Page 11 of Shadowbound

“I’ll submit to you,” I said hoarsely. “But only for a chance at The Heart. No other reason. I don’t need your hands on me.”

“Ah, then you won’t mind if I stop.”

Her hands are suddenly withdrawn and I nearly groan with the loss of her touch! I was so…fucking…close. But I can’t admit I want her to touch me—or that it makes my blood burn to feel her hands on me. I just have to stand there, held in place by her damnable shadows, unable to do anything but throb with unfulfilled desire.

“Swear you won’t harm me in any way,” she says. “You can take a more formal oath later, but for now, that should suffice.”

“I…” I lick my lips. The GodKing told me to kill her but I have never liked violence against women—even evil sorceresses like her. “I swear it,” I say at last.

“Good.” The shadows that have been holding my arms and legs in place abruptly dissolve. So abruptly, in fact, that I stumble and go to my knees before her.

“Ah, I see you already know your place.” She runs her fingers through my hair—a light, teasing touch that makes my cock ache. Gods, she’s dangerous!

“I didn’t kneel on purpose,” I growl, lust and anger making my voice rough. And yet, I don’t want her to stop touching me and I make no move to rise from my subservient position. She’s so petite that we are almost eye to eye, even with me kneeling and her standing.

“I know you didn’t. You will, though,” she says lightly, as though it’s a certainty. And all the while, her fingers in my hair are driving me wild!

“Stop using your lust magic on me!” I demand, rising abruptly to tower over her. She’s so tiny, so frail. I could break her in two with one hand if I desired. But there is my oath…if I broke her, I would break it as well. I cannot do that.

Sylvanna’s eyes are suddenly serious.

“Look at me, Alaric,” she demands, using my first name, though I never gave her the right.

I find that my eyes are fixed on hers, though I’m not sure if I want them to be or not. Is she compelling me? Or am I simply unable to look away from her wicked beauty?

“I’m looking,” I say, through clenched teeth.

“I am not now, nor will I ever use lust magic on you,” she tells me. And for some reason, I believe her. “I’m not compelling your responses to me—you’re simply starved for touch,” she adds and puts a hand on my chest again.

The light touch burns me as I imagine my Celestial Fire burns those who have tried to touch me in the past.

“I’m not starved for touch!” I say, but I don’t push her hand away. I wish she’d touch me more.

“You are,” she says gently. “And I promise, as my Blood-servant, your need will be met and your thirst will be quenched. But for now, put on your clothing, gather your armor, and follow me.”

“Where are we going?” I ask, as I bend to start picking up my things which the shadows stripped from me.

Her answer both chills me…and makes me throb with need.

“To my tower of course—so that you can take the Oath of Submission and become mine.”

5

Sylvanna

So my brave Paladin is a virgin. It’s not surprising, considering the untamed Light magic coursing through his big body. I’ll have to see to that quickly and luckily I have just the thing—a Collar of Control.

It’s one of the few benign magical artifacts in my collection with no chance of magical addiction or adverse side effects. It simply collects the magic of the wearer and allows either them or the one who holds the collar’s key to channel it in a controlled way. Naturally, I will be holding the key, which means I’ll have access to Alaric’s power.

That’s a good thing, especially if I decide to take him to the City. If things work as I hope they will, he can help me collect The Heart of the Eclipse, right under Kraven’s nose.

Naturally, this plan is not without hurdles. Before I can travel to the City of Night, I’ll have to train my Paladin to act like a proper Blood-servant. I wouldn’t even try this with a normal barbarian from Solaris. But having seen into Alaric’s memories, I know that he craves submission, even if he won’t admit it to himself. I can use that part of him to train him properly and it works well for me as I quite enjoy being a Mistress.

I’ll also enjoy raising power with him. Magic may be raised by blood, pain, or pleasure—I intend to use all three as I train my new Paladin. I’m tired of using my magical Pleasure Wand all the time to build power, though I acknowledge to myself that I’ll need to use it at least a little longer, until he’s properly trained.

I can’t start out by riding him—no matter how intriguing I find the massive shaft between his legs. Even with a collar on, that much lust and pleasure would cause an explosion. No, I must take things slowly.

Of course, there’s also the problem of what to do once we get The Heart of the Eclipse and return it to my tower. Alaric is determined to bring it back to his GodKing, which I cannot allow. But by then, I’m sure I’ll think of something. The main thing is to get it away from Kraven, who’s a much more dangerous foe. He has High Born blood in his veins—The Heart will react to his touch, much as it reacts to mine. I cannot risk him having it.

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