Dawning Ceremony (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  “Enough!” Lady Katara’s voice brought the brawl to an instant halt. “It’s over. Bring the offender to my chambers.”

  The guards moved to grab the old man, but Lady Katara gestured toward Hal.

  “That one,” she said. “Leave the rest alone.”

  Hal was dragged through the halls, feeling lucky despite the bruises and busted lip he’d sustained during the short fight. The guards brought him up a sloping, spiraling hallway, and pushed him roughly through the door at the end of it.

  He found himself in a regal chamber, with expensive carpets, a massive hearth, crystal lamps hanging from pillars, and a sprawling, four poster bed. Lady Katara had made it back to her room ahead of him, and she was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching Hal and her guards.

  “Milady?” asked one of the guards.

  “Leave him,” she said. “And leave us.”

  “Milady, the slave should not be alone with – ”

  “Are you questioning my command?”

  “N-no, milady,” the guard said, quickly. “Of course not!”

  CHAPTER 15

  The guards closed the door as they left the room. Hal slowly rose to his feet, trying to muster as much dignity as he could as he faced his elven mistress. She was wearing a red dress of the skimpy style of the upper realm. The front plunged down between her breasts, revealing so much cleavage that it made him blush a little to look at her.

  The bottom skirt barely covered the important parts of her body, and her legs were scandalously naked underneath. Back in his homeland, the custom had been for women to only reveal their legs in comfort of their marital bedroom, lest they be mistaken for an erotic dancer, or a courtesan.

  “What is your name, slave?” asked Lady Katara. She straightened on the bed, one of her hands reaching up to toy with the end of a wooden hairstick which held her brown locks in a tight bun.

  “Hal,” he said. “Uh, Halrin, milady.”

  He gave an awkward bow, unsure of how to give the appropriate amount of respect. He found that despite their roles, he couldn’t hate her. She’d saved him and Vrodas from being auctioned off into worse circumstances, and she’d stopped her guards from letting the fight in the slave hall devolve into pointless violence.

  “Halrin,” said Lady Katara. “That’s an unusual name, I don’t think I’ve come across it before. Tell me Halrin… Do you know why I purchased you?”

  I just need to answer her questions, and let her be in control.

  “No, milady,” said Hal.

  She gestured for him to come closer, which he did, with tentative steps. As he drew within a few feet of the bed, Lady Katara pointed toward the wall next to them. Hal looked over at it and saw a painting of a man, a human, who looked a bit like he did. The man’s hair was similar, along with their eye color and the slope of the jawline. It wasn’t enough of a resemblance to be uncanny, but it was there.

  “My late husband,” said Lady Katara. “Glennard Ardstone.”

  “I’m sorry, milady,” Hal said, giving a respectful nod.

  “He’s been dead for over a hundred years,” said Lady Katara. “The tragedy of human spans.”

  She smiled. There was something about the way that she looked at him that was making Hal increasingly uncomfortable.

  “When we first met, he was my prisoner,” said Lady Katara. “Around the same age as you, too. Far younger than I was, even at the time.”

  Hal didn’t say anything. He couldn’t tell if she wanted him to or not, and he wasn’t prepared to risk asking the wrong question.

  “It was during wartime,” said Lady Katara. “He was one of the sons of Great House Ardstone, and eventually rose to become its lord.”

  Hal gave a slow, cautious nod, his own feelings toward the house that had murdered his family bubbling in his heart.

  “He captured this very hive,” said Lady Katara. “While I was still here. And he… took me. Like no man has before. Oh, he took me… and I wanted to be taken by him. He was a very bold and brash young man. He… stirred up something very fierce inside of me.”

  Lady Katara let out a low moan and shifted on the bed, her breath speeding up a little. She crossed her legs more tightly and cupped her hand over one of her breasts, slowly licking her lips. Hal cleared his throat, feeling a strange tension settling over the room.

  “Well?” asked Lady Katara. “What are you waiting for? Take your clothes off.”

  Hal didn’t move. He was annoyed, not over the fact that she was treating him as a slave, but over her fond, intimate reminiscence of a man who belonged to the family who’d murdered everyone he loved. It was irrational and counterproductive, and yet he clung to his anger like a shield in a storm of arrows.

  “No,” said Halrin. “I’m actually rather tired, milady.”

  Lady Katara laughed. She shifted on the bed, uncrossing her legs and letting her skirt slide a little further up her thigh. Hal’s refusal had nothing to do with her beauty, and he found that his eyes were less willing to hold his stance than his words.

  “Halrin,” said Lady Katara. “Have you heard of the eklid dawning ceremony? The one each young eklid goes through upon reaching adulthood.”

  Hal smiled. He had, in fact, heard of it. From the lips of a succubus in the middle of a destroyed elven city. It involved lots of sex, and continued until the elf at the center of it learned to flex their erotic power and dominate the others involved in the orgy.

  “I have,” said Hal.

  “Surprising,” said Lady Katara. “Few surfacers are aware of the existence of the eklids, let alone more… specific elements of our culture.”

  Hal didn’t respond. Lady Katara was smiling at him, and it made him feel uncomfortable and powerless.

  “You aren’t interested in finding out how much truth there is to it?” asked Lady Katara. “Whether or not an eklid woman can really dominate a man completely through the use of her body, her mouth, and her lips?”

  Hal resisted the urge to tell her that he’d had sex with an elf before. He and Zoria had been intimate many times, and if there was a power struggle happening during it, he was fairly certain that he’d been the one coming out on top. Lady Katara’s smile faded in the face of his continued reluctance, and small scowl came across his face.

  “Halrin,” she said, in a quiet voice. “You’re wasting my time.”

  “My apologies, milady,” he said, letting a hint of sarcasm enter his voice.

  Lady Katara was up in a flash of movement, a purple runic longsword bursting into existence within her hand. She pressed the tip of it against Hal’s neck and backed him against the wall directly underneath the painting of her husband.

  “Strip out of your clothes,” said Lady Katara.

  Hal felt too angry at her to be properly afraid. She was spoiled by her wealth and status. He’d been dealing with her type for his entire life, before he’d ever even left the Collected Provinces, and he wasn’t prepared to give in even at the threat to his life.

  “So bold and stubborn,” muttered Lady Katara, as Hal held his ground. “You and Glennard would have gotten along just fine.”

  She lowered the sword.

  “Take off your clothing and join me in bed, Halrin,” she said. “Or I will punish the maug that I bought along with you, instead. He’s missing a hand already, isn’t he? Do you think he’d mind losing another?”

  Hal felt rage sparking to life in his chest, and knew that he’d lost. She would do it, of that, he had no doubt. She might not be interested in hurting him if it got in the way of her bedroom entertainment, but she’d have no qualms about doing whatever it took to Vrodas to twist at Hal’s emotions.

  He pulled off his shirt and trousers, feeling a little annoyed at how tightly the eklid clothing clung to his body and resisted. Lady Katara smile grew wide as she watched him, and her eyes burned with desire.

  “Such an angry expression,” said Lady Katara. “Is there something I can do for that?”

  She let her fin
gers trace along the inside hem of the top of her dress, pulling it open on one side and revealing a pink nipple. Hal felt his lower half reacting to the sight. He was already naked, and his shaft stiffened, pointing in her direction.

  Fine, If she wants this, I’ll give it to her.

  Hal stomped over to the bed and pushed Lady Katara back by the shoulders, heedless of her reaction. She laughed and took Hal’s hand, pulling him onto her. Hal pushed in between her thighs, the tip of his erection sneaking underneath her dress and confirming that Katara was naked underneath it.

  Before he could thrust into her, Lady Katara slid into a new position, moving with the litheness of a snake. She was suddenly on the bed next to him, pushing down on his stomach, her hand grasping his shaft. Her palm was incredibly soft, and she did amazing things with her fingers, pressing and prodding at enhanced erogenous zones that he hadn’t realized his member had.

  Hal groaned, and then almost cried out as Lady Katara brought her mouth down on the tip. She sucked with a wet, sloppy insistence, her tongue polishing the head of his erection with merciless movements.

  Hal lifted his head to glance down at her, and his eyes met hers. He’d never seen such intensity in anyone’s expression before, inside or outside of the realm of intimacy. She was staring at him with such fire and lust that he had to take a slow breath to keep from blowing, right there and then.

  Lady Katara pulled her mouth back to take a breath, rubbing her cheek against Hal’s tool, heedless off the streaks it left on her face. She began kissing again, and then sucking, pulling more of his shaft into her mouth than he would have thought she’d have room for.

  Hal felt annoyed with himself for enjoying it so much. He remembered her earlier threat toward Vrodas, and thought of the ridiculous enjoyment he could tell she was getting out of it. He felt like another person as he reached down with his hand and took hold of her hair, twisting his fingers into the braided bun with more force than what was probably necessary.

  “Is this what you want from me?” he asked, pushing down while thrusting up deep into her mouth and throat.

  Lady Katara seemed to feed off his anger, her hands running across his stomach and chest, her mouth working even harder to give him pleasure. Hal felt himself approaching his limit, and somehow, that made it seem like her victory.

  He seized her by the shoulders and twisted her underneath him. Lady Katara squealed and cupped his cheek in her hand.

  “Oh, Glennard!” she cried. “Yes! Please… I’ve been so bad.”

  Hal pushed forward, feeling his shaft probing between her legs. She was tight, just as all elves were, in comparison to human anatomy. Hal let out a slow breath of pleasure verging on a wince as the tip of his shaft entered her.

  He would have gone slow, if not for the heat of the moment. Lady Katara’s dress had spilled completely open, revealing her large, naked breasts. Hal had one of her thighs and hand and let himself develop a confident, aggressive rhythm.

  She did something with her body that he didn’t quite understand, and through it, took complete control back of the encounter. Lady Katara was easing her hips up toward him, while simultaneously cradling his head and kissing one of the erogenous zones on his neck. He felt her fingers digging into his back, and it was almost as though she’d taken control of him through some kind of saddle.

  “Oh, Glennard,” she whispered.

  Hal almost felt sorry for her, but then her fingernails dug deeper into his back. He plunged into her as deep as his shaft would go, feeling her body shiver with pleasure. The haughty elf woman had pushed his frustration to its limit, but this seemed like as much of an emotional release for her as it felt for him.

  He moved faster, his pleasure building in pace with his thrusts. He pawed at her breasts, taking her as roughly as he dared, and yet still, Lady Katara seemed to feed off his sexual aggression.

  Hal squeezed her to him as he headed toward her release. Her lips drew close to his ear, and again, she whispered the name of her long dead husband. He passed over his limit, unloading his seed into her, his pleasure laced with pity for the woman, along with a certainty that it would not be the last time she took advantage of him.

  CHAPTER 16

  Lady Katara said very little to him after they’d finished. A guard came once Hal had dressed and led him back through the hive to his slave chamber. Vrodas was laying on his cot, and sat up as he came in, furrowing his brow. He waited until the door was shut to speak.

  “What was that all about?” asked the maug.

  Hal let out a tired, groaning chuckle.

  “I have absolutely no idea,” he said.

  He attempted to sleep, but the reality of his situation weighed down on him. The elves had taken his freedom, but they’d also taken the heartgem. The idea of going back to the surface without it chafed at his pride, as though he’d be admitting defeat and fleeing for safety.

  And what other choice do I have?

  Hal tried to shift his thoughts in another direction, to no avail. He was rolling over on his tiny cot for the dozenth time when a noise came from the sky window in the back of the room.

  It was a rhythmic noise, the sound of something beating against rushing air, and it was familiar. Hal approached the window slowly, his eyes widening in disbelief as he matched the sound to the shadowed silhouette flapping through the night sky outside.

  “Karnas!” he hissed. “How in the world did you find me?”

  The young dragon flew forward until his head was pressed up against the bars, flapping his wings clumsily, like a bird of prey after snagging a large catch. He made a whining noise, followed by an angry one. Hal stuck his hand through the slits and rubbed the dragon’s snout, trying to shush him.

  “H…” A syllable came from Karnas’s open mouth. “Hal…ly. Hally.”

  Hal stared at the dragon, overwhelmed by a mixture of disbelief and extreme pride. Although dragons were intelligent creatures, from what he’d seen of his interactions of them, the idea of Karnas talking had never been a possibility he’d spent much time considering.

  “You just said… my name,” said Halrin. “Well, a version of it.”

  What I would give to see Laurel’s reaction to Karnas’s first word…

  “Hally!” repeated Karnas. He let out a partially stifled roar, and then unleashed a blast of fire at the slits of the window to the side of Hal, testing their integrity. It didn’t do much, which didn’t surprise Hal, given how common dragons were in the Upper Realm.

  “Karnas,” said Hal. “I don’t know how you found me, but I don’t think you can help me out of this one. Even if you came back during the day, when I happened to be outside, it would be too open and obvious to work as an escape.”

  Karnas twisted, pushing his head against the bars and letting out a tortured cry. Hal rubbed his snout again, appreciating how much the creature cared for him while also empathizing with his frustration.

  “You have to go back, Karnas,” said Hal. “And don’t leave Laurel alone. Protect her. Try to make it clear to her, if you can, that I’m still alive. Okay? Can you do that?”

  Karnas flapped his wings in a way that brought him a little closer to the bars. He stuck his tongue out and licked Hal’s hand, which made him chuckle. Hal scratched behind the dragon’s ear and had a sudden thought.

  “Her brother, too,” he said. “Willum. Make sure that Laurel knows that I’m alive, but also that her brother Willum is, too. She needs to know as soon as possible.”

  A roar came from somewhere outside, not from Karnas, but from another dragon in the sky above them.

  “Hurry, Karnas!” hissed Hal. “You need to get out of here! It isn’t safe!”

  The dragon gave a disappointed grunt, hesitating for a second or two before flapping his wings and pushing himself off the window. He dove downward through the clouds and sky, disappearing from view after a couple of seconds.

  Hal sat down on the bed. He knew Vrodas was awake on his own cot, but the maug didn’t
say anything, and Hal didn’t really feel like doing anymore talking. He’d done his best to distract himself from the fact that he was a slave, but seeing Karnas was a reminder of how the world would continue on without him.

  He spread out on the cot, closed his eyes, and forced himself to get some sleep.

  ***

  Hal wasn’t terribly surprised when he was roughly awoken the next morning. The guard who entered their cell all but dragged him to his feet. Hal mumbled a question about what it was about and got no answer. Vrodas was left alone, apparently not invited to whatever early morning torment Lady Katara had devised.

  The guard led him upstairs and through the hive, bringing him to a small chamber with a filled wooden bathtub at the center. Taylor was standing next to it, and wordlessly, she walked over to him and began taking his shirt off.

  “Again?” asked Hal. “Isn’t a little soon?”

  “You’re being washed,” said Taylor, with a hint of annoyance in her voice. “Get in the bath and quit complaining.”

  Hal took his trousers off and climbed into the tub. The water’s warmth stole away any other questions he might have had. It was a fantastic way to start a day off, and he appreciated it all the more in light of his current circumstances.

  “What’s this about?” he asked. “I somehow doubt that all the slaves start off their mornings with a hot bath.”

  “Lady Katara ordered it,” said Taylor. “I don’t know anything more than you do.”

  Hal could sense her frustration and decided to let his other questions drop. He leaned his head back, sighing as Taylor ran a wash cloth over him. She washed and cut his hair, shaved his face, and even plucked out a few untidy eyebrow hairs.

  She had Hal stand at the end of it and toweled him off. He bit back a complaint about how he was fully capable of doing it himself, figuring that the polite thing to do was to just let her tend to her duties.

  Taylor helped him into a new set of clothing consisting of tan trousers with a tight blue tunic. Hal caught a glimpse of himself in a circular mirror set onto one wall and almost couldn’t believe it. The clothes looked a little strange on him, but it was still the most dressed up he’d been in the time since first being taken from his family’s estate.