Page 107 of The Song of Sunrise
I watch where we are connected, mesmerized by our joining. We fit together perfectly.
Greedily, I grind my hips, eager to take him deeper. He chuckles at my feeble attempt, then slides into me once more.
“Atlys,” I moan as he thrusts into me, again, and again, and again. My mind is overloaded, registering the touch of his calloused palm as he grips my breast and every stroke of him inside me. My thoughts are loose threads, unraveling impossibly fast in the sensation of him. Of us. “Please, please.” I don’t even know what I’m begging for at this point.
“As you command.” He pulls out of me quickly and flips me over to my hands and knees. Two strong hands grab my hips and pull my ass upward, forcing my cheek to press against the cold stone floor of the cavern. “Hold on.”
I reach for something to hold, but cannot find any purchase beyond the unforgiving stone as he fingers my clit, circling it so fast that I lose myself.
I scream in pleasure as his cock slides into my slickness from behind. I squeeze myself around his length.
“Fuck,” Atlys groans, then continues his relentless tempo, crashing into me.
There is nothing to hang onto to keep me in place, so I submit completely to his control.
I transcend.
Dizzy with pleasure, I scream his name as I shatter into so many pieces that it would be impossible to put me back together as I was before him.
Atlys follows, roaring from behind while his fingers clamp into the skin of the sides of my hips. I can feel him pulsing inside me as he comes.
He licks the side of my neck and pulls me onto his lap in a way too sweet for his kind, treating me like I’m the most fragile possession in the world. I’m struck by his tenderness. So sweet and opposite of his demanding presence only moments ago.
“Are you sore, my Sunrise?”
I wince as I adjust my position on his lap. He is the largest man I’ve slept with, and we definitely did not take baby steps. “I’m… a little swollen.”
Without another word, he carries me to the bubbling source springs.
“I could stay like this forever,” I say as I float in the warm water, still from the safety of his arms. He seems unwilling to let me go, scowling at the water as if it will carry me farther away from him.
“Then forever it is.” He pulls me in tight to his chest, and I rest my head on his shoulder.
37
The Breaking of the World
“You are becoming a force with your staff!” Ramona says as we leave our room the next evening to meet up with some of the rest of our classmates at Anita’s in town.
After my life-altering night with Atlys, I was surprised to find that my day was rather normal, starting off with Intro, then Elementation, lunch, then Battlefield in the afternoon. World History seems to be the only course that I can easily succeed in. The rest of my classes I have been working ruthlessly for, though I pretend otherwise. I’ve found that as someone who is frequently underestimated, I can turn that perceived weakness into a strength.
“No one could get within five feet of you,” Ramona says.
“That’s sort of the whole point.”
“True,” she chuckles.
We stride down the main steps of the castle into crisp evening air and turn down the familiar wooden paths to Olwythion. Aswe walk, I have one of those moments where I’m struck with utter… peace. Everything about being at this Academy has been challenging, but worthwhile. The calluses on my palms are proof of my dedication to my new craft.
Sometimes I miss the simplicity of Goldenpine, working at the Rose & Raven and mentoring with Marrow, but even now, all of those skills learned from my time there have helped me to flourish here. All of my cleaning experience has served me well with Professor Novak’s month of chores. I almost enjoy it. Plus, being able to befriend the cafeteria and cleaning staff has its perks. Leaf in particular seems to have no problem utilizing my new found relationships with Tegrat, the facilities manager, and his cleaning staff, pressuring him to share all the secret passageways in the castle. So far, he has been able to successfully coax out the details of three separate pathways, one from the courtyard to the Lower Fields and another from near the first-level Nature Studies classroom to the library on the other side of the castle.
Both have been helpful if we are late to Battlefield or just need to cut to the library between classes, but the most useful passages are the dim aisles that run parallel with the main hallways. Occasional paintings or cracks in the wall offer insights into the most interesting conversations as cadets lean in and whisper amongst one another, sharing secrets, among other things. It’s amazing what people will say when they think they are not being overheard.
This was how Ramona overheard the Jord team discussing the date of the third task. Next week right after the Stone Ceremony, when all Cadets will be officially granted their stones, assuming finals are successfully passed.
“Gods. I wish I was still in the Summit. At least I made it farther than old Uncle Nero. My dad used to pick on him every winter solstice when the family got together about how thelargest second-stone Watcher was bested by his brother and a classmate. My dad only made it to the first round of the final task, but Lark? He made it to the end two Summits ago.”
My stomach drops. That name, Lark, sounds so familiar, despite me not knowing him. Could he have known the Watchers from my visions? Ramona’s father and uncle had to be at the Watch around the same time. But as a Starwatcher wouldn’t—suddenly, it clicks—these aren’t visions, but memories! “Lark, you said? Did your dad ever talk about a Bennidix?”
