The Dawning of Fate

“It will only take half a sun’s trek to return from the Aligolian’s ship Echo, but we can’t risk anyone showing up during that time so we must remove the tracker now,” my brother explains. Echo groans in response but agrees. I felt her wince through the bond when he removed the implant even though I saw it with my eyes.

Once it’s removed, she looks up at me with her stormy eyes. My hands cup her face and I bring my lips to meet hers.

“It will be okay.” Even though she can’t understand, she nods anyway. Amondis leaves and I guide her back inside and toward our chambers. Our chambers. I can’t even begin to explain how good it feels to have her in my arms every night.

Delicate fingers trace my bare chest and arms as I bring my lips to hers again. I can’t resist the need to feel her in my hands. Translator or not, our bodies understand each other without fault. I could feel her need for me as soon as we were alone. After everything we’ve been through, we both needed this. The spirit world ripped us raw. I shudder as I recall the events that unfolded. Sensing my emotions, Echo presses herself closer to me and kisses me with renewed effort.

My hands travel along her body, feeling every dip and curve. A raging urge to mate with her settles over me; an intense hunger for her flesh against mine. Echo releases my lips with a gasp and wide eyes as I send all of those emotions down the bond. In response, I get a mental image of me pinning her to the wall. The image shows my haju driving into her hard and fast with wild abandon. I suck in a staggering breath. What was that? My inner beast growls, wanting to take over.

A stuttering breath escapes her mouth when I lift and place her against the wall. A growl passes my lips at the scent of her arousal. My tongue trails the length of her neck and she shivers in anticipation. There’s no denying the plea in her gaze.

I take my time removing her clothing, regardless of how much he and I want to rip them off and ravage her body. She writhes and moans under each kiss and caress I give her during the process, loving the touch but desperately wanting more. Once she’s completely naked, I take the fleshy mounds on her chest into my mouth. She moans loudly. Her legs are wrapped around me and the wall is her support so I’m free to use both my hands as I please. When my fingers delve between her folds, I find her slick with arousal.

The beast growls within me and pushes for control. So I give it to him. Without preamble, he drives into her tight sheath with force and precision. Screams and growls could be heard from all over the estate. Tiny nails carve crescent moons into my skin as he rears back and plunges into her heat once more.

“Be careful with her.”

“My mate,” he growls back.

She’s our mate, you ugly beast. I thought to myself but of course, he heard it. Nevertheless, he seems to heed my advice. While I shower her in loving kisses and caresses, he plows into her with fervor. The contrast makes her delirious. Both of us shroud her in pleasure, stringing her to the very edge of her desire but not letting her tip over just yet. We are in tune with every inch of her delectable frame, knowing what drives her delirious with desire and when she’s about to crest the horizon. There isn’t a place on her body that I haven’t spent thorough time learning and mastering. I will spend the rest of my life bringing her to unimaginable heights of pleasure. Her every wish is our command.

I feel her need for release as profoundly as I can feel my own, so I give her what she’s been craving. The explosion of emotions that came in response was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in all my lunars. Echo, whether knowingly or not, sends everything that she’s feeling down the bond towards me. Her release became my own as my body is flooded with the intense, earth-shattering amounts of pleasure she’s receiving. Every tendril of love, desire, adoration, and devotion drowns my senses. My seed jets out of me without warning or preparation. I nearly choke on the growl that forced its way out of my throat.

Suddenly she’s falling to her knees before me. The seductive glint in her eyes could bring any man to his knees. My haju jerks in excitement at the prospect of feeling her hot mouth around it again. As if reading my mind, she does just that. The hiss that escapes my lips forms a grin on her lips. My hands fly to the wall in support as she fists and suck my haju. Her smooth tongue glides along the length of me. It’s taking an enormous amount of strength not to move a muscle as she pleasures me. My fingers caress the side of her face.

So beautiful. A goddess on her knees, blessing me with her delicious mouth. I may be the one standing above her, but there’s no doubt that she holds all the power. Echo removes her fingers from around me and tangles mine inside her braids. She looks up at me with waiting eyes. I am unsure about what she wants but I get a vivid image, from her perspective, of me standing above, driving myself into her mouth. My beast growls loudly at her submission and my grip tightens on her hair. She whimpers in response and it sets my nerve endings on fire.

Slowly, I begin thrusting into her mouth and she widens it to accept more of me. I’m enthralled with the feeling of her wet mouth coating my length. The way her full lips form a perfect O just for me. My pace speeds up and in the haze of lust and euphoria, her delightful moans fill my ears. I can feel that she wants more. She wants me to go faster, harder, rougher. So I do. Her lips tighten around me as I give her all the dominion she craves. Her eyes begin to water and I start to pull away but tiny fingers halt my retreat. Fati, she feels amazing. My haju swells with my impending release. My senses are flooded with the scent of her arousal and when I look down, I see that she’s spread her legs, pleasuring herself. The sight tips me over the edge.

“VRAT!” My head tilts back on a roar. The hot seed shoots to the back of her throat and she takes it all, lapping up my release with none to spare.

She squeals when I suddenly pick her up and lay her on the bed. Diving headfirst between her thighs, I lick the seam of her folds, delighting in the taste of her. Shocked moans fall from her lips when I delve between and feast on her. Heavenly, slick arousal greets me. I’ll never tire of her sweet juices coating my tongue. My lips latch around the tiny bundle of nerves and suckle it. In response, her hand grips my horns tightly. A shudder wracks through my body as she caresses them like she would my haju.

As usual, it doesn’t take long for her release to ripple through her body. She spasms and screams my name in response. When I settle beside her, she curls her body around mine. My fingers stroke her smooth skin as I think about what my life was like before Echo. Dull, bleak, and pointless. After my lunars as a mercenary, I resigned to a life of solitude. The pursuit of knowledge has its rewards but I’d lost the will to live. Echo came along and gave me purpose. She is my life force, the air I breathe, the sole reason for my existence.

She watches with heavy lids as my lazy strokes settle on her stomach. The thought of us starting a family together crosses my mind. Would our child inherit her chestnut skin or mine? Will it be a boy or a girl? It wouldn’t matter, I decide. Either way, they will be strong-willed and beautiful as their mother. The beast purrs in my chest, pleased with this thought. The adorable crease appears on her forehead as she studies me.

She goes to say something but stops herself. I can see her frustration with not being able to communicate with me. It is quite disturbing. I miss her inquisitive questions, the sweet chime of her voice, the excitement in her tone when she’s talking about something she loves. Of course, she can still talk to me, but she won’t understand what I say in response without her language implant.

As much as I’d love to lie in bed with her all sun, there are pressing matters that need tending to. The Ralix female, for example. She has endangered my mate and for that, her penance will be death.

“Protect mate,” he growls with enough rage that causes even me to shudder.

Echo flies to her feet, looking at me with wide eyes. Fear and confusion dance across her features as she stares at me.

“What was that?”

“What do you mean?” I don’t know why I asked. There’s no way she’d understand. Tumerian dialect is one of the oldest languages and hardest to decipher to anyone who isn’t from Tumeria.

“Did you just say something?” I shake my head in denial and watch as her eyebrows crease further.

“I heard- Well, I thought I heard…never mind,” she grunts in frustration.

I pull her close to me and she rests her head on my chest. I can feel the frustration leave her body and she snuggles into my embrace. This is where she belongs. This is where I belong. Right here in each other’s arms. Forever.

“Home.”

Echo stiffens in my arms. Can she? No, that’s impossible. We never did find out what the spirit world did to our bond. Perhaps...

“Echo?” I try to call out to her in my mind, feeling utterly ridiculous. She gasps and jumps from my arms. The scent of her fear is palpable.

“What the hell?!”

“Echo, can you hear me?” I watch as her features contort and she brings her hands up to her head.

“Are you inside my head? How are you inside my head?!” She starts breathing heavily, eyes dilated with fear, shock, and a bunch of other emotions I’m sure. I pull her back into my embrace and hold her there until her breathing settles.

“Shh, it’s okay.”

“Zan, why can I hear you inside my head?” She asks more calmly. A hint of hysteria lingers in her tone.

“I believe this is the effect the spirit world had on the al sisi bond.”

“It’s weird,” she says out loud.

“Try it.”

“How?”

“Just think about what you want to say to me and send it down the bond as you did with those images earlier.”

Her cheeks heat up and she averts her eyes from me. A smile tugs at my lips. I find it terribly endearing how she remains shy after all the things I’ve done to her body.

“Zan?” Her faint voice whispers inside my head. It’s meek, tentative.

“Echo,” I respond.

“I did it!” Her voice is louder now and I wince. “Sorry, still getting the hang of it.”

I smile and shrug it off. The sound of her voice in my head is different from when she speaks out loud. It’s like a gentle wind, brushing up against my mind. Soothing.

“When you asked me if I said something earlier, I think you were hearing my drakul.”

“Your drakul?”

“Mate,” he growls by way of greeting. Echo gasps, looking at me. If her eyes get any wider, they’re going to pop out of her head.

“Hi,” she responds meekly and he purrs in response.

The Tumerian tale of the great beasts who once ruled the skies was true. When we faced each other in the spirit world, we bonded. The flight fused our essences together. He is a creature of few words but I feel everything that he feels and vice versa. Together, we are one.

Amondis returns later once she and I have readied ourselves. The Aligolian’s ship doesn’t have any more implants.

“I checked in the village market on my way back and none of the merchants sold them. Also, the female Ralix that you told me about hasn’t been seen in a few days.”

“Well isn’t that convenient?” He chuckles at my sarcasm.

“We could go to Niscus…” He said it so low I almost missed it. Almost.

I scoff and return to the cookery. A delicious aroma drifts into my flat nostrils. The sight of Echo preparing a meal causes the resonant purr to spread throughout my chest. It just looks...right. She flashes me a smile and waves at my brother.

“In case you’ve forgotten, we Tumerians aren’t exactly welcome on Niscus,” I respond. My hands find their way around Echo’s waist while she stirs whatever it is she’s cooking. Cheerful giggles flow from her mouth when I begin to nibble on her ear.

“You’re interrupting my cooking Tumerian.” She swats me away.

“Are you done?” I shoot him a glare and he glares right back. “Niscus is the closest planet to get her a new language implant. We can take the Aligolian’s ship to minimize the risks of my ship being recognized.”

“Amondis,” I groan.

“Azandum,” he growls in response. “Brother, I know Niscus brings back dreadful memories for you, but Echo needs this.” I study him carefully.

“Why do you really want to go to Niscus?” The slight flutter in his wings and the tick of his jaw tells me there’s more.

“Tahla, the female whom I gave the gift from Echo to, hasn’t been in contact with me in a few moons. In our last conversation, she told me that she would be going to Niscus but I haven’t heard from her. I could go by myself, but I’d rather have you with me. I apologize for not being truthful from the beginning.”

I sigh, scratching my horn as I think about what he’s told me.

“Why are you so tense?” Echo asks whilst ladling each of us some sort of broth in a bowl. She couldn’t have picked worse timing.

Raw, tender meat drapes off the side of the bowls for Amondis and me. When we all settle around the table, I spot little chunks of cooked meat in hers.

“Amondis wants us to go to Niscus.”

“Why would we need to go there?” This time the question is directed to him.

“I thought your implant was removed,” he responds, diving into his meal. I do the same. Twin groans of appreciation fall from our lips as the spiced vegetable broth and meat combine to create an explosion of flavor.

“This is delicious.”

“Thank you,” she blushes.

“Can someone tell me what the vrat is going on here? Did you teach her Tumerian recently or something?”

I snort in laughter and Echo giggles at his confused expression.

“The spirit world allows us to communicate telepathically.”

“That’s an intriguing development. Azandum, brother, I do not ask you this lightly,” he asserts, driving the conversation back to the topic at hand.

I nod, continuing to eat while explaining everything to Echo in my head.

“We’re going,” she announces before I’ve even finished.

“Echo, it’s going to be dangerous. Tumerians aren’t welcome on Niscus after what happened there.”

“But Zan, Amondis has helped us with so many things. We can all wear concealing clothes and stay under the radar so we don’t draw attention to ourselves. This is the one chance for me to pay him back for all he’s done. I’m not turning him away.” The conviction in her tone is unwavering.

Amondis watches us with keen eyes. “Well,” I begin with a sigh. “You heard what the female said. We’re going.”

No matter how much she hopes, this trip won't be as easy as Echo wants to believe.