by Randi Darren
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Book listing
Chp.1
Chp.2
Chp.3
Chp.4
Chp.5
Chp.6
Chp.7
Chp.8
Chp.9
Chp.10
Chp.11
Chp.12
Chp.13
Chp.14
Chp.15
Chp.16
Chp.17
Chp.18
Chp.19
Chp.20
Chp.21
Chp.22
Chp.23
Chp.24
Chp.25
Chp.26
Chp.27
Chp.28
Chp.29
Chp.30
Chp.31
Chp.32
Chp.33
Chp.34
Chp.35
Chp.36
Epilogue
Authors Note
Fostering Faust 3
By Randi Darren
Copyright © 2019 Randi Darren
Cover design © 2019 Randi Darren
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by an electronic or mechanical means - except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews - without written permission from its publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2019 Randi Darren
All rights reserved.
Dedicated:
To those who know me.
Special Thanks to:
Niusha Gutierrez
Gavin Lawrenson
Michael Haglund
Eric Leaf
Steven Lobue
Bill Brush
Sarinia Phelps
Travis Ledlow
Evilynn
Thanks to my Beta Readers (in no order):
Kyle Smith
Felipe Wirth
Chris Bastian
Peter Drake
Greg Harbican
I appreciate you reading through an unedited nightmare
Books by William D. Arand-
The Selfless Hero Trilogy:
Otherlife Dreams
Otherlife Nightmares
Otherlife Awakenings
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Super Sales on Super Heroes Trilogy:
Super Sales on Super Heroes 1
Super Sales on Super Heroes 2
Super Sales on Super Heroes 3
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Dungeon Deposed Trilogy:
Dungeon Deposed
Dungeon Deposed 2
Dungeon Deposed 3 (To be released 2019)
Swing Shift Trilogy:
Swing Shift
Swing Shift 2 (To be released 2019)
Swing Shift 3 (To be release 2020)
Books by Randi Darren-
Wild Wastes Trilogy:
Wild Wastes
Wild Wastes: Eastern Expansion
Wild Wastes: Southern Storm
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Fostering Faust Trilogy:
Fostering Faust
Fostering Faust 2
Remnant Trilogy:
Remnant
Remnant 2 (To be released 2019)
Remnant 3 (To be released 2020)
Incubus Inc. Trilogy:
Incubus Inc (To be released 2019)
Incubus Inc 2 (To be released 2019)
Incubus Inc 3 (To be released 2020)
Books in the VeilVerse-
Cultivating Chaos: By William D. Arand
Asgard Awakening: By Blaise Corvin
Chapter 1
Alex groaned and sat down in the chair that’d been put out for him.
His leg felt considerably better, but not like it was completely healed.
“Are you alright, Count?” asked King Harold.
“Leg still hurts,” Alex grumbled, trying to get comfortable in the chair. At least it was padded and he could shift around in it. Finally, he gave up and just extended his recently broken leg out to one side.
It instantly felt better.
“Ah, yes. Can you talk about that at all?” the king asked.
Alex shook his head and sighed, settling back into his chair.
It’d been about four months since he’d gotten home from captivity. The bad weather was starting to clear up, and it seemed the war of Tanulf and Gaelis would continue another year.
Soldiers were being moved to the front lines, new equipment was being brought up, money was flowing.
And Alex was up here at the capital of the kingdom giving a firsthand report to the king.
The roads were clearing.
“Fine, let’s start from the top then,” King Harold said.
With a nod, Alex looked to the man who ran their part of the empire.
The king was a young man in his early twenties.
When Alex had laid eyes on him the first time, he’d thought the young man looked to be holding a position he wasn’t ready for. That seemed ever more apparent as of late with how the king was running his kingdom.
Which was to say quite terribly, and not at all. Word was he made most decisions at the behest of others.
The man had gray eyes and brown hair, nondescript. Nothing stood out about him, other than the fact that he was King. He could have been a peasant for the lack of majestic aura about him.
Regina projects a better aura.
“The princess of the Xer came to you for help,” Harold said.
“Queen Quinn, yes. She needed an army to reclaim her throne. So I marched south and did just that,” Alex said, simplifying everything in a single statement.
“And… she’s your vassal now, but not publicly?” the king asked.
“Correct. She’s functioning as a baroness, and the territory is called the barony of Xer on the official vassalage contract,” Alex said, offering very little to the king in the way of information.
King Harold the Third looked annoyed.
“That’s it?” he prompted.
“Yes,” Alex said. He wasn’t about to tell the man he’d turned Quinn into a concubine for himself.
“Fine. Alright,” Harold said, his face looking extremely grumpy. “Then… then it was…”
“Gaelis invaded Regina Tanulf,” Alex prompted.
“Yes, the invasion. And you ended up in a siege?” Harold asked.
“That’s right. I was sent to try and repel Duke Gaelis with a force of mercenaries,” Alex said. “I ended up arriving in the city of Terk just as a besieging army landed on its doorstep.”
“And the earl?” Harold prompted.
“I cannot confirm this, but I believe he fled in an attempt to give the city over to Duke Gaelis,” Alex said.
It was the truth as he knew it. He wasn’t going to shy away from that disposition either. Regina was playing it with far more diplomacy and using the entire thing as a baton to beat her vassals with.
Alex just ran around telling everyone what he thought of the earl, letting Regina play her game.
“And you held out for months before you finally surrendered to the duke,” Harold said.
“That’s right. After we left, the duke didn’t control his men and apparently they turned the city into a firestorm,” Alex said.
Only he, Rebekah, Eleanor, and the soldiers and citizens left over with him had escaped the city. Almost every Gaelis soldier had perished, and the duke himself had been maimed in the inferno Alex had caused.
“After that, he… held you for ransom… and then r
eleased you once the payment was made,” Harold said.
There was a lot left out, which the king more than likely knew about. That Alex had been held unlawfully in a way that broke custom and their oaths.
Alex was under an oath made to the duke not to speak of any of it, though.
“That’s right,” Alex said.
“But only after Gaelis the younger died at Winterveil,” the king said.
And after I took his stepmother and him at a loan for over six hundred thousand gold.
With the interest they’re under, there’s no way they’ll ever pay it back.
That land is as good as ours.
“And during that time, you… facilitated all these loans,” the king said, looking at the fat stack of papers next to him. It was full of contracts, land grants, and financial balance sheets showing the debt and how it was being tracked.
“That’s right. Through my father-in-law,” Alex said with a wolfish grin.
Charles Ulles had taken the time to not only prepare Alex for this meeting and how to make the king grant the land to them, he had even told Alex what to say and what not to say about it.
“Knowing Charles, he’s already coached you. So I’ll not bother with any of that,” the king said, shaking his head. “I suddenly find myself regretting turning your vassalage over to old man Tanulf.”
Alex blinked once, then shrugged. He and Regina had long made amends for the way they’d met one another. He’d found she had a sharp mind, understood most anything he explained to her, and was quick to leverage anything she could.
She was also pregnant and just starting to show.
Going to have three kids in the same year, almost.
He’d had a daughter with Mary, a son with Anna, and Regina was around seven months out.
Weird that Riley isn’t pregnant, though. I’ll ask Sylvia about it.
“Alright,” the king said. “Now for the real reason I asked to see you in person for this. Please put your hand to your pin and swear everything is just as you said, and that your written report is accurate and true.”
Alex immediately pressed his fingers to the pin on his lapel.
“I swear to the veracity of my statement, and that my written report is lawful, truthful, and accurate,” he said.
“Wonderful.” The king nodded. “That’ll be all. If there’s anything else I need, I’ll let you know before the end of the day.”
Grunting, Alex let his hand fall from his lapel.
“Of course,” he said, levering himself up out of the chair. As he walked out of the room, he did his best to hide the small limp he’d developed.
It didn’t impede him much, but he was self-conscious about it. He hoped it’d go away in another month or two. But he wasn’t sure.
A guard opened the door for him, and Alex walked out into the antechamber he’d been waiting in for the king.
The door clacked shut behind him and Alex let out a breath.
“It went well?” asked a soft voice.
Looking over, Alex found Eleanor, Rebekah, and Sylvia. Two were sitting, engaged in a game of cards, while the third stood nearby.
It was Eleanor who was standing, of course. His eternal and diligent defender. She was wearing a chain-mail hauberk, a full helmet, and leather armor everywhere else. Her steel mace was belted at her waist.
She’d been forced to wear much less than she normally would. The simple fact that she was a trained weapon made others nervous to let her walk around fully armed.
Sylvia was watching him with interest, though she said nothing. She’d dressed herself in his house colors but had worn a noblewoman’s dress. Considering she was still the head of her household, that wasn’t out of character for her, despite her being essentially a concubine.
Her dark-blond hair was pulled behind her head in a braid. She had curious blue eyes, and her sharp beauty seemed to match the question she hadn’t asked. Demanding he explain how it went.
Looking to the speaker, he smiled at Rebekah.
She was dressed similar to Sylvia, though she’d clearly gone out of her way to look like a noblewoman-turned-concubine. Her outfit pulled at her well-endowed chest and hips, accentuating everything she wanted to be for Alex.
With curves that could give even his wife pause, Rebekah was beautifully put together with long, light-brown hair and eyes so lightly colored they were almost gray.
“Exactly as expected. Though he hasn’t approved the land exchange as of yet,” Alex said.
“I thought he wasn’t going to rule on that until tomorrow,” Sylvia said.
Alex nodded, unable to disagree with that statement.
Valeria had warned him that the deadline the king had set for Gaelis—husband and wife both—to respond was today. Which meant he wasn’t going to respond until tomorrow at the earliest.
Rebekah got out of her seat and walked over to him with a wide smile. In the time since he’d brought her into his Numbered ranks, she’d somehow maneuvered her way to becoming Anna’s sole confidant.
She also shared a bed with Riley, whom she brought along more often than not when she went to Alex for some bedroom play. As far as he could tell, though, they weren’t interested in each other sexually. Alex couldn’t really figure them out. At least so far.
Now that I think about it, isn’t Anna doing the same thing to Mary and Regina?
Pretty sure Anna has Mary and Regina tied up in knots, over and over. Or so it appears from the outside in. But as far as I can tell, it stops with kisses and cuddles.
I should ask Anna about it directly.
Wrapping herself around Alex, Rebekah hugged him tightly.
“Can we go back to our room now? I’d really like some attention,” she said. “I’d also like to show you something I bought this morning.”
Unfortunately, Alex was still addicted to the drug known as Rebekah.
Worst of all, it seemed like she was gaining ground in how the others trusted her. Quickly supplanting everyone as his go-to for comfort and care, and their trusted friend.
Even Riley deferred to Rebekah when it came to Alex’s personal needs.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Alex said.
***
Rolling out of Sylvia’s bed, Alex ran a hand over his face.
He’d spent the evening with her as her reward for all the time she’d spent checking over everything from Anna’s dad.
Alex trusted the man, but that just meant he had to have someone else check things over when it came to him.
Don’t go back to your room. Rebekah is in your bed and will wake up the instant you go in there.
She’ll also try to talk you into a quick romp.
Really?
Yes. Her sex drive is abnormally large. It’s also increasing. It’s impressive really.
Great. You coming around for a chat? Or just warning me?
A chat. Come to the shared living space in the middle.
With a nod, Alex gathered up his clothes and left Sylvia’s room.
He started getting into his clothes as he stepped into the communal space between the three rooms.
By the time he reached the central area with its sofas and chairs, Alex was dressed.
He contemplated taking a seat but decided against it. He didn’t want to have to get up as soon as he sat down.
His leg was hurting right now, and he didn’t want to have to make it worse if he didn’t have to. It always hurt more after sex. He was actually starting to dislike sex simply because of that.
Otherwise, he might be tempted to go wake Rebekah up himself.
Leah appeared out of nowhere, seated directly across from where he stood.
The pretty goddess waved a hand at him with a wide smile.
Her tawny-colored hair now came down past her shoulders. And her dark emerald eyes looked mischievous and rather happy.
“No Inara today?” Alex asked.
Leah tended to show up with her daughter more often than not. She’d even
let Alex hold her.
Alex didn’t bother to question how she’d gone through pregnancy at an abnormal speed. He’d long ago suspected the rate of time for his world was different than hers.
“Lovey has her. He said he didn’t mind. He’s messing around with that other world we talked about right now,” Leah said with a hand wave.
Moving over to Leah, he bent down over her and hugged her tightly.
“Stop it,” Leah muttered, smacking his shoulder gently. Then she hugged him back. “I’m a death-goddess from hell that deals in souls—you’re not supposed to make me happy. Especially just to see you.”
“You like it,” Alex said, releasing the woman and then limping over to the sofa. “Besides, I’m your friend.”
Leah clicked her tongue but didn’t argue with him.
Settling down into the cushions, Alex sighed and pushed his leg out in front of him.
“Oooh, I’m tired of this. I know you’re not asking, and I’m not offering, but this is just stupid. I can’t even tell if you’re playing me anymore since I promised not to read your mind,” Leah said. Then she pointed a finger at Alex’s leg, and the pain instantly went away. “There, it’s fixed. Stupid idiot. I hate you. Should kill you.”
Alex chuckled softly and bent his knee, testing his leg out. It felt perfect. “Thank you, my goddess Leah, and my friend. If it makes you feel better, you’re welcome to deduct the power it would cost to have done that as a favor.”
“No, shut up. I hate you,” Leah groused, folding her arms across her chest. “I did it because I wanted to. You’re awful. You know that?”
“No, I’m not. And your husband likes me,” Alex said, looking back to the goddess.
He’d yet to meet the man, but Leah didn’t hide the fact that her husband seemed to think her interactions with Alex were benefiting her.
Leah grit her teeth and bared them at him in a grimace.
“How are you? Anything interesting going on?” Alex asked.
Leah shook her head, clearly still angry.
“My unwed sister that I’d like you to meet got her first follower. A paladin,” Leah said.
“Ah. She’s the one you were ‘fixing,’ right?”