by Sarah Hawke
“Just try and stay focused for once,” Valuri said into my ear as we walked. “I have a bad feeling about all of this.”
“You have a bad feeling about most things,” I countered.
“I’m serious. Something’s not right here. We need to be cautious.”
“Don’t worry,” I soothed, placing my arm over her shoulder even as my eyes remained glued on the mesmerizing sway of the dark elf’s hips. “I know what I’m doing.”
***
“You can thank me later for not returning to Telanya,” I said, leaning back against the edge of the pool “Forget living in a mansion—this is the life.”
“Gods, you really are pathetic sometimes,” Valuri muttered. “This isn’t a bloody brothel.”
I glanced back over my shoulder and scowled at her. She was still sitting up on the ledge above the pool, fully clothed and alert. She had spent the past twenty minutes glaring at everyone who walked by like a bitter old miser guarding his last coin.
“No, it’s even better,” I said. “It’s free!”
She rolled her green eyes and continued idly tapping her fingers against the handle of her crossbow. Most of the people down here were already giving her a wide berth thanks to her Senosi powers, and she seemed determined to drive them even further away.
“There is nothing wrong with being cautious,” Kaseya said. She was wading in the pool next to me, though hadn’t allowed herself to fully relax, either. “I appreciate your vigilance.”
“Thanks, Red,” Valuri said. “I appreciate being able to see your tits, so I guess in the end we’re all even.”
I sighed and leaned back even further. The nameless dark elf servant was busy bathing me with a cloth while the towering human man was doing the same with Kaseya. I had paid for a similar service at a brothel once. When I closed my eyes, I could hear the whore’s soft little whimpers when I fucked the living hell out of her afterwards. I had paid her double for her enthusiasm.
This drow was more skilled and more attractive, though, and her exotic nature certainly didn’t hurt. When she eventually set aside her towel and snuggled up next to me, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to feel her fingers curl around the shaft of my cock.
“You have an impressive stem for a rivvil ,” she said. “Would you like to spill inside me?”
Before I could do anything besides blubber incoherently, I heard a loud smack and yelp beside me. I turned to see Kaseya twisting the male servant’s arm with one hand and grabbing him by the throat with the other.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she growled.
“I was…just trying to…please you…” he stammered.
“You are not my Maskari . I did not give you permission to touch me there.”
“I am…sorry…please!”
She released her grip. “Your services are no longer required. Leave us.”
For a moment I thought he might actually argue the point, and he tossed a quizzical glance to Valuri. She grinned and shook her head.
“You’re cute, honey, but you should probably go before Red here really gets mad,” Valuri said. “Maybe I’ll come and see you later.”
The servant nodded and hoisted himself out of the pool. The moment he was gone, Kaseya snuggled in next to me and placed her hand upon my chest. I smiled and turned towards the drow.
“You should probably go, too,” I said.
“She can stay,” Kaseya said, shifting her eyes to the other woman. “Jorem was enjoying your attention. Please, continue. I may be able to learn something from your technique.”
The dark elf smiled—a wide, wicked grin that suddenly made me fear for the safety of my stem—before she began stroking me again. She was unmistakably talented. Her long gray fingers would constantly change their speed and pressure, and her thumb could occasionally rub across the swollen tip. I had a feeling that she had used this particular skillset to great effect in the Underworld…
She expertly delayed my climax over and over again, and Kaseya watched the whole thing as intently as if she were learning a new fencing technique. As my arousal rippled through her collar, she began slowly grinding her quim against my leg. When she abruptly moaned in release, racked by the waves of her own climax, I felt a sudden rush in my cock and threw my head back—
The dark elf seemed content to watch me erupt straight up into the air like the geysers on the other side of the cavern, but Kaseya had other plans. She dunked her head beneath the water line and clasped her lips over my cock the instant I burst. As usual, I grabbed a clump of her red hair and held her in place as I painted the back of her throat with my burning seed.
“You really are something else, Red,” Valuri commented from above us.
Kaseya swallowed and swung her legs onto my lap as she locked eyes with the drow. “Thank you for the lesson. You may leave us now.”
“As you wish, abbil ,” the dark elf replied, an amused glimmer in her eye.
After the three of us were finally alone, Kaseya swung her leg over mine and straddled me beneath the water. “This is not so different from when you claimed me for the first time. Do you remember?”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll never forget,” I whispered, leaning forward to kiss her.
“If you two are going to fuck, the least you can do is save some of the good stuff for me this time,” Valuri muttered. “If I’m taking watch first tonight, I’ll need the extra energy.”
I reclined my head back on the edge of the pool so I could see her. “You’re really that paranoid?”
“You’ll forgive me for not trusting the master illusionist who has surrounds herself with local sycophants.”
I grunted softly. “I never said we should trust her. We shouldn’t trust anyone in this city, given what we’ve learned. But I don’t honestly believe that Silhouette is interested in harming us.”
“Interests change.” Valuri sighed and crossed her arms. “Look, aside from the fact that her ‘escape from the drow’ story is almost certainly bullshit, I don’t particularly care for her little spiel on how she’s planning on saving Highwind from itself.”
I remembered her strong reaction earlier, but then I had completely forgotten to mention it—probably because I’d had an attractive dark elf giving me a massage and a handjob.
“The city needs saving, or at least protecting,” I pointed out. “I mean, isn’t that half the reason we’re here? We want to stop the Inquisitrix, and this is the best place to find allies.”
“That’s all well and good, but it’s not what I’m talking about,” Valuri said, lowering her voice. “None of that struck you as odd? Not even the part where she said she needs to ‘destroy the city’s institutions in order to save them?’”
I opened my mouth to reply but stopped mid-word when I belatedly realized what she meant. “You’re talking about Vorsalos.”
“The Inquisitrix used almost those exact same words for years,” Valuri said. “When I was growing up in the Senosi learning how to fight and kill channelers, the instructors would constantly talk about the ‘revolution’ and how the city needed to be burned to the ground before it could be rebuilt. Look where that led.”
“Just because the words are the same does not mean the intentions are as well,” Kaseya pointed out.
“I know that,” Valuri said. “I still find the similarities…unsettling.”
“It’s a fair point, but I think we’re getting ourselves,” I told her. “We haven’t signed up for anyone’s ‘revolution’ just yet. For now, Silhouette seems able and willing to help us. Given our shocking lack of alternatives at the moment, I think we should let this play out for a while.”
“You just want to fuck her again.”
“It’s a potential bonus, I’ll admit, but it’s not the reason I think we should stay.”
“Uh huh,” Valuri murmured, glancing back out into the commons. “You two have fun. I’m going to poke around and see what else I can learn around here.”
I nodded. “J
ust try not to get under anyone’s skin yet. I’d rather not have to fight our way out of here, too.”
“No promises.”
Valuri slipped away into the shadows outside, and I was once again reminded just how silently she could move when she wanted to. I didn’t even hear a single click of her heeled boots on the stone outside.
“I cannot fault her for being suspicious,” Kaseya said after a moment. “We are surrounded by liars and thieves.”
“We’re surrounded by refugees who’ve had to rely upon lies and theft to survive,” I countered. “It’s not the same thing.”
“Perhaps not,” she conceded. “Still, I appreciate Valuri’s vigilance. She is far more complex than I originally thought.”
I grinned. “You’ve no idea how happy I am that the two of you can get along.”
“I’ve never met another woman like her before.”
“Nor have I,” I said, studying the amazon. Her blue eyes twinkled with concern for an ally, but I could also see the unmistakable glimmer of lust. I probably should have been at least a little bit jealous, but instead my cock throbbed at the thought of watching the two of them eat other again. I was a man of simple tastes.
“For now, let’s just give Val some space,” I said, reaching up and brushing several wet locks of red hair from Kaseya’s eyes. “It was a long day, and we almost got ourselves killed trying to protect nonexistent cargo. I’d say that calls for a few hours of relaxation.”
I lifted one of her ample breasts to my mouth and sucked her nipple between my lips. My cock had already sprung back to life, and I used my free hand to guide the tip inside her. I fit so snugly, so perfectly, that I wondered why in the bloody abyss I even bothered fucking other women.
“I want you to spill inside me,” Kaseya breathed into my ear. “But I am concerned about leaving Valuri without sustenance.”
I licked her other nipple and chuckled. It really was adorable how quickly she had taken to Val. We were like a pack now, and Kaseya was worried about protecting—and serving—both of us.
“She’ll be fine,” I said. “Val always has a way of extracting whatever she needs.”
I left out the part where she was able to feed off of Kaseya now, too. The amazon still wasn’t comfortable with that reality, and this wasn’t the time to press her on it.
“She is quite resourceful,” Kaseya said, smirking as she began grinding her hips against me. The walls of her molten hot quim cradled my cock so tightly I probably would have spilled if I hadn’t already done so a few minutes ago. “And I enjoy helping you feed her.”
“Good,” I managed between increasingly frantic breaths.
“But right now, I want to enjoy a moment alone with my Maskari ,” she cooed into my ear. “Assuming he doesn’t mind.”
I grinned as I hoisted one of her nipples back to my lips. “Not in the slightest.”
2
Without daylight as a guide, I had no idea how long I slept after I filled Kaseya’s quim and passed out with her in my arms. The only thing I knew for certain was that Valuri was there when I woke, and to my astonishment Kaseya was still unconscious on top of me.
“You must have fucked her pretty hard to keep her under like that,” Valuri said when she realized I was awake. “Good thing I’m here to protect the two of you, eh?”
I cleared my throat and leaned up. Kaseya and I had managed to drag ourselves out of the pool and onto a towel, but we hadn’t actually made it to a private room. We were alone inside the cubby, and as far as I could tell no one had come in here and bothered anything. Still, it had been irresponsible of us both to fall asleep, even for a little while. Someone could have easily sneaked in here and shivved us while we were defenseless…
“It was a long trip,” I groaned. “And in case you forget, I did get impaled on that wagon yesterday. At least, I think it was yesterday…”
“Zor kalah ,” Kaeya said, lifting her head. “I did not mean to sleep.”
“It’s all right, Red—I got you covered,” Valuri said, smirking as she sat down in one of the chairs and propped her boots up on the table next to the empty glasses of wine. “I’m still wary about this place, but I’m reasonably sure they don’t actually want to hurt us.” Her face soured. “Of course, I didn’t think Koth and his Falcon Guard goons wanted to hurt us, either, so maybe my intuition isn’t as keen as it used to be.”
I smiled sympathetically. Knowing Val, it would be a long time before she forgave herself for getting fleeced by the mercenaries. They had led us right into Ayrael’s clutches, and we had eagerly followed along like lambs to the slaughter. It was hard to believe that fight had been less than a day ago, but then a sudden twinge of pain in my side reminded me of the details. We were lucky to be alive and even luckier to be free.
“Anyway, I was only gone a few hours,” Valuri said, pouring herself a glass. “My snooping wasn’t especially productive, but I did learn that this place is a lot larger than we thought. There are thousands of people living down here and space for several thousand more.”
I leaned up and began channeling another healing spell into my sore flank. “How is Silhouette keeping all of them supplied?”
“That part I don’t know,” Valuri lamented. “Stealing food can only get you so far. If I had to guess, she probably has a private deal with some of the farmers in the plains. There’s also a lot of fungus and lichen.”
My mouth twisted. “That’s disgusting.”
“What do you think the drow eat?”
“Good point,” I murmured, leaning up and peering out of the cubby. Silhouette must have instructed her servants to give us as much privacy as we wanted. There were plenty of other people lounging about by the pools outside, but they were all keeping their distance.
“I couldn’t get a firm answer out of anyone, but I don’t think our new ally will be back until tonight at the earliest,” Valuri said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s moving her people around to keep a closer eye on the Archmage and his wife. They’ll have learned about their missing cargo by now.”
“And discovered that our bodies weren’t among the wreckage,” I muttered.
“They might assume we were captured. Or they’ll follow our tracks and realize we were chased most of the way back to the city.”
“Or Telanya will think we just stole the cargo and gave it to the Black Mistress,” I said. “Regardless, it’s only a matter of time before she hires a bounty hunter to try and find us. She doesn’t strike as the forgiving type.”
“We did not betray her,” Kaseya pointed out. “We attempted to complete the contact and would have done so if my sister hadn’t intervened.”
“Yeah, well, I doubt Telanya or Beloran will see things that way,” Valuri muttered.
“So why don’t we tell them? Silhouette must have a way of getting messages to important people. She could explain that the Senosi stole the cargo, and that we are merely seeking shelter.” Kaseya shrugged. “Telanya may not believe it, but we are not actually her enemies, are we?”
“Not really,” I admitted. “That’s a good idea, actually.”
She cocked a red eyebrow at me. “Why do you sound so surprised?”
I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Valuri filled the silence with an impish giggle.
“He doesn’t appreciate how clever you are,” the Huntress said. “Though in his defense, subterfuge isn’t normally your area of expertise.”
“I do not consider that an insult.” Kaseya looked at me for a moment and smiled. “But I am also a fast learner.”
I grinned back at her. She really was, in more ways than one.
“I did learn a few other interesting tidbits,” Valuri said, sipping at her glass. “Everyone around here is eager to confirm Silhouette’s story about her captivity in the Underworld. They say she eventually turned the tables and enslaved her own mistress.”
I whistled softly. “Do you believe them?”
“I’m not sure, but I buy it more
now than I would have a few hours ago. You remember that dark elf servant with the magic fingers? I think she’s a former priestess of the Spider Queen.”
“That would explain the tattoos,” I said, pursing my lips in thought. I didn’t know much about the drow religion, but the priestesses of their Spider Queen had a reputation for being cruel and domineering. For some insane reason, that made me want to summon the servant back here so I could fuck her senseless. I really was messed up in so many ways…
“I also met a man who claims to be one of Silhouette’s childhood friends from Riverbend,” Valuri went on. “It took a little convincing, but I eventually got him to share some juicy tidbits.”
I grunted. “You fucked him, didn’t you?”
“I wish,” she muttered. “He might have been even more gorgeous than that blonde servant Red almost choked. If we end up staying here for another day or two, I might arrange to take both of them at once…”
I rolled my eyes. She was probably just teasing me, though I certainly wouldn’t put it past her. Historically, she had almost as much difficulty keeping her trousers on as I did. At first I’d been unbelievably jealous, but she had quickly made it clear that she wasn’t a “one man” type of girl. Thankfully, she had never expected me to be a “one woman” type of man, either, and back in Vorsalos she had loved hearing about my conquests, especially while I was fucking her.
We’d always had a weird relationship, to be sure, but as long as I was willing to kiss her softly, fuck her roughly, and spray my magic seed on her tits ad face, she seemed perfectly content. And not surprisingly, so was I.
“So what did this guy actually tell you?” I asked.
“Mostly boring stuff about growing up in a fishing town,” Valuri said. “But after a while he did let her real name slip: Solemi.”
“Solemi,” I echoed. “That certainly sounds like an elven name.”
