Rin
We wait for morning on an outcrop of rock, gathering our strength and finalizing our plans. The night is unusually cold, and off in the distance, over the top of the canopied jungle and protruding rock faces, I can see the torches of the Fire Temple burning. To my side is Targon, who sits on the ground deep in thought. He is uneasy, but he does his best to block his fears from me. Even now, with all the danger around us, he thinks only of me and his clan.
I keep thinking of the girls. They are so close now—just off through the jungle a ways—and they have no way of knowing we are coming for them. I keep wishing I could speak to them with my mind like I can with Targon. We have no idea if they are okay, and won’t know until we go there tomorrow. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, focusing on the distraction of my surroundings.
Overhead the stars glitter in the cold, clear air. The wind is gentle, rustling the dark silhouettes of the treetops below us. Cicada-like insects call out all around, millions of tiny voices coalescing into a single chorus. I wonder what it is they call out for. It reminds me of my times in the countryside, visiting my grandparents for the holidays and walking down dirt roads with the scent of the woods on the breeze. But every so often the beating of distant drums is carried in on the wind, and chills run down my spine.
I’m trying my best to keep my mind on happy-thoughts, but it’s difficult given our circumstances.
“I’m looking forward to meeting your brother,” I say, interrupting the silence between us.
At first Targon doesn’t react. He seems to be somewhere far off in his mind. In his hand is the medallion he took from Balrazar. He rubs his fingers absent mindedly against the gem, turning it over and over. He catches me watching him from the corner of his eye and smiles.
You will like him. He is an honorable dragon, and we’ve always been very close.
I walk over and sit on the ground beside him, resting my head on his shoulder. “Do you think he’ll like me? It’s going to be strange for him having weird alien females around all of a sudden.”
Yes, he will love you like a sister. He is strong-willed and trouble-prone—the two of you should get along like farnian twinlets, he smirks.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “What the heck are farnian whatsits?”
They are fruits that grow together in the jungle. Two to a stem.
I giggle when I realize what he’s getting at. “You mean like two peas in a pod?”
What is pod?
I start to explain, but then I catch myself. “It’s just an expression. It means two people are alike.”
That is what I mean. He’s an obstinate, hard-headed dragon with a penchant for trouble—much like my mate. He and you are pod.
I laugh and smack his arm. “You’re just a big jokester now aren’t you?” I growl at him, pinching his cheeks. But then I click my tongue. “I’m serious. Fighting wild men, rescuing me from giant ostrich-ceratops—I bet you had no idea what you were getting into when you met me. If you knew then what you knew now, you woulda’ run for the hills.”
He wraps his arm over my shoulder and hugs me close. You’re right. I had no idea what sort of trouble I was getting myself into. He mock glares at me just long enough for me to start thinking he might be serious, but then he smiles and pinches me. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Even after everything that happened back in the Drakon Valley?” I squeeze his leg as guilt overwhelms me. “I feel so bad for putting you in the position to choose between your allegiances and my friends. The last thing I’d ever want is to put you or the people you love in danger.”
Memories come flooding back. I put my hands to my mouth, remembering what I’ve done. “Oh my god,” I say, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. Suddenly my limbs feel weak and shock washes over me. “I killed that guard—“ My words catch in my throat. “Targon, that’s so wrong. I can’t believe I did that.”
He shakes his head solemnly. That wasn’t your fault, my precious Rin. The elders had no right to demand the lives of your friends. The choice wasn’t mine or yours, it was the elders. And they chose poorly. He strokes his fingers along my back, sending tingles up and down my spine. You did what you had to do, and that took a lot of courage. I am still alive today because of your inner strength. You took action when it was needed most, and I owe you my life because of it. Don’t ever forget that.
I inhale deeply from his touch, and press my lips against his neck.
I don’t want you to worry about the elders anymore, do you understand? He says. They are artifacts of the past. Anchors of the old world. You gave me the strength to break away from them, something that I should’ve done years ago. You and I—we are the new world, my love. Your friends and mine, all of us together. We will create something here that is lasting and memorable and worth every pain we suffered, worth every challenge we face. We’ll make a proper home together, and fill it with the happy memories of times to come.
I cuddle him. “Do you really believe that, Targon?” I raise my head and look hopefully into his fiery eyes. His words are like wine to my ears, and I draw contentment from his vision of our future together. It is a sweet, sweet picture he’s drawn.
Imagining something is the first step in making it real, and we’re already past the imagining. He turns to face me, kneeling on the ground in front of me and taking my hands in his. His eyes sparkle even in the darkness, and in that moment I swear he is the most handsome man I have ever seen.
I have the one I was destined to belong to. He kisses my hand. I’m holding onto her now. A rare and beautiful opportunity is before us. All we need to do is pluck our hopes and dreams from our minds and place them into the world. I will be your king, and you my queen, and this place we speak of, this world I would build with you, it is already here on Theros, waiting for us to create by sheer acts of will.
My eyes grow misty and I kiss his lips, taking his tongue against mine.
“You would be my king, and I your queen?” I ask pensively.
He strokes back my hair and pulls my face to his. My queen of dragons. His eyes are burning and passion fills his thoughts. His arms tense around me, pulling me in. The fantasies created by his words spin round and round in my mind, and it is only then, only after hearing him speak of our future, that I know it can be a reality.
He is right: it has already begun. The pieces are already around us, and I only need to find the strength inside myself to believe. I know that is how dreams become reality. I know it as much as I know anything. We see our hopes first in our mind’s eye, and then we birth them into the world by sheer…
Faith
My hands move all over him, feeling his chest and shoulders, gliding down to his waist, taking in all of his strength and passion for me. The entire time that I’ve been on this world, I’ve feared more than the animals and the wild men, more than the lava and the threat of other dragons taking me. I’ve feared never being able to return home. The idea haunts my dreams and underlies every thought like a sickness.
I’ve been afraid to let go and settle in, afraid that if I did, I would lose the last ounces of myself as Rin the Earth girl, and force myself to become Rin of Dragon Planet. Rin of Theros, the world of danger and never-ending hardship. So alien. So far from home. Those fears still exist, but knowing what I have here with Targon—feeling his love for me and experiencing his commitment to protecting and watching over me, I know that if for some reason I can never get back home, I have a life here too. A life worth living, and a life that becomes more precious to me with each passing day.
Targon places his hands on my back as we kiss, lifting me up just high enough to sweep my legs aside and lay me back on the ground. His body follows mine down, kissing me the whole time, touching me and moving his hands beneath the hide armor and furs that clothe me. He pushes my thighs apart with his legs, settling down on top of me so that I feel his hardness pressed against my core.
His breathing is ragged as he touches me all over, and his voice is low and hurried by the flames inside him. I’ve been watching the stars tonight, he says, kissing my neck. Your constellation and mine stand out to me now like beacons, he continues, voice rasping as he sucks on my chest. He works his hands until my armor is undone and my shirt is tossed aside. I’m topless and the air nips at me, but my inner fire keeps me warm. I move my legs beneath him, almost frantic to feel the first touch of bare skin on skin.
He moves his mouth to my breasts. I know now that those constellations were always there, waiting for me to discover and learn my path in this world. He sucks my nipple into his mouth, running his tongue in quick circles as they harden. I moan, tilting my head back with pleasure. But I needed you to show me the way.
I’m over the edge with desire. Our bodies twist and writhe against one another, his hands caressing, my hands pulling him in. All the troubles of the world melt away. In this moment it is only me and Targon, two bodies in the night that move as one.
My nails graze along the hard contours of his back while he nibbles at my stomach. The soft teasing of his lips sends shivers down my arms and makes my hips twitch with delight. Not long ago there was so much turmoil in my mind, so much uncertainty, but all that is gone now, replaced by passion and a desire to let go and experience life in this fleeting moment.
I run my fingers through his hair and lightly take his horns, stroking them and enjoying their cool, smooth texture against my fingertips. I want you inside me Targon, I say to him with my mind. His response is powerful. With our mental link I can feel the desires inside him. I can feel myself touching him and the pleasure he derives from my touch. It’s like a positive feedback loop of sensuality that winds between our inner selves. His desires swirl around my own, and I’m overwhelmed by the love and tenderness he harbors for me.
He doesn’t say a word in response to my pleas. Words would fall short. His entire response is wrapped up in his touch.
His hands slide down to my hips, and I shimmy free from my pants, kicking them away. I start to pull down my undies but he stops me. He looks me in the eyes and there is no devious gleam to be found. No teasing or playful spirit. There is only hunger. Deep seated hunger that tells me how much he wants me—heart, body, and soul. I sigh. The hot vapor of my breath trails off into the cool night air. His gaze takes my breath away. He wants all of me, and I want to give it to him.
Slowly he works his fingertips beneath the thin fabric of my underwear and slides them down my hips, nibbling with his mouth as he goes. He’s at my belly button, and then he’s at the v between my thighs. It tickles ever so slightly and I grab his head in my hands, pushing him lower. It takes little encouragement and soon his tongue glides up and down my entrance, between my swollen lips and against the hard nub of my clit.
I moan. That feels so good, I tell him as my fingers work through his hair. He wraps his lips around my nub and sucks it into his mouth, making me shudder. My stomach tenses. I grip his hair tightly in my hand as pleasure ripples down my legs. He takes this as a sign of encouragement, and soon he’s working me slowly in all the right spots.
The first waves of orgasm catch me off guard. They come so fast, shooting up my body and causing me to throw back my head in ecstatic release. My legs shake and I cry out into the night. I come in waves, again and again as my heart pounds in my chest and tiny sounds of pleasure escape my lips. Targon grunts hard, exhaling hot breath between my legs as the orgasmic waves hit him too. But the pleasure doesn’t stop him. He continues licking the space just around my clit, adding just the right amount of pressure to make my lady bits glow with delight.
The tension quickly builds again, and I know I can’t take much more before my hips are bucking and the orgasmic ripples shoot through my head. He senses this and scoots himself up my body until our lips meet. I kiss him passionately, tasting myself on his tongue. He groans into my mouth and supports my head with his hand, crushing our lips together with a fervor I’ve never experienced before. I grab his ass with both hands and pull him up until the head of his cock presses against my entrance.
I wrap my heels behind his legs, opening myself wide to him. I’m so wet and ready. His swollen tip slides past my lips and glides into my core. I gasp, whimpering into his mouth as our tongues intertwine and his cock slides deep within me. The last time we made love he took me from behind, thrusting wildly and gripping my hips with animal lust. But now he takes his time, savoring the nuanced pleasures that pass between our minds. His manhood is thick and long, stretching and filling me to my max as he slides in and out. I take a deep breath and relax, knowing he is cognizant of my needs and would never give me more than I can take.
Soon I’ve adjusted to his size and he picks up the tempo.
Do you like that my mate?
Yes, I reply, it feels amazing.
He groans into my mouth with each thrust, quickening his pace ever so slightly. My hips gyrate beneath his as my core squeezes around him, milking his shaft. I long for the feeling of his seed shooting into me. Filling me. My hands move everywhere, grazing and scratching the tight hard contours of his body. We breathe harder now, our bodies moving more frantically as his thrusting intensifies and he grips me tightly, pushing all the way inside.
I’m getting close, he says. I can’t hold back and moan into his ear, hugging him and digging my nails into his shoulders. My heels are hooked over his legs, and I use them to draw him deeper into my body.
I want you to come inside me, I say.
The sound he makes in response is guttural, primal, erotic: the enflamed roar of a dragon.
He loses control and plunges over the edge. He pumps into me faster, his legs shaking, his heart practically pounding out of his chest. He’s breathing against my neck, hot and fast, animalistic noises escaping from his lips as all his focus shifts to the space between our legs. We grind together, writhing and moaning as the tension builds. His strokes come more urgent as his mind is flooded with pleasure. My body has a mind of its own now. Instinct has taken over.
He roars again and nips at my neck, his breath hot and full of lust.
I’m crying out as a massive orgasm rocks my body from the very center of my being. I’m spinning, jerking, writhing. The world grows black around me as stars dance in my vision. Suddenly I feel his cock jerking inside me and the hot gush of his seed spills into my womb. I press my forehead to his and look deep into his eyes. We stare into each other’s depths as the orgasms pulse through our bodies, and when the intensity of our contractions subside he collapses on top of me, panting and completely spent.
The wildness leaves his eyes, replaced by love.
I wrap my arms tightly around his neck and curl up into his warmth. His fingers run through my hair, stroking, comforting, until sleep begins to nip at the back of my eyes.
Sleep my Rin, he says. I will watch over you tonight.