Touched by the Gods
Copyright© 2026 by dirtymindedwife
Chapter 2
Night was the best time to be at the beach. Less crowded. Cooler. The perfect place for introspection. It was a shame I didn’t have time to contemplate the universe’s secrets beneath the moon and stars as gentle waves broke against the shore.
I pulled my robes over my head and fashioned them around my torso like a sack, the loose tunic I wore underneath billowing in the breeze as I strode through the sand. In my heart, I grieved the loss of returning to something dry to change into upon my return, but I needed a safe place to stash any pearls I collected while I picked my way through the oyster bed I’d spotted a few yards into the water.
In truth, I smelled it first, a foul mineral reek heavy in the night air. My sandals sank into the wet sand and water lapped at my toes, a small smile tugging at my lips despite the cold.
Mother had taught me to pray to Numos, but I had always prayed to Maren in secret. The sea goddess did more for our family with her plentiful bounty than Numos ever did with his laws and stuffy priests.
As children, Cassius and I used to slip down to the shore when we could to dig for clams and catch crab. He held our prizes in his shirt while I drew the creatures to me with my casting, Summoning spells being my specialty. We sold what we couldn’t keep.
I waded into the water, shivering as a strong gust of wind swept over me.
Maren’s brothers, Boreas and Caelum, controlled the wind and the sky. Their hatred ran deeper than a typical sibling rivalry with the brothers kidnapping Maren’s daughter and hiding her away in the clouds, but I had no quarrel with them even though I occasionally prayed to Maren. Her family squabbles were no issue of mine.
Besides that, no matter how hard the citizens of Civitas Riparia and I prayed, violent storms battered the city year after year. Maren and her brothers either weren’t listening, or they simply didn’t care.
I took a deep breath as the wind tugged tendrils of hair from my bun, drawing on the brightness of the moon and stars. Spiritual and mental energy flowed through my arm into my hand, an orb of blue light swirling into existence. It floated a few feet over my head, lighting up the water around me.
Gathering oysters in the darkness required both hands. Especially since I didn’t have an aquamarine to part the waves.
I crouched down into the water, wincing against the cold as I held out my arms just beneath the surface. Another deep breath. I drew energy from the strength of the sea; the force of the currents; its resistance against the tide.
Mental and spiritual energy surged through my arms. “Might!”
Water parted before me and I gritted my teeth as I held my arms out at my sides. A path of muck and wet sand extended all the way to the oyster bed, two walls of water on both sides. Dark oyster shells reflected the blue light like precious gemstones. If only the shells were as valuable as the pearls that lie within.
I kept my arms held out at my sides, keeping the water at bay as I made my way through the muck. Obscenities slipped from my lips every time my sandals sank into the stinky slime, but I would be grateful for my footwear once I got to the jagged oyster bed.
Cassius and I had only braved the rocks when we were desperate. A handful of pearls paid for our rent and kept our bellies full at the expense of bloody hands and feet.
That night, I needed more than a handful.
My orb of light bobbed over my head as I approached the oysters, water closing over the path behind me and rushing up to my thighs as I reached out. The stink of salty brine and the oyster bed was almost enough to make me swear off seafood forever.
An oyster would feel cold and smooth in my hand. Wet. Hard, but brittle.
“Oyster!”
A single mollusk broke away from the bed with a loud crack and soared into my palm.
I closed my eyes as I drew power from the sea, channeling energy into the oyster. “Might.”
The shell broke open with a pop and a flash of light.
No pearl.
I tossed the shell and the meat into the water, guilt adding to my desperation. Something would eat the oysters. They wouldn’t go to waste. Besides that, I couldn’t afford to feel guilty.
I reached for another and fell into a steady pace, my work distracting me from the water’s press and the cold muck swallowing my feet. The pop of oysters being blown opening was softened by the wind.
When I became a Mage, I’d buy myself the biggest, fattest aquamarine I could find and have it mounted on a staff of driftwood. Then I could control the water with a lazy wave of my arm.
Cassius had once stolen an aquamarine from a fisherman. We’d spent one glorious day reaping Maren’s harvest, our pockets bulging with pearls as we lugged as much oyster meat back to shore as we could carry.
A dark chuckle slipped from between my lips as I tossed another oyster into the sea.
The fisherman caught us when we showed up at the market to sell our bounty. Cassius gave up his bag of pearls, all the oyster meat, the aquamarine, and took the full beating while I hid my pearls beneath my clothes.
That was the year we escaped the slums. Mother used what was left over to hire a tutor to teach all three of her children to read and write. As much as Cassius infuriated me, I couldn’t make myself hate him. He was at least decent enough not to sign Cece’s money over to Crispus.
I climbed onto the rock in search of more oysters, clinging to the jagged surface as seawater crashed over me. My hand slipped and I cried out, blood hot and sticky on my fingers. Panic drove all rational thought from my mind and I clawed at the rock face, pain cutting into my hands and arms. The pull of the waves ripped me from the rock and carried me out to sea.
Tears spilled onto my cheeks as rage flared in my chest, but I forced my emotions away. I didn’t have time for them. I held my arms out at my sides, spiritual and mental energy coming from within.
My voice was faint beneath the wind and the sea. “Might!”
Water rushed away from me in a swirling roar of sound and I fell into the muck with a strangled cry, blood trickling down my wrists. I gulped at the air, eyes clamped shut.
My neck and shoulders ached, tense from keeping the water at bay as my orb of light flickered overhead. My hands throbbed and bled, but I would live. I could still look for pearls. There was still time to save my family.
I opened my eyes and gasped, a blue-eyed dolphin peering at me from inside the wall of water. A sphere of green light flickered around it, enclosing its shifting form inside a sphere of crackling spell energy.
Its silhouette twisted and stretched, a pair of humanoid legs growing from its lower body as its fin retracted into its back. Arms grew and the shoulders appeared, a neck and head extending from a torso.
The water pressed against my spell, its force overwhelming as I trembled; struck simple with fear and wonder. My arms buckled, muscles tearing with pain as water crashed over me. I didn’t even have time to scream.
Darkness swallowed me whole and I was battered about like a fishing boat in a storm. My light was gone and I couldn’t breathe, my lungs burning for air. I tore and kicked at the water with all my strength, death creeping into my thoughts as I struggled to channel energy into my limbs. The robes around my torso weighed me down. I hadn’t even collected a single pearl.
Green light burst, blinding me. I opened my mouth to scream, water forcing its way down my throat as something brushed the back of my neck. I whipped around, reaching. Desperate. A hand caught me by the face and pulled me out of the water, setting me on the jagged oyster bed.
I clung to the stone and debris, heaving up seawater as the green light faded and the waters calmed.
A beautiful man stood tall and proud on the water’s surface as though he stood on dry land, the sphere dissolving into a shower of twinkling lights. He was olive-skinned and lean with hard muscle, completely smooth except for a mass of messy black ringlets curling over his brow and a dusting of pubic hair on his groin.
My eyes darted to his member and I swallowed hard at the sight of a nice cock, loose skin covering the head as it rested against his thigh. A firm, plump ballsack was just as smooth as the rest of him. Even in the dimness, I could see the thick veins running along the length of his shaft, impressive even though he was soft. Desire flared in between my legs and I suddenly wanted to see him hard.
“You can touch it if you want.”
I flushed hot with embarrassment and forced my eyes to his. It didn’t help that they were the same shade of blue-green as the sea. Neither did the arrogant grin on his perfect face.
He winked, reaching for me as his smile faded. Sharp features made him seem so severe. Judgemental.
Fear brought me back to my senses. I knew better than to be taken in by a pair of pretty eyes and a gorgeous cock. I clung to the rock. “Are you a spirit?”
“You have nothing to fear from me.” His voice was clear and firm like justice.
A wave slammed into me and I tore my fingers and arms to shreds grasping at the rock. The water relented and I lunged for him, heat spreading up my arm into my chest when he caught my wrist. He lifted me out of the water with ease and set me on my feet, the surface somehow solid.
I threw my arms around him with a yelp. “How are you doing this?”
He cocked his head to the side, a small smile playing over his lips. “Magic.”
He slid an arm around my waist, but I shoved him away, my left leg slipping into the water as I stumbled. The young man grabbed my arm before I fell, letting go as soon as I was steady.
I stood up straight, my body warm with his heat. “Am I dead? Are you a spirit guide come to escort me to Maren’s hallowed halls?”
It could’ve been all the seawater I’d swallowed that made me crazy enough to hallucinate a sexy dolphin spirit as I hovered at the edge of death.
He shook his head, water dripping from his wet curls. “You’re not dead. Not yet, anyway.”
I froze, stiff with dread. “What?”
“I admit I let it go on longer than I should’ve, but I could not, for the life of me, figure out why you were throwing out perfectly good oyster meat. I enjoyed it, though.” He patted his stomach, smile teasing. “I love oysters.”
I ground my teeth, hands balling into fists. I didn’t have time for fools. Even if they were handsome.
“But my mother won’t appreciate the mass murder of her subjects. Doubly so, if you were just killing them for the fun of it,” he said.
“I was looking for pearls!” I blurted. “And you ate all the oysters. They didn’t go to waste.”
“Tell it to the Sea Queen.” He reached for my arm.
I threw up my hands, urging all of my remaining energies into my palms. “Might!”
A burst of blue light shot forward, catching the man on the chest. The slack-jawed surprise in his expression as he careened backward into the water made my own jerky twist of limbs less of an embarrassment. I hit the water with a splash.
The sea swallowed me whole, current sucking me into its dark depths. My feet hit the seafloor and hope flared in my chest. I channeled all of my energies into my legs. When I opened my mouth to say the incantation, seawater rushed inside, the intense saltiness choking me just as much as the liquid filling my lungs.
Somehow, I managed to cast the spell, because when I kicked off, I shot upward through the water and breached the surface like a whale. A firm grasp caught my wrist and pulled me up, setting me down on something solid.
I pushed up on all fours, choking and sputtering. Water churned beneath me, some glass-like barrier keeping me from sinking. I’d never heard of such magic. I stood on shaky legs, breathing ragged as I looked up into the face of the dolphin-man.
I opened my mouth to say something cutting, something bitchy, but he beat me to it.
“You don’t have to pretend to drown to get my attention.” He grinned.
My stomach fluttered and I scowled, irritated by my own arousal. “Who are you?”
He cleared his throat and drew himself to his full height, strong chin jutting out with an arrogant tilt of his head. “I am Dorian. One of Maren’s favorite princes.”
I snorted with dismissive laughter, but paused. Could I really doubt such a claim after everything I’d witnessed?
“The Dorian?” My voice was raw. “Friend of shipwrecked sailors and Guardian of the Sea?”
He smiled, green light twinkling around him like a cloak of stars. “The one and only.”
A prickle of fear made me shiver. “I really am sorry about all the oysters. My family is in bad trouble and I need-”
He dismissed me with a wave of his hand. “You’re a spell castor.”
I pushed wet hair away from my face. “And a lot of good it’s done me.”
Dorian furrowed his brow, so cute when he didn’t understand.
“I should be tucked away in the Mage’s Tower researching spell casting abilities in idiot savants! I should be wealthy and free!” I knew I sounded bitter, but I couldn’t hold back any more. “But here I am! Out here in the ocean. Trying to collect enough pearls to keep my family afloat. It’s always fallen to me to clean up everyone else’s messes!”
Dorian’s eyes narrowed, gaze flickering over me as I struggled to catch my breath, body burning with anger as well as desire. I hadn’t meant to say all that.
“Maybe we can help each other.” Dorian rubbed his hands together, green spell energy crackling between his palms.
I swallowed hard, deeply afraid, but insanely curious. The help from gods and demi-gods always came at a hefty price.
He cupped his hands beneath his chin, eyes boring into mine as he blew a shower of sparkling lights over me. My skin tingled, water rising from my hair and clothing in a fine mist. When I was completely dry, it fell into the sea like a burst of rain.
I couldn’t afford to be choosy when it came to help and I didn’t have time for fear.
I swallowed my trepidation and stood up straight, head held high. “What’d you have in mind?”
A single dimple appeared in his right cheek when he grinned. Handsome men got away with everything. “The Sea Queen would never hold a few oysters against a desperate human. I only said that because delivering a murderer to Her Majesty is a great excuse to get inside her grand palace and down into the jail cells beneath. I need you to help me break my sister free.”
All the hope in me died.
“What makes you think I would ever cross Maren? I would be a fool to provoke her fury,” I said.
Dorian rolled his eyes. “She just bellows like a sea cow and throws water everywhere.”
I bristled. “Easy for you to say. I can’t turn into a dolphin and swim away if she were to swallow me up.”
He put his hands on his hips. “You want pearls? I can give you thousands.”
My mouth ran dry. “In exchange for what, exactly?”
“Help me break my sister out of jail. She’s committed no crime, I swear.”
I scoffed. “That’s what they all say.”
Dorian continued in his sister’s defense, expression alive with passion. “She fell in love beneath her station. Married in secret. When our mother found out, she went ballistic and locked poor Octavia away.”
If only I had a quill and a scrap of parchment to write down such a tragic tale. Cecelia could’ve used my notes to write beautiful ballads and sonnets.
I ran my fingers through my hair and rubbed my face in my hands. What crazy bullshit fairytale had I stumbled into? I’d just witnessed something incredible; something greater than myself, and while I did tremble, that was more out of fear than reverence. If the being before me was some kind of god, I was not impressed.
I smoothed the sleeves of my tunic.
I had to help a demi-god, a sexy dolphin-man, break his sister out of a goddess’s prison in exchange for riches. To protect my siblings. And innocence. Not to mention true love.
I sighed. “Throw in a big aquamarine and you’ve got a deal.”
Dorian nodded and held out his hand.
Moon and starlight added to the night’s mythical quality. I’d have to mention that to Cecelia.
I took his hand and he pulled me in for a hard kiss. Warm. Passionate. I forgot myself for a moment and leaned into his solid heat. There was no time for love, but the cock stirring against my hip was impossible to ignore.
He teased the corners of my lips with his tongue and I parted them, shuddering with pleasure when he slipped it inside my mouth. I leaned into his smooth, hard body, his naked heat stoking my lust as desire took over. Never in my life had I ever experienced such an intense attraction.
I gently brushed my fingertips over his abs and took his semi-hard cock in hand, pleased when it twitched in my grasp.
Dorian broke away with a sharp intake of breath. “I knew you were bold.”
I stroked his length, marveling at the silky smoothness of his skin as he stiffened in my hand. Our eyes met and the heat in his gaze made my own sex throb with need.
“What gave it away?” I kissed him softly on the lips.
He cupped my cheek, eyes wide as he studied my face. A soft moan heightened my desire. I pumped his hardening cock with my fist, slow and teasing as I slid his foreskin back-and-forth over a perfect mushroom tip.
He traced the outline of my cheekbone with his thumb before gently rubbing my bottom lip, making me shudder. His arrogant smile returned, eyes twinkling with lust. “You didn’t cower away when I first appeared to you. Most humans prostrate themselves before my splendor and beg for mercy. Even when they haven’t done anything wrong.
“Do you appear naked to many humans?”
He kissed me. “Only the pretty ones.”
Smug, sexy bastard. I’d show him.
I began to stroke him with both hands, his member quickly swelling to full hardness as beads of pre-cum oozed from the tip. I spread it over his shaft, my own wetness trickling down the inside of my thigh at his throaty moans.
I kissed him hard and pushed my tongue into his mouth, the salty taste of him driving me wild. He teased my tongue with his and I groaned, breaking away to plant a trail of kisses from his perfect mouth to his ear. His breath was hot against me, his cock fully erect and ready to play.
I stopped stroking, his rigid length twitching in my grasp as he whimpered, whole body shuddering as he tried to thrust. “I’m gonna make you feel so good.”
He made a sound somewhere in between a laugh and a groan, and I nipped his earlobe with my teeth before kissing my way down his neck.
Dorian leaned his head back with a grunt and twirled my hair around his fingers as I kissed his broad chest, sliding one hand to his balls. He swore quietly under his breath and I resumed my slow pumping, his sack smooth and warm in my palm. He smelled of salt and sun. I couldn’t get enough as I sank to my knees, the hand gripping the back of my head guiding me as I kissed and licked each of his abs.
A groan of satisfaction rumbled from his chest. “Don’t tease me anymore, sexy lady. I wanna feel your mouth on my cock.”
I nipped at his belly button and he sucked a breath through his teeth, cursing softly as he pushed me down. For me, there was nothing submissive about giving head. Controlling someone else’s pleasure with my mouth and tongue made me feel powerful, especially when they crooned my praises and begged for more.
I gently massaged his balls as I moved my other hand to the inside of his warm thigh and pressed my face to his stubbly groin, breathing his musk. My clit throbbed beneath my pussy lips, but I stayed focused on Dorian, kissing the base of his cock before licking my way along his length.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he rasped, cupping my cheek with one hand and taking hold of his member with the other.
I smiled up at him and winked, releasing his balls to rest my hand on his other thigh. “Yes, but not as much as you.”
He chuckled and took a deep breath, his lips pursed as he playfully slapped my face with his impressive cock. I leaned into it, enjoying the full-length of his arousal. He was thick and veiny, long enough to fill his lover to the brink, but not so big that he would cause discomfort. Perfect.
He rested his member against my cheek, chest heaving as he drew ragged breaths. “I wanna cum in your pretty mouth.”
I turned my face toward his cock and kissed the tip, his pre-seed bitter as it continued to dribble out of him. With his hand wrapped around the base, he guided it to my lips, gasping when I sucked the head into my wet, eager mouth and stroked the rough underside with the tip of my tongue.
He groaned, legs shaking as he gripped the back of my head. “You like my dick, don’t you, pretty lady? I can tell by the way you suck me.”
I moaned, my lips humming around his fat rod, and he threw his head back with a deep sigh. Truth was, I liked dick in general, especially when it was attached to a handsome, confident man. I began to bob up and down on his length, the salty taste of his preseed thrilling.
He let go of his cock and laced his fingers behind his head with a grunt, leaning into me. “That’s a good girl.”
I sucked a deep breath through my nostrils and took him as deep as I dared, stopping when my gag reflex kicked in.
He rested a hand on my head, hushing me. “Take your time.”
I held him there, breathing through my nose, as I waited for my throat to relax. His was not the first big dick I’d ever sucked.
“You look so sexy with my cock in your mouth,” he said.
Our eyes met and he moaned, his handsome face slack with lust as I bobbed up and down, the tip of his cock just breaching my throat. I took him deeper until I gagged, my muscles spasming around him as I breathed deep.
He released a string of expletives under his breath and I knew he wouldn’t last long. My muscles relaxed and I bobbed up and down a few more times before taking him even deeper.
Dorian cried out, legs shaking as he held my head still. “Where’d you learn to suck dick like this? Oh, my sweet lady.”
I repeated the process twice more: taking him into my throat until it hurt, then, with deep breaths through my nose, waiting until I felt the muscles relax to go deeper. Dorian was patient. He whispered sexy words of praise and admiration as he cupped my face with both hands, his pretty eyes wide with excitement.
Saliva and preseed leaked from the corners of my mouth and dribbled over my chin, the musky scent of him combined with the erotic sensation of his cock pulsating and twitching in my throat almost enough to make me cum without being touched. I locked eyes with him and took a deep breath into my lungs and took him all the way to the base, the urge to gag and vomit so strong that tears spilled onto my face.
Dorian closed his eyes, a guttural groan the sexiest sound I’d ever heard. He held onto the back of my head and ground my face against his groin. “Where’d you come from, sweet thing?”
If not for the cock in my mouth and throat, I would’ve grinned.
I knocked his hand away from my head and pulled back a little, our eyes meeting just before I sucked him deep all over again.
“Oh,” cried Dorian, his voice loud over the crash of the water churning all around us. “I’m gonna cum down your throat.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, no distractions, and began to fuck my own throat with his big dick. The preseed trickling out of him made for excellent lubricant. It wasn’t long before he began to spasm.
“I’m gonna cum.”
I took him all the way to the base and he moaned, deep and guttural, as he coated my insides with a splurt of his seed. His cock flexed against my tight muscles. I couldn’t taste or feel any of his essence inside me, but the hard member twitching and pulsating in my throat was incredibly intense. My clit ached with want of release and my pussy, dripping with wetness, throbbed. Suddenly, the only thing in the world I wanted was to feel Dorian cum that like in my tight cunt.
He held onto my head, chest heaving as he unloaded. I peeked up at him through half-closed eyes, pleased by the look of rapture on his face, and cupped his ballsack in my hand. His balls suddenly relaxed and he sighed, withdrawing from me before I was ready.
I gagged, a copious amount of his spend coming back up into my mouth. More tears trickled onto my cheeks and I held his seed there. Trails of cum and my own saliva connected my mouth to his erect member, his delicate skin glistening in the moonlight with our combined juices.
He gripped the base and gently slapped me with it, my cheek suddenly wet and sticky. “Where’d you learn to suck dick so good?”
I smiled and opened my mouth, so proud of the cum puddled on my tongue.
Dorian liked it, too. He pursed his lips and rubbed my cheekbone with his thumb. “You dirty girl. Swallow.”
I did, his grunt of approval immensely satisfying. I may not have been able to afford the Mage’s Exam, but I sucked dick well enough to make a demi-god cum down my throat. If that didn’t count for something, I didn’t know what would.
I wiped my mouth and cheeks with my hand as Dorian offered me his. When I accepted it, he yanked me to my feet and pulled me close, his hand warm on my thigh.
He kissed me gently on the lips. “Don’t worry. I didn’t forget about you.”
I couldn’t help but smile. How considerate of him.
Dorian hooked my leg over his hip and slid his hand beneath my tunic. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my body burning with desire. His fingers brushed my swollen sex and I whimpered, beyond ready for him.
“So wet.” He pushed two fingers inside me, teasing pleasure from my needy pussy.
I flexed my hips into his touch, moaning. He rubbed a hard circle over my clit and I became undone, shivers shooting up and down my spine as a wave of sexual bliss crashed through me. My pussy contracted hard around his magic fingers and I cried out, my moans soft and breathy as I reached my peak. Dorian continued coaxing pleasure from my body while I came down from the best orgasm I’d had in a long time. I ran my fingers through his dark hair and pressed my forehead against his, satisfied.
When his machinations became tiresome, I pushed his hand away, spent.
But he didn’t miss a beat, immediately raising his fingers to his lips and sucking them clean with a naughty smirk.
“Dirty boy.”
He chuckled and kissed me hard, pushing his tongue inside my mouth with a moan. My own wetness was thick and musky on my tongue, so mild after his bitter seed. I sucked and teased him until he broke away, the bored look on his face enough to make my bold boil.
I twisted free of his embrace, raising my fingertips to my burning lips. “What’s wrong?”
He reached for me, but I turned away in a panic. My chest heaved and I couldn’t draw breath.
I dropped to my knees, wheezing. “What did you do -”
Dorian knelt, scooping me up into his arms before leaping into the sea. Water rushed over me, but I didn’t feel cold, only weightless and free. My mind screamed for air and I flailed against Dorian, clawing at the water overhead.
When the ache in my lungs became too much, I gasped, water pouring down my throat.
But instead of drowning, sweet bliss made me weak with relief. I floated in the darkness, breathing water in and out. Dorian had transformed back into a dolphin, bright light emanating from him. He winked and I began to laugh.
“Was it your cum that made this possible? Or your kiss?”
He blew bubbles from his blowhole and I couldn’t stop laughing.
The oyster bed I’d been tormenting was much larger than I initially thought, the massive, mollusk infested rock extending down into the watery depths for what appeared to be miles. The creatures taunted me while I floated, waiting for my strength to return.
“Murderer,” they wailed, their squeaky sorrow touching. “Prince Dorian is even worse. What kind of ruler doesn’t execute justice for his citizens?”
The grey dolphin swam in circles around me, blue eyes bright in the dimness. “You’re Maren’s citizens. And I’ve feasted on oyster flesh before and I’ll do it again.”
“You heartless monster,” shrieked an oyster.
“The Queen will hear about this,” cried another.
“Come on. We haven’t got much time.” Dorian led me away from the oyster’s demands for justice.
I swam after him as fast as I could, but he often had to circle back around, drifting beside me with a lazy arrogance.
“What did you do to me?” I was more curious than afraid as he flipped and twirled through the water with ease.
“Consider it a boon, blessing, or even a curse,” he called. “When I kissed you, I made it so you can breathe underwater and communicate with Maren’s subjects.”
“How?”