Rogue's Wicked Harem

by Reed James

  I fought the shivers attacking my body. The cold stress brimmed in my body, expanding until I felt on the verge of popping. Sweat formed at my hairline. I wanted to dab at it, but I kept my imperious gaze on the guard.

  I needed to escape today, or I would be lost.

  ~ * ~

  Aingeal – Queen Sidhe's Palace, Faerie

  “We're doomed,” I groaned as I trembled against Sven.

  He turned around and clamped his right hand over my mouth. Pain tightened his face, his middle finger bent and twisted, broken. He sucked in a deep breath as his sister and the aoi pressed against us, Kora's back to the guards, her fingers moving and...

  We ran away. My eyes widened as I witnessed the six of us break away from our huddle and race back for the palace where we just came from. Guards descended from the sky, lunging at them. Blasts of purple magic hurtled down at us.

  I goggled as I watched myself, wingless and naked, jump into the air, dodging a ball of energy that struck the ground at my feet. Sven danced around another guard who landed before him, moving with more grace than I had ever seen in my life. Kora ducked a ball of streaming death then burst out of the courtyard into the palace. She darted to the right and out of sight. Sven and myself followed.

  Illusions?

  The six of us—the real us— were invisible. I hadn't even realized when it happened. Kora had... had used her magic. She painted something so perfect, so skilled that it had fooled even my senses. If I hadn't been one of the fleeing persons, I wouldn't have even considered that they were fake.

  And neither had the guards.

  The entire palace shuddered and rang like a gong as the soldiers charged after us, landing and darting into the corridors to give chase. Conleth and Turlough both hovered in the air above us, gaping in shock.

  “I didn't think humans could move with such grace,” Conleth said, drifting towards the palace.

  “Well, Lady Kora did dance with that divine energy last night.”

  “Yes, her primal energy helped obscure the clumsiness of her movements.”

  Kora gave a soft hiss somewhere to my right. “I was perfect.”

  Sven pulled his unseen hand from my mouth. “See, Aingeal,” Sven said. “All part of the plan.”

  “You knew they would betray us?” I gasped, glaring at the two sycophants as they landed and peered into the palace.

  “It was so obvious,” Sven said, not loud even with the alarm ringing from every direction. “And now the guards are busy hunting us and the alarm rings through the entire palace. So if we enter the garden...”

  “You are a genius!” I gasped. “They won't notice another alarm ringing in this cacophony.”

  “I know,” Sven said and I pictured his cocky, confident grin that always came so easily to his lips.

  “You can inflate your self-worth later, brother mine,” Kora said. “We need to go. Now.”

  “Yes, we cannot tarry,” the aoi si said. “The guards will soon realize that we didn't just evaporate into thin air, but that they were lured away by decoys.”

  Sven found my hand, squeezed it. Someone else took my other hand, slender. Nathalie.

  “Everyone got each other?” Sven asked.

  “Yes,” Kora said.

  “I have your sister and Zanyia,” the aoi si said.

  “And I got cute Nathalie.”

  The soft hand holding mine squeezed down. “I won't let go of Mistress Aingeal.”

  Sven squeezed mine. “Let's go.”

  My back muscles twitched, trying to flutter wings that were no longer there. But even that didn't diminish the joy bubbling through me. I felt so light that I could almost soar without them. We would escape back to the mortal world. There would be no returning to Faerie for me, but I wouldn't be alone on the other side.

  I had my new family.

  Sven led us across the courtyard, my hands squeezing tight to his and Nathalie's. We passed through the arch. I shuddered, feeling the ward we crossed, but if an alarm rang out, it sounded no different than the one already booming through the palace.

  “Right, left, then left,” Sven muttered as he navigated us through the maze. “Then right again.”

  We passed through the colorful bushes, heading deeper and deeper into it. Each hedge had a different hue, some purple, others gold, or silver, or even a light blue. The colors seemed random, but they blended together in such a way that always arrested the gaze, drawing you to the shape of the plant's limbs, each pruned to be pleasing to the eye.

  I kept throwing looks up into the sky, the scarlet moon half-full above us in the starry sky. That meant it was “morning” here in Faerie. Soon, we would appear back in the lands of Zeutch north and west of the Forest of Lhes. I trembled, eager to get away. To be with my family. To celebrate escaping death.

  To thank them for their love.

  It struck me right then how much they cared for me. Sven, Kora, Nathalie, and Zanyia had risked themselves for me. I bet they didn't even think about the consequences. All four had such huge hearts. Tears beaded my eyes as I smiled.

  How could I ever repay such kindness? Such care?

  I never could. But then, you didn't have to repay love. It wasn't a commodity that you bartered for. It was something that could only be given freely. So I would return that same love with my own devotion.

  “Left,” Sven said, taking the left path, “and... yes, there it is.”

  My heart fluttered in me. The charge of impending lightning danced across my skin. Freedom. The illusory magic faded off of us, rolling like oil paint doused in mineral spirits, revealing our flesh. Sven had such a huge grin on his face.

  We darted for it, the grass growing around it soft on my feet, little four-leaf clovers streaked with veins of gold caressing my ankles. I bent down around the ring, touching the nearest mushroom, the toadstool quivering with power. My family spread out in a circle around it, Zanyia's nose twitching as she leaned down towards one fungus.

  “It smells nice,” she said. “Like home.”

  “It is home,” Sven said. “Or our way to it. Aingeal.”

  I reached out to the enhancement spirits. They descended down around us, glowing with verdant green, buzzing with delight. They swirled around me, picking up that purple hue from my own aura, then darted down into the mushroom ring. It hummed to life.

  “Aingeal!” a voice thundered above.

  I threw a look over my shoulder. Queen Sidhe appeared, her silver wings fluttering so fast they blurred. She pointed her fingers, spirits surging around them. Icy fear spiked through my heart. Terror exploded through my guts

  “Get in!” I shouted as the magic swirled around the ring, activating it.

  “You will not defy my justice again!” the Queen of all Faerie thundered, the air quivering beneath her power.

  I leaped into the circle with Sven and the rest of my family, crossing into the portal that would whisk us away. I felt the wave of energy cascading down at us from above. The world boiled around us, wafting like a mirage as the queen's will, guiding the stream of spirits, struck the portal.

  “You will not escape clean, Aingeal!”

  The portal wavered around us, the energy fluctuating wildly. It surged out of control. We lurched to the side

  “No!” I screamed as Faerie faded around us. “She's changed where the portal's going! She's redirected us to somewhere else!”

  ~ * ~

  Princess Ava – Echur, The Kivoneth Princedom, The Strifelands of Zeutch

  The guard bowed his head. “Open the gate. Her Highness wishes for a morning ride.”

  “Thank you guardsman,” I said, giving him an imperious bow of my head. “I shall see you properly rewarded.”

  “T-thank you, your Highness,” he said.

  The lust boiled through my pussy as the drawbridge descended. It creaked and rattled, thick chains of iron connected to windlasses hidden in the guardrooms around the tower. My heart pounded as I watched it lower in jerks and starts. My br
eath increased. Sweaty hands gripped the reins. I felt my father behind me, a beacon calling to me.

  One last romp. Would that have been so bad? One final time feeling his fobidden cum flooding my pussy. I let out a whimper of regret, aching to have that so badly. My heart thudded away in my chest, pumping molten desire through my veins.

  The drawbridge boomed down.

  I heeled my mare. She trotted forward. In moments, her hooves drummed on the drawbridge, hollow thuds that echoed around me. I took in a deep breath, smelling the air outside of the castle. I was free.

  Free of my step-father.

  The lust retreated. Never again would he use my body. I would be all Sven's from now on. He would help me find a way to sever these desires. And until then, I would have my betrothed and his growing harem to satiate my body.

  The hollow thuds turned to hard clatter as the horses reached the cobblestone road that lead towards the city of Echur ahead. But I led my mare on the smaller road that branched away, looping around the city for the highway that ran towards the Forest of Lhes, towards where my Sven would appear out of Faerie. In a few days, I would be reunited with him.

  And my father... My father would be looking for me in the wrong direction.

  My smile swelled and swelled, the sun warming the back of my neck and the right side of my face as it rose higher into the sky. A giddy exhilaration bubbled through me. I beamed and then let out a gay laugh.

  Greta smiled at me. “You look so radiant, princess.”

  “I feel radiant!” I threw my arms wide. “I feel like I should be shining like the sun. I'm free of him, Greta!”

  “I know!” she said. “Sven will be so thrilled to see you again. And I am so looking forward to meeting your dashing rogue.”

  “And bedding him?” I asked, my grin turning naughty.

  Her cheeks pinked. “Well, Shevoin proved to be quite... stimulating. And if Sven is half as good as you boast, then I am looking forward to enjoying my third man. With your blessing, of course.”

  “Greta, I love sharing women with Sven. Creampies are so much fun to eat!”

  She giggled. “He really corrupted you.”

  “I was so innocent when we met,” I said, remembering that naive girl who had no idea the sort of pleasure she could experience until Sven appeared and educated me. I shuddered. “I have to speak to him. Take my reins.”

  “Yes, princess,” Greta said and took the reins to my mare from my hands.

  I took a deep breath and then sank into my proxy with Sven. My soul rose from my body. The world faded to darkness then a bloodless rush surrounded me. I trembled, drawn to the exact proxy I wanted.

  My eyes opened to darkness. I was in Sven's pouch, upside down. My stony body shuddered, my legs kicking, pressed up against a balled up piece of cloth. I twisted myself around, my arms sinking into the material. An owl hooted.

  Were they in Faerie?

  “Where did she send us?” Sven demanded. “Wait, here? Why here?”

  “I... I don't know, my husband,” Aingeal said, sounding confused. “This isn't where we should have appeared.”

  “Will she follow?” Sven demanded.

  I struggled harder, pushing aside the various items rattling around me. I worked myself around until I was upright. I had to find out what was going on. Who was this she?

  “No, Queen Sidhe won't step foot in the mortal world. Nor will she send any to follow us. But she must have had a reason to send us here. She could have shifted us to any of a hundred portals.”

  I wiggled towards the top of the pouch and pushed at the covering keeping it closed. I peeked out and only saw Aingeal's naked rear, the ends of her pink hair brushing the curve of her ass. I stuck my head out of the satchel and peered up at Sven's tall form towering over me.

  I opened my mouth to speak when Kora screamed out in pain and collapsed beyond Aingeal. Sven cursed. He grabbed Aingeal, hauling her back as something streaked out of the woods, a blurring dart arcing down from above. Zanyia yowled and hissed.

  The world spun around me.

  “Kora!” Sven bellowed as he hit the ground. I tumbled out of his pouch, rolling across the needle-strewn earth of a forest.

  Kora gurgled nearby, white foam wreathing her mouth as her body thrashed. What was going on?

  Chapter Twenty-Two: Ambush

  Aingeal – The Forest of Lhes, The Strifelands of Zeutch

  My elation turned to dust as Kora collapsed. Something black thrust out from beneath her breasts beside her amulet. An owl hooted above. Her blood soaked into the pink of her robes. Violent convulsions wracked her body. Foam bubbled on her lips.

  I struggled to understand what was going on. What had struck her? Where were we? What was—

  “Aingeal!” Sven growled, his arms grabbing me and hauling me backwards. The world spun around me. My pink hair flew past my face and then...

  We hit the ground. I gasped, the muscles in my back twitching. Something hissed out of the dark trees above us and...

  Why were we in the Forest of Lhes?

  The question struck me even as my heart pounded beneath my breasts. A cold chill pumped through my veins as Zanyia yowled and hissed. Metal rang, a dark dart bouncing off Ealaín's vambrace she held up before her. Then she drew her ax and war hammer, staring up at the trees.

  Sven thrust me to the side. “Kora!” he shouted as he gained his feet. “Las-spawned bastard!”

  Sven drew a throwing dagger then jumped back. The dark dart slammed into the ground at his feet. It buried in the ground. Nearby, a small, glittering form moved on the ground, squeaking out in fright. I gazed up at the trees. Something was up there. Something was trying to kill us.

  Queen Sidhe knew... She knew if she sent us to the very mushroom ring that we used to enter Faerie, an enemy would be waiting for us. We were beyond her power now, but she ensured that we'd be punished for crossing her.

  Why was I just lying here? I should move, but... My entire body didn't want to obey me. My mind felt dizzy, reeling, my thoughts spinning around. I couldn't understand why someone would attack us. Would hurt Kora.

  She gurgled.

  Sven darted back again, his blond hair swaying about his face as he scanned the trees above. It was so dark. It should be daylight and yet the gloom of twilight gripped the woods. The tall pine trees' boughs faded into a black haze. They creaked and groaned as something moved around in them.

  “Kora!” Sven shouted. “Aingeal, my sister!”

  Sven's words galvanized my body. It electrified me. Whatever had gripped me, the shock of the attack, released me. My brain worked right. Kora was dying. The dart... The dart must be poisoned. Kora thrashed nearby, her legs drumming on the ground. I had to do something for her.

  I scrambled to my feet. The air hissed as another dart fired down at Sven. He slashed his dagger, deflecting it. The dart spun through the air and impaled into the earth near Princess Ava's rose quartz proxy. She was scrambling through the dead pine needles littering the clearing around the mushroom ring. My breasts swayed as I reached Kora.

  There weren't as many spirits in this world as there were in Faerie. But they came to me. They knew me. I had lived in exile in the Forest of Lhes for decades. Balls of green light shot down out of the sky to me. They danced around my hand as I grasped the dart thrusting out of Kora's chest.

  I yanked it out.

  She screamed out in pain. Rivulets of frothy bubbles poured down her cheeks. Her eyes were open, but all whites. They'd rolled back in her head. Her fingers twitched. Her entire body spasmed as I placed my hands over the wound, purple light flaring from my grip as my will channeled the spirits into her body.

  “Kora,” I whispered, my heart so tight as I repaired her body.

  ~ * ~

  Zanyia

  My tail swished back and forth as I grabbed Nathalie and dragged her to safety. My fellow slave-girl trembled in shock. She didn't fight me as she clapped a hand over her mouth, staring at Mistress Kora. The blood sc
reamed through my body as I shoved Nathalie down by a tree.

  “Stay here,” I told her as another dart hissed through the air and thunked into something wooden. “Okay?”

  “What's going on, Zanyia?” Nathalie asked, her entire body trembling. Her blue eyes became liquid. Fat tears swelled at the corners of her eyes. “Mistress Kora...”

  “I don't know,” I said. I breathed in deeply, smelling the riotous scents of the Forest of Lhes. Dead pine needles, loamy soil, the sweet scent of pine resin, and something else. Something up in the trees. I stared up at them, my ears twitching. An owl hooted.

  The haze... That wasn't a natural haze. That wasn't what a forest at night would look like. Farther through the trees, I could see sunlight. This darkness was localized to just us. My eyes widened as realization struck me.

  “Master!” I shouted. “It's—”

  Something crashed into me, hissing in fury.

  ~ * ~

  Princess Ava

  I gripped the blade of grass as my rose quartz proxy shuddered. Sven slashed his dagger. He struck something streaking out of the air. I squeaked as it tumbled through the air and slammed into the ground not far away. I stared at the thick shaft of wood. I could see the grain of the wood, little cracks in the surface. It stood taller than my little body.

  “Sven!” I shouted, my voice sounding so small, so squeaking.

  Zanyia yowled and hissed. She collapsed. Something wrestled with her, another pale form. I caught the sight of a tawny tail and a black tail swaying as the two forms rolled on the ground. Another lamia fought with Zanyia. The newcomer had black hair. The two hissed and snarled at each other as they tumbled across the ground.

  My small body breathed. I felt the air sucking in through my mouth even though I didn't need it in this form. My real body was miles and miles away, outside of Echur. It was safe, breathing with ease while I rode slumped over my horse's saddle. But fear still pounded through me. My little fingers held the leathery stalk of grass, my fingers digging into it.