51. Kami

51

Kami

R ies kisses like he's got nothing but time to pleasure me. So intense, so full of sensuality.

His lips are smooth and firm, commanding as he cradles my head with one hand while guiding my hand up and down his cock in a rhythm that has him breathing faster.

He's so thick, and I'm excited that I've gotten him that way.

From fear to arousal, my moods shift faster than a racing tide. Ries is so skilled at sex that it's impossible not to feel so hungry for the ecstasy I've felt before.

He pulls away from my mouth and whispers, "That's it. Give it to me."

I don't know when he pulled my trousers down, or when one of the others came to stand behind me, but my pants are gone.

And Ries shifts me over him.

"Now," he insists and pulls me close.

I let out a soft moan as I slide down, stuffed full, and succumb to more kisses .

Though I'm supposed to take charge, Ries grips my ass and forces me up and down, rocking me over him harder and faster.

He wasn't kidding when he says he won't take long, because I feel him tense and moan into my mouth as he spends inside me. The rush of seed is warm, and I greedily soak him up into my needy body.

"Thanks, sweetheart," he whispers and nibbles my ear. "You're lovely. And so fucking hot."

I flush, pleased but not yet satisfied.

He must know it, because I hear him chuckle softly. "Turn your head and get a treat."

I turn and feel something prodding my lips.

Oh, wow. Someone's cock.

"Eat me," Crash whispers.

Then he's pushing past my lips, and I'm taking him, thrilled with his soft grunts. He's tense, his thigh rock hard under my palm as I use him to steady me.

Ries remains hard inside me while I'm blowing Crash.

"Oh yeah. More." Ries rubs my clit and causes me to grind over him.

Crash is quiet, though his breathing is faster.

Malkar must be absorbing a lot of sexual energy because I'm loving the attention, caught by two powerful fae who want me.

"I'm coming," Crash says with little warning, and then I'm swallowing him down while my orgasm crashes over me.

"Again," Ries groans and comes while riding the wave with me.

Crash withdraws, and Malkar takes his place with a hoarse, "Now me."

He's unlike he was before, his cock only lightly ridged and not so big as he was when he lodged inside me and wouldn't get small .

He pants while he fucks my mouth, and Ries steadies me as he continues to come, humming with pleasure.

Time seems to stand still, forever and not long enough while the heady rush of togetherness and happiness satiates that craving I've had for so long.

"Swallow it," Malkar hisses and jerks, pouring into my mouth.

He's a lot to take, but the magic of our joining makes it easy to accept all of him.

All of them .

I'm awash in pleasure as Malkar pulls back and Ries lifts me off then gently sets me to rights.

There is no mess. I should be worried about that, because that means I'm absorbing a lot of their power through their seed, yet pregnancy isn't a worry I need to face.

I don't think.

My kind typically do rituals to prepare our bodies before becoming fertile. Normal dryads do, at least. The two times I had sex before coming to Sacred Lakes, I used protection.

Ries hugs me, and I hug him back, secretly relieved to have him to myself again.

"Gods, you feel so good. I feel so good."

"Me too." Oddly, I feel recharged.

I wonder if Malkar is spreading his power, because sex doesn't normally revive me. I'm not a succubus.

"Fuck, Kami. We should be doing that more. Your mouth is good for something after all."

"Crash, shut up," Malkar says.

I shouldn't find him amusing, but Crash, for all his acerbic comments, is oddly flattering. "Thanks, Firefly."

He actually chuckles.

Perhaps sex is the way to soften him up.

After a short breather, we leave the alcove and move cautiously and speedily together, searching for the heart of the maze.

We have only to make it there to get to the next part of the trials, and I know we'll need our strength for that.

We pass several stains on the ground, other spots covered in what looks like broken-down tissue, likely victims of the azags.

At least there aren't any cracks in the ground or thunder from above. And we don't run into the Nyte Guard either.

All that to say I'm dreading the next danger we face, because we haven't come across any in a while.

Though we can hear the crowd again.

Not long ago, as if we'd walked through a bubble, the noise returned, loud and clear.

"You think we're close?" Crash asks.

The guys seem much more energetic. I'm tired, but then, I'm also not as physically fit. My idea of roughing it used to be finding an old oak in the forest to nap in, one without the soft down of new fae tree growth.

We'd camp in a nice tree bough, where I'd snuggle up with Ahza, and we'd share stories about our fabulous futures.

A pang hits me hard.

Sometimes I can't believe he's gone. And at other times I can't believe he was ever here with me to begin with.

Ries pauses. "I feel a surge of magic ahead. Water magic."

"Which could also be a trap." Malkar sounds excited at the thought. Weirdo.

"Could be." Ries shrugs.

I wonder if Serl has survived and am surprised to hope he has.

It's not like he did me a huge favor by not killing me. By being a considerate person .

I fear my ideals of what constitutes basic decency have been corrupted by Sacred Lakes and Rilitar's ilk.

"We have no other options but to go. I say let's find out." I wait until the others agree then take the lead.

Only because Malkar lets me.

He's staying close, and I'm not going to argue. I'm tired of getting ripped away by my hair or thrown over some burly guy's shoulder.

My ribs still ache, and my scalp is sore, though my arm feels nothing but bruised. So that's a plus.

We go around another bend and come into a spacious courtyard.

The heart of the maze.

My pulse spikes, because the same Nyte Guards we previously killed are standing around an altar, very much alive.

"Fuck," Crash mutters.

"Fuck is right," Ries growls.

The guards grin at us. One winks at Malkar.

"Oh, I'm gutting that one," Malkar promises.

The squared off courtyard closes behind us and opens behind the guards.

Once again, the crowd above goes wild.

The female orc from the royal box enters carrying a large, double-headed ax over her shoulder.

And behind her is Oz.

"Traitor," Crash says loudly enough to be heard by everyone.

Oz ignores him, looking us over with obvious relief.

The female orc—Oz's mother —grins and walks behind the altar. "This is where we'll sacrifice you," she says to Oz. "But not until you've earned it."

She snaps her fingers, and the Nyte Guards retreat to stand at the wall behind her.

It's then I notice that the crowd in the stands is deathly silent.

"Now pay attention." She points to a glyph carved into the top of the altar. "This is where the heart of the maze belongs. One of you must donate that fragile, beating organ. If you do, the others go free." She gives a full, coarse laugh, at odds with her beautiful, almost fragile for an orc, appearance. "Or should I say, on to the next round."

The spectators roar with laughter.

Once it dies down, she continues, "One heart for passage forward. That's the deal." She looks at Oz, her gaze curious. "Join the others, orc. We'll see if you deserve to go on."

A few boos in the crowd turn quiet when she roars at them to shut up.

"The monarch has declared me in charge of this part of the fight. I'll see who's suitable to go up against me in the finals. My time is precious, and only those worthy may battle Daleyne the Destroyer."

Oz walks to stand next to her and stares down at the altar.

He's a good head and a half taller, broader, and meaner looking. His jaw is wider, his features brutish compared to Daleyne's fragile-like beauty.

Yet seeing them standing so close, there is no denying a kinship. He looks like a tougher, male version of the female.

"Orc?" She frowns at him.

He moves so fast he's a blur as he headbutts her and grabs her ax.

Crash and Ries say as one, "Oh, shit."

Malkar laughs.

I think they're all more than a little insane. What can this possibly do but contribute to our deaths? We need to run, escape.

And there's nowhere to go, surrounded by our enemy .

The guards move, but Daleyne, rubbing her head, waves them back. "Ah, the monster finally makes his move."

Oz snorts, "Daleyne the Destroyer? Don't you mean, Daleyne the Betrayer? You black-hearted bitch."

I'm watching with the others, unwillingly fascinated by this familial drama.

"There you are." She laughs, ignoring the lump on her forehead. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you, ogre spawn?"

"Don't forget orc spawn. Mother. " Oz adds a few colorful insults her way.

The crowd erupts in speculation and cheer.

Ries and Crash stare. "No shit." Ries leans closer. "Oh, I see it now."

"I feel so special." Oz sneers, the disgust on his face obvious.

His mother doesn't seem concerned. "Well, boy? Mommy's tired of waiting. Shit or get off the pot."

So saying, she swings an identical ax at him that appears from out of nowhere.

Oz meets it with the one he stole, only to have it break at the contact.

Daleyne laughs. "As if I'd ever let another get their hands on my treasure. Time to die, my little man. Just like your fuckup of a father."

Then, shockingly, she steps back out of reach.

"What a dishonorable bitch." Crash shakes his head.

The guards move in, all of them surrounding Oz, who has no chance against an undying Nyte Guard.

They step closer, and the largest of the group swings at Oz's unprotected neck.