Page 66 of Feral Gods
"Zephyr," she breathes, half-laughing, half-moaning, "are you going to narrate the entire experience?"
"Knowledge enhances pleasure," I explain, my voice roughening as my own control frays. "Understanding the mechanisms of sensation allows for its optimization."
Her hand finds the center of my chest, pushing me back slightly so she can meet my gaze. "Then understand this: I want you. Not just your knowledge or your magic or your protection. You."
The simple declaration affects me more profoundly than any complex magical theory ever has. Something shifts within me—a realignment of priorities, a recognition that academic understanding pales before the immediacy of emotional connection.
"Then have me," I answer, surrendering my scholarly distance at last. "All that I am."
What follows transcends analysis. Our bodies join with an inherent wisdom that requires no academic framework. I discover that certain kinds of knowledge can only be gained through direct experience—the sound of her pleasure, the heat of her skin against mine, the perfect synchronicity of movement that builds toward shared release.
Throughout it all, our magical energies intertwine as intimately as our physical forms—blue-white and magenta creating patterns of extraordinary complexity and beauty. When completion finally overtakes us, the magical resonance amplifies the physical sensation, creating an experience unlike anything in my centuries of existence.
Afterward, as she lies curled against my chest, her breathing gradually steadying, I find myself contemplating the inadequacy of language to describe what we've shared. For perhaps the first time in my existence, I am content to experience without analyzing, to feel without categorizing.
"Your hypothesis was correct," I finally murmur, stroking her hair where it spills across my arm.
Kaia lifts her head, eyes heavy-lidded but curious. "Which one?"
"That some knowledge can only be gained through experience." I trace the curve of her cheek with gentle precision. "No amount of theoretical study could have prepared me for the reality of you."
Her smile carries a wisdom that belies her years. "And how do you feel about sharing now?"
The question should provoke jealousy or possession, yet I find myself experiencing neither. "That different forms of knowledge complement rather than compete with one another. That what you share with Ravik and Thane doesn't diminish what exists between us."
"Exactly." She presses a kiss to my chest, directly over where a heart would beat in a mortal form. "Each connection is complete in itself, yet part of something larger."
As she settles back against me, warm and trusting in the aftermath of our joining, I contemplate this new understanding. The scholar in me wishes to categorize, analyze, preserve this revelation in neat theoretical packages. But the being I'm becoming—awakened not just from stone sleep but from emotional isolation—is content to simply experience the wonder of connection.
Outside our private sanctuary, dangers gather. The purna Matriarch seeks her descendant, King Kres marshals his forces, and the curse that transformed us remains only partiallyunderstood. Yet in this moment of perfect harmony between mind and body, I discover something I'd thought lost centuries ago.
Hope.
17
RAVIK
Control. The boundary between chaos and order. Between savage and civilized. Between beast and being. For centuries trapped in stone, control was the only thing I possessed—my thoughts, my rage, my plans for vengeance. Now, as I prowl the outer perimeter of our mountain refuge, scanning for threats in the pre-dawn gloom, control slips through my fingers like water.
Three nights have passed since Kaia's magic manifested during the dark elf attack. Three nights since Thane returned bloodied from battle to find comfort in her arms. I accepted this—surprised even myself with my capacity to share what instinct screams should be mine alone. Perhaps because Thane's connection with her was physical, primal. Warrior to warrior, in a sense. A joining I could understand.
But last night...
The memory burns behind my eyes. Returning from reinforcing the eastern defenses, I followed the faint trail of magical energy emanating from the ancient study chamber Zephyr had claimed. I expected to find them working onstrengthening our sanctuary's protections, as they'd done every night since discovering Kaia's purna heritage.
Instead, I found something else entirely.
The chamber door stood slightly ajar, voices drifting through the gap. I moved closer, silent as shadow, a lifetime of stealth guiding my steps.
"Beautiful," Zephyr's voice, unusually tender. "The way your energy intertwines with mine—I've never experienced such perfect resonance."
"Is that unusual?" Kaia asked, her tone intimate in a way I'd never heard directed at the scholarly gargoyle.
"Beyond unusual. In my centuries of magical practice, I've never encountered compatible energy signatures. Most practitioners merely tolerate each other's magical presence."
A soft laugh from Kaia. "And we're more than tolerating each other?"
"Infinitely more." A pause, heavy with meaning. "Our energies don't merely cooperate, Kaia. They enhance, amplify, transform each other. Something entirely new emerges from our combination."
