All Hallows' Eve Masquerade Pt. 03

She'd paled some but thrust her chin forward. "Why?"

"Because you're going to offer me a kiss so I can decide if you can handle what is waiting for you. You desperately need answers, and I desperately want you to be the answer to my freedom."

"I can't free you."

"Sweet, innocent, Pryanna. You have no idea what your capable of."

He lowered his head just an inch, and she opened her mouth. Without hesitation, he kissed her. At the first stroke of his tongue, she froze, and he could taste the fire in her. Molten liquid, so hot he had no idea how she wasn't melting, but the fire was not for him, and even as his cock hardened, he knew he couldn't have her. The pleasure was always for information, and in one taste, he already had everything he needed to know. To go any further would be to cheat on the woman who still claimed his heart.

Slowly, he pulled away and stared at her. "Tonight at the masquerade, there will be a man in a purple mask. He is your future, Pryanna, and he can reveal the truth of your dreams, but you must guard your heart. While he is flames and smoke, he is nothing but ice on the inside. I have only met one other who is equal to your strength, and she is paying a steep price for following her heart."

Before she could ask him anymore questions, he disappeared back to his realm.

And felt the sharp edge of a sword pressed against his neck.

"I believe you have something of mine," Slyvern hissed. Wordlessly, Dagon handed over the stone, but the blade didn't move. Not that it mattered. Slyvern could end him in a single breath. The blade was just making a point. "Did you fuck her?"

"She started the ritual," he pointed out even as the blade bit into his skin. "And it is my job."

"Answer the question."

"No. I took only a kiss."

A low and powerful rumble shook the dimension. "Why did you even do that?" He snarled. "What could you have possibly hoped to learn from her that you did not already know? Or is this about revenge?"

"If I wanted revenged, then I would have slid my cock into her until she was screaming my name," Dagon said mildly.

"I may have killed you for it."

He didn't kill him the first time Dagon had broken that vow, and they both knew it.

For Slyvern to be acting this way, something was different, and if the god wanted to know the answer, he wouldn't kill Dagon.

Not yet.

"I wanted to learn if she will survive you."

The blade disappeared, and Dagon turned to his master.

Slyvern's eyes glittered. "I am not cruel to the women. I have never killed one."

This was true, but Dagon had never seen such empty women as those when Slyvern was done with them. No hope. No desire. Only relief that their service was done, and then he wiped their memories, displaced them far from their homes, and never even checked to see how they were doing.

Only one had escaped that fate.

"There is one you are still punishing. Make no mistake that this one is no less powerful. Perhaps she will defy you as well."

Playing with the stone on his hand, Slyvern looked at Dagon with a strange expression. "You've done well. Perhaps I will favor you during the cold months."

Favor. Dagon tried not to curl his lips. Slyvern's favors were always women, temptations in the form of warm bodies rather than spirits, and not once had the brothers indulged.

Long after SlyVern was gone, his chuckle echoing in the void, Dagon closed his eyes. and trembled.

Just what would Slyvern, who lusted only for the untouched, do when he learned the newest sacrifice was no innocent?

***

Pryanna wore red.

Inspired by the fires of her dreams, the gown hugged her in the bold silk and lace from her torso and faded to orange as it moved down over hips and to her ankles. The flame points stopped at her waist and cast embers up her belly and covered her nipples, leaving much of the bodice bare to the sight of others.

And to their touch.

Pryanna hated the masquerade.

Every year, she avoided it like the plague, but Cecily so wanted to go, and she knew that Althena would be drawn away by another before the night was over, although if she asked, Althena would stick close to their side. Her loyalty to her friends never wavered.

But their pleasure loving friend adored the massively popular All Hallows' Eve event, and Cecily didn't want to keep her from her fun. Instead, Pryanna had agreed to go, to make certain that Cecily enjoyed herself.

Instead, they separated quickly, Cecily and Althena eagerly searching the crowd for something.

No doubt their true love.

Alone, Pryanna wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. Had they also heard voices in their dreams?

Wear purple. What nonsense. As if a woman could pull off a complete wardrobe change twelve hours before an event. Not when their dresses had taken months to make.

Feeling ridiculous, Pryanna shook her head. Now she was acting as if the voice was real which was ridiculous. It was just all part of her anxiety about tonight and nerves about her dreams. No reason to lose what little of her sanity was left.

Haunting and seductive music coiled around the writhing bodies on the ground and tables as Pryanna slowly walked through them, careful not to touch anyone and invite them to touch her in turn.

First, it was the odd smell of smoke and burnt wood, far stronger than the bonfires should be giving off, until she felt the scorch of a fire all the way to her bones.

There was no pain, but a warning. She whirled around, searching for the reason to the strangeness, her heart racing and her body trembling.

And then, he appeared from nowhere. Dressed all in black save for his purple mask, he stood in the center of a ring of writhing bodies with purple smoke curling around him.

There was no smile on his face.

Pryanna froze and stared. Nobody seemed to notice him but her because if they did, they would be scrambling away from him. There was such power emanating from him.

Without warning, she was pulled toward him. Stumbling, she barely caught herself and placed her hand over her heart, her eyes widened at the strange warm sensation spreading through her. And connecting

Her.

To him.

What was happening to her?

"The red does not suit you," he said as he held out his hand. Her body shivered, and when she looked down, the red flames of her dress were fading into purple.

Forcing herself to remain calm, she glanced at him coolly. "I never thought purple was my color."

"Then you were wrong." Slowly, he walked closer to her, circled her, appraised her. It could be an illusion, but it could also be magic. Whatever it was, he clearly meant to intimidate her, but she would not be swayed.

"You look familiar," Pryanna murmured as he walked around her. The intensity of his gaze was unnerving. "Do you hail from Holinite?"

"l'm very familiar with the Holinite villagers," he mused, and Pryanna scowled. He hadn't answered the question, and they both knew it. Still, one of the most sacred parts about the masquerade was keeping one's identity a secret. She shouldn't have asked the question, and he wasn't obligated to answer.

"The real curiosity is why I seem familiar when you haven't seen my face,"

Damnation, he was right. She shifted uncomfortably. It was the way he made her feel that was familiar. Nervous but excited all at the same time. Tingling skin and rapid heartbeat. Flutters in her stomach and a need she couldn't identify.

"Why is an innocent like yourself at a masquerade like this? You're not like your friends. They thrive on love and pleasure. You are practical in nature. You've forged a life thinking that you will always be alone."

He was still circling her, like a predator, but there was something so graceful about him. "Your definition of practicality needs some work. My friends may want different things than me, but they are every bit as practical as me. There is no reason a woman can't be romantic and practical or alluring and practical. And what do you think you know of my innocence?"

"Your body sings to me," he whispered, and suddenly he was right behind her, his breath tickling her ear. "I saw you in the mountains that day. The day you picked up what you thought was a stone. I wanted to follow you to retrieve it, but it seemed that more than that, I wanted you to have a piece of me."

Pryanna stilled, her mind racing. More than once, she'd looked at that stone and wondered about its unusual shape, but the idea that it might belong to a creature was absurd. There were no creatures that large in the mountains.

The man continued as he pressed his hands around her waist. "l've thought of you often, but I had no way of finding you. Imagine my surprise to learn that you kept it for all this time and used it in a mating ritual."

"No." she squeezed her eyes shut. "I wasn't looking for love. I thought the witch might be able to explain my dreams. There's always fire and smoke and..." she faltered as she breathe in his scent. Wood smoke. Warm and slightly spicy.

"And desire," he finished. "The question is whether you were sensing my desire or yours."

"You weren't in my dreams," she said faintly.

" I was."

"There was just fire."

"My fire."

"The stone."

"Loosened when I sank my teeth in a rival."

Realization dawned. "Oh, gods."

"Yes," he hissed. "Say my name."

Fire. Wind. Predator. He wasn't supposed to be a man. He was a cruel monster of beautiful silver and purple scales that often reflected the green of the mountains and wings that were powerful enough to uproot trees. He housed a fire in his belly that could incinerate villages with one breath and an insatiable lust for young virgins. There were rumors of sacrifices to him to keep the fires in their hearths burning through the winter, but the sacrifices had stopped centuries ago.

Stories. Just stories.

He dropped a kiss on her throat and circled a hand around her belly.

"Say my name, Princess."

"I am nobody's princess."

"You are mine."

The voice in the smoke. She could not deny it. "Slyvern."

The ground thundered. Purple smoke shrouded them, and there was rush of air as something lifted her into the air, and the lust- driven bodies below disappeared.

When they landed, they were at the peak of the tallest mountain, now covered in snow. She was not dressed for the cold although her shivers might very well be from fear.

The dragon had kidnapped her.

The more she thought about it, the more outrage she became. Taken. He'd simply plucked her from the festival like she rat and he was a hawk.

Or he a dragon, and she a helpless woman.

Damnation, she really needed her rolling pin.

"Take me back," she demanded, "right now or I'll scream so loud that I'll cause an avalanche!"

The beautiful god folded his wings behind his back, and they disappeared. She knew better than to believe that this was the extent of his beastly form. There were tales that told of earthquakes when Slyvern stomped his feet and terrible storms when he beat his wings.

"If you did that, you would only succeed in burying yourself for you cannot fly, my fiery princess."

"Stop calling me that! I am nobody's princess, let alone yours!" Wrapping her arms around herself, she took stock of her surroundings. They were on a large ledge at the mouth of a dark cave. Something shimmered in the air.

Magic.

Slyvern watched her closely. " Shall I build you a fire to warm yourself?"

"You can take me back home where I have a perfectly good fireplace."

"No."

Pryanna looked over her shoulder. The drop was far too steep to consider an escape. "What do you want from me?" she asked in despair. "I thought you no longer stole sacrifices."

"I don't take them as often. Only every fifty to a hundred years as needed, and I no longer steal them. They all come to me willing."

"I am not willing!"

"But you are needed."

That gave her pause. "Needed for what?"

"I am a god, a body housing both man and beast. The man's needs can be easily fulfilled, but the beast is another story. If it does not get what it wants, it can take over. People have died. Entire villages incinerated."

She swallowed hard. "What does it want?"

"A female. There are none left like me, so I can no longer offer it a female beast. I take a female for companionship. It soothes him, but there are only a few that possess the qualities it needs. To search for the right companion, I use the witch."

"Companionship," she snorted. "As if I believe that is all you wish."

Slyvern smirked. "It is all I require, but you'll want more. You already do."

"You want me to sacrifice my body? For now long?" Her mind began to turn. She wanted her village safe but this couldn't be forever.

"You want to negotiate, " he mused. "I've never had anyone do that before. Most are more than happy to serve a god."

"I'm not most."

"No, you are not. All right, give me until the spring offerings. Six months to win over your body, and if you no longer wish to stay, I will return you. Most women stay no more than a few years with me anyway. Six months should give me what I need."

Six months. That wasn't so long in the scheme of things. It wasn't like she had family although Cecil and Athena would wonder after her. "I would have my friends know that I am safe."

A purple light blazed from the cave, and Slyvern grinned triumphantly. "Done.

Now enter, and warm yourself. I trust you'll find everything you need inside."

Hoping that her terror wasn't showing, Pryanna swallowed hard and enter the lair.

***

Exhausted from the long night, Rubina stared out the window. There was a time when she'd loved All Hallows' Eve. Her own village had not celebrated with quite the energy that Holinite did, but there had been joy and excitement in the air.

With the chill came the decorations to ward off the unwanted spirits that might slip through the veil and the dance along the bonfire had been the highlight of her year.

But the memories were fading. Now, it was the only night that the powerful spell could work, and so it was a night of work.

It was also the night where she she was closest to them and it only made her ache for what she could not have anymore.

"Thinking of us?" A voice whispered.

Stiffening, she didn't dare turn around. It couldn't be. It was past midnight on All Hallows' Eve. It should be another year before they could speak to her again.

"Turn around, Rubina."

Doing as Dashiel bid, she turned and stared in shock as all three brothers materialized in front of her. Gone was the purple smoke that tethered them to their realm.

They were here. Real. Mortal.

She ached to touch them, the three men she'd betrayed Slyvern with. The guards she'd given her heart and her body.

For two and a half centuries, she'd lived knowing they were finding pleasure in others, but tonight, for some reason, the were here.

How was this possible? How long would it last?

"Sweet witch," Damien breathed, his eyes dark with need. "The things we are going to do to you."

They circled her with hungry looks in their eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.

"All this time, you've wondered how we feel about you. We see the looks in your eyes. Wondering if we prefer them over you." Dashiel murmured as he closed in on her.

Now was not the time to ask. They could disappear at any moment, and she didn't want to waste time with questions.

She only wanted them.

"I couldn't help it," she whispered. "Because of me, you were enslaved for centuries. I wondered if you hated me. I wondered if you thought I deserved to watch you touch everyone but me."

Tears filled her eyes, and Dagon smoothed them away with his thumb. "For you, our love, we would give forever." He pulled her in for a kiss, and just like that her fears were forgotten. Their touch was everything to her, and now they all had their hands on her.

Over two and half centuries ago, she'd been a maiden, shivering in a dark cave and alone. Slyvrn had taken her, gently, but then left her, and her three magnificent guards had shown her kindness. Every time the dragon god had returned, she'd done her duty but felt empty inside. The brothers had filled that void. They gave her news of the village and fashioned gifts from the items they found in the woods. They shared their meals, and eventually, the two not on duty would sleep in the cave with her, warming her in the chill and keeping her company.

It had been a terrifying experience to desire three men, to fall in love with them, And when she'd discovered her magic, discovered that she could maimpulate time, she'd started using it to steal more with her guards, until the one night they could no longer deny themselves.

She thought it would be a death sentence, but Slyvern hadn't shown an ounce of emotion when they'd confessed their sins. Why would he? He didn't love her. When she'd pointed that out, he devised the perfect punishment. They would serve him in finding his own companions and never let them touch each other.

Sometimes, Rubina thought death would have been kinder.

Every few decades she'd find someone for him to sate himself with, but Pryanna might last longer than a few years. She might sate the beast within, and give him real pleasure rather than just passing amusement. They both knew it. The real question was what he was willing to do to make her happy.

It was also a question for another day because for now, all she wanted to think about was the men in front of her.

Gods, how she'd dreamt of this moment.

The laces on her dress were loosening, and the skirt was rising. Dashiel was on his knees, stroking her calves, teasing her while Damien was stroking her tongue with his and drinking his fill. The neckline of her dress loose, Dagon pulled it down her shoulders and tasted her flesh. She moaned.

"We're going to feast on you all night," Dagon grunted as he pressed is body up behind her. The outline of his hard cock was evident against her. He yanked the dress down to her waist, ripping some of the fabric, and the cool air barely touched her naked breasts before a hand was there.

And then a mouth. Shuddering as Damien's tongue flickered over her nipple, she fell back against Dagon and let his arms steady her.

"One mouth suckling your neck," he whispered as he nipped at her skin. "One mouth on those tantalizing breasts. And one very hungry mouth at your sweet cunt."

Suddenly, Rubina was in the air as the three men gripped her. Dashiel wasted no time sliding that wicked tongue between her legs until she was crying for her release.

"Even when we thought we had no chance, we used to wonder what we would do first. Damien used to fist his cock and imagine the sweet taste of your mouth and that wicked moan when he'd pinch your nipples. Does his mouth feel good, my sweet? Do you love his hot tongue getting your nipple all wet?"

"Fuck. Yes," she moaned, helpless at the hands of the brothers.

"He makes you so wet, doesn't he, my sweet?" Dagon chuckled. "Dashiel on the other hand, missed those little whimpers when he tongued your cunt. See how frantic he is? Flicking that tongue over your nub? He used to fuck himself raw needing to be between your sweet thighs again."

Clamping her thighs around Dashiel's head, she moved against his mouth, whining as the pleasure built. She was going to explode.

"Some," Damien commanded. "Drench his face, my love. He needs it. We all do."

The unfiltered lust in his voice pushed her over the edge, and she shattered, her scream of pleasure deafening.

Coming down from her high, she didn't even realize she was being carried until she was nestled in her bed. When Dashiel had visited her one All Hallows Eve, shrouded in the smoke so she could not touch him, he'd remarked about the size of her bed, wondering if it was big enough for four. Now, as all three brothers stripped and climbed in behind her, she could see that is was just the right size.