Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

K ormac had been holding back on this mission, taking snippets of pleasure as they rode hard to handle Lomar. Keeping himself in check despite the desire he had for this woman.

But here and now, in a bed with danger on the horizon, the future uncertain, he wasn't about to resist.

Fionna kissed him and he kissed her back with all the pent-up passion that had been brewing. While he'd been with many women in his life, none ever ignited all his senses like Fionna. Usually, sex was about release, but with his lady witch, he wanted all the pleasure. He wanted to revel in each silky touch, each soft moan, the taste of her on his lips.

Knowing of her inexperience also meant he should go slow. It wasn't easy holding out, not with her so eagerly returning his embrace.

He dragged her into his lap, his hands cupping her leather-clad bottom while their mouths remained meshed. She'd worn that ridiculously sexy outfit to bed, wanting to be ready should they need to act suddenly. It was easy to push up that skirt that he might grip her smoother flesh.

He squeezed her bottom and she squirmed atop him, grinding against his erection. Their teeth clashed as he growled, his hands slipping from her buttocks to unlace her top, baring her to his view.

Perfectly pert breasts that almost made him drool.

Her hands stroked at his shoulders, and she murmured, "I'm feeling underdressed in comparison."

It took but a moment to tug off his clothing, to revel in how her gaze smoldered as she watched him, sitting there in just her skirt, her nipples turgid berries waiting for his mouth.

He knelt on the bed and cupped them, the pad of his thumbs stroking over her tight nubs. A tremor went through her and a sigh parted her lips.

He let go of one breast and palmed her back, arching her away from him to better give him access to her breasts. He latched on to one with his mouth and she uttered a sharp cry of surprise.

Then purred in delight.

He hummed as he suckled, teasing the tip with his lips and tongue, reveling in how she responded to his touch.

Slipping a hand between her legs he found her wet. So very wet. While he would have liked to linger and explore, he remained conscious they were pressed for time.

He grabbed her by the buttocks and lifted her. Her hands went to his shoulders as he held her poised above his pulsing cock. He pressed the tip of his cock against her nether lips, her honey wetting him, inviting him in. But first he teased, dragging the head back and forth against her, getting her used to the feel of it.

She clung to him and trembled, her breath quick hot pants against his flesh. She'd buried her face against his shoulder and whimpered with need.

Slowly, he guided his shaft into the snug sheath of her sex. He strained to hold on to her, and not drop her on his cock, knowing she lacked experience. She wiggled and he groaned.

"My sweet and eager lady," he murmured as he pushed a little deeper, encountering the barrier of her innocence.

Untouched by anyone.

Mine.

"This will hurt," he warned.

"I know," she murmured. And then, being Fionna, shoved herself down hard, taking the matter of her hymen breaking out of his hands.

He gasped as the tightness of her encased his whole cock. Held himself still so as to not cause her more discomfort.

It took her a second before she whispered, "Now what?"

"Now you kiss me." Her lips latched to his as he began to rock her against him.

He rolled her hips to find the angle that made her gasp. Once he located her sweet spot, he began to grind, giving small upward thrusts, while providing the friction to her clit with his thumb.

Her sex began to squeeze, and her breathing turned erratic. A sign she was close.

The rocking increased in speed as she began to move on her own, taking her pleasure, riding him. Her inner muscles clenched his cock when she came and he tensed and joined her, letting his seed spill inside a woman for the first time rather than pulling out.

He held her close to him as the waves of pleasure subsided. Held her tight and knew in that moment he never wanted to let her go.

She sighed in pleasure. "I can't believe I used to think lovemaking was a chore."

It brought a grin to his lips. "And that is just the beginning."

"You mean there's more?" Her wide eyes made him laugh.

"Much more, and I will enjoy showing you once we're safe in Wexkord."

The reminder brought a shadow to her expression. "I don't like leaving, knowing that creature is going to be causing trouble."

"We also can't give it what it wants."

She grimaced. "Agreed. Before we go, I'd like to contact Amelia and give her an update."

"While you're talking to her, I'm going to check on my horse." They'd brought it in the previous night and stabled it in the great room after they'd gone through the fort checking to ensure there weren't any more nasty surprises.

"I'm going to wash up first." The basin in the room had long dried up but the pump in the kitchen still functioned. She emerged from the bed, nude but not shy about her body. A body he already wanted to touch and kiss again.

"Meet me out in the courtyard when you're ready."

She nodded. "I shouldn't be too long. A quick wash, a conversation with my queen, and we can go."

A simple kiss dropped on her lips was all he dared lest they end up back in bed.

He tended to his horse, bringing it outside and saddling it. The gloomy sky overhead hung low and heavy with potential snow. Would Fionna finally change out of her skirt? Much as he liked seeing her bare legs, he wouldn't want her to get cold.

As the first flakes began to fall, he frowned. She appeared to be taking overly long. Could be her conversation with the queen took more time than expected. Still, he went back inside. While they'd done a thorough scout of the building and ensured the single entrance inside was blocked before they'd gone to bed, he had to wonder if he'd missed something. Fionna being capable didn't mean she couldn't be surprised. Had Lomar returned? More of those possessed? Something worse…

He stalked inside, sword in hand, and headed for the bedroom to find her bag on the bed where she'd left it. The mirror sat atop in the same spot as well. His brisk pace brought him to the kitchen where she'd gone to wash.

No Fionna, but some of her things lay on the counter beside the water pump: a linen for drying, the leather tie she used for her hair.

His blood chilled as he glanced around. There were no other entrances in or out of the fort. Just the main door where he'd have seen her if she'd exited. None of the windows were large enough for a person to get through.

His gaze went to the hearth. Cold and empty. The ashes spilled onto the floor hadn't been there before. He moved slowly to the fireplace and crouched to look within, the chimney more than wide enough for a person to climb out. Only he didn't get the impression Fionna had climbed of her own will, not with the scuffs marring the soot that lined the chimney. Bits of filmy threads clung here and there to the stone. He plucked one loose, the strand sticky, like webbing.

His mind flashed to a childhood tale that featured giant spiders that the storyteller claimed used to live in the caves peppering the mountains. These massive arachnids supposedly stole people and dragged them to their nests for food. Surely a fabrication of a fanciful mind, or was it? After all, he'd also not believed in dragons.

Rather than climb up the chimney, he raced to the stairs in the courtyard that led to the parapet that wrapped around the fort. The chimney was incorporated into the wall. At its tip, he saw more signs of an arachnid. Webbing dangled and dropped to the ground outside the fort wall. Visibility worsened as the falling snow thickened, meaning he couldn't see far into the pass, but he could guess where she'd been taken.

To the cave.

Panic filled him. He had to find Fionna. But first, he grabbed her things, tucking the mirror away before he stowed her bags on the rump of his horse. He then mounted and galloped out into the heavily falling snow.

He'd not gone far when a strange noise startled. He pulled up his stallion and listened.

Heard it again.

A voice.

He whirled to look behind and squinted. Had someone followed him?

The voice once more spoke and he realized it came from his horse's rump, Fionna's bag to be exact.

He reached in and pulled out the mirror, doing his best to not startle at the sight of a face peering at him from its surface. Not his own, he should add.

The woman with dark skin and vivid green eyes appeared just as surprised. She exclaimed, "Who are you? Why do you have Fionna's mirror?"

"I am Kormac, the warlord of Srayth, and you must be the witch queen."

"What have you done to my adjutant?" she barked.

"Nothing. I would never harm her, but I do believe she's been taken against her will."

"I'm too late." The queen's lips turned down.

"Explain." A command that raised her brow.

"I think you should start. What's happened since I last talked to Fionna? Last I heard you were chasing a man."

"We found him, and Fionna managed to remove the curse from him. We were about to return to the citadel to get reinforcements to tackle the thing in the cave when she was taken."

"Taken by what? Fionna is my best warrior."

It sounded foolish but the evidence didn't lie. "A very large spider."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, that isn't good."

Understatement.

"Your turn. What do you know?" Because Fionna mentioned that the queen had her people looking into the situation to see if they had any records of what might be hiding in the Pass.

"It would seem that Fionna might be the key that will set the thing in the cave free. I was contacting her to tell her to stay far away."

Her use of the word key reminded him of Lomar's claim the night before. "I'm going to assume this has to do with her magic."

"Yes. We finally discovered what the symbol means on those protective devices. It stands for Koschei."

The word brought a frown. "What is a Koschei?"

"You mean who. He's a spell caster from a long time ago who found a way to cheat death. There was a chapter about him in a very old book about monsters that used to roam the world. Essentially, this Koschei, when his body failed from age, imbued an object with his essence. Somehow, despite being disembodied, it can still influence the living that come in proximity."

"Which explains the possessed," he murmured. "What about animals? Can it control them too?"

"Yes. The weaker the mind, the easier to manipulate."

"What does it want with Fionna?" he tried to clarify.

"To live again. Without a body, Koschei's powers are greatly reduced. However, if he can find a vessel to inhabit then he will have full access to his magic and that would be terrible thing."

"By vessel, you mean a person."

"Not just a person. A witch with blood magic, which is very rare, so rare they used to have a name for it: sorceress. Which happens to be the other symbol Fionna struggled with."

"During the fight with the dragons, Fionna said her blood made her spells stronger." He remembered her shock when she punched that hole in the beast.

"Because she is a sorceress, able to use blood to enhance her spells. With her missing, I fear the worst. If Koschei takes over her body, he might be unstoppable."

Kormac scrubbed his face as his mind whirled. Now he understood why Airiok had all magic users killed. He feared one would set it free. And Kormac had been the one to bring a witch back to Srayth. "Fionna hasn't been gone too long. If I can rescue her, there's still a chance to stop this."

"You'll have to hurry."

No shit. "Now that we know what we're facing, how do we destroy it?"

Amelia shook her head. "The book might have said but the pages were damaged. Perhaps if you find the object he used to store his essence, there might be a way to set the spirit loose, forcing it into a true death."

"This object, how will I know I've found it?"

"The book had an image of a box. Tiny and ornate."

He thought of the glass wall with the object embedded within. "A box will be easy to smash."

"I doubt it's so simple or Airiok would have done it rather than sealing it in a cave."

"Meaning I might have to do the same." As he'd talked to the queen, his horse had continued trotting into the pass, but it halted as he reached the rubble that blocked it.

"I need to go now," he stated, sliding off his horse.

"Please bring Fionna back to me," the queen pleaded.

"I'm not leaving that cave without her." A grim but truthful promise.