Dark Sculptor: Dark Sculptor Novel 01

by D. R. Rosier

  She sighed, “For you, but she wouldn’t be giving up her home. Even if you manage to live another eighty years, which is pushing age expectancy, that’s less than a tenth of her life. She could also go home to visit if she wished. If it was just attraction and desire, she wouldn’t, but I don’t believe for a second that’s all she feels for you. Something more than that would be required for her to see past the taboo of it, I think. She respects you, and don’t forget you saved her from those soldiers raping her, and ultimately being turned into the king’s puppet. Maybe you should be talking to her about this?

  “You’re right about your other thoughts though, I wouldn’t be pleased with the idea of you just fucking around, and I wouldn’t get anything out of it. I want you to have more lovers and wives that will be a part of our family, if you started to sleep around just for lust’s sake, I wouldn’t be happy at all.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  I barely understood her need to let me make all the decisions, and that her ambition was to give me a stable family and home filled with children and other wives. She took pride in that idea, as opposed to the women and society in my old world, where the men being the true head of house was thought of as hopelessly backwards and old-fashioned. Yet… I’d never met a woman as joyous as Regina seemed to be, my judgements to the contrary would be worthless and wrong, if that is what makes her feel joyous and fulfilled.

  Maybe I would have to talk to Saria about it, even if she was most likely to simply laugh in my face. But in that moment, I felt an awe and love for the woman in my arms, and I wasn’t going anywhere. She truly was my life, and it may have only been nine days, but I knew she was my home now. No matter the world I was standing on. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her, to protect, care, and provide for her, except break my oaths.

  “I love you, Regina.”

  She nuzzled my neck, and said it back.

  Then I showed her how much I loved and adored her, and she showed me, as we made soft and sweet love just as passionately and intensely as earlier, when we’d lost ourselves in our rutting.

  Sleep evaded me for a while, as I held my lover who was snuggled against my side.

  She was the one thing in my life I really had no doubts about, and the other wives thing either would or wouldn’t happen and was nothing to stress about. But the day’s events, the fact that I had killed others in my own defense, as well as in defense of Regina, Saria, and the elven men weighed on my soul. I feared sleep would bring nightmares.

  I also thought about Saria, and Regina was right. Outside of the sexual tension, and my attraction to her, I did admire who she was. She was strong, confident, a warrior determined to protect the life within her forest. She was an impressive woman who held to both honor and honesty with complete conviction, and although she didn’t show it or wear her heart on her sleeve, or her face, she obviously cared a great deal about her men and the people under her protection. Her actions proved that.

  Her more savage instincts as an elf informed her stance and fierceness, and the predatory grace of her movements and actions, but her nobility shone through regardless from her intelligence and beliefs. Yes, she was alien, and quite exotically beautiful and sexy beyond belief, but there was a whole lot more to admire in her than that.

  Eventually, the warm, soft, and supple presence of Regina against me drew me into slumber. Despite my fears, I didn’t have nightmares that night, perhaps she kept them at bay.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The next morning at breakfast Saria gave no indication that she’d heard us talking about her last night at all. Her gorgeous and heated dark blue eyes did rest on my quite often, and my hands itched to touch her silken silver white hair, but that wasn’t anything new since the night before. It seemed she wasn’t going to make it easy on me, perhaps like the humans on this world, the men were the ones that took the initiative in forming relationships for the elves as well?

  Or maybe she was fighting her desire, and didn’t want to talk about it.

  Call me a coward, but I didn’t breach the subject either. Fear of rejection and awkwardness for the next few days, or perhaps the misplaced unease I felt at the idea of trying to approach another woman romantically in front of my fiancé. Even if Regina was for it, it still felt wrong to me from my old society’s point of view. Something I’d obviously have to get over.

  Regardless, we were back on the road quickly, Saria wanted to make up for lost time yesterday. We had two more days of travel left, before we got to the city. We also wanted to get past the city tomorrow and stop to camp early, to get rest since that night would be rather busy and we’d get no sleep. That meant we had to move faster today, and go even farther and longer to make that happen.

  The restlessness I felt grew as the morning went on, and I finally decided I didn’t have enough information, and although awkward it would also be a roundabout way to what I really wanted to know while satisfying my curiosity.

  I rode up next to Saria, and moved my horse a little closer. She didn’t shy away, which I took for a good sign.

  “Saria, are elven families similar to human ones? Forgive my curiosity, you’ve told me about the forest, but I know very little about your peoples’ society outside of their respect for life and the forest.”

  She gave me a long measuring look, and when she spoke her voice was neutral.

  “We live in family units, just as you humans do, though there are a few differences. Elven children stay in the parent’s home until they find a mate, and are bonded by a mage. Their parents also teach the children how to hunt, wield weapons, and to control their magic. Only knowledge of the forest, fae lore, and how we fit in it is taught by someone else, the elders of our people.”

  She paused thoughtfully, “We have a royal family, and are ruled by a queen. Is there anything else you want to know?”

  It might have just been me, but her eyes seemed to be twinkling with amusement, and challenge.

  “How about multiple wives, or liaisons with humans?”

  I couldn’t get much blunter, I was asking her what she’d be facing from her people if we gave in to our desires.

  Her voice was soft when she next spoke, so maybe she liked bluntness?

  “Women in our society are more equal than in yours, and is based on merit, age, and wisdom. That should be apparent, given I’m leading a group of men into battle. While not overly common, our society does have multiple mates in some cases, but it is a more equal arrangement. There are as many elven women with two or more husbands, as there are males with two or more wives.”

  An irrational surge of jealousy went through me, hypocrite much? She also wasn’t mine, not yet, possibly not ever.

  She continued with pain in her eyes, “If a human managed to win an elven woman as a mate, she would be as unwelcome in her home forest as her husband, until the bonding oath expired. That means, until he or she died, she would be unable to return home by law and custom. Something of that nature has not happened in hundreds of years, though it is possible, just highly unlikely.”

  I asked, “Why couldn’t they return to visit? Would they be angry at her for being with a human?”

  She shook her head, and clarified, “No. Not anger, nor out of censure. A woman’s place is at her mate’s side, and his place is beside hers, that is the extent of it. If he cannot go to the forest than neither can she while they are bonded. Some of my people might be shocked, we are not immune to prejudice, but anyone that truly knew her and loved her would not be.”

  That was a relief, sort of. At least she’d be able to go home, eventually.

  “That must be a hard decision to make, given how much elves love their magical forest home.”

  She replied, “It would not be a decision made lightly, or in the heat of passionate desire. But I imagine once that decision was made, it would be quite clear to the man in question.”

  Okay, signal received, back the fuck off and let her think about it. She’d let me kno
w when she’d decided, and apparently, I wouldn’t be able to miss the signal. I’d only met her three days ago now, I could wait. The debt of commitment we were talking about made anything else insane anyway. Though, the way she was looking at me right then was still giving me ideas. Her explanations had also told me that Regina being in the picture was no obstacle to her.

  “I imagine any man would be patient, for an incredible woman like you.”

  My words sounded trite to me, incredible was a weak description for the multi-faceted and amazing woman before me. She was fierce in her beauty, and in all her other aspects. There was much to admire about her, but on the other hand I didn’t want to come on strong with a bunch of compliments either. I didn’t want to seem like I was pressuring her, especially because I’d just told her I’d be patient.

  My words were also candid, and honest.

  She smiled, genuinely, so I guess my trite compliment was at least well received.

  She said in an even softer voice, “James, I need to get a report now.”

  Her liquid soft voice caressed my name, and my body stirred as she trotted ahead.

  I dropped back to chat with Regina.

  Though it was a risk, we cantered more often, and rode until the sun rested on the horizon. The horses were exhausted and needed to be rubbed down once we stopped for the night. I imagined we made up the two-hour delay and then some, enough for an early day tomorrow even with needing to skirt around the city. So that we could get some rest before implementing our insane plans.

  We were also lucky we didn’t run into any further trouble. I imagine the elven men who usually paced us in the forest, and scouted ahead, weren’t able to do so with their usual thoroughness.

  Throughout that day I’d talked with both Saria and Regina off and on, though I didn’t broach the earlier subject at all, not even obliquely.

  Talking to Regina was as easy as breathing, and I never tired of looking into her bright green eyes. She was truly a source of joy, and helped keep me steady. I think I’d have had a breakdown if I’d been out here on my own. That the redheaded and generous hearted beauty was mine for life, was both a humbling and a non-stop source of joy and amazement to me.

  Talking to Saria was more challenging, given the elves had different social queues as far as tone of voice and even body language. She was an impressive woman, but still very much an enigma in a lot of ways. Still, it was worth the effort, and I was learning to relate more and more each time. We both needed to get to know each other better, though with her sharp ears she knew me a lot better than I knew her, given all the conversations I’d had with Regina the last three days.

  Saria sat even closer to me that night at the fire, though not as close as Regina. It was all a bit overwhelming when I thought about it too much, just being surrounded by two very different but equally amazing and gorgeous women was, never mind the rest of it.

  After dinner, Regina and I retired to the tent. She seduced me that night, not that she had to try very hard to do so.

  The next day was a repeat of the last. I spent the day talking to both ladies, sometimes separately and sometimes together, and we moved at a slower but still fairly good speed as we finished the final leg of our journey. It felt like Saria was opening up to me, but it was also hard to really tell given elves were different. I worried I was seeing what I wanted to see, and interpreting her strange body language and tone of voice too optimistically in my favor.

  I also wondered what she could possibly see in me, that elven men didn’t have, or would possibly make her accept a temporary banishment that could last a human lifetime. Or at least, the rest of mine. I didn’t ask about that though, I needed to be patient. If she chose me, I’d find out all about that then.

  What I did learn about her was she was two hundred and ten years old, and the youngest sister in her family. She had an older sister who was eldest, and two older brothers as well, though she didn’t give too many details about it all. I didn’t even know what their names were. She was the leader of her scout group, and had orders to rescue the Princess Desirae. She loved the forest and outdoors, the challenge of a hunt, and was fiercely predatory in all she did.

  The elves were not a tentative species.

  She was also still more than a bit intimidating to me. She was a powerful hunter and warrior, and her more predatory nature along with her graceful beauty added a sense of danger to the intense sexual tension between us.

  She was absolutely breathtaking, and I steeled my heart against the day she’d walk out of my life. I wasn’t down on myself, I was a handsome guy, and the way I treated women here seemed rare, and quite desired. Plus, I had a rare magical ability and power, even if I only ever used it to heal, I knew thanks to Regina’s input that I’d be highly desired. In short, I was pretty confident when it came to women, and had my share of relationships on my old world, but my mind wondered why Saria would ever choose me over her forest, over the men in her scout group, or over her family for the next eighty years, assuming I’d live to a hundred and five, which I probably wouldn’t.

  I’d be a doddering old man then, and she would appear to be around twenty-nine years old and still young and beautiful at two hundred ninety. Good for me, but why would she tie herself to me, for all those reasons? The elves clearly didn’t break their vows, no more than I would, and with a magic binding there’d be no changing her mind once it was done. What was it about me that was even making her consider such a drastic thing in only four short days of knowing me? Five days after the last two days of travel.

  Yet, I couldn’t help but hope she would, the more I talked to her over the last two days, the more I was sucked under her spell. I could only hope I was having a similar effect on her.

  One other odd thing happened those two days, I got over that whole self-conscious feeling about trying to woo another woman in front of my fiancé, and I had no doubts that Regina not only didn’t have a problem with it, but fully supported it. I didn’t have to understand that part about her, I just had to respect it, and acknowledge it as truth in my gut. I stopped waiting for, and expecting, Regina to come to her senses, or for the other shoe to drop, and when I did stop, I loved her even more and was more in awe of her than ever.

  Chapter Twenty

  We’d managed to sneak around the city and avoid the patrols. The trees were thick here, the forest lush and full of bushes, animals, and thickets to hide in. I wondered what Laya, the great forest was like, if it was more beautiful and more filled with life than this place.

  We set up camp in mid-afternoon, and dug our fire pit a little deeper to both shield it from unfriendly searching eyes, and to ensure we didn’t lose control over it. I set up the tent, while Saria and Regina built up the fire, started dinner, and talked. Saria’s elves replenished our water skins from a nearby stream, and then set themselves as a picket and scouts up in the trees around our camp site.

  We were still concerned there might be some party crashers, if Irwin was watching and sent a group for us from the city. For me I mean, I hoped he didn’t know about the elves, and that Raiden hadn’t had a chance to report their presence.

  Saria shot me a genuine smile from over by the fire once I had the tent finished. I say genuine because a lot of her other smiles are rather predatory. She’d been doing that a lot more that last day, smiling I mean, and she seemed comfortable with me, or at least that’s how I interpreted her body language. The sexual tension between us hadn’t ever been higher either, but I was doing my best to ignore that. It wasn’t easy, but given my circumstances I was well taken care of that way already. I was hardly left wanting in that area, with Regina’s insatiable appetite every night in our tent.

  With nothing else to do, I watched the two beauties cook me dinner. That even sounded wrong in my own head, but it’s what I was doing. I could hear their low conversation about spices, and how much to add of each. I’d heard them talking recipes before, and it seemed like they were making an effort to combine cooking st
yles for tonight’s dinner.

  Saria smiled again when she walked over with two bowls that Regina had scooped out of the cooking pot, and handed me one as she sat down rather close to me. Close enough for me to pick up her alluring scent in the light breeze.

  “Thanks. It smells delicious.”

  She nodded slightly, “The last of the venison.”

  Their combined efforts were worth waiting for, as it tasted as good as it smelled.

  Regina said, “I know the plan, but I’m not very tired right now.”

  Saria leaned forward and peered at Regina who was on my other side.

  “Let your mate tire you out.”

  I choked on a piece of meat at that suggestion, I also got half a chubby. Saria, and elves in general, weren’t any shier than Regina than that sort of thing.

  Regina giggled, “I like the way you think. But he’s not my mate, not yet.”

  Saria waved her arm dismissively, “It is a mere formality, you’ve both decided in your hearts and given bond through your words and deeds. If we have the time, perhaps I will ask Desirae if she’d perform the bonding for you both.”

  I frowned, “The princess is a mage?”

  Saria nodded, “She is. A strong one. We’ll have to knock her out very carefully, so you can restore her mind, body, and instincts. The elven mate bonding spell is similar enough to the human one it would work.”

  Regina looked at me a little breathlessly.

  I said, “I would like that very much, and be honored to be bonded by the heir of your people.”

  Saria smiled, and reached out and touched my arm, then snatched it back as she realized what she was doing.

  We went over the plan then, one more time in detail. We’d do the princess first, and all those with her. Idea being that she still retained authority over the others as the princess heir, as long as she didn’t order anything that would conflict with her peoples’ orders from the king and the bonds of enslavement.