Page 47 of Terragnata and the Heir of the Earth

“How dare you,” I breathed, “make this decision without my input, and while I stood right in front of you.” My body felt alight with a myriad of emotions, including the ember of desire for him that never died out, even on the battlefield. “You didn’t even ask me what I wanted.”

He stared at me almost blankly and opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it.

“If I’m so revolting to you that the idea of being with me to save human lives is horrifying, well, I’ll gladly ask Parson or Jin oranyone elseto lend their services,” I bit out.

“It’s not only my involvement in a coupling that disturbs me, it’s yours.” His stare was wild. “A coupling is extremely dangerous for any Fae or Witch, but it isparticularlyso for females who have never lain with a male before.”

The color in my cheeks intensified. “And what makes you so certain of… that?”

“Terra, I can scent it all over you. Not just desire, but…newdesire.”

I gaped at him, the heat singeing my face now. I nearly lost my nerve, but something more important than my embarrassment won out. Determination, fear of lost human life, andneed.

“I want to do the coupling, Ezren. And I want to do it with you.”

He came to me at once, his palms cupping my cheeks and his fingers running into my hair. “Terra, you will likely lose all control. And my magic—you’ve seen it. It’s old and strange and unusual for a Fae. We have no idea how our powers will mix. It could kill you.”

“But we do know, sort of,” I breathed. “We’ve done the joining, and our magics seemed to combine instinctually when we kissed the first time.”

He shook his head. “That is nothing like the coupling. Couplings are wild and unpredictable occurrences of power and magic. They can bring beautiful things or absolute destruction. Trust me on this.”

I pulled away from his touch. “And you know so much, do you? Is it that you only want to couple with that female everyone keeps mentioning? Esmie? What, is she the one who left you and broke your heart?” I asked, bitter.

“Yes, she did,” Ezren bit out, the words sending something sharp to my lungs.

He let out a loud sigh. “She was my wife. We were married two decades, and she wanted a babe more than anything. I persuaded her to do the coupling; I’d been told it could help one conceive, and only virgins were at real risk of death, anyway. So we did it. And…” He paused, taking another breath. “And I killed her with my power. So yes, she left me, just like everyone else,” he spat. “And yes, it broke my heart. It was no one’s fault, but my own.”

I shuttered my eyes, feeling the loss radiate off him. Sothatwas the source of pain I’d recognized in his eyes earlier, when he told me about the ebb and flow of never ending grief. “I’m so sorry,” I said, wrapping my arms around myself as tears ran down my face.

“I can’t have your death on my conscience, Terra, I can’t.”

I went to him, placing my hands on his chest. Sending one’s power into another was an intimate act, as I’d discovered when Fayzien non-consensually did it to me so many weeks ago. After sharing with Jana, I knew how to do it right—only proceeding if I felt willingness from the host.

One probe of power and I sensed his intrinsic acceptance. So I flowed my magic into him, gentle but firm. He let out a low moan that vibrated through my core, a sound I’d sell my soul to hear again and again and again.

“Why can’t you trust me,” I murmured to myself.

“I do trust your strength, Terra. It’smineI don’t trust,” he murmured, eyes glazed. I dismissed his words by pushing my power further into him.

“Do you feel me, Ezren, in every inch of you?” I whispered.

He nodded, his head tilted back, his breathing labored. “Open your eyes and look at me.” He did. “I am sorry for what happened to your wife, I truly am. But answer me this, honestly. Did her power feel like this? Could you feel her strength possessing you, like mine does now?” I searched his face for the answer.

Plain truth laced his words as he said, “No. No, it did not.”

I withdrew my power from him, and he looked away. I didn’t have to ask again. He knew I’d made up my mind, and he didn’t have the willpower to keep denying me. Of course, his constant pulling away, the way he could not look at me now, hurt. But, Ihadmade up my mind.

I walked to the middle of the clearing and sank my palms into the ground. I didn’t have to do much, for the Earth was witness to our decision, as it would always bear witness to me. Immediately, trees and brush and root sprouted with the joy of fresh blooms, forming a private room around us. Flowers ran up the vines, and wisteria grew in a knitted canopy over our heads. My clothes were replaced, too; silkworms skated over my body, cleaning and leaving only the fine weaving of their proteins on my skin. In their wake, a sheer and loose shift pooled around my knees. Finally, four large trunks emerged from the ground, shaped into the posts of a bed, the mattress growing out of supple grass. I looked around at my creation, a splendid private garden, an oasis on a mountain, shrouded in soft morning light.

I beamed. “Thank you,” I whispered.

My eyes met Ezren’s, which sparkled in reflection of all that had grown around us. His clothes, too, had changed, his torn battle dress swapped for silken trousers that left little to the imagination. My gaze wandered down his body, lingering on his sculpted abdomen, and falling on what lay beneath his tunic. He swelled there, I could see, and the sight sent a buzz of adrenaline through me.

I remained still on the ground, kneeling several feet from our earthen bed. He stalked toward me. I tore my eyes from him, looking at my hands to steady my rapid breathing. Once he arrived, he stood silent. I felt his eyes roaming my body too, knowing he could see nearly all of me.

“I know you don’t want to do this, so we can just get it over with,” I mumbled, falling victim to insecurity. He bent over and placed two fingers under my chin, lifting it so that I peered up at him. I was acutely aware of his manhood now, just mere inches from my face.

“No,” he said, his voice like gravel, not unlike the animal tone he possessed when the Dragon blood still flowed throughhis veins. “If you want this, if I’m to be your first male, I will do so by delivering you every ounce of pleasure you can take,” he said, now in command. “So no, I will not just get it over with.” He extended a hand, pulling me to stand. His face was grave and serious, yet the desire was there, plain as day. “Promise me you’ll fight the power overtaking you, fight to control it, to set it out with intention.”

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