by Reed James
“No, no, no!” howled the insectoid monstrosity. “I can't die. I am King! The King! I serve Father! I will conquer the world for him!”
I pressed down on the dagger, leaning over him. I stared into his eyes, hatred burning. For my parents. For Katriana. I dug deeper, twisting, savoring the pain I caused him as flashes of my little sister exploded through my mind. Smiling. Laughing. Racing through the garden. Pink bower flowers—the same blossoms Kora tattooed into her body—in Katriana's hair.
More beetle legs popped at the joints. Cartilage and sinew tore. I pried it off of Prince Meinard. His body spasmed as the bug ripped free. Ichor spurted. The smaller insect landed on its back, severed legs twitching as it died.
I leaned over Prince Meinard. “My child shall rule your princedom!” I growled. “He shall sit on your throne. I have supplanted you. Your daughter loves me!”
He gurgled, ichor filling his gaping mouth. His eyes dulled. He spasmed a final time.
Died.
~ * ~
Kora Falk
I needed more will. I had to be stronger. The Paragon closed the distance. Only twenty feet away. Fifteen feet. She lumbered forward, picking up more and more speed as her ancient will battered through mine.
I needed to... imagine myself with a diamond will. Adamant! My fingers danced. I still had my juices adorning them. I could still create illusions. I shaped one over myself. I merged it with me, creating a version of myself that had the will of... Queen Sidhe.
I channeled that regal faerie queen sitting upon her throne proclaiming her sentence upon Aingeal. My back straightened as my magic washed over me. I felt stronger, more powerful. I had the authority of thousands of years behind me. I was the daughter of gods. Cernere was my mother. Las my father. When I spoke, every faerie obeyed.
“Submit!” I howled. “Stop!”
The Paragon's next step faltered. Her face twisted with bullish rage. She snorted, leaning forward like a wall stood before her, a barrier she struggled to get past. Her feet remained rooted to the ground, her eyes glaring at me.
I had the will of ages behind me. I was Kora. A queen. The Paragon's queen.
“Kneel!”
She quivered. I realized this is what she feared. Why she never faced us openly. She didn't want to be a slave to anyone but the Biomancer. And now she saw it. She realized she was vulnerable. That she had to submit. Her fists clenched. Her entire body shook.
She drew in her breath to scream her defiance.
~ * ~
Sven Falk
I gained my feet and...
Ealaín lay crushed and dead; Greta sprawled, stunned, nearby. Pain slapped me. I wrenched my gaze, sweeping it up the hill. Nothing stood between my sister and the Paragon. The hulking monster came closer and closer. She stopped, battering at an unseen force. Her entire body quivered while my sister...
She stood as regal as a queen, her bearing imperious. For a moment, I had a flash of memory. I was kneeling before Queen Sidhe, my hands manacled behind my back, submitting to her dominion. I shook my head as the Paragon's roar rumbled across the entire mountain.
She was almost to my sister.
Shadows spilled off of me as I surged up the hill. My dagger became a rapier again. I would save my sister. The ruby light pulsed in her gripped fist. It spilled across her face as she spoke. The Paragon's knees bent.
“NEVER!” the monstrosity roared. She broke through the unseen force. She took a lumbering step towards my sister.
Kora didn't flinch. She stared up at the monstrosity, imperial authority spilling across her face. “You will kneel!” commanded my sister, her voice ice. “NOW!”
My steps carried me up the hill, the shadows sustaining my body a little longer. But the darkness spilled off of me with every heartbeat. I lost more and more of the umbral power fueling me. I didn't care. I just needed one strike. I aimed at the Paragon's lower back. Her kidney. I lunged at her.
I thrust.
The Paragon pivoted. Her fist, the size of a sledgehammer, rushed at my head while her body trembled. I couldn't stop my momentum. I raced up the hill too fast. There was no stopping that fist from crushing my head.
But I would save my sister. I wouldn't have to break her heart by abandoning her. Only by dying.
~ * ~
Aingeal
“No!” Ava screamed.
It all moved so slowly to me. The fist falling at my husband's head. Sven stabbing at the paragon's back. The energy still spilled through me. The abjuration spirits streaked up the hill faster than they should possibly move. They blazed, purple streaks that crossed those hundreds of feet in a single beat of my heart.
A shielded formed beside Sven's head. The Paragon's fist crashed into it. The abjuration spirits held, protecting my husband.
~ * ~
Sven Falk
Aingeal saved me.
My rapier lanced into the stomach of the Paragon. It bit deep, driving up into her organs. She quivered. Her entire body trembled. She bellowed, staring down at me with eyes that burned with rage. Her fists raised up above her, clasped together, forming a mighty boulder to slam down at me.
“STOP!” Kora yelled.
Her words slammed into the Paragon. The thing's body went rigid as I ripped my rapier from her flesh. I stared at the figure, seeing the rents ripped across the monster's chest, the exposed bones of iron that had withstood Ealaín's attacks.
My rapier was a narrow blade. It could slip through ribs. I thrust at the chest of the frozen monster.
The Paragon snarled. Her entire body shook as she tried to move. To defend herself. My sister's will held her tight. My rapier sank into her chest, sliding past the protective bones, and finding the monster's heart. The thudding beat shook my blade. Her eyes bulged.
I twisted my rapier, destroying her heart.
She stood rigid, blood bubbling from her mouth. Her breath wheezed. She let out a final bellow, crimson spittle bursting from her as she fought my sister's will. It died into a gurgling moan. Her eyes fluttered.
Grew dull.
The life animating her body fled. My sister's will no longer worked. The corpse collapsed into a limp heap on the hill. I leaped back as the bulk tumbled down the slope. I landed and groaned. A wave of dizzying cold washed through me.
My wounds attacked me. The last umbral energy left me.
I collapsed, blood bubbling out of the deep punctures to my abdomen. The world spun around me. I saved most of my women. My sister. They would live. They would have each other. This was easier. Just dying. I didn't fight it.
I wouldn't have to abandon them. I would uphold my promise to Rithi without breaking my sister's heart.
I wouldn't have to be alone in this world.
My eyes closed as I surrendered to oblivion.
Chapter Forty-Three: Art's Reminder
Aingeal
The feyhound's wicker body crumbled around our souls. I could feel the poor proxy's body unraveling. The supercharge from the diamond hammer had sent too much energy through it. The feyhound wasn't a proper proxy. Smoke rose, wicker bursting into flames.
“What happens to us when it's destroyed?” I asked Ava.
Ava didn't answer me. Instead her soul seized mine and pulled us away. I gasped as I had a glimpse of the feyhound's body erupting into full fire. Flames were around us for a moment and then darkness rushed around me, a bodiless hurtle that—
My eyes opened.
I gasped awake, staring up at the sky. Fire burned and crackled. I sat up, blinking at the shock of being back in my real body. My flesh ached. My wings fluttered. I groaned as I stood up on the slope, struggling to get my bearings. Flames devoured the grass of the hill to my left near a dark form lying dead. It was monstrous. Prince Meinard slain. Then I heard Kora shouting. She raced towards another prone figure.
“Sven?” I groaned, realizing it was our husband on the ground. Kora fell to his side. Clammy, fearful hands kneaded my guts. Moments later, Nathalie and Carsina j
oined Kora, Nathalie trembling, her breastplate missing.
“Princess!” Greta shouted, charging up the hill towards the top where Ava stood up.
Then I saw another body... Skin black. I gasped at the sight of the crushed golden armor mixed amid the smashed form. Ealaín... A dizzy wave shot through me as I stared down the slope. It hit me that she was dead.
“Cernere's black cunt,” I whispered, the world twisting at strange angles as the blood pounded through my veins. My drunken gaze swept across the bottom of the slope and spotted another fire burning and crackling. It was the feyhound by the corpse and—
Zanyia lay on the ground, her body burnt. The clammy hands squeezed my guts now. Was she dead, too? Was Sven? Did we lose more than Ealaín? No one was coming to Zanyia's aid. Kora was by Sven. She could save our husband, but what about Zanyia?
The pain throbbing my body from my fall vanished. My wings fluttered. I lifted into the air and soared down the slope. Lights gathered to me; the green enhancement spirits bobbed around me. They swirled into a sheath of emerald, drawn by my desperation. I rushed closer and closer to Zanyia.
She lay still. Unmoving.
Purple burst around me, engulfing the horde of enhancement spirits and rushing at her body, while I bit my lower lip. She couldn't be dead, too. Her playful antics danced through my thoughts. She lived with her emotions, embracing them. She didn't hide them. She lived life to its fullest.
“Zanyia!” I cried out, hurtling down towards her in the wake of the healing spirits.
The purple engulfed Zanyia. The enhancement spirits, eager to please my will, plunged into Zanyia's body. Dozens and dozens of them filled her. A spasm raced through her body. Her back arched. Her singed tail twitched. The crisping black covering her skin retreated. Pale flesh swept across her skin, growing pink and alive.
I landed beside her, tears spilling down my cheeks. “Zanyia!”
The cat-girl's golden eyes fluttered open. I collapsed to my knees beside her. She wasn't dead. She survived. I seized her and pulled her to my body, burying her face between my breasts. I hugged her tight as my wings fluttered.
“Mmm, this is a wonderful thing to wake up to,” Zanyia said, her hands seizing my tits. Her head rubbed back and forth, a purr rumbling from her throat. “A big pair of boobies to play with.”
I laughed as the tears spilled down my cheeks. We had won. We were whole. Mostly.
~ * ~
Kora Falk
The illusion of my imperial confidence melted off of me, the art abandoned as I reached my step-brother's side. Blood soaked his body. He had such terrible wounds to his chest. I had no idea how he kept fighting the Paragon after suffering such horrifying injuries from the transformed Prince Meinard.
“Brother mine!” I gasped, kneeling beside him.
My left hand throbbed as I released the amulet. My robes were still open. I thrust my hand between my thighs as I stared down at Sven. He wasn't breathing. His face was so pale. He couldn't be dead. I couldn't lose him.
“Mistress!” Nathalie gasped, standing over us, her small breasts quivering.
“Rithi, bless my natural paints with your divine love. Let your vision flow through me and restore the art ruined by the cruel acts of the world!” I shouted and thrust my aching hand into my pussy. My juices tingled, brimming with Rithi's artistic power. I had to restore my brother to his perfection.
I smeared my cream across his forehead, my juices tinged pink. Blood oozed from cuts in my palms. I had gripped the Biomancer's phylactery hard enough to slice my hand open on the facets. I didn't even feel the pain. I didn't even care as I waited, staring at my brother, aching for the magic to heal him.
“Please, Rithi,” I whimpered, a frantic beat pounding my heart, pumping ice through my veins. I shivered, staring at his face. “I can't lose you, brother mine. Not now. We're free. We did it! You avenged Katriana. Our parents! Come back to me!”
~ * ~
Sven Falk
My soul drifted from my body. I left all that pain behind. The darkness moved around me. I felt... a freedom. I didn't have to choose to leave Kora. I would uphold my bargain with Rithi and not have to deliberately break my step-sister's heart.
She would suffer. Grieve. They all would. Nothing I could do about it.
The Astral Realm awaited. That vast afterlife where the Gods dwelled. I smiled, or thought I did. There were so many stories about the place. So many different tales. It was supposed to be endless. Infinite. The idea made my mind ache, but something that vast must be brimming with adventure.
Maybe I could even find Ealaín's soul and discover what trouble we could get in together.
The darkness moved around me. I was ready for eternity.
I can't lose you, brother mine, Kora whispered.
I frowned, the darkness slowing.
Not now. We're free.
Her voice grew louder and louder.
We did it! You avenged Katriana. Our parents!
The darkness reversed around me. I felt something seize my soul, dragging me back. My... vitality gripped me.
Come back to me!
Rithi flowed around me. Kora was healing me. Saving my body. I wasn't quite dead yet. My soul still had the tiniest connection back to my flesh. That tiny string was growing thicker and thicker by the moment, a rope dragging me to my flesh.
I sighed and smiled. Of course Kora would save me.
Arms embraced me, soft and feminine. A presence engulfed me, a piece of a Goddess's power. Rithi held me, channeled by my sister to save me. “Remember our promise.”
I swallowed, trembling. I would have to hurt my sister now. My soul plunged back into my body. The Goddess released my essence as my awareness sank into my flesh. I felt my heart pumping, my fingers twitching, my eyes fluttering.
“...mistake...” an ethereal voice whispered as the Goddess withdrew from me. Not Rithi's voice, someone else's.
My eyes opened to Kora's trembling, blue eyes staring down at me, one of her braids of golden hair hanging off her right shoulder. It swayed with her as her nostrils twitched. The emotion surged through my sister's expression. Her joy stabbed a knife into my heart.
I had to destroy her happiness to save her and my other women.
“Brother mine!” she gasped and hugged me tight, pressing into my blood-soaked armor.
Her tears rained down on my face as her lips kissed mine. Her mouth was so hot. So loving. I shuddered, wanting to surrender into this moment. I felt the amulet through a hole in my armor. The phylactery hadn't been destroyed. I didn't have to give her up yet. I had a few more moments with her.
I hugged her back. I pulled her tight, kissing her with such passion. I closed my eyes, surrendering to this wonderful moment. My lips worked against hers. My tongue danced with hers. I loved my step-sister for the last time.
I savored the sweetness of her lips.
The passion of her love.
Her tears rained across my face. I crushed her body against mine. I didn't want to give her up. I wanted to stay in this moment forever. I sat up, holding her. She clung to me, still kissing me. Nathalie fell to her knees, throwing her arms around us; her lips kissed my cheeks, searing hot.
“Sven!” Ava gasped. She and Greta fell to their knees on the other side, their arms hugging me. My princess nuzzled her hot lips into the kiss I shared with my sister.
Wings fluttered. “My husband!”
Aingeal landed nearby. Zanyia uncoiled from the faerie's lush body. They flowed to us and hugged me from behind. Even Carsina came in, my newest sex slave, one I had hardly gotten to know. I reveled in all of them.
I trembled. It was over. We had this one moment. We had won. It only cost us Ealaín.
Chapter Forty-Four: Promise Fulfilled
Princess Ava
A strange daze gripped me. Everything felt unreal. Events had happened so fast. In the space of a few minutes, Ealaín had perished and my step-father... My father was dead. It hurt more than I though
t it should. All the hatred, the disgust, I felt for the man dwindled. He was gone. It was hard to loathe him any longer when memories of the gentler man he used to be rose in my mind.
I remembered my time from my childhood when my mother still lived. He was warm then, loving. Something died in him with Mother. What filled him was cold ambition. It drove him to such terrible acts, twisted him long before he became that insectoid thing lying dead down the hill.
I stumbled up to the Altar of Souls. I glanced down at the amulet in my hand. The phylactery quivered in my grip, smeared with Kora's blood. Her life blended into the ruby's scarlet hue. I felt the soul of a wicked man held in the matrix of crystal.
I set the amulet on the adamant anvil, the smallest part of the vast machine extending down into the hill beneath our feet. Krab, my divine ancestor, had constructed something amazing beneath my feet. A vast network of conduits focused on this one point.
“Do it,” Sven growled as my family gathered around the altar.
Carsina handed over the hammer.
“End the Las-damned bastard's existence,” Sven said, such loathing in his voice.
~ * ~
Sven Falk
The hammer in Ava's hands flared with brilliance. The ground rumbled beneath my feet. Light flickered in the depths of the Altar of Souls. The amulet trembled atop it. It quivered, the light spilling around it, wrapping it up and gripping it. I shook my head. The time had come.
My women all stared at the altar with such wrapt attention. They stood around it, the flashing, flickering, strobing energy dancing through the heart of the altar spilling over them, somehow brighter—realer—than the sunlight falling on their shoulders. It illuminated their faces, made silhouettes of them.
I drank it in. This final moment. For a moment, Ealaín stood with them, her body a wraith conjured from my imagination. She stared at me, nodding her head. She knew what I had to do, her face twisted with pain.