Celtic Love Knots Volume 7 Read online

  The Lady Kera has come to entice

  The prince we love so well

  To her Tir Na N-og paradise,

  And have him there forever dwell.

  Coran was assured that he had the goddess's attention when the crow dipped and swooped low as the cloud rose and floated upward, so he continued his chant.

  Look, oh Goddess, upon this scene

  Where now the lady doth remain,

  Take up our cause and intervene,

  Drive her forever from this fair plain.

  Raising his head, he stood still and silent, waiting for some response. He had not long to tarry. The sky blackened and the cloud on the horizon boiled as the crow screamed before soaring upward and out of sight. A clap of booming thunder echoed across the plain. It was followed by a mighty bolt of jagged lightening that streaked through the sky and danced across the far horizon. The wind blew and the ground shook.

  Just when Coran was breathing a sigh of relief, the wind died to a puff and then ceased to blow, the clouds lifted and floated away as a pall of silence fell across the Plain of Arcomin.

  In the ensuing quiet, Kera appeared to the gathering in all her regal splendor. When she spoke it was like the harp of the winds playing through the trees. Stepping forward, she lifted her arms and chanted a chant of praise to the Goddess Aine.

  Goddess Aine, Thou hast taught me

  The secrets of dark desire

  How longing is lovely and love is free

  And lust an eternal fire.

  With mortals thou hast mated

  To produce our fairy race

  Now thy daughter Kera is fated,

  To long for a mortal's embrace

  I have tasted Connla's kisses

  I have joined his body with mine.

  Now that I know what bliss is,

  I must have him for all time.

  Persuade him not to tarry,

  But to come away with me

  And dwell with his Kera-Fairy

  Through all eternity.

  When she had completed her chant, Kera turned and faced Prince Connla. “You must choose now, my love. Will you come with me to a land of eternal bliss and pleasure or will you tarry here on the mortal Plain of Arcomin and endure strife and suffering and eventually death? Mind you, choose well, for your moment's decision will seal your destiny."

  When Kera had ceased speaking, the king said, “Connla, my son, has thy heart been moved by the words Lady Kera?"

  Connla was torn by indecision. He loved his father and he cared deeply for his people, on the other hand, Kera aroused in him a deep need and an obsessive fascination. “I am moved in two directions. I am of two minds. Indecision threatens to tear me asunder."

  Conn drew a deep breath. “Stay with me, with your people. We need you. If you remain, honor shall be yours and reverence and tribute.” He lifted his outstretched arms. “If you depart this green glen and this sandy seashore, nostalgia will follow you always and regret will forever be your attendant."

  Kera intervened as she touched Connla's arm. “The comeliness of Arcomin can in no way match the beauty of Tir Na N-og and the shore of your sea pales in comparison to the sand washed beaches that lie along the azure waters that surround my home."

  Connla looked from his father to Kera and then back to his father again. “I am enchanted by the description of the mystical land of Tir Na N-og, even as I am pulled by my deep ties to remain on the Plain of Arcomin."

  Conn recognized Connla's ambivalence and knew that he must find someway to give his son space and time to think and to contemplate. “What you need is a night to consider your decision.” Perhaps if his son could spend the long hours of a dark night in deep thought, he would opt to remain at home. Feeling sure that he had outmaneuvered the Lady Kera, he asked of her, “Are you agreeable to this plan?"

  To his total surprise Kera replied, “Yes, I am, under one condition."

  Conn has expected as much. “And what might that condition be?"

  "That Connla stay the night alone and outside.” She pointed. “Under the spreading branches of yon oak tree."

  Conn suspected Kera had some ulterior motive for making such a request, but he dared not refuse her. “I will agree, but I also have a condition."

  Lady Kera shrugged as she asked, “And what might that condition be?"

  Conn pointed his long, condemning forefinger in Kera's direction. “You must stay away and not bother my son until the morning sun rises on a new day."

  Once more the fairy maiden surprised Conn when she said, “I promise not to come near Prince Connla until tomorrow's sun is sinking into the Western Sea."

  If Conn had done nothing else, he had bought some time for his son to think and reflect. “Then we shall meet at this place tomorrow at sundown."

  "I will be here at the appointed time,” Kera said as she faded from sight.

  As the king and his entourage left the slope to return to their respective round houses, Connla prepared to spend the night in contemplation on the open Plain of Arcomin. He sat beneath the huge oak and looked up at the golden curve of the moon. It hung like a crescent over the Western Sea. His thoughts wandered backward in time to a contented childhood. He recalled happy years as a youth and remembered challenging occasions as a man and a warrior. Out of Kera's sight and away from her enchanting influence, a measure of reason returned to challenge his all-consuming passion for her. This was his home; his ties were here, as were his friends and his family. And he had duties to perform and promises to keep.

  As he pondered, lost in thought and memories, a maiden wearing a diaphanous dress and sporting gossamer fairy wings appeared to stand directly in front of him. He jumped to his feet. “Who are you?"

  Before the delicate creature could reply another fairy-maiden appeared to stand beside her. “Hail, King Connla, we bring you greetings from Lady Kera and the happy land of Tir Na N-og."

  Connla swallowed and sat back down. “Kera knows you are here?"

  The first maiden said, “Lady Kera sent us. My name is Breena.” She extended one dainty hand in the other maiden's direction. “This is my sister, Fiona."

  "But Kera promised not to come to me."

  "And she will keep that promise,” Fiona assured him. “We are here in her stead to minister to you and to bring you pleasure."

  Breena sat on the green grass beside Connla and laid her hand on his muscular arm. “What is your wish, oh mighty King?"

  Before Connla could protest that he was not a king, Fiona sat on his other side, so near that he could feel the vibrations of her fairy wings. “Let the three of us explore together the yet uncharted delights of pleasure."

  Connla protested, but not with any degree of force. “Lady Kera would be most grieved if I took liberties with her handmaidens."

  Fiona leaned around Connla to stare at her sister. “What are these liberties the king speaks of?"

  Breena shrugged. “Alas, dear sister, I know not.” She caressed Connla's arm as she looked up into his troubled eyes. “How strong and powerful you are."

  A strange and magical feeling stole over Connla as primitive yearning sparked through his body. Stalwart warrior that he was, he fought against the demon of desire. “Lady Kera is my chosen..."

  Breena stopped his words by covering his lips with hers. As her sweet tasting tongue darted into his mouth, any lingering remnant of resistance was consumed in the fire that swept through him.

  As Breena caressed his arms, Fiona's fairy fingers stole beneath his tunic to stroke his cock. Fire exploded inside his brain. He exhaled a great shuddering breath and lay down on the soft green grass.

  Fiona lay beside him and pushed the softness of her breasts into his hirsute chest. A maddening lust spiraled and climbed inside him.

  The fairy sisters pulled his tunic from his body. Connla lay bare and on his back with his cock throbbing and his head filled with erotic fantasies. Then somewhere from the inner sanctum of his lust-laden brain, a still small voice
sounded, This is your night to meditate and think, for you have grave and crucial decisions to make. With a mighty effort of will, Connla sat up and dropped his head into his hands.

  Fiona and Breena twittered and giggled as they came once more, to sit on either side of him. In the moonlight their bare bodies shone with a warm iridescent glow. In unison they asked, “Shall we show you how to make a fairy chain?"

  Connla opened his mouth to speak. Not a sound could he utter.

  The night air sparked and ignited as Fiona pushed him back onto the ground, spread his legs and crawled between them.

  As she took his cock into her warm mouth and sucked gently, Breena flew just above his head until she hovered over his face, then spreading her legs she dropped her cunt over his drooling mouth. Connla pushed his tongue into her warm slit, feeling the swollen clit as he made his entrance. The taste of fairy cunt-honey flooded his mouth. His throat clogged with ecstatic sweetness.

  As he licked and sucked from Breena's honeyed cunt, Fiona was moving him toward a magnificent orgasm. Simultaneously his cock exploded and Breena's cum filled his mouth with cloying sweetness. The result was mind-blowing. He spun off into a secret world of delirious delight before complete oblivion claimed him.

  Slowly, reluctantly, because he was unwilling to let go of such bliss, Connla emerged from his senseless state. With sanity came a sharp pang of regret that was real but not profound. He should apologize. He should send these two fairy creatures away. He did neither, instead he once more joined with Breena and Fiona to make a fairy chain. This time it was Fiona who hovered over him and Breena who crawled between his legs, but the results were the same, a ravaging, maddening, climb toward a double ecstasy that ultimately sent him soaring into a world of shimmering, sensuous delirium.

  And so it went the long night through. By the time the two fairy sisters took their leave, just before the sun pushed its way above the eastern horizon, Connla was spent, sated, and nowhere near a decision as to what he should do or where he should choose to make his home. He was too weary to think now. Perhaps if he could catch a few winks...

  The sun was sinking below the Western Sea when Conn and his entourage once more made their way up the slope above the village. They found their stalwart warrior prince stretched out and sleeping soundly on the grass.

  The sharp jab of Conn's boot in his ribs moved Connla to wakefulness. Sitting up, he stretched and yawned. “The sun is up already?"

  Disgust sounded in Conn's reply. “The sun is almost set. Lady Kera will soon arrive. When she arrives, you can tell her of your decision to stay with your people and she can be on her way."

  Connla shook his head, trying to clear his brain. He had yet to reach a decision. Before he had time to frame that thought into words, an elder pointed toward the seashore. “Behold, Lady Kera draws nigh."

  Lady Kera skimmed over the smooth waters of the Western Sea in a crystal currach, steering a straight course until its shining bow touched the shore.

  As she stepped onto the sandy beach, Connla hurried to meet her. The magic of her nearness sent quicksilver shivers down his spine. He took her hand and felt the embers of raw desire flicker and flare in his groin. “Welcome, Lady Kera, to the Plain of Arcomin.” He led her toward the gathering of elders.

  Kera smiled up at him. “Connla of the flame hair, did you enjoy your night on the open plain?” One lovely green eye fluttered in a seductive wink.

  Connla's ruddy complexion turned shades pinker. “I ... no, I ... oh, yes..."

  Kera's laughter tinkled out into the cool of the evening. “Breena and Fiona are quite taken with you."

  Conn raised his arm. “Silence, fairy woman, Stand aside and let Connla speak."

  With a smile and a shrug, Kera stepped aside.

  Conn prompted, “Speak, my son.” When Connla seemed unable to find his voice, Conn launched into a brilliant oration that sang the praises of duty and told of the excellence of obligation. When he had finished his harangue, he once more addressed his son, “Speak, Prince Connla, tell this fairy creature that you elect to stay here on the green Plains of Arcomin. Relate to her that you choose to dwell with other mortals in this goodly place."

  Lady Kera asked meekly, “Do I not get an opportunity to plead my case?"

  King Conn dared not refuse her request. “Yes, but make your plea brief, even now the sun is sinking and night approaches.

  Kera came to stand very near Connla. “In my land of Tir Na N-og, changeless splendor reigns. It holds strange and exotic delights; some you have already tasted.” She closed her mouth and held out her hand to Connla.

  He took it and walked with her from his father's side and toward the waiting currach.

  Conn's anguished cry rent the quiet evening air. “Connla, my son, my warrior prince, come back, come back to me."

  His pleadings were in vain. Without a backward glance, Connla helped Kera into the crystal currach, got in behind her and sailed away, over the waters of the Western Sea and into the land of Tir Na N-og.

  The king and his elders watched as the currach moved over the bright sea toward the sunset. They stood, gazing transfixed until they lost sight of its crystal stern as it dropped over the horizon and into another world, disappearing with the setting sun, never to be seen again.

  Conn and the other hapless mortals stood on the shore until the last vestige of twilight was swallowed up in the darkness of a summer night. Only then did they return to their homes to wonder and contemplate and suppose and wish...

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  Known primarily for her detailed fantasy worlds, Bianca D'Arc has over a dozen ebooks and half a dozen books in print. She writes primarily in the paranormal, futuristic, science fiction, and fantasy genres of romance. This may be due to her lifelong love of all those genres and years spent running a laboratory as a certified science geek. Stints in grad school changed her career path several times until she finally decided to follow her dream of writing full time. Bianca loves to chat with readers on her Yahoo chat group and has an extensive website at: www.biancadarc.com.

  Billie and Herb Houston, aka Barri Bryan, have been writing as a team since 1990. Billie is a former teacher and educator. She holds an undergraduate degree in history and a graduate degree in educational psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Herb is a former teacher, computer programmer and technical writer for the Air Force. He holds a degree in education from Trinity College in Fort Worth, Texas.

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