Page 39 of Breaking the Bloodstone Curse
“That’s quite enough of that! The fire must be quenched by now.”
The sharp voice of Mistress Trembledamp reminded Serenai that their hostess was watching as the big half-Kindred licked her.
“Brax, stop!” she exclaimed and tugged sharply on his thick black hair.
Reluctantly, she thought, the huge warrior stopped licking and looked up at her. His pale eyes were dilated and filled with need—he looked almost drugged, she thought, frowning.
“Brax, are you all right?” she asked him anxiously. Had the ice dust had a bad effect on him somehow?
“I’m…fine, Mistress,” he answered slowly. “But I had only just begun to taste you and your honey is so fucking sweet.”
Serenai was very aware that Mistress Trembledamp was watching them with sharp, suspicious eyes.
“This is not the time for that,” she told him quickly.
Though to be honest, she was feeling some discomfort in her pussy. It was like some of the ice dust had melted against her skin and she was cold between her legs now. But she couldn’t worry about that—she had to find out what was going on with the cursed necklace.
“Come on, Brax—snap out of it!” she begged in a low voice.
Brax’s eyes cleared somewhat and he nodded and rose to his feet.
“Of course, Mistress. Forgive my indiscretion,” he rumbled.
“You’re forgiven,” Serenai told him. She turned to Mistress Trembledamp, trying to look businesslike. “Please, can you tell me more about the necklace and the poem that came with it?”
“Yes, I can.” The old lady leaned forward in her chair. “But I’m afraid you’re not going to like what you hear, my dear. Oh my, not at all.”
25
BRAX
“You see, the necklace that you showed to me is cursed,” Mistress Trembledamp said.
Brax straightened up and tried to listen. The Thirst was still roaring inside him, demanding that he finish what he had started. He had only begun to taste his Mistress’s sweet pussy—had only gotten the barest flavor of her sweet honey when he’d been forced to stop.
But this was important, he reminded himself. He forced himself to pay attention.
“Cursed in what way?” Serenai asked, frowning.
“In the only way that bloodstones are ever cursed—the creature whose blood was used to dye the stones is still haunting them,” Mistress Trembledamp answered. “And if the prophecy that comes with them is correct, the curse is deadly.” She leaned forward again, eyeing Serenai. “Tell me, my dear, how many times have you seen this ‘red-eyed apparition’ you spoke of?”
“Oh, um…” Serenai frowned, clearly doing a bit of mental calculation. “I think it’s been four—no, five times I’ve seen it by now.”
“And I’ve seen it twice,” Brax put in.
Mistress Trembledamp spared him a frown for speaking out of turn but she didn’t seem to be inclined to ask Serenai to punish him again.
“Very well—then according to the prophecy, if you see it twice more, you will die.”
“What?” Serenai and Brax exclaimed at once.
“Don’t look so shocked,” Mistress Trembledamp said curtly. “Didn’t your robot butler tell my robot butler that your mother died just a week after receiving this necklace?”
“Well…yes, she did.” Serenai nodded. She looked shaky, Brax thought. He wanted badly to put an arm around her and comfort her but he knew that wasn’t proper in a formal Yonnite setting. So he stepped closer to her instead, letting her feel the heat from his body at her back.
“It makes sense then, to conclude that she must have seen the apparition seven times,” Mistress Trembledamp concluded. “And it killed her during its last appearance.”
“But how did it kill her?” Serenai demanded. “There was no sign of foul play according to my Aunt Nibblegrim.”
