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"How are you liking Kor so far?" Ambassador Mavin asked as she tucked in her chair. The vixen was an older grey fox with some white fur lining her muzzle and crow's feet.

Liolyn took a seat at the dining table with her. Mavin was treating her to lunch at a restaurant on Palace Avenue. The two sat on a mezzanine in the bipedals section of the restaurant. Liolyn told the vixen, "It is everything I wanted, but I've still been very surprised."

That was an understatement. It had been two days since Liolyn met her Finn, and still, despite not hearing from the dragon or seeing him, her whole world revolved around him. She had left her letter and had checked every visit for a response. None arrived. She worried her Finn had been caught, but if he had been caught and killed she felt she would sense it.

Mavin gave her a toothy smirk. "Isn't that the best outcome, dear?"

At that moment a waitress showed up. Mavin put in their orders for a local delicacy she wanted Liolyn to try, and the two were served water before the waitress departed.

Liolyn said, "I suppose it is."

"You do not seem convinced."

By the gryphon's best guess, she seemed cursed. Liolyn bounced her leg anxiously under the table until Mavin finally frowned.

"Has something happened, Liolyn?"

Liolyn actually did want to tell someone. She had no friends here to confide in. The person she talked to most was Lymon, and it was not exactly the wolf's job to be her confidant. Given the way dragons treated the Finn, it also scared her to bring this up with any of them.

Mavin reached across the table and offered a paw to hold. Liolyn took it before she blurted out, "I think someone has cast a spell on you."

Mavin squeezed her hand. "Are you certain?"

"I'm not? I..." Liolyn leaned in and whispered, "I feel like I'm going mad."

Mavin's whiskers twitched a moment before her expression hardened. "Whatever it is, magic used against you without your consent is a crime. Tell me what happened, dear."

Liolyn took a deep, steadying breath, and recounted her meeting with the Finn. She did not share everything--not the dream or the letters, but her unnatural obsession with him she did express.

By the end of it, Mavin had leaned back in her seat, arms folded and staring at her glass of water. The general din of the restaurant kept their conversation private. Eventually she said, "Well, I hardly think this is a case of love at first sight."

Liolyn took a drink of her water, throat dry after explaining everything. She said when she set the glass down, "Honestly I was scared you would think as much."

"Tsk," Mavin waved a paw dismissively, "The only people who fall in love that quickly are actors in tragedies. This clearly must be a spell--meant to discredit you, no doubt. Why else would the subject of your obsession be a Finn?"

Liolyn nodded, a little relieved to hear someone else say this. Yet at the same time...

She had to bite down a sudden surge of anger. As if Mavin called the Finn a passing fancy when he clearly was the love of her life--

"Is there anything we can do?" Liolyn snapped. She did not mean to, but the train of her thoughts were just so alarming.

"Don't worry, dear. I have been in this city for a long time. I know an expert in spell detection who is also discreet. A dragoness who lives in the Temple Step of the Stairway. She will not like us coming unannounced, but this is clearly causing you to suffer, so an appointment simply won't wait."

Shaking, fighting the urge to tell Mavin the last thing she wanted was this longing ripped from her, she said, "When can we go?"

"After we eat. Ah, and here comes our food. Don't worry, dear, we will figure this out."

***

"Have you been in the proximity of any dragons casting magic or interacted with any magical artifacts?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Any enemies who might wish to curse you."

"Not me specifically, but perhaps sabotage my position as ambassador?"

"Uh-huh, any relatives with a draconic ancestry?"

"Oh I wish I--" Liolyn stopped at the unamused red, orange, and black dragoness' look. "No ma'am," she said, cowed.

Liolyn sat with Mavin in a chair beside her, inside what looked like an operating room. Various tools and instruments for surgery were hung on one wall with a washbasin, disposal shoot, and dozens of magical artifacts on another wall. Overhead a domed sunroof cast light directly onto an operating table. The dragoness, named Lunara, sat on her haunches making notes on a pad with delicate strokes of an ink-soaked claw.

Lunara said, "Alright, up on the table. Let's examine you."

The table, a size for dragons, took some doing for Liolyn to hop up onto in her dress.

"Lie back in the center, if you feel a tingling in your spine that is normal."

"It is?" Liolyn said as she followed orders.

The bored dragoness said, "The table is enchanted to enhance any magical resonances in your body so it is easier to identify."

All creatures had magic but only the dragons had it in quantities to channel it without aid. Liolyn remained still as Lunara went around to the head of the table. She set her forepaws down next to the gryphon's head and set a claw to each temple. Taking a deep breath, the dragoness sent a jolt of magic into Liolyn's body that made her squeak.

"Remain still."

Liolyn took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Another jolt. Another. Then a long steady numbing sensation washing through her body, like a sleep paralysis that lasted just long enough for her to feel a little scared of being trapped in her body.

Then the dragoness let go and Liolyn lurched forward with a gasp. Her whole body was so flooded with exhaustion and grogginess that she almost missed when Lunara said, "Oh this is terrible."

"Terrible?" Mavis gasped.

"Yes, a terrible waste of my time."

Shaking out the cobwebs, Liolyn said, "Excuse me?"

Lunara went to where she had deposited her notes on the table and began writing on it again. "There are no spells cast on you," she said with her back turned on the other two.

"How..." a pit opened in the gryphon's stomach. "How can you be so sure?"

"I tested your body for any traces of magic outside of what it generates. It is like tossing a shout against a canyon wall and listening to the echo. Nothing blocked or dampened my tests, meaning there are no spells placed upon or affecting your person."

"But... but..."

With a flourish of a claw, Lunara sent the paper flapping across the room before a filing cabinet opened and the paper tucked itself inside. The dragoness then said to Liolyn, "All there is between you and this mystery dragon is a case of childish love at first sight. My recommendation is visit a brothel and grow up, or try to ask this dragon out to dinner."

"He is not exactly a dragon free to dine at any whim," Mavis snapped, rising to her feet. "Lunara, I have heard this girl's story and there is certainly something out of her control causing her suffering. It jeopardizes her position, the reputation of the Crown, and her livelihood should the truth come out."

Lunara looked from the vixen to the gryphon, then her eyes narrowed. "Now what dragon would hold such dangerous associations?"

"He's a Finn," Liolyn breathed.

"God's Lily I told you--"

"A Finn?" Lunara let out a barking laugh. "You're kidding! Hahaha, one of those pathetic--"

"You shut your mouth," Liolyn snarled, on her feet and hackles and tail feathers lifting with a sudden, feral rage. "Shut your mouth or I swear to Kenna I'll be wearing you as my new coat before the end of the day."

"Lady Liolyn Alabaster!"

Liolyn clapped a hand over her beak and looked at Mavis. The vixen had yelled her name, but now she was just as horrified and appalled as the gryphon was.

"Well," Lunara said, twirling a forepaw to open up the filing cabinet again and retrieve the parchment she just put away. "I think this is worth a second look."

Trembling, Liolyn slumped to her knees.

Mavis said, "You believe us now?"

"Certainly," Lunara said as she recorded what just happened on the parchment. "Lady Alabaster seems to be of sound mind, but that outburst would say she is anything but. We must run more tests."

Heart racing, panting, dizzy, Liolyn rolled onto her back without being told. Overhead she could swear the sunroof spun. "What is happening to me?" she groaned.

"I am not sure, but you have my word that we will get to the bottom of this," Lunara said gently. The dragoness' entire demeanor had changed, which only made it more biting how much she didn't believe the two bipedals at first. Lunara said as she started picking among the magical artifacts on the wall, "If there is no trace of the magic on your body, it must mean the spell is cast on your soul."

"Her soul?" Mavis gasped. "Can that be fixed?"

"Yes--not by me, though," Lunara said. "I can recommend some dragons with experience in the art, but they are amateurs at best. Knowledge of how magic is cast on a soul is considered forbidden, accessible only to the royal families. My contacts practice their trade with guesswork and luck." Lunara set down two orange crystals, arranged so they pointed at Liolyn's temples. "I would suggest the two of you, given your positions, simply entreat one of the royal houses to help you." A small, unassuming egg was placed on Liolyn's stomach before Lunara scratched her chin. "Although..."

Remaining very still so the egg did not roll off, Liolyn echoed, "Although?"

"It is likely the perpetrator is also royalty."

"But who? And when? Liolyn had barely seen Prince Sirtas before she met this Finn," Mavis asked, exasperated.

Lunara shrugged her wings. "Souls last much longer and can inhabit many corporeal forms. Who says it happened in Liolyn's lifetime?" The dragoness retrieved one last item: a very large axe whose haft was redwood and head was bleached bone. Lunara hefted this and said, "Now, Lady Alabaster, be very still. It is going to _seem_like I'm cleaving you in half, but so long as you don't move I _won't_cleave you in half."

The look Lunara gave Liolyn said there was absolutely no other way to go about this. She said, "I'll just shut my eyes and hold my breath."

A second later the gryphon heard a sharp inhale--the sound of the axe swung through the air--

Color. Jade. Amber. Blackest night. A searing flame lancing her skull.

No pain. Petrichor. Freshly inked vellum. Salt. His scent. Hers: coral hearts in bloom, spring rain, cinnamon.

A voice... a voice... whispering her name--a fullness--a yearning--

And claws descending, magical and real tearing her to shreds till darkness. But he joined her back together. Joined them. He--

Liolyn snapped awake, rolled over, and vomited her lunch over the side of the table.

"Lily!"

"Oh come now who is going to clean that up?" Lunara demanded while frantically getting a bucket under Liolyn's beak. She wretched into it again, stomach boiling with pain. A gentle paw rubbed her back while Mavis whispered, "There there, Lily..."

"Good you snapped out of it. You've been in a trance nearly an hour."

"Wh--hrk--" Liolyn raggedly swallowed some bile. "What happened?"

"I performed a ritual with a roc's egg and dragon bone so your consciousness might pass into your soul for a time. The fact that you spent so much time inside there definitely means something is going on."

Liolyn coughed into the bucket and wiped her beak. "And the crystals?"

"To help you remember the journey," Lunara said. "When you're ready, tell us what you saw."

Liolyn shook her head, confused and sore all over. The ache for the Finn was a chasm in her chest. It was like they had squeezed lemon and rubbed salt into a gaping wound. She could barely breathe around it. Liolyn clutched her chest without thinking and, rasping, said, "I saw little. A dragon I think--we were very close. I was... killed... and he joined us?"

"Ahhh, I see now. A soul bond, fascinating."

Mavis scowled. "But how could a Finn--"

"Finn's bodies are nonconductive to magic. It does not mean their souls cannot have magic placed on them."

"So I am bonded to this Finn?" Liolyn asked.

"From a past life," Lunara said. "There is no possible way this Finn cast the spell."

"So who did?" Mavis asked.

"Honestly, you bipedals can be thick. Isn't it obvious by now?"

***

Liolyn's meeting with Prince Gelvain happened that evening. It had meant to be at lunch, but Gelvain's mate had returned from leading skirmishes along the southern border, so the gryphon met dragon and dragoness over dinner. While the Princes left the palaces perhaps once a year, most of the Princesses and other family members came and went. Dragons tended to be homebodies while dragonesses engaged in more public facing lives--and those customs extended into the royal palace.

Both dragons could tell something wrong with the gryphon, but she did not dare bring up her affliction to either. Lunara had left Liolyn with a written testimony of her diagnosis, so Liolyn might take it to one of the royal families, but that testimony remained locked in her desk at her apartment. She did not know if she wanted to break this bond. For one, even considering it made her heave with a supernaturally imposed grief and nausea. But the gryphon also wanted to know who made the bond and why. How many lives had the soul she carried lived with this bond. And how many more would come?

After meeting with Prince Gelvain, Liolyn walked alone through the gardens. A half-moon lit her way as she trekked back to the pavilion she and the Finn first spoke. Things were quiet, even with the palace's magically milder temperatures, it still got chilly at night. Liolyn was hugging her coat tight when she came around the corner of a hedge into the plaza where Prince Sirtas did his morning cleansing.

And standing there, tucking something under the steps of the pavilion, was her Finn.

She froze, watching him wide-eyed. It was so dark he could have easily been mistaken for another dragon, but she knew in her gut it was him.

The Finn straightened up, then started and twisted around as if he sensed himself being watched.

The dragon went slack.

A heavy _thump_in her chest told her for certain it was him.

"Liolyn?"

She was running towards him at the sound of her name. She could not wait any longer, she needed to touch and hold him. They embraced. He hugged her to his broad, plated chest. Face buried in his shoulder, those scents she smelled in her vision came back to her. Quivering, she sighed.

"Liolyn," the Finn growled. "I thought it was just a dream--then I read your letter and--"

The gryphon pulled back to search his face. "You mean that night you came to my rooms wasn't--"

"I believe it was, but it was one we shared," the Finn said.

"So your name... it is Rothishel?"

Rothishel nodded and quivered against her. "Our mothers give us our name when we are young and we keep it secret until we have found the person we want to share it with."

That left Liolyn breathless to hear. Rothishel nudged his brow hers. Gryphon and dragon nuzzled each other's face in a loving exchange that left her giggling.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm just so happy!" she whispered, holding onto his horns now to keep him in place.

"I am, too. I... I know I should be terrified--but when I think about you Liolyn--"

"Lily," she urged.

"Lily... Lily when I think about you I don't care about anything else. And from the moment I saw you, you were all I thought about."

"Oh Rothishel," she squeezed her body against his again. "Is there anywhere you know we could go? A place to hide where no one would see us."

Rothishel glanced at the moon overhead as if to check the time. "I should be back in my quarters by now."

"Can I come with you?"

Rothishel recoiled at the thought.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Finns do not exactly have lavish accommodations. I share my rooms with my mother and sister. It would not be the privacy you hope for. Nor do they know about you--even if they've noticed a change in me."

"Others have noticed I have been acting strangely as well," Liolyn said ruefully.

"The other dragons don't notice because they simply don't notice us, but the other Finn of the House Cirrus are anxious about my apparent 'daydreaming.'" Rothishel glanced back to the marble tower that was his home, but Liolyn used a single claw to make him look again at her.

"And what do Finn's daydream about?" she asked with a soft, sultry smile.

"Being away from here. Flying with you over the ice and into the lands beyond Kor."

"What's stopping us?"

"Finn have tried to escape before--it does not end well for them. The royal families will place bounties to have our heads returned to the palace, more if we're alive so they can dole punishment out in front of our families."

Sickened, Liolyn said, "Ugh, I wish there was a way to keep them off your tail. If we just got out of Kor they'd have no means of tracking you. No one would know you were a Finn, and no one would be able to scry your location."

"What about you?"

Liolyn realized the impasse. Of course she could be tracked. By any number of dragons. And with Lunara and Mavin knowing her secret, it would only be a matter of time before the authorities learned she had escaped with Rothishel.

"Why?" she groaned. She burrowed into his shoulder. "I just want to be with you. Why is that so hard?"

A forepaw ran through her hair as he tried to soothe her. "I am just grateful my feelings do not go unanswered."

"There is a reason for that, you know," Liolyn said, but before she might say more they both heard footsteps. A dragon walking through the gardens. She cursed and asked, "Are you certain there is nowhere else we may go?"

"Not tonight, not without planning first. I might be able to arrange something for us. Had I known we would run into each other I would have--"

"It's fine," Liolyn whispered. "I will take solace in the letter you wrote. Don't get in trouble on my behalf again."

And when he turned to leave she saw the welts on his flank. Sirtas had been true to his word. They would likely scar. Her stomach curdled at the thought, followed by the same sudden rage she had directed at Lunara earlier that day. She wondered if those same uncontrollable urges overtook Rothishel--she had not even been able to tell him about their soul bond. A letter would have to do. It made for a poor way to reveal such life changing information, but for now letters were all they had.

She went to the pavilion after Rothishel left and reached under the steps. She found the letter there and tucked it into her coat before she heard a familiar voice call, "Lady Alabaster? Is that you taking an evening stroll?"

Liolyn squawked and spun around. Prince Sirtas' scales were nearly silver in the moonlight. The gryphon offered the customary bow before the dragon told her, "Come now, it is much too late in the day for courtesies."

Voice more stiff than she wanted it: "Do you normally walk the gardens this late?"

"When the spirit takes me," Prince Sirtas said as he approached her. "But what brings you here?"

Fortunately, Liolyn did have an alibi. "I was having dinner with Prince Gelvain."

"Ah, that old curmudgeon," Prince Sirtas came beside her. "Would you mind sharing my company this evening?"

Liolyn did mind. Something about the prince set her off--she could barely stand to look at the dragon. She was glad her coat hid the hackles rising along her nape and tail. Still, some sense of duty to her job forced her to say, "Of course not."

"Excellent, walk with me, will you?"

Liolyn had no choice, setting a quick stride to match the dragon's stroll. They turned back onto the main garden path, heading towards the bridge. Liolyn asked, "Walking into the city tonight?"

"No, I like to pace the perimeter of the palace. The view of the gardens becomes so static after a time." They reached the bridge and Prince Sirtas turned on a narrower path that ran the circumference of the palace practically floating over the icy crater below them. They both had a view of the glaciers cast in moonlight, and beyond that the tumbling mountainside that eventually went from boreal forests to sea. Below them they heard the wind howling in the crater. A strange, desolate sound when the palace and gardens always sprawled to their right.

Liolyn did not know what to say to the dragon. A week ago, the idea of a midnight walk with a prince would have enthralled her. But Rothishel's wounds still burned in her mind's eye.

"Have you met all the princes yet?"

"Gelvain was the last, your highness."

"I told you the formalities could be dropped. Sirtas is fine for tonight."

"A dangerous precedent to set with me, don't you think?"

His head shifted to look at her while they walked. "Why would it be?"

"If I get used to calling you Sirtas I might breach courtesy later on accident."

The dragon snorted. "You are far too smart to let a faux pas like that happen to you."

Sirtas said it like he would brook no argument on such a statement, which made her curious. "Do you think so highly of me?"

"I do," Sirtas said. "You are, by all accounts, a prodigy, Lady Alabaster."

"I thought it was too late for courtesies."

"Heh, you have me there. Liolyn, then?"

Definitely Liolyn and not Lily for him. "Yes," she said and hugged her coat tighter.

"Here," he stopped and his head swung next to hers. Sirtas was much larger than Rothishel. It was not that the royal family was bigger than other dragons, it was that the Finn were so small. Another reason escape was probably impossible for them. Sirtas' nostrils flared and smoke washed over Liolyn when he exhaled. A wave of warmth poured through her.

Liolyn realized he just cast a spell on her. "What is--"

"It is to keep you warm." Sirtas swept out a broad wing and ushered her along with it. "Come, can't be dawdling till dawn."

The warmth settled through her. It was like lounging in that perfect blend of spring sunlight that warmed but didn't overheat her. Heat--she did feel a heat somewhere else. That alarmed her. Was his scent always so strong? A smell of fresh varnish spread across pinewood, with just the hint of a drier musk.

"You know, I find you fascinating, Liolyn."

"You, uh, do?" A dampening between her thighs. It revolted her. This had to be some kind of spell he cast on her.

"Yes, again, your knowledge of and, well I think it's fair to say, obsession with dragons certainly intrigued me when we first met."

"I-it did?"

"Heh, indeed. I must admit I did some digging into your past. Not to find anything scandalous, mind you--just contacted your tutors in the Crown to get a better sense of you."

"If I may be blunt, your highness," Liolyn forced. "What are you getting at?"

"I believe you are too good to be true." The dragon circled around in front of her, blocking her path. "I asked myself, how could a beautiful young gryphon seem more dragon than biped? And yet, I found nothing, just the story of a brilliant young gryphon who seemed destined for this duty." He gave her a knowing smile. "What's wrong, you seem worked up?"

"What did you do to me?" Liolyn stepped back, and her heel bumped into the dragon's tail. It had curled around her to block her retreat.

"Nothing I'm sure you won't like. You have an appreciation of dragons, and, while my tastes aren't quite so selective, I have an appreciation for bipedals as well."

Hearing the prince just admit it stunned her.

"Frankly, I'm disappointed you aren't more excited. It is not every day--"

"You did not even ask." Liolyn tried to stand up to the dragon, but his scent was distractingly strong.

"Very well." He puffed another ring of smoke at her. It passed through her with a shiver down her spine. He had not released her from his current spell but cast another. "That was just insurance that you are honest with me."

Sirtas reared back and opened his wings, giving Liolyn a moonlit view of his body. Despite his life of luxury, Prince Sirtas' figure was lean and athletic, muscle clearly defined at the shoulders. He had a powerful, barrel chest and between his legs was--

Liolyn turned her head away even as her cunt throbbed at the sight of him.

"Ah-ah, look at me, Liolyn." The tip of his tail nudged her cheek to return his gaze. "Do you find me attractive?"

Her kneejerk response was a flat no. But she choked on the word.

"Tell me truthfully."

"Y... yes."

A fanged smile from the prince. "Then why fight this?"

"Because--" Liolyn clamped her beak shut. Immediately that suffocating sensation returned, as if not answering was strangling her. Eventually, fighting back tears and quaking, she gasped, "I love another."

Sirtas laughed at her. That deep, rolling sound like waves turning over stones on a rocky shore. He had fallen back on his forepaws, still chuckling, "Hehehe, oh, dear. I am not proposing marriage. I won't ask you to reveal the lucky dragon who has captured your heart, either. I can be merciful." And, like a cobra trapping a mouse, he wrapped around her, head lowering to whisper in her ear. "All I suggest is two friends enjoying an evening together. You surely have no other plans tomorrow, and what better way to get into a Prince's good graces? I'll owe you a favor even." As he spoke, Liolyn heard something slick gently spread, before one of those forepaws cupped her chin. She could fit perhaps two of his fingers in her beak, but she only needed to fit one. Sirtas had been fingering his slit. She could smell his strong, salty musk. Her head spun, and without being told to, she began sucking on the finger when he offered it. It rubbed firmly against her tongue, smearing his arousal over her taste buds while the digit pumped in and out of her mouth.

"Good girl," Sirtas breathed in her ear.

Liolyn moaned and felt her panties go from wet to drenched.

Whether it was the spell or her own preferences, he tasted so good. Bitter, salty, a dry masculine flavor that left her totally at his whims. The finger retreated, and in her dazed state, Liolyn whined without it.

"Heh, if you don't want to share my bed tonight then tell me."

A deep, raging part of her did want to tell this manipulating bastard to release her. But those parts had been smoothed over by the spell cast on her and Sirtas' seduction. Still, first she tried to choke out a No, but more strangling came from there. She did not want to die just to keep her honor, so Liolyn gave in.

"Yes," she whimpered. "Yes, please, take me, prince."

"I knew you would see it my way." He swept her into his forelegs like she was nothing more than a doll. Falling back on his haunches he unfurled his wings and said, "Tonight I am going to show you pleasure that can't be matched by anyone else."

Sirtas took to the air.

The sudden rush of wind did clear her head a little, but at this point it was not enough to stop what would happen. She tried to believe some good would come out of this. That Sirtas' trust was an opportunity to Rothishel. Defying the prince would only make any association with one of his Finns all the more suspicious.

They landed on the balcony. Still cradling Liolyn, Sirtas walked them into his suite. In the dark she did notice much more than the massive bed set a short walk from the curtains that led to the balcony. The large, oval bed was a structure in its own right, big enough to comfortably fit three dragons Prince Sirtas' size. Liolyn would literally need to climb onto it by herself, but Sirtas carried and deposited her near the bed's center. She still wore clothes, which now seemed much too hot to be in with the dragon's great weight and warmth over her.

Sirtas agreed, and sucked in a breath before flames poured out his maw. Fire washed across her body, but only burned her clothes away.

"You can have those back in the morning," he whispered before burrowing his snout into her navel. He took a deep breath of her and growled. It was a hungry, possessive sound that made Liolyn briefly wonder how long he lusted after her. She reached up and grabbed the base of his antlered horns, curling her smaller body into him. He responded by dragging her tongue across her front. The slimy, blood-red muscle was thick as her wrist and long as her forearm. It upended feathery fur, smashed down one of her breasts, and traced up to her shoulder. He exhaled across her throat, nipped her there with teeth that could tear her flesh open with the slightest misstep.

And her traitorous body burned for him. His every touch sharp though her senses. His scent everywhere. His weight. His warmth. She knew her lust began at magic, but the touch of a skilled, handsome male was what made it maddening. Made her give in.

Sirtas' forepaws raked down her sides, claws pricking her flesh enough to make her gasp. Soon as her beak opened, Sirtas' shoved his tongue inside it. She gagged as it pushed into her throat. The world became wet and black. Sirtas had opened his maw as if to bite her face, but only did so to shove more of that tongue into her body. Then a digit from Sirtas' forepaw brushed her sex. The gryphon sucked in a breath through her nares, barely getting it down around the wriggling muscle in her throat. Tongue dragged forward and back, made her have to swallow Sirtas' drool in the messiest kiss of her life. But something about that forceful dominance made her vent more receptive to the dragon's touch. One of those fingers forced itself inside her wet snatch, and tongue muffled her moan. She felt herself spill, a shuddering, small wave of pleasure washing from her core down and across his fingers. Not quite an orgasm but--

He shoved the digit to the knuckle. Liolyn's body rocked a little with the thrust. She ground back against his knuckle, and he curled his palm against her mound, flattening her labia and clitoral hood. In this position, he could pump his finger at his leisure, curl it up and... Liolyn grabbed fistfuls of lush silk sheets as his scaly digit rubbed her g-spot. The gryphon humped up into his palm reflexively, and doing so caused her clit to rub against him. A shock pleasure started pouring through, and she could not stop herself from humping more. Sirtas barely moved as she rolled back and forth, body trembling as each rock up and down rubbed her clit and g-spot at the same time. If Sirtas wanted to, he could have roughly claimed both, but he did not.

Instead he withdrew his maw, tongue slipping out from Liolyn's beak. He practically purred as he rumbled in her ear, "So easy... a single finger inside you and your humping me like a dragoness in heat."

She panted, but did not stop. A part of her felt humiliated, but if she could just get off she might be able to think straight. So she ground against his palm, and clamped on that finger curled inside her. And the fire raging from her loins to her belly grew. That tension and pleasure one long crescendo while Sirtas nuzzled into her throat. His tongue spilled from his mouth again, but this time it slipped down to her chest. The dexterous thing wrapped around her right breast. It squeezed the mound tight and pushed out her areola. Her stiff nipple pointed right towards his maw. He closed it around the breast and sucked, hard. Liolyn felt tongue lash against her tender bud while teeth circled her black areola. Sirtas' free forepaw fondled her other breast at the same time.

With her chest being stimulated, Liolyn's humping became all the more desperate and pronounced. Her body rocked and bucked in the dragon's powerful grip, the tension inside her finally, finally, snapping. She drove herself into orgasm. Her thighs and walls clamped tight around Sirtas' forepaw. She bent double around his head, but he did not release her. In fact, he finally deigned to start pumping the finger inside her, rubbing his palm into her clit. She bucked and tried vainly to push him off as pleasure, a painful amount, crashed through her body. Her sensitive clit practically stung as she lost herself and squirted against the palm mashing her mound.

Sirtas released her tit, but continued sawing his finger in and out of her. "There, there, that's a good girl... make a mess for your prince." She did, a sizable wet spot had spread on the bed. He nuzzled Liolyn's cheek then whispered, "You know we're not done, don't you?"

She knew they were far from done.

Sirtas released her, and an empty ache followed the absence of his forepaw. More than she expected. Liolyn had draconic lovers in the past who handled her without needing to penetrate her, but her cunt continued to pinch itself around nothing. Whether this was more magic or not, when Sirtas rolled onto his back and spread his legs, she was enthralled by the sight of his endowment.

A spire of meat bobbed above his navel. It was too dark to make out more than its shape and the arousal glistening off it. The spade head, the bulb at its base, the ridges lining that shaft. Taking even a ridge inside her would be like getting fisted, and there was no way Liolyn could take his entire length. It must have been well over a foot long. But she wanted to take as much as she could.

Without being told, the gryphon crawled onto the dragon's front, but before Liolyn could mount that virile meat, a forepaw grabbed her elbow. "Worship it first," Sirtas ordered.

"Y-yes, your highness," she breathed. Liolyn straddled his hips instead. Her drooling cunny rubbed against his knot while that massive cock rested across her front. Its weight and heat made her shiver. The spade tip rested between her breasts. She ran a tentative finger across it. Its heat was all over her. She could feel its pulse from its base against her cunt all the way up to her chest. The downy feathers of her mane quickly became messy with precum. It seemed to drip from Sirtas on every heartbeat, and its scent, salty and virile and pungent, made her lightheaded.

Liolyn hugged her breasts around the monstrous cock and began rocking up and down against it. Sirtas gave her a pleased, "Thaaaat's it..." that made her moan. She leaned in and rubbed the tip with her beak. Precum squirted across her face, and the gryphon felt her juices flood between her thighs. The prince was just so potent. She opened her beak and dragged her tongue along his tip. It made the cock flex and slap wetly up and down against her. That lewd smack made Liolyn all the more eager. She had never gotten so messy before in foreplay with another dragon. And something about that simple fact only made her press forward even more. Sirtas rocked his hips and his cock pumped against her body. She opened her beak and kept her breasts squeezed around his shaft, licking his spade as it rocked back and forth.

And Liolyn lost track of time. Sirtas used her, but now she didn't care if she was used. Tonight she could be his pet. She had nothing left to protest. All she wanted to do was please this dragon and pleasure this cock. A being with a power of a god had singled her out. And even as her front became drenched and messy with his arousal, she accepted it like ambrosia. Liolyn's head tilted back and she moaned.

Finally, Sirtas sat up and his head curled around to her. "That's enough my little jay. It's time you turn around and offer yourself to me."

Liolyn quaked with anticipation. She managed pry herself from Sirtas' cock and turned around. When she did, the dragon's head was still curled next her. He exhaled another dense cloud of smoke, and she coughed as it passed through her. Numbness worked through her core down to the entrance of her sex for a moment before Sirtas explained, "A reward for being a good girl."

He laid back and watched her. Liolyn got on her knees and reached behind her to find his spade. She led it down to her snatch and rubbed her lips against it. The touch made both partners moan. Sirtas reflexively humped and his cock slid under her, those ridges grinding against her cunt. It made Liolyn's knees wobble while the dragon moved back. She aligned him again, until that tip nudged against her vent. Slowly, so he did not slip out, she pressed her weight backwards until her mound caved in. His cock spread her, and unlike what she expected, the spreading did not hurt. She felt only pleasure, even as her walls seemed stretched to their limit. Sirtas snarled at the invitation of her tight heat and rammed forward. She rocked against his body, bracing her hands under his ribs to keep from being shoved off his cock. She expected pain, but more than half of that draconic length sank into her.

And suddenly she understood what spell Sirtas had just cast on her. She looked down and saw the outline of his cock pushing out above the navel. It should have bottomed out, but Sirtas, teeth clenched, grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved Liolyn down to the knot. Her snatch smacked that dark bulb and she saw white. She knew she had cum while he continued to snarl and tried to force her on his knot. Her cunny did yawn a little wider, but some things just were not possible even with magic. Especially when her walls wrapped tight and milked his draconic cock for all her body was worth.

Liolyn did not look down for fear of what she might see, but she still wanted Sirtas. Wanted the dragon to finish inside her and seed her. He finally stopped just trying to force his knot inside her, and soon as she could the gryphon began bouncing herself on his cock. Her whole body swayed with the motions, knees and arms rocking forward and back. Sirtas matched her pace. He thrust hard enough to bounce her forward, which made it all the easier to pull her yawning cunt off his cock.

Some tiny part of Liolyn knew the prince was ruining her. But she did not care. Right now she was barely aware of her moaning. When one of those ridges popped out her pussy a flood of femme cum came with it. Enough to make a dripping mess that went down Sirtas' side and onto the bed. The room stank now of draconic rut and her sex. And she sang for the prince. The gryphon's trembling wings fanned out a little for balance as Sirtas fucked faster. Each stab inside her made Liolyn see white. If worshipping the prince had been a fog of pleasure, this was a harsh storm. The sensations brutalized her body, overstimulated her, and pushed her farther than any partner had. For a time, she worried she might go insane while he fucked her into orgasm after orgasm.

But Sirtas' stamina did not last forever. Eventually he grabbed her by the hips and yanked her down on his cock before he roared. The sound would surely wake other residents of the tower but neither cared. He still could not quite knot her, but the gryphon's body did lift a little when that cock jumped inside her. That first shot of seed nearly knocked the wind out of her. Thick draconic cum overran her body, flooded her egg chamber and vent and sprayed out around where Sirtas still tried to knot her. That bulb, her thighs, his crotch, all of it became covered in wads and ropes of spunk. She became a pleasure ravaged mess, and Sirtas still blindly gyrated his hips, trying to force in that knot. He elongated their shared ecstasy and, if Liolyn were in her right mind, the agony she should have felt.

She did not know how much time had passed. Eventually Sirtas let her collapse on top of him, and eventually, after a deep exhale, he freed her from his shaft and tucked her against his chest. He stroked an idle claw down the gryphon's back and whispered, "Such a curiosity, little jay. It is a shame you have some other lover, I could see myself growing quite fond of you. And I doubt this mystery dragon could ever..."

Whatever else he said Liolyn missed as his gentle, deep voice and soft petting put her exhausted body to sleep.

When Liolyn snapped awake, the bedroom was filled with dawn light. Prince Sirtas' suite did not have any walls. The seventh floor of the marble tower belonged to him, with parts of the tower partitioned off with foldable screens, each one fifteen feet in height and full of delicately carved, filigreed wood that displayed some kind of scene from draconic legends. From Sirtas' bed, Liolyn saw a writing desk for the prince, a stone altar stained with smoke, and an oval mirror big enough for the dragon to inspect his entire body in. The rest was blocked by screens for privacy.

Sirtas sat at the edge of the bed, head turning as she noticed her. "Ah, you're awake."

"Last night... we--" Liolyn sucked in a breath and hugged her harm over her chest.

He chuckled. "There's no need for modesty, little jay."

"Lady Alabaster." Her ears pinned backwards and she added deferentially. "If you would, your highness."

"Aw, never too early for formalities, then?" The dragon released a rumbling sigh. "A shame. I was going to suggest we do this again, but I see you might like some time before I make that proposition." He leaned over the bed and breathed out another cloud of smoke. It sank into the sheets, ruffling it with weight before her clothes reappeared in perfect order.

Sirtas told her, "While you were sleeping I took care to cast another spell to be sure you would not conceive from our union, so you should have no need to swallow any bitter contraceptives this morning."

"Er, that was very thoughtful of you." Liolyn looked him up and down. She did not feel any of the invasive heat from the night before, but still she asked, "And the other spells?"

"All worn off."

"It is against Kor's laws to cast spells on another without their consent," she said a little stiffly. Liolyn wished to be madder, but she was still flustered by the fact she woke in a prince's bed this morning. The gossipers at the consulate would _certainly_take notice of her absence. And who knew what conclusions Mavin would jump to after all she learned yesterday.

"Ah, I suppose it is true. Do you plan to press charges?"

He knew the answer to that.

She changed her tact. "Why did you seduce me in the first place?"

"I find myself drawn to you, what more reason do I need to seduce a beautiful woman?" Liolyn glared at the dragon, but he remained unphased. He merely shrugged his wings and told her, "If you wish, think of it as an exchange. You may ask a favor of me any time--long as it is not something that will needlessly risk the lives of myself or others."

"Whatever I want?" Liolyn asked.

"Whatever a prince can grant you," Sirtas said. He offered her a wink. "But even we princes have our limits, Lady Alabaster."

"I will think on it," she said cautiously. The gryphon's mind raced--would she be able to force Sirtas to free Rothishel? Or did that break laws so old even he could not fight them? Guilt and disgust curdled in her stomach. She had given herself to this other dragon, and still a part of her couldn't help but preen at how his eyes roved her body.

"Fair enough. I must go and perform my morning cleanse. I will have one of my Finn come up to run a bath for you. Take some time to collect yourself. After your bath, you may feel free to stay here long as you like." Another toothy smile. "I certainly would not mind seeing you at the tower later."

She watched him leave through the balcony. At the sound of his unfurled wings, Liolyn crawled to the edge of the bed for her clothes. She did not even want to put them on she just needed to know if--yes! In her pocket was Rothishel's letter. Holding it only returned the surge of guilt Liolyn felt for last night. Even though the only thing that promised her to Rothishel was a connection she had no say in to begin with. She crossed her legs and frowned at the letter. In fact, Mavin would tell her obsessing over said connection was mere magic. Liolyn knew, rationally, she should not want this self-destructive desire for the Finn. If she could summon the will to think without the bond could she describe anything she liked about this dragon? Anything worth putting both their lives at risk?

Liolyn sighed. Were her feelings towards Rothishel any more genuine than her night with Sirtas? At the very least the prince did not press his magic to make her fall madly in love with him like she had with Rothishel. Though it would have made for a scandal, Sirtas could have easily had her if he wanted. So what was Sirtas' goal in last night?

The gryphon groaned and stretched out her wings. She stank of sex and certainly would till she bathed. She was not as messy as she expected, but then, any spots on the bed had also been whisked away. Liolyn would take it. She doubted Sirtas liked going around the palace grounds with dried cum on his thighs either and had cleaned them both while she slept. She glanced to the curtained off balcony where she last saw him. Without her bond to Rothishel she would in all likelihood be over the moon about her night with Prince Sirtas. But now...

Liolyn held up the letter again.

"Oh for Kenna's sake!" She snapped it open and finally read it.

Dear Lady Liolyn Alabaster

_ _

I can scarcely believe that we shared the same dream. It was so real that I expected to wake in your bed and a deep pain overtook me when that was not the case. I did give you my name. It is Rothishel. My mother named me after Prince Rothishel, who is the only dragon to have ever seen our kind as dragons.

We know they have covered up what happened to Prince Rothishel. We know they hide so much of our lives. There is so much I wish to show, so what should a rushed letter contain? I will tell you the story of my name, of my family's happiest moments and greatest sorrow, and hope that if nothing else you will carry the truth outside of the palace grounds.

Prince Rothishel despised the history and treatment of Finn, but he walked a delicate line. Living with the other royal families means there is only so much one is permitted to do while still finding privacy. But Rothishel let us do all he could. Assuming we were not under the watch of outsiders, the Finn of House Stratus were allowed to roam freely. We performed our servant duties to keep up appearances, but we performed them at our leisure. We learned to read and write, arts, to sing and could use our wings when we pleased. Prince Rothishel let us eat at his table. Most importantly, he spared our children if they were found able to draw on and be affected by magic.

These kindnesses were not without contradictions. An uncle of mine still has the scars of a public flogging when he broke code while the lupine ambassador visited. A kind master is still a master. A nicely furnished cage is still a cage. We were not unaware of this, but we were so starved to be treated as decent subjects that we adored Prince Rothishel.

Still, we were all taken aback when Prince Rothishel took my mother's older sister as a mate.

Liolyn stopped. The letter trembled in her hand. Her mind already leapt to where this story ended, and it made her sick. Would it also be where hers ended?

She read on:

For several years Prince Rothishel kept a Finn as his mate. The two of them even hatched two clutches of children. But they were found out. Because as cautious as we might be, Finn still talk to one another, and the Finn could tell our families at House Stratus were treated differently. It took only one jealous Finn to set up a scent for the other princes to follow to learn the truth. They acted swiftly, locking Prince Rothishel in the palace, binding his magic so he could not use it. They killed my aunt and all her children. As well as any Finn in House Stratus who could use magic. They kept Prince Rothishel in house arrest while they deliberated what to do. We Finn of House Stratus were separated. My sire lives in House Nimbus with my brothers. My mother came to House Cirrus pregnant, laid her clutch, and I was born shortly after Prince Rothishel's execution.

The story of my name is the story of a mother weighed down by grief. Who did what little she could honor the one dragon who died for us.

Alas this is all the space and time I have. I am still unsure of when next we will meet, but I hope you write me back. The need to see you is this chasm in my chest that widens every hour of every day.

_ _

Love, Rothishel

Liolyn clutched her chest. The memory of before came back with more clarity. She looked up and stared in the direction of House Stratus.

She was...

And now he was...

And Rothishel did not even know. It stung in her throat to know. She wanted to scream. Were one of them always destined to be one of these cursed creatures so long as they shared this bond?

She doubled over and quietly wept.

"Lily?"

She cringed. He was there, staring wide-eyed at her. Kenna's cunt, why did it have to be Rothishel of all dragons to tend to her this morning? She saw the confusion and pain lance his body, wrestle through his features before they turned into a scowl.

"You're crying..." then a snarl, "That bastard--if he hurt you I'll kill him."