Calm Before the Storm (29 page)

My God! She was amazing. The power she
exuded strong enough to pacify the rage of the most feared beast in the
universe, her words a weapon of infinite power. Not only had she pacified it,
she had charmed it. The beast’s eyes were mesmerised, its gaze soulful,
adoring. Tyr drew near slowly, not wanting to startle the chemosh.

“I think you made a friend,” he said
quietly. “Should I be jealous?”

Irina’s eyes flew open, amber depths warm
with relief. “I thought he crushed you!” A catch in her voice.

“Not me. Alcina. She’s dead.”

Irina sagged into his arms as Tyr grabbed
her. “She couldn’t be saved,” she whispered.

Tyr cut through the chain with his sword,
pulling her into a rough embrace. “You are not to leave me again,” he said.

Her hands flew around his neck. “It wasn’t
intentional.”

“I want you where I can see you.”

“Then let’s go home.”

The chemosh snorted, its head lifting. Huge
green eyes blinked as if emerging from a haze of delirium. Irina placed a small
hand on its skin, rubbing gently. It seemed to like that. “I think it’s sorry,”
said Irina considering its soulful eyes. “It only attacked because Alcina
provoked it. I think chemosh are actually quite docile.”

“Well that’s great. But we’re not keeping
it as a pet.”

Irina looked up at him from under her
lashes. “Really? Are you sure?” she teased.

Tyr crushed her into his chest kissing her
hair. “You won’t have time for a pet,” he murmured. “I intend to keep you
thoroughly occupied. The things I want to do to you, little dove.”

Her arms echoed his embrace. “Promises,
promises,” she answered provocatively, brushing her lips across his jaw.

A shout in the distance. “Here come the
cavalry,” said Tyr, lifting Irina into his arms.

She wriggled indignantly. “I’m not an
invalid, put me down.”

“Never. I’m keeping you glued to me
forever. I died a thousand deaths thinking you’d been crushed by the chemosh. I
can’t go through that again.” Irina sighed into his chest. God he loved her so much.
She would have to let him go all caveman for a bit, just until he got over the
shock. She was his to protect and always would be.

“Tyr! Irina!” Borealis and Cassi along with
a contingent of Eunomi warriors raced toward them.

“What happened?” Borealis asked as if he
couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

Tyr shrugged. “You missed a great party and
Irina made a new friend.”

The group of warriors with Borealis seemed
completely awed at being so close to a chemosh that was as docile as this one.
Taming such a beast was unheard of and Tyr watched on proudly as they viewed
Irina with grudging respect. Their praise brought a blush of color to her
cheeks and her eyes darted to Tyr’s face. He smiled at her reassuringly,
wanting her know that he was just as in awe of her as they were.

“Alcina’s dead.” Tyr explained what had
happened to Borealis, who then directed his men to clean up the gory remains.
The chemosh seemed quite happy to let them remove Alcina’s body as Irina
continued to soothe him with her soft words. He was definitely reluctant to let
her go, slobbering over her as she bade him goodbye. Tyr couldn’t hide his
impatience as he finally dragged her into the waiting vortex. “We need to
finish the bonding,” he reminded her.

“Keep your hands off unless you want to
embarrass me on the other side of the portal,” laughed Irina. He fought a hard
battle over that one but forced himself to wait until after the congratulations
and inquisition had taken place. After all, they had a lifetime. Finally, some
peace. Just the two of them.

A few hours later, back on Vega and finally
alone with Tyr, Irina lay encircled in his warm embrace. Feeling the heat of
his skin against her cheek, a permanent smile etched on her face, she recalled
the final bonding. Nothing had prepared her for the euphoria, the elation, the
sublime ecstasy of that moment.

Terra had spoken of the intimacy of the
bonding, explaining that for each Esseni couple it would be a unique
experience. What she had just shared with Tyr had been beyond imagining. Even
now lying sated and replete in his arms, the vibrations of his soul intertwined
with her own, so deeply merged into the fabric of her existence she found it
hard to believe it had actually happened.

They had begun by making love slowly. “Let
me love you, little dove.” Tyr had whispered into her ear, his beautiful hands
stroking a path down the length of her body, moving with exquisite tenderness,
exploring every inch of her. Where his hands led, his mouth followed, pressing
warm kisses on her skin until Tyr’s breath was hot against the apex of her
thighs. His lips brushing against her slit, nudging for access, she felt his
tongue invading, lapping at the juices already pooling between her legs. At the
same time, one hand roved back to her breasts, fingers teasing already-hard
nipples causing the pink buds to throb.

He continued to rain kisses on her sex,
sucking at her clitoris until shudders washed over her skin and she nearly died
from the adoration. Swift fingers slid inside searching for the core of her
being, claiming all the unexplored places, marking her as his.

The delicious scent of arousal floated in
the air as Tyr lifted his head, the expression in his black eyes exposing the
depths of his soul. He was naked before her, not just in body but in spirit,
giving her everything he was and asking nothing in return. She tried to answer
with the same naked emotion conveyed through threads of their connection,
wanting him to have all that she was, covering his body with her veil of
tranquil calm. Then it was her turn to touch. Irina slid downward, her fingers
dancing over the hard muscle of his pecs and stroking a soft path over the
ridged perfection of his abs. She felt his body shake, felt the surge of
adrenaline pumping through his veins when she began her own claiming. Sliding
her hand around the silky velvet skin of his shaft and gently gliding her fist
up and down, Irina heard him gasp for breath as she sucked him into the warmth
of her mouth.The taste of Tyr on her tongue was a heady decadence, the salty
juice a sweet nectar as it slid down the back of her throat. She wanted to
savor every part of him, for him to be inside her, to bathe in his essence and
proclaim him hers. She knew he was close to losing it when he grabbed her hand
to still her motions before he could climax. “We need to come together,” he
gasped on ragged breaths, cupping her face in his hands, his black eyes meeting
her amber gaze. “We need to say the words to complete the bond.”

Kneeling on the bed he pulled her up in
front of him, so that her back was flush against his granite chest. She could
feel the hard length of his erection against the soft mound of her bottom as
both his hands palmed her breasts kneading, fondling. The ache was intense. His
luscious mouth sucked at her neck, causing a riot of delicious ripples,
inducing shivers that intensified the sensitivity of her flesh.

Reaching down to stroke between her legs
Tyr worshipped her there with a soft caress. “I’m going to take you now, Irina,”
he said. “Make you mine forever. Do you remember the words?” She nodded,
letting her head fall back against his chest. She could hardly speak, heart
hammering wildly at her ribs, emotion choking her throat. A tear slid down her
cheek. He was so beautiful. This was so beautiful. She couldn’t help but think
that any minute now she would wake from the most beautiful dream.

Leaning forward, offering him the access he
craved, she gasped in pleasure as the thick spear of his shaft pushed inside
her warm, wet sheath. He felt so good that she could not help the wild
undulation of her hips increasing the friction against his groin. Tyr groaned
with the motion, a growl of satisfaction as he thrust deeper and Irina almost
screamed at the ecstatic high as he drove hard to reach the core of her being.

Pulling her body back up against his chest,
still inside her, he encircled both breasts with one arm taking her right hand
in his as he continued to slide in and out sending shockwaves of pleasure
spiralling outwards, inducing a fever that scorched, sizzling between them.

Fingers entwined, Irina turned her head and
Tyr captured her mouth, their kiss a blazing furious melding of lips that sent
sparks of flame, igniting rapture through every nerve they possessed. Mouths
swollen with heat, they broke the kiss but not the contact. Instinctively they
both began the chant on the same beat of their hearts, lips still touching,
mirroring.

“We are yin and yang – together we are one
– Infinite and eternal – different but complimentary – We are the ebb and flow
of the universe – War and Peace personified – the essence of all existence –
together we are one – eternal and forever.”

As they continued the chant, repeating the
words, a rush of heat, then cool wind enveloped them, a cocoon that wrapped
itself around their bodies intensifying the electric connection. Each atom,
each cell, every microbe and all the threads that connected them, intertwining
around veins, muscle, flesh.

Particles of matter and antimatter that
circled, colliding and merging.

In that moment they were one being—flesh,
skin and bone a perfect fusion of yin and yang, the two halves made whole. She
was him and he was her. They were inside each other, their flesh woven
together, every molecule made part of the interconnecting ebb and flow of life
that held the universe in place.

As one they watched a vortex opening before
them. They were at the center of a whirling hurricane, myriad shimmering
images, past, present and future spiraling around their fused bodies. And like
pieces of a puzzle that had been scattered and broken, they watched in awe as
the fractures slotted together, aligning in perfect synchronicity.

Instantly the whole of the galaxy, the
totality of all existence was spread before them, the threads that tied the
universe together reaching out across time and space, linking in a unified
chain that connected their essences to all of nature.

A white light blinded them and then
dissolved to reveal all of Chaos and Gaia’s children, bonded Esseni connected
to them by the undeniable force of the elements, each bonded pair a luminescent
pearl of dark and light spinning in the webbed vortex of time and space. They
also saw the gaps—spaces waiting to be filled, black holes of emptiness
demanding alignment, and they knew in that instant their duty to The Balance.

The vortex continued to oscillate around
them as the fusion of their physical bodies into one being reached a climactic
orgasm that consumed them simultaneously, each absorbing the other’s essence,
the merging so complete their souls would live within each other for all time.

It had seemed like hours before the final
tremors of the orgasm receded and their physical forms restructured into two
beings, two beings whose essences were aligned and synchronized so that it
still felt as if they were part of one whole.

They lay still, entangled, panting and
exhausted. Tyr tightened his hold pulling Irina against his chest so that she
could hear the drumming vibrations of their hearts, a rhythmic manifestation of
their love.

“I love you.” His deep rasp a velvet
vibration etched into her core. “I love you so much. Without you I am nothing.”
He was kissing her hair as he turned her to face him. “I can feel every part of
you. You are so deep inside me, it’s as if you’ve always been there, part of me
I never realized existed until the day you captured me with your eyes.”

Irina could barely reply. Tyr’s soul
reverberated within the depths of her being, his indomitable spirit that would
never give in, his strength feeding her courage. “You’re inside me too,” she
whispered, worshipping him with fierce possessiveness. “I love all that you
are, all that you have been and all that you will be.” She held his face in her
hands. “And you are never leaving me again.”

Tyr smiled, echoing her adoration. “No way
am I leaving you. I’ll have to stick with you for at least eight hundred years
to experience that again.” Irina laughed. “It’ll be worth the wait. In the
meantime, maybe we can practice.”

Needing no further encouragement, Tyr’s
lips found hers, his passion a storm unquenchable. They made love again slowly,
with the calm of knowing they had eternity together.

“How are you holding up, Luc?” Cassi’s
sympathetic voice cut across the space, waking Luc from the daydream where he
was the one holding Irina’s hand. He turned with Cassi, watching as Irina and
Tyr exited the portal hall, finally safe after the drama of Alcina’s treachery.
He was happy for her; he had to be. Irina had never been his although he had
often indulged in dreaming that she was. He knew that she viewed him only as
the big brother she’d never had. And Tyr, he had to admit, had grown on him.
The fact that he would lay down his life for Irina was enough to recommend him
and Luc had accepted his apology for nearly choking him to death.

However as they disappeared from view, Luc
couldn’t escape the dark shadow that still hovered over him, an echo of the
darkness he had experienced that day at Abrasax Tower. A feeling that left a
hollow emptiness in the pit of his stomach, an ache that wouldn’t go away.

He draped an arm over Cassi’s shoulder.
“I’m fine,” he said. “It’s just…” He paused, cursing softly. “I’m going to miss
Irina.” Cassi dropped her head onto his shoulder, her arms coming around him in
sympathy.

“Hey, kiddo! You still got me.”

Luc smiled down at her sadly, blonde spikes
of hair brushing the furrow of his brow. “But I haven’t,” he said, “not really.
You’re not coming back to London, are you?”

“No. There’s too much to do here, although
I will check on you from time to time. As you’re an Esseni, we still need to
shield you from the Discordants.”

“Yeah, about that,” said Luc. “Now that I
know that I am one, it’s confusing as hell.”

“Tell me about it,” said Tani, breaking in
on their conversation and taking Luc’s other arm as they walked down the street
to Coronae’s house. “I spent my whole childhood confused, my parents constantly
drumming it into my head that I am an Esseni and have some special destiny, oh
and duty! At least you’ve only just found out.”

“I hear that you’re off to find that
destiny,” said Luc.

Tani’s eyes clouded over. “Yeah. We’ve
heard that there is an Esseni potential on Ophiuchus who appears to have the
hallmarks of my partner duality.”

“How do you feel about that?” Luc queried.

“Confused. Scared. Excited,” she admitted.
“I’ve known what I am for so long that it would be nice to finally meet destiny
head on.”

“I’ve heard Ophiuchus is dangerous,” said
Luc, curious that this beautiful red-haired slip of a girl could be so
accepting of her future.

“It is,” interrupted Cassi, “but Tani is
well trained and we have contacts there. In fact Antares is on assignment in
Serpens, the capital, searching for our missing healer, Ziad.”

“Irina mentioned him,” said Luc. “She said
he saved Tyr’s life.”

“He did. So hopefully Antares will locate
him. Oh by the way,” she said, turning to Tani with a grin. “He heard some news
about your little friend Abrasax.”

“Oh yes!” laughed Tani. “I have fond
memories of that night we shared together.”

“According to Antares he’s been relegated
to an outpost on Chthonia, babysitting Choronzon’s pet balauri.”

“Ha! I’d say that suits him.” Tani smiled.
“What about Rusalka, any news of her?”

“Who’s that?” asked Luc.

“She’s an Eridani bitch, yellow hair, pale
skin, bad attitude.”

Luc’s eyes blinked wide. “I may have seen
her that day at the Tower.”

“Really, what was she up to?” Luc related
the events of that day and his sighting of the two girls. Cassi seemed excited
by that. “The girls could be the ones Tyr’s looking for, Sal’s daughters. He
thinks they were transported to Ophiuchus.”

“I can keep my eyes open for them when I’m
there,” offered Tani. “I’ll see you later before I go and you can give me a
description.” Tani waved goodbye and headed in the direction of her family
home. Luc was left with Cassi to wander slowly through the quiet streets in the
dim light of the setting suns. They walked together in a companionable silence
both lost in their own thoughts.

“So what about me?” asked Luc, breaking the
silence. “What should I do?”

“Just live your life,” replied Cassi. “We
don’t know yet what essence you’re holding, so just carry on as normal. What
will be will be.”

“Normal,” snorted Luc. “Nothing will ever
be normal again. But you’re telling me that my other half is out there…the girl
of my dreams.”

“Well, she’s out there but she might not be
the girl of your dreams. She could be your worst nightmare.”

“That’s almost reassuring.”

“You know me,” said Cassi. “I tell it as it
is, Luc.” Cassi hugged him close, giving him the reassurance he needed. He knew
she needed it too.

“You know we’re in this together now,” he
said, pulling her in so she could lay her head on his shoulder.

She smiled up at him with an impish grin.
“Somewhere in the galaxy both our destinies are waiting.” Her voice dropped to
a whisper. “I wonder who’ll find theirs first?”