by Eric Vall
“That’s somewhat disturbing,” Shoshanne muttered.
“Would it make you feel better if I told you the people I kill deserve to die?” Nulena asked as she raised a black eyebrow.
Alfred’s gaze flicked toward mine, but his expression was entirely composed, and I could only sigh while I headed for the atrium.
Cayla noticed me in the doorway first, but when the other women looked over, they sent me cautious glances that confused me.
“Hey,” I murmured.
“We were just discussing Nulena’s evening,” Aurora said with a pointed look. “She was out all night.”
I nodded with relief, but then I realized how tense my women seemed, and when I compared this to Nulena’s careless grin, I caught on to their predicament.
“Um.” I cleared my throat. “Does she not know?”
“We were waiting until you got here,” Cayla replied.
“Know what?” Nulena asked, and a cold mask replaced her grin.
“Did you stop by Rajeen at all last night?” I checked.
“No, I was murdering a cousin and plotting revenge. Why?”
I nodded while I brushed some dirt from my hair and walked over, and I crouched down beside the Baroness as I tried to decide how to break the news to her.
“Nulena … I just received word from Temin,” I said as gently as I could. “There was an attack last night in Rajeen.”
The Baroness nodded. “I know. Over two hundred were killed by possessed mages.”
“Oh, okay,” I muttered and blinked in surprise. “I thought you might be upset.”
“Why should I be upset?” she asked. “These things happen.”
“Uh-huh,” I said as I eyed the other women. “That’s one way to look at it.”
Cayla let out an irritated sigh, though, and she promptly stood up with her hands propped on her hips.
“Nulena, focus,” she ordered. “Mason’s clearly not breathing properly, which means he’s still upset. As a woman wholly invested in his well being, I have to insist you acknowledge that.”
“Cayla, I’m fine,” I chuckled as I straightened up, “but it’s sweet that you notice the way I breathe when I’m tense.”
“Wait.” Nulena furrowed her brows at me. “Were you … worried about me?”
“Well, yeah,” I admitted, and I couldn’t believe how confused she looked. “Most of your town got slaughtered, and I haven’t heard from you since yesterday.”
When Nulena just blinked and looked at all of us, I could tell she was having trouble wrapping her mind around the concept, and Shoshanne must have noticed as well because she casually cleared her throat.
“I think I’ll check in on how things are going at the infirmary,” the healer decided, and the rest of my women quickly dismissed themselves as well.
Nulena bit her lip when she looked up at me, and I couldn’t help chuckling while I gently pulled her to her feet. Then I slid my hands to the cinch of her waist as her two-toned gaze met mine.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “No one ever worries about me.”
“Yeah, I can understand why,” I snorted. “Just a habit of mine, I guess … being concerned whether the women I care about are alive or dead.”
Before I could blink, Nulena’s lips were on mine, and a shiver coursed down her spine as her fingers began to tremble against my cheek. It didn’t matter how many times I touched her, it still caught me off guard when her composure just crumbled in my hold, and I could hardly believe I had such an effect on her.
She kissed me slowly at first while I listened to her heartbeat stutter repeatedly, and she melted against me as her lips began to move more urgently. I could feel how every inch of her wanted me closer, and the longer I held her, the more undone she was until her breasts were heaving against my chest and her legs were slowly giving out.
So, I held her locked against me as she pulled away, and her ghostly white eye searched mine for a long moment while I listened to her heart try to steady itself. Then she forced a composed expression and smirked.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” the Baroness purred. “I have no intention of dying in this silly feud. There’s too much fun to be had in the death of others.”
The mood sort of crashed and burned at her brazen statement, but I nodded.
“You’re a very confusing person,” I informed her.
“Thank you,” Nulena said, and her smile was suddenly genuine. “For caring about me, I mean. No one has ever … I don’t … what I meant to say is I … ”
I could tell the words were on the tip of her tongue, and to see a woman like her struggle so much with only three words was fascinating. She could sit around discussing her favorite ways to ensure her victims died in as torturous a manner as possible, but when it came time to say “I love you,” she blushed, fidgeted with the edge of my vest, looked everywhere but at me, and finally just shook her head.
I grinned. “Say it.”
Nulena only blushed deeper, though, and she fought against her smirk for a moment before she abruptly turned away.
“No,” she said curtly, and she brushed her hair over her shoulder. “I did not come here to make a fool of myself. I only wanted to see you and to let you know that I found three of these portals you are after.”
“Where?” I asked at once.
“Two within the Oculus, and one near the outer gates of Serin,” the Baroness said with a shrug. “I had some free time between killing the cousin and my next appointment, so I took a short look around.”
“Shit,” I gasped. “I need you to show me exactly where they are. They need to be destroyed before--”
“Yes, I know,” Nulena sighed. “We must save the little people from the horrible deaths. I understand, but I already destroyed them for you.”
I furrowed my brow as the Baroness looked briefly disgusted with herself, but then I grinned.
“You prevented the deaths of citizens without me even having to ask?” I clarified.
“Yes,” Nulena mumbled. “So, there. I have helped. Please don’t make me do it again. It felt very unnatural. I almost killed my little helper just to make up for it, but I knew you would disapprove, so I let him go instead.”
“What little helper?”
“I abducted a Terra Mage,” Nulena said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I knew you would end up running around trying to destroy all of these portals anyways, so I dragged him along with me to do the job for you. Now, you have more time for myself and your women.”
“You abducted a mage,” I muttered, and I rifled my hair while I tried to sound calm about this. “You didn’t terrify him, though, right?”
“I thought I was tame,” the Baroness snorted. “I only blinded him and forced him to do my bidding. I didn’t kill him, although his sobbing was extremely irritating. How difficult is it to walk and do as you’re told?”
“Okay … you can’t abduct mages,” I groaned. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m so, so grateful that you helped, but if you could not terrorize my mages, that would be good. I’ve worked hard to ease their concerns as much as possible, and the stakes are high enough lately without them living in fear of being dragged away by some unknown woman and blinded all night.”
Nulena’s two-toned gaze snapped to mine, and it was impossible to read her expression as she stared at me for a long moment. Then her ebony lips curled into a seductive grin.
“I accept your gratitude,” she said in a low tone.
“Okay,” I chuckled, “but you heard the other part, too, right?”
Nulena didn’t reply as she strolled over, and even though I felt like there were still several things that needed clarifying, all of them drifted from my mind as the exotic scent of the Baroness wafted around me. She brushed her lips against my collar bone before slowly making her way up my neck, and my limbs became heavier as her powers sifted through me. Then I was kissing her without knowing which way was up, and everywhere her hands slid, her magic left a tra
il behind that felt like some painkiller was working its way through my muscles. My tongue was numb within minutes while my blood began to burn, and I had the Baroness pinned against my worktable when Cayla cleared her throat.
Nulena reluctantly turned to eye the princess, and I did my best to regain control of my faculties so I wouldn’t collapse on the spot.
“Huh?” I managed.
“I’m glad to see everything is sorted out,” Cayla said as she came over. “Now, before you let the Baroness seduce you for the rest of the afternoon, I have a few important things to discuss.”
“I’m sure it can wait,” Nulena purred, and she pulled me back into a numbing kiss.
“No, it’s about Mors Pass,” the princess countered.
I somehow managed to refocus enough to look her way, and Cayla smirked at the groggy look in my eyes while Nulena’s teeth lightly nipped at the meat of my neck.
“What about Mors Pass?” I slurred.
“Deya was transmuting while you worked in the market,” Cayla replied. “She found four of the Master’s mages lurking around the entrance of the pass.”
This brought me back from my stupor. “Wait, what happened?”
I unwound Nulena’s arms from me as she rolled her eyes, and I had to lock her wrists together to keep her from pulling me back in. She just smirked and began lightly tracing circles on my hand, though, and I could feel her powers blooming across my skin as my grip went numb.
“Deya made sure the nests were still occupied by their respective breeds,” Cayla assured me. “Then she slaughtered the mages she found there, so for the time being, the dragons are safe.”
I cringed. “She ate them, didn’t she?”
“Yes,” Cayla admitted, “but she said they tasted good.”
“I like her so much.” Nulena let out a low and approving chuckle as she tipped her chin up to get at my neck again, and I let the woman have her way for a moment while I thought about this.
“We need to get a guard out there fast,” I muttered, and Cayla nodded in agreement. “The shelter in the marketplace is completed at least, but I need to have the healers stock it with supplies, and I’ll probably have Raynor put some nonperishables down there, too. There’s also a … fuck.”
My mind derailed as Nulena’s tongue flicked across my earlobe, and I immediately devoured her lips because I honestly couldn’t resist. With her hands still locked together at the wrists, Nulena moaned softly into my mouth as her breaths quickened, and when I tried to resurface again, she left a vengeful bite on my bottom lip that made the base of my spine tingle.
“There’s also a what?” Cayla patiently inquired.
“A, uh … ” I tried as Nulena smirked up at me. “A mage. There’s a mage named Toby who offered to take a post in the shelter during attacks. I was wondering if you could test out his qualifications out.”
“I can do that,” the princess replied. “Would you like me to send Shoshanne to address the provisions in the shelter?”
“Sure,” I said, “that would be helpful. You can find Toby either in the library or at the training fields. He’s an Aer Mage with shaggy red hair and a beard.”
“Ohhh, Toby Keen,” Cayla mused. “I know who you’re talking about. He’s made remarkable progress. Aurora and I put him on our list of recommendations you asked for.”
“Perfect,” I said with a grin. “While you and Shoshanne handle that, I’ll start on the metal dragon I have no idea how to make, but there’s a shipment of--”
The squeals of Aurora and Deya as they sprinted down the hall cut me off, and they burst into the atrium with their eyes sparkling.
“Metal dragon!” the half-elf sang. “Let’s do this, we wanna help!”
“I want to help, too,” Cayla quickly added, and Nulena sighed as I released my hold on her wrists to pull my stack of sketches over.
“Will you at least be using this metal dragon for gruesome means?” the Baroness muttered. “Perhaps to shred your enemies in battle?”
“No!” Deya scoffed, and her violet eyes went wide with alarm. “I am Mason’s battle dragon! Right, Mason? You’re not going to replace me with a big metal creature, are you?”
“Of course not,” I chuckled, and I tucked Deya under my arm. “This automaton might join our ranks once in a while, but you’re the only dragon I ever want to ride into battle. You have my word.”
“Good,” Deya purred, and she hopped up to leave a kiss on my cheek before grabbing my sketches from me. “So, I would like the metal dragon to have serrated claws.”
“I love that idea,” Aurora giggled. “I want him to breathe enchanted flames like the fireball rune.”
“Will he be equipped to fire bullets?” Cayla asked with a greedy smile. “Or a bazooka! We could mount two on his shoulders, and then--”
“No!” Aurora interrupted. “Death machete claws!”
“Death machete tail!” Deya squealed.
“And daggers that fly from his eyes,” Cayla said with a nod.
“Good idea,” Aurora agreed.
“Mason, you can make him do all of that, yes?” Deya asked eagerly, and I blinked.
“Um … I was just gonna have it breathe fire,” I admitted, and my women looked crest-fallen. “He’s already a metal, flying dragon! If that’s even possible to create, it’s a huge leap for me in terms of production, and if he can’t be destroyed by the Master’s mages, he really only needs to be able to do dragon shit. So, I figure a fire breather with sharp claws. Classic dragon.”
“But … ” Aurora mumbled, “daggers flying from the eyes.”
“And death machete tail,” Deya pouted.
Nulena chuckled in approval, and I sent her a wry glance.
“How about this,” I sighed. “Let’s see if I can even do this first. We’ll take it one thing at a time. If I can get a giant metal dragon to fly and spew fire, then we can revisit the topic.”
“That’s fair,” Aurora allowed.
“One thing, though,” Cayla cut in. “Can he spew fire from his eyes, too?”
“And from his nose!” Deya added. “Fire everywhere! It would be very scary that way.”
I considered this, and the imagery was appealing. “Yeah, I could work on that.”
“With serrated claws?” Aurora tried, and she sent me her most beautiful smile for good measure.
“Sure,” I chuckled. “Serrated claws it is.”
I headed over to my shelf to grab a few chunks of steel, and Nulena summoned a swarm of shadows as she headed toward the corner.
“I suppose I should get back to my schedule,” the Baroness sighed.
Aurora smirked and crossed her arms. “Do you spend all of your time killing people?”
“Not all of my time,” the Baroness replied coolly. “Sometimes, I orchestrate elaborate webs of deceit so people begin killing each other under false pretenses. However, half of my village is slaughtered, so in this case, it’s only proper that I lash out at anyone I could pretend to blame it on.”
Then Nulena flashed us a murderous smile and vanished into a wash of blackness.
“She’s lucky she’s so beautiful,” Cayla muttered.
“Yeah, she is,” I sighed.
“She still can’t say ‘I love you,’ can she?” Aurora guessed.
“Nope, but it’s kind of cute,” I chuckled as I cleared a larger space on my worktable. “She almost had it, but then she gave up.”
“You should say it first,” Deya decided, but when I just shrugged, the beautiful elf gasped. “You don’t love her? Why not? Mason, she’s so sexy and falls all to pieces around you.”
“I didn’t say I don’t love her,” I mumbled while I compared a few of my sketches. “I barely know her is all, and if she’s not in a hurry to talk about how she feels, then I’m not going to push the topic.”
“Yes, perhaps you should wait,” Deya sighed as she dropped onto the edge of the fountain. “I’ve told her I love her at least ten times now, but she refuses to
say it back.”
“You what?” Aurora laughed.
“I can’t help it!” the elf insisted. “She smiles at me in a way that’s not at all murdery, and the words just come flying out of my mouth. She’s so soft all over with those eyes that seem to drag you into them, and every time she looks at Mason, she is so clearly taken with him. How can I not love her? She has me wrapped around that terrifying little finger of hers.”
I smirked while Aurora giggled, but Cayla nodded thoughtfully.
“You make a lot of good points,” the princess admitted. “Although, if I were Nulena, I certainly wouldn’t--”
Deya’s violent gag had us all whipping around, though, and Aurora lunged to the elf’s side as she began retching all over the atrium floor.
“What the … ?” I yelped. “Is that a fucking bone you just--”
“I’m fine!” Deya gagged. “Don’t worry about me! Really!”
“Deya, you have to stop eating weird shit,” I groaned, but then another bout of vomit cascaded to the floor, and I had to turn away as my own stomach churned.
“Gods,” Cayla muttered as she covered her mouth and nose.
“Okay … Alfred!” I hollered.
The butler came in only a minute later with a damp rag in hand, and he gave a regal bow despite the pukey scene he walked into.
“How are you with vomit?” I asked the man.
“Not a concern,” Alfred assured me. “Perhaps a moist towel would help ease Lady Deya’s discomfort.”
“Thank you, Alfred,” Cayla said as she took the rag, and she tiptoed around a bloody scrap of mages’ robes as she headed for Deya. “Here you are, sweetie. Let’s get you all cleaned up.”
“That’s it, I’m putting my foot down,” I decided. “Deya, no more hunting.”
“But Mason, I wasn’t hunting,” Deya argued as she wiped her mouth. “I was protecting Mors Pass, and you would have done the same thing if you were in my place.”
“You didn’t have to swallow the mages!” I scoffed. “You could have just mauled them and left their remains, but now you’re turning green, you can’t stop shaking, and this is twice as much puke as the last time.”