by Eric Vall
Predation: Assimilation complete. Beginning analysis and antidote refinement.
Just as quickly as the white light had covered Asher, it disappeared along with him. Deep inside of my spiritual sea, I could faintly feel his sleeping consciousness and my Predation ability analyzing the structure of the miasma and whatever it was that the Sage used to control him.
“What the fuck was that?” I managed to gasp out as I collapsed on the roof of the scout tower.
Somehow, I’d gained a new skill, but now I had to make my way back to the city.
Chapter 16
There was no strength in my body to even make it back to the main gates of the city. I was completely and entirely exhausted of all energy. During the fight with Asher, I’d already been running on fumes, but now that the battle was over, all the adrenaline had rushed out of me and left me on the verge of unconsciousness.
I lifted my hand in front of my face, and it trembled. I could sense there was absolutely nothing left in the tank for me to even try to get down from the tower. Covering my entire body in healing power, shackling Asher, and then the Predation ability activating had used what little had been left.
Slowly, the dark clouds in the night sky dissipated, and I could see the sun begin to rise. Its rays stretched out over the tower and the city of Hatra, and I turned my face toward its warmth. Somehow, it felt like a good omen, like the rising sun meant Hatra would stand tall once again.
As that thought formed in my mind, I could feel myself slipping away into the reassuring nothingness that would lead to my spiritual sea.
Maybe I could finally get some rest now.
The world of my spiritual sea had shifted. Instead of being nothing but an enormous lake from which countless stars were reflected, the city of Hatra was there.
It wasn’t like how it appeared now, though. The city was how I imagined it to be before it fell, except that wasn’t exactly right.
It was more like how the city was being rebuilt.
There were statues of dragons all along the wall, great soaring creatures made out of hammered gold and chips of obsidian that stood out against the bluestone. Everywhere I looked, the dragon motif was repeated throughout all of the buildings, and there were even tiny dragons stamped into some of the cobblestones of the street.
My gaze went everywhere as I walked. I wanted to see all of the beautiful city that I was in. It was the most gorgeous place I’d ever seen, like someone had taken the architecture of the cities of Marrakesh, Istanbul, and Rome and merged them into one glorious world.
I kept walking, and the streets merged into one long boulevard that led me to the domed palace at the center of Hatra. The palace was beyond belief. The dome shimmered like silver glass behind the walls, and as I stared at it in awe, I suddenly found myself inside of the palace.
Pale blue walls spread as far as I could see, and the floors were covered in an ornate patterned tile. As I walked down the wide hallway, giant windows formed along the blue walls, and I could see different rooms through each window.
I saw men and women in throne rooms as the same crown of moonstone was placed on all of their heads. In their hands was a sword that gleamed, as if it was made of pure crystal, and the hilt was set with moonstones in the shape of a crescent moon.
At the end of the long hallway was a large set of double doors, and I lingered in front of them. Then I placed my hand on one of the wooden doors, and the wood was cool to the touch. From behind the doors, I could hear a soft lullaby being sung.
For a moment, I thought it was Alyona singing.
“Child of the moon, sleep through the storm,” the voice was soothing and so close to Alyona’s voice, “morning shall come, and the stars will shine again.”
“Alyona?” I reached out and opened the door.
Pure light seeped out of the door and blinded my vision as I took a step forward and fell into the light.
A gentle hand brushed over my forehead, and I leaned into the touch as I woke up. The hand was cool and delicate as I blinked up at the crystal orb that glowed above me.
“You’re awake!” Alyona’s sweet voice was full of happiness as she helped me sit up.
“How long was I out this time?” I winced as I sat up on the deliciously soft bed. I had no idea how long I had been asleep or what had happened in the time between now and when I had fallen into my spiritual sea at the top of the scout’s tower.
I wasn’t in the tent, this was an actual stone room, but it wasn’t the infirmary. I was on a large bed pushed to the back wall of the room, and a hanging tapestry covered the doorway. Along another wall was a desk piled high with papers and books as well as a basket covered with fabric.
On the bed next to me sat Alyona in a white dress with silver embroidery, and she placed her hand on my forehead.
“Not as long as it could have been.” Alyona pulled back her hand and let it fall to her lap. “Only two days this time.”
“Could have been worse,” I sighed and stretched the kinks out of my neck.
Only two days, it definitely could have been worse. I could have been out for much longer than that considering how much power I’d used during the battle and right before it. It was like I was running a marathon every day for a week and then after that, jumping straight into a triathlon without any rest. I regretted my entire existence, and I never wanted to do that again.
But I would do it again if I had to.
“How do you feel?” A blue glow emanated from Alyona’s fingertips as she placed her hand on my chest. “Your power pathways seem much stronger than before.”
My eyes had trailed away from Alyona’s fingertips and followed the curve of her hip. The dress she now wore left little to my imagination. The fabric sinfully clung to her body, and the neckline of her dress dipped down past her cleavage to her toned stomach. Her shoulders were bare, but her sleeves were wide and draping. While the dress was longer in the front than previous dresses she’d worn, coming to a point just to her knees, the sides of the dress were cut sky-high, and the tanned flesh of her hips tempted me as she leaned forward.
God, she was so fucking beautiful.
Just as I lifted my hand to touch her cheek, a glowing white orb phased through the tapestry and came to a stop in front of Alyona.
“What the fuck is that?” I blinked in surprise at the orb but felt no draconic instincts rear their head in warning. “Is this one of your spirits?”
I glanced at the holy princess sitting next to me, but she seemed nervous at the sight of the orb. I didn’t sense any malice from it, and my draconic instincts were calm. It wasn’t like it was an orb full of trapped miasma that could destroy an entire village if it somehow got loose.
Oh fuck. What happened to the miasma from the first attack?
I glanced around the room in the hopes that somehow it hadn’t been lost during the time I was asleep. My eyes immediately went to the basket on the desk, and I felt the corruptive presence of the trapped presence. I slumped with relief and turned my attention back to Alyona.
“It’s a reply from the White Jade Sect,” Alyona spoke hesitantly as she stared at the glowing white orb in front of us. “I didn’t expect one so soon.”
The worry I could see in her body language tugged at my heartstrings.
“What’s wrong?” I murmured as I pulled her into my arms. “Are you scared of what they’ll say?”
“Yes,” her voice was muffled by my clothing as she nodded. “I abandoned my duty and was reckless. I fell into deviation and put at risk not only Hatra and Rahma but all of Inati with my actions.”
She was so terrified at what the White Jade Sect would say that she trembled in my arms as she held onto me tightly.
“Really?” I rubbed soothing circles on her back as I spoke. “Because I think the opposite. If you hadn’t come to Hatra and gotten Laika and the Blue Tree Guild here, they never would have found me in that cave. I might not have gotten to Hatra, and then where would the corrupted villager
s be? What about the Asuras and those who had been forced to attack Hatra? Let’s not forget the army of the Green Glass Sect and the behemoths that tried to destroy the city the other night. If it wasn’t for you being brave enough to do something, the Blue Tree Guild and I wouldn’t have been here to protect the city.”
“You really think so?” Alyona leaned back from my chest and blinked back tears as she smiled at me.
“Yeah, I do.” I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against hers. “Besides, you told me a priestess was supposed to do everything in her power to protect her people. Isn’t that also the duty of a princess? To protect her people no matter what?”
A beatific smile bloomed on Alyona’s face.
“Thank you for reminding me of who I am.” The priestess dipped her head and pressed a light kiss to my lips before she turned in my arms to face the orb.
She lifted one finger, and it glowed white as she pointed at the orb.
“A representative of the White Jade Sect shall come to Hatra.” The voice of a woman emanated from the orb as it slowly began to fade. “They shall determine the veracity of your claims and the situation surrounding the fallen city. Aid, of course, shall be provided for the time being. The continuation of such aid depends on, of course, the truth of the matter and whether Her Highness is there of her own accord.”
As soon as the voice ceased, the orb disappeared from existence as if it had never been in the room.
“Who do you think is going to come?” I leaned my chin on Alyona’s head and wrapped my arms around her chest.
“It won’t be His Eminence.” Alyona shifted on my lap as she moved into a cross legged position. “Leaving the Breach unguarded is too great of a risk. It’ll be someone he trusts, a Sword or a steward, perhaps. Someone who can judge the situation carefully and quickly.”
“The Breach?” Curiosity edged its way into my voice as I tried to imagine whatever the Breach was.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Alyona played with the hem of her dress as she laughed somewhat sheepishly. “Somehow, it feels like you’ve been here forever. Sometimes I forget you aren’t from this world. The Breach is, essentially, that. A great chasm in the ground from where the demon world has spilled out into our world. That is where all the cruelty and malice of the demonic realm taints ours. Demon hordes have emerged from the Breach in the past and laid waste to entire cities.”
I sighed as I tilted my head to the side. Things just kept on escalating the more I asked questions about the world of Inati. Maybe ignorance really was bliss. I didn’t even know where to begin regarding the Breach, my mind was full of hundreds of questions. Were all the nations of Inati involved in keeping the Breach sealed, or was it just Rahma who bore that burden alone?
If that was the case, it made sense that Hatra had been forgotten when there was such a bigger threat looming in the distance.
“The White Jade Sect Leader, is he always there?” I absentmindedly traced the fabric around Alyona’s waist and felt her shiver under my touch.
“Always.” Alyona drew in a sharp breath as she placed her hands over mine and stopped them from moving. “He rarely leaves the Breach. His presence powers the magical array that seals it since few of the other nations of the world lend their support. Even so, some demons manage to slip out. Poke holes through the fabric of reality and find other gates.”
Well, that answered my question about how much the world of Inati cared about the Breach. There had been trace amounts of bitterness in Alyona’s voice as she had explained about the Breach, and I wondered if her father served alongside the Sect Leader in guarding the Breach when I realized what she had said last.
“Do people open those gates on this side, too?” My eyes traveled to the basket that held the miasma, and I wondered if one of those holes was where the miasma continually seeped into this world from.
It would explain how it’d been able to continue for thousands of years, especially with the situation in Hatra. There must have been a hole in the fabric of reality somewhere near the city, and that was what powered the rampant miasma attacks.
“Yes.” Alyona shook her head and brought up a hand to tug at one of the braids in her hair. “Fools, hungry for power and greedy for so much more than they can handle. They open that door and curse the rest of us because they have no idea of the literal hell that waits on the other side. So many have died because of such foolishness and greed. There are so many graves that sometimes that’s what I think this world is full of. There’s no life, simply tombstones and countless funerals.”
“I promise you that I won’t ever die,” I whispered to Alyona as I tightened my arms around her. “You will never have to bury me.”
“Never is such a very long time.” Alyona let her hand drop to her lap, and she clasped both of them together. “Will you stay with me?”
“Always, it’s a promise.” Laughter and music trailed in from outside the room, and I raised an eyebrow at the loud sounds. “What’s happening out there?”
Before the priestess could reply, three dryads in bright green dresses that looked like leaves clinging to their bodies burst through the door, and the tapestry swung dangerously like it was about to fall.
“Evan!” Polina sang out as she threw herself onto the bed and rolled onto her back. “You’re finally awake!”
“Come and celebrate with us!” Trina cheerfully chirped as she danced around the room with Marina.
“A celebration?” I asked with amusement as I watched the sisters. “What are we celebrating?”
“Silly dragon!” Polina shook her finger in the air as she popped up and sat on the bed. “You saved us all! You saved the city and the Asuras and now Hatra is our home! Of course we gotta celebrate, no one can hurt Hatra or the Asuras now.”
“Why don’t the three of you celebrate for me?” I laughed as I leaned forward to ruffle Polina’s hair. “I need to rest. I’m still pretty beat up after that battle.”
“You’ve been sleeping for days!” Polina pouted as she slid off the bed. “Why do you need to keep on sleeping?”
“Polina, he was in his spiritual sea recovering,” Alyona chided gently as she smoothed the dryad’s mussed curls. “How would you feel if his spiritual sea wasn’t stabilized, and he ended up collapsing during the festivities because of it?”
The dryad and her sisters visibly drooped at the priestess’ words.
“I didn’t think of that,” Polina’s voice was small as she kept her eyes on the ground. “I was just happy he was awake and back.”
“I know, sweetheart.” Alyona pressed a gentle kiss to Polina’s forehead as she pulled the dryad into a hug. “Maybe tomorrow you can take him and have a picnic with what’s left from tonight’s feast. What do you think?”
The three dryads glanced at each other with bright eyes and nodded at the same time. Then the two other dryads tackled Alyona in a hug and pressed kisses to her cheeks.
“That’s a great idea!” Marina giggled as she danced away from Alyona and stood in front of the tapestry. “We’ll have a picnic by the river!”
“The food!” Trina yelped as she let go of Alyona and Polina. “Old man Pyotr is there, and we gotta save some before he eats it all!”
The three sisters dashed out of the room, and I could hear their excited yells fade away.
“God, I hope they never change,” I laughed as I leaned back in the bed.
Alyona’s clear voice sweetly filled my ears as she made to stand up, “I should let you rest. I’ll come back later to see how you’re feeling.”
“Wait,” I murmured to her as my hands lingered on her exposed thighs, “why don’t we celebrate, too?”
“Oh?” Her voice wavered as she spoke, and she settled back on my lap. “What do you have in mind?”
“Well,” I trailed off for a moment as I remembered what had happened in the infirmary before, “first I need you to make a barrier so no one can come in.”
“Oh?” Alyona’s voice shifted with mischievo
usness, and she glanced back at me. “You don’t like the tapestry?”
“Rather,” I murmured in her ear as I traced the contour of her breasts under her dress, “I don’t want to get interrupted again.”
From experience, I knew she was rather sensitive, and her body had already begun to tremble from my touch.
“That,” she breathily replied as she melted under my touch, “sounds like a wonderful idea.”
Instead of the transparent barriers I’d seen her use before, a solid blue barrier sprung up in the doorway and blocked off all the sounds of the festivities going on outside. I hadn’t known her barriers functioned as soundproofing, but that was just perfect for my plans with Alyona and her sweet voice.
My hands trailed down from her smooth breasts to her thighs, and she sighed at my touch. I stroked the supple flesh of her thighs, and Alyona shifted as she spread her legs for me.
As my hands traced mindless patterns on Alyona’s body, my heart began to beat faster as everything I’d imagined regarding the priestess was now actually going to happen.
When I reached in between her thighs, I stopped in curiosity because I didn’t feel any more fabric. She wasn’t wearing any underwear at all. At that realization, all the blood rushed from my head to my cock as I realized she probably hadn’t been wearing any underwear at all this entire time.
“Are you always like this?” I huskily asked between the kisses I had begun to place on her neck. “Not wearing anything underneath those short dresses of yours.”
“Yes,” Alyona gasped at the sudden hardness under her ass, and as she shifted, I felt myself grow larger.
The thought of such a proper and royal priestess going commando was an exhilarating one, and I drew in a shaky breath as I tentatively pushed my fingertips further in to reach her pussy.
“Such a naughty priestess.” I nibbled on her neck, and she whimpered. “Have you been doing this to tempt me?”
There was a sharp intake of breath from Alyona as my fingers spread her already moist lips.