Seffi giggled, and her reaction was soon joined by the rest. Even after Malon left, the room seemed primed for pointless humor, with even the tiniest whisper stirring the mood into tired laughter.
It took a while, but eventually, he fell asleep.
CHAPTER 26
Damon could feel himself being pulled from his own dream and into someone else’s. It was an odd sensation, a swirling mixture of growing awareness and fading memory. He became present within his new experience, but unable to remember where he’d arrived from or much about what he was supposed to be doing.
Vel was with him, holding his hand and smiling patiently. “Damon? Can you hear me?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Where are we?”
He started to look around. They were on a mountain path. Seffi was on Vel’s other side, peering around her shyly as though afraid of being in the open. Damon felt a sudden pressure on his arm and glanced left to find Kastet hugging his shoulder and blinking tired eyes.
“Oh…” she muttered. “Did it work? This… I know this place.”
“It seems to have worked,” said Vel. “We should be in Gabriel’s dream now.”
“I recognize this.” Kastet let out a sleepy yawn and gestured with an arm. “We came here before when we were teenagers, Gabriel and I. This path leads to the geosprings in the Fleta Mountains. Of course, this is what he’d be dreaming about! My brother is so predictable.”
She took Damon’s hand and tried to start leading him up the path. Vel held his other hand and stayed where she was, briefly putting him in between two tugging maidens.
“Hold on,” said Vel. “Seffi and I should go first. The level of dreamspelling we’re doing is fairly complicated. We only have a tenuous hold over it.”
“So lead the way!” said Kastet, a bit testily. “There’s no time to waste. Gabriel’s ship could be mooring in Avaricia as we speak.”
“It isn’t,” said Seffi. “He’s still farther out in the ocean. I can feel that much.”
Her voice had a note of authority to it that almost made it sound like she was suddenly a different person. Damon looked at her then, really looked at her, and it was as though he could see Lascivious poking through around the edges. She walked forward, slipping past him and Vel, bare feet collecting dirt with each step along the mountain path.
They traveled a surprisingly far distance, weaving around boulders and along cliffsides, before arriving at their destination. Damon blinked in surprise and chuckled on reflex as he stared out at a natural hot spring filled with a range of naked women tending to the needs of a single man.
“Seffi, cover your eyes!” said Vel. “True Divine! You would think a prince would at least have enough self-respect to not indulge in such filthy dreams.”
“He’s not a prince, he’s a king,” said Kastet. “Um. You might also wish to look away, Vel.”
“I’ve seen nudity before, milady,” said Vel. “It’s not as though this will unnerve me.”
Damon set a hand on her shoulder, clearing his throat as he noticed what Kastet was talking about. A variety of different women surrounded King Gabriel, ranging from his wife, Queen Candice, to several familiar looking serving girls from Hearthold Castle, to a certain lady-in-waiting with blonde hair, a petite build, and adorable spectacles.
“He’s dreaming about having an orgy… with me as a participant?” said Vel, in muted shock. “How dare he!”
“It’s just a dream, Vel,” said Damon, hiding a smile. “It’s not as though he has direct control over these sorts of things in the same way that you do. If it bothers you, you can wait here while Kastet and I speak with him.”
“If it bothers me?” snapped Vel. “You say that as though there’s a way in which it wouldn’t.”
Gabriel, at least, was busy with several of the other numerous women within the hot springs and hadn’t yet turned his focus to the dream Vel. Kastet began walking toward him briskly, though it wasn’t until she was nearly entering the steaming water itself that her brother deigned to notice her.
“Kassie?” muttered Gabriel. “You shouldn’t be here! This… This is, um. I mean, I was just…”
“Stuff it, Gabe,” said Kastet. “You’re dreaming. We’re here with the help of Lascivious. She’s using her dreamspelling to put us in contact with you before you arrive at Veridan’s Curve.”
“I see.” Gabriel tried to look as serious as a man receiving mouth service from a woman submerged underwater can get.
“I’m going to have to ask, as your sister, that you put some clothes on,” said Kastet.
“Well, um, I suppose that’s… only fair.”
They gave him a moment of privacy with which Gabriel not only dressed, but somehow managed to dismiss his consorts. King Gabriel looked regal, if somewhat disappointed, when Damon turned back around.
“The little girl,” said Gabriel. “It’s her? She’s the only one of you who I don’t recognize.”
Kastet nodded. Gabriel stooped to one knee with remarkable composure and extended his hand to the young teenage girl.
“My name is Gabriel Alquin, King of Merinia,” he said. “What’s your name?”
Seffi seemed taken aback by the gesture. “…Seffarina. Seffi for short.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Seffi.” Gabriel smiled like, well, like someone who’d grown up with two little sisters, and shook her hand.
“Nicely done,” said Damon.
Gabriel grinned as he turned his regard to a new subject. “Damon Al-Kendras! You’ve done more for me than I could ever repay. When we’ve made it through to the other side of history, I plan on making you a very rich man!”
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Damon. “Though you should know that you owe the better part of your escape to Vel.”
He bumped his hips playfully into Vel, who seemed suddenly uncomfortable. As did the King, apparently. Gabriel blushed bright red and began sputtering through an apology for dreaming about her in such a lewd way while simultaneously thanking her for his rescue.
“Which is to say, I mean, I’ve always found you to be rather beautiful, but this was…” The most powerful King on the far side of the Endless Ocean sputtered like a teenager confessing. “And your aid was buxom! Brilliant, I mean, which isn’t to say you aren’t, but… oh…”
“Right,” said Vel, rolling her eyes. “I appreciate your, um, kind words, milord.”
“Gabe,” said Kastet. “We might not have much time. It’s imperative that you explain, as quickly as you can, how you regained your throne and what you intend now.”
She gave him a coy smile which said more about how much she looked up to her older brother than Damon had ever heard her put into words.
“Ah!” said Gabriel, beaming at her attention. “Well, it’s far from a short story, by any stretch, but it began with Lord Damon and Lady Vel’s brilliant scheme in using Captain Aldric’s sleeping body to rescue me from within Hearthold Dungeon. I escaped and immediately to dear, sweet Candice. My, um, my Queen and wife. I’m married, I, uh, suppose I should have mentioned.”
He spoke the last sentence to Vel, who did everything in her power to pretend as though she didn’t notice he was directing the words mainly at her.
“Stay on topic, Gabriel,” said Damon.
“Right!” said the King. “Candace was able to help me rehabilitate my claim, so to speak. With fresh clothing, money to hire guards, and a retinue of likeminded nobles, I became a factor which Anise couldn’t simply lock away and ignore overnight.”
“I can understand how some of the nobles of Hearthold might have seen an opportunity to side with you, but surely it wasn’t enough to overthrow Anise directly?” asked Kastet. “It would have led to a bloody, protracted civil war, and none of the rumors I’ve heard of the homeland are of such a thing.”
Gabriel nodded slowly. “I had more help than just that.”
“It was Jilou,” guessed Vel. “Wasn’t it? She harbored so much guilt for what she did in faking yo
ur disappearance, even though she thought it was the right thing at the time.”
“She did,” said Gabriel. “She still does. She aided me immensely, using her power to set up a meeting with Queen Anise in which we were able to force her abdication. Not a single Merinian died during the exchange of power. I was even able to placate Anise and her supporters by allowing her to return to her family’s home estate and rule as a countess.”
He gave a small, deeply satisfied bow.
“Good,” said Kastet. “Better than good. Gabe… I’m impressed.”
She chewed her lower lip. There was more than just appreciation for her brother’s success in her eyes. It wasn’t outright jealousy, but something close. Everything Kastet had been through since being chased from Hearthold by Queen Anise had been aimed toward a similar outcome. King Gabriel’s success meant that Queen Kastet would never be.
“Hold on,” said Damon. “There’s still the question of why you’re coming to Avaricia now. Are you planning on continuing, or even strengthening Hearthold’s, alliance with the Godking?”
Gabriel furrowed his brow. “I plan on no such thing.”
“Then why place yourself in his power, brother?” asked Kastet. “It’s foolhardy, far too risky to have any upside.”
“I agree with you, Kassie,” said Gabriel. “My intention was to sail to Veridan’s Curve to find you, beloved sister, and return you to your rightful place by my side in the castle. I thought I’d dock in Paquette, or Silke, or one of the cities farther north in the Empire. Never Avaricia.”
“Silke,” said Kastet. “Come to Silke. We’ll be waiting for you.”
“I’m nearly there,” said Gabriel. “Expect me within the next few days.”
Damon, Kastet, and Vel all let out a collective sigh of relief.
CHAPTER 27
They spent a few more minutes within the dream. Kastet badgered her brother about the specifics of power dynamics between Hearthold nobles and various other matters which didn’t concern Damon much. Occasionally, a naked dream woman would pop up from within the hot springs and attempt to coax someone into the steaming water.
When Seffi and Vel released them all from the dreamspell, Damon awoke on the makeshift bed in the common room, with both Kastet and Vel snuggled against him. He slowly extricated himself from their embraces and, with Malon’s assistance, began helping people to bed.
Damon carried Vel and Seffi, who were sleepy and willing, and half carried, half led Kastet, who was sleepy and grumpy. Afterward, he returned to the common room to help his aesta fold and put away the blankets and pillows. Lilian stayed upstairs to guard Kastet’s room, which left them alone together for the first time in many weeks.
“Can I pour you some brandy, aesta?” he asked.
Malon still had her hair down, and the white dress that seemed comfortable enough to be suited for sleepwear. She gave him a small, knowing smile, and nodded her head.
“Brandy would be wonderful, solas,” she said. “Thank you.”
He poured them each one. The sound of the liquor trickling down into the glass seemed loud and bold, emphasizing the silence, the stillness, and Malon’s presence. He could feel her watching him, sense her interest, but was it for the grown man in the room or her beloved solas?
“Thank you.” She took the glass from him, fingers brushing his for a passing, fiery second. “I could only surmise how the dreamspelling went from what Kastet was mumbling as you brought her to bed. It was a success?”
“It was,” said Damon. “King Gabriel is on his way to Silke as we speak.”
He took a seat on one of the couches. Malon took a spot safely across from him, lying down halfway with her legs folded underneath her, her pale calves poking out from the hem of her dress.
“We’re getting closer, now,” said Malon. “I hope you know that I’m proud of not just your accomplishments, solas, but of who you’ve grown into. The strength and resolve you wear across your back. We all rely upon you.”
“Thank you, aesta.” Her praise always landed doubly hard on him. She’d experienced enough across her life to take more to impress than some tricks with his sword and a few confident words. “Though it’s not as though I didn’t have an example, a mentor, to look up to in arriving here.”
Malon’s mouth twitched into a half-smile. “You flatterer. I hope you don’t follow my example too closely. I’m not perfect.”
She made the admission with more weight than the moment called for. Damon heard her, though he wished he didn’t. She wasn’t perfect. She slipped up, perhaps let things… happen that she wasn’t entirely proud of. But she didn’t need to be perfect, not for him.
“How is Seffi coping with all of this?” he asked, pushing through the growing tension. “She lost her family, her home. I can sense that she’s a little… withdrawn.”
Malon nodded slowly. “It’s been traumatic for her, but she’s strong beyond her years. I don’t mean in terms of her as a Divine Remnant. Truthfully, I know not if she’s even reclaimed more than the merest whispers of her old memories. She bears her burdens still as Seffi, a precocious, intelligent, wonderfully vivacious young girl.”
“You seem so radiant when you speak of her,” said Damon. “It reminds me of how you once were with Vel.”
Malon winced, and Damon realized how his words might have come across.
“I don’t mean to say that you’ve replaced that relationship, aesta,” he said quickly. “Vel still knows how much you love her, just as I do, and Ria. I suppose I just mean that I see now, well, why you became an aesta. The aspects of your nature that make you so good at caring for others.”
“I appreciate that,” said Malon. “I’ve done my best, but… in a sense, I’ve already failed her. I should have kept closer to her and her parents. Even now, it seems as though so often during our travels, I’m only protecting her by the barest margins.”
“The two of you have been in danger?” asked Damon. “From whom? Avarice’s servants?”
Malon nodded. “The Godking placed a bounty on Seffi’s head, and there are plenty out there cutthroat enough to pursue it, despite her age. I’ve had to fend off more than a few.”
“With your magic?” he asked.
“With my magic.” She gave him a knowing look, leaning her head to the side, ever so slightly.
Damon stood up, taking both the bottle of brandy and his shot. It wasn’t as though she’d fought recently, within the past day or two, but Malon’s power was tied to the nature of her crest contract, the essence of Lascivious. It was inescapable that the question of what it might take, what she might need to stay at full strength, would come up.
“Would you like some more brandy, aesta?”
He joined her on the other couch, smaller than the one on which he’d been seated. Malon lay sideways, and her bare calves brushed against his thigh as he sat down. He let his legs sag open with the cocky, overlarge posture that every young man seemed to flaunt and revel in.
“I would, solas,” said Malon. “Thank you.”
She held her glass out to him, and he poured it full. The motion held both of their attention, but none of their focus. The contact of Damon’s thigh against his aesta’s legs, the silence of the common room, her thin, insubstantial dress… His thoughts swirled with possibilities, growing anticipation. He felt his cock hardening in a rush, like a horse breaking loose from the paddock.
“Here.” He took her feet and pulled them into his lap. “You seem tense.”
“Mmm,” she sighed as he started to gently massage. “That feels good.”
“Yeah?” He let his fingers run up a bit higher. “How about here?”
He started working her calves, letting her feet settle in his crotch. He knew that she could feel his hardness, but he also knew that she’d play her usual game and ignore it, or pretend it was something else.
“That feels even better,” whispered Malon. “I wouldn’t mind a leg massage, solas… if you were willing.”
&n
bsp; “I’m always willing, for you,” he said. “Whatever you need.”
He slid one of his hands higher, touching the bottom edge of her inner thigh and delighting in her reaction. She sucked in a breath, body tensing and then relaxing into him. A tiny, partially stifled shudder ran through her.
“I was so eager to see you again,” she whispered. “When I arrived here in Silke, and seta told me you’d be back within a couple of days, it was as if the anticipation was just building, and building.”
“Uh-huh,” he said. “You were waiting for me?”
He took a meaty grip on her thigh, pulling her an inch or two closer to him with his strong arms. She made a breathy noise and set her hand atop his, trapping his touch where it was, but not pulling it away.
“I was waiting for you, yes,” she whispered. “Oh, solas. We need to speak openly with one another… about what happened. On the night when you left the inn.”
Damon let his thumb continue to caress her leg, feeling her responding even as she strained for control over the situation with her words. “Let’s have a conversation about it, then.”
“I wasn’t… thinking as clearly as I should have been,” she managed. “My emotions were turbulent, and I was so worried for you, and… well...”
She reached up, touching his arm with one hand, running her fingers through his hair with the other. Damon stared into her brilliant green eyes, his entire body pulsing in time with the tension of the moment.
“Do you regret it?” He forced the question out, feeling as though he was baring his neck for her, presenting his heart.
“No, I don’t regret it. That’s most of the problem.”
Her fingers tightened in his hair, and he responded by squeezing her thigh. His hand slid a little higher, until one of his knuckles brushed the hem of her girlshorts. Malon shivered, letting out a wordless, breathless utterance.
“I don’t regret it either,” he said. “I think about it so much. Just remembering it… makes me want to burst.”
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