“Set those down,” he rumbled, finally releasing Ruan from his grasp. “And we can begin.”
Chapter Thirteen
Withinanhour,Adrissuhad the ritual set up. He had shrunk back down to his elven form for most of it—though the circle and its runes were expansive, it would be difficult to make such delicate paint strokes with claws. Ruan observed him silently, handing him components as he asked for them. Curiosity was obvious on his face, but he did not ask any questions, only watched Adrissu work.
Adrissu read the instructions as he worked, and again when he was finished, until he was certain everything was done correctly. First was the circle, then the binding runes on opposite ends of the circle. Each of the rune’s intersections had to be marked and connected to its mirror with a line, and where all those lines intersected, there the fire was to be lit. He had burned the Aefrayan willow with his own fiery breath, setting it carefully in the center, then he began to grind the plants and herbs in the dwarven beryl bowl until it became a fine powdery mixture.
All that remained was to fill the rest of the bowl with their blood.
“Come here, Ruan,” he said, breaking the silence that hung between them for the better part of the past hour. Ruan gave a slight start, stepping closer and eyeing the silver dagger in Adrissu’s hand with some trepidation. “The ritual requires blood from each of us, enough to fill the bowl.”
“Makes sense,” Ruan said with a dry laugh that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He held his hand out willingly to Adrissu. Grasping the human’s hand, he ran his fingers along Ruan’s prominent knuckles, then flipped it over to press the point of the dagger into the thickest part of his palm. Ruan hissed as the sharp blade pierced his skin, blood welling instantly along the point. Adrissu made a cut where he’d broken the skin, long enough for the blood to flow.
“Sorry,” he murmured, and Ruan shook his head, watching the steady drip of blood from his hand dampen the herbs in the bowl. “I’ll heal it once we have enough.”
“I know,” Ruan said softly. Without bothering to clean the blade, Adrissu extended his own hand and slashed through the thick part of his palm as well, letting his blood drip down into the bowl so it mingled with Ruan’s. It took a moment, but between the two of them, the bowl slowly filled to the brim with dark red liquid.
“There,” Adrissu said, setting the bowl down. “Let me see your hand.” Ruan offered it again, and with a soft murmur Adrissu pressed his fingers to the small wound, and it began to knit together quickly. A streak of blood remained on Ruan’s hand, but the cut was gone.
“Thank you,” Ruan murmured, managing a small smile. Adrissu nodded, healing his own hand, before swirling the bowl to mix the components and setting it in the fire.
“Go sit in the center of the rune on that side,” he said, gesturing. “I’ll sit in this one, and we’ll begin. It will take a bit of time, until all the liquid boils away.”
Ruan frowned, but obeyed. When they were both settled, Adrissu looked down at the scroll one last time, then channeled his magic into the flame until it roared up and engulfed the bowl. As a reddish steam began to rise, he started the words of the ritual. What would have been a low, rumbling drone in the language of dragons was only a reedy chant in this smaller form, but somehow it wouldn’t have felt right to finish the ritual in his true form. Ruan always thought of him as Adrissu; it was Adrissu he was binding his soul to, not Zamnes, even if they were the same.
He repeated the words over and over, as red steam began to fill the chamber. Across from him, he could see Ruan’s nose wrinkling as the strange smell filled the room—partly the metallic tang of blood, partly the pungent odor of burning herbs.
He was not sure how long he had been channeling the words when he felt a sense of...somethingin the air around them changing. The smell was headier, less unpleasant somehow, and the sensation of magic around them prickled at his skin like a sudden dry heat. This must have been it. He ignored the way his heartbeat quickened, focusing on the words of the ritual and repeating them correctly. He’d said them so many times now that they barely sounded like words anymore, but he knew it wouldn’t be over until the bowl was empty, and the red smoke dissipated.
Ruan was silent through it all, watching him from across the circle, his eyes never wavering. Was he regretting his decision, wishing he hadn’t given in? Was he afraid, doubting it would actually work? Adrissu couldn’t linger on his thoughts, but they still crossed his mind, as he chanted and fed his magic to the flame.
It might have been hours before the tingle of magic against his skin began to fade, the red tint to the room fading with it. That was it. Adrissu fell silent, his throat raw and his mouth dry, and slowly eased back on the flame until he could see into the bowl. It was now empty, its contents burned away.
The ritual was complete.
“That’s it,” he said, his voice rasping with overuse.
“That’s it?” Ruan repeated, looking at him with wide eyes. Adrissu nodded. He had expected to feel incandescent relief when it was over, but it seemed so anticlimactic that part of him still held onto the fear that it hadn’t worked, and Ruan might soon be lost to him forever.
“That was... easy,” Ruan continued, stifling a laugh. “I mean, I’m sure it was much less easy for you. But I’m... surprised, I guess.”
“Gathering everything for it was the hard part,” Adrissu murmured, stumbling to his feet. Ruan frowned, looking concerned, but he only shook his head. “But loving you is easy. There is no price I would not have paid.”
Ruan smiled at him—the first free, open smile that he’d seen on the human’s face in days, and Adrissu felt like his heart might burst out of his chest.
“Is the ritual supposed to make me feel randy?” Ruan asked, shifting slightly where he remained sitting; and Adrissu laughed, all the tension in his body starting to ease away.
“I don’t know,” he said, stepping toward Ruan, only to drop back down onto the stone floor with him when they were close enough to touch. “But we can do something about that, I’m sure.”
“Please,” Ruan agreed, and Adrissu pushed him onto his back, straddling him.
Their clothes were quickly pulled off and discarded in a pile. Ruan’s mouth was open and willing against his own, and Adrissu lost himself in the heat of his mate, knowing that part of Ruan was truly with him forever now. It might not be this body, this face, but Ruan would always return to him.
There was nothing suitable to use as lubricant down in his lair, so Adrissu pushed his fingers into Ruan’s mouth. The human groaned and sucked, and Adrissu could feel his mouth filling with saliva, slicking his fingers.
He pushed Ruan’s legs up until his knees were at his shoulders, his hard cock falling against his stomach. Adrissu pulled his fingers from Ruan’s mouth with a wet pop, reaching down to find his entrance and slowly pushing a slick finger inside. Ruan made a soft noise in the back of his throat, the muscle tensing slightly before relaxing around the familiar intrusion.
With a breathy sigh, Adrissu leaned back to watch himself open Ruan. The sight was too tempting, and after only a moment, he bent further to lick a hot stripe from where his fingers were working his hole open, up the seam of his balls, to mouth along the base of his cock.
