“Yes…” Fearn was lazy with pleasure, nodding dimly, but I leaned down, gripping his chin, forcing him to stare into my eyes.
“You’ll not feel the touch of Lonan’s hand again. Do you hear me? Not once.”
“But you’ll see it.”
I felt Lonan’s rumble through my body before his hand parted my dress, sliding over my stomach before diving between my legs. The sounds of his fingers in my cunt were lewd and pronounced, Fearn stiffening as a result, in more ways than one. His hand dropped to his cock, stroking the steadily hardening length. Apparently, it took another man touching my cunt for him to be interested in it.
“I’ll slip in here every night to plough your pretty mate’s cunt and arse, taking her over and over, and you’ll be forced to watch, not allowed to touch your cock. I’ll have you tied to the bedhead, rigid and aching, without a single brush of anyone’s hand, and whipped bloody if you come.”
Lonan’s dark words had me writhing, shifting against him, my arousal real now.
“Or you can be sandwiched in between us, her clutching you like a velvet glove.” That cooled my ardour somewhat. “Me driving myself so deep inside you, you’ll not be able to sit down for days.”
“Anything,” Fearn groaned. “Whatever you want, just tell me.”
“The ascension, it needs to be changed. Jaya is too much of a milksop for me, and why would I bother with a whey faced little bitch like her when I can have this.”
This was, of course, how he trapped me. The moment I had ascended as conduit, ripping the goddess’ power away from the former conduit, it had been the best day of my life, one that just seemed to go on and on until the murmuring began again, of handing the role over to another. My family had not managed their change in standing well, hadn’t kept favour, just assuming all would stay as it was, despite all evidence to the contrary, and now Hara and her faction had managed to unseat me, a new ascension ceremony planned. Lonan, with those scarlet glowing eyes, seemed to personify the dark god in a way I had always hungered for but never found in Fearn. He had slunk up behind me, whispered in my ear, and then slid his hand between my legs as he told me his plans.
When he’d announced how he’d get rid of Jaya, I’d come around his fingers. When he told me how I could hold onto my position as conduit, I’d started the climb again. Over and over, he’d driven me mad with pleasure and plans for controlling and maintaining power.
Of course, I’d never spared a moment’s thought on why. Why me and not Jaya? Why try to keep me in power? What did he hope to gain?
“Do you get it now?”
Ethan’s words hung in the air, undigested by me, the world reasserting itself so abruptly, all I could do is stare, mouth open like a twit.
“We broke Oemis together,” Ethan said. “Gave Lonan all that power. Helped him to hurt all those people.”
I saw angry tears fill Ethan’s eyes, but when I went to reach out to touch him, he flinched back, bringing Fearn to mind. I jerked my hand down, wondering now about the way he and Axel connected.
“Fuck, no, not like that. What happens with Axel, that’s just hot fun. I might have that fuck’s memories, but I’m not Fearn.” He surged forward, then stopped himself from getting any closer, quivering there. “I’d die for just one time, to touch you like… To kiss…” He shook his head and then frowned. “But it’s us, over and over. We’ve done this before, so many times. Ascension, then stepping down, making way for someone else, then ascending again. Until…”
“Until we didn’t,” I said.
“Until we didn’t. We broke the ritual, the divine marriage, the compact with the gods, and while the world went to hell, Lonan took as much power as he could, binding the Great Black Wolf to him with everything he got from all that destruction. He punched a hole into the next realm, went through, and…”
“Created the Volken,” I said at a whisper, seeing the row upon row of dark garbed men, swarming over this world, raping and pillaging, wreaking terror and feeding off it.
“Jules said he died, Sylvan, that he dove into the mouth of the Great Black Wolf and was gone like he’d never even existed, but he came back through the portal, to us. Why, Bec?”
“Because I am as much a part of this story as you are.”
We turned to see a very pale Sylvan standing there, his eyes blazing bright blue as he stared.
“Because all of the players are back on the board, ready for end game, either to set the balance back, or to destroy us all forever, freeing the Tirian and the Great Wolves for eternity.”
Well, fuck.
Chapter 31
“So how do we stop this?” My voice rung out through the whole courtyard, demanding an answer in a way that was more Branwen than me, but she’d never say a thing like that. “How do we change things? Guys?” They both stared at me, impassive, and with as many answers as the statues in the garden. “We have to find a way. We can’t just let Branwen win and do whatever the fuck she wants.”
“We’ll need to complete the rite of ascension,” Sylvan said finally.
“No, no, that’s what she wants. She’s been lying in wait this whole time,” Ethan blurted out.
“I know.” Sylvan looked completely tranquil now, a strange quiet falling over the courtyard. “She’s been in my head for so long I… I had to die to see it, her plan. In some ways, it was a good one, unseating Lonan, removing his influence, finishing the fucking Volken off.” He sighed, then looked down at his fingers. “I’d hoped this was over with, done.”