That finally does it. She clenches around me again, spasming from forced bliss, and I push deep, releasing my venom and forcing in my thorns as my cum floods her insides. But that’s notenough. I dive in with the thinnest, smallest shadows, and push my sperm in, deeper and deeper, past her cervix, right into her womb, and further, to the egg sedately rolling closer.
My seed finds home inside it. It’s done. I pull away, shaking all over, because I have just sealed my fate. For a moment, I want to howl from fury.
Will it be worth it, to live and win, if she’ll never love me again after this?
But I am not alone. Chors, Nyja, and the endless souls roaming Nawie, so many bieses in Slawa, the nawkas who play in my halls—all of them will suffer when Perun’s plan comes to fruition. The world will end. Nothing will be left.
And so, I must suffer in solitude, and Jaga must suffer, too—so others can survive and thrive.
I roll us, and she’s drowsy, caressing my arm with a soft, fleeting touch. I can’t stand to look at her, the same way I couldn’t back then, when I first tried to breed her. So I hold her close and choke on my withheld pleas for forgiveness.
The claim won’t be valid until the egg nestles in her womb and starts growing into a baby. It will take a day or two, maybe longer, and even though I’d love to rush it, I know I shouldn’t. There’s only so much tampering I can do, and too much will spoil it all. She’ll miscarry without ever knowing she was pregnant.
I consider sedating her so there’s no risk of her finding out somehow. But I’ve already done enough. I want to be selfish now. I want a few hours of bliss with Jaga who isn’t afraid to admit she loves me.
She hums in my arms, not yet asleep, but so very well and sated. “What are you thinking?” I ask softly.
She laughs under her breath, pleased and satisfied, a woman well fucked. Oh, if I could, I’d never let her find out what I did.
“I’m thinking about this bond between us,” she says dreamily, clutching me closer. “You know, I talked to Strzybog about it. He told me the strangest things.”
A shiver of unease crawls down my spine. “What did he say? He likes to play pranks, you know. Never serious is our Strzybog.”
“Mmm, of course. I didn’t believe him at first, but then I thought I’d see if it worked. He said the bonds are so rare because they allow people to glimpse each other’s thoughts without permission, without the other person even knowing. You looked at my dreams sometimes, didn’t you? You shouldn’t have. It gave you away and made me curious.”
My throat tightens with foreboding, and I know without knowing. I send my shadows inside her to check, fear gripping my spine like a vise. There is no trace of the fertilized egg. I search for it, frantic and terrified, our baby, my baby, gone before it even began.
“Jaga…” I begin, panicking, because what can I say? No apology will ever be enough for this. She’s bested me, like she always does. I failed.
“I’m not angry,” she says evenly. “I saw how hard it was for you. You are noble at your core, which was surprising. Ready to sacrifice yourself for others. But I am selfish, Woland. More selfish than you. I don’t want to save the world.”
I attack her with my magic, trying to force her to sleep. I’m still inside her, my seed untouched, and I only need another egg and some time, and she will be mine.
But Jaga bats my magic away with ease, putting up impenetrable shields and barriers. The bond between us withers and melts away to nothing. I reach for her with all my might, choking her to deprive her of air so she’ll grow distracted and let me in, but she’s survived without air for a long time before, and she doesn’t panic.
We writhe, still joined together, and if someone watched us from afar, it might look like angry, passionate fucking, but we’re not. This is a fight for survival.
And she wins.
Jaga lets her soul unfurl, so much larger than the last time I saw it, menacing and enormous. It’s like a tent above us, and she sends the glowing, red tentacles of it my way, wrapping around my throat, my wrists, my legs. She ties me up, not letting my magic come out to attack her again.
So I have my answer, then. She’s so much stronger than me. Maybe as strong as Perun.
“You… Should… Fight him,” I choke out.
“Oh, I will. I refuse to let my fate be determined by prophesies. I’ve already escaped fate once, and I will do my best to win this war so I can be free.”
I want to point out that she only got to go into the past and save herselfbecauseof a prophecy, but her soul is wrapped so tightly around my throat, I can’t speak. She straddles me, pushing me to my back, and watches me cooly.
“Oh, Woland. It’s such a pity, but we never could have been. You are good deep inside. I don’t need a good, self-sacrificing man. I need a bad man who will put me above all else.”
She hums thoughtfully, seeming sad and resigned, then shakes her head with a small smile.
“You know, I don’t even hate you. We’ve already done this before, haven’t we? Why don’t you come up with new tricks, devil boy? Try to surprise me next time. Try something new.”
Even if I could speak, I wouldn’t know what to say. It’s humiliating, but maybe I wanted to be caught in my heart of hearts. Because now, as I lie in the grass, still inside my girl who’ll never touch me again after this, the strongest feeling swelling in my chest is relief—relief that I didn’t manage to hurt her. On its wings flies pride.
I am so fucking proud of her for thwarting me. Such a strong goddess. Pure perfection.
