Page 30 of Strength of Desire

Something sharp traced down my spine. A nail? A claw?

The image of a moragh filled my mind. Was that what was doing this? Was this what that creature in the gym had wanted, when it attacked me? Not to kill me, not to steal magic that I didn’t even have, but to take me to wherever this place was, to be its slave?

The claw traced down my spine again, and shivers broke out across my body. Was that what I’d been dreaming about, this whole time? A rotting, putrid corpse that wanted to desecrate me?

I whimpered, and the thing behind melaughed. I wondered if it took pleasure in my fear.Tenelkiri, my mind prompted.Tenelkiri, not moraghin. It’s feeding on your fear.

I looked left and right, craning my head to see the thing behind me, but all I could make out was shadows and crimson light. The creature laughed again, and the rumble seemed to shake the ground. It shook me, anyway. I felt it in my bones. Felt a tremor inside me, like my bones were trying to respond.

No. No, they weren’t. No part of me wanted this.

“Go away,” I panted. My voice was tiny, barely audible. I struggled to swallow, to wet my throat. “Go away.”

It was barely any louder the second time. You’d have to be next to me to hear it, and while the monster seemed to be everywhere around me, it hadn’t noticed my speech.

There were flames in front of me now, warming my entire body. I looked down, only to realize I was naked. My flesh glowed amber in the fire light. Sweat dripped down my stomach in rivulets, running into the channels of my hips, down to—down to—

God, my cock was rock hard. I was terrified, I had no idea where I was, or what the thing behind me in the darkness was, but energy pooled in my core and a surge of desire coursed through my body.

No, I couldn’t want this. Ididn’twant this. I needed to get away.

I tugged, finding that my hands were tied behind my back. Rough rope fibers scraped my wrists as I twisted them, trying to break free. But there was no give. The rope dug into my skin, leaving it raw, but the harder I tugged, the tighter the knots became.

The monster noticed my efforts. I felt it hovering behind me, shadows made flesh. I felt its breath on my neck, felt its tongue lick along my shoulder blades, then curl up and lick the inside of my ear. I shuddered. Did it want to fuck me, or eat me? I wasn’t sure which scared me more.

“Go away,” I said, and it was still more croak than scream, but the creature heard me for the first time.

“You wish to leave?”

Its voice was low and gravelly, almost indistinguishable from the crackling fire and the roaring wind that howled around us.

“Please,” I begged, and suddenly the rope was gone. My hands had been mid-tug, and now they were flying through the air as the force restraining them disappeared. I was knocked off-balance and started to fall, when the thing grabbed me and held me upright.

I looked down to see shining, dark claws wrapped around my wrists. They were sharp enough to draw blood, but they were gently clasped around my arms, carefullynotshredding even the smallest piece of my skin.

Was itholdingme?

My breath came in short little bursts, my pulse so far up my throat that I swore I could taste it. The monster’s claws retracted, freeing my hands. I could move again. I was free to go in any direction I wanted. My heart thudded.

“Go,” said the creature. The sound of its voice—no, ofhisvoice—filled my ear and reverberated through the air at the same time.

Go, I told myself sternly.Just leave. He’s letting you go.

It would be no effort at all to step a foot forward. To follow it with another step. To make my way into the darkness, and not look back.

If you leave now, you’ll never see what’s behind you, whispered the traitorous voice in the back of my mind.

But I didn’t want to see the monster.

Right?

I swallowed, my breath still coming in short gasps. I closed my eyes. I shook my head.

The laugh that curled out of the darkness behind me set my core on fire. Shivers cascaded over my body, and something slithered down my spine. I couldn’t tell if it was a bead of sweat or some part of the creature. All I felt was heat. And wet.

This was so wrong. But no one had ever wanted me before. No one had desired me the way this creature did. And I wanted more.

Something curled around my stomach, encircling my body. I looked down, expecting to see an arm, scaly and horrifying, trailing wisps of smoke and decay. Instead, I saw…a tail?

---