Page 54 of Whisper Woods

“And they are?” Seff sounds exhausted—we’ve travelled all night.

“They are an order of beings who serve the Gods.”

“Right, got it.” There is silence for a moment as Seff processes. We’re extremely close to the borders of Tathys. An eerie feeling washes over me. Usually this is where the magic binding Tathys begins, but now there is… nothing.

It’s a sobering realisation.

“I have a question.” Seff asks, drawing me from my concerns. I hum my acknowledgement and he picks up my hand, holding onto it and rubbing his thumb along mine almost unconsciously. “Actually, a couple. So first, what about your parents? Am I gonna meet them? And second, your dick. When you’ve shifted like that, where does it go?”

The polarity of his questions brings me to a standstill. I jerk to a halt and, with my eyes closed, turn slowly to face him, my mind split in its attempt to process the completely opposing questions.

When I open my eyes, he looks a little confused at our sudden stop. This close I have to tip my head back to look at him in those beautiful amber eyes.

“It is unlikely that you will meet my parents on this visit. They do not live in the city, they moved to the hills when I reached adulthood. They were—are—a part of the higher society of Tathys. My father was born into it, he is dragonkin, too. My mother is a floriatae. Being a forest being like she is, living in the city was rather an adjustment for her. They retired from the city a few years ago to be closer to my mother’s lands. They are older, you see. They had me later in life and my father, the stress of the city and his position was too much, he became ill. In hismind.” Seff meets my eyes with gentle understanding, squeezing my hand in his. Emotion clogs my throat, and I clear it roughly, dragging our conversation away from topics too heavy for the moment. “You will, however, meet Brydon. My assistant. He is somewhat obsessed with the Mundane, so be prepared for questions. Alotof questions.” I cup the back of his neck, massaging the tense muscles there until I feel him soften against me. When I tug him down, he comes easily, and I press my mouth to his ear.

“And as for mydick.”He whimpers softly as I whisper. “It’s hidden for safety in this form. But feel.” I take his hand and bring it between my thighs, letting his fingers run over the seam there.

A breath shudders out of him as he strokes, his fingers finding his way between the crease into the slick, secret fold. His hesitant touch feels indescribable, becoming more confident with each stroke. My forehead drops to his shoulder, and I bite down hard on my lip to keep the torrent of words inside myself.

His face burrows back into my neck, nosing aside my hair to get closer. I can’t stop the movement of my hips, my hand clenching hard on his wrist when one thick finger brushes against the head of my cock. A harsh breath wrenches from me, and my claws flex sharply where they are clamped around the back of his neck.

Seff groans, deep and long, the sensation of the sound vibrating through us both. He rocks against me, dragging his cock against our hands where we’re joined. “Fuuuuck.” He sobs a moan against me. “That is incredible.”

His teasing draws my cock further out the channel of its confines, which only spurs him, and his blessed fingers on more. My fingers tighten around his wrist, almost painfully tight, and I wrench his fingers from me.

Seff blinks at me, lustful eyes bleary and confused and criminally adorable. His lips are parted in a soft “O”shape and I give in to the temptation to press a hot, quick kiss to them.

“We are close. Dangerously close to Tathys. We can continue this later.” I nod to get my point across, a small smile tugging at my lips when he follows the movement. But I’m the one rendered stupid when he lifts his fingers, shining and wet, even in the almost nothing light to his lips. He savours my taste with such lust-filled relish he could put a siren to shame.

He hums around his fingers, eyes dropping closed. “Delicious.”

He’s only being partially serious—his raging erection poking at me is more than enough evidence about his enjoyment—but he’s still being his playful self. No doubt to distract us both from the enormity of the current situation. It’s just so inexplicablySeff.

Affection overrides the lust heating my veins and I slide my hand from its possessive hold on his neck to cup his jaw. My thumb strokes his cheek and he opens his eyes, catching me looking at him. Not justlooking—seeing.

Our gazes lock, and he swallows hard, his throat bobbing with the effort.

“You are incredible, my kushinavya.” I whisper the words and feel the blush heat his skin under my hand. Words of praise, he adores them. And I want to give them to him. Forever.

I continue to look up at Seff, free-falling into the abyss of my feelings for him. But it is not as terrifying as I always thought it would be.

A smile plays on Seff’s lips, his arms wrapping around my waist. He strokes my scales gently, like he loves the feel of them. “You okay?”

I breathe in deep, my brain and instincts settling their war bringing a centred calm over me. My world might be in turmoil, with Gods know what around the corner. But I know now, what I didn’t know before. I tug on the bag looped around his neck, invoking some of his playfulness.

“Yes, Seff. I’m okay. Things are going to be okay.”

I take his hand once again and lead him home.

***

“You didn’t mention the dragons, Rafe. How could you not mention there would bedragons?” After everything that’s happened, with everything before him,that’swhat he’s focused on?

What am I saying, I glance at Seff’s awe filled face from the corner of my eye, ofcourse,that’s what he’s focused on. We have exited the Woods on to the hillside overlooking all of Tathys, and in the golden light of dawn, it truly is an impressive sight to behold.

In the grasslands of the south western cliffs, the dragons are waking from their nests, their vivid colouring bright against otherwise stark grassy plains. In truth, the grasslands of the dragons straddle the lines of Tathys’s mystical walls. Aside from Tavishers, dragons were one of the only living things able to cross the borders of our land, the other being the sprites.

The Orun theorise that the former is because dragons are a breed of the giant creatures that predate being and human kind, and are therefore not bound by our magic. As for the sprites, well, it is well known that they are the favourite of the Gods and are therefore not ruled by much of anything other than their whims.

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