But he was my boss now and my friend, not my Daddy.

At the top of the mountain, we pulled over to look out over the expanse of the lands surrounding us. To the east was Emrallt Valley where the rich forest lands gave way to the emerald green pastures of our territory and the reason for the name. I could just make out the glittering spires and battlements of Queen Gwyenth’s Crystal Castle and wondered if Cedrych had been sparring with his guardsmen lately to help deal with his stress. That and sex were how he managed the pressures of the court. Sometimes he drank too much and picked fights with strangers. Or he’d start an argument with me, which usually ended up with us hurling insults at one another until it devolved into rough sex.

Truthfully, I hadn’t liked the person I was with Cedrych. Even when we weren’t fighting, we didn’t bring out the best in each other. And though the circumstances of our breakup wounded me deeply, it needed to happen. Which meant that Cedrych’s wellbeing was no longer my concern.

Beyond the valley were the Eastern Highlands, an agrarian extension of Queen Gwyneth’s kingdom where we grew food and tended to the many apiaries that nourished our people, and just beyond that were the Lunar Straits which separated fae lands from elvish.

“It is said that the fae and the elvish were once kin,” I told Hiero. I’d learned this bit of lore from my mother who'd tended Goddess Imogen’s temple before falling in love with my father, a musician of some renown. By the time I was walking and talking, my father had sold off most of his instruments and rarely performed, but my mother had retained much of our oral history and shared it with me in her rare moments of lucidity. “The Goddess Imogen is protector of the Arcane Isles, and it is said the two big islands were once connected.” I pointed to the Cysgodion Cliffs in the distance, so named because of their silver shimmer. The way the sunlight reflected off the rock face blinded sailors and cast long, treacherous shadows on the water, which made them dangerous to navigate in the daytime.

“But there was a civil war, so Imogen created the Lunar Straits to split the island in two. The folk on this side of the channel became known as the fae and those on the other, the elvish. The elvish didn’t have access to the sweet nectars of the valley, which caused their young to be born without wings. And the fae didn’t have access to the eternal flame which powers elvish innovation. Imogen did this to make both sides suffer until a compromise could be met.”

“And was a compromise met?” Hiero asked.

“There is still much prejudice and distrust on both sides, one of the reasons Queen Gwyneth keeps both elvish and fae in her court and sends her sons on regular emissary trips to elvish territory.”

As a mother-in-law, Queen Gwyneth would have been an absolute nightmare, but as a ruler, she was savvy and strategic. There had been peace in Emrallt Valley for as long as I’d been alive, a recent development.

“I admit I do not know much about your people,” Hiero said humbly.

“Then it’s good you have me to act as your ambassador.”

A mountain breeze lifted one of Hiero’s forelocks and I had a vision of us many moons from now, standing in this very same place and making sacred vows to one another. Such a silly daydream.

“The Goddess blesses us,” I said, turning my face toward the wind.

He glanced around with bemusement. “And how do you know?”

“Just a feeling. But what about your god, Hiero? What do you believe?”

Hiero told me of his own sacred rights–daily prayers and reflection, trying to be a good, charitable Christian. Hiero said that he tried to follow the path of their savior by welcoming every patron into Church, regardless of their ancestry or their past.

“I like that teaching,” I said. It was one of the reasons I’d felt so comfortable being myself around him. He didn’t judge or seek to exclude others because of who they were, the one exception being their own bad behavior.

“Aberthol offered shelter and safety to worshippers of every kind at the monastery, even those who had no god,” Hiero said.

“Was Aberthol both a pagan and a Christian?” I asked.

Hiero tilted his head in a contemplative way. “Yes and no. Aberthol believed in the existence of many gods but prayed only to his one God. Faith is complicated.”

“I agree with you on that.”

The breeze turned chilly and we both gazed east to where a storm was brewing over elvish lands. “We’d better continue on before the weather turns,” Hiero said.

The trip down the mountain felt like when I was first learning to fly. The sharp bends and turns gave me a swooping feeling in my stomach, but I loved the rush of the wind in my face, being forced to hold onto Hiero so tightly. At one point, he started howling, and I heard the answering calls from what I assumed were the various shifter clans. I didn’t know how they’d come to inhabit Dragonback Mountains, but in Emrallt Valley, we were taught to give them a wide berth.

We also passed by grassy plateaus where humans had once raised cattle and sheep but had since abandoned their flocks. The animals now roamed freely, their only natural predators being the wolves and the occasional vampyre, if the rumors were true. We beat the rain to the coast and found shelter from the storm in a covered cove where Hiero proceeded to lay out a blanket and picnic with all my favorite foods.

“How did you know I liked these?” I asked, popping a mallow fruit into my mouth and savoring its sweet, sticky flavor.

“I paid The Owner of The Magic Shop a visit this morning,” he said shyly.

“That was very thoughtful of you. Try this.” I gave him a bite of my saffron stick. He chewed it for a moment, then went wide-eyed.

“Spicy,” he said.

“Yes, the kick comes later. What sorts of foods do you eat?”

“Greens mostly. Grasses, legumes, alfalfa, clover, and hay in the winter if I can't get fresh grass. Some other fruits and vegetables are fine, but I can’t eat too many processed foods. I have a sensitive stomach.”

“And may I ask you a personal question?” I said and he nodded for me to continue. “I noticed you wear a lot of leather.”

He smiled. “I don’t eat meat or dairy, but I have a cousin who works in leather. It’s made from the hides of the animals my shifter kin have hunted and killed. It’s best to use all parts.”

“And do you know anything about your birth parents?” I asked.

“I was a foundling when I was left on the monastery doorsteps by a woman with long, dark hair. That was all Aberthol was able to tell me. Most of the humans have since perished or fled, so I wouldn’t even know where to look.”

Both of us had been abandoned. Hiero’s was a physical abandonment while mine was an emotional one, always wanting more from parents who were unable or unwilling to give it. But Hiero had found his people, his tribe, while I was still searching.

“Your teeth are rather sharp,” he said. “Do you eat meat?”

“We can drink blood for nutrition if we must, but it has some negative side effects. Most fae prefer flower nectar, fruits, and honey.” The result of a blood binge was a days-long lethargy that could easily slide into depression.

“You are like the vampyre in that way,” he said.

“And the elvish, though it’s considered an act of desperation. Only the poorest among us will resort to it.”

I’d drank my fair share of rat blood alongside Monica when times were lean. I recalled the two of us sharing a bare mattress on the floor with our bellies bloated, our lips smeared with blood, and dead carcasses all around us. It hadn’t been pretty but we’d survived. It made me cherish the simple pleasure of a picnic even more.

I didn’t want to sour our date with my morbid thoughts, so I picked up a jar of pickled prickly pear and offered some to Hiero. He was amenable to my suggestion, which I appreciated. I liked a man who was open to new experiences. Finally, with our taste buds singing and our appetites sated, we laid ourselves out on the blanket to watch the steady patter of rain outside our dry little nest.

“Tell me your dreams, Hierophant Wolfsbane,” I said, for I suspected a man like him must have some.

“I’d like to have a family one day,” he said, sounding wistful. “A loving partner who wants to build a life with me, a few little ones running around the yard.”

A simple dream, but also so profound.

“You haven’t found them already?” I said with disbelief. “I’m surprised no one has scooped you up.”

“None of the men I’ve dated seem to want to stick around.”

He sounded so hurt when he said it. My heart twisted at the yearning in his voice. Clearly, those men were fools. “Have you had a boy before?”

“I’ve tried a few times to keep a boy, but they always end up getting bored up here in the mountains and acting out. Or maybe it’s just me that’s tiresome. I like routine and order. I can be set in my ways. Some partners find that stifling.”

I’d seen him dig in his heels and be stern, especially when it came to my safety or that of his kin, but I didn’t find it stifling.

“I can’t imagine you being all that tough. You seem rather soft to me,” I teased.

Smiling, he said, “I can be persuaded with sweet talk, but I do believe in rules and discipline.”

Rules sounded like a comfort to me, and discipline… that was an area I’d yet to explore .

“What about someone from one of the shifter clans?” I asked.

“I’ve dated a few, but there’s a special connection that shifters share with their own kind. When they shift together, it’s a level of intimacy I can’t offer.”

I rolled onto my side so I could take hold of his hand. “You’ll find him. Someone who appreciates your compassion and loyalty, who thrives under your steady hand and wants to help raise your children. I know that person is out there.”

Hiero nodded, his eyes a little misty. “I hope so. My nights up in these mountains sure do get lonely sometimes. Whenever I hear the cry of a lone wolf, I know exactly how they feel.” He sighed and rubbed his face. “How about you, Skylar Larkspur of the fae? What do you want from this life?”

I tried to imagine my future, but it was all so fragmented and chaotic at the moment. In my formative years, I’d been too focused on keeping my wings off the chopping block to really contemplate anything else. Even as Cedrych’s kept boy, I was constantly worried my luck wouldn’t last. I’d lived in the moment, never really planning for my future, never investing in myself. I supposed I was like my parents in that way.

“The one thing I know for certain is that I don’t want what I had before, to be bought with gifts or money.” I risked a glance at him, wondering if he’d be put off by my past, but he only nodded for me to continue. “But I like being here with you, listening to your hopes and dreams. You seem to have it all figured out. ”

“Not even close,” he said with a good-natured grin. “But I like being here with you too.” He squeezed my hand, then brought my fingers to his lips where they lingered. Our eyes caught, and I wasn’t sure who moved first, but like a flame to dry tinder I was suddenly in his lap with my mouth on his, tasting the sweetness of the pear and the spice from the saffron stick we’d shared. His hand was on my back and his fingers brushed against my wings ever so gently.

“I like it when you touch me,” I confessed, my arousal flowing through me like sap from a tree on a warm spring day.

“I like touching you, baby boy.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to call him Daddy , but I didn’t want to make any assumptions. It had been sexy and fun our first night together, but I was starting to believe I wanted it to mean something more. Something longer-term. And yet, the last thing I wanted was to break his heart the way mine had been broken.

“I know that we’re just friends,” I said in a rush of nerves and adrenaline, “and you’re my boss, and this is probably a terrible idea, but would you make love to me, Hiero? Will you be my Daddy for as long as the rain lasts, right here, right now?”

Hiero’s smile was a blessing from the Goddess above.

“Skylar, sweetheart, I want nothing more.”