Page 43 of Storm of Blood and Shadow

We sleep for a short time, tangled together, with his soft cock tucked against my pussy because he wants it there, because he can’t bear not to be as close to me as possible. When I wake up he’s kissing me, his palm gliding over my breasts. There’s a faint, rosy light in the sky outside, and my heart sinks, because it means the night is over and reality is going to return.

Varex kisses my cheek, my nose, my forehead. “May I enter you again?” he whispers.

I lift each of my legs and hook them over his shoulders, enjoying the excitement on his face, the broad grin that shows his fang-like canines.

He’s inside me when it happens. A vibration shuddering through his body, so strong I feel it in my bones.

With a frantic cry he pulls his cock out of me—not a second too soon, because when I blink, my lover is gone, and the black dragon has taken his place.

13

“Well,” says Jessiva. “Your true form is back.”

She gets up, walks to the mouth of the cave, and props one foot on a rock before pissing off the ledge into the surf below. I watch her, wondering why I find even that commonplace act to be strangely attractive.

When she returns, she washes herself in one of the cave pools. A dribble of fresh water from the ceiling of the cave feeds the pools, and she drinks from that before putting on her clothing.

I stand exactly where I was when I changed form, trying to process what has happened.

I spent the whole night in human shape and adapted to it far more quickly than I should have been able to. Jessiva and I fucked multiple times and explored each other’s bodies thoroughly. I thought we connected deeply, she and I… yet she’s pulling away from me again, growing cool and reserved. Remembering why she hates me.

But I love her. I adore her beyond logic and beyond recovery. I am addicted to everything that she is, in every phase of her mind and emotions.

For the first time in my life, I hate the body I was born into. If I could dispel it and return to human shape, I would.

Jessiva walks up to me and takes my muzzle in both her hands, looking into my eyes. Her gaze is calm, determined, authoritative, but there’s compassion in it, too. “Are you alright, dragon?”

“I miss you,” I say softly.

Her features tense and her lips tighten. “It was a beautiful night. A beautiful dream. But it’s over. We need to go back to the others, find out if this was a widespread occurrence, and figure out if and when it will happen again. We need to know what it means.”

She’s right, and yet I can’t shake the sadness in my soul, the fear that this was the one and only night of bliss I will ever have with her. A groan rumbles in my chest.

“Varex.” She places one hand between my nostrils. “This must be hard for you. I can tell you’re not entirely happy to be back in this form. But I’mgladyou’re a dragon again, because it means we won’t starve to death in this cave. We can fly out of here, together. May I ride you? I’d like to. I think I would enjoy it more now than I did before.”

My wings and neck lift a little, along with my spirits. “You can ride me anytime.”

My intonation makes my double meaning clear, and Jessiva smirks. She pats my nose, then leans in and kisses it. “Good boy. Let’s go.”

I crouch low on the cave floor. Using my foreleg and shoulder, Jessiva scrambles up to my back and settles herself astride the base of my neck, gripping two of my spikes. I soar out of the cave, releasing the contents of my bladder before rising higher into the morning air.

There’s an intimacy between us now that did not exist before. Two creatures cannot share such closeness for so many midnight hours and not develop a bond. I can only hope our connection can withstand whatever we find in the valley.

On our way to the women’s cavern, I spot Rothkuri and his captive flying from the direction of his cavern, heading to the same destination. I pick up speed so we can glide beside them.

“A strange night,” I say.

“A wonderful night,” pipes up the girl on Rothkuri’s back. She’s beaming, and every line of Rothkuri’s body sings of joy as well. He does a playful little bob and dip in the air, and she squeals with delight.

Truthfully, I’m jealous. Everything seems to have been easy for them since the moment he chose her.

We land in the women’s courtyard together, just in time to see a few males transform back into dragons. One of them is standing too close to the barrier with his girl, and as his dragon form reappears, it crushes part of the wall.

The moment they see me, the other dragons rush forward, crowding in, their voices uplifted in consternation and confusion. Jessiva stays on my back to avoid being trampled by dragon claws. I flare my wings slightly to create space around usand to protect her from the stray movements of thorny tails and barbed wings.

Somehow I manage to piece together the stories being flung at me simultaneously. The transformation was widespread, and lasted roughly the same amount of time for all of us. None of the women changed form, which means this was a calculated move on the part of the sorceress—a purposeful circumvention of Kyreagan’s plan.

The sheer onslaught of information from the other dragons destroys my fragile calm, sending me into a defensive panic. I back away, toward the barrier, half-intending to flee with Jessiva. But before I can break and turn coward, Kyreagan arrives with Serylla on his back.

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