He gathered me up swiftly into his arms, carrying me out of the room as if I was his new bride. Louis was still on the other side of the door.
Thale called out to him on the way past. “Miss Bell and I are going to my room. Make sure we aren’t disturbed.”
He didn’t wait for a response, he just continued to stride away with me in his arms. Ordinarily, I would have been embarrassed, but for some reason, I wasn’t. I was inpatient to have this man who was holding onto my body.
As we travelled through the house, I ignored every single negative thought in my head. I didn’t think about being seduced by another man. I didn’t think about the fact he was meant to be marrying someone else. I didn’t think about Danny, or the way he had touched me. It was just me and Thale. Nothing else.
He kicked his bedroom door open with his foot. Kicking it once more to close it once we were inside the room. Carrying me to the bed, he
I became aware of a blissful feeling. The kind that makes everything seem wonderfully hazy and warm. I realised I was being held by someone, and I opened my eyes to see Thale sleeping soundly next to me. He looked so peaceful. This was not something I really associated with him, but right now, that’s how he appeared to be.I stayed still in his arms, enjoying the opportunity to study him freely. I traced each feature with my eyes, marvelling at the contours of his eyes, the angular line of his jaw, and the fullness of the lips that I had suddenly found myself addicted too. He had been beautiful to me before, there was no doubt about it. But now it went beyond that for me, it was as if he was divine. The change in his breathing told me he was rousing, and I eagerly waited for his green eyes to reveal themselves. As he blinked and took a moment to take in my image, a sleepy almost boy-like smile crept onto his face.“Good morning Sophia, wer
I felt Thale stiffen beside me. I could sense he also wasn’t sure why Alvena was looking so pleased.Fallon greeted us as if it was old friends coming together for a holiday, which unsettled me further.“Welcome, welcome! Please, let my staff take your coats. How wonderful it is for you to be here.” He grinned broadly, flashing his perfectly white yet pointy teeth in our direction.Thale said nothing, so I followed suit. A maid came up behind me to take my coat, and I allowed her to guide it off my shoulders.“Come this way, we have much to discuss.” Fallon gestured for us to follow him through the hallway. The house reminded me a lot of Danny’s. It was mostly decorated in blacks and whites, although I could see accents of red every so often. Everything was immaculate. The only personal affects seemed to be strange abstract modern sculptures.Fallon led us to a room that I assumed was meant to act as living room.
Thale’s jaw dropped. “Absolutely not. That goes against everything Hereti believed in. He made the stone to control supernatural power, along with protecting humans!”Fallon’s whole demeanour suddenly changed as he leaned forward sharply, and I shrank backwards. “Don’t lecture me, boy!” Fallon roared. “I know very well what our history is!”His eyes burned. I knew this was serious. I even sensed Thale stilling. Fallon may act demurely most of the time, but he was clearly dangerous.“It is not the same as it was back then,” Fallon hissed. “Humans now have the technology to easily kill us, even when we shift. Their weapons could kill us in minutes.”Alvena piped up again. “Just because you happen to have a human mate Thale, doesn’t mean you suddenly have to protect them. There was a time…”“Shut up Alvena.” Thale’s tone was threate
I shifted nervously on the bench. I wanted to get up and walk away, but I also wanted to hear what Fallon was going to say. I wondered if it tied into what Alvena had tried to reveal before Thale had interrupted her.Fallon didn’t wait for me to respond to his statement, instead asking me another question. “How is your 17th century history, Sophia?”“Not very good,” I said through tight lips.Fallon’s tutting infuriated me further. “Well, you may want to read up on it, seeing as that was when Thale was born.”Realisation dawned on me. Of course.“Anyway, to give you a brief overview, around the time Thale was in his early twenties, civil war raged in Britain.”I dug through my brain trying to dredge up any history I’d been taught at school and from somewhere I remembered. The battles between the Cavillers and the Roundheads jostling for control of the country. The l
As I opened the French Doors, Thale stood up sharply. “Sophia! You must be freezing, put this on.”He began to take off his suit jack while moving towards me, but I placed my hand out in front of me as a barrier. “Fallon told me about Sola Fide.”I kept my eyes fixed on his expression, watching it fall and darken as my words sank in.A silence descended in the room, so much so I could hear bird song from outside and the light sound of wind rustling the leaves of the trees. As he continued to hold my gaze, I knew that what Fallon had told me was the truth.Finally, he opened his mouth. The words came out cracked. “How much did he tell you?”I took a deep breath moving over to place my hand on the back of a chair to pull it out. The soft touch of velvet meeting my finger tips before I took a seat. “He told me the group murdered humans. They used wars to cover it. He said…” The words
He teased me mercilessly, the head of his cock resting lightly against my most intimate place. I stayed silent, doing everything I could not to move my hips towards him, to take him in like I so badly wanted to do.It was then he began slowly tracing his tip over my clit and down the wet folds, moving with agonising slowness. My lips parted in unbridled pleasure, and he took the opportunity to place his mouth over mine, using his tongue to invade my mouth the same way I wanted his cock in my pussy. It was at this point that I gave up, I kissed him back violently, my breasts swelling as I pushed back against his body, making my legs as wide as possible in the hopes he would enter me.He pulled away. The strain evident on his face. “Say it. Tell me you want me,” he growled once more.“I want you!” I cried, too consumed by him to resist him any longer.It took less than a second for him to push himself inside me, I gaspe
We didn’t have to wait long before we had insight into what Fallon was up to. On the drive back to Ashdown, Thale got a call.“What? You’re fucking kidding me, aren’t you?”I searched his face for a hint of what was happening, the voice on the end just muffled static.“Prepare the transport immediately. We’re on our way.”Thale disconnected the call and leaned over towards Louis. “Change of plan, Louis. Drive us to the port.”“Yes, boss.”Thale turned to me. “Sophia, that was my head guard at the hoard.”It took me a moment to remember what he meant. We hadn’t talked about it in ages.“Your hoard?”Thale nodded, a deep frown upon his face. “Yes. Some alarms have been triggered, and he believes it’s under attack.”“You think Fallon is responsible?”“Yes. I doubt it’s
The water attacked my skin like a thousand blades. I gasped, as shock tore through my body. I choked on the bitter water that entered my mouth, quickly spitting it out. I had to take control. I became aware of shouting behind me, knowing that Jones and Louis would be demanding my return to the boat. I shrugged off the jacket, and left it floating on the surface of the water as and I cut through the ocean with determined strokes. Thank god I knew how to swim. I managed to get a little distance between the boat and me before I heard the expected splash of someone entering the water. Louis would be coming after me. I pushed on. Louis’s weight and muscle-clad frame would slow him down in the water, whereas my slim body would give me an advantage. I kicked violently, dipping my head in and out of the sea to come up for breath. I knew there was every chance I could be taken away from the island by the current, but I had to try. I had to keep going. Occasionally I h
Two months later...“Again?” I asked, half laughing, half hoping.“Yes, again,” he growled. “I have a lot to make up for.” His hand traced up the length of my leg, back to my core that was now drenched in the pleasure of both our bodies.“You’re going to break me if we go on much longer,” I uttered, my breath catching as his fingers began circling my swollen clit.“Tell me to stop then,” he said darkly into my ear. “Tell me you don’t want me.”Instead of saying anything, I let my legs fall open, allowing him to take me to another high. Just when I thought it wouldn’t be possible to go there again.“You look so beautiful when you’re like this.” He traced soft kisses down my neck, grazing his teeth against the sensitive skin.He took his hand away, and I whimpered. But before I could open my mouth to protest, he&rsqu
Despite the wonderful news that he was recovering, it took another three days for Thale to show any proper signs of life. During those three days, I mostly drew him. It was the first time I’d been able to do any kind of art since the first day I’d let him lead me to bed. As he lay perfectly still, I committed his profile in minute detail to the paper in front of me. It was still too hot for me to bare being too close, so it was a way of being intimate with him without touching his body.It was during one of these sessions, that I saw him open his eyes for the first time in a week. Just as I looked away to sketch his mouth, I heard a groan. My eyes snapped back to him, nearly crying with joy as I saw him writhe.“Thale?” I rushed over to his bedside the paper and pencil clattering to the ground. I took his hand in mine. “Thale can you hear me? It’s me. It’s Sophia.”His eyes flickered open and shut, an unearthly sou
I reached the room, breathless. Mrs Elliot was close on my heels. “What’s happening?!”Dr Squire was looking at Thale’s arm closely, concern written all over her face. I went over to her side, and had to clap my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.The skin on Thale’s wrist looked like it was coming away. As if it was shedding like a snake. The area was inflamed, with chunks of scales lifting away from his body.“I’m sorry Miss Bell. This is what I was afraid of. His body is beginning to break down.” Dr Squire stood back up, taking the gloves from her hands as if she was done.I looked at her as if she was mad. “Well, what can we do then? There must be something we can do?”Her eyes finally met mine. “Now this is happening, the chance of him surviving is extremely low. Dragons rarely recover once their skin begins to shed.”I shook my head furi
I tried my best to engage with Jack. I owed him at least that. I forced the soup and bread down my throat, if only to encourage him to eat his. Despite me knowing how delicious it was meant to be, the chunky vegetables kept feeling like they were going to get stuck in my throat. But I managed it.By the time we’d finished, Jack seemed to be talking with more ease than he had with me in a long time. Perhaps there was every chance we could repair our relationship. I know that’s what our parents would have wanted.After Jack went back to his room, I asked to speak with Louis. When the gruff man with kind eyes sat down in front of me, I couldn’t help but reflect on how I’d viewed him at first. After all, he’d been the man that had guarded my door when I wanted to escape. But now he was a comfort, one of Thale’s loyal men that genuinely cared for us.“I wanted to thank you, for what you did. If you hadn’t shown up with
A gentle hand rested on my shoulder, and I woke with a start, looking to see if Thale was awake. But he was in exactly the same position as before. His face was relaxed, and if it hadn’t been for the wounds and burns covering his profile, I may have been able to kid myself that he was simply sleeping.“Miss Bell, sorry. You asked me to tell you when your brother was awake?”I turned my face to see Mrs Elliot’s face. Her hair was not as neat as it usually was.“Yes, thank you. Can you take me to him?”She stepped back so I could get out of bed. I pulled away from Thale reluctantly, but I knew I needed to see Jack.Mrs Elliot led me to a room I vaguely remembered Thale showing me. It faced out onto the grounds, the same view my art room did. I briefly hoped that I would get some time in that room again, and not because I was mourning…Jack was sitting by the window, curled up with one of Ashdown&rsquo
I scrambled over to him, grabbing his face and shaking it.“Thale! Thale wake up!”I put my ear to his chest, I thought I could hear a heartbeat, but I couldn’t be sure. I frantically racked my brain on how to conduct CPR. Why didn’t I know how to do that?I began to make an attempt, pressing my hands down on his chest, and intermittently bringing my mouth to his to blow air into his lungs. Nothing. He wasn’t stirring. Was I doing it wrong?“Thale! It’s Sophia.” My voice began to break. “Don’t you fucking leave me. Don’t you fucking dare.”I banged on his chest. Still nothing. I screamed out into the darkness. I collapsed sobbing onto his chest, crawling beside him.“Please wake up,” I whispered. “Please.”The sound of tires approaching made me look up. Through the fog of the ash, I could see the truck coming towards me. The light blo
I had never seen Thale shift properly, so I was not completely prepared for what I observed next. Fallon’s skin seemed to bleed into onyx scales, causing him to look as if he was being savaged by a terrible disease. Like with Danny, his bones began to break. His ribs tore from his back, stretching out into deformed wings. His head went under, elongating in an unnatural way. Talons sprang from his hands and feet, the appendages growing and lengthening. Minutes later, he was the size of a bus, his human form all but eradicated. He continued to expand, far surpassing Thale’s stature. However, the process seemed to take longer. Against my will, my hand clasped over my mouth as he now reached an incomprehensible size. Surely, we were now small dots to him, the stone, a mere spec.“How…how will he know where to breathe?” I whispered to Thale, recoiling in horror as the creature’s enormous tail thrashed behind it.Thale pulled me in
“GET UP! The boss wants you outside in 10 minutes!”The booming voice of one of Fallon’s henchmen made us both wake with a start. In seconds, Thale was out of bed, still naked, striding towards the door. He ripped it open, and although I could not see the look he gave the burly bald-man, I could see that it was making the recipient cower. Perhaps he had forgotten that he was waking up a dragon.The man scurried away with his tail between his legs, and Thale shut the door with a slam. He rested his forehead on the wooden panel, trying to take a deep breath.I padded over to him and placed my hand lightly on his shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s time to get this over with.”We dressed quickly, knowing that it was not wise to keep Fallon waiting. Not when we were about to try and trick him. He had to be as congenial as possible.Just before leaving the room, Thale pulled me in for a final kiss. “Whatever
My whole body ached. My limbs were as heavy as concrete, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get out of the chair without help. My heart hurt too. My physical and emotional energy was all but gone.“Well?” Fallon asked impatiently.I had already decided to tell a half truth. That would be easier to maintain than a full-blown lie. I rested backwards in the chair, using my fingers to rub my temples to relieve my sore head. “My mother, or at least, a part of her, spoke to me in the stone. She was the last guardian. She will act as my guide.”Thale came to my side, kneeling down on the floor so he could look up into my face. “That must have been hard Sophia. Are you okay?”I inclined my head, trying to communicate to him with a look that I finally had a plan. He seemed to understand and stood up to address Fallon.“I think it would be best if Sophia rested before her next session.