The Lotus Ascension (6 page)

Soren walked up to Sillara, who sat with her eyes downcast, and
Nathen shadowed him. “What just happened? I've never heard anything like that
and know only the rumors of the priestesses of Melara being able to sing like
that.”

“
I always wanted to serve Melara.”
Sillara handed the lyre to her serving woman.

“
Why?
The goddess
of wine?”

“
And unrequited
love.”

“
Unrequited love,” Nathen repeated
in a whisper, but Soren had no ready answer. Whom did she love who could not
love her? Was there such a fool who drew breath in all Gilalion?

“
Father would not let me take the
vestments,” Sillara said. “He said it would be inappropriate for the Queen of
the Ausir to divide her loyalties. So I studied the mysteries on my own and
would have devoted myself to her. But, brother, I have always doubted that it
is
Melara
who answers my pleas.”

Soren
knew what
she meant. He, like
Sillara
, had always known that
the gods were nearer to him and to his sister than they were to others, but he
could not, no more than
Sillara
could, explain why.
For though they were nearer, the gods yet seemed more silent.
And still all their prayers were granted.

Konas stood before Sillara, bowed, and kissed her hand. “Your Grace,
I am content. You’ve taken my lesson of the history of the bride for the
God-King and turned it into the most beautiful love song I've ever heard. Thank
you.”

Sillara smiled. “I have a fine teacher.”

Any entertainment that came after paled in
comparison,
and though there were many more songs and dances, Sillara’s voice still sang in
Soren’s mind. What with the dreamy looks of so many of the guests, he guessed
that they, too, still hearkened to her unfading song.

In time Kamen, Ajalira, and Darien made ready to depart. Kamen
called for his daughter, and Sillara obeyed. She kissed Soren good-night and
commanded him with a playful smile to enjoy
himself
.
She took her leave of Konas, too, and placed her shawl over her head,
completely covering her golden horns.

Nathen caught her in the vestibule. “Are you leaving already?” He
took her hand in both of his. “It's still early.”

Sillara's eyes
widened,
and she looked
first ahead to her father and then back at Soren. Soren started forward, hoping
to get to Nathen before Kamen noticed.

“
Yes, I must go home now,” Sillara
said, trying to take her hand away.

Kamen turned, and anger flashed in his eyes. Soren was too late.

“
What are you about there?” Kamen
pivoted and was at Sillara's side at once. With a jerk, he tore his daughter
from Nathen's grasp.

Nathen did not answer, but he continued to stare at Sillara.

“
Clear off,” Kamen said, interposing
himself. “Here's no place for a maid.”

Nor was a Sunjaa orgy the place for the Queen of the Ausir. Soren
put his arm around Nathen's shoulder and turned him away with nothing more than
an
embarrassed
smile at Kamen.

Nathen's shame seemed to suddenly hit him then. “I can't believe I
did that.”

“
Why in Veirakai's dick did you even
suggest my sister stay, especially in front of my father?”

Nathen stopped and looked fully into Soren's eyes, and he inspected
his face with warm looks of awakened love. Without a word, he kissed Soren on
the lips.

Soren pulled away with a chuckle.
“Horny beast.
It's not even started yet.” He was not as lighthearted as he forced himself to
sound. Nathen's accosting of Sillara worried him.

Darien snapped his fingers, and Merieke was at his side. She, too,
was obliged to leave, for Darien’s strict rule over his only daughter was well
known throughout Arinport. There would be no tasting of forbidden fruit
tonight. Merieke did not take her eyes from her brother, Nathen, as she was
dragged along.

The departure of the Itenu and the Kesandrahn made quite the stir,
and once they and all their attendants were gone, the house was half-empty.
Many others had left as well. This was the time for young sailors to do what
they did best.

Konas set to work at once, and Soren marveled at his proficiency at
transforming his house from a dinner party into a pleasure den. The Ausir
clapped his hands, and male pleasure slaves, who had been hidden behind closed
doors, came out and, together with the women, moved furniture and cleared
tables. Four strong young men stripped to the waist, each carrying a corner of
the heavy marble base, carried in a large bronze statue of a naked woman. She
stood with her feet in water, and two naked men fawned over her. One leaned on
her shoulder and fondled her breast, but the other knelt at her feet and hugged
her knee. One was erotic, the other worshipful. The slaves set the statue in
the middle of the room.

“
Abrexa, bless this time,” Konas
said standing before it. “Bring fire. The night grows cold fast.” He winked at
Soren. “And soon my guests will have nothing to protect them from the chill.”

“
Abrexa,” Soren said by way of
conversation.

Konas nodded, but his did not take his admiring eyes from the
statue.
“And Kiltarin, her first husband.”
He pointed
to the kneeling man. “That is Faloth, her first high priest and my kinsman.”

“
It’s a beautiful statue. Where did
you get it?”

“
Faloth made this in honor of his
lover and his goddess.” Konas reached out and caressed Abrexa’s flank. “It’s
been in my family all this while, but my brother has no use for it.”

Soren flinched at talk of Tivanel. “The King awaits his bride,
then?”

Konas slowly nodded in his sudden uneasiness. Soren meant to pursue
the topic further, but he was prevented. Merieke had returned, and Nathen was
ecstatic. Brother and sister kissed, and Nathen laughed.

“
How did you get away from Father?”
Nathen asked.

Merieke’s eyes danced with mischief. “It’s not hard when he’s
roaring drunk. He was all too happy to release me to ‘my prayers’.”

“
I’m so glad you could slip away.”
Nathen hugged her.

“
You two are something else,” Orien
said, laughing much the way his father did. “It’s too bad Father considers
sibling marriage a sign of noble vanity. You’d obviously be happy together.
A perfect love.”

Soren had to agree. He saw unbridled lust between the two, as well
as a strong affection. They must have missed their sex together, doubtless
being good together, he thought.

A very different kind of music began, pipes and soft harps, setting
the mood. Slaves sprinkled aphrodisiac herbs into the lamps, and the scents
spread through the open rooms. Long, streaming linens of deep purple were hung
on the walls, covering not only the murals but also the open windows.

Before he knew it, Soren found himself trapped among four naked
women, and they pawed at him very much the way the men caressed Abrexa.

One by one, the slave girls were snatched away. “Back off,” Nathen
said. “He’s mine.” He stepped boldly up to Soren, put his arms around his
waist, and kissed him fully on the lips. “Fuck me.”

Nathen kissed him again, and Soren parted his lips to let
his friend’s tongue slip through.

“
Didn’t get enough at common
quarters?” Soren asked, glancing over at Merieke. Her arms were crossed over
her breasts in impatience.

“
Not you alone. I want all
of you, just this once.”

Soren smiled and ripped Nathen’s skirt away. He was glad to
indulge his friend before he really got started on the slave girls. He had been
so long at sea that he wanted to feel the warmth of a pussy. He wanted to lie
between soft legs and feel a woman’s heels push him in deeper. This would not
take long, though.

Nathen was already half hard. Soren snapped his fingers, and
a pleasure slave placed a vial of aromatic oil in his hand. He removed his own
skirt and led Nathen by the hand to a low sofa where he instructed his friend
to lie down. Nathen did so, and Soren fell into him with a passionate,
open-mouthed kiss. He poured the oil down his long, hard cock, and then passed
the half-empty vial off to a nearby slave. Sliding his hand up and down his
cock felt wonderful, and his lust grew. Soren had fucked Nathen multiple times,
though never one-on-one. They had always been in the mix of common quarters
aboard ship. And since Soren was highly sought after for his lovemaking
prowess, Nathen had never gotten him alone.

Nathen worked on his own cock, keeping it flat against his
belly and rubbing the underside of it. Both Soren and Nathen were perfect
specimens of Sunjaa manhood, being young, active sailors whose bodies were
hardened from a life at sea. But all eyes, Soren realized, were on him. He was
often preferred for his exotic Ausir looks, his golden horns jutting out of his
jet hair, and his smooth skin without callous or blemish.

The sofa was large enough for Nathen to lie flat on his back
while Soren, lifting his lover's right leg, was able to slip around to the
right and lie down sideways. This gave Soren comfortable access to Nathen's ass
yet allowed Nathen to relax and jerk himself off. It also allowed Soren to
continue giving Nathen deep, slow kisses while slipping the head of his cock
into Nathen.

Nathen's shoulders
rose,
and he
moaned into Soren's mouth. Soren slid deeper inside Nathen's ass by placing his
left arm behind Nathen's right knee, thus holding his leg in place. Once his
balls rested against Nathen's buttock, he held himself there, not rushing it,
allowing Nathen to grow comfortable. While he waited, he played with his lover
in ways he never could before. Being just the two of them, Soren was able to
give Nathen the attention and affection he craved. His hands traveled freely,
across Nathen's muscular chest, through his hair, and down his shoulders and
abdomen. Soren worked his hips and kissed Nathen's mouth as he slid in and out
of him.

Nathen let go of his cock and reached up to caress Soren's
horns. As he ran his fingers across what he clearly found charming oddities,
Nathen smiled. “Lovely,” he said.

Soren said nothing, but leaned in for another bout of deep
kissing. Nathen responded with fierceness, devouring Soren's mouth and moving
his hips faster.

Soren took the cue. He pulled out of Nathen and rose to his
feet. “Kneel on the sofa and bend over the back.”

Nathen obeyed.

Soren knew how Nathen liked it, and he gave it to him
without restraint. The half-Ausir stood on the sofa and then crouched until the
head of his cock rested against Nathen’s asshole. In a single, powerful thrust,
he buried himself in him. Nathen gripped the back of the sofa and moaned. He
looked back over his shoulder in such a mixture of pain and pleasure that his
expression almost caused Soren to come. But Soren was better than that. He came
when he wanted to, and not before his partner had had his pleasure.

Nathen liked it rough, and Soren pounded into his ass with
vigor. This felt more like the common quarters Soren was used to. Merieke stood
nearby with pursed lips, and Orien just shook his head, laughed, and claimed a
female for himself. The captain was large, like his father, with an
inconveniently-sized cock. He never took part in common quarters for fear of
injuring his men. But a pussy could take it.

Soren gripped Nathen by the waist, and as he thrust deeper
and deeper, sweat ran down his nose and dripped onto Nathen’s back. Nathen
howled with pleasure, but Merieke just rolled her eyes. She obviously wanted to
fuck Nathen, the brother who had taken her virginity and had taught her
everything about sex. She was aching for it.

Soren decided it best to
not prolong his session and risk angering the quick-tempered beauty any
further. He worked himself up into a frenzy until he felt
the
cum
building in his cock. As his cum built, he reached around and
grabbed Nathen's cock with his right hand. His left arm he wrapped around
Nathen's neck, pulling his head back so that the throat was caught by the
inside of the elbow. Soren stroked and choked Nathen until Nathen sprayed his
cum all over the sofa's back. With a slow, final thrust, Soren shuddered,
grasped Nathen by the buttocks, and released his seed into him.

Merieke was not amused.
“That was mine, you salt-water thief.”

Soren smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry.”

Nathen looked back with
a playful pout, but Soren just slapped his ass. “She’s waiting for you.
Stop being so selfish.”

Nathen laughed, and
Merieke dragged him off after his bath. She lingered in the doorway and looked
at Soren for several moments, however, and her naked interest did not escape
his notice.

As Soren stood naked in
the middle of the room with people fucking all around him, as he drank a cup of
cold beer while pleasure slaves tended to him and bathed him, he noticed that
Konas was clothed and aloof.