By the time they reach that point, Kit has tapped out and is softly snoring on the blankets. Aster’s eyes look heavy and Torin has shifted position so that he’s lying directly behind Reva, blocking my view of her.
In all the time that’s gone by, Torin hasn’t come once. He’s been holding himself back, and still he doesn’t go as far as to push inside her when he finally succumbs. Based on the sheer size of him and the girth he’s dealing with, I know he mentioned it being the end of things if he tried to go further than thrusting his cock between her legs.
I can understand his hesitance. It’s something few people understand, for you to feel freakish inside your own body. In danger of causing damage, even if there’s no intent to do so.
He finishes with a roar, and the two of them collapse, spent.
Which means this is my cue.
Ignoring the mixture of scents that are thick in the air and the damp patches all over the blankets, I step close enough for one tentacle to shake Aster’s shoulder.
“It’s time.”
Chapter 22
Aster
Every part of my body aches as I force myself to crawl over the blankets to Reva and coax her into swallowing down yet another potion. This one should hopefully be the last one of the night, and then we can all get some much-needed sleep. Ignoring the pain in my knees, I then pass the mug to Torin before continuing around the room, nudging Kit out of his doze to swallow a mouthful. I feel like I’ve aged thirty years when I get to my feet, fighting a wave of discomfort as I wrap a spare blanket around my bottom half as I make my way over to Finch, gesturing for him to take a sip too.
He might not have been involved tonight, but he was still here, and that matters. I don’t want any minor oversight to ruin the entire thing.
Once he hands me back the mug with a raised eyebrow, but no complaint, I take my own healthy swig and clear my raw throat.
“It’s time.” I sound like I’ve swallowed a bunch of razor blades and feel like it too.
Everyone stirs slowly. We’re all exhausted, hollowed out husks of the people we were a few hours ago. When I last staggered out of here to fetch the final potion, there was bright moonlight pouring through the nearest window, and all sounds from last night’s party had gone quiet. It must be deep into thenight by now. Which means we were building up to this next part for hours.
No wonder I feel wrung out.
It’s been both one of the strangest and the best nights of my life. So much so, there’s an oddly dreamlike quality to it. Knowing my luck, I’ll wake up any moment to discover none of it has been real with the whimpers of my neighbours in the basement and the skittering of rats to keep me company.
My breathing quickens, and I take a deep breath, letting the air in the room fill my lungs. Surely no dream would smell like this. Swallowing hard, I wince at how much I’ve butchered my throat from moaning and groaning all night long.
The pain is good. Grounding.
I’m really here, and we’re really doing this.
“What’s next?” Kit asks, rubbing his eyes. His hair is a floppy mess, curls drooping around his ears.
“We need to form a circle around Reva and her skin and each of us needs one hand on each of them. Do not break the circle,” I say, listening carefully as Reva translates from my native language. There’s no way I’m risking mistranslations at this point.
“Then I’ll draw out the magic and it should surge into each of us. We then collectively push it into the skin and into Reva at the same time.”
Torin narrows his eyes at me once Reva’s finished translating. “It won’t hurt her, will it?”
Reva scoffs, tossing her hair back as she nudges him in the shoulder. “I’m already hurting,” she replies.
“Fine,” he huffs, his eyes now focused entirely on her. “It won’t do permanent damage, then?”
“I don’t care if it does. I need us to try this.”
“A little too late for second thoughts, Tor,” Kit adds.
“Not really,” he replies. “We could all just go to sleep and let the magic dissipate.” He spares me a glance before his focus returns to Reva, as though his eyes are caught on a string. “Couldn’t we?”
“We’re not wasting this opportunity,” Reva says. “Please, Torin?”
“Fine,” he huffs.
