Cradle of the Beginning

Arawn steadied himself against the wall, dialing back his desire slowly.
“Have I hurt you?” Arawn asked slowly.
“N-No.”
She just wasn’t ready. He jerked his head down in a stiff nod and said nothing.
Yet, he reminded himself. From the moment they met, he’d known it was always a matter of when not if. It seemed that meeting her had also always been a matter of when.
Sirona didn’t know what to do as he fell silent. She was a bit fearful that her plea would go unheeded, but Arawn wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. He trembled against her, taking deep, slow breaths as if he was trying to calm himself before pulling back and kissing her deeply.
He licked in her mouth and held her face still while he marauded her mouth, but he didn’t angle his hips closer or make any move to continue where he’d left off.
He pulled back with a grunt, “We should keep going.”
Her heart lurched, “I—”
“Get dressed first. I’ll meet you outside.”
“Are you upset?” Sirona asked, “I didn’t…”
He met her gaze. She saw no anger there, but there was desire. The hard line of his body pressed against her. He was hard. She wanted to look down, but before she could, he caught her chin on the edge of his hand.
“You’re fine,” he said. “Out of the pool, Sirona. Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
He backed away slowly as if he was prying himself away from her. Sirona worried her lip and got out of the pool without another word. He turned his back to her as she grabbed her clothes. She dressed quickly and hurried away from the pools into the much cooler air outside. Her heart was racing. Her legs were a bit weak, so she plopped down on a boulder and tried to pull herself together.
What had she just allowed to happen? Why had she liked it so much? Was he really not upset that she stopped them? Why had she stopped? She had been enjoying it, but there had been doubt and fear at the back of her mind. It was all moving so quickly.
She winced as she thought of her mother and everything she’d been taught growing up. He was right. Her mind was still too full of Anu’s tenants and rules. She was still so bound to being a duke’s daughter despite everything that had happened.
Gunning had likely been split up among the other nobles or taken over by the temple to fund its crusade across the continent.
She knew that the cult of Anu was full of hypocrisy, so why did it seem to still have so much of a grip on her?
“You’re thinking too loudly,” Arawn said as he came up behind her, sliding into his jacket. “I’m not upset.”
She looked like she didn’t believe him as she stared up at him. It was as honest as he could manage. He wasn’t the type of man to force any woman, and there was no sense in being upset. Whatever was going through Sirona’s mind just after she’d orgasmed was a passing thing.
She’d been enthralled and maybe a little overwhelmed by the pleasure. Admittedly, he hadn’t been as slow as he usually was in getting her in the mood, but it had seemed to suit her fine. Next time, he’d drive her insane with want until she was begging him to keep going.
It wouldn’t be hard. She’d already had a taste of what he could give her. He’d seen it in her eyes that she wanted more even if it scared her. He knew the power of pleasure.
Desire always won out in the end.
It was just a matter of time before she gave in and he was immortal. She was immortal. If it wasn’t today, it could be tomorrow or the day after. It made him no difference because she was willing if a bit hesitant.
He’d break her free of the tenants of Anu’s cult and she’d fall headfirst into the freedom and revelry of the southern continent’s culture. The fact that they had gotten so far was proof enough that she was already falling.
“Then… what are you?”
He smirked, “Hard beyond reason. Come on. We should still make it there before nightfall if we get going.”
She was curious, but she didn’t glance down at his crotch as he offered her his hand. He pulled her to her feet and led her down the path away from the entrance of the temple. She realized, as they left, that the writing that had been on the other temple wasn’t here in this
She could feel his power heaving and almost sizzling beneath his skin. He was, at the least, agitated, but she wasn’t afraid of him or what he would do. Arawn hadn’t lied to her yet about his feelings as far as she knew.
The longer they walked, the more relaxed she felt. Things would be fine. Maybe she was overthinking everything. Maybe it was a bit of guilt about the thoughts she’d had about Druid. It felt a little like she was punishing herself by stopping them.
She felt a bit of indignation at the back of her mind, but she couldn’t say exactly why.
Why not? The question drifted through her mind like a voice out of the void. She didn’t know what the question referred to but a part of her agreed.
“You’re still thinking too loud,” Arawn said. “How about you tell me about growing up in Gunning?”
“What’s there to say?” She asked, turning away from her thoughts. “It’s… all gone now.”
“That doesn’t mean you should forget it,” Arawn said. “Tell me about… the markets.”
She laughed, “The markets?”
He shrugged, “You can learn a lot about a place from its markets.”
She sighed, thinking back to Gunning and the main city’s markets. They were filled with food stores and laughing people. Children played some days, mostly when it was clear that the priests wouldn’t be surveying the duchy.
“They were peaceful most days. I don’t think there was ever a fight.”
The knights of Gunning patrolled the area frequently, but more than that, there had been no reason for people to steal. Her father had held generosity and stewardship as the main tenants of his rule for years. The poor knew that they could just come to the duke’s home and ask for food and blankets. Many people had been taken into the household as staff because of that.
“Not a single marketplace brawl?” Arawn chuckled, “What else?”
“We only had problems when the priests came,” she clenched her fist at her side. “So many people died.”
She smelled smoke as if she was standing in the square again and clenched her jaw.
“So many innocent people died because of their greed.”
Arawn turned back as he felt her power shifting and growing darker.
“You’ll avenge them.”
She looked up and met his gaze before nodding.
They walked through several old temples. Some of them seemed older than others and in more disrepair. Soon, they reached a grand archway that seemed to lead into a mountain. The energies around it seemed oddly subdued as if nothing lived there or everything that had once been alive about it was gone.
It reminded her a bit of the mountains of Conna.
“What mountain is this?”
“Berth doesn’t have a name for it. It’s invisible to them, settled in the space between the banks of the Tara River.”
She gasped and looked at him, “How is that possible?”
What exactly was the Tara River? Everything she’d ever known about it seemed to be a lie. The more she thought about it, was it possible that the cult made up everything just to keep people trapped on the continent with the tenants of Anu?
She could only imagine what would happen if any one of Conna had experienced a fraction of what she had while in Berth. It’d be chaos.
He grinned, “Another time. It’s called the Cradle of the Beginning. I was told once that it will remain dormant until the end of the age of deities.”
Though, he couldn’t remember exactly who told him that. It had only just resurfaced in his mind as they walked through the volcano. Maybe it had been Taran or someone farther back. He didn’t know, but it seemed important to tell Sirona this.
“What does that mean?” Sirona asked as they journeyed on. As they walked, Sirona felt a strange draw coming from beneath her feet.
“I have no idea,” he said, “But I’m sure it’s a long way off.”
“How long has it been here?”
“For as long as I can remember.”
She stopped as she looked up through the opening above them. The ground felt asleep, but not completely dormant. She felt something stirring beneath her feet and worried her lip before following Arawn through the passage.