“We’ll be leaving soon,” I began, suddenly feeling a bit emotional about what I was about to do. “This will be our first trip together, and your first journey as an adventurer of sorts. I’ve already given you a pair of daggers, and you’ve told me that you have your own armor, but I want you to have something more. These served me well and might still be doing so had the Gods themselves not replaced them for me. I would be honored if you’d see fit to take them from me.”
With that, I placed both the Bow of Impact and the Never Ending Quiver of Arrows on the table before Líann. The two items had saved my life more times than I could remember, and I hoped Líann would never find herself in such dire need of them as I had on so many occasions, but that was likely a wish in vain. My future and hers, now that she was tied to me so strongly, was one of conflict and strife. Sooner or later, my Tári would become the targets of one of my enemies, and all of them needed to be able to protect themselves when that moment came—Líann even more so than the others.
“You have never shown me these before,” she said with a sense of reverence as she picked up the Bow. “But I have heard enough stories to recognize what they are. These are your own weapons, the ones you used to found your Realm and make yourself Empress. I… I’m not sure that I should accept, but I cannot bring myself to refuse your gift.”
“I had intended to give you your next V’Ríel after breakfast,” I taunted her with the one thing she’d been craving for months. “But if you don’t accept…”
“Thank you for your most generous gifts, Empress,” Líann responded quickly once I let the implications of her refusal dangle in from of her.
Remarkably, her appetite vanished immediately after that, and she waited impatiently for me to finish as I took a few nibbles and slowly sipped my tea, intentionally making her wait for me to finish. Finally, when I’d drawn it out long enough, I relented and Líann practically shoved me into her bed.
The only V’Ríel Líann had ever felt besides her own darkness was passion. That was easily enough combined with darkness, as I had already done. But the last two she needed to learn were much, much different. The subtle, grounded nature of Ella’s native V’Ríel would be a challenge for her, and I had no idea how I was going to get Líann to accept Venna’s gentle and nearly completely passive V’Ríel. Laying still and simply basking in the subtle pleasure of my tendrils was not in Líann’s highly provocative nature.
“This will not be easy,” I tried to explain. “My remaining V’Ríel are much softer things than you’re used to. To truly experience them, we will have to be much gentler than usual. They are not about struggle, but acceptance. One of them to an even greater degree than the other. And my tendrils this time will be much less powerful than you’re used to.”
“Are you ready to try?” I asked Líann after giving her a moment to take in what I’d said.
“Yes,” She hesitated just a little. “But this sounds like it may be… frustrating.”
“It will be,” I told her as I pulled her towards me. “But I promise, if you can do this, it will be worth the effort.”
I kissed her and let my hands play across her body, but as Líann tried to mimic my actions, she couldn’t seem to help herself, and almost reflexively tried to hold me down. I slipped free from her grasp and send her soft tendrils to remind her of our purpose, and surprisingly, she responded to them immediately.
Líann’s urgent kiss turned gentle, and I felt her leaning into me rather than struggling against me. We’d never been together just physically—my threads and tendrils had always fueled most of our interactions, and for a while, Líann seemed lost for what she should do. But my own movements guided her, and before long, we were caught in the throes of passion together, needing no help at all from my powers.
Experiencing those strong physical sensations with Líann was so new and exciting for me that I almost forgot to add the thin tendrils of V’Ríel until it was too late. Somehow, I managed to catch myself in time and sent their subtle threads into her just as Líann’s hips began to pulse slowly in time with her release.
Absorbing the new V’Ríel for the first time while still trying to finish me as well was too much for Líann—she lost herself in the combined ecstasies, and my own needs went unmet as I focused on drawing hers out even longer. It was something of a disappointment, but feeling Líann’s body react to my touch and the threads that I gingerly sent her was its own reward.
Her gentle, rocking motions were punctuated by sudden spasms of release that Líann still managed to make graceful, even in their intensity. I cupped her breast in my hand as Líann shuddered and urged her on by tracing my tongue over her nipple, smiling with satisfaction as she quivered in reaction to my touch.
I kept the soft tendrils flowing into her as she slowly wound down, and let her finish completely before asking her how it felt to receive her newest V’Ríel. Since we hadn’t shared the experience that time, I was curious if it had been the same for her as before.
“It was very… different,” she flushed as she explained. “Not just what we did, but the threads you sent me were almost odd at first. But then, once I began taking them in, they… changed me?”
Líann stopped and thought about what she’d said for a second before continuing.
“That’s it. They changed me,” she repeated, just to confirm for herself that it was true. “Those emotions weren’t part of who I was before, but they are now. I can’t say that they’re my favorite thing, but they’re not quite as foreign to me as they once were.”
I was afraid that the fact that we hadn’t actually finished together might have somehow prevented her from taking in my V’Ríel, but that wasn’t the case. Líann had managed to do that on her own, which reassured me that she’d be able to handle the next one as well, if she could stay still long enough. The passivity required for that was still going to be a challenge for her, but that would have to wait a while. I had no idea how long I should wait before trying another one, but I was going to give it a while, just to be safe.
“When can we do the last one?” Líann inquired eagerly just as I was concluding my own thoughts on the matter.
I explained my hesitation to her, and although I had no firm reason for the delay, she didn’t press me on it. Instead, Líann resumed right where she’d left off when absorbing the V’Ríel had distracted her. She didn’t initiate any sort of struggle, she only began to finish what she’d started, and for the first time, sought only to please me.
We’d enjoyed the physical aspects of our intimacy, but had always relied on my tendrils to finish things. Opening up this new V’Ríel had changed Líann, just as she’d said, and with her own pleasure already satisfied, she explored my body with abandon, lacing soft kisses along my stomach, before drifting even lower. The sensation of Líann’s lips brushing against me shot through my body like fire, and I’d barely recovered from the rush when she slipped her tongue inside me. Líann drove me to a frenzy as she traced slow, languid circles around within me, and I felt my hips rising up to press against her soft mouth.
I’d been so close before, and the profound intimacy of the tantalizingly slow and seductive pattern she weaved inside me overwhelmed me in seconds. Líann didn’t let up as I began to shudder, and her silky tongue quickly drove me to a second, even more intense release. She took obvious delight in her accomplishment, and Líann’s soft moans of pleasure competed with my own more urgent ones as she guided me down slowly.
The last lingering traces of what she’d done still hadn’t faded away when I felt Líann wrap her arms around my waist and rest her head on my stomach. Her soft lips pressed an even softer kiss against my skin, and she spoke to me in a gentle purr.
“I think I may have found something I like about this new V’Ríel.”
“Me too,” I replied in a bare whisper; it was all I could manage at the time.
We lay together like that for a while, and I gently ran my fingers through Líann’s hair as she rested on
me. She’d begun to enjoy sharing moments of affection with me ever since she’d absorbed her first new V’Ríel, and that fact had only brought us even closer together. Previously, our relationship had an almost one-dimensional quality to it. Líann really only wanted and needed one thing from me: darkness. In that regard, she was no different than my other Tári, although their native V’Ríel had much more readily concealed their limitations.
But now that Líann had become Táriel and begun to open herself up to each of my other needs, she’d become so much more—she was becoming the only person I could ever express the entire range of my emotions with. The only one who could take both my darkness and my light, so to speak. None of the others could tolerate my shadows, and although I still loved each of them, I knew that when I was with them, I was constrained.
That knowledge might have been a hinderance to me, but with Líann to provide an outlet for my emotions, it had only served to bring me closer to all of them. Instead of resenting their limitations, I embraced them, choosing to bask in their strengths rather than wallow in their weaknesses. I threw myself into Tási’s passion, relished Venna’s delight as she absorbed my gentle threads, and gloried in the warmth of Ella’s love.
I’d feared that my deep connection with my Táriel might cause me to practically abandon the others, but as Líann grew, I found that the opposite was actually occurring. The bonds that we formed only made me realize just how much I loved and needed them all, each for their own separate reasons.
I could have laid there with Líann all day, and on occasion I had, but with our departure imminent, there was too much to attend to, and I had to pry myself away much sooner than I would have liked—we’d also come to accept that as well. Líann and I had untold centuries yet to share, and no matter how pleasant a particular moment might be, we knew there were countless more of them still to be had. That knowledge didn’t make things any easier, but at least it took some of the edge off.
The last few days before we set off rushed by as everyone was consumed with handling all of the last-minute issues, particularly Talína, who I’d named my Regent, and had the task of governing in my stead. With both Líann and Venna accompanying me, she was the logical choice. Even though she’d handled almost every aspect of the Empire’s government in my absence, and still most of them even while I was in residence, Talína was overwhelmed when I informed her of my decision. She’d been raised as a commoner, in a land where people of such ‘low’ birth were never granted status of any kind. Just reaching the office of secretary to an Ambassador had been the highest honor she’d ever imagined. She’d barely managed to retain her composure when I told her, and her humility in receiving the honor only provided me further reassurance that I’d made the right decision entrusting my Empire to her care.
Then finally, almost mercifully, our day of departure arrived.
Our journey began much as the trip to the horse lands had. Although it was not certain that we would be marching off to war as well, that possibility was more than likely, so once again, my entire personal guard accompanied me as we left the Palace. Although there were carriages for myself and most of the higher-ranked officials, I chose to walk until we reached the road that led to our outpost on the trade route, just to be able to see and be seen by my people one last time as we departed. My companions all chose to do the same, and as we started off down the Palace steps, an unfamiliar figure joined us.
A green-clad archer sidled up alongside us as we took our first strides, and I did a quick double-take when I recognized the face in the unfamiliar garb. It was Líann, wearing tight-fitting leather armor in her forest-green colors. Except for its color, the armor she wore reminded me very much of the set I’d once worn, save hers was of much higher quality, and most likely enchanted by the look of it. The Never Ending Quiver of Arrows was slung over one shoulder, a short sword over her other, and the Bow of Impact was in her hand. A forest-green cloak finished her ensemble, and I was sure that the daggers I’d given her were hidden somewhere beneath its folds.
“I told you I had my own armor commissioned,” she reminded me playfully while I gawked at her openly as she marched on ahead.
“I seem to recognize that bow and quiver,” Tási noted with obvious annoyance as we walked together.
I was holding Tási’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze as I turned to respond to her. I looked down at the Robes of the Evoker she was wearing pointedly and let the slightest flare of green light flicker in my eyes as I spoke.
“Because I love you, I gave you the finest protection I could,” I growled at her angrily. “Venna received much the same, and I’ve done my best to see that Ella is protected from harm as well. But if you ever express any resentment over how I protect my other Tári from harm again, I will revoke my gift to you on the spot—no matter where we might be at the time.”
I was used to Tási’s jealousy—even though she’d accepted things, and even embraced her fellow Tári to an extent, she still saw them as rivals as well. I let the subtler things slide, but her resentment of the fact that I tried to protect one of them from harm was just too much for me to let pass. Líann not only needed what I’d given her, but she’d earned it with her hard work and dedication. The combat training had been difficult for her, but after her initial reservations, Líann had truly embraced it, and done quite well for herself. I was proud of her for that, and Tási’s comments not only irritated me for their callousness, but also their implied dismissal of all that Líann had accomplished.
“You’re right,” Tási choked out the words. “I’m sorry.”
We walked the rest of the way to the Garrison in silence, waving to the crowds that had come to see us off. Although we didn’t speak, I never let go of Tási’s hand, and I kept her by my side the entire way.
“I love you Tási; never doubt that,” I finally said as we walked out into the open fields beyond the walls.
“I know you do, Dreya,” she replied. “You wouldn’t put up with my shit if you didn’t.”
Her wink and the little smirk on Tási’s face were perfectly timed, and I couldn’t help but laugh, releasing the tension that had been surrounding us as I did. The entire bulk of the Imperial Army then swarmed around us as we ventured towards the road leading away from the Imperial District, and our journey towards Oróna began on a much better note.
The timing of our departure was made so that we’d not only arrive in Oróna well ahead of the other delegations, but also allowed us to stay a few days in Rhoboth, to honor the Dwarven King and his people. Considering all that they’d done for me and my Empire, it was the least we could offer in return.
As we marched, our new cavalry units not only provided front and rear guards for the long procession of our troops and supply train, but also scouted the road ahead, searching for any dangers. Bane flew high above and did the same, just as he had on our journey to and from the horse lands. He’d been upset with himself for letting the beastkin practically sneak up on us, even though it wasn’t his fault. Bane had been off scouting our opposite flank at the time and couldn’t possibly have seen their approach. Still, it irked him, and he took to his duties with an increased sense of commitment.
The first leg of our journey, from the Imperial District to Rhoboth, would take us about a week, and the second half perhaps a day or two longer than that before we finally reached Oróna. We intended to have the entire Army camp just outside the city so that as the delegations arrived from the seven Realms, they would see just what they’d be facing should they choose to decline my terms. There was nothing subtle about the message I intended to convey to them: join or be conquered. Those were the only two options on the table.
We made good time on the roads; our scouts ahead cleared the way for us, guiding any caravans in our path to the shoulder so we could march past them at our much faster pace. Even though there was no real inconvenience in this for them; in fact, our passing likely benefitted them by frightening off any potential raiders, I still made
sure that an appropriate ‘compensation’ was offered in return for any delay we might have caused. More for the goodwill that the gesture incurred, rather than out of any real need to do so.
The lone dark spot we encountered before we reached Dhel-Ar was another attack by beastkin. Fortunately, it was no horde that launched themselves against us, but a group numbering only around a hundred that inexplicably attacked us, despite our overwhelming numbers. Bane spotted them approaching us from the forest, and Tási, Líann, and I were among the archers and Evokers that cut the beastkin down before they even got close to our lines. Even considering how feral the creatures were, it was surprising that they attacked such a large, well-armed Army with their vastly inferior numbers. It was something of a puzzle, but at least it had happened right where my carriage was positioned, so I didn’t miss out on any XP.
“They were nothing!” Líann crowed after our easy victory. “I thought you said it was dangerous out here?”
“Look around you, Líann,” I quickly hushed her. “Do you see anyone else celebrating?”
“No,” she replied with a hint of confusion when she realized that she was alone in her revelry.
“I understand how excited you must feel, but this was no grand victory or hard-fought battle. We defeated a far lesser foe, and won because of our numbers, Líann,” I pointed out the obvious to her. “Had you been traveling this road with only your usual handful of guards, you’d either be dead or on your way to birthing the next generation of beastkin right now.”
The stark reality of my words dampened Líann’s overly enthusiastic mood, probably a little more than I either needed or intended to. So, I softened the blow with some words of encouragement.
“You survived your first battle. I’m proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself as well,” I added. “I just don’t want you to make the mistake of underestimating the dangers around us or the foes that we face.”
Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3) Page 94