by Eric Vall
“I’m totally fine,” I assured her. “I barely got scratched through all that fighting.”
“Not the fighting,” she corrected with a shake of her head. “This is about the monster living in your head, Sera. How are you holding up against her? I hate to ask, but I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Warmth spread throughout my chest, and a happy peace settled in me as Nia’s blue eyes held mine.
“I’m really glad you asked,” I admitted. “I know you guys worry, even though you try not to show it. The truth is, Sera has been pretty quiet recently. She’s even backed off on the nightmares a little.”
“Really?” Nia asked as she tilted her head. “Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?”
“I wish I knew,” I sighed with a small shake of my head. “I think it’s a good thing, though. We seem a little more united than before, and getting a good night of sleep is less of an issue.”
Truthfully, the nightmares had taken a turn toward sexy and seductive instead of frightening. I felt bad for enjoying them, since I knew Sera’s offers always had ulterior motives, but there was nothing I could do about it. I would just have to keep my distance and be wary of promising her anything.
“That’s a good thing,” Nia agreed, “but don’t get too close to her just because she lives in your mind. She’s been plotting revenge longer than you’ve been alive.”
“Good point,” I told the ashen-haired mage. “I’ll be careful. I’m glad Sera and I have both got our sights set on getting rid of Phi, but I’m sure she’ll go right back to scheming once things come to a head.”
“I have no doubt,” Nia agreed with a sigh, and she leaned sideways to press her shoulder against mine. “I’m glad you’re you, Gryff. Promise me you’ll stay that way?”
“I’ll do everything in my power,” I swore to her with a serious nod, and in that moment, I knew I would.
Nia burst into a dazzling smile, and her warm, soft hand sought mine. I interlaced my fingers with hers as we leaned against each other.
“I’m glad to hear it from you,” Nia said softly as we pressed against each other. “Now, get some sleep. You did a lot today.”
“I’ll sleep if you will,” I replied before a yawn overtook me.
She laughed lightly and nodded, and we settled back against our seats as the airship drifted toward home.
Within minutes, I was asleep.
The hour flew by, and before I knew it, Erin leaned in front of me as she shook me awake in my seat harness.
“Hm?” I asked as I rubbed my bleary eyes. “We’re there?”
“Yup,” Erin confirmed, “and boy, am I ever ready to get some sleep.”
“I’ll bet you are,” I replied.
My neck was killing me from the odd angle while I slept, but I noticed my fingers were still interwoven with Nia’s.
The ashen-haired mage blinked sleepily at me and gave a slow, beautiful smile as she noticed our hands. We let go of each other reluctantly to extract ourselves from our harnesses.
“Time to get back into a real bed,” Varleth groaned as he heaved himself upright.
“That’s the best thing you’ve said all week,” I chuckled back as I twisted out the kinks in my spine.
“Low bar,” Varleth commented lightly.
“Sure is,” I agreed.
The airship hatch opened, and I was relieved to see this time, there was no rain.
We had a pleasant, completely dry trip back to the Academy at an easy pace. None of us were injured this time, and even though we desperately needed some shut-eye from the mana drain, that was the best result a mage could expect from a battle.
In the blink of an eye, we were through the big wooden doors of the Academy and into the heart of the building. My mind wandered in tired circles over the events of the day as I dragged myself back to my room.
When I opened the door, Braden woke up and greeted me with a tired mumble. I told him to go back to sleep, and he turned over agreeably in bed.
I stripped off my sweaty, blood-spattered clothing and threw it into a pile before I slumped into bed and let my muscles relax.
I needed to take a bath, but it could wait until the morning. I didn’t want to risk falling asleep in the water, even though it would be a pain to have to remake my entire bed with fresh sheets.
My eyes closed slowly, and I eased back into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I woke up to morning light as it fell across my bed and over my eyes. I stretched and gathered some fresh clothing before I put yesterday’s outfit back on and slipped out the door.
I reached the baths only to find Varleth already there as he soaked in a blissful amount of warm water and hot steam. His eyes were half-lidded in enjoyment, and he sank lower until only his nose was above the water.
I stifled a laugh at the sight of the banisher, but I decided to leave him alone for now. I could keep an eye out to make sure he didn’t drown, but I knew both of us preferred to take our baths in relative solitude.
The water may as well have been blessed by the Maker himself. As I soaked, every inch of me released a soreness I didn’t even know I had.
I like this feeling, Sera purred. Why don’t you take more baths?
What, once a day isn’t enough for you? I asked in my head.
It feels good, she explained. Why would you not indulge in good things as often as possible?
Good things are best in moderation, I told her. Otherwise, you risk turning them into just more mundane things.
I don’t understand, Sera hummed. Is this why you won’t indulge in carnal pleasure with me? Why deprive yourself of it? I promise it will feel better every time we do it. You know my power and talent. I can make it so pleasurable for you, you’ll beg on your knees as you plead for me to give you mercy.
It was talk like this that made me refrain from kissing her. She seemed like a seductive, beautiful woman, but she still talked like a Maker only knows how old Archon with a taste for blood and power.
You’re not very fun, are you? Sera teased with a hungry lilt to her voice. It’s fine, I know you’ll be mine eventually. We’ll be joined in body and mind both. No mortal can hold out forever.
Chills ran through me despite the heat of the bath, but my will steeled against Sera’s threats. I wasn’t about to sit around and listen to her manifestos, so I got out of the bath and dried myself off.
Breakfast would make me feel better, I decided, so I dressed in clean clothing and headed out. When I reached the cafeteria, I ran into Arwyn at the entrance of the room.
She looked much better than yesterday, and her amber eyes were bright and alert once again. She’d clearly taken the chance to rest and recuperate some of her mana since our mission ended.
In addition, she was wearing an outfit I couldn’t remember seeing ever before. She wore a small, flowy skirt made of overlapping black lace that revealed most of her thighs. On top, she had on a professional-looking purple shirt, but the buttons were tight across her chest, and they revealed a tantalizing hint of her generous cleavage at her neckline.
“Gryff,” she greeted as she gave me an appraising look. “I was hoping to run into you, actually. Now that we have a bit of a break between fights, I think you should spend the next few days getting up to date on your schooling.”
“Oh, okay,” I said haltingly. “That’s probably a good idea. I’m not really sure about joining classes so late in the year, though.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Arwyn replied with a pleased expression. “You won’t be taking classes, you’ll be studying with me. Headmaster Sleet has given me a small vacation of my own, and I’ll have time off from research duties this evening.”
“I see,” I said with a growing smile. “Private tutoring, then?”
“Private tutoring,” Arwyn confirmed with a wink. “In my room, I think. I believe eight tonight should be a good time, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss an appointment with you for the world,” I replied teasingly
.
“It’s a date,” Arwyn finished, and she gave me one last sultry look as she brushed past me.
The scent of flower perfume lingered in her wake, and I watched her leave for a while. My eyes settled on the swish of her skirt around her hips as she disappeared around the corner.
Finally, I gathered my thoughts and went in to breakfast, but my mind still raced over Arwyn’s suggestive words about tonight’s tutoring session.
This was going to be a long, long day, and I couldn’t wait for the end of it.
Chapter 6
Finally, the grandfather clock in the hallway outside the dorms made a faint, brassy sound to signal the change of the hour. Usually, it was nearly imperceptible to me from my room, but tonight, I was on high alert for that sound.
I hopped up from my bed and ran one hand through my hair before I grabbed a few old textbooks off the top of my desk. Arwyn’s tutoring was never single-purpose, so I knew to be ready for studying as well as some hands-on activity.
“Whatever you’ve been waiting for, I’m glad it’s finally here,” Braden said in a muffled tone as he spoke into his pillow. “I thought you were going to wear a hole in the floor earlier.”
“Thanks for putting up with my pacing,” I answered gratefully. “I’ll try not to wake you up when I come back.”
“If I know you,” Braden joked as he rolled over, “you won’t come back tonight at all.”
“You know me too well,” I said as I winked and gave him a small salute. “Have a good rest.”
“Have fun, Gryff,” Braden chuckled as I opened the door to leave.
I grinned and shut the door behind me before I strolled through the halls to Arwyn’s office. She didn’t use her office very much anymore, since she wasn’t really a teacher this year, and her labspace was the main room she worked in for cipher research, but the office space still technically belonged to her.
The teachers’ offices weren’t too far from the classrooms, but they were strewn through the academic building in a haphazard fashion. Some of the doors weren’t marked or labelled in any way, but luckily, I’d learned where Arwyn’s was a while back.
I knocked on her office door quietly, and within seconds, she opened it wide.
“You weren’t waiting for me, were you?” I joked with a wry smile.
“Only a little,” she promised with a wink. “Come in, we have lots to study.”
Arwyn closed the door behind me, and I stepped further into her office to narrow the space between us. The red-haired professor smiled as my gaze traveled down from her face to her body, and my pulse quickened.
She was still in her teacher’s outfit from earlier, and my eyes landed on the row of buttons that trailed down her chest. The purple cotton stretched across her breasts, and her bra peeked through the gaps between each button.
I wondered if I could see her panties through the black lace layers of her skirt, but I couldn’t see any color but the rich, creamy tone of her skin. I ran one hand up her thigh, and Arwyn took my wrist to guide my fingers between her legs.
“No panties at all?” I asked in surprise. “How long have you been wearing the skirt like this?”
“Ever since I talked to you this morning,” Arwyn informed me with a sly, secretive smile. “It’s subtle enough that nobody can call me out on it, but I’m sure it brought a few questions to certain minds.”
“Very bold,” I told her with an approving smile. “I’m sure nobody suspected you did it for me.”
“Not in the slightest,” Arwyn purred as she stroked a hand across my shoulder. “Though I know they wondered. They can look all they want, but you’re the only one who gets my attention.”
Her eyes were dark as her pupils widened with lust, and I was certain we would be on the desk in seconds. Instead, however, she took my textbooks from me and tossed them onto the small couch on one side of her office.
“Studying comes first, I see,” I said with a hum as I put my other hand on her thigh to stroke patterns over her skin.
“For now,” Arwyn promised with a sultry look.
“Are we working on history, or my patience?” I asked with a crooked smile.
Arwyn put one finger against her chin in thought as she tilted her head.
“Perhaps we’re just waiting to see what will happen,” she said with meaning layered beneath her tone.
“That’s more than okay with me,” I replied as heat shot to my stomach.
I didn’t know exactly what she was referring to, but I could imagine a dozen different scenarios I would be extremely glad to wait for. I loved Arwyn’s body, but I knew her clever mind would come up with something to make the end of our session even sweeter.
We sat on opposite ends of the couch, and Arwyn cracked open one of my textbooks.
“Quick review, first,” she began. “For every question you get perfectly right, I’ll undo one button.”
“Perfectly right?” I asked with a growing smile.
“It has to be textbook,” Arwyn confirmed with a wink. “Otherwise, it doesn’t count.”
She ran through a few history questions, and I got them more or less correct, though I forgot most of the proper dates or important names. When I got close, Arwyn would run a finger along one of those buttons on her shirt, but she was a stickler for the rules, and she didn’t undo a single one yet.
Finally, she reached a question about the Enclaves that I remembered perfectly. Something in my mind clicked, and I rattled off the dates, names, and relevant details without hesitation.
“A perfect answer, Gryff,” Arwyn announced as her hand raised to her chest. “Congratulations.”
Her fingers twisted deftly around the button, and with a small pop, it came undone. Her cleavage turned from tantalizing to downright unfair, and I was sure she could hold a pencil between her breasts if she wanted to. Her bra was more than a hint exposed now, and my eyes roved over the black lace of it.
“Matching bra and skirt,” I commented. “You were planning on this for a while, weren’t you?”
“Of course,” Arwyn admitted easily as she turned a page in the textbook. “I’m always looking forward to spending time with you, and I didn’t want to miss a good opportunity when it came up.”
“Mm, you’re a wise woman,” I complimented her as I dragged my eyes away from her cleavage.
“I aim to be,” Arwyn returned with a wink. “Now, next question.”
Now that I was properly motivated, my mind raced over possibilities for dates and names as I delved back to the days I had learned this material. It took me half as long to get the next question spot-on.
This time, Arwyn undid a button from the bottom of her shirt, and she revealed a pale section of taut stomach.
“Best for last,” she quipped with an innocent look toward me.
“You think I only care about your boobs?” I asked as I cocked an eyebrow. “You’re sorely mistaken.”
“You have to admit they’re your favorite part,” Arwyn accused lightly as she smiled at me.
“It’s a toss-up,” I hummed as I tilted my head in thought. “Ass or boobs, ass or boobs … “
“Fine, fine,” Arwyn conceded. “One of your favorite parts. My point still stands. Alright, next question.”
We went back and forth for a bit until we reached a section of history I knew very well, since I’d read an entire book on it in my free time. The history of swordsmithing and weapon advancements was well under my belt, and I rattled off textbook answers as quickly as she could ask them.
One, two, three buttons went, and Arwyn revealed the entirety of her lower torso as she followed our rules to the letter. A fourth button went, and the lower part of her black, lacy bra peeked out.
Only two buttons remained, and my heart throbbed as heat pooled in my stomach in anticipation.
“What’s the exact date of the Halrorren rift opening?” Arwyn asked with a sly smile.
“The year was twelve forty-eight,” I said confidently.
“Correct, and the day and month?” Arwyn asked with half-lidded eyes.
“November,” I said hesitantly. “Twenty-eighth?”
“Correct,” Arwyn affirmed as her eyebrows shot up. “Even with the uncertainty, you remember better than you think you do.”
“I guess so,” I said with a slight shrug.
“Don’t undersell yourself,” Arwyn said with a smile as she undid the second-to last button. “You’re one of the sharpest students I’ve ever had, Gryff.”
“Thanks,” I said distantly as my eyes bored into the revealed lace. “But I’m not even comparable to students like Nia or--”
A soft, rhythmic knock sounded at the door, and I flinched as my eyes widened in panic. I expected Arwyn to rush to button her shirt up, but instead she just laughed quietly and shook her head.
“Speak of the devil,” she said with a wry tone before she raised her voice slightly. “Come on in.”
The door opened, and Nia stood in the entrance. Her hair wasn’t in a braid for once, and it framed her face like a white cloud. Nia was barely dressed at all, and she wore nothing but a small, one-piece shift dress for sleeping, but it didn’t even come close to covering her ass. Through the clinging, white fabric, I could clearly see the pink circles of her nipples as they pressed pertly against her top.
I expected to see surprise on her face when she noticed us, but instead, she simply gave the two of us a knowing smile.
“You started without me, hm?” she asked with a tilt of her head as she closed and locked the door behind her.
“Only just,”Arwyn assured Nia with a sultry look. “Gryff needed to catch up on last year’s material, but I knew you would have no such problem.”
“Bold assumption,” Nia commented lightly with a smile.
“Who invented the crystal essence lamp, and which year?” Arwyn asked.
“Marderal Offrey, fifteen twenty-one,” Nia said effortlessly.
“See, you’re more than prepared,” Arwyn teased, and she undid the final button on her top.
Her breasts spilled free against the thin fabric of her lacy, black bra, and she reached up to caress her chest with her hands. Her breasts rippled as she moved them with a firm grip, and her half-lidded eyes stared lustily into mine.