He shook his head. “The girl, Seffi. She’s only thirteen, maybe fourteen now, but it’s her. I saw her use her power.”
“Do we truly have all that much to worry about, then?” asked Vel. “If it’s just a little girl, she can’t be plotting evil… can she?”
“I have no idea.”
“I can almost see an order of events that makes sense,” said Vel. “The house was burned down. There was a fire, possibly natural, possibly… this Seffi girl having an accident with her powers. Her parents don’t make it. She’s terrified afterward…”
“And she reaches out to aesta, the only other adult she thinks she can trust,” said Damon. “It fits.”
“You sound skeptical.”
Damon shrugged. He wanted to believe. It matched with what he knew about Seffi. She’d seemed innocent and, godlike magical ability aside, relatively harmless. Still, it was wishful to assume that the fire which had destroyed her home was accidental when other explanations existed.
“She could have been discovered,” said Damon. “Avarice certainly has a penchant for seeking out his siblings. Wrath, as well, though I’d tend toward giving her the benefit of the doubt.”
Damon took a spoonful of his stew, tasting it for the first time. It was spicy and gamey, the venison thin and a touch over-chewy. Still, the flavor was excellent, and the potatoes and cabbage had been cooked to the perfect point.
“In either case, I feel as though it makes sense to assume that aesta will try to contact us here,” said Vel. “Maybe she left thinking it would be a quick matter she could handle and return from before she was overly missed?”
“Maybe,” he said.
They shifted topics as they continued eating. Damon told Vel of his adventures with Ria, traveling across the desert and staying within Yvvestrosai. She burst out laughing when he related his and Austine’s search for a nonexistent dungeon within the temple atop the mountain spire.
He poured them each some brandy as they sat together by the fire after dinner, eating cookies and rubbing shoulders. There’d been a point and time on his way back from Yvvestrosai in which Damon had never imagined himself having this kind of experience again, so torn from grief he’d been over the fates of Vel and Ria.
“I’m not even tired,” whispered Vel. She gave him a broad smile and took a deep sip of brandy, coughing a bit as she exhaled, cheeks rosy.
“I didn’t think you would be,” he said.
“It’s warmed up in here so much,” she said.
“The hearth.” Damon rubbed her leg, enjoying the way she pulled deeper into him.
“You really stuffed it full of wood,” she said.
“Mmhmm.” He took a sip of his own brandy, the fingers of his hand sliding higher along her thigh. “I have a lot of practice starting fires.”
Vel made a soft, sighing noise and slid forward on her chair in a manner that all but gave Damon an invitation. He let his hand sneak underneath her nightgown, delighting in the way her body tensed with anticipation as his touch slid closer to her crotch.
“Mmm,” she moaned. “Damon. Um… can you help me find some sheets upstairs? You know… for my bed.”
“I know just where to look for them.”
“Good.”
He held her hand as they stood up. Vel grabbed the bottle of brandy to take along, which he appreciated. They hurried upstairs, taking each step with the budding haste and hormones of reunited lovers.
Vel turned around as she opened the door to her room, pulling Damon with her as she walked backwards toward her bed. She grinned and tried to fall onto the mattress, as though splaying her body out for his taking. Damon caught her mid-motion, holding her body tight to his as he started kissing and groping.
There was no more time for teasing or gradual build-up. Damon missed her too much for that. He loved her too much for that, and he was already too turned on by every little thing about her, from her lips, to her breasts, to her expressions and soft noises.
He lowered her to the bed as she fumbled with her fingers in an attempt to undo his belt. He helped her, enjoying the way she tensed as her fingers finally closed around his hard cock. They were rushing now, both in such a hurry to do naughty things with one another that it almost felt like a stage act.
He slid her nightgown up far enough to reveal her naked womanhood and then plunged his cock inside. Vel was ready for him, her tight lane already so lubricated that he wondered if she’d gone into heat the moment she’d first seen him.
“Damon!” she cried, breathlessly.
He thrust forward, hugging her through the heady pleasure. It still felt like an indulgence, a wicked, dirty secret which they both couldn’t help but return to. It was, in a very real sense. Their aesta wouldn’t approve of what they were doing, but like so much of life, it was happening anyway.
He sucked on one of her nipples and heard her stifle a squeal. He caressed her cheek with one hand and her butt with the other, staring into her eyes, the tip of his cock still throbbing inside her.
“You can be as loud as you want tonight,” he said. “It’s just us here.”
“Oh…” She bit her lip and glanced sideways. “Damon… Don’t say things like that.”
He turned her face back toward his, dominating her with a deep kiss. He pinned one of her legs over his shoulder and cupped one of her tits, fucking her hard for the next few rough thrusts. Vel shuddered and let out tiny, squeaking noises.
“That’s it,” he whispered. “True Divine, Vel. Your moans are so sexy.”
“Damon!” She moaned even louder, the noise drawn out of her, unintentional. “You’re making me feel…”
“Good,” he said. “I want you to feel it.”
He sank his cock deep into her. Vel opened her mouth as though to let out a passionate cry, but no sound escaped her lips. It was as though she was frozen in a moment of pleasure. Damon hugged her tight to him, grinding his hip bone into her crotch, stirring her up with his manhood.
She finally let out a moan of pleasure loud enough to bounce off the walls. Damon began pumping into her like a beast, so hard that the legs of the bed chafed against the floorboards.
He was too turned on to last as long as he should have. In truth, Vel urged him on, rubbing his back with soft hands, curling her legs against him in hot little ways. He clutched her to him, burying his face in the nape of her neck as he filled her womanhood with his hot seed.
They both realized what had just happened in the same moment.
“Whoops,” he said, pulling out, despite already having unloaded several spurts deep into her body.
“Mmm…” said Vel. “It’s fine. For tonight, at least.”
She stroked his cock, helping coax the last few sticky drops out, and then pulled him back into her womanhood. Damon chuckled when he saw the expression on her face, a mixture of cute, selfish determination. It was the way she looked when she’d decided to pout in order to get her way.
“What?” she asked, noticing his smile. “It feels good.”
“I bet it does,” he whispered. “It’s going to get hard again if you put it there.”
“I know. I’m not a child, Damon.”
“I noticed.”
He brought his face in close to hers, teasing her by going for a kiss and then pulling back just before their lips touched. Vel let out a needy moan, and they were off again.
CHAPTER 12
Damon slept better than he had in a long time. Vel was still in his arms when he awoke, naked and soft and warm. She was snoring cutely, and he was tempted to pick up right from where they’d eventually left off the night before as he felt his cock stirring to life against her ass.
He was dimly aware that something had woken him up, and when another series of hard knocks came from the common room below, he realized someone was at the door. Vel stiffened, gasping as she also came awake.
“Someone’s here?” she muttered. “Oh! Someone’s here! Damon, you have to hide!”
�
�I’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s not like they’ll come upstairs.”
Vel scowled at him. She climbed out of bed naked, all the best parts of her body bouncing as she quickly leaned forward to snatch up her nightgown. Damon tried to pull her back into bed, his arms moving of their own volition.
She wasn’t amused, and she tossed his undershorts at him and set her hands on her hips. “Be serious. You can’t be caught, which means I have to convincingly explain to whoever has come looking how I’m here alone.”
“I doubt you’ll have much trouble with that,” he said. “Just play up the part of sweet, innocent Violet. They’ll be too distracted by how you look in that nightgown to question your story.”
She frowned and looked down at herself as though she couldn’t quite decide whether he’d just complimented her. “I suppose. Remember, no noise! I’ll try to get them out of here quickly.”
Damon watched her leave the room and listened to her footsteps descending the stairs. He pulled his undershorts on, considering whether their visitor might be Arturius, with more food for them. No, more likely Keiza came to investigate and potentially pay him a visit.
“Good morning, Violet.” Doogle’s voice was loud and slightly peevish. “I didn’t realize you’d returned to the inn.”
“Hello, mister Doogle,” she said, sweetly. “I just arrived back last night, in fact. What seems to be… Um, Doogle?”
“You don’t mind if I come in and take a look around, do you?”
Damon swore under his breath. He could already hear Doogle roaming around the common room, the sound of his boots against the floorboards an obvious contrast to Vel’s bare feet.
“Excuse me, mister Doogle, but I didn’t invite you in!”
“It’s only fair, lass. Your brother is a wanted man. I need to make sure, to my own satisfaction, that he isn’t being harbored in my town.”
“As though he’d be foolish enough to come back here,” said Vel. “Fine. Look for yourself.”
Damon resisted the urge to hurry to the window of Vel’s room and fling himself out. He tested each step, trying to remember where the creaks in the floor were. Maybe he could hide in one of the empty rooms? It wasn’t as though he was afraid of Doogle, more aware of how primed the Penny Warden was to overreact.
“I told you,” said Vel. “It’s just me here.”
“You expect me to believe a young woman would sleep in an empty inn alone, without any fear of being set upon during the night?”
“Well, I had this with me,” said Vel. “Look! I bought it from Arturius. It’s super accurate.”
“True Divine, don’t point that thing in my face! Do you have any idea how easily those things can go off?”
There was a sharp twang, followed by a heavy thunk. Damon stared, open mouthed, at the floor, wondering if he’d just overheard an accidental killing.
“Oops,” said Vel.
“Let’s… just pretend that didn’t happen, shall we, lass?” said Doogle. “Might have to dig around in that window frame a bit to get the bolt loose.”
The incident had at least distracted Doogle sufficiently to take the edge out of his search. Damon listened to him marching around the inn, even coming upstairs at one point, during which time he hid underneath the bed. Eventually, he left, and Damon sighed in relief as he snuck downstairs to check on Vel.
“Well, I suppose he was going to check in on me eventually,” she said. “We should be safer now that he’s sated his suspicions.”
“Maybe,” said Damon. “We’ll still have to be careful. I’m not actually sure that I could leave the inn right now if I wanted to, given how closely Doogle and the newly hired guards are going to be watching.”
“I’ll head into town,” said Vel. “I can ask around some more about aesta. I doubt I’ll discover much, but I’ll be expected to make an appearance since I just arrived back, and this way I can confront anyone with questions directly.”
“Sounds reasonable. I’ll be here when you get back.”
They ate a quick breakfast, dressed, and began their day. Damon paced for a bit after Vel left, unsure of what to do with himself. He eventually settled for training with his myrblade in the basement. He was limited indoors in what he could do with its magic, but that was a nice change. It’d been too long since he’d gone through the basics, and he took his time retracing the elements of his sword routines.
He worked up a sweat and took a bath, finding a certain elegance in heating himself up and then cooling off in the water. When he came back upstairs, snow was coming down outside in thick curtains. With the visibility reduced, there was no real risk in revealing himself with a fire, so he built up the hearth and began warming the common room.
He breathed new life into the leftover stew by adding more potatoes and pickled cabbage as he waited for Vel to arrive back. It felt so comfortable and easy to be back at the inn, but he owed more to his good mood than just that fact. Having Vel with him. Knowing that Ria was alive. It all fed into a greater sense of wellbeing and hope, a feeling he’d forgotten about after the horrors of Yvvestrosai.
He watched through one of the windows as Vel came down the road. She had her winter cloak on, and her golden hair was dusted with snowflakes despite her cute, continuous efforts to brush them away. She’d bought something, though he couldn’t make a guess at what from the size of the bundle.
“Hey,” she said as she came into the common room. “Looks as though we’re going to be snowed in tonight.”
“Looks like it,” he said. “Not that we’d have anywhere else to be, regardless. Unless you discovered a clue about where aesta might be?”
Vel frowned and shook her head. “No. She hasn’t come back this way in recent days, though I wasn’t hopeful, regardless. I saw Keiza.”
“Did you?”
“I did.” Vel quirked her mouth sideways. “She didn’t say as much, but it’s pretty clear she knows you’re here with me. I tried to invite her to come by for dinner, but she’s helping out with Melnicka at the House of Gratitude. Apparently, they’ve finally started serving alcohol.”
“That’s interesting,” he said. “I guess the demand must have outstripped her resolve after we closed up shop and the townsfolk had nowhere else to go.”
“I bought you something,” said Vel.
He stared at her, more surprised than anything. “You did?”
“Yeah. I wanted to get you a shirt, but I thought it would be far too obvious if I picked out men’s clothing so quickly after arriving in town. Here.”
She passed him the bundle she’d been carrying. Damon unfolded it and found himself holding a basic black cloak with a gray fur collar. It was thin, not really suited for keeping a normal person warm during the winter. Which was perfect for him, given his immunity to the cold.
“It was more expensive than the other cloaks, but the fabric is fine,” said Vel. “Here, feel it. Soft, isn’t it? I think it’ll look dashing on you, Damon.”
“It’s really nice,” he said. “But really, Vel. There are better places for you to be spending your money right now than spoiling me with it.”
“I’m not so sure there are.” Her expression grew serious, and she came around to his other side, pulling the cloak onto him from behind. “I can’t stand it how they talk about you, Damon. They simply don’t understand all that you’ve done. For me, for Ria… for the world. I want other people to see you the way I see you. For that to happen, I need to help you start dressing the part.”
Damon let out a good-natured chuckle. “The part of what? A hero?”
“Yeah.” She kissed him on the cheek and returned to playing with the cloak’s fit.
CHAPTER 13
Damon and Vel wiled away the hours of the afternoon. It didn’t snow as much in Avaricia or back in the Malagantyan, around Malon’s old farmstead. He felt a certain appreciation for how hardy Azurecliff’s residents were to put up with such weather, year after year.
They watched the road from t
he inn’s window like an old married couple, though only a single traveler or wagon passed by per hour, given the persistence of the snowstorm. Stew and brandy kept them warm alongside the fire, and of course, the brandy led to them being unable to keep their hands off one another.
Damon pulled Vel onto his lap and was in the process of feeling her up underneath her shirt when she suddenly drew up straight and stared at the window. He followed her gaze and saw that two travelers had diverted from their path on the road to head straight toward the inn’s entrance.
“Keiza took down the sign back when Malon first left,” whispered Vel. “We’re not an inn anymore, at least not one open for business.”
“We could be, if we felt the urge,” he said. “We have stew. We still have a bit of ale left. And beds, of course.”
“Damon, how much have you had to drink? If anyone saw you and mentioned it to someone else in town, Doogle would show up with backup to drag you out into the open.”
“It’s the middle of a snowstorm, Vel. We can’t just turn people away.”
“We absolutely can, and it’s the smart thing to do, if a little mean.”
She stood up and smoothed out her shirt. Damon made a halfhearted attempt to pull her back onto his lap, but she swatted his knee and held a finger to her lips.
“Hide in the kitchen for a minute while I turn our uninvited guests away,” she said.
“Fine. Shout if you need anything.”
“I will.”
He made sure his myrblade was with him as he put himself out of the line of sight. It seemed unlikely that travelers coming from out of town would show up seeking trouble, but unlikely events had become a fixture of his life.
He heard the door open, along with a few exchanged words muted by the dampening of the falling snow. When he heard footsteps within the common room from more feet than just Vel’s, he risked a glance around the corner of the partition dividing the kitchen from the common room.
“Oh,” he said. “It’s you two.”
Kastet and Lilian were both covered with snow. Kastet wore a thick winter cloak, a heavy shirt, and fur gloves. Lilian’s clothing was similar, though she, like Damon, was clearly more tolerant of the cold.
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