Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3)

by M Damon Baker

  “Who’s toying with me through my notifications?” I asked, as the memory of what I’d just seen was fresh in my mind.

  “So, you’ve noticed that, have you?” Nentai grinned back at me. “Mostly Noxyl, but Lady Death has a surprisingly sarcastic wit as well. They’re limited by what’s left of the… interface? Do I have the term right? Anyway, it only allows some slight alterations, so they have to make the most of it.”

  “They have nothing better to do?” I sighed in frustration

  “No, not really,” Nentai replied flatly.

  Great, bored Gods were going to be taunting me through a crumbling game interface. Lovely. Just lovely.

  “Fine, whatever,” I gave up. “Tell me about what Raithe did to me when she transferred Saibra’s oath.”

  “Ahh, that was a surprise,” Nentai mused. “Honestly, even she has no idea what it will mean for you, but her only other choice was to kill Saibra outright, so she decided to give her to you instead.”

  Give her to me? That better not mean what I thought it did.

  Just in case it did, I dropped the matter, rather than discuss it any further with Tási right there.

  “Bane,” I said switching to my last, and probably highest concern.

  “He’s doing what he needs to do,” Nentai replied. “You did the right thing by letting him dispose of Gilfri’s body.”

  That was good to know, and I appreciated Nentai’s discretion. She hadn’t mentioned what Bane was actually going to do with the corpse in front of Tási, keeping the secret of his compulsion from getting out.

  “Thank you,” I offered sincerely. “I’m sorry if I was a bit gruff with you.”

  “Never mind that,” Nentai chuckled. “I’ve come to expect and even look forward to your straightforward manner.”

  “I’ll try not to disappoint you then,” I shared her laughter as I smiled back at her.

  “You seldom do,” Nentai replied, almost affectionately.

  “Which brings me to why I am here today,” the Goddess explained as she rummaged through the pile of my gear that lay atop my dresser.

  “This,” she said as she finally withdrew the short sword that Hilgreth, Renn, and Georl had made for me, “may be a fine weapon, but it is simply not up to the standards I require for you.”

  Nentai drew the blade and then ran her finger along the sword’s spine. As she did so, a bright light traced along with her movement, and a blue sheen glowed brightly, gracing the metal in the wake of her touch. When she finished, the metal continued to shine for a moment before it absorbed the last of the magic she’d imparted to it. Once it had, she sheathed it again before handing the sword to me.

  “I cannot gift you with any more Artifacts,” she admitted with obvious disappointment. “But I will make sure that you have the best I am able to provide.”

  I took hold of the sword as she gave it to me and read the description as it appeared in my vision.

  Short Sword of Sharpness – This blade has been imbued with the ability to cut through most barriers with ease. Its edge will never dull, and armor will provide little defense against it.

  She’d turned a what had been an excellent blade into a truly deadly weapon, and I appreciated her continued generosity immensely.

  “Thank you, Nentai, that’s most impressive,” I replied gratefully.

  “You’re welcome, Dreya,” Nentai replied quite warmly. “Now that you are finally appropriately equipped, I will leave you two alone again.”

  She gave me a knowing wink as she shimmered and disappeared into thin air once again.

  “She’s gone now,” I said to Tási as the wavering air where the Goddess had been cleared.

  Tási lifted her head and looked at me once I let her know that Nentai had departed. She would have knelt before the Goddess, as she usually did when one of the Pantheon appeared to us, but since we were lying on the bed, all Tási had been able to do was bow her head in respect.

  “What did she do to your sword?” Tási asked, barely able to contain her excitement.

  I handed her the weapon and she looked it over for herself. Once she recognized its enchantment, Tási handed the blade back to me in awe.

  “That’s quite impressive,” she observed. “Between your bow and that blade, I don’t think anyone will be anxious to face you at any distance.”

  “I think that’s the general idea,” I chuckled as I replied.

  As I spoke, I felt Bane’s presence returning to his room next to ours. So, while I lay silently with Tási, I called to him with my mind.

  ‘You got something from eating him. Tell me what happened.’

  I did, Sintári, but I am unsure how to explain it. I do not even fully understand it for myself, but I am certain that I… absorbed a portion of his essence and it has strengthened me somehow.

  ‘That’s a good enough explanation for now,’ I replied. ‘I will provide you with as many of my enemies to feast upon as I possibly can, Bane. Anything to make you stronger and keep you from harm.’

  Thank you Sintári.

  I sensed his tiredness and let him rest, and Tási and I fell asleep quickly as well. Once the excitement drained away, exhaustion set in almost immediately, and I faded away without even slipping under the covers.

  The next morning, Tási and I shared breakfast before we went our separate ways. In addition to her usual duties, Tási had the unenviable task of integrating Saibra into my personal guard. The woman’s skills were incredible, and she’d nearly taken out my entire detail before I’d stepped in and shot her with a powerful Bolt, but it was that exact encounter which would make things so difficult for Tási. Two of my sergeants had actually fallen in that fight, and I’d been forced to raise both Nomi and Tana afterwards. I couldn’t help but feel that their resentment would make Saibra’s introduction quite difficult. While Tási reluctantly headed off to fetch Saibra, I sat down with Talína to see what she might have for me that day.

  Most of the matters she had for me were quite routine. Agricultural and mining reports, notes on the newest of the settlers that continued to trickle in, and the like. Then, only after Tási was long gone, Talína handed me a letter.

  “This came from Líann late last night,” Talína informed me as she handed over the sealed parchment.

  Her letter asked for a meeting over lunch. I expected some thinly veiled excuse to mask her need for me to assert myself over her again, but instead she claimed to have news regarding her meeting with the Olóran advisors. Her words made me recall their intention to depart early that morning, and I inquired about that with Talína.

  “Yes, Empress, that was the final item I had for you today,” she replied. “They left a letter for you before they departed, expressing their regret for not staying long enough to bid you farewell.”

  Good enough for me, I thought. We’d settled almost everything the night before, and I had no need to stage some overly formal goodbyes on the Palace steps once more.

  With everything taken care of, I thanked Talína and headed downstairs towards Líann’s suite. The Queen had not only helped me unsettle Gilfri, leading to his demise, but had also been the first of my advisors to regain her composure after the shock of his death. She had also been invaluable in the discussions that followed. So, rather than make her wait for lunch to tell me her news, I decided to pay her an early morning visit to express my gratitude.

  As I wound my way downstairs, I considered our last meeting. In some ways, the actions I took made me feel uneasy. They recalled just a little too closely what Nedd had done to me back in Tula, and I wondered if perhaps I should find some other way to deal with Líann’s unique cravings in the future. But as I considered things, I realized that my doubts were misguided. Unlike Nedd, my actions were consensual, on both our parts, and were not done with any real malice. In fact, the emotions involved were quite emphatically the opposite of that.

  Líann’s desires were just so unique and perfectly tailored to my own need to vent my anger
that it gave me pause to think. In comparison to Líann’s desperate need to feel dominated, Tási strove to be my equal. Despite her weaker tendrils, she gave her all when she was with me, and never just let me take over.

  Venna was almost the opposite of that. Although some of our liaisons were mutual affairs, most of the time I simply took pleasure in exploring her body and pleasing her with my powers. She seemed most happy on those occasions, finding great satisfaction in just how much joy she brought me.

  Then there was Ella. While most of the time I spent with her was simply to ensure that the fractures in her core remained sealed, on the occasions that our visits strayed into something more, they were also quite unique. Ella had no powers to match mine, as Tási did, nor was she content to remain idle while I enjoyed her as Venna was. Our passions were an almost entirely physical affair, and I limited the used of my tendrils a great deal, as she preferred me to do.

  Each one of the women I’d become involved with were so different, and so unique unto themselves. It seemed like they all appealed to a different facet of my personality, and satisfied a particular need of mine, it was almost as if…

  FUCK!

  None of them had come to me by accident, I realized. The four of them were too perfectly tailored to me for any of it to have occurred by mere chance. Each one of them drew on a different aspect of my personality through their desires, and brought out the best of me as they did. I didn’t know whether I should thank the fates or curse them, but I knew in my heart that there would be no more to follow—with the four of them, I was complete. At least I would be eventually, once I settled in and truly accepted the rather unusual personal life that had been orchestrated for me.

  I shook my head to clear it as I instructed my escorts to wait for me outside Líann’s suite. There was no need for them to follow me inside since the threat of hostilities between Líann and I were no longer a possibility.

  “Empress, I wasn’t told to expect your arrival,” Thelmé was quite flustered as she greeted me.

  “It’s alright, Thelmé,” I assured her. “This is an unscheduled visit. Líann has been quite helpful to me, and I wanted to surprise her.”

  Thelmé was quite relieved by my words, and before I asked her to take me to Líann, I inquired about her progress working on the elven Queen’s manners.

  “She is trying very hard, Empress, I assure you,” Thelmé informed me. “She even catches herself at times before I have to point things out to her. Truly, you are making her into the Queen she was always meant to be.”

  Thelmé’s eyes filled with emotion at her last comment, and I gave her a moment to recover before asking her to take me to Líann.

  “The Queen has yet to come out of her chambers this morning,” Thelmé told me. “I’ll go make sure that she’s ready to receive you.”

  “There’s no need for that,” I replied, stopping Thelmé before she could make Líann aware that I was here. “I’d rather surprise her anyway.”

  I entered Líann’s chambers and saw that not only hadn’t she stepped outside them, she hadn’t even woken up yet. I walked up beside her, fully intending to wake her up, but found myself sitting down on the edge of the bed and just staring at Líann instead.

  I had never seen her at rest, and looking over her beautiful features in such a state of peace and calmness was almost breathtaking. Streaks of her long, blond hair ran across the flawless pale skin of her face, and as I gently brushed them aside, her eyes slowly fluttered open. She looked at me for a moment before recognition lit up her eyes, and she practically bolted upright in panic.

  “I’m sorry, Empress!” She apologized to me for some strange reason. “Please tell me what I did wrong, and I will make amends.”

  She was clearly distressed, and her obviously anxious state made me wonder just what was going through her mind.

  “What makes you think you did something wrong, Líann?”

  “Why else would you be here?” She responded in confusion.

  “Líann, I came here because you’ve done well, not to chastise you,” I reassured her. “You were very helpful with Gilfri, and Thelmé has nothing but good things to say about your behavior, as do I. So, when I got your letter, I decided to come see you, rather than make you wait until later to tell me your news.”

  Líann’s shoulders visibly relaxed as the tension she’d been holding fled from her body. Then, she reached across the bed, grabbed a robe that was lying there and slipped into it as she stood up.

  “Is this alright, or would you prefer me to get dressed before our discussion?” She asked.

  I recognized the dark green robe from the last time I’d seen her in it, but with the front tightly cinched, it didn’t have quite the same effect on me as it had when it had been barely clinging to her shoulders.

  “That should be fine,” I said as we took our seats at the small table nearby.

  “So, what is it that you have to report, Líann?” I asked her.

  “Why, the reparations, of course,” she casually replied.

  “What reparations?”

  “The reparations Olóra must pay for Gilfri’s attacks against you and your Empire” she explained as if it should have been obvious.

  “Really?” I replied, utterly taken by surprise with the news.

  “Don’t you want to know how much I got out of them for you?” Líann beamed with pride.

  “Is it a lot?” I asked her.

  “Yes,” she answered me.

  “How much?”

  “After quite a bit of negotiation,” she began, “I got them to agree to my terms. I might have overstated the potential consequences of their failure to concede just slightly, but I think you’ll forgive me when you hear how much I was able to get for you.”

  “Your dragging this out purposely,” I noted, with just a hint of irritation.

  “I am,” she admitted with a smile. “But only because I want you to appreciate how much effort I put into this for you.”

  “Consider your hard work noted,” I sighed. “Now tell me how much.”

  “One thousand Talons,” she began before I cut her off.

  “One thousand?!” I exclaimed incredulously. “That’s amazing, Líann!”

  “You didn’t let me finish,” she replied with amusement.

  “Please, continue,” I urged her when it was clear that she was waiting for me to give her leave.

  “As I said,” she resumed with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “One thousand Talons will be paid in restitution for the attack on your soldiers. That action constituted an act of war, so the price of its forgiveness is consequentially quite high.”

  “In addition, they agreed to pay fifty Talons for each of the soldiers you lost in that attack. That is an unusually high amount, but once I convinced them of just how highly you value your people, they relented.”

  “Finally, there was the issue of the attempts on your life. For those crimes, Wenflé and the others will pay five hundred Talons… for each attempt that was made.”

  I sat there open-mouthed, gaping in wonder at the absolute fortune that Líann had secured for me. With the eleven soldiers we’d lost, and the three confirmed assassination attempts against me, Líann had negotiated 2,250 Talons in reparations—an almost ungodly sum of money.

  “You can thank me appropriately when the time comes,” Líann teased as I sat there motionlessly.

  “Will this bankrupt them?” Was oddly the first thought that came to mind.

  Líann laughed softly before she responded.

  “That is so typical of you,” she almost giggled as she replied. “No, Olóra will be fine. They will have to sell off most off Gilfri’s holdings, and dip into their treasury a bit, but with him dead and no true heir, no one will be hurt in the process.”

  Líann had not only solved the problem of how I was going to pay for the resurrection scrolls I needed but also secured the financial well-being of my Empire for quite some time. With this sudden windfall, and the c
ontinued production of silver from our mines, I could banish my economic concerns almost entirely. I had no words to express how grateful I was, but fortunately, words weren’t the kind of thanks Líann wanted.

  “I will reward you for this properly,” I said as I rose out of my chair. “Soon. I’m just not quite ready for that yet. But, if you’d like a taste of what’s to come between us, I’m willing to give you that much. Right now.”

  Líann’s amusement vanished immediately and she stood up shakily beside me as she silently nodded her assent. I stared into her eyes intently as she stood there and reached out to grab hold of the sash that bound her robe together.

  I felt Líann exhale a deep breath as I gently tugged and pulled her belt free before letting it fall from my fingers. Just as the first night we’d met in this very room, her robe hung open loosely in front of me, only this time, it was me who’d undone the garment.

  She wore her silky sleeping dress underneath, so she wasn’t quite as exposed this time, and she let out a startled gasp when I wrapped my arm around her narrow waist and pulled her to me. But soft and gentle wasn’t what she needed, so once we were pressed together, I backed her into the wall, pushing her against it with my body, and lit my eyes on fire for her.

  “I will come for you soon, Líann,” I breathed the words almost directly into her mouth. “And when I do, I’m going to take you, just like you want me to.”

  Líann wriggled and squirmed, not in any vain attempt at escape, but in an effort to make as much contact with me as possible while I held her there. I felt so in control at that moment that I let the arm I’d wrapped around her slip down and brush against the bare skin of her thigh. I lingered there only a moment before running my hand along her silky skin, hiking up her thin dress until the palm of my hand rested on her waist, just above the slight flare of her hips.

  “How much more can you take?” I whispered against her soft lips.

  “I don’t know,” she confessed, barely able to speak.

  Beyond igniting the glow in my eyes, I hadn’t used any of my abilities on her—yet. But when she uttered those three words, I was overcome with the desire to finish her. To make her finish. On my terms.