Rixavox continued to speak in Luxirian on the threshold.When she glanced up at him, feeling some of the pain leave her body, his eyes were closed, his brows furrowed, and he concentrated on ancient words that Cecelia felt in her very soul.The feeling that he brought to every single syllable, every purring rasp, brought tears to her eyes.
And she knew.She knew what he was saying, or rather, asking.Itwasa prayer, to the Fates, to his deities.
But it seemed more than that.
It seemed ritualistic.
Cecelia heard herself panting when he stopped, her breathing labored.Other than her harsh breaths, there was no other sound in theRillirax.But Rixavox seemed to be waiting for something, eyes still closed, his body completely still, as if waiting for the Fates to pass judgment on them.
And then it happened.
An energy, as hot as lightning, ravaged through her body, beginning from the very tips of her toes to the top of her head.She felt it everywhere, coursing, exploring, prodding.
“W-what’s happening?” she gasped out, clenching her fists tightly, fearing the energy would leak from her fingertips and that its power would be consuming.She didn’t feel the pain of whatever had been plaguing her body, whether it had been cancer or…something else.It was replaced by thisintensity, this probing magic.
Rixavox’s muscles were tight against her and she wondered if he felt it too.“The beginning of theravraxia.The Seeing,” he said, looking down at her.She jaw his jaw was tense, teeth gritted.“I will explain soon, but just hold on to it,luxiva.Let the Fates look inside you and then let them pass on.”
His words didn’t make sense and yet they did.She understood, in a primal part of herself, what he meant.She needed to be patient as this force, this energy was inside her.She needed to open herself tothem, to let them see what was inside her heart, her soul.
Cecelia gasped when they left, just as suddenly as they came.
And in their place was a warmth.The pain from before vanished completely and something else was building, building in its place.
Her eyelids fluttered shut, her lips parting.
“R-Rixavox?” she questioned, her voice ending on a slight whimper.
Instead of the stinging desire that began rising in her body, all Rixavox seemed to feel was a supreme relief.In a guttural voice, he said, “The Fates have blessed us,luxiva.We can begin now.”
Immediately, he strode into the familiar cavern of theRillirax, with its creeping silver vines and beckoning pool and humid warmth.With extreme care, he placed her on a small boulder next to the water and he undid the bundle of furs he had strapped to his back, shaking them out, before laying them on the ground.
Her body was taut, overcharged, like remnants of the Fates’ energy she’d felt still remained inside her,wouldalways remain.She rubbed her hands over her arms and gasped.Everything was sensitive.Overly sensitive.
“B-begin what?” she asked, a wave of soft, gentle pleasure rolling through her.
Rixavox gave a purring growl and when she looked at him, his eyes were squeezed shut.When he discarded his shirt, baring his chest, she saw his muscles were enlarged.His horns were completely straight.
He feels it too, she realized.
But he was fighting against it.She could see it in the rigid lines of his body.
His back hunched slightly and he gave a ragged pant, leaning one hand against the wall of the cavern.The same wave of desire racked her body hard too and her moan echoed around the cavern, nipples tingling under her thin tunic.
“A blood bond, female,” Rixavox rasped.When her half-lidded eyes found his gaze, his pupils were enlarged, darkened.Everything about him seemedbigger, larger.It was then she realized that she was seeing parts of his Instinct, that primal, animalistic force that he kept at bay.It was more apparent to her now.
“The Fates have taken away your pain, given you the gift of desire that will fuel theravraxia,” he explained, straightening from the wall when the wave passed.He approached her, sprawled across the top of the boulder.Even with his Instinct shining through, Rixavox’s eyes were soft as he looked at her and she almost choked on the emotion that welled up in her chest.“But they have only given us time, the illusion of health.”
“I don’t understand,” she whispered, leaning up towards him, needing to be close, to feel his skin on her own.
“Levrix was poisoning you,” he said.
Cecelia’s breath hitched.“What?”
“Withanglavix, a powerful and dangerous herb.This is not thehellixaxava, but something different.The poison still resides in you and we must cure it before—,” he stopped, swallowing hard, “before it takes you.”
“How?” she asked softly.
“A blood bond,” he replied.“My blood is strong.The Fates’ will aid their power during it, strengthening it further.Kirzalla and Privanax believe it will be enough to cure you, of both the poison and thehellixaxava.”
