Right where she wanted them.
By the time they reached the very empty staging room, his companions were on high alert. Keaton fought hard, thrashing within his mind, trying to make something happen. With a sudden, violent burst of energy, he slammed his fist down on the table. Pain shot through his fingers, the shock of it rattling his bones.
“Something is happening,” Adriana cried. “We must go. Help me get him out of here.”
He could feel her and Cassia both tugging on him, shoving him, trying to get him to move.
And then there was nothing.
He existed outside of their reach, in a place no one else could touch him. No one save for the one person he desperately wanted to lay her hands all over him. This was what he’d yearned for, what had brought him back to this place. This carnal need that sent a shot of lust through his body, his blood surging downward, his pulse roaring in his ears.
“That’sss it,” came a smoky, seductive voice. “Come to me, my handsome dungeon lord.”
Keaton moved forward, through a doorway that seemed to shift, suddenly appearing behind him. Some part of his mind recognized it as strange, but that didn’t matter. His gaze was fixed ahead, waiting for the revelation of what he’d sought for so long.
And there she was. Perched atop a dais, her form radiant in its beauty. Flawless, dusky skin glowed with a warmth that begged him to touch. Almond-shaped eyes were half-lidded and looking at him as if he was the only person in the world, their violet irises beckoning him in. Black hair fell in silken strands, gathered in loose bunches past her shoulder. She was perfection, and that was just from the neck up.
As his gaze continued downward, Keaton found a beauty that was almost painful to behold. Markings adorned her skin, black ink dotted with glinting gemstones. The swirling patterns flowed over her arms, her clavicle, down to her bare chest. Two pert, dusky nipples presented for him, hard and begging to be sucked. Breasts that were no more than a handful — the perfect size — lent a softness to her lean body, her abdomen blending seamlessly with the shimmering black scales of her large, powerful tail, the yellow and black rings signaling something in the back of his mind that he ignored completely.
“Let usss become better acquainted, lover,” she practically purred, her forked tongue flicking out from between painted lips. “I wish to feel what I know to be true.”
Keaton walked forward on shaky legs. The rest of the room fell away, leaving just the two of them. There was no fear. No hesitation. He went to her willingly. Even when he heard her tail shift, the powerful appendage curling behind him, he wasn’t worried. As she pulled him closer with it, he felt safe. As if this was where he should have been all along.
“And what is that?” Keaton asked, his voice rough with desire.
“That you are my equal,” she whispered in his ear, her tongue snaking out to flick at the lobe. Keaton shivered in response. “Ssssomeone to rule beside me. Would you like that, Keaton? To never be quessstioned again? To have ssssomeone strong by your sssside, who adores you for everything that you are?”
As she spoke, her fingers walked a trail down his body. She continued to his pants, slipping beneath the band. Long, deft digits grasped his cock, stroking slowly. Keaton’s head fell back, and a moan escaped him.
“Yes,” he answered, the word shaking, his knees buckling under her touch.
She let out a husky chuckle and wrapped her tail more tightly around him, offering more support. “Go on,” she breathed, her gaze flicking down to her chest. “I know you want to.”
He did want to. More than anything. Her perfect breasts were nearly at eye level, and Keaton indulged. One hand moved up the serpent’s human torso, fingers gliding over smooth skin to cup her breast. He squeezed, enjoying the warmth and fullness against his palm before he leaned forward to flick his tongue against one hardened peak. The serpent gasped, a sinful moan escaping her that sent a pulse of pure lust through Keaton’s body. He responded in the only way he could: By drawing her nipple into his mouth and sucking.
“Yesss, that’ssss it,” she said, arching against him, her fingers grasping his cock with slow, firm strokes. “Look at me, my love. My equal.”
Keaton raised his eyes to meet hers, finding endless depths in those violet pools. She lowered her head, lips parted, and he released her nipple with a loud pop, eager to meet her in a kiss.
“Keaton!”
The desperate cry came from somewhere distant, but it was enough to break his focus. He started to search for the source, Adriana’s face appearing in his mind as if in a flash of memory. But the serpent’s fingers grasped his jaw, directing him back to her. She continued to bend toward him, her tail drawing him closer and closer. Keaton could practically taste her lips, so close to where he wanted to be—
Something tugged him backward, sending him sprawling. He had no time or awareness to catch himself, but he could see everything that had been lost to him for several minutes now. The Crystal Chamber, a large, violet crystal casting a sinister glow over the room. His companions fighting off hordes of snakekin that poured in from two sides. The lady of the dungeon — just as beautiful as she’d been in the illusion she’d created, but with an underlying malice he could feel in the depths of his soul now.
And Adriana, her small body braced in front of his, her form quickly encircled by the serpent’s deadly tail.
“No!” Keaton cried out, his voice hoarse.
The dungeon lady squeezed around Adriana’s torso, the pressure so much that he swore he heard bones crack. He saw the dragonkin’s eyes bulge out of their sockets, her hands clawing fruitlessly at the tail as the serpent lifted her off the ground.
Then he looked on in horror as she was flung across the room, slamming into the wall and crumpling to the ground.
The dungeon lady’s eyes turned to him, no longer filled with adoration. There was pure loathing there, and when she opened her mouth, two fangs dripped with venom, ready to go for the strike Adriana had denied her.
25
He couldn’t move.
Her tail wasn’t wrapped around him anymore, but still Keaton couldn’t seem to move. And he had to. He had to live so he could help Adriana, so he could get these people who’d trusted him out of here. Gods, was this really how he was going to die? Causing pain and suffering to others?
Not today, you cunt.
Fighting past his body’s reluctance, Keaton grabbed for his sword and thrust it upwards just as the serpent lunged at him. The blade struck true, sliding through flesh with a sickening squelch. Hot blood gushed over his hand and down onto his face, but the serpent didn’t stop coming.
It was all Keaton could do to wrench the sword in deeper, the blade buried between the breasts he’d been so spellbound by moments ago. It wouldn’t be enough to kill her. He hadn’t done anything to the crystal yet. But if he could buy the others time, maybe…
The serpent let out a long, hissing screech, blood gushing from her neck as a halberd pierced straight through. He could see her throat, the muscle working, reforming itself around the blade. That wasn’t enough to kill, either, but it’d bought him some time.
“Let’s go!” Cassia roared, yanking the halberd back out so it left another wound on the return.
Keaton didn’t waste any time. He scrambled out from under the dungeon lady, pushing himself to his feet. Sheer adrenaline kept him standing, because he was sure his legs would have been turned to jelly otherwise.