Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3)

by M Damon Baker

  Bane returned from his scouting just as the food was served, and Broda made an extra plate for him. I ate hungrily, washing down the savory grilled game with the strong ale Khorim always seemed to have lying around. When she had enough to eat, Venna excused herself and retreated into her tent, but not before casting a meaningful glance aimed at Tási and I. We both understood the unspoken command, and after cleaning up our plates, slipped in our own tent to get ready for the night’s events.

  I think it best that I remain outside, Sintári. Bane offered. I have already told you all I can, and you may wish to keep what happens here tonight between the three of you. Even if all goes well, the process will be an emotional one for both you and Tási, and you may wish for some time alone afterwards. I will sleep by the embers of the fire tonight and return only if you call me.

  Bane’s communication often came with a sense of his moods and emotions. This time, his words were infused with reassurance and sincerity, and I took comfort in both his concern and desire to give us the privacy he thought we might need after what promised to be a strenuous ordeal.

  ‘Thank you, Bane,’ I sent back to him. ‘I appreciate your understanding.’

  He didn’t reply, but his little reptilian lips curled up in a smile as he slipped outside again.

  “I never thought I’d say this, but it’s time for you to tie me up,” Tási said as her cheeks flushed red.

  I took out a small length of rope and secured one of her hands. Then, instead of binding her hands directly together, I left a span of rope between them, tying her other hand so that her arms fell comfortably by her sides with the short stretch of rope behind her back.

  “It should hold you securely enough while you’re lying down,” I explained.

  Tási tested the restraints by laying on the floor of the tent. Her body pinned the rope beneath her, and even when she struggled against the bindings, she was unable to raise her hands off the ground.

  “That should work,” Tási pronounced when it was clear she could not escape.

  I helped Tási sit up as we waited patiently for Venna to arrive. Together, we passed the time talking about the various errands we had done during the day. I made no mention of Ilvain’s secret construction project, while Tási pointedly avoided disclosing what she and Hilgreth had been working on. Fortunately, before we could run out of idle chatter to discuss, Venna slipped inside the tent.

  She looked askance at the manner I had tied Tási’s hands for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh.

  “I guess it will have to do,” Venna complained.

  I didn’t bother responding to her, and simply helped Tási lay back down again. With her moment of discovery finally upon her, Tási fidgeted uncomfortably, and I placed my hand over hers and sent her a gentle thread of reassurance.

  Tási relaxed slightly and smiled up at me. I stared into her golden-brown eyes and let a final wave of comfort flow through her before letting go of her hand.

  Although we had discussed the process, I realized that I had never really explained even the scant details Bane had been able to tell me. I took a moment to quickly relay what I knew.

  “I’m going to begin by placing my hand over your heart, Tási,” I told her. “Once I do that, I need to focus on your heartbeat, and tune myself to its rhythm.”

  “Honestly, I don’t have any idea how to do that, so it might take a while,” I confessed. “But once I do, Bane says I will know what comes next, so I hope that means it won’t be too difficult.”

  “I’m ready,” Tási said firmly once I finished with my explanation.

  I glanced at Venna and she simply nodded back at me. With both of them prepared, I undid the clasp in the middle of Tási’s robe and slid my hand between the fabric, slipping my hand over her soft skin and laying my palm against her chest.

  Despite her confident words, Tási’s heart beat like a drum inside her chest. Although she was trying hard to appear calm, she was obviously completely unnerved on the inside. Before I even attempted to tune myself to the erratic thumping in her chest, I sent her warm tendrils of calm reassurance, trying to still the wild beating of her heart.

  Tási knew I was aware of her discomfort and smiled at me awkwardly as I tried to rein in her nervousness. I held her gaze, staring into her amber eyes as I continued to pour soft comfort into her. After a few minutes, her heart slowed to a more normal rhythm, and I finally felt that it was safe to proceed.

  With how nervous she was, I didn’t completely abandon the tiny threads I was sending her as I began to focus on the steady beating of Tási’s heart beneath my fingertips. Without any conscious effort from me, the little threads wound themselves around her heart, forging a direct connection between us. Tási’s heartbeat slowed slightly, taking on a more normal cadence as the tendrils wrapped around its pulsing chambers.

  With the two of us linked together by the thread of my essence, I soon felt my own heart beating in synch with hers. The tendrils I had sent to her now formed a connection between the two physical organs, and they forged a bond between us that went beyond any mere material link.

  While the palm of my hand lay pressed against Tási’s chest, I felt a second disembodied appendage slowly descended into her, passing through the inconsequential barrier of her flesh and drawing me not into her physical body, but inside Tási’s very being.

  My perceptions abruptly altered, and I had the impression of being weightless and surrounded by a sea of tiny lights and glowing threads. Somehow, I knew that what I saw was Tási’s true self, the essence of who she was beyond her mere physical presence. The glowing web and tiny spots of light were like an entire universe, the universe that made up the person I knew as Tási. At first, I was drawn to explore that universe, to learn as much as I could about her, but my true purpose for being there called to me, and I found myself drawn to an even more amazing sight.

  A bright ball of light drew me to the center of the tiny universe. At first, it appeared to be composed of flames, roiling in a perfect sphere, but then it rotated, and I could see that the orb had two distinct halves. While one side was comprised of the intense flames I had seen at first, the other hemisphere was made of some dark blue material that I could not identify.

  I floated closer to what I instinctively knew to be the core of Tási’s being. The flaming half clearly represented who she was, or at least who she thought she was. I could feel Tási in those flames, recognize her passion and courage in the heat that radiated from that half of her core. The darker side, the mysterious blue half, was obviously what I was here to reveal. Then, as I drifted towards her core, the nature of that dark blue half became obvious to me.

  While it appeared to be solid, as I approached, I could see tiny ripples radiating across its deep blue surface. What I was looking at was not a solid object at all, but a perfect hemisphere of water, biding its time while the raging inferno opposite it dominated Tási’s being.

  Somehow, the feeling was not new to me, and I cannot say how I knew what to do next, but I did. I let myself glide still closer to the equator that defined the border between the deep blue waters and the burning flames. When I came with reach of the stark line that divided the two halves, I reached out and traced my hand back and forth between the opposing sides.

  The motion of my hand brought together the searing flames and cool water, breaking the barrier that had been holding the two distinct elements apart. I pulled away from the core and watched as the crimson fires and blue water began to mingle across the entire surface of Tási’s core. The deep blue waters were no longer held in stasis. For the first time, they asserted their influence, and became a counterpart to the searing heat that had dominated Tási for so long.

  With my task completed, I felt myself being pulled back, away from Tási’s core and sliding out of her essence. The last view I had before my consciousness left her was of the once-divided sphere settling into a mottled patchwork of crimson flame and deep blue waters, finally coexisting as equals
. Whatever had been lying dormant in those deep blue waters was now free, and as I withdrew my hand from beneath Tási’s robe, I opened my eyes slowly to see what effect my actions had wrought. Tási lay still in front of me, and I glance over at Venna questioningly.

  “When are you going to start?” Venna asked in confusion.

  “What do you mean? It’s already done,” I replied

  “You’ve had your hand on her for a few seconds,” Venna said incredulously. “She only just closed her eyes.”

  Before we could debate the matter any further, Tási stirred and mumbled something unintelligible. I tilted her head towards me and spoke softly to her, trying to coax her back to us.

  “She left me a message,” Tási whispered softly as a smile played over her lips.

  Tási’s eyes fluttered open and I stared at her in shock. Only a moment before when I had looked into those eyes, they had been a beautiful golden amber. Now her eyes were deep blue, the exact same shade of blue as the dormant half of her core.

  “What happened?” Was all I could think to say.

  “She left me a message,” Tási repeated. “She explained everything to me.”

  “What did she tell you?” Venna asked. She had yet to see the dramatic change that I had observed and was more focused on Tási’s words than I was.

  “My mother is a water spirit, an elemental entity,” Tási explained. “Like Ridge, but more. She took physical form to conceive and give birth to me, but couldn’t remain in that state after that. She left me with my father so he could raise me while she returned to her natural element. She didn’t simply abandon me as I always thought—she was just unable to stay with me any longer.”

  Tási shed tears of joy and relief while she relayed the words her mother had left for her in the still waters of her core. The thought that her mother had never cared for her and simply walked away from her had caused Tási so much pain over the years, but the knowledge that Tási’s mother had imprinted within her soothed those deep wounds that had lingered for so long.

  “I’m so happy for you, Tási, but how do you feel? Physically,” I clarified.

  “I’m fine, I think,” she said, as she struggled to sit upright.

  As she tried to worm her way up with her hands still bound behind her, Venna finally caught a glimpse of Tási’s eyes.

  “Tási,” Venna asked hesitantly. “Aren’t your eyes supposed to be brown?”

  “Very light brown, yes,” Tási replied in confusion.

  “I’m going to need you to lay back down,” Venna said firmly as she took Tási by the shoulders and guided her back down to the ground.

  “I think it’s alright, Venna,” I tried to reassure her. “I recognize the color from something I saw inside her.”

  “Can one of you please explain what’s going on?” Tási pleaded.

  I brushed Venna’s hands away and sat Tási back up again.

  “Your eyes changed color, Tási. They’re blue now,” I told her gently. “A very beautiful blue that comes from your mother.”

  Venna pulled out a small pocket mirror and held it in front of Tási’s face for her, and the vivid color of her deep blue irises reflected back at her from the silvery glass of the mirror. She stared at herself for a long while, and tears began running down her checks.

  “It’s alright, Tási,” I tried to comfort her before she cut me off.

  “I’m not sad,” she said as her voice cracked. “After all these years, I finally have a piece of her. I can see her looking back at me, and I don’t feel alone anymore.”

  Wordlessly, I slipped my dagger free and sliced through the rope behind Tási’s back. Then, I pulled her to me, holding her close, and she sobbed against my shoulder as her body wracked, while years of pent-up emotion spilled out of her in bursts of tears.

  As Tási leaned into me, I could feel the hurt and pain flowing from her, but the sensation I felt from her was not one of experiencing those unpleasant emotions; instead, it was the feeling of letting them go, of releasing the anguish that had haunted her for so long.

  Venna started to leave, to allow Tási to vent her pain more privately, but I laid my hand on her arm, imploring her to stay for a while longer.

  We needed to figure out how to break this news to the rest of our companions—the dramatic change in Tási’s eyes would not go unnoticed. Just how much, and exactly when we chose to share this news needed some careful consideration.

  “Thank you.” Tási whispered as she pulled away from me a few minutes later.

  “You’re welcome,” I replied as I wiped a stray tear from her face. Staring into the clear blue of her eyes was still unsettling for me, but I held her gaze for a moment, allowing her to feel my reassurance.

  “Obviously, we can’t keep this secret,” I said bluntly. “We need to decide right now what we’re going to tell everyone.”

  “I’m not sure how people will react to the truth, Dreya,” Venna responded candidly. “I think we need to limit full disclosure to our small group.”

  “I agree, at least for now,” I replied. “Maybe later when things are more settled, we can consider this again, but right now I don’t think this should become general knowledge.”

  “Can we wait until tomorrow?” Tási implored. “I can let the others know what happened in the morning. As far as everyone else goes, I think if I stay around camp and keep out of sight for a few days, people might just think they remember my eyes the wrong way.”

  “I’m not sure that will work, Tási,” I replied doubtfully. “But it’s worth a shot.”

  “That sounds like the best plan we’re going to come up with,” Venna sighed. “If you don’t mind, since everything seems alright, I’m going to go back to my own tent now. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Tell Bane everything went fine,” I called after her.

  Venna nodded in affirmation before she left, and I settled back into the pile of blankets, finally able to relax for a moment. Tási laid down beside me and let out a deep sigh of relief.

  “Tási,” I whispered to her as she laid her head down on my chest. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Venna, but you need to know exactly what happened when I delved inside you.”

  “I already know, Dreya,” Tási replied. “I was there with you. I saw you stir the fire and water together and bring the dormant half of me to life.”

  “I didn’t sense you with me,” I responded, not knowing what else to say.

  “There’s something else you didn’t notice,” Tási added and I sensed a mischievous undercurrent in her words. “When you woke my elemental spirt, you also bonded with it. We are now linked, just like you are with Bane.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I sputtered.

  Tási didn’t answer me, instead, she simply slid her hand under the collar of my shirt and grazed the tips of her fingers across my skin. I felt Tási trying to send her own fine tendrils into me, and only barely managed to hold off the enticing sensations she tried to slip past my defenses.

  “I almost had you,” she purred coyly while her fingers continued to slowly trace their way around the neckline of my shirt.

  “Tási, I don’t—”

  “Let me explain what I know,” she cut me off.

  “You linked our heartbeats, and created a connection between us,” Tási began as she sat up again. “That connection allowed you to peer inside me, to look into my essence. Then, when you touched my core and stirred up the elemental spirit inside me, it reacted to your presence by bonding with you. The link we now share cannot be broken, my love, and it gives me some small ability to affect you the way that you have always affected me.”

  As she finished speaking, she threw her leg across my waist and straddled my body. While I tried to process her stunning revelations, she hit me with one final declaration.

  “We have resolved nearly all our outstanding issues tonight, Dreya,” Tási said as she stared down at me with her unfamiliar blue eyes. “All s
ave one. I still owe you for that night of torture you inflicted on me. So tonight, I’m going to test the limits of my new abilities. On you.”

  10

  Tási had been quite earnest in her desire to find out just what she could do with her new-found powers. When I’d tested my abilities on her, I had limited myself to trailing a single finger across her skin, trying to coax her to climax without touching any of her more intimate areas. Tási had begun in the same fashion, but quickly resorted to more persuasive means. Her hands wandered all over me freely, and she used every inch of her body to channel her passions into me.

  The sensations she conjured up were so different from my own that I had trouble resisting her impulses. Her desires came across as seductive waves of passion, tinged with the irresistible influences of cool and warm water, alternating in temperature and frequency in a tantalizing current of desire.

  While the strength of her projections was far weaker than my own, the strange sensations overwhelmed me, tearing through my attempts to maintain control, almost as if they did not exist. Once Tási passed through my barriers, I felt the pure joy she experienced having me at her mercy. She took great delight at repaying me in kind and held back nothing as she unleashed her new abilities on me. The sensations roiled inside me, filling me with profound ecstasy as I felt her tongue gliding languidly over my nipple.

  But I was not completely defenseless against her, as she quickly found out. Tási may have broken down my barriers, but she hadn’t eliminated my own ability to retaliate. So, while Tási’s hands groped at me and her lips grazed across my delicate skin, I reflected the passionate turmoil she was evoking back to her.

  The effect was not anything either of us were prepared for—I had hoped to simply give her a taste of the desire she was stirring in me, but what actually happened was far more intense than that.