Eastern Expansion

by Randi Darren

  Now she was practically on his heels, her hand touching his lower back.

  “That I am. I’m thinking about waking someone up, and then going through some of their thoughts. I wouldn’t even have to talk to them,” Vince admitted.

  They were crouched low in the shadow of a shed. It was one of the reasons they’d stopped here in particular. It had the look of every other house, but there were things that set it apart as upgraded or developed.

  Like the shed.

  Thera sighed, her full lips turning to a flat line as her dark eyes turned on the house.

  “I now understand what Fes and Petra meant,” Thera muttered, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

  “And what does that mean exactly?”

  “They warned me that you would do whatever you wanted and I was best served to adapt to it, rather than fight it. I now see, Lord, what they meant.”

  “Sound advice, smart women, I listen to them frequently,” Vince said, standing up and heading straight for the back of the house.

  Lifting his hand to knock on the door and slip away as quickly as possible, he was surprised when it jerked open.

  Standing in front of him was a middle-aged Wood Elf. He was garbed in what could only be described as a long tailed tunic.

  Sleepwear, really.

  “What do you want? We’ve done nothing wrong, all the—” the man stopped dead, his eyes focusing on Vince’s face. “Who are you?”

  Thera’s knife appeared pressed to the man’s throat, her other hand clasped to the back of his head.

  “We should go, now,” Thera hissed, her eyes reflecting the light of the lantern from inside the man’s house.

  “You’re not an Elf. You’re a human, I c—” said the man, his voice raising several octaves. Thera’s blade tip pressed into his skin and blood ran down the length of it.

  “Another word and I’ll take your life,” Thera promised.

  Gurgling, the Elf said nothing in response.

  Vince hadn’t been idle this whole time though. He’d already been passively rifling through anything and everything he could pull out of the Elf’s mind.

  What he found didn’t please him. In any way, shape or form.

  “You’re a slave,” Vince said without preamble.

  Thera’s eyes flicked to him. He could read in them the warring desires in her heart. Whether to defend him, to get away, or to find out how a Wood Elf was here and a slave.

  “This entire part of the town is the slave quarter. It’s populated with nothing but slaves of any race the High Elves can capture. Gnomes, Dwarves, Elves, anything. Anything that they can capture and bring into the city. And it’s been this way as long as anyone can remember.”

  Vince shook his head slowly, realizing that Verix wasn’t the ally he wanted.

  If anything, it was an enemy.

  Chapter 5

  “Say nothing about us to anyone,” Vince said, reaching out to gently press his hand to Thera’s wrist. “For your sake, and ours. It would do no favors to anyone.”

  Thera allowed her weapon to drop, seemingly unsure of herself with the news.

  “Slaves, lord?” she asked.

  “Slaves. These Elves are no different than the Humans in the west. To be honest, I imagine this isn’t unique to High Elves either. I’m betting this is true for much of the Wastes. ‘If you’re not in my tribe, you’re clearly an animal,’ kind of thinking.”

  Thera shook her head, as if unwilling to hear or believe his words.

  “Lord, I…”

  “You forget, you yourself would have happily allowed other Elf races to die not long ago, would you not? Is it so hard to think that someone would take that, and then say, ‘why not a slave instead?’ It’s not that farfetched.”

  Thera looked to the ground, her cheeks coloring faintly in what he assumed was shame.

  She’d been very against bringing the other Elven races into the community. The very same Elves she now considered family.

  “Dada? Is that a friend of mama?”

  Vince looked past the man and found a small girl hiding behind her father’s leg.

  Though he had no real experience with children, he’d bet on her being five or six years old.

  She had the brown skin and wavy hair of her father, but her eyes were black as well as her hair. A Dark Elf’s coloring.

  A half-breed. Cute kid as well.

  She had an upturned finger, pointing at Thera.

  The man looked down and then stepped in front of his daughter. “No, dear, not a friend of mama’s. Let’s go back to bed and snuggle up to mama. Dada was just saying goodnight.”

  Thera had not failed to notice the child, and stared at her with a strange look.

  “Goodnight,” Vince said, playing along. “Please be safe and be sure to think on what my suggestion was.”

  “He looks like grandpa,” the girl said as the door started to close.

  Vince stole a final look at the man and noticed belatedly his ears weren’t as pointed as a normal Elf’s. They were rounded at the tips.

  Somewhere between Human and Elf.

  Very much a half-breed.

  Once the door closed, Vince and Thera were left to the dark quiet of the slave quarter of Verix by themselves.

  Sighing, Vince pressed a hand to the side of his head.

  Everything gets more and more complicated.

  “She was beautiful,” Thera murmured. Her eyes were locked on the door, where the young child had been.

  Turning away from the door before they were spotted, Vince set off for their entry point. The night was fading and he needed to get back.

  An hour later and they’d ghosted back to their room.

  The door shut with a clack behind them as they entered. They’d somehow managed to make it back without trouble. Even making it past the door guard who had been placed to make sure they didn’t leave.

  Everything had gone their way.

  Almost too easily, really.

  It made Vince paranoid and nervous that something bad was going to happen.

  Something terrible.

  Thera had stripped out of her armor on the way to the bed she’d be sharing with Eva.

  The Dark Elf paused and then nodded to the bed, as if Eva had asked her a question. Then the covers shifted to one side and Thera crawled in.

  Checking his path was clear to the bed he was sharing with Karya, he got out of his equipment, setting it to one side.

  With a flick of his hand, he doused what light the room had from the single burning candle. The sudden darkness was complete and empty of all light.

  His increased night vision made it hard sometimes to fall asleep and utter blackness had been one of the few things that helped.

  Even night vision needed a bit of light to work.

  Walking over to the bed he pressed his hands to the covers, trying to find Karya so he didn’t squish her.

  His hand brushed over the swell of her hip and he found her darn near the center of the bed.

  Figures. Forcing me to sleep on the edge or cuddle up with her.

  Skin prickling as the cold crept into his flesh, Vince gave up.

  Pulling over the covers, he slid in behind Karya and pressed himself up to her back.

  Wrapping his right arm around her midsection, his left arm slithering under her head, he drew her close to himself.

  Giving her a squeeze from behind, he shifted around till he got comfortable.

  Her bottom fit firmly in his lap, his arm resting underneath the bottom of her breasts, and his forehead to the back of her skull.

  “They have slaves,” Vince murmured to her. “An entire slave quarter full of every race they can lay their hands on. Even other elves.

  “Instead of an ally, I fear we may have only found a new enemy.”

  Sighing, he leaned over Karya and kissed her lips softly.

  Her full lips were eager to meet his, her body turning partially towards him.

  Reme
mbering her words earlier about not being available to him, he broke the kiss and laid his head back down. He’d respect her wishes.

  Can still punish her for it though.

  Sliding his right hand down over her flat stomach, he reached between her legs. Parting for his advance, she spread her thighs, giving him immediate access to her nether region.

  Pressing his lips to the base of her neck, he started to trail kisses upwards along her soft skin.

  At the same time, he pressed the palm of his hand to her pubic mound, his index and ring finger splaying her lips wide. Then he dove his middle finger into her entrance, moving it up to the last knuckle and curling the finger.

  He began to rub and press his fingertip at the interior of her, while he sank his teeth into her neck.

  Biting firmly, he sucked roughly at her skin at the same time. He might as well mark her since he was antagonizing her. He knew she didn’t experience the Dryad shame the same way Meliae did, but leaving marks on her always worked.

  She sucked in a breath that caught in her throat.

  Encouraged by her reaction, Vince began to work his middle finger back and forth smoothly. Then he curled his thumb inward and began to brush it over the hood of her slit carefully.

  Moving his left arm lower under her, he curled his arm and found her right breast. He began to knead it with fingers through her thick sleeping tunic.

  Karya whimpered once as Vince released her neck to begin placing kisses along her throat again.

  His eventual goal was her ear, it always made her squirm when he got a hold of it.

  And he planned to ravage it.

  Karya turned towards him more, her right hand coming to grip the arm that was angled down between her legs. Her fingers were strong and held tight to him, as if unsure whether to encourage him or push him away.

  Decide, little Dryad. Hold to your threat or give in.

  Lifting a foot, he eased her knees further apart with a gentle nudge. Then he pushed his middle finger deep into her.

  Pressing his mouth to her ear, he took in a deep breath, his tongue sliding out to lick gently at her earlobe.

  Karya shivered in his embrace, her nipple hard against his palm through the thick fabric.

  Her insides were dripping, the moisture from her making his finger slippery as he wormed it in and out.

  Closing his teeth on the edge of her ear he began to move upwards, biting into it and running the tip of his tongue over it.

  Turning his head he let out a breath into her ear, then moved up to bite into the end of her ear.

  And found that it was pointed.

  “Vince,” Eva whimpered, her free hand coming up to press to the back of his head, the tip of her ear stuck in his lips and teeth. “Please. Don’t stop, the tip is sensitive.”

  Her whispered pleas and use of his name set his skin on fire.

  Vince surrendered.

  Releasing her ear despite her wish, Vince moved to her face and kissed her deeply. Her mouth opened up, her tongue cautiously touching his lips.

  Opening his own mouth her ran his tongue over hers.

  Slowly, he retrieved his hand from between her legs, pulling his arm out from under her, and moved himself over the top of her.

  Eva shifted herself around, her hips lining up against his thighs. Her slim hands pressed into his sides, her fingers stroking his bare hips.

  Ending the kiss, he laid his forehead to hers.

  “Are you sure? Are you ready?” he asked.

  He would take them. Take them all. But only if they were absolutely certain.

  “Yes. Yes, I am,” Eva said, laying her head on the pillow.

  He could just barely make out her face in the dark, the gentle glow of her eyes.

  Nodding his head, Vince gently forced her legs apart around his hips as he moved in closer.

  Reaching down with one hand, he took his shaft in hand, and then fit the tip to the opening of her channel.

  Pushing himself forward slowly, he entered Eva, and tore her maidenhead.

  Moving as smoothly as he could, Vince started to rock himself back and forth, driving his girth through her.

  Eva’s breath came out in ragged pants, her knees locked to his hips as her fingers clung to his back.

  Ducking his head in, Vince kissed her repeatedly as he picked up speed. Her lips met his eagerly, hungrily as the audible patting noise of his thighs making contact with her own could be heard.

  Eva whimpered and moaned into his mouth, her fingers curling as her body shuddered underneath him.

  The speed and force of it kept escalating as she writhed, her hands encouraging him onward and her knees pulling at his hips.

  Her breathing went ragged and he could feel her tunic sticking to her sweat. Groaning deeply, her insides squirmed and clenched tightly onto him.

  Vince couldn’t keep himself from release any longer and drove himself home into her.

  Even as his shaft expanded, he thrust into her repeatedly, thick seed spilling into her.

  A few more thrusts and he was empty, his length buried deep inside of her.

  Moaning, Eva undulated her hips under him, grinding herself against his hilt. Turning her head to the side she broke the kiss, taking in a deep breath.

  Her body slowly came to a halt under him, her skin slick with sweat, her hair plastered to her forehead and cheeks.

  Nudging her head to face him, he kissed her tenderly, then rolled to his side, drawing her up onto his chest and side.

  She laid an arm across his chest, her head falling to rest on his shoulder.

  Hot shaky breaths from her tickled his neck and ear.

  Vince did his best to not think on what he’d just done, and simply enjoyed the after effects.

  With that thought, he managed to somehow quickly fall asleep, while holding onto Eva.

  In the cold light of day, he only regretted the way it happened. Eva deserved more than an accident. Not that he’d ever admit that he didn’t know it was her in the bed before he got in.

  Even now while he waited in the large chamber, he couldn’t help changing the direction of his thoughts.

  Not ever. Gonna die with that one.

  Another council member entered the large audience hall and collected a paper from the guards. Giving it a quick once over, the Elf then moved off into the raised chairs that circled the table Vince was sitting at.

  The councillors of Verix were trickling in for the meeting that had been arranged. From the number of desks and chairs, it would be about thirty some odd people in the council all told.

  It wasn’t quite time for that meeting however, so no one was late.

  Yet.

  He half expected them to attempt some type of power play and keep him waiting.

  So Vince had vowed he would be early for it. It was easier to circumvent a power play in advance than waiting for it.

  Now he watched as High Elves entered, sat down, and read the paper that had been supplied to them.

  On his right was Thera, standing attentively, armed, and armored. Guest rights and an oath didn’t prevent anything, it only made it so that repercussions would be severe.

  Karya, the evil mastermind behind last night’s accident, had laughed at him once she got him alone for a few seconds. After promptly congratulating him on conquering the Wood Elf, of course. She’d then said she would leave the city that morning while he tended to the politics of the deal.

  Even now she was meeting with the scouts outside the walls. For whatever reason she’d decided she could be best utilized there, instead of here.

  Secretly he suspected she was up to something else entirely, but he had no idea what it could be.

  Karya left after she’d had a quick conversation with Eva.

  Sitting at his left side was that very same Wood Elf. She’d pulled her hair back into a style that was abnormal for her. A self-satisfied smile graced her features and she looked pleased.

  Vince’s eyes were drawn to her neck
where the dark purple bruise he’d put on her was on display.

  You can even see the frickin’ teeth marks. Way to go, Vince.

  His stomach flipped over at the fact that Eva was wearing the hickey as if it were some badge of honor.

  The Wood Elf’s gaze slid towards him, as if feeling his eyes on her.

  She gave him a bright smile, a hand reaching up to run a finger over that very same bruise.

  Warm eyes, a cheerful smile, the slight coloring of her cheeks.

  In a heartbeat Eva transformed from a cold beauty to a warm and radiant lovely woman.

  “What…?” she asked, her cheeks coloring a darker red. Looking down at herself she did a quick self-check of her person as if to see what was wrong.

  “Nothing, I was just thinking about how lovely you look this morning,” Vince said, leaning towards her, his voice pitched low.

  Eva’s face burst into a scarlet color as her teeth caught her lower lip. “Oh. Oh, I… I see. Alright.”

  From his right, Thera snickered to herself. “So much for that strong front, sister. You crumble like a structure made of sand in a rain storm.”

  Looking at her sister Eva wrinkled her nose. “Wait for your turn, then you’ll see.”

  “I do not doubt it. You were the one who said—”

  “Stop, enough, sister. Mercy,” Eva said quickly.

  Thera snorted and started to reply, when her attention fastened onto something else.

  Following her gaze, Vince found it was Caern who’d entered and stolen Thera’s eye.

  And apparently her anger.

  Vince couldn’t miss the hand that flexed around the hilt of her sword at her side.

  He couldn’t blame her. Slavery was something that Elves cursed their human masters over on both coasts. Yet here in the Wastes, the Elves themselves enslaved one another.

  It wasn’t every day you found out you were no better than the people you hated.

  “I see no reason we can’t begin,” Caern said loudly.

  Snapping out of his thoughts, Vince did a quick check and found most of the desks were filled.

  “Today we greet Vince… wait, do you have a surname?”

  “Never needed one.”

  Caern blinked a few times and then leaned over his paper to scratch something out with a pencil.