Ch 57: The Visitor In The Night

Over the next couple of nights, Astasha had begun mastering her ability to draw out the fire within her, learning to harness it and manipulate it into many forms. They had tested its power as much as they could, but the main conclusion they had drawn was that it didn’t seem to affect most things. Helia insisted it would only do damage to that which carried the vein of darkness within, something that seemed to be more and more plausible the more they continued their trials.

Astasha had been secretly hoping that their delay in the cavern would have given Calder time to catch up to them had his plan been successful, but as the sun set on what they had decided should be their last day in the cave, that hope faded with the light.

Since she had sent her fire to him, she thought perhaps their connection would rekindle, but alas, it still felt distant, and the tether frailer by the day.

Tasha stood at the mouth of the rock formation and looked out into the dying light.

He wasn’t coming.

Something must have happened. She knew Calder would have done everything in his power to keep his word and meet her before she reached the stone, but there was no way for her to know what events had transpired after her departure.

She willed herself not to be overcome with the sudden finality of his absence, but tears still slipped down her cheeks as she contemplated what she faced alone. Not out of fear, she was beyond that now, but because she knew; there would be no happy reunion.

“You should rest.” Came Helia’s voice from behind her. “The sacred stone is several days journey and you will need your strength once we reach it.”

Astasha nodded once and turned to retreat into the cavern.

As they had done throughout their journey, the older fire witch stood watch while her companion slept, waking her halfway through the night to switch.

Tasha’s sleep had been restless, filled with a longing and pulling, desperately trying to drag her back to the palace, back to her Prince. She sat by the embers of the fire they had had, contemplating everything that had happened, everything that was to come.

The tugging on her heart continued, begging her to follow it. Why? Why was she now being drawn so vehemently towards what she knew she could never return to?

And then she felt it.

Something familiar and yet foreign trickled into her core, a feeling that wasn’t her own.

‘Tasha.’

His voice was soft and distant in her head, like a faded echo.

Was she dreaming?

She had to be. Helia hadn’t woken her yet. That was it. This was her mind feeding her desperate longing to see him, hear him, feel him.

She closed her eyes.

Wake up Astasha.

Opening them again, she was still by the fire.

No. It couldn’t be.

There was the tugging again. But as she focused on it, she realized, it wasn’t her heart that was pulling her, it was the tether around her wrist.

Her body seemed to move on its own, standing and slowly following the thread of magic as it lead her out of the cavern.

It could be a trap.

To hell with it.

If it was, so be it. It wasn’t just a desire to know, it was a need.

The darkness enveloped her as she wound her way through the rocks and large boulders, sensing more than seeing.

The emotions inside her grew, the bond strengthening.

The moon rose over the horizon and light spilt across the land.

Her feet moved quickly now, sweeping her along without thought or mind of where she was going. Her heart hammered in her chest.

She rounded a particularly large rock and stopped.

There, bathed in the light of the rising moon, was a figure on a horse. A man.

She didn’t need the light of day to know, she could feel him, feel the hum of their love reach the height of its vibration as they came into view of one another.

Calder.

Without a moment’s pause to even contemplate, she ran toward him. He leapt off his mount and did the same, and within a moment, they collided, their mouths frantically seeking one another, arms wrapped around each other.

There was an explosion of passion as the two lovers met, desperate to make up for the emptiness that had been inside them.

No words were said. There was no time for them amid the carnal need.

Astasha’s hands wound into his hair, as his found their way down her back, hooking under her thighs and lifting her, forcing her to wrap her legs around him.

Calder carried her backward until she felt her back against the boulder she had come around. His lips moved frantically down her neck, across her chest, and back up to her mouth.

A sigh escaped her as she clung to him, his hips holding her against the hard stone as his hands ran down her legs, pushing her dress up.

She felt him fumble with the laces on his trousers before throwing her head back in a moan as he guided himself into her.

The pure ecstasy of their union was almost tangible, the weeks apart fueling the waves of it as he slid in and out.

There was urgency in their lovemaking, and yet it was gentle and slow, like they were savoring each second, each feeling, each breath or gasp, yet impatient for more.

Tasha kissed her Prince fiercely as he moved against her. Breaking away, their eyes locked onto one another. The flames that would normally wrap around them, weren’t a separate entity this time. They themselves were the fire. Blue and amber billowed out from them, intertwined and consuming.

The burning in Cal’s eyes grew brighter as she felt his pleasure climb with her own.

She was lost in him, and him in her.

His movements began to quicken as her breathing became faster and heavier.

The sensations were overwhelming, their love and desire one and the same, and it rose to a pinnacle.

She could feel the dam begin to burst, and with one final thrust, warmth filled her from within and they both cried out as an explosion of light radiated around them, a shockwave starting inside, shooting out as they clung to each other, ripples of the most delicious sensation rolling over them like the warmest waves.

Neither let go as they held one another in the tightest embrace, riding out the last tremors of their passion.

There was no knowing how long they stayed like that, silent, Calder’s face buried in her neck, her fingers laced in his shaggy hair.

Finally the high began to settle and tears once again came to Astasha’s eyes, though this time for a very different reason.

He was there.

He was really there.

She breathed in the smell of him. Oh how she had missed that smell.

“I was beginning to think we were to truly be parted this time.” She whispered.

Cal pulled his head back to look at her. “I told you I would find you.” He wiped a tear from her cheek. “Did you doubt me that much?”

There was a shadow of a smile on his lips and Astasha couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh as she shook her head. “I could never doubt you. I only feared the will of others would keep you from being able to fulfill your word.”

He put his forehead to hers. “There is nothing that could keep me from fulfilling a promise I’ve made to you.” He moved so he could look her in the eye. “That is a promise.”

She truly did laugh this time, the first real one to come from her in longer than she could remember.

“Gods I missed that sound.” He said as he held his hand to her cheek.

“I missed you. All of you. Every second of the day and night.” If she was being honest, that was an understatement. She hadn’t just missed him, she had ached for him.

“As I you.” He kissed her gently. “I love you, my Tasha.”

She smiled at hearing those words again. “And I love you, my Prince.”

He smiled in return before taking a deep breath. “If I could, I would stay here and make love to you over and over all night, but my absence might give cause for panic. Besides, there’s something I want you to see.”

Astasha cocked her head. “You have my curiosity peaked.”

Raising an eyebrow he smirked at her. “You didn’t think it took me so long to join you for no reason did you?”


**Author’s Note:** *Hello Lovelies! Who’s excited to see our favorite lovebirds reunited at last?? I won’t lie, I’ve been missing writing for Calder, so I guess we have some catching up to do! Make sure to follow my social media page (https://www.facebook.com/WrittenByBCole) for updates on this and my other story, The Fallen! Love & Light Everyone!