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The water in the tub was churning like a sea during a storm, mirroring the storm brewing inside her. The feeling kept climbing higher and higher.
“Gods, you are incredible. Are you going to come for me, little witch? Let me feel you clench around my fingers.”
With those words, Etain came crashing over the edge and cried out Ciaran’s name. He slowed his fingers and let her ride out her pleasure.
When she finally came down, he wrapped his arms around her. They laid like that in the tub until the water started to grow cold. He picked her up and dried her off, then carried her to bed. Etain had never felt this languid in her entire life. The fear of the Lunar Ball long forgotten as she drifted off to sleep in Ciaran’s arms.
Twenty Two
Ciaranawokejustbeforefirst night and couldn’t help letting his hands roam his little witch’s body. She had been magnificent last night in the bath. He had never seen her look more beautiful than when she fell apart on his hand. Thinking about it was making him grow hard, but before he could get any wild ideas, his little witch opened her eyes and smiled sleepily at him.
He could have sworn time stopped for a moment and a little buzz of something rattled around in his chest. He knew he would burn the realm down for this woman, and he was not sure he cared anymore if it was the work of the Many Faced Goddess. He did not think he could go back to his life before his little witch arrived. It was like he had been living without truly seeing color, and then she came and painted his world with vibrancy.
He wished they could stay locked up in his bedchambers all day and continue what they had started last night. He wanted to become intimately acquainted with every inch of her body.
“Good morning, my prince,” she said in a voice still heavy with sleep.
“It’s almost first night, little witch, and as much as I would prefer to spend the day being educated on this delicious body, we unfortunately have much to do before the Lunar Ball this night.” He kissed her gently on the forehead as a flush overtook her cheeks at his words.
When she turned to roll out of bed, he grabbed her and pulled her back into him as she let out a peel of laughter; it was a sound he would do anything to hear over and over again. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. He could get used to waking up like this every night for eternity.
He broke the kiss, then pressed his nose to hers. “You are horribly distracting, little witch. Now quit loitering and get ready to meet Kes and Anin.”
Etain just laughed as she got out of the bed. She realized she was naked and tried to pull the sheet to wrap around herself, but Ciaran was nothing if not wicked and held on tight to it.
“Really? You brute!” she said to him with no real venom behind her words. He grinned at her and enjoyed the view. She turned and walked towards the bathing room, her hips swaying with each step; she knew he was watching.
While Etain was using the facilities, Ciaran dressed himself and found a random dagger in his trouser’s pocket. Etain had not been over exaggerating when she said there was a small arsenal shoved randomly around his chambers. Perhaps he should rework the spell to account for organization after all. He figured his little witch was here to stay; there was no way he was letting her go. He did not think she wished to leave either, and she would likely have demands on the way their chambers were arranged.
Ciaran paused, was he really becoming so domesticated? He found he did not care as long as it was with her. Perhaps it would be good practice for her to create the spell to her liking, once she had some time to learn her magic and power. He was intrigued to see what she would be capable of doing with that vault of power he could feel residing within her. If she were the key to breaking the curse after all, they would be an unstoppable force.
Etain emerged dressed in a simple dark green gown, which appeared to be her color of choice, and Ciaran was dressed in his traditional black. When they were ready for the day, he ported them to his study where Kes and Anin were waiting. They had already arranged everything on the table in preparation for the blood oath. It looked as though the final thing was to write the agreement on the spelled parchment, and then they could begin. The whole thing would take a few minutes. Ciaran went ahead and requested breakfast be delivered in an hour.
“Good morning!” his little witch said cheerily to Anin and Kes. He was growing rather fond of her silly little human sayings.
Kes and Anin smiled and looked unsure of how they were supposed to respond.
“Shall we get this out of the way?” Ciaran asked the room.
They all congregated around the table, and Ciaran pulled out a seat for Etain and sat next to her.
“Since you have never seen a blood oath performed, I thought you might like it if I explained the ceremony as it happens.”
She looked up into his eyes and smiled. “I would like that very much, prince.”
He explained the herbs burning were necessary to allow their magics to merge. The smell of them began to permeate the room and make everything feel just a bit hazy. He didn’t need to be this close to explain the steps of the blood oath, though he thought he might have a little fun with his witch. He placed his hand casually on her knee under the table as Kes and Anin in turn wrote out the specific agreements of the blood oath.
Ciaran leaned in close to Etain and whispered in her ear the need to write the oath on parchment with a binding spell made specifically for a blood oath. He also told her how the words needed to be excessively specific or the oath could be too broad and get one or both parties in trouble later.
“We wouldn’t want that would we, little witch?” he asked as he slowly drifted his hand up her thigh.
Etain’s eyes shot to Ciaran’s and widened, but she kept her face neutral. This spurred him on to see how far he could go until he got a reaction out of her. He grazed his lips down to her neck and gently nipped at her while he explained the dagger used was based on the power level of the fae entering the blood oath. Since they were both of unusually high power, the oath required a blade of obsidian since it was the strongest known conduit of power. If they used a blade of weaker strength, one or both of them could easily break the oath.
Etain’s breathing was starting to become faster, and that glorious flush was beginning to deepen to a near crimson. Ciaran continued to slowly creep his hand further up her thigh as they watched the two slice their palms, one after the other, with the obsidian blade. Then, they entwined the fingers of their hands which had been cut and squeezed them together above the small goblet creating a stream of blood that slowly filled the vessel.
Ciaran did not miss how the two locked eyes the whole time their hands were entwined. There was definitely a tension building in the room that seemed to be affecting everyone.
Ciaran slowly brushed Etain’s dark blood-red hair off her shoulder and continued nipping down to the crook of her neck. In between nips, he explained how a second set of herbs are added to the blood to mix their blood and powers together in the chalice. They both watched as first Anin, and then Kes, drank from the goblet.
