Page 47 of Phoenix Chosen 2

Please, please,please.

I’m searching, praying, willing whatever power might be inside of me to rise to the surface now, to reveal itself.

I can’t hold it back. I cry out, and Kalistratos pushes harder, his fingers clawing so tightly into my waist that they might leave me with bruises. Then his breath releases and I feel his cock flex inside of me. I let it all go just as he does—my cock tightens and a tidal wave of pleasure rocks through, ringing my ears. My cock throbs again and again, draining my balls onto both of our abs, and I feel him emptying his load inside of me. The sudden burst of warmth is so comforting. We slump into each other’s arms and float in the darkness, surrounded by nothing but our panting breaths.

“Anything?” Kalistratos asks.

I was hoping for a touch of the mysterious heat I thought had appeared at times before. Some hint that there might really be power lying dormant within me. I clasp my hand around the pendant, but even it offers me no reassurance. It’s cool to the touch. Whatever I’d felt from it before…it wasn’t there now.

What was I missing?

18

KALISTRATOS

Ilight the lamp with a touch of my finger and Tyler’s face emerges from the darkness. Despite the smile he shows me, I know he is worried. I can see it written all over his face. I kiss his forehead and stroke his golden hair.

“Nothing,” he says, answering my question. “Just the best orgasm of my life. But I’m guessing that’s not what Aethereos meant by finding my powers.”

“Don’t worry,” I tell him. “There must be something more to this. We can figure it out. We’ve only just begun.”

He begins to speak, but stops himself and just nods. I know what he was going to say—what if we can’t?

I don’t have an answer. I wish I did, but none of this makes any sense. Maybe if I had more knowledge of Phoenikos lore, if I were stronger, if my powers weren’t limited… Maybe then I would know how to help him.

This cave is exactly like the one where I first found my powers. Why can’t I remember more about it? All I have are vague shadows of that time with my father, whose face is no clearer in my mind than the reflection in a pond struck with pouring rain. What am I looking for?

The elevator takes us back to our quarters. There’s been no sign of Lord Aethereos, Feather, or anyone else. It feels as though we’re alone here. The view from the window is of a gray, mist-shrouded sky. Heavy raindrops streak the glass. The storm shows no sign of breaking—in fact, it’s growing worse.

Tyler paces, holding the little wooden figurine in both hands. He stares at it intently, as though he expects it to wake up and come alive at any moment.

“What is it?” I ask him.

“Do you know what a phantom limb is?” he asks.

I shake my head no.

“There’s this thing that can happen to people who lose a body part. They might feel an itch on an arm that no longer exists. Sometimes I feel this heat that I can’t pin down. Then it vanishes, but it leaves this impression in my head that it’s coming from this figurine.” He holds it up. “I can’t come up with any kind of explanation for it. It’s not like I’ve lost a limb.”

I go to him and guide him to sit with me. “But youhavelost something,” I tell him gently. “Something incredibly precious.”

Tyler looks at me in surprise. “I…didn’t think about that.”

He stares for a while at the figurine before slipping it back beneath his chiton. Then he wraps his arms around me and restshis head against my chest. I stroke his hair, and we sit there together in silence, thinking about the child that ought to be growing within him.

Tyler spends the next two days in the cave alone. I stay in our quarters and contemplate my place in this story. I’m supposed to be a Guardian. Why does it feel like I’ve already failed? My powers barely work. I can’t help Tyler. I can’t get us back to Circeana. And I can’t even face Lord Aethereos.

I stare at the elevator doors, willing myself to walk through them and finally ask the question that has burdened me for so long. But I can’t. Now that I’m suddenly here in the Great Phoenix’s Hall, I’ve lost my wits.

It’s late when Tyler returns, and the moment I see his exhausted face, I remember that even if everything else has been stripped away from me, there is still one thing I can do, and that’s love him. I will never give up on him.

I go to him and take him into my arms. I can feel his discouragement. Still no luck.

“I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he tells me quietly.

I carry him to the nest and gently lower him into the soft cushions. “Rest,” I say.

I turn him onto his chest, then slip the chiton robe off his shoulders. I dab some warm lavender oil from a crystal bottle onto my hands and slowly spread it across his back, using the meat of my palms to work it into his tense, stress-laden shoulder muscles. He sighs happily into the pillows as I press my thumbs against his neck, drawing the oil up to the base of his head, then back down again.

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