I closed my eyes. “It's not real. It's not real.”
“Shh, it's all right, little spark,” Rath's voice came from behind me, and his hands slipped over my shoulders.
“Rath?” I spun to find the treasure gone and Rath standing there. “Rath! Thank the Goddess, you found me!” I hugged him.
“Always.” He nestled his face into my hair, then kissed my neck. “I will always find you. We are bound. I followed that cord to you.”
Xaedren appeared behind me and wrapped his hands around my waist. As he pressed his aroused body against mine, the room transformed into an opulent paradise with a floor covered in silken rugs and thick mattresses large enough for several people to sprawl upon. Pillows spilled from the mattresses onto the rugs, and the sweet scent of roses wafted through the air. Roses and the musk of my men.
It felt completely natural to let them undress me, to turn my lips from one man to the other. Then we were on one of those plush pallets, our bodies writhing together. Their kisses cooled my hot skin while exciting me. Xae's oiled cock slid into me, and I cried out into Rath's mouth. My Ladrin lover started a steady pace, pumping deeper with every thrust, giving me pleasure so great it blinded my reason. Then Xae held me tightly and fell onto his back so that I sprawled over him. Rath followed us down, going between our legs to nuzzle my shaft. Locking his beautiful stare with mine, Rath sucked me into his mouth. Surrounded by ecstasy, I moaned and rolled my head, my stare coasting over the room in a daze. Something tickled my mind, telling me this wasn't right.
Then I saw him.
The Corrupter stepped out from behind a hanging length of silk. He was naked and glorious, his slender body a perfect complement to the muscular men holding me. The Corrupter's fair skin was blushed pink and highlighted with gold, his hair flowed around him like a cloak, and his cock was thick and long. So unexpected on a slim man. He looked delicate, something too beautiful to touch. But then he held out his arms and several naked humans appeared. His Corrupted. They surrounded him, stroking his long hair, his lean thighs, his trim arms, and his face adoringly. A woman knelt before him and eagerly took his hard shaft into her mouth. But he didn't look at her. He didn't look at any of them. The Corrupter stared at me.
With one of my lovers pumping into me and the other going down on me, the Corrupter watched intensely, his hands going to the humans around him, drawing them in closer, stroking them as they stroked him. And yet, that searing stare remained locked on mine. Then the Corrupter pushed the woman away, and she got to her knees before him. But he didn't want that. He shoved her away again, and a man replaced her, going to all-fours, then lowering his head to the floor while he lifted his ass in the air.
Going to his knees, the Corrupter continued to watch me writhe as I got fucked. He wasn't smiling, but I could feel his pleasure in seeing me this way. White teeth flashed as he bit his lower lip, then he grabbed the man's hip with one hand and used the other to guide himself in. The man cried out, then moaned as the Corrupter slipped in and out of him. At the height of each thrust, the Corrupter slammed their bodies together, making the man shake.
“Ember,” Rath said, tearing my gaze away from the Corrupter. “I need you.”
“I need you too.”
Rath grinned wickedly as he set his slick shaft against my hole. A hole that was already full of Xaedren's cock.
“Wait!” I cried out.
But it was too late. Rath shoved himself into me, alongside Xae. Shockingly, it wasn't painful. I felt nothing but immense pleasure as my men rocked inside me together. Their hands adored me, running over my sides, my chest, and my face. Just as the Corrupter's lovers did to him.
I looked over to see the Corrupter baring his teeth as he wildly fucked his partner. The man was making happy mewling sounds and the other humans still stroked and kissed the Corrupter's body, getting as much of him as they could. He absently turned his face to kiss a woman, but he still kept that icy stare locked on me.
“Oh, fuck,” I moaned as my cock got massaged between my belly and Rath's. “Oh, fuck.” I couldn't look away from the Corrupter, his glorious hair billowing around him and his eyes burning. “Oh, fuck!” My whole body locked up as I came on my belly.
Rath kissed me, and I faded into the pleasure. My last sight before I passed out was of the Corrupter coming, his hips locked against the man's ass and his head thrown back on a ragged cry. It was beautiful, arousing, and horrifying all at once.
Chapter Forty-Nine
I woke up in a corridor the next morning. With consciousness came sanity. It had all been an illusion.
“That would explain why taking two dicks at once in my tiny hole didn't hurt,” I muttered. “Neverhappening in real life. I don't care how cute Rath looks when he pouts.”
Then I remembered the Corrupter and another dose of reality hit. It wasn't just him working against me. Whatever that entity was, be it a god or just the Death Magic tricking me, it had a goal, and it wasn't to merely get me to accept it. It wanted what the Corrupter wanted. And that was more than me switching sides. They wanted me to fall in love. To accept them both into my body and heart. To magnify the Corrupter's power and bring the Emperor to his knees.
Well, fuck that.
“It's time to leave,” I growled as I strode down the hallway.
I had held back because I was scared and the Corrupter had convinced me that I was trapped. But I didn't believe all the other shit he spouted, so why should I believe what he said about my imprisonment? If I killed him, his magic would wink out, freeing me and the entire world. The problem was, I didn't have a huge sword to behead him with, and even if I had, I was absolute shit at swordplay. But there might be another way of killing the Corrupter.
With my father's words ringing in my mind, I went back to my bedroom and prepared. He'd be coming for me soon. As he did every morning. And this time, he'd find more than he expected.
I stood before the bedroom door, body relaxed and magic at the ready. When I heard footsteps, I summoned Spirit to my hands. I had used the other four elements against the Corrupter before, and they only stunned him. This time, I was trying something new. If Spirit Magic could blast the corruption out of the Corrupted, why wouldn't it work for the ultimate corrupted one? I didn't believe that the Corrupter—Aranren—had always been evil. The Emperor wouldn't have been his friend if that were true. Which meant that he'd been corrupted by Death. The only thing worrying me was the memory of the Corrupter deflecting Rath's Spirit Magic. But my Spirit Magic was more powerful than his, and I had the most important element on my side—the element of surprise.
I would kill the Corrupter by freeing Aranren.
“Ember,” the Corrupter called as he opened the door. “Time to . . . what the fuck?”
I sent my Spirit Magic forth. It felt similar to when I had shared myself with Rath and Xae. As if a part of me was leaving my body. Just as it had the time I had empowered Xaedren, a spirit version of me separated from my body. Unlike that time, the spirit-me wasn't white, it was dark. My wraith. I had used it to free corrupted humans, so I was comfortable wielding it. Comfortable enough to put even more power into it. Hopefully, it would be enough.
