A Prisoner's Desire Read online

  "Even if you don't ovulate at all," he promised.

  Braunnan held him against her chest, settling her mind on her love for him, doing her best to hide her fear, for though he had not said so, she was convinced they were hopelessly, helplessly lost.

  * * * * *

  The constant drip of the water was a torture he could not escape, like the smell of the mildewed stone walls of the tunnel and the damp that seeped into the core of his being.

  Worse was despair that seeped into his heart.

  He was lost. Hopelessly, helplessly lost. What was worse was that this time he was not lost alone. They sat, not speaking, with their backs against the stone, resting, for far too long this time. Braunnan's eyes had slipped closed. He could feel her exhaustion. She had trusted him to lead her through the tunnels safely. He had failed that trust. This was the third dead-end tunnel he'd led her down this shift. The tunnels all looked alike in the darkness, endless holes leading nowhere.

  The torch burned low, but still gave enough light to illuminate their pick handles, dripping with the gore of a dozen huge spiders, any one of them big enough to kill a man caught unawares.

  Cullaelon rested his head against his forearms. "I don't understand. No guards ever come down here. The shift crews won't come here. Yet someone has cleaned the tunnels. My marks are all gone."

  Braunnan grunted wordlessly as she stared off into the darkness. He tried to read her emotions, to judge how badly she rated his failure, but all he could feel was her careful concentration, like hitting a hard, unyielding wall that locked him out.

  "If not someone, then perhaps something," she replied at last.

  "What?" Her words pulled him back from the edge of the black abyss of his despair. "What something?"

  "It's here in the walls. Can you not feel it? I feel just as I do when we're about to break through in a shaft. Water has flowed through these tunnels. That's where your marks went. The water washed them away."

  She wasn't angry with him, nor even disappointed, which might have been worse. Where despair had defeated him, she was still thinking. But…"Water? How would water get in here?"

  Braunnan shook her head. "I'm not sure. From somewhere above, obviously. There is much about the outside world we cannot fathom. What if water is moved from one place to another in trenches, as we do with the water from the lake to irrigate the granary? Perhaps when there is excess it uses these tunnels to drain to a lower lake…perhaps these tunnels are where our own excess from our irrigation runs off."

  Cullaelon stared at her in the darkness for a moment longer. "You are a genius," he murmured as he stood at last, pulling his tunic up around his hips.

  Braunnan laughed as she jumped to her feet. "Are you crazy, Cullaelon? What are you doing?"

  He grinned at her over his shoulder. "Taking a piss."

  She laughed at that, really laughed for the first time in three shifts. "My profound scientific thinking inspired you to take a piss in the middle of our path?"

  "What do we know about water that cannot change, no matter where we are?"

  Braunnan looked away from his face to watch the golden stream blend with the trickle of water disappearing down the tunnel. She grasped his shoulder, shaking him as the excitement caught her. "It always runs downhill. Water always runs downhill. No matter how confusing these tunnels are to us, they were built with a purpose. If the purpose is drainage, for either our waste or the irrigation runoff, the water must go somewhere. We know it does not run into the lake. The lake water comes from the springs. So the drainage must run to the outside. The slope is gentle, but now that I know to look for it, I can feel it under my feet." Braunnan flung herself at him, nearly knocking him off of his feet. "I love you, madman! Piss your way right to the sunlight!"

  Cullaelon gathered her into his arms to kiss her properly. His tone turned serious. "I would do all in my power to share with you the gods' greatest gift. Walk with me into the sunlight."

  "I would follow you anywhere, Cullaelon," she whispered. "If you turned around now, if you knowingly chose to walk back into slavery, I would give up the dream to follow you."

  "We cannot," he chided. "For what are we without our dreams? We are the children of darkness, born to know only slavery. I want something better for our cubs. I want them to know freedom."

  Braunnan pulled away, and he thought for a moment that he had presumed too much, to lay claim to the cubs, to presume he had any rights over them, until she spun back to catch his hand. "Come along then. There's no time to waste. I think already our cubs grow restless for the feel of the sunlight!"

  * * * * *

  They staggered on, blindly trusting the downward slope, for at least another shift, though they had no way to gauge the time except by the ash of the burning rags wrapped around their torches. They spared the torches as much as possible, feeling their way along the long straight walls, saving the rags for emergency encounters with the tunnel spiders, though they seemed to have moved out of their territory at last.

  They stumbled now, neither leading nor following, callused fingertips worn smooth from tracing along the walls, leaning against each other for support. Braunnan shrieked out a warning, almost too late, and threw out her arm, grasping at Cullaelon as she rocked back toward solid footing. The tunnel floor ended abruptly under her feet, a darkened hole opening into more darkness. She dropped slowly to her knees at the edge of the nothingness, staring into the void, wondering how they would bridge this chasm.

  "I should have warned you," Cullaelon murmured, bending down to take her in his arms and help her back to her feet. "Look. We are at the end of the tunnels. It's just that the outside has shifts, as well. It is but sleep-shift here. The light will return."

  He stepped into the chasm, but he did not disappear. 'Twas but a short step down into the void ahead. Relief watered down her disappointment. "Of course. The Dark Ones sought to mimic the cycles of nature, to fool our bodies into being content below ground. Are we—do you think us safe here?"

  "We are safe." Cullaelon took her hand and led her out, a few steps away from the cold stone of the mountain. The ground under her feet felt carpeted with some vegetation, cool and soft to the touch. He nudged her chin, nipping at the soft folds of her throat when she tilted her head to grant him better access.

  "Cullaelon!" she gasped, suddenly distracted from his tender love bites. "Lights! Lights in the above! So many of them!"

  "Yes. Are they not beautiful?"

  "Aye," she agreed. She clutched at him as the above shifted. "It moves! Look! There are more lights. Two of them are so much larger! Is this indeed the work-shift about to begin?"

  But he was staring at her, not at the sky. "Those are lesser orbs. They are but a pale mimic of the sunlight. Still, the pale light that falls upon you reveals your beauty, as a precious gem glows among the debris. I can never repay the debt my heart owes to yours. Thank you for believing the words of a madman. I love you, Braunnan. I never thought to say those words to any woman. But 'tis true. I love you."

  She looked down from the glistening orbs to see their light reflected in the tears that pooled behind his eyelashes, almost threatening to overflow. "I love you, Cullaelon. Mate with me. It is time. I am ready. Make our cubs with me. I want our cubs conceived in freedom. I would know you as a free man, would know that you had the power to choose, and you chose me."

  Strong arms crushed her against his chest as he kissed her. "For me there is no choice. There is only you."

  * * * * *

  Nothing. She searched the dreaming, but she could find nothing. All that she could touch were beyond her reach.

  Perhaps they had found a way to lock her out of their dreaming. Perhaps the dreams were but a nightmare to those who could not believe in the truths she shared from her past. She was old. Older than their lifetimes by more years than they could fathom the existence of.

  Perhaps they no longer needed her.

  Perhaps there was no one. Perhaps there had never been
anyone. She had been locked away here so long, perhaps she was going insane. Tâkuri pulled her knees up against her chest on the narrow cot, indulging herself in a long overdue cry.

  He turned on the narrow bed, trying to find a more comfortable position to settle his body into. She moved with him in her sleep, instinctively curling against his side. He woke enough to run his fingers through her hair, smoothing it away from her face. She turned her cheek to press it against his hand, not really asleep after all.

  "Balthain?"

  "Who else would find you here, my love?"

  "I did not think I would see you again. I feared to search for you here, lest the Priestess find you."

  "I have searched the dreaming for you for days now. I was afraid the Élandra would prevent you from coming to me now that they know of your travels."

  "The Dark Priestesses do not understand how the dreaming works. They think that by keeping my body prisoner they can limit the travels of my mind. They do not understand that for me, the dreaming is more real than the time I spend awake."

  "I am pleased you were able to find me again, yet I long for more. I want to be able to hold you in my arms when I am awake. Wait for me, Tâkuri. Do not give up hope. We travel even now toward your prison. We will bring all the captives out of Élahandara. I am coming for you."

  "I have waited half of one of your lifetimes. Another few passes of the moon is not so long. Yet I am afraid. Your mission is too dangerous. If the Priestesses learn of your plan, they will kill you. So many things can go wrong. I would not have you harmed to save me from a fate I should have accepted long ago. 'Tis selfish of me to ask this of you."

  "If you were not part of the picture, still I would come," Balthain assured her. "When I followed Élandine to freedom many years ago, I vowed to come back for my parents as soon as I was able. Though I accepted their deaths long ago, such a vow is not lightly broken, and I am less of a man for having waited this long to fulfill my promise. My brethren are prisoners beside you. It is my duty, and my honor, to attempt to free them. That you are part of the package only raises the stakes."

  She snuggled tighter against him, her thin body shaking from a cold he could not drive away. "You are a good man, Balthain. Do not make light of your bravery. A child will make vows that a man cannot always live up to. You have spent your life learning the skills that will free us, and now you have assembled a party that may be capable of the task. The gods willing, we will be together in the daylight soon. For now we have the dreaming."

  He held her, then, content with the smell of her skin close at hand, knowing that as long as he held her thus, she would not fade away.

  Tomorrow's dawn would lead to the answers he needed.

  Tomorrow he would face the tunnels again.

  Epilogue

  Cullaelon raised his head to the breeze, sniffing softly, as if searching for something. He took her hand and led her across the strange, springy ground, toward some target only he could fathom. Braunnan followed, stepping cautiously as the ground gave way under her feet here and there, glanced back for only a moment as she followed him into the unknown.

  Freedom, she reminded herself. The world outside was meant to be their home. Their cubs would not be raised to serve as slaves.

  Their cubs would grow up with no home. No guarantee of finding food. No way to earn a living. Panic set in. "Cullaelon, I—"

  He turned and pulled her against his chest, strong arms surrounding her, warming her against the chill of the sleep-shift air. "We will not starve, my love. Our cubs will not starve. Trust me. Trust in us. We are strong enough to face this new world. Together."

  "But what if—"

  "No questions. Not this shift. We must not torture ourselves with questions we cannot yet answer. Leave the questions to the sunlight. We will find the answers together."

  She closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. She had asked him to trust her, to believe that she was not a Daemoness, to follow her back from the world of madness privation had led him to. Now he led her into the darkness with a promise of sunlight. "Lead on, my love. I will follow you."

  "'Tis not far," he comforted, running his hand over her hair. "A place I found, with fresh water and small, edible plants. A safe, comfortable place to lie till the end of this shift."

  A shiver ran up her spine. She knew what he meant. A secluded place where, if others were about, they would not be disturbed. Braunnan turned to tug at his hand, no longer afraid of the cool, springy ground. "Show me."

  Laughing, he broke into an easy lope beside her, leading her unerringly forward. The above shifted again, bringing the lesser orbs into full focus, allowing their light to show her the shadow of large waving plants that towered far above their heads. She might have been frightened at the immensity of it all, had not the heat consumed her. Freedom. They would mate in freedom. Her body was ready, she was sure of it.

  Water ran down a small leg of the mountain that thrust itself out into the flatness, pooling into a lake that blocked their path. The springy ground gave way to smooth sand, not unlike that which lined the bottom of her lake at home.

  No. Not at home. In the place where they had been held captive.

  Cullaelon led her straight towards the falling water, laughter trailing behind him as he rounded the lake's edge. He stopped near the water, bending to scoop up something from the ground and pop it into his mouth. "Taste this," he managed around whatever it was that he chewed. She opened her mouth to protest and he stuffed a small fragrant object between her lips. "They're safe. I promise."

  Juice flowed over her tongue as she bit down involuntarily. Sweet. Somehow she knew this taste. From the dreams? They had been gathering something from the wild in the dreams. She dropped to her knees beside him, gathering as many of the sweet things as her hands could hold.

  "Good?" he asked between mouthfuls.

  "Good," she agreed, stuffing herself as fast as she could. "Better than good."

  Cullaelon looked over at her and laughed. He pulled her close to lick at the juice that ran down her chin, then follow its stain back to her lips. She closed her eyes, forgetting the hunger of her stomach as another hunger took over.

  Then his hands were in her hair, and her hands were under his tunic and they were falling, falling atop the soft, sweet food, the scent of the plants wrapping around them as they devoured each other.

  Something was different. Something was—more. Stronger than she'd ever felt it before. She pulled and tugged at his tunic, her hunger insatiable as she reached for him. She could tell he felt it as well. Her tunic disappeared into the darkness. He pushed her down onto the soft, cushioning plants, his lips sucking now at her throat, her breasts, his hands sliding down her waist, then gripping her buttocks as he pressed his hot greedy shaft against her.

  "Yes!" she hissed. "Now. Take me now."

  He needed no further invitation. His cock plunged into her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, opening herself up fully to him. That, that was what she needed. The feel of his hot, burning cock coming home to her. "Yes!" she breathed. She bit at his neck as she raked her claws over his back. Her body changed so quickly she barely registered what was happening. Strong, powerful arms flipped her around so that she now lay beneath her lover.

  No. Stood. She stood on all four limbs, digging her claws into the earth as he held her, his teeth gripping her skin at the back of her neck, his powerful front feet clamped around her shoulders as he stood over her, his long, thick cock surging wildly in and out of her welcoming sheath. So familiar, yet so different. Her lover's arms, her lover's body, hot and heavy around her, demanding all that she had to give, and still she answered him with more. Her senses sharpened, focusing on the smell of him, the heavy musk of their mating. She owned him, owned him body and soul. Yes. Yes! This, this was what they had missed. She raised her head and screamed out a roar of thankfulness to the darkness.

  He answered her scream with a frenzy that threatened to knock her fro
m her feet as he pumped into her, driving his bursting cock into her with all the force of half-a-ton of momentum. Braunnan fought him now, fought to hold him within her, her muscles clamping down against his thrusting cock, claiming, demanding release. He screamed out his roar of triumph as she shattered around him. She was certain she heard laughter in that feral song of victory.

  The hot gush of his semen burst over her, searing its way down her virgin path, christening their new bodies with wave after wave of ecstasy as she milked him of all he could give her. More. She wanted more. She grasped him as tightly as her muscles would allow, until she felt his balls draw up against her, struggling to fulfill her body's command. Yes. She would take all he could give. She would conceive. She would bear his cubs. She would bear them here, in sunlight and freedom.

  The first light of shift washed over them as he collapsed, pulling her with him as he rolled to the ground. He snuffled anxiously near her ear, as if to make sure she was unharmed. She snuggled tightly against him, too contented to do more than absorb his warmth as they drifted off to sleep together, their thick shaggy coats more than ample protection against the cool breeze that blew off the water.

  There was something she wanted to tell him. Something she needed to say. Not that she knew how in this form. She snuffled at him instead as she buried her face in his fur. She blinked slowly in heavy lidded surprise as he snuffled back at her, his limbs already heavy with sleep where they wrapped around her.

  "I love you," his sated bear voice seemed to say. "We will be safe here. Trust me my love."

  * * * * *

  "Mommy! Look! Naked people have crushed all the strawberries!"

  "Evanya, come back here, child. How many times have I told you not to go running off like that? What are you thinking? You could get hurt. You could…"

  Braunnan stirred herself enough to raise her head toward the mother's voice, still too disheveled to organize her thoughts past shielding her eyes from the bright light of the sun.