Blossom Fable

Chapter 28

Although I try to sleep aboard the airship to Miria, I instead suffer from a lightheadedness and an empty, aching feeling in my chest. I'm afraid of closing my eyes and opening them to find myself in a different part of the ship, pulled along by the brother god's strings. I experienced feverish symptoms before, but the discomfort comes to me on a new level, almost like I need to do everything I can to escape it.

Stroking Mist's head, I bolt upright and find Juno, Avery, and Princess asleep on the beds on the four corners of our cabin. I think about Nathaniel who told us he will wander the ship and try to approach other adventurers to devise a strategy to fight the brother god. Giving Mist one last stroke against his ears, I stand up and leave the cabin. My feet feel heavy against the wooden floor, like I can sink entirely through.

When I open the door to the underground deck, I expect the usual darkness broken up by a few lanterns. My eyes expand when I realize what awaits me.

A luscious bedroom stretches as far as my eye can see, holding dozens of beds that stretch farther than any king or queen size. Hundreds of skylights break apart the ceiling, letting in a warm afternoon sunlight. Colors like blue, gold, and silver frame the beds, breaking apart the curtains in patterns that have been weaved by a master, so intricate that it makes the artwork in the Vilia cathedrals seem like child's play.

The feverish symptoms disappear, replaced by a warmth that surrounds me, making me lethargic and comfortable.

I spend some time exploring the palace-like bedroom, squinting to make out the view on one side—glorious ocean—and the view on the other side, grassy mountains filled with blossoms in spring. I gasp too many times to count, running my hands over the silk fabric.

"Isn't it nice?"

I swivel around to find him. The brother god. A hint of fear lurches toward me, but it's eliminated by the wonder of his beauty. He's dressed only in a nightgown that hugs his frame, in a riverish color just like his eyes. His muscular yet slim body stands out, and he tilts his head at me, showing me his luscious platinum curls.

"You...."

"I brought you here," the brother god says, "because I wanted to show you just how much I could offer you. Just how much you could have if you leave your party and fully give yourself to me."

My breath catches when the afternoon sun begins to shift, turning darker. More amber and tantalizing. The brother god shifts closer, smiling gently at me. When I look down, I find that I'm dressed in a similar nightgown. He slowly puts his arms around me, peeling the garment off my shoulders.

"Why don't I show you what it really means to feel loved?" the brother god says.

He shifts off his clothing too. I can't stop staring at his proportions, his size and slimness in all the right places. I can't help myself, and I barely have to be touched before he pushes me toward the bed and I fall down willingly.

As he loves me and teases me, makes me writhe and scream out with pleasure, a little bit of question lingers in my mind. It's quickly eliminated by how amazing it feels to be given and to give, to make someone as lovely as this god also feel good. He smiles at me, sweating with pleasure. I grin back and make sure he knows that I have desires almost as deep as his. I can keep going. I can make the bed turn into a sacred oasis, where all I know is the pressure between and against our hips.

And then, a hint of remembrance echoes in me. An image of Juno.

I quickly shove against the brother god. He topples off of me, leaving me sweaty and covered in our wetness.

I bolt up and gape at what I have done, shivering when the brother god gives me a smile that stretches as wide as the sea. "Don't you like what we could have?" he says. "My sister gave you favor, but I could give you the whole world."