Elven Surrender

Chapter Two

Adrenaline coursed through Silver along with horror and fear. Her heartbeat took up the chorus, thundering Run! Run! Run! with every thump against her chest.

She had to get away from the bar, away from the sorcerers. Somehow they’d known The Mark would appear tonight, that’s why they were circling like sharks, brushing against the witches.

If one of them managed to ensnare her— Instinct jerked her head around. Her feet began moving even before she saw one of the most powerful of the magi pushing his way through the crowd in order to get to her.

She had no chance of escaping even the weakest of sorcerers if she stayed in the club. None of the other witches would interfere or move to protect her once they knew she was marked, null, without magic, her place in the coven uncertain until her fate was resolved.

Silver ducked behind the bar. The fey bartender’s attention didn’t waver from his show of juggled, spinning bottles and poured liquor.

The use of magic for anything but emergencies was forbidden inside, but even a human male would be strong enough to corner and subdue her, to maneuver her past the boundaries of the club. For a marked witch, this place was a trap leading to only one destiny—becoming a sorcerer’s wife.

She got to the exit between bar and stage. Razor-sharp gazes bored into her back as she pushed through the door and into the warm, night air.

Silver ran. There was no point in trying to make it to her aunt’s house. Now that the magi knew which witch was marked, they would spread out, the weaker ones hoping to get lucky and intercept her when she tried to get to a place of safety.

As her legs pistoned and the air whooshed in and out of her lungs, Silver’s thoughts spun like a roulette wheel. Only instead of black or red slots, faces flashed through her mind, witches who would offer her sanctuary until the Turning Ceremony.

Frantically she tried to settle on a destination. But as she dodged first through alleys and deserted streets then through backyards planted for summer gardens, she realized there was no place of safety. The club was on the very edge of town, close to the border where long ago the elves drew a line and dared humans to encroach any further. To get to even the closest witch who might shelter her would require her to double back and traverse an obstacle course rich with mages.

Without her magic she couldn’t feel the tracking spells, but she knew they followed her, leaving a trail for the sorcerers who cast them. If she stopped she’d be caught. If she turned back she’d be caught.

Silver passed through a final backyard. In front of her, beyond a buffering strip of unclaimed land lay the thick, dark forest of the elves.

She’d trespassed in them before—more than once when the need for healing plants was great. But never at night.

Her lungs burned and her sides cramped as she pushed herself forward. Even to gain a blood witch as a bride, the sorcerers would think twice before following her into elven woods under a nearly full moon.

She’d be safe from the magi tonight, but from the elves… She had no choice. Daring a glance behind her and seeing movement, Silver plunged into the night-dark forest.

Tynan barely noticed anything in Wraith’s home beyond the carving of the woman. The wood was smooth and warm against his palms as he held it reverently, cupped in two hands though it extended beyond them several inches on each side.

He was amazed at the fine detail, at how the shadows and stains caused by age and exposure to the elements gave the impression of dark hair and lighter eyes. Wraith had captured her exquisite beauty, found and revealed it in the wood.

“Is it her?” Wraith asked.

“Yes.”

“I’ve been working on it for months. Driven to handle it even after long days of travel. I should have known what it meant. But even after I found the scroll setting a precedent for how we could claim our father’s title and position without bloodshed, I didn’t guess.”

Tynan traced the sensuous curve of the woman’s mouth with his thumb. He followed the elegant neck down to the swell of her breasts. He was rock hard just looking at the statuette, barely able to keep from taking himself in hand.

“My dreams are impossible to ignore and yet I didn’t consider that they might hold the answer until today,” he said, loath to return the carving but afraid he would embarrass himself if he continued to fondle it.

Reluctantly he handed the statuette back to Wraith. He took a moment to look around, hoping the distraction would ease the ache in his testicles and the throbbing of his fully engorged penis.

Wraith’s living room was warm, comfortable, a welcoming refuge from life in the elven enclaves—not what he would have expected of someone who guarded others for a living and was gone for long periods of time.

There were numerous chess sets around the room, each crafted with the same care as the woman revealed in wood. As Tynan studied them he contemplated how they would go about finding the unknown woman. Though he was sure he knew the answer, he asked anyway, “She’s not familiar to you?”

“No. Not even in my dreams. I uncovered her features only with each stroke of my carving knife.”

Tynan nodded, his gaze drawn back to the figurine. Consciously or unconsciously, Wraith’s thumb traced the same path his had taken—lips, neck, the slope of breasts—then lower, over hardened nipples.

A foreign hunger pulsed through Tynan’s cock. In a heartbeat his recurrent dream was expanded to include images of watching as the woman in it writhed in pleasure under Wraith’s hand, of being watched as she thrashed in orgasm in his care.

Whoever she was, she was destined for them. If their births had been orchestrated long ago by calculating women who desired power for themselves and their clans, then hers had been brought about by natural forces intent on restoring harmony to the southern borderlands. “I think she must be near,” he said.

Wraith nodded. “Given your dream and my carving, as well as us both being in this area at the same time, it would be reasonable to expect she is also close by.”

Like human sorcerers, elves rarely cast spells together, but as Tynan watched Wraith’s thumb glide over the smooth abdomen and reach the place where the un-carved wood kept the sweet secret of the woman’s mound hidden, he knew what had to be done. He was Earth Clan. Wraith was Wind Clan. If they joined in a summoning spell she wouldn’t be able to resist coming to them.

The wind knew no boundaries and would find her.

Stone and wood would yield to form a path for her to follow until she reached them.

Silver’s side ached and her face stung from the branches that clawed her as she fought her way through the thick elven woods. When she got to a tiny clearing she stopped and doubled over, fighting for breath and willing her heart to slow its frantic pace.

Behind her the forest slowly returned to its normal rhythm. The silence caused by her frenzied flight gave way to the call of night birds and the croaking of frogs.

Her fear faded under the soft glow of the moon. It didn’t subside completely, but the panicked horror dissipated and flowed away on a spring breeze. Silver opened her fist to look at The Mark.

It was in the form of a circle though it contained smooth sections as well as patterned ones. A rippling line made her think of water. A jagged one made her think of mountain ranges. A spiked section was repeated in the very center of the circle. It made her think of flames and she wondered if that’s why her palm had burned when The Mark appeared.

Why? Why me?

She spent only a second on the question because she already knew there was no answer. Witches, warlocks, sorcerers, nulls, even among themselves they couldn’t agree on what The Mark meant and why it appeared.

A noise in the woods brought her head up. Crackling leaves and rustling branches had her standing upright again.

Theodor hit her first, a second before she saw the feral yellow eyes. Wild boar, maybe, or a fey creature out for some fun, or perhaps even a sorcerer using the pig to hunt her.

She took a cautious step backward and the boar lowered its head. Even though it was almost completely shrouded in the darkness of the forest, its tusks gleamed yellow and wicked.

Silver continued backing away slowly. Surreptitiously she looked for an escape route. A shiver of surprise slid down her spine when the wind rustled, parting the dense undergrowth and revealing a path. She slipped onto it just as the boar’s massive head was captured in the moon glow of the small clearing.

Instinct shouted at her to hurry, to run. And she listened.

Wraith’s body tightened in anticipation. She’d been closer than either of them imagined. As soon as they’d cast their spell they’d known that instead of waiting days for her to come to them, she’d be there before even a single star faded from the sky.

He glanced at Tynan and saw the same tension and need written on his brother’s face. He wasn’t sure if they were feeding off each other’s desire in the same way their magic had been stronger when merged, or whether the reality of the woman’s existence had them both hard and anxious, hungry to make her theirs.

Tonight was fated. Wraith believed it deeply, totally. There was no other explanation. He and Tynan were meant to share this woman and in doing so, bring harmony and prosperity to the southern borderlands.

His cock throbbed as spell magic rippled past him on the breeze, arriving ahead of the female and opening the path for her even as the same path was being closed behind her. Beside him Tynan shifted position. Their shoulders touched in an unplanned gesture of unity just as undergrowth parted and tree branches bent to reveal her.

Exquisite. Enchanting. Wraith’s breath caught in his throat and remained lodged there until he saw her storm-colored eyes flash with fear. He reached for her at the same time Tynan did. He saw her intention to turn and flee and the horror in her face when she realized the woods had closed around her, trapping her.

“Forgive me for trespassing. I’m being chased and seek only to remain safe until the Turning Ceremony,” she said, holding her hands out in an instinctive gesture to ward off an attack.

Shock rippled through Wraith when he saw the mark on her hand. She was elfling—On the Cusp of Change. That she was here in these woods, afraid of them and speaking of the witches’ ceremony meant she’d been raised human and was unaware of her heritage, unaware of the elven magic building inside her until it could be triggered by a spell.

“We intend you no harm,”Tynan said, remaining still though he wanted to rush in and enfold her in his arms. Elfling. He needed no other proof she was created for the purpose of restoring harmony.

Matings between humans and elves were rare and half elf offspring were never knowingly left among humans. If a casual coupling resulted in a child, the newborn was stolen by their elf parent and raised in the enclaves until the mark appeared and the spell cast to trigger The Changing.

That the elfling in front of them thought she was human meant she was pure of affiliations and political aspirations despite the Fire Clan symbol in the center of the circular mark. She was On the Cusp of Change and would be wholly theirs once she became elf.

“You are safe with us,”Tynan said, unable to stop from taking a small step closer, from lifting his hand and pressing his palm against one of hers.

Heat streaked straight to his cock and made him gasp. It wasn’t the magic of the Fire Clan that caused his reaction, but the first touch of flesh to flesh.

“You are safe with us,” he repeated. “I’m Tynan Carved From Stone and this is my brother, Wraith In Shadows.”

His penis jerked when she wet her lips. His testicles pulled tight against his body when Wraith’s palm covered the elfling mark on her left one.

She trembled, just a little, as the last of her fear faded. “My name is Silver, Silver Delacroix.”

“Come inside. Take shelter and stay the night with us.”

“I’m not elf,” Silver said. She couldn’t imagine they’d mistake her for one and yet the way they were both looking at her and the offer of their names instead of a curse made her wonder.

A coil of heated need formed in her belly with Tynan’s quick smile. A wash of arousal escaped her slit when Wraith said, “Then come inside and pay the penalty for trespassing on elven lands. Tynan and I will make sure you find pleasure in the payment of it.”

As if afraid she might bolt, their hands slid to her wrists and encircled them, lightly restraining her even as they stepped forward. Their nearness was overwhelming, intoxicating to her senses. Elven beauty was unparalleled and these men were chiseled perfection.

Her thoughts swirled. Images of having them as lovers tumbled through her mind quicksilver-fast as desire coursed through her bloodstream, tightening her nipples and swelling her cunt lips in its wake. Disbelief rose to temper the heat of need. Elves might enjoy the lustful, nearly worshipful way humans looked at them, they might see it as their due, but she’d never known an elf to either invite or compel a human into their bed.

Her gaze dropped. Doubt fell away when she saw the thick, identical erections pressing against the front of their pants.

Even if she hadn’t been rendered null by The Mark, she was no match for them. They could easily enchant her with a spell. But as she stroked their cocks with her eyes and watched them grow fuller behind the concealing cloth, she knew they wouldn’t need to.

They offered security and safety. No sorcerer would find and claim her while she was with them. And beyond that, they were a living fantasy, a chance to have two lovers at the same time before she went through the Rite of New Beginnings and took a warlock husband.

She shivered, nervous and excited, feeling as if she were on a dangerous precipice, but unable to turn away from it. Their hands tightened subtly on her wrists.

“Don’t be afraid of us,”Tynan said, leaning in, sucking at her lips, coaxing her into opening her mouth for him and tangling his tongue sensuously with hers in gentle persuasiveness.

Silver moaned when his free hand cupped her breast. She arched into his touch like a cat begging to be stroked.

He answered her plea with a quick curve of his lips against hers, with a press and swirl of his palm against her hardened nipple, with a deepening of his kiss.

She almost cried out in pain when he abandoned her mouth and breast. But then Wraith was there.

His fingers tangled in her hair, forcing her head back. His mouth covered hers and his tongue breached the seal of her lips in a possessive taking—different from Tynan’s touch and yet just as enthralling.

She whimpered. Years of fantasizing about a dominant lover left her yielding, welcoming his touch as readily as she’d welcomed his brother’s.

Wraith plundered, claimed. He left no place in her mouth unexplored. He left no doubt in her mind as to how thoroughly he intended to fuck her.

His cock ground against the juncture of her thighs and sent bolts of fire through her clit. Her cunt clenched and released, clenched and released, soaking her panties in arousal and filling the night air with the scent of it.

They were both breathing hard when Wraith lifted his mouth, both flushed. His dark eyes glittered in the moonlight.

She glanced at Tynan and trembled when she saw the same intensity in his face. There was no thought to protest, no thought to do anything but surrender herself to their care when they ushered her into the cottage.

Without a word they led her through the living room and into the bedroom. Candles lit with a flick of Wraith’s fingers and a silent spell. A romantic glow spread across a huge bed resting on a platform only inches above the polished wooden floor.

Self-consciousness assailed Silver. She became aware of the sweat dried on her skin from her furious run to escape the magi. “I need to bathe,” she said. It came out little more than a whisper.

Another flick of Wraith’s fingers and light spread to a room adjacent to the one they were in. They released her wrists but followed her when she stepped into the bathing chamber.

For a long moment Silver could only stare at her surroundings in awe. So little was known about elves. They might mingle with humans but they didn’t share the details of their lives or culture.

Only magical beings intimately tied to nature could create a room like the one she was standing in. Steam rose from a sunken tub carved out of sparkling rock. Around it there was a garden of exotic plants and vines, each with delicate, colorful blossoms of breathtaking beauty.

“This is exquisite,”Tynan murmured, his voice holding the same awe she felt.

Silver turned away from the inviting tub in order to look at his face. Confusion must have been written on hers because he smiled and said, “This is Wraith’s private retreat. I’m seeing it for the first time also.”

Next to Tynan, Wraith stripped out of his shirt, drawing her attention to the smooth chest and well-defined muscles. She was mesmerized by the sight of his dusky, golden skin, unable to look away until Tynan shed his shirt as well.

They were a matched pair except for their eyes and manner, alluring and tantalizing, a fantasy no human could resist. Her breath caught in her throat when their hands went to the front closures of their trousers. Misgiving made her reach out and place her fingers on their wrists, halting them before they freed their cocks and filled her with a desire there’d be no turning away from.

She was suddenly afraid she’d continue to long for them after she married a warlock and settled in some remote location. Yet at the same time, she was equally afraid that if she turned her back on this chance to be with them, she’d forever regret it.

Tynan’s smile was tender as he captured her hand and brought it to his chest. His heart beat sure and steady against her palm. The heat and smoothness of his skin made her toes curl and her cunt clench.

“Trust us to care for you,” he said.

Wraith took her other hand. Instead of carrying it to his chest he pressed it against the hard ridge of his erection. “Trust us to pleasure you.”

Silver shivered. Her hesitation dissolved under a wave of hot need. She pulled her hands from theirs and began unbuttoning her shirt.