Obsessed (22 page)

By all the gods and their mothers, she would not cry.

Somehow, someway, she would escape.

* * * * *

The flap of wings and the soft call of the nordai alerted Jalen to Toen’s approach. Within moments the rare white raven transformed into his usual form of a white wolf, coming to rest at Jalen’s boots.

Jalen gave a quick nod to the Overseer and began jogging down the sandy shore toward Zanden’s fortress, his bow and quiver bouncing against his back. The wolf easily kept pace, loping at Jalen’s heels.

Aric sent you?
Jalen asked Toen in thought.

Aye,
the Overseer responded, his vivid blue eyes meeting Jalen’s as they went.
The King has the Tanzinite maid and is en route to the Bewitching Pool. If all goes as Yanea foretold, King Aric shall be taking Liana to Seraphine.

That is good.
Jalen’s boots barely made an imprint in the sand as he ran. His gaze constantly searched the horizon, his senses seeking signs of anything out of the norm in the moonlit night. Waves crashed against the shore, the thrum of the Mairi Sea in tune with the beating of his heart.

I will assist you in your quest to retrieve the Nordain maid,
Toen told Jalen.
It is best that the King be alone with the Tanzinite.

You have my gratitude.
Without his mention of it, Jalen had no doubt that Toen would somehow know that Ranelle was Jalen’s heartmate. The Overseer seemed to have knowledge of all that transpired, and was always where he was most needed.

Jalen pressed forward. Even running at his top speed, it would be a day at best before he reached Zanden’s fortress, more likely two. Unfortunately he could not fly as the Nordain, and he would be forced to scale the sheer rock surrounding the Sorcerer’s realm.

He would retrieve Ranelle and take her with him to Seraphine.

No matter the cost or the consequences.

* * * * *

The man smiled as he brushed his lips against Ranelle’s. So soft and sensual. When he pulled away, a symbol at his forehead flared and glittered a deep sapphire, the color matching the blue of his eyes. His scent of earth and pine enveloped her as he held her in his powerful arms.

She slid her hands into his golden hair, the feel of it like silk against her fingertips. As she pulled his head down, she reached up and pressed her mouth to his. Only this time the kiss was frantic, urgent, fueled by her incredible need for him…

A gentle tug on her nipple caused Ranelle to stir from her dream. She was lying on her back in a bed, and her body felt heavy, weighted down. But at the same time it was as though she floated on a cloud, its softness surrounding her like a cocoon.

Ranelle moaned as she fought the hazy drugged feeling, and with effort struggled to open her eyes. So heavy. She could not move, yet wanton feelings stirred within, her body growing incredibly aroused.

Don’t fight it. It’s a dream. An erotic dream.

Sweet scents, like jasmine and brandy, surrounded Ranelle. Hands began stroking her shoulders, her belly, her hips. A light pressure forced her thighs apart, and she gasped as something stroked her clit.

And in that instant she realized it was no dream.

With everything she had, Ranelle forced her eyes opened.

Through her blurred vision, she saw three naked women touching her, and then she realized her own clothing was gone.

Who are these women? Where am I?

Ranelle’s mind was blank, as though her memories were erased, and she could barely remember her own name. Her mouth and throat were so dry that she couldn’t speak, her mouth opening and closing like a fish in the Mairi Sea.

Yet somehow she knew this wasn’t right. She should not be here with these women. Her instincts told her to fight, but those same instincts told her she had been drugged and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

“What…” Ranelle finally got out.

“The maiden awakes.” A beautiful blonde smiled as she stroked Ranelle’s body.

“No—I—” Ranelle could not fight sensations building in her, anymore than she could raise her heavy limbs.

What were these women doing to her?

“Shhh, Ranelle,” murmured another blonde. “Enjoy.”

Tighter and tighter the feeling wound inside Ranelle. A vision of a golden-haired man filled her mind. She could see him sliding between her thighs, and could feel his large cock as he thrust in to her and fucked her again and again.

Ranelle’s orgasm exploded within her, and she cried out. Bright flashes of light sparkled behind her eyes as she shuddered with wave after wave of her climax. Blood rushed in her head, making her dizzy with its intensity.

The women giggled and drew Ranelle up in the massive bed. “Come, Ranelle,” said a dark-skinned brunette. “It is time for your bath.”

Before she knew what was happening, they had her out of bed and were helping her toward a sunken bath in the corner of the enormous room. Ranelle’s mind spun and her limbs were so weak she could scarcely walk, much less pull away.

As the laughing women coaxed her to the bath, Ranelle tried to determine where she was. Her thoughts were clouded, as though something blocked her memories.

They managed to get her down the stone steps and onto a bench in the warm water that reached her nipples. Between the drug weighting her body and the orgasm, Ranelle couldn’t help but relax, melting into the heat of the bath as the three women laughed and splashed in the water.

The bath filled with bubbles as the women began scrubbing Ranelle’s body and hair with a cleansing plant and a soap that smelled of sandalwood. Slowly her mind and body began to return to normal, the drugged haze lifting from her consciousness, yet her memories remained tucked away from her grasp. The three women chatted so much that Ranelle couldn’t begin to get a word in to ask where she was.

“I’m Cind,” one of the blondes said as she finished washing Ranelle’s hair. She scooted onto the bench beside Ranelle. Cind had the largest breasts Ranelle had ever seen.

The smaller-breasted blonde moved to Ranelle’s other side. “My name’s Ritt.” She pointed to the sultry-eyed brunette. “She’s Tiali.” Ritt rolled her eyes. “Right now she’s Z’s favorite fuck.”

Tiali smiled and licked her bottom lip as her sensual gaze focused on Ranelle.

Cind’s green eyes glittered as she cupped Ranelle’s breast in one hand and flicked her nipple, causing it to bead at once.

Ranelle’s throat worked and she pulled away, only to have Ritt stroke her other breast.

“No.” The word came out of Ranelle so loudly that the women stopped and stared at her. “I—I need to know what is going on.” Her voice grew stronger as she spoke. “Where am I? And who are you people?”

“Good morning, magpie.” A masculine voice interrupted, the smell of burnt sugar filling the room.

Chills shot through Ranelle as she turned to meet the man’s black gaze, and her heart dropped.

Zanden.

Memories flooded her, almost overwhelming her in their intensity. Her heart-sisters. The irani spiriting her away. The Sorcerer coming to her dungeon cell and fondling her.

And the complete wrongness of his callous touch.

Once again, his smell triggered something in her memories. Something she couldn’t quite grasp.

The three women squealed with delight at the Sorcerer’s presence. They climbed out of the bath and ran to Zanden’s side, their breasts bouncing and naked, wet skin glistening in the room’s soft light.

A smile flittered across the Sorcerer’s face when Ranelle lowered herself in the water, covering herself in the bubbles, as though that might hide her nakedness from him.

“You enjoyed my wenches’ talents.” Zanden stepped closer, and Ranelle flinched as he crouched beside the bath and added, “Time to experience mine.”

At the base of the cliffs below the Sorcerer’s fortress, Jalen melted into the shadows and waited for the irani to circle past. It was early morning, the sun just warming the coast of the Mairi Sea, and a light wind had kicked up. The Elvin warrior and Toen the Overseer had been traveling two nights and a day, and planned to reach the fortress by this evening.

When the irani vanished from sight, Toen took flight as a white nordai to scout the skies and the fortress.
The sky and her heart are yours, my brother,
he told Jalen as he vanished over the precipice.

May the goddess be with you,
Jalen returned.

His gaze turned to the spikes thrusting from the perimeter of the fortress. From Jalen’s position at the base of the cliff, an ordinary man would not see the shriveled heads of Zanden’s betrayers speared upon the many spikes.

With little thought to his own safety, he began scaling the cliff, confident in his ability to reach the top without mishap. The task would be far more difficult once he rescued Ranelle and had to descend the sheer wall carrying her weight.

His muscles flexed as he climbed, one handhold and one foothold at a time. Sharp rocks dug into his palms and through the soles of his soft boots, yet the pain was nothing more than a minor discomfort. The air smelled of the ocean, but it was tainted with the potent stench of evil emanating from Zanden’s realm.

While one part of him concentrated on moving stealthily up the cliff, the other part of Jalen’s thoughts focused on Ranelle and devising a plan to retrieve her from the Sorcerer’s grasp. Jalen could not help but think of the dark-haired beauty whose presence had called to him in both a primal and spiritual way. Yet how was it that he had not recognized her as his heartmate ’til she had been snatched from his protection?

With his highly attuned senses, Jalen felt the approach of another irani as it circled the fortress on its patrol. The Elvin warrior pressed himself close to the cliff side, his muscles straining with the effort to meld as one with the rock.

As he waited for the irani to pass, Jalen’s thoughts turned to Ranelle and the danger she now faced. If the prophecy in the Chronicles held true, Zanden planned to mate with her—no matter that she was of his own blood.

Or perhaps because of it.

It took more effort than he was accustomed to, but Jalen forced down the heat in his gut at the thought of the Sorcerer touching such a loving soul as Ranelle. The fact that she was Jalen’s heartmate made the battle for control over his emotions far more difficult than normal.

When the irani vanished from sight, Jalen again began climbing the cliff. Wind buffeted him, as though testing his abilities and his determination. He pressed on, stirring nary a loose stone. His intense desire to retrieve the maid before the Sorcerer defiled her gave him strength and energy beyond those that were inherent in his Elvin blood.

Jalen did not question the goddess’s wisdom in granting him a heartmate not of his own kind. Nor did doubt enter his mind on the outcome of his quest—he would retrieve Ranelle and return to Seraphine with her at his side. The fact that he would be the first Elvin male to mate with a Nordain was certain to cause a stir within the Council, but it mattered not.

Damn the consequences, Ranelle would be his.

* * * * *

Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me! The chant sang through Ranelle’s mind as she stared at the Sorcerer who crouched beside the bathing tub. Beneath the bubbles she moved her hands in a rhythmic motion, adding to the strength of the magic burning in her breast.

As she released the power, Zanden cocked his head and frowned. The women at his side stopped giggling and fawning over the Sorcerer, puzzled looks crossing their beautiful faces.

Ranelle’s heart raced, but she didn’t dare stop focusing on her magic.

“Not yet,” Zanden murmured, as though to himself. “But soon, I will possess you. All of you, my lovely Ranelle.”

The calm and certainty in his voice sent chills through Ranelle, almost causing her to falter in her concentration.

“Get the wench out of the bath.” Zanden stood and reached for Tiali, caressing her taut nipples, his large hand pale against her dark skin that was still wet from the bath. “Prepare her to sup with me this evening.”

He lowered his head and kissed the brunette, running his tongue along her lips and then delving inside. As he raised his head, Tiali smiled.

Revulsion slammed into Ranelle, so forceful that she all but forgot to continue working her magic. Zanden turned his black gaze on her as she renewed the chant in her mind and focused on keeping him at bay. Something in the back of her consciousness told her that her disgust stemmed from more than him being the Sorcerer, but the knowledge was held just outside her grasp.

And she knew with everything inside her that she had to escape him as soon as possible.

Tiali moaned while Zanden licked each of her nipples with long strokes of his tongue and slid his hand between her thighs and into her slit. Cind and Ritt stood to each side of the Sorcerer and rubbed his cock through his breeches. He didn’t seem to mind that they were both still dripping from their baths.

“Allow me to suck your cock,” Cind begged as she pressed her large breasts against Zanden’s shoulder.

Ritt glared at Cind. “It’s my turn to drink his seed.”

Zanden withdrew his fingers from Tiali’s wetness, lifted his head from her breasts, and backed away, causing her to give a frustrated whimper. “On your knees, Cind,” he commanded. When she complied, he said, “Finish Tiali’s pleasure. Then you may assist her in preparing the maid for me.”

With a satisfied smile, Cind buried her face between Tiali’s thighs and licked her clit while Ritt fondled and suckled Tiali’s nipples.

The Sorcerer paused beside the bath, his gaze holding Ranelle’s. “I shall be the first and only man to touch you.” He raised his hand and licked each of the fingers that had stroked Tiali, and then murmured, “Yes. This eve I shall feast on you, my little magpie.”

Ranelle’s heart thundered in her ears as she watched Zanden stride toward a door, leaving the malodor of burnt sugar in his wake. He paused before the entrance and muttered a word beneath his breath. It silently eased open and he left the chamber. The door made no sound as it closed behind him, and Ranelle realized it must be magically locked. Perhaps she could find some way to make her escape through it.