A Tale of Revenge Ch. 16: Epilogue

Then he began to move, drawing out of her and pushing in with excruciating slowness, dragging his cock along her sensitive opening. She was almost mindless with her need, barely aware of his hand reaching up to toy with her breast as he slid home once more.

"What do you want, Anna?" he whispered, his lips against her ear, his breath not as steady as it had been.

She couldn't think to speak and groaned at his pace, frantic for release, tortured by the slow filling of her needy core. "Please," she begged again, "Leonid!" her voice was desperate, pleading, just as he wanted her to be.

"Yes, Anna," he growled, thrusting into her in earnest, his fingers finding her clit again, he began to move faster, jolting her body against his. "Come for me," he said, shoving her over the edge into her orgasm. The pleasure burst under her skin, sending bolts of it sweeping over her body. Her lips tingled and her head swam as she was sucked under a great wave, his pace keeping her overloaded and climaxing. It was as though every tiny hair on her body, every inch of her skin was excited at once, her body more alive than ever before. He continued to pound her as her channel rippled over his cock, tightening down over and over as she came.

When her climax subsided so did his pace until he stopped, pulling out of her. His hands moved slowly up her sides, up to her arms and finally to her wrists where he released the cuffs. She slumped against him, allowing him to scoop up her languid body as he bore her over to the bed. She rested her head on his chest as he carried her, reveling at how small she felt compared to his greater form. She kept her hands still though she longed to run them over his skin. He would tell her when she could.

He placed her on the rich quilts, quickly covering her body with his own. The back of her body protested the sensations but it only encouraged her arousal. He kissed her skin once more, drawing her magic to surface wherever his lips touched, leaving behind lingering points of fire all over her body. She groaned as he made his way down, the power inside her rippling as he moved, drawn to him. It seemed stoked by the excitement in her skin, the chorus of sensations from her back and core.

When his lips found her wet slit she was sure the fire of her magic burned too hot for him to continue teasing her. But so it was every time they coupled, each time she was sure there was no new height or new sensation for her to discover. And every time she was wrong.

His mouth teased her sensitive flesh, his tongue stroking her as the fire answered, lapping underneath the surface as she writhed, unable to hold still as the sensations overtook her. She clutched the covers beneath her to keep from sinking her hands into his hair. He hadn't told her she could touch him again and she shuddered, trying to keep a semblance of control while he continued to lavish her pink flesh with attention.

Her back arched as his tongue penetrated her. She gritted her teeth, turning her plea into a whimper. Two fingers pushed where his tongue vacated and he pressed his lips against her sensitive bud, humming as sank his digits further into her. Her entire body was trembling as she held the massive waves at bay, the magic she felt pulling inside her towards him testing her resolve mightily.

Leonid was unperturbed by her struggles and continued his masterful manipulations of her body. His free hand hooked around her thigh, pulling her leg out while holding her against the bed, keeping her still when she found she couldn't stop moving. His tongue circled her clit, coming closer and closer until she quieted, her entire focus on the millimeter of skin between his tongue and her most sensitive spot.

"Please," the word was barely a whisper as all her breath seemed to have left her body. She was supposed to wait for him to ask her, to tell her. But it was too much, the rising tide would overwhelm her and she needed him to release it, to tell her to feel what he was willing to give her.

His response was a growl that vibrated up from her core. His magic reached in and unleashed her power igniting every point in her body with a firestorm of energy. She cried out, the release finally permitted ripped through her, her body writhing against his tongue as he laved her nub, sending wave after wave of pleasure across her body. Her cry was wordless, her mind overcome by the combined attacks both inside and outside her skin. Her magic snapped at the ends of her fingers as she clutched the bed, spilling out of her as the pressure inside her exploded over and over again.

He kissed his way back up her body as she drew in desperate breaths of air. He took her hands and placed them on his shoulders. She managed to draw her shaky lips into a smile as he came to rest over her once more, the weight of his body comforting after the intensity of her orgasm. She wrapped her arms around his neck, relieved to be touching him again and he dipped his head to meet her lips. She felt like she couldn't stop trembling, her body shaking from her release but also from something much deeper, something she hadn't fully resolved.

Tears slid back from the corners of her eyes as he kissed her and he drew away, sensing her distress.

"Anna," he said softly, "what is it?" his thumb ran along the path of her tears, pushing them away.

She shook her head, momentarily unable to speak. She looked up into his piercing eyes, wishing she didn't have to try to put it into words. And then she realized she didn't have to. Anna's hands went to his cheeks as she pulled at her magic, feeling the answering pull of his own. There was a channel between them, a thread of power that he could follow into her body or mind if he chose to. She reached for that thread, watching as his face changed from concerned to surprised.

Anna persisted, reaching up along his power back into him where she could feel him all around her, his energy far greater and more powerful than what she could possibly imagine. It was terrible and overwhelming to be inside his mind. But her intention was not to occupy his thoughts or being. Instead she took what she cherished most and placed it inside him, leaving behind what she felt as she pulled herself back and away from his energies.

Her eyes met his in understanding. Her hand traveled to his chest where he no doubt felt what she had given to him. He smiled back at her, lowering his lips to hers again, tangling the emotional with the magical and the physical.

When he breached her once more she moved with him, their bodies caught in a dance of mutual pleasure. His body above hers surging powerfully, her hips and legs working in tandem to maximize the sensations for both of them as her hands clutched the hard flesh of his back. He poured those shared feeling into his touches, his kisses and the drag of his hardness inside her. Her lips never left his even as they pitched over the edge together, delirious in the mix of their connections to one another.

They spent much of the night wrapped up together this way, decadent in their hunger for each other. It was only with the grey light of morning that Anna finally fell asleep in his arms, a small smile touching her lips even in sleep. Leonid stayed with her, enjoying the rise and fall of her chest against him, until the prickling awareness of another deity in the next room troubled him from the bed.

He dressed as he moved, removing his physical presence from the plane as he went so that no mortal could see or hear him. He did not want to wake Anna and he was sure this confrontation would not be a quiet one. He entered the large drawing room of the royal suit and sought out the presence he felt. A bird flitted from the window sill, drawing his attention for a moment.

"Leonid," a silky voice called out behind him. He turned, his body tensed. She should not be here.

"Sister," he said shortly. "You assured me you would not tempt my control in this sphere by appearing here."

Emera shrugged, stones glistening on her shoulders as they moved. "I felt the need to discuss an urgent matter."

"That could not wait till I returned to the First Level?" Leonid asked impatiently. He did not appreciate the intrusion.

"Well given the events of this sphere I thought you might be down here for some time and I wanted to be sure we spoke before any...consummation...took place."

Leonid bristled but did his best not to show it. She knew, of course, that he would not easily share Anna with another. Despite the fact that Anna had healed well from her experiences, Leonid still bore a weight of regret he had not set aside, and the thought of her with another set him off perhaps more than it should have.

"Is there something specific, Emera?" he growled, "or did you just come to rub my face in the political marriage between my ward and yours?"

"No, Leonid nothing so crude. This is a matter of the heart." she said, settling on one of the pale blue couches by the silent fireplace. Her emphasis on the last word made his hands clench reflexively. She knew. "You are keeping something from all of them, something that affects them all, and me as well."

Leonid's face grew cold. "You cannot possibly tell her. I forbid it."

Emera's mouth twitched. "Of course. But I will have to tell Rafia, and I cannot force him to keep it a secret."

Leonid practically shook in anger. "You cannot leave her in peace? Let her enjoy her life and what she has left of it without thinking only of her worth to you as a royal procreator?" His voice was rising despite his intentions to hold his tongue.

Emera fixed his gaze with a smooth one of her own. "What she has left of it is exactly the issue here. How could you keep this from them? From me?"

"Easily," he shot back, "I want her to be happy. She doesn't need to know that she could never recover from what they did, that no matter how much she fought to piece herself back together after everything she suffered she would never truly be whole again." His anger faltered. "Don't tell him, Emera. Anna doesn't need to know that they killed her all those years ago." The pleading in his voice stung but he could not hide it, his own grief and guilt were a weight on his words.

Emera had no such qualms as she studied her brother with a studious detachment so easy for a goddess who would never know what any of this truly felt like. "Will she survive a pregnancy?" she asked flatly.

Leonid was unsurprised that she remained indifferent. He could barely dredge up any frustration at her coldness. It was her nature, and had been his. "I believe she will."

"That's not good enough," Emera snapped back.

Leonid sneered at her. "I have kept her alive this long through all of your progress wars, reclaiming your empire of old, bringing your interests back under your control. I can keep her alive through a pregnancy. Please, Emera," he did not like begging, "leave her in peace a bit longer."

"You cannot beat a heart with sheer force of will. Your interference is only delaying the inevitable march towards death that began when she first came here," Emera's face softened slightly despite her words.

"By your design," Leonid shot back, unable to help himself.

"Don't, Leonid, you know I will not feel bad for it." That much was true.

"I have managed it this far," Leonid pressed on. "I will continue until her heart cannot manage anymore."

"Then stop interfering and let the royal couple conceive. This is a matter of urgency, Leonid, put aside your possessiveness and allow her to contribute her legacy in this life before it is too late."

Leonid stared at her, looking back into eyes that reflected his own and seeing no real understanding in them. She was a goddess after all, one who was bound to further her own interests. Why should she see Anna as anything more than a tool to her own ends? Hadn't he done the same all those years ago? And still his anger and incredulity demanded he not acquiesce so easily.

"Leave us, Emera. Leave her alone if you wish to keep your kingdom intact." He did not make the threat lightly.

Emera's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you threatening me with the destruction of this sphere if I don't do as you ask?" now it was her turn to be incredulous.

Leonid did not confirm or deny it. She always feared the most extreme possibilities, he would play on that. He knew, deep in his core, that he would do whatever it took to keep Anna safe. For years he had watched her flourish and grow, healing and moving on to so many better things. And all the while he'd kept this secret from her, reaching into her body and using his own magic to bolster the fraying fibers of her heart. He would not stop now, and he would not let Emera sour what little time Anna had left in this life.

"Keep your peace," he repeated, his voice studiously controlled. "You have my assurances and my intentions are clear. Do not make an enemy of me, Emera."

The goddess gave him a stern look but she nodded finally. "We will see if you can keep your word, brother." And with that she was gone.

Leonid sighed, feeling suddenly drained and tired, another new experience. Sleep was not something that gods did after all. He turned back to the bedchamber, drawn back to Anna despite his turbulent thoughts, or perhaps because of them. From the edge of the bed he admired her long legs tangled in the sheets, the inky tendrils of hair that spilled across the pale sheets.

He crawled back into bed, pleased that she sought him out as he drew close even in her sleep. He pulled her in, fitting their bodies together tightly even as he relaxed into the deep rhythm of her breathing. For a moment he stayed there, feeling her warmth radiate from her to him, her soft supple skin against his harder flesh. In these moments he found a sense of peace he had never truly known before, the type of emotion that can only be had when the opposite one has been experienced as well. The relief spread throughout his body, loosening his muscles and settling deep inside him. And he too closed his eyes and joined her in her dreams.

***

So this is the end. It's been quite a trip since I started thinking about this story in a pathology lecture two years ago. I really did start with intentions of keeping it short and sweet. But here we are. I hope you've enjoyed yourselves. I've got a few things in the works, check my bio and message me if you have a favorite.

Special thanks, once again, to Lee and Lethicia for their amazing beta reading and editing skills. They helped me gather so many loose ends. And also to Masterfuljim for looking over my rewrites in all his free time and introducing me to the time-suck that is social media.

And thank you guys for reading this far. Your comments and feedback were so helpful and encouraging. It's been tons of fun.