She gasped when she woke.

It was pitch black dark when she first opened her eyes so she laid there a bit so her eyes could adjust to the darkness. The moon was high up, throwing its bright light into the room through the open windows. She had dreamt of that lady again and this time, it had been more disturbing than the last time she had been having the dream repeatedly for eight days after the incident with Ryder and Eris.

Eris, she wondered what might have happened to him, since then she had not heard a word about him.

She threw the covers off her body and got out of bed, wincing slightly from the pain in her abdomen. She had to be stitched up, and thankfully they had done that when she was unconscious because she would never be able to bear the pain. Xanth and the physician had told her not to stress so much so that she does not stretch the stitches, and Ryder had told her that if she did, they would have to stitch her back up. And this time she would be awake and very conscious.

She shuddered slightly when she recalled his tone of voice and serious look.

But more than staying put in her room, she had some unfinished business to attend to, and it would take her all the way down the hall, to Ryder’s study.

She stepped out of her room, the hallway was dim and all was quiet. She took in a deep breath and proceeded towards the study, her hand sliding along the wall for direction. The moonlight helped her see where the torches were not lit, but like always, the last torch hanging on the wall by the door to the study was lit, and on the floor was a lamp. She picked it up and lit it, then tried quietly to sneak into the room.

The door was unlocked, but it did make a squeaking noise as she opened it. It was loud enough because the hall was dead silent, but she got in and shut it again, heaving a sigh of relief. She turned and walked into the study, straight to the shelves. She recognized the blue-covered book and picked that off the shelf, taking it to the table and placing both the book and the lantern on it. “KHIONE” the title read.

The study had no chairs so she had to stand. She frowned when she felt a sting in her abdomen and feared that she might have pulled a stitch, she placed a hand over it and blinked; she would read this one book and then go back, there would always be another time to come in here.

She flipped the book open and the pages turned to a chapter, it was something about the light, summoning light, to heal up and to heat. She furrowed her eyebrows, one raised and the other lowered, this was magic, the arts she had only heard of from stories and tales told to children in Dragonsbane, it was to be a myth and yet in his book, it said that Khiones possessed the power.

They called her Khione, does that mean that she could?

She braced herself.

This magic needed no words or sacrifice or any extra stuff, according to the book, it comes from within and it was supposed to be the easiest magic a Khione could do, yet there was a warning to it, that said it could consume energy if not done correctly. She took in a deep breath and let it out, she would try to do this.

She closed her eyes and touched her index finger and thumb together on both hands and brought them together on her chest level, twisting her hand until one hand was on top and the other under, her fingers on each hand pointing in the opposite direction as described in the book, then in one swift move, she twisted her hand around, wrapping it into the shape of a ball and then gradually drew them apart, a small ball of white light began to form from between her palms.

She felt the sizzling energy and opened her eyes, her face shone with excitement at what she had just done and she glowed in happiness. The ball grew to a sizeable amount and then she held it with just one hand, the ball of energy levitating above her right palm. She read the book again; to heal and to heat up.

With her other hand, she undid her robe, exposing her naked body to the light. She unwrapped the bandage around her abdomen and let the bloody cloth fall to the floor. She caressed the injury with a finger, it was the first time she was seeing it after it had been stitched and indeed, it looked terrible.

She took in a deep breath and brought the ball of light energy close to it till it touched and she watched in awe as the wound slowly and painlessly sealed itself up, it took away whatever pain that it had caused her, leaving not even a scar in its place. She giggled in excitement and the ball glowed brighter for a moment until she calmed down.

Right. It would be unstable if she was unstable, but this newfound magic excited her and she just stood there, not bothering to tie her robe and just admired the ball of white energy floating above her palm, totally unaware of the pair of eyes that had been on her since she had snuck into the study.

He watched her admire the ball of light in her hand, totally distracted and fascinated by it and he smiled at her childishness. He moved from his hiding place and approached her, sneaking up on her from behind quietly until he was standing right behind her, then he bent low until his lips were just above her right ear, then he spoke.

“What are you doing?”

She jumped in fright and turned around, expelling the ball of light energy throughout the room and watching it fade away, taking the flame from the lantern with it. She bumped into someone and without a doubt, knew that the person was none other than Ryder. She swallowed, the air in her lungs suddenly vanished, and for a few seconds, she forgot how to breathe.

She was practically blind in this darkness but he could see just fine. He backed her up against the table, placing one hand on either side of the table so she could not escape him. Her head was down, to his chest and he could almost feel the fear in her heart. He smirked as he watched her.

“How do you know of Indie?”

She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak but words failed to come out, so she shook her head again.

“You have seen her before. In your dreams, yes?” He asked. His voice was low and deep. Calm too.

“Y… Yes.” She stammered. “I really do not know her, she… she only came to me… recently. I… don’t…”

His face was straight but he wasn’t angry at her, neither was he upset at the fact that she had come into his study again. He placed a hand under her chin and lifted her head up, her eyes were opened and she looked into his eyes, the fear in her eyes was enchanting and mesmerizing and he felt lost in them. So lost that he had no control of when his head lowered and their lips touched. He kissed her slowly, their eyes closed as they welcomed each other.

Her inexperienced lips moved only when his did, and his tongue dominated her mouth. Her kisses were slow and learning, his was controlling and demanding. His other hand reached out to hold her and his fingers brushed against her exposed skin. She shivered at his touch and he was pleased with the effect his touch had on her body. He snaked his hand around her waist and pulled her up to sit on the table without breaking the kiss.

His fingers went down her belly causing her to shiver in excitement, she arched her back, pushing her chest towards him and his fingers continued to go lower. She gasped and so did he, touching her gave him pleasure and her soft gasps for air urged him on. He kissed her again, one hand groping her neck and back while the other hand reached for her clits, she gasped again and pulled her head back a little, disengaging from the kiss. She moaned out his name unconsciously and grabbed his forearm.

Her eyes were shut but his were opened, watching her melted expression which drove him on, he rubbed on her clits gently, drawing moan after moan from her throat, her soft lips called out his name repeatedly in whispers, and he moaned too, unconsciously though, but he did. He wanted to have her. His cock throbbed in his pants, wanting to be let out, to be touched, and to be buried in her, but he was patient. He wanted to be patient with her.

His finger slid down, she was dripping wet and her juices would provide an easy entrance, he wondered if she was untouched yet. A virgin.

He pushed a finger in and she let out a small yelp, her grip on his arm tightened and he got his answer; she was.

He massaged her clits again and his mouth went to her neck, she held onto his neck and arm, gasping and moaning. Her body called out to him and it wanted this. She, wanted this, didn’t she?

He tried again to put his finger into her but again she cried, he didn’t stop trying, he was losing control and his eyes darkened. He groaned and pushed his finger into her again. She cried out in pain and her eyes snapped open, she gasped and pushed his hand away forcefully, causing him to take a step back, she jumped off the table and tried to get away from him but he growled and grabbed her neck, choking her intimately. She whimpered and was on her toes because he pulled her to his face.

He sniffed her and with his other hand, grabbed her waist, pressing her nude body into his. His eyes now dark with want and lust scanned her face, she was scared, terrified of him, and frightened. He groaned and pushed her away from him, she hit her hip against the table and winced in pain.

“Get out.” He ordered and without saying a word, she wrapped her night dress around herself and fumbled in the darkness for the door, leaving Ryder hard, horny, and angry in the study.