Page 23 of Queen of the Cursed Egg
“Can I wear my egg?” His eyes glow a brighter green as he bounces on his heels, looking at me, the scent of his excitement—something like mint and sunshine—filling the air between us.
“Will that make you feel better, Mina, if the fathers carry the eggs with you?” Thauglor asks as he stirs whatever he has in the pot in front of him, the rich aroma of spices and meat making my stomach growl despite my anxiety.
“I’m not ready to leave them alone yet.” I stare down the hallway again, my heart pounding in my ears, and then take off running, myfeet slapping against the stone floor, not waiting for the guys to follow me. The pull of my eggs is too strong to resist any longer, like an invisible cord yanking me back to where I belong..
CHAPTER 15
Vaughn
Thankfully,when Mina laid her eggs, there was only a month left before winter break. Ziggy phases the eggs and Mina into Shadowcarve every day, hiding our precious cargo in either Balor’s or Thauglor’s offices. It’s a blessing, really, that no one visits either office because of what those two are—their reputations precede them, keeping unwanted visitors at bay. Mina and I tested out of our classes a week early so the guys could teach without the added stress of being on Mina duty.
We received reports the day after Mina tested out that a Shadowblade was caught on campus. Balor was the one to catch the infiltrator, his powerful hands subduing him for interrogation. No one has said anything to Mina about what happened, and part of me wonders if that’s a mistake. The secrets we keep from her pile up like autumn leaves, ready to be swept away in a sudden gust.
Speaking of Mina, I’m searching the entire house for her, my footsteps echoing through the empty hallways. I started in the egg chamber, the lingering scent of her jasmine perfume indicating she was there recently, but now neither she nor the eggs are present. Softgiggles float to me from the hot springs, the sound carrying through the stone corridors, and I follow the melodic sound like a beacon. There’s Mina in the springs, steam rising around her glistening skin. Balor is shifted, his massive basilisk form coiled protectively around the eggs while Mina swims, her silver-green hair spreading like a watercolor in the crystalline water.
“Hey Vaughn!” Mina waves at me from the deep end, droplets of water cascading down her arm, catching the light like tiny diamonds.
“Getting some relaxation in?” I ask as I strip out of my leathers, the material stiff against my fingers. The air is heavy with moisture, making my skin tingle as I prepare to shift into my gargoyle form, bones already beginning to ache with the coming transformation.
“Yeah, Balor figured out how to get me to relax. He has the eggs safe in his coils. Though...” Her eyes take on a brilliant glow, like golden fire burning from within, as she looks between me and Balor. He shifts back, his scales receding into smooth skin with a sound like sand sliding over stone.
“I think I heard your voice in my head?” he says as he wraps two beach towels around the eggs to keep them from rolling, his movements careful and precise despite his obvious confusion.
“You did,” Mina says and smiles as she turns to look at me, her lips curving upward in a knowing smile.‘Strip and join me,’I hear Mina’s voice in my head, the sensation both foreign and intimate, like a whisper directly against my mind. I look at Balor, who’s now naked and jumping into the pool, the water splashing up around him as he enters.
“When did this start?” Balor taps his temple before moving behind Mina and bending her over so she’s holding onto the side of the hot spring, her knuckles white with anticipation. She gasps the minute he penetrates her, the sound echoing off the cavern walls.
“Recently...” She pants as her hands shift, the cracking of bones and stretching of skin audible even over the bubbling water. Her talons dig into the stone on the edge of the hot spring, leaving shallow furrows in their wake.‘Sit in front of me,’her mental voice commands as her eyes indicate the space between her hands. Her eyes, dark with desire, flick to mine. “Or would you rather just watch Balor take me right here? Up to you.” The challenge in her voice sends a pulse of heat through my veins.
“I feel like I missed part of the conversation,” Balor pants between thrusts, his breathing ragged and heavy.
“You did. She’s doing the ancient mind thing. And no, I don’t want to watch.” I sit down and scoot forward like she wanted me to, the stone warm and rough beneath me. Mina moves her hands to give me room, talons scraping lightly against the stone. The second I’m in position, Mina is sucking me hard, her mouth hot and demanding. The pressure is divine, like being enveloped in liquid fire, and the way she grips my length, stroking in time with her mouth, makes me see stars bursting behind my eyelids.
Mina pauses, and I see the scales ripple down her back, silver, and emerald, catching the dim light, before she cries out. Balor grunts hard and bows his head, sweat beading on his forehead as he picks up the pace. “So freaking tight, love...” He pounds into her several more times before stopping and throwing his head back, his moan more of a hiss than anything human. Scales erupt along his neck, black as the deepest void, then recede just as fast, disappearing beneath his skin like a wave retreating from shore.
“Your basilisk surfaced... I saw its scales,” I tell Balor as he pulls out, his chest still heaving with exertion.
“Yeah, that was close.” He shakes his head, keeping his eyes downcast. The danger of his gaze never far from my mind. “It’s still lurking near the surface. I’m going to sit by the eggs for a bit.” He walks out of the hot springs, water streaming from his muscular form. Heclimbs up onto a lounger near the eggs with his eyes closed, his breathing slowly returning to normal.
I slip into the water with Mina, the heat immediately enveloping me, easing the tension in my muscles. She swims over to me, her movements lithe and graceful, and wraps her arms around my neck, her skin slick against mine. “Hey...” she whispers as she rests her head on my shoulder, her breath warm against my throat.
Slowly I fold my wings around her, the leathery membranes creating a private cocoon, and wrap my arms tightly around her ribs, feeling each breath she takes. “Hey,” I kiss her cheek, tasting the mineral-rich water on her skin, and feel her pull her legs up. Her hand slides down between us, leaving a trail of heat in its wake, and she grips my length and slides it into her welcoming depths. A soft moan escapes my lips as her velvety heat surrounds me, the sensation almost overwhelming. “We don’t have to...” My hands rest on her hips, stilling them. The contrast of my rough, stone-like skin against her softness always striking me.
“I want to.” She peppers my jaw with kisses, her lips soft and insistent, and I’m done for. Gripping her hips, I slowly roll mine, making my length drag through her depths. Mina arches her back as the tips of her fingers dig into my gargoyle skin, the pressure just on the edge of pain. She prefers me shifted, so I stay that way at home; it’s easier to be honest, to be my true self with her.
Each slow thrust makes her core flutter around my length, like a butterfly’s wings beating against me. Mina loves it when I take my time with her. Not being an alpha has its benefits at times, like not being driven to the point of madness and going into a rut. “I’m close,” Mina whines, her voice high and needy, and I switch up the pace, moving faster and harder. For that, I open my wings and use the claws at the apex to hold on to the side of the hot spring, the stone crumbling slightly under my grip.
When I look up, I find Callan’s gryphon sitting on the eggs, his feathers puffed up protectively, with his empty eye socket facing me—a void that seems to stare directly into my soul. My rhythm is thrown off enough that Mina throws her head back to see what caught my attention, her hair whipping across my chest. “He’s here for the eggs. His daddy bird instincts are driving him nuts,” Mina pants out before gripping my face to kiss me, her fingers digging into my jaw. Our tongues battle for dominance, tasting of salt and desire, before she pulls back and cries out, the sound echoing throughout the cavern.
Unexpectedly, Callan’s gryphon’s taloned front hand reaches out and grips Mina by the throat, stretching her out, his claws careful not to pierce her skin. He presses his beak by her temple, making a whistling noise that sends vibrations through the air. Her core pulses so hard around my length, I lose it and crash over the edge with her, my vision blurring as pleasure courses through my body like liquid fire.
Before I can say anything, Balor rolls over with his sunglasses on, observing the scene before him, the dark lenses hiding his deadly gaze. “Callan loves watching, and apparently loves helping,” Balor says as he shakes his head and flops onto his back, the lounger creaking under his weight.
“I see that,” I say as Callan releases Mina’s throat, leaving faint marks that might bloom into bruises by morning.
“He knows I love when he does that.” Mina climbs out of the water, her body glistening in the soft light, rivulets running down her curves, and wraps a towel around herself before sitting down and leaning back against Callan, his feathers rustling as he adjusts to accommodate her weight. The scent of our lovemaking hangs in the humid air, mixing with the mineral smell of the hot spring. To think I was worried about being part of a dragon’s nest.
Byafternoon,the nest has convinced Mina to walk the grounds. The golden sunlight spills across the mountainside, casting long shadows as we venture out. She wants to explore the expansions being constructed before dinner, her curiosity impossible to contain despite her maternal instincts pulling her back to the eggs.
