by Eric Vall
Dragir furrowed his brow as he thought about this, and I went back to working on my sketch while I waited for his input. I made sure not to misalign a single degree marking so I could get my information correct, and I left the same blank spaces I always did where the unknown elements resided.
“I think I can do this,” Dragir finally decided, “on one condition.”
“What is it?”
“I want this weapon,” he told me. “This is all I ask in return.”
I paused in my work as I eyed the elven ears dangling around the man’s neck.
Dragir was already pretty effective without a firearm, and House Natyr just fell at the hands of only him and two of my machines. He’d also been ready to skin me about twenty minutes ago, but still, his help with this could determine whether my army would be able to defend the kingdom or not.
“Here’s the thing,” I sighed as I turned on my stool. “You’ve threatened to kill me more than a couple times today, so I’m gonna have to get back to you about this. Depending on how things go from here … it’s a maybe.”
Dragir grinned. “Good enough for me.”
“Really?” I snorted.
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “I do not plan to kill you. You are the father of my sister’s child after all, and you are a man who owns an entire village, which is impressive. I believe you will keep your word if I keep mine, yes?”
I nodded.
“Then that is good enough for me,” Dragir decided. “I will engrave this new pistol of yours for your army. Is that all you needed?”
“Not exactly,” I admitted, and I slid the degree mapping over. “Are these really the only elements you know the name of, or are there a few you didn’t mention?”
“I told you all I know,” the elf assured me. “Why?”
“Because this line,” I said as I drew the teleportation element across the map, “makes it possible to transport an entire being from one point to another, no matter the distance. The Master uses it to send his possessed forces anywhere he wants, and they’ve been showing up by the hundreds.”
Dragir didn’t move a muscle as he paled on the spot, and I nodded in agreement while he tried to fathom this. Eventually, I just gave him a demonstration with a chunk of metal to explain the basic concept of teleportation, and by the time I finished telling him everything about my experience with the new element so far, the elf had his head braced in his hands while he stared down at the table.
“I have never heard of such a thing,” Dragir mumbled. “If knowledge of this element reaches the elves, we will find ourselves in a war even more detrimental than the last. That is to say nothing of what it could mean for Deya. We would never be able to protect her.”
“One thing at a time,” I tried. “What can we do right now to counter this element?”
“That is the problem,” Dragir said as he sat up and looked my way. “When you speak of countering a rune, there are several things to consider. Namely, can you work within the same elemental degree in an opposing fashion? Sometimes it is as simple as altering the directional degree, sometimes you must bring other elements into the balance in order to create a superior power. But if you do not know this element, then you have no hope of doing any of that. You cannot counter an element with no name.”
“Can we name it?” I asked. “There has to be some way.”
“Not by any means I can think of,” the elf admitted. “There is simply nothing to be done to counter an unknown element. That is the way of rune magic.”
“Shit,” I cursed as I crumpled the degree map and tossed it into my scrap pile.
“My father may have been correct about this Master,” Dragir muttered. “With a power such as this, he will conquer us all. You said he sends his soldiers by the hundreds?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I think we’ve killed off most of his ogres, but he’s been travelling to the smoke lands south of Nalnora to expand his army, and he’s stolen a decent number of mages from us. I’ve been recapturing them and removing their runes like we did for Rhys’ son, though. Other than that, we’ve got decent numbers on our side and some pretty brutal allies. If we get to work, every one of them could be carrying these weapons.”
I placed my pistol on the table between us while Dragir brooded over the predicament, but eventually he nodded in agreement.
“This weapon might secure our chances,” he allowed. “I need time to think over this new element, though. Perhaps there is something more that can be done. Something the Master cannot anticipate.”
“That’s all I ask,” I told the elf. “You’re the only person I know who can help us figure it out. No one in Illaria knows about rune magic, and like I said, now is definitely not the time for me to be running off to Nalnora for anything.”
“I agree,” Dragir snorted, and he gestured to my arm. “How are your runes treating you?”
“Good. It took a while to get used to them, but they’ve saved my life on multiple occasions. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Well, you did get my sister pregnant,” Dragir reminded me. “You could thank me many times.”
I chuckled at the sentiment, but then Dragir slowly turned, and I sobered as I realized he was serious.
“Thank you,” I quickly added, and the elf nodded after a moment. “You don’t have to be salty about this, though. You get to be an uncle, which is awesome. It’s all the perks of teaching the kid cool things without the drawbacks of having to raise it. Not to mention, it’ll probably be born a mage. I bet you never thought you’d have that kind of magic in your family line.”
Dragir furrowed his brow. “I suppose uncle sounds okay when you put it like that.”
“It’s gonna be awesome,” I decided. “Don’t worry so much.”
“Yes, you should not worry, either,” Dragir agreed as he clasped my shoulder. “I will teach your son everything he needs to know.”
“Well … I’m gonna teach him a lot, too,” I clarified, “but it could be a girl. We don’t know yet.”
“No, that will not be okay. You should have a boy.” Dragir stood and let out a sharp whistle on his way to the entrance. “Now, I am going to play with Ruela because she must have missed me terribly, and I think best when I am in motion. Do you have any femurs lying around?”
“Our butler Alfred has some set aside,” I replied. “I guess I’ll go find Deya.”
“Yes, she is your problem now, so you address her terrible decision,” Dragir agreed. “But make sure she understands how incredibly stupid and selfish she has been, and that we are not pleased she has caused all of this strife on top of everything else. Tell her we will not forgive her any time soon, and that she has a lot to answer for.”
I gave a firm nod for appearance’s sake, but a smirk escaped me as I turned for the opposite door.
I didn’t bother clarifying I had a very different stance on the matter, but inside my head, there was a mini Mason Flynt doing snoopy dances over the graves of every bastard I’d gladly kill for the sake of my elven lover.
Because Papa Flynt was officially in the house.
Chapter 3
“Deya?” I called out as I closed the door of my sex jungle behind me.
I was immediately engulfed in the heady scent and warm steam of the place, and the soothing atmosphere only made me more aware of how worn out I was. I’d hoped coming home from the battle in Serin would leave me with a full day to recuperate, but things hadn’t panned out at all like I’d imagined.
It was impossible to be irritated, though. My women finally admitted they weren’t drinking their tea, and the most beautiful elf I’d ever seen was already carrying my baby. Her ruthless brother was slowly coming to terms with the idea, too, so all that was standing between me and total bliss was getting Deya to come out of hiding long enough for me to tell her how I felt about all this.
“I’m pretty tired, and this is the fourth room I’ve tried,” I continued as I turned in a circle, “so if you’re in here,
it’d be great to see you.”
I waited several beats while nothing but the waterfall made a noise, and I was about to try looking in yet another room when Deya suddenly flickered into view.
She was sitting in the bubbling pool beneath the waterfall with her eyes cast down, and I’d never seen her looking so sulky before. The way her lips pouted while she refused to look up made it hard not to chuckle, but I did my best to only let a sigh slip out.
Then I worked on undoing my belt, and that seemed to get her attention.
I smirked when the elf’s violet eyes flicked up for the briefest second, and I made sure to take my time heading over since her cheeks were turning pink. Halfway there, my pants dropped, and Deya bit her lip while she couldn’t resist admiring every inch of me. I was chuckling when I stepped into the heated water to join her, and it took all I had not to collapse on the spot from how relieving the sensation was.
Once I was seated, I reached over and caught Deya by the hips, and I dragged her onto my lap while she pouted at the bubbles on the surface. So, I waited her out as I admired the pixie-like slope of her jawline and her plush lips, and the steam left a dewy sheen across the bridge of her nose that reminded me of the first time I saw her in Nalnora. I could understand why this was the first place the beautiful elf went to since the mist was a lot like the dense blue fog around House Quyn.
It was a pretty sexy place to sulk, too.
So, I enjoyed the calm of my steamy oasis after what felt like the longest day ever, and I patiently waited for Deya to break her silent strike while I traced circles across her lower back.
Eventually, she mustered the courage to look me in the eye.
“I’m so sorry,” Deya whimpered. “I never wanted to deceive you, Mason, and I know you will never trust me again, but I couldn’t help it. You’re the most wonderful man I’ve ever met, and how could I not want to have a baby with you? I knew from the first night we spent together that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life, and I … I thought if you felt the same way … ”
“I did feel the same way,” I said with a smirk. “I just didn’t realize you were so committed at the time. I mean, I hadn’t even asked you to leave Nalnora with us yet.”
“I know,” she mumbled. “I hoped you would, though.”
I raised my brows. “That’s a lot of blind faith to place in a man you’d only slept with once.”
“But it’s you,” Deya said simply. “How could I not have faith in you? Also, maybe it didn’t matter. I still wanted your baby. Even if you did leave me behind. It would give me a part of you to love for the rest of my life.”
My throat clenched from the pure love in Deya’s violet eyes, and I could hardly believe the way she trusted and loved me so completely. Even back then.
“You don’t have to be sorry about any of this,” I told her as I brushed a stray strand of pink hair behind her pointed ear. “I’m not upset. I was just caught off guard.”
“Are you sure?” Deya asked as she bit her lip. “Because I have endangered all of us even worse than before, and now you will be targeted by the Elven Houses until the day you die.”
I didn’t even need to hesitate. “Hell yeah, I’m sure. I don’t care how many targets I’ve got on my back. Having a baby with you is exactly what I want for us.”
Deya’s eyes brimmed with tears as she turned bright pink, and before I could blink, she had her tongue down my throat. I chuckled as she bit at my lips and clutched me against her, and I could feel her tears spilling down her cheeks as she began to tremble in my arms.
Then Shoshanne lightly cleared her throat, and I pried my lips off Deya’s to see the healer, Cayla, and Aurora standing on the threshold.
“Can we join you?” Cayla asked with a tentative smile.
“Always,” I chuckled, and Deya sniffed in agreement.
“Mason still loves me!” the beautiful elf announced, and the way her voice shook made all of us crinkle our brows.
“Of course, he does,” Shoshanne cooed.
“How could I not?” I murmured as I tightened my hold on her.
“Yeah, even if you are a sneaky little elf,” Aurora teased, and she splashed water at Deya for good measure before she slipped out of her silk bodice and stepped into the pool.
The others stripped down to join as well, and once the three women tucked themselves around us on the bench, Deya let Shoshanne wipe her tears off for her.
“So, are there any other secrets you’re keeping from us?” the healer asked with a smirk.
I furrowed my brow when Deya had to think hard about it, and her shrug wasn’t exactly reassuring, but it did make her breasts jostle enough to distract me from this.
“I think that’s all I’m hiding,” the beautiful elf decided. “I’ll let you know if I remember something else, though.”
“Great,” Cayla chuckled. “Just keep us posted.”
Deya giggled as she snuggled her cheek against my shoulder, and Shoshanne stroked her back as she let out a sigh.
“You’re going to be the most beautiful pregnant woman this world has ever seen,” Aurora told the elf.
“Your bump’s so tiny and cute!” Shoshanne squeaked, and as the three women began pawing at Deya’s tummy, the healer caught my hand under the water to make me do the same.
My elf blushed even more when she felt my palm against the small bump of our baby, and I honestly couldn’t tell which of the women was closest to tears. Maybe Shoshanne, because when she saw the smile on my face, I heard her sniff as her hand quivered on top of mine.
“I’m rarely jealous of anyone,” Cayla admitted, “but I can’t help it. I want to be as cute as Deya is right now.”
“Speaking of which,” I interrupted, and I looked directly at Aurora as I narrowed my eyes. “You said yet.”
“Hmm?” the half-elf asked as she blinked at me innocently.
“Just before I passed out, I heard you ask Shoshanne why Deya has a belly bump when none of you do ‘yet.’ If you’ve all stopped drinking your tea, does that mean you’re all pregnant and have been messing with me for weeks?”
“No!” Shoshanne insisted. “We weren’t messing with you, we--”
“We were kind of messing with him,” Cayla muttered.
“But, Mason, it’s only because you wouldn’t admit you wanted us to get pregnant,” Aurora cut in.
I cocked a brow. “Explain yourselves.”
“It was just too sweet watching you pull your hair out and try to be a gentleman about it,” Cayla chuckled. “I blame Deya for pushing the subject so much after that night we drank the Rosh, but once we tested the waters a little with you, it was obvious what you wanted, and we couldn’t resist playing around with you. I think my favorite part was when we bought that silly juice to confuse you. I’ve never seen a man so focused on a cup before.”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, jokes on you, because I wasn’t exactly being a gentleman about it …”
“I know,” Shoshanne admitted, and my eyes snapped to hers. “I can tell when you’re trying to get me pregnant, Mason.”
“Wha … you can?”
“Yes,” the healer laughed, “and I’ve been wanting you every moment since I realized what you were up to.”
“Is that so?” I asked as a lopsided grin came to my face.
Shoshanne sent me a coy nod. “I like it.”
“Me, too,” Aurora purred.
Deya giggled as she felt my instant-erection swell under her ass, but the moan of agreement coming from Cayla made it impossible to rein in how turned on I was. I’d certainly been having a hell of a time doing everything I could to get my women pregnant, but finding out they’d been laying there loving every second of it made the whole jungle seem several degrees warmer all of a sudden.
Still, I manfully tried to stay on topic as I cleared my throat, but Deya began wiggling her ass against my dick just to keep me hot and bothered.
“So … ” I mused as I kneaded Deya’s hips, “
do you all happen to know if I succeeded, or do I still have my work cut out for me in that department? I’m more than happy to keep at it.”
“Well, we aren’t completely sure,” Aurora admitted, “but if Deya’s pregnant, I’m calling it. I feel like I could be pregnant.”
“That’s silly, you just want to be pregnant,” Shoshanne chuckled, and Aurora pursed her lips before she doused the healer with a wave of water.
“We were already working on how to tell you about it last week,” the half-elf continued, “but none of us could agree on how to do it. I wanted to burn the word ‘babies’ across the hills outside Serin so you’d see it when you headed to the capital, but now those fire titans kind of tainted the whole idea.”
“I wanted to spell it out with rockets, and then set them all off one by one to celebrate once you read it,” Cayla sighed. “Shoshanne wouldn’t let me do it, though.”
“It’s incredibly dangerous!” the healer scolded.
“Well, I thought it would be fun to make it into a game,” Deya giggled. “I was going to have us all hide around the mansion so you didn’t know where we went, and then I would secretly follow you all over whispering the word baby wherever you were until you either found all of us or figured it out.”
“I’d be terrified,” I laughed. “That’s the stuff of nightmares.”
“I agree,” Aurora snorted. “I vetoed that idea.”
“We all vetoed everyone’s ideas,” Cayla sighed. “Which is why you didn’t know yet.”
“Understandable.” I nodded as I looked over at Shoshanne. “What was your idea?”
“It’s silly,” the healer mumbled, but her flushed cheeks more than piqued my interest.
“Tell me,” I chuckled.
“No,” Shoshanne refused. “The others made it clear my idea was not remotely adequate, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That’s because it’s boring!” Aurora groaned. “This is Mason Flynt, if it’s not made into a huge deal for him, then it’s not enough.”