“In this case, the Door is telling you that you’ll need to raise sexual energy to feed the magic,” the Sorceress says.
I feel a shiver run down my spine.
“You mean I’ll actually have to…have to let Valen’s Drake…”
“No, my dear!” She gives a little laugh. “No, you do not need to give yourself to the Drake directly—it is enough to give yourself to your man.”
“But…but I can’t,” I protest.
“Why, certainly you can,” the Sorceress says breezily. “I generate magical power using sexual energy all the time. Why do you think I have three husbands?”
“I’m a virgin!” I blurt and feel my cheeks go hot again. “I mean, Valen and I…we’ve done things, I’ve never done before.” I shoot him a glance. “But we haven’t done that.”
“Irena is saving herself for a Royal wedding,” he says dryly and takes another sip of tea.
“Dear me, never?” The Lady of Thornmere gets a thoughtful look in her eyes. “Well then, it seems the magic demands a sacrifice of you. You must give up your virginity—in so doing, you should generate an enormous amount of magical power. Power which can be used to brew the Healing Draught.”
I bite my bottom lip so hard I swear I draw blood.
“What if I get pregnant?” I ask softly.
“That’s part of the sacrifice—the risk,” she answers calmly. “The greater the risk, the greater the reward. You should have magic to spare when this is said and done. Why, you’ll be able to brew a Draught that would bring back the dead!”
“What if she doesn’t want to?” Valen asks, surprising me. “What if she’s frightened? Isn’t there any other way?”
“Sorry, I’m afraid there isn’t.” The Lady of Thornmere shakes her head firmly. “The Door of Uncertainty showed her clearly what was needed.”
“What about pain?” he persists. “Can you use that to generate magic power? What if she tied me up and beat me?”
“What? I’m not going to beat you!” I exclaim, horrified.
He shrugs.
“I’m just trying to think of a way you can keep yourself intact, sweetheart. I know your virginity is important to you.”
“Which is exactly why it must be sacrificed,” the Sorceress says firmly. “In another, less serious case, pain might be substituted for pleasure, but I am afraid it wouldn’t be enough here. It’s not just the pleasure the magic needs—it’s the sacrifice of something important to Irena—and the risk that she might get pregnant.”
“Then…I’ll do it. If it’s the only way to brew the Draught—the only way to save my mother—I’ll do it,” I say. I shoot a glance at Valen. “If…if you’ll help me.”
“You know I will, Princess,” he says, frowning. “But I don’t like the idea of leaving you pregnant and alone after this is all over.”
“I’ll be fine,” I say quickly. “Right now, I just want to concentrate on brewing the Healing Draught.”
“A wise thought,” the Sorceress says. “It’s best to act as soon as you can after you have a vision. You can use my own power-raising suite if you wish.”
I frown.
“You have a whole set of rooms devoted to raising power by…”
“By having pleasure with my men? Yes, I do.” The Lady of Thornmere gives me a languid smile. “It is, as I said, my preferred method of raising power for my own magical spells.”
“So…we’re going to just…do it right now?” I ask again. I feel stunned at how fast things are moving. I look at Valen, who shrugs.
“Whenever you’re ready, Princess.”
Well, it’s not like we haven’t been intimate before. It’s just that…I feel so nervous to actually lose my virginity—mostly because of his size.
“It’s just…you’re so big!” I blurt out and then wish I could call the words back.
