by Tamryn Tamer
“That’s fine,” Frost said. “Do you want me to leave you for the night?”
“No,” Olivia answered. “I meant for you to sleep with me.”
“Sure,” Frost said as she smiled at him. The blue-eyed woman looked nervous as she moved closer to him, pressing her naked body against his as she leaned in to kiss him on her own.
Frost kissed her several more times throughout the evening, each time thinking that she’d fallen asleep only for her to lean forward and kiss him again. Eventually, the beautiful woman slipped her tongue in his mouth and ran it along his and after that final kiss, she fell asleep with her hands in his.
Frost wondered when the last time was that he simply fell asleep next to a woman as he stared at the sleeping beauty and let out a defeated sigh as he closed his eyes.
CHAPTER 16
Frost found himself on a glowing platform floating in the sky as the world beneath him continually reshaped itself. The deserts transformed into plains which slowly grew vibrant omni-colored forests and the forests twisted and turned on themselves until they became one massive tree. The world tree grew larger by the second until eventually it surpassed the platform and reached the stars.
“Now she’s just showing off,” Cassia said, suddenly appearing on a platform next to him. “Well, I suppose we should get going.”
“Going?” Frost asked as Cassia’s platform shot upward. “Right, up.”
As soon as he thought about it, the platform was flying upward faster than the enormous twisting trees. Once he arrived at the pinnacle of the improvised world tree, a massive bud growing from the peak bloomed, revealing three goddesses in the middle of a tea party.
Shalia, Ziralia, and Riliandra appeared to be arguing as various glowing orbs floated around them. Ziralia’s burning hair looked like molten gold as she gestured furiously at a silver orb. Frost’s platform dropped him right next to Cassia who’d arrived seconds before him.
“…needs to be eliminated.” Ziralia’s voice echoed as she pointed at the orb.
“There are other priorities,” Riliandra said dismissively as she waved her hand at the sky. A large jade orb dropped from the heavens like a falling star and came to an immediate halt in front of the brown-haired goddess. “He’s already solved several problems for you but has yet to do anything for me. It is my turn.”
“Your turn?” Ziralia laughed. “You don’t have the right to command me. Your followers are abandoning you while mine are growing even more fanatical after the death of Magnus!”
“Which is exactly why my problems should take a higher priority,” Riliandra said. “This alliance is meant to make all of us stronger.”
“If I’m stronger, then all of us are stronger,” Ziralia said.
“How about you ask him yourselves what he wishes to do?” Shalia suggested while walking toward Frost and Cassia. The goddess’ long snowy hair burned more brightly than he remembered as she approached them. What was previously pulsing with starlight seemed to have become a blazing inferno of white that was difficult to look at. Her amethyst eyes were similarly celestial, like two vortexes of swirling violet flames circling a pair of black holes. “Welcome Sebastian. We were just discussing where your efforts were best spent.”
“Spending time in bed with his wives is more productive than helping those two parasites,” Cassia said while staring at Ziralia and Riliandra.
“I do enjoy spending time in bed with my wives,” Frost said while looking more closely at the orbs. As far as he could tell they were just floating balls of light. “What are those?”
“Feelings,” Shalia answered while creating a small pink orb from nothing. “Thoughts. Beliefs.”
“Information,” Riliandra offered.
“Communication,” Ziralia said while looking at her sisters disdainfully. “Clear communication.”
“You see Sebastian,” Shalia floated a pink orb toward Ziralia and the golden-haired goddess quickly swatted it away. “Sometimes words do not mean what they mean and what people think they intend to do is not what they truly intend to do. A little boy may ask for a dog thinking that is what he wants but what he truly needs is something much deeper and the dog is a physical manifestation of that. These tiny specks of energy are where a person’s words, desires, and dreams come together. Have you ever wondered why deities rarely give you what you want? It’s because we can tell the difference between what you want and what you need. It’s the same reason I knew you would be a fantastic herald despite your own objections. The clusters are also a very efficient way for us to communicate with each other.”
“Do they work with us?” Frost asked while staring at one of Shalia’s floating pink specks of energy. He poked it and it evaporated without offering anything. “I guess not. So, what are the highlights?”
“You need to handle Seera,” Ziralia said firmly. “The death of Magnus has reinvigorated the people and if they are not put in their place quickly, they may break through the border. There are nobles that need to be killed. There are plotters and schemers. They all need to be brought to justice!”
“Justice,” Riliandra scoffed.
“That’s wonderful news!” Cassia said, clapping her hands. “Followers of Movodos and Ziralia killing each other on a bloody battlefield while Pluma thrives! The one true goddess will be more popular than ever! Praise Shalia!”
“Please don’t start this again Cassia,” Shalia chided. “I love all. Not only the followers of Shalia but the followers of Movodos and Ziralia as well. I also love my sisters. Death should not be celebrated.”
“Your love knows no bounds goddess!” Cassia said while throwing herself at Shalia’s feet and wrapping her arms around the goddess’ legs. “This is why you are the most perfect goddess and everybody should worship you! The fact they don’t is a crime on par with murder and they should all be dealt with!”
“This sounds like something King Leaucault should be handling,” Frost said, looking around the platform for the goddess’ prophet. “Where is Xavier?”
“Xavier and I have been communicating too frequently recently,” Ziralia answered. “It is difficult for a prophet to communicate without their herald to share in the burden. He also has other responsibilities that he must attend to. We need to summon a new herald as soon as possible. The King of Zira is using the absence of a herald to increase his own power in order to ensure that my future herald cannot challenge him. The longer it takes to summon a herald, the more difficult things will become for the herald to gain and maintain power.”
“Alright,” Frost said while wondering what would happen if the king gained too much power. The truth was the goddesses were much smarter than the average citizen of Nivara so he’d much rather have them in charge than the nobility.
“King Leaucault would imprison the herald and prophet,” Shalia said while reading his mind.
“Admittedly, things are much better if heralds hold the power,” Riliandra said. “When kings get power, they pass it along via their bloodlines which can be erratic. It’s better if we choose the leaders and the leaders do exactly what we command.”
“A balance is better,” Ziralia argued. “That way if either the king or the herald becomes problematic, they can be dealt with. You should know that better than anybody.”
“I suppose safeguards are beneficial,” Riliandra reluctantly admitted.
“Anyway, you clearly see the dangers of King Leaucault gaining too much power,” Ziralia said. “So you agree that you must help deal with the conflicts in Zira.”
“So, you can all read my mind,” Frost sighed. “Then you know that I’m not getting involved in a conflict with Seera. It’s one thing to help Zira with internal issues, it’s another to get involved in a war with a country I’ve never even been to.”
“That’s right,” Cassia said while snuggling with Shalia’s thighs. “It’s none of your concern if a bunch of fools that worship false deities decide to kill each other.”
“So be it,” Ziralia
said bitterly as she walked toward the edge of the petals. “I suppose we’re done here.”
“Ziri,” Shalia started to object as the goddess faded away into nothingness. “Sorry about her. She’s been in a very foul mood lately. Xavier is having some trouble controlling her more zealous followers.”
Riliandra stepped forward, a small green orb circling her as she walked around the platform. Unlike Ziralia and Shalia, Riliandra was astoundingly ordinary in appearance. She had short chocolate brown hair and bluish-green eyes. She looked less like a goddess and more like an executive assistant.
“Let’s move onto our business,” she said with a smile. “As per our agreement, I have formed a connection with a cute demihuman prophet. It is of the utmost importance that she immediately come under your protection to ensure that King Asmund does not kill her.”
“Oh,” Frost said as vague memories of the agreement popped back into his head. “Right. We talked about that, didn’t we?”
“Herald Frost,” Cassia appeared to have moved her massage further north on Shalia and was approaching the goddess’ hips. “You should focus on the things that Shalia needs from you. The false goddesses can’t be trusted. If they gain power they’ll return to their old ways and everybody will be at risk.”
“Shalia,” Frost glanced at the goddess and pointed at Cassia. “Should I be concerned about her telling me the outcome of this accurately?”
“She is fine,” Shalia said while patting Cassia’s head. “Not reporting the meeting correctly would disappoint me and she wouldn’t want that. Isn’t that right Cassia?”
“I would never disappoint you goddess,” Cassia said while staring at the vibrant elf. “I love you so much! I would never ever disappoint you! You’re the third most precious person in the universe!”
“Wow,” Frost said as he stared at Cassia. “Renna’s achieved the number two spot?”
“What?” Cassia scoffed. “I love my daring Renna but she’s clearly fourth. I’m talking about Lysandra and my grandchild! Then Shalia and Renna. After that is you of course my handsome son-in-law.”
“Glad to know I make the list,” Frost chuckled.
“Herald Frost,” Riliandra said sternly.
“Right,” Frost smirked at Riliandra. “You said something about a cute demihuman prophet in need of protection?”
“Yes,” Riliandra answered while nodding her head. “Although I had to search among the unclaimed to find one.”
“Unclaimed?” Frost asked.
“Prophets are rare and typically you want your prophet to be selected from your existing followers so they are receptive to your message,” Shalia said. “You also want them to be strong, intelligent, charismatic, loving…”
“Oh Shalia!” Cassia squeezed the goddess while taking the opportunity to her face between Shalia’s legs. “I love you so much!”
“The unclaimed are those that don’t worship anybody,” Riliandra said. “This particular prophet is a Florenne on a ship from Naran.”
“Naran?” Shalia shook her head. “No, no, no, no, no, no. Rili, you can’t take prophets from Naran! You know better than to take prophets from Naran!”
“It’s fine. She was on the ship before she agreed to become my prophet,” Riliandra said while crossing her arms.
“Do you think she cares about technicalities?” Shalia said while looking over her shoulder. “Sebastian is absolutely not allowed to get involved in this!”
“You mean because of Sthilinna,” Frost said, smirking as he stared at the women.
Naran was one of the southernmost continents in the world of Nivara and was ruled by Arachne who worshipped the goddess Sthilinna. Frost had an irresistible urge to look into her after one of his dreamlike meetings with Shalia and fortunately the Arachne in his village were more than eager to tell him everything about her.
Sthilinna was not only the Arachne goddess of motherhood but she was also considered to be the originator of all of the Arachne. Sthilinna was one of the oldest deities in the world and at some point the Arachne started to believe that Sthilinna had birthed the first queens and every subsequent queen carries the blood of the goddess. For the Arachne, it explained why only queens could give birth and justified their society revolving around their queens since they were descendants of the goddess.
Naran was Sthilinna’s continent. The population of Arachne on the continent eventually grew so large that most humans and demihumans were forced to flee and those that didn’t flee the continent made themselves useful to the Arachne as servants. The only thing that stopped the spread of the Arachne Empire was the water. The insectoid women were terrified of sailing because boats were highly flammable and they couldn’t swim.
The Arachne in Frost’s village were descendants of ones that traversed the ocean in hopes of growing the empire. Unfortunately for them, most countries learned from Naran’s mistakes and hunted them into extinction whenever possible.
Because she controlled an entire continent, Sthilinna was not only one of the oldest but also one of the most powerful deities in the world and Shalia was terrified of her.
“Can we just talk to Sthilinna?” Frost asked. “I vaguely recall her being reasonable.”
“Reasonable?” Shalia said in disbelief. “She was going to eat me!”
“Right,” Frost nodded as flashes of his previous meeting popped into his head. “For stealing her followers, right?”
“Exactly!” Shalia said. “What do you think she’s going to do if we steal a prophet?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Riliandra said calmly. “What is done is done and she is my prophet. Besides, Sthilinna would only find out if somebody told her. It’s just a random Florenne.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Shalia said while nervously glancing at the sky. “Sebastian, you absolutely must not tell any of the Arachne in your village about this. Sthilinna will definitely find out if any of her followers hear of this.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Frost chuckled. “But I really think that hiding this from her is going to piss her off a lot more than just explaining things. But hey, what do I know?”
“I’m happy you understand your limitations,” Riliandra said with a slight smile. “So, you will pick up the girl from the city of Goldsail in Nir.”
“Hold it,” Frost said. “Can’t you have her sail to Kald?”
“Unfortunately, that’s not possible,” Riliandra said nervously. “Based on our conversations she is currently a captive on a ship. I’ve already informed her that somebody would be sent to rescue her.”
“That’s your problem,” Frost said. “I can’t just leave my territory to travel across the continent. Not to mention, they are at war with Rilia and my brother-in-law is the ruler of Rilia.”
“Sebastian,” Shalia pouted at him. “She did find a cute demihuman like you asked. Are you really going to abandon her?”
“Maybe,” Frost said. “By the way, shouldn’t she be here for this? She’s a prophet, right?”
“Amaya’s only a novice,” Riliandra said. “It’ll be years before I can talk to her like this.”
“So, her name is Amaya,” Frost nodded. “Okay, I have a name and location. Do you happen to have a date?”
“She will likely arrive in Goldsail in two weeks,” Riliandra answered.
“Two weeks?” Frost groaned. “I would have to ride nonstop just to get to the border of Nir. Where is Goldsail even located?”
“Southwestern tip by the archipelago,” Cassia answered. The white-haired prophet had reached Shalia’s breasts and was thoroughly enjoying burying her face between them. “About a week’s travel by sea. And you would want to travel by sea. Nir’s landscape is troublesome to say the least.”
“Sebastian,” Shalia pushed Cassia off of her and walked toward him. The goddess pressed her warm hand against his cheek. “You did tell Rili that you would help her prophet if she made sure it was a cute demihuman. Maybe if I offered you something extra?”
“You never pay up,” Frost said, smirking as an idea popped into his head.
“Sebastian!” Shalia giggled. “You are absolutely not allowed to do that with Rili!”
“I don’t mind as long as you retrieve my prophet,” Riliandra answered bluntly.
“It was a joke,” Frost laughed. “I’m not going to count on any bonuses from either of you. I suppose I did promise to help and you did keep your word about making it a demihuman. I suppose I can try but I can’t promise anything.”
“Sebastian!” Shalia said excitedly as she wrapped her arms around him. “This is why I love you so much! I know you can do it! Just in time as well! The connection is fading!”
“Are you going to remember everything?” Frost asked while glancing over Shalia’s shoulder at Cassia.
“Of course,” Cassia answered while smelling Shalia’s hair. “I’ll be sure to update you in the morning.”
“And Sebastian,” Shalia grabbed his hand and forced it onto one of her breasts. “Just so you don’t forget about that something extra.”
“I won’t hold my breath,” Frost chuckled as the world around him faded away to darkness. “Oh, shit. Do you at least have a description…?”
The world faded to black.
Frost slept peacefully, transitioning between sexy and nonsensical dreams before eventually waking up to a strange humming sound. He opened his eyes to see Olivia sleeping peacefully beside him and smiled as he pulled his hands away and rolled over to get out of bed.
“Good morning,” Ka said while pressing her face against his, her golden eyes practically glowing as she shoved her face into his. “You were very difficult to find, yes.”
“Ka,” Frost said quietly while glancing back at Olivia. “How did you…” he started to stay before cutting himself off as he noticed the open window.
“I said stop or…” a voice echoed from the hallway right before a thud.
The bedroom door opened and Cassia came waltzing in, stepping over the paralyzed body of Olivia’s lead handmaiden, Ginette. The elegant prophet was wearing a thin transparent gown that left nothing to the imagination as she walked toward the bed.