Dark Hunger

"I feel hot!" she said. "I feel like I am about to burn in a kiln." She rolled her hips. She wanted to devour anything that was coming in her way. Devour it, burn it, raze it to the ground. 

"Let it all come out, Lizzy," he encouraged her. So, this was what his mate was capable of. He wanted her to release it all because he knew that if even a trace of it was left inside, it would speak with her, and that was one thing he wouldn't allow. This was mostly Edyrm's magic. He could sense it because he had emulated it back in Galahar, when he had defeated him. He was ready for it. "Don't stop, Liz," he said, encouraging her. 

Elize rolled her hips over his shaft and tipped her head back, letting it all get out of her body. Even as the fire in her magic was burning her, his blue magic spread over her like icy mist, cooling her like balm. In that moment she realized that only Caleb, the mighty sorcerer king of Ixoviya, could handle the power she had leashed within. Only he was her savior.

He thrust his hips up more and she pushed him down more. They matched each other and soon with a loud moan, Elize came and came and Caleb followed her in bliss. 

The red tendrils around her started fading, and started dissipating. But Caleb didn't lose his magic over her. He released more of it, surrounding them completely with the blue mist. Elize collapsed on his chest again, wrapped in his beautiful magic. When the last tendril from her body subdued, he retreated his magic. She was heaving over him, utterly tired, utterly spent. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep with the least botheration of the world. 

Caleb, on the other hand, couldn't wink a sleep. He stroked her back softly, tenderly so that she cooled down. But he knew that this was just the first time this had happened. It will continue more in the future. He came up with a plan. He had to help her hone her magic and make her learn how to control it or use it to her advantage. Moreover, he would continue training her with weapons. It was too dark now, and with a confident smile on his face, he slept, the weight of his mate a lullaby to his sleep. 

That night, there was movement in the periphery of the tents. A small flash of light burned through the spells but it extinguished as soon as it formed. 

--- 

Auril was extremely nervous and impatient. He had spent two hours deciding between his four pairs of clothes on what to wear. He had shaved his two-days' worth of stubble and tried at least five different hairstyles. The problem was that every time he tried a different hairstyle, his hair would come back and fall on his forehead. In the end he had used water to slick them back. By the end of two hours, he was a nervous wreck because he wasn't even sure that Cole would even look at him. Would he remember him? His vow to the Lore was that he wouldn't speak with him or go close to him, but what if Cole came near him? The whole thing was so complicated that he had to run to the forest, breaking the spell only to uproot a few trees and then come back. Uprooting the trees hadn't helped because the anxiety returned with defcon force. The cooks were flustered about what he was doing and so were the soldiers. When he broke the spells and went to the forest, two soldiers accompanied him and they were shocked as hell. 

Caleb had told him that Daryn would come by afternoon. And he had also told him that it was not necessary that Cole would accompany him. The boy was way too busy. Auril had gulped down his disappointment over the uncertainty of Cole's arrival and hoped that he would come. And what would happen if he came? He definitely didn't want to present himself poorly. Even if Cole gave him a cursory glance, he wanted to look nice. 

In the end, Auril wore black trousers, a black shirt whose sleeves he rolled up. His hair dried soon and the locks fell on his forehead. When he looked himself in the mirror, he pursed his lips looking at the results of his two hours labor of dressing up. Damn, even his mother readied herself in an hour. Not wanting to spend more time over it, Auril came out of the tent and then paced all around the area where they were staying. Elize's phone was there. He checked the time in it. Then circled the full length of the area, cursed Caleb for not being here to receive his younger brother, and then checked the time again. Two minutes had passed. Frustrated, he stabbed his fingers in his hair. He had never felt this restless in his life and this was when he hadn't scented Cole as his mate. Sullen as hell, he walked into his tent and sat on the chair. 

"There you are!" a female's voice made him jerk his head up. Elize had come to meet him. She looked beautiful in a crimson dress that matched the deep red color of her eyes. In fact, she looked radiant. Caleb had parthoned her here right from the cave to avoid her going in the sun. "How are you?" she said with a smile. She had pulled her golden hair back and tied it in a high pony. 

He raked his hand through his hair. He wanted to say that he was nervous, but the words that came out of his mouth embarrassed him. "How am I looking?" 

Elize raised her eyebrow. She felt anger rushing through her but Auril looked so pitiably adorable that she burst out laughing. "You are looking messy!" she said. It was the truth which made his lips droop. "But sexy as hell!" Auril snapped his head up. There was a shine in his eyes. 

"What the fuck?" Caleb grunted from behind. 

"Of course, you top the list of sexy men, honey!" she said and rolled her eyes at her alpha. She could feel him relaxing behind her. 

"Daryn will be coming soon," said Caleb. "I will introduce you to him, but I am sure that he is going to be extremely wary about you." 

"I understand," said Auril, totally accepting it. 

"Good." 

Elize intervened, "Auril, Cole is a boy of sixteen only. There is a list of "don'ts" that you have to follow." 

"What list?" he asked. 

Elize dug her pocket and presented him with a scroll of paper that was an inch broad in diameter. Auril's eyes flew wide open. He began opening it and the whole list fell to the ground. He looked at her with utter disbelief and a shudder. 

"That's all," she said with a grin. "Read it!" Then she looked at her husband and he parthoned him to their tent leaving a flabbergasted Auril. She had penned it all down in the morning as soon as she woke up. 

An hour later, Auril heard the sizzling of a portal opening just outside his tent.