The Dragon Queen

"Ieajateo." Kieran O'Conner laughed as the woman swooped in through the open window, her small black feathered wings swiftly closing in behind her. He didn't even bother bowing or scraping. "Here to exchange pleasantries?"

She said nothing. She didn't even shake, didn't even bother unclothing herself. "Strip." She gripped the pommel of her sword and stared him down.

"Of course."

He did as she bade him. With all of his pride, he did, with all of his heart, he did, with all of his love, he did. He let her push him back, his heart thudding in his chest, knowing that this might be the last time he would lie beside her.

He had betrayed Ieajateo with the fertility goddess Necia, who reveled being the trickster god Amil. The god had managed to wheedle him powerless through sex, devoid of his magic, in exchange for immortality. He had wanted to stay with his Ieajateo forever – she hadn't told him she was immortal, but he knew.

He could see it in her eyes, the way she carried herself, the way she watched him as if he were fragile. He saw her magic – not the ordinary, yet powerful kind she performed in front of him and the public, but in the dark of night when she rearranged the stars and the landscape of the earth when she thought no one was watching.

When she slept and dreamed visions, when he held her, he could see them too, could feel the power thrumming underneath her skin. "My love," he would whisper, gently shaking her shoulder as her visions worsened, nightmarish glimpses of the past and future flashing through both of their minds. She would wake, holding him tight for comfort and love.

Now – now, she wanted to burn him alive, to rip him apart with her claws; she wanted to hold him and say it wasn't true – all this he could feel as she climbed on top of him and dug her nails into his back. All her agony, and he couldn't blame her, wouldn't blame her. He was drunk on her magic, dangerously drunk without fear. With her, with his Ieajateo, he was never afraid.

He was immortal now, and nothing stood in the way of him being with her anymore. He held her, and for a few moments, she let him.

Those few moments passed too quickly. "Don't touch me," she hissed, drawing blood from his skin. It stung, but not enough to truly hurt. She was gentle, he could tell with his new strength, so incredibly gentle. Her breathing was wild, and it frightened him – she was going to tear herself apart if she kept this up. He retracted his hands and bunched them into the sheets, watching her hike her dress up high only to straddle his thighs. Her legs were scandalously bare, her skin golden brown against the paleness of his skin. "I love you," he murmured in awe, forgetting.

She slapped him, her eyes tight with anger. Kieran choked as her hands wrapped around his throat. For a split second, he was afraid she really meant to kill him, but she let go so that he could breathe.

Within seconds of him gasping, she easily impaled herself deep on his cock. He groaned, not expecting her to be so tight – and she rode him hard, taking advantage of him being caught off guard, pressing his face against her breasts. He suckled willingly, not minding at all that she was gripping his hair so hard. "Ieajateo," he whispered over and over, kissing over her heart for forgiveness. Her hold softened a bit, her hips slowing just enough for him to notice her little sob.

Even though she told him not to, he held her. She pushed at first, shook her head crying.

After the tears had stopped, they started again, gentler this time.

He turned her a bit to the side and kissed her neck. His arms wrapped around her small form as carefully as he could. She shivered in pleasure and spread herself for him, her slickness wetting the sheets.

Every time, he felt like burying himself inside her wasn't enough. With her, he was insatiable – it strained him to keep his hands from gripping her hips and fuck her brains out. Fucking her wasn't enough, never enough. Loving her was his life's blood.

His fingers rubbed her soft and sweet, and his pain was forgotten as she cried out for him, milking him for all that his worth. Like lightning, he pounded into her and spilled his seed to follow after her.

They both shivered and kissed one another, sleeping peacefully.

-

"I love you, Kieran." A soft, sweet kiss pressed against his temple.

Kieran woke up with a jolt in the middle of the night – Ieajateo nowhere to be seen. She was probably shaping the river nearby in her hypnotized state as she always did, but-

No. No. In her chair sat her too perfect form, smiling at him that familiar, coy smile – although Ieajateo did look coy now and then, nothing like that. Nothing so malicious, even at her worst. "Missed me, O'Conner?"

"Amil."

Amil turned into his most common form – the almond eyes, the chiseled chin, dark hair and golden brown skin so reminiscent of his Ieajateo. "I forgot to tell you." His grin was dark. "There's going to be a war soon. Huge. Some blood needs to be spilt for every immortal ever created, correct? We all know the legends. The power struggle."

Kieran's eyes narrowed as he nodded, wanting to shove Amil outside and ban him from his home and to keep Amil from having to do anything related to Ieajateo. "And."

"And, well." Amil leaned back, threading his fingers together. The smug smile on his face hadn't worn off. "You'll need to sleep – oh, what, a few hundred years or so? Don't worry yourself silly, dear boy." He put his chin on his threaded fingers, elbows resting on his knees. "Ieajateo will sleep a week from now. Her former flame – you know, that werewolf who has a kid with her – oh come on, champ, I know you know." His canines were deadly sharp and glistening in the candlelight. "He'll be dead, courtesy of moi. You'll get the girl – albeit a few years from now, yada yada, and you get to live happily ever forever. Sounds even, Steven?"

"Why the fuck should I sleep that long? And for that matter, her? What the fuck's in it for you? Why the fuck should I trust you, you snake?" Kieran rose from the bed, ready to choke Amil if Amil hadn't pinned him down easily with the merest wisp of magic. It drove him insane that he couldn't use the power of lightning anymore, that he couldn't feel thunder rolling through the clouds underneath his palms. He felt so weak despite his invincibility.

"You both need to avoid the risk of death. When an immortal is born, ten or more fall – and in some of my visions, I've seen her and you falling with them." Amil's irritatingly beautiful, smug face fell. "And for the price of immortality, you come directly from my line. My blood. Your power is my power now; my power is yours. Got that? I didn't take everything, but I had to block most of it since you're way too chalk full of power. You are in no way strong enough to control it, and I can't teach you in time with this war coming. I can assure you, though, that your wait to wake up will be shorter – which is a good thing. You'll need control for when Ieajateo wakes. We all do." Amil's face darkened, hearing the wind whipping against the windows. Kieran kept quiet, feeling Ieajateo heading back home.

"As for what's in it for me..." Amil tilted his head, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. "I don't mind getting a little credit where credit's due. Plus, I get to participate in wars – a favorite pastime, if you didn't know. Hell, maybe I'll even grab some land while I'm at it. Maybe even invest in some stock, 'invent' some new inventions. No? Don't know what I'm talking about? Don't worry. You will later. Luckily, I'm indestructible-"

The windows opened. Ieajateo sleepily wandered in to lie beside Kieran, her eyes full of stars. "I spilled something in the sky," she mumbled, Kieran pulling her up into his arms.

"Very good." He chuckled. "Let's get you to bed, my love." Kieran noticed that her desk was empty as he lay beside her.

He pressed her a little closer that night, tucking her protectively into his arms.

-

Amil raised his face to the night sky, wondering whether Ieajateo would remember him again, and wept.