I would still need my Tári, of course, despite the incredible power of my Táriel, and how fully I could express myself with her. Líann’s native V’Ríel was darkness, however, and her ability to absorb my other needs was constrained. Regardless, Líann would take her place in time, of that I had no doubt. She would be first, and when I felt the time was right to push against the boundaries again, I would make her my wife, under the light of day for all to see. Perhaps I would wed my other Tari as well, I wasn’t sure. But I knew that Líann was destined for that place by my side, and as my Táriel, I would allow her nothing less.
I slid next to her, and while I lay there, I stared at her sleeping peacefully and let my thoughts wander. Watching her rest so tranquilly was incredibly calming, and in that state of calmness, I discovered that my shadows had retreated far more than I had expected. I knew she’d taken a great deal of them from me, but they had been reduced nearly to the same low level I’d experienced after the battle of Ondale. With a sudden sense of clarity, I understood that as my Táriel, Líann had become even more attuned to me, and her abilities had not only increased to absorb my other V’Ríel, but she had also gained the ability to truly take away my darkness. I’d wondered how I would vent my shadows in the far distant future when there were no more battles to be fought, and Líann had provided the answer to that question. As Táriel, she didn’t just absorb some of my darkness, she was able to take the burden of them from me in the truest sense. I’d though that I had realized the value of a Táriel before, but with that last bit of understanding, I finally recognized Líann’s full potential—she was my everything.
I thought of just what that meant and how things might play out over the coming centuries until Líann’s eyes slowly opened and I watched her as she stared straight up at the ceiling for a time. Then, she turned towards me and for a brief moment, seemed to look right through me until her pale blue eyes finally focused in on mine.
“What… What happened?”
“You took in my darkness, love,” I brushed my fingers across Líann’s cheek as I spoke to her. “And then you took my passion as well.”
“I don’t understand,” she replied, overwhelmed by what she was clearly still experiencing.
“Before I left, you told me you wanted to become more,” I reminded her. “You said that you felt that something had changed in you. You were right, Líann, you have changed. And now you’ve felt the first part of what you’re becoming. In time, you will be able to take all my V’Ríel. When that happens, you and I will become one. Forever.”
“What does that mean?” Líann asked as her mind started to emerge from her confusion. “What’s a V’Ríel?”
I relayed Nentai’s words to her in full, leaving nothing out. I told Líann that she was my Táriel, and all that came along with that title. We would spend our lives together, and over those many centuries, we would share a bond that only a handful had ever experienced. When I finished, Líann, in her typical fashion, only had one question to ask me.
“When can you send me another?” She practically begged me. “I want to feel the next one right now.”
“You barely withstood the first one, Líann,” I had to push her back as she came at me. “I think you need to recover a bit more of your strength before we try again.”
“Can you stay with me a while at least, before you leave?” Líann pleaded.
“I’m not leaving you, Líann,” I smiled at her.
“But, Tási—” She began.
“Tási was the one who sent me to you tonight,” I cut her off. “She even provided us with an excuse for me to stay.”
“Why would she do that?”
“You’re not the only one who’s grown,” I responded. “Tási knows that you’re important to me, and that we’re all important to each other. I need you, and because of that, she needs you too. The two of you may still be rivals in some ways, but you’re also connected to each other through me. There’s only so far you can push each other before you’ll actually wind up hurting yourselves.”
“That… makes sense,” Líann slowly realized.
Líann barely tolerated my displays of affection. While she would use her subtle charms to lure me in, once she had me, she only wanted to feel my power and for me to display my domination over her. But something in her had truly changed, and she surprised me by sliding over and wrapping herself around me and resting her head on my chest, snuggling up with me for the first time ever.
The feeling of Líann’s body pressed against me in anything other than a struggle was a new experience for me, one that I’d wanted to have for a very long time. I’d forced her to lay with me before, or done so when she was too exhausted to resist me, but to have her do it willingly, on her own, was completely different, and I basked in her warmth as she lay with me. But she’d truly been drained by taking in both my passion and darkness, and it wasn’t long before I realized that Líann had fallen asleep again, with my shoulder as her pillow and her body still curled up around mine.
I thought of the future we would share together as Líann’s soft breaths warmed my skin. She had become the key to everything for me—Líann would take not only my darkness, but so much more and would provide me with the stability I needed to withstand the pain of losing my Tári over and over again. She’d given me the answers I needed to so many of the questions that had plagued me, soothing my deepest worries, and brought some measure of peace to my soul. With that serenity, I cradled my Táriel in my arms until the heat from Líann’s body and the slow, steady rhythm of her breathing lulled me to sleep.
I woke the next morning before the sun had even risen above the horizon. While Tási had given me leave to stay the night—it had even been her idea—I knew that the situation chafed at her. So, while Líann slept, I slipped out of bed and dressed quietly before leaving to return to my own rooms upstairs.
My guards were waiting for me as I left Líann’s suite. Karina had led the team that had escorted me down the night before, but Aiva had taken over for her some time during the night, and it was her who guided me back upstairs that morning. I feigned exhaustion to avoid any conversation and snuck quietly into my bedroom once I reached my rooms. But when I stripped off my armor and tried to get into bed, I found that I couldn’t. Tási was sleeping on my side of the bed, resting her head on the pillow that I always used.
Seeing her there, sleeping where I always did, caused my heart to ache for her. She’d given up something of herself for me the night before, ceding one of the few demands she ever made of me. Rather than wake her, I got in bed on her usual side, before sliding over as close as I could without disturbing her sleep. I’d let Tási fall asleep alone the night before, but I wasn’t going to let her wake up that way.
As I lay there, watching Tási much as I had observed Líann sleeping the night before, I knew that despite everything that had happened between Líann and I, none of that would change my relationship with Tási. She meant too much to me, and our bonds were too strong for me to allow that to happen. Venna might have been the one to uncover my Sintári nature, but it was Tási who’d helped me discover what it really meant and gain the first measures of control over it. Beyond that, I’d delved inside her, uncovered the dormant elemental half of her core and stirred it to life. That discovery had bound us together, literally, as the water spirit inside her woke and connected itself with me. She was mine, and I was hers, but only for a short while. Compared to the almost eternal span of my lifetime, Tási would only be with me for the blink of an eye. Líann could have whatever she wanted once that time was over, but for however long it lasted, even my Táriel would not take Tási’s place.
I hadn’t intended it, but in the familiar comfort of my own bed, I fell asleep quickly and only woke when Tási’s gentle stirrings roused me from my slumber once more.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I greeted her when my eyes fluttered open.
Tási smiled back at me for just a second as she heard my familiar words, t
hen looked at me in puzzlement.
“When did you get back?”
“As soon as I could,” I replied as I brushed the hair from her face.
“By the way,” I couldn’t help myself from teasing her. “I think it’s sweet that you slept on my side of the bed.”
She flushed and ducked her head under the covers to hide from me, but I refused to let her. Instead, I pulled Tási to me and answered the question that I knew was on her mind, but that she’d never let herself ask me.
“Líann’s better,” I told her, “Nothing has changed between you and I, and it never will.”
Tási didn’t reply to me, but I felt her nodding her head in acknowledgment against my chest. Although she needed to know, it wasn’t something Tási wanted to discuss any further once she did. So, with those few words of assurance spoken, it was more than enough for her.
“If you don’t have anything to do,” I whispered to her. “We could just stay here for as long as you’d like.”
Again, Tási didn’t reply with words, she only draped her leg over mine and wrapped her arm around me as she nestled her head on my shoulder. We lay together like that for a long time, until the sun began to stream in through the windows and shed its bright light across the room. That special moment had stretched on for hours, but I still felt that it came to an end all too soon. The difficult journey home, compounded by my own tormented state, hadn’t afforded us many opportunities to share our affections, and I’d missed them far more than I realized I had.
But our time together didn’t end right away. After we dressed, Tási and I were able to share breakfast together before she left to tend to her duties. Once she’d gone, I shuffled through some of the reports that Talína had left for me while I snacked on a few last bites. Fortunately, nothing required my immediate attention, and I was grateful to learn that there were no meetings scheduled for me that day. We did have a full cabinet meeting the next morning to review our situation and chart the path forward, but for the most part, the day had been reserved for rest and recovery.
I thought I’d just lounge about for a while, but then I remembered that I had dismissed Ridge during the beastkin attack. He’d been working on the city above us, and although we wouldn’t need its structures for some time, my new focus on long-term planning wouldn’t let me ignore its construction. So, I gathered Saibra, who was commanding my detail then, and left to summon Ridge.
It took far longer for me to reach a good location to call him back because I was stopped so frequently along the way. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I stopped myself along the way—repeatedly. I’d been gone for a long while, and even before that, I’d rarely been able to tour my Realm and talk to my people. So, I stopped to speak with nearly everyone whose path I crossed.
I met and spoke with farmers, ranchers, miners, and citizens of all sorts as I traveled. Many of them I’d met before back when walking among them was still something I did on a frequent basis, but even more were brand-new faces to me, and I talked with those people for just as long as I did with the old, familiar ones. It was refreshing to hear from the regular folks that actually made everything I did possible. I knew that regardless of how powerful I was or ever became, that none of what I did would be possible without the people behind me. Without their efforts, there would be no Empire. Not even my tiny little Realm could have succeeded if I didn’t have their support. No matter what happened, I hoped that the day would never come where I could no longer walk among them; if not regularly, then at least from time to time. Losing touch with them would be like losing a part of myself.
The sense of ‘groundedness,’ for lack of a better term, that I got from connecting with my people was also Ella’s V’Ríel, in a sense. It was through her that I kept in touch with my truest self. My original self, before I became a Sintári and then Empress. It was both the subtlest, and in some ways the most important of my V’Ríel. The tendrils I used with Ella were probably the weakest I could manage, as she preferred our interactions to be almost exclusively physical. Being so used to using my powers, it had become something of a challenge for me to limit myself so severely, but also provided me with a very poignant reminder that most people made do with far less than I had at my disposal.
Despite the distractions and delays, I finally made it to the base of the cliff where one of the towering staircases led to the plateau above. I wasn’t prepared to make that arduous climb, but I felt it was a good place to summon Ridge again. He came forth from the earth at my feet when I cast my Spell just as he always did, and I welcomed him back.
“I’m sorry for the abrupt dismissal, Ridge,” I explained. “But we were attacked, and I needed all of my Aura.”
“I understand, Sintári,” he replied flatly. “Shall I return to my duties now or do you have need of my efforts elsewhere?”
“No, please resume your work,” I replied to him. “I won’t be bringing back your assistant though. My plans require that I do otherwise.”
After inclining his head to me slightly, Ridge melded into the face of the cliff, presumably traveling upwards within the sheer rock wall to the surface of the plateau. Once he was off, I began summoning again, only this time, I focused on calling an air elemental to me instead of a second earth elemental.
As long as I held Ridge, and then his assistant, my proficiency with the Summon Elemental Spell had steadily increased until it hit 40%. When it had, I gained the ability to summon elementals from the air sphere, but I had never called one. Ridge’s work was too critical to delay, and I had no idea what, if anything, an air elemental had to offer, but Ridge’s steady pace had pulled his work well ahead of my needs, and I had the luxury of time on my hands. So, I decided to see just what this new type of elemental was all about.
As soon as I invoked the magic, I could feel it reaching out, making its connection with the spirit of the air. Suddenly, I felt the link resolve into something solid, as an elemental of the air was called to me. The spirit raged against my summons, furious at being compelled to serve me, and I slammed back at it with all the force I had. However, the modifier for the summoning magic was my Charisma, and despite the elemental creature’s vigorous attempts at defense, it’s will crumbled before mine, and the creature bowed to my summons.
The elemental did not rise out of the Earth as Ridge had; instead, it seemed to simply come together in front of me as various wisps of the surrounding atmosphere gathered themselves together to create its form. The roughly humanoid shape of the elemental resolved in mere seconds, and then, as it recognized its summoner, addressed me.
“What would you have of me, mistress?” Came a distinctly feminine voice.
“I have never summoned one of your kind,” I replied, a little surprised to hear the clear, female voice. I’m not sure why, but it just seemed odd. “I don’t know your capabilities. What can you do?”
“I can do many things, mistress,” she explained, with some actual emotion evident in her tones. “But I don’t know your needs. Among my many talents, I am able to summon breezes to power your windmills or sail your vessels. I can help provide fresh air for that large building I see in the distance, or any other structure you might possess.”
I had no windmills or sailing vessels, and the Palace already had decent circulation, but her words reminded me of a place that lacked such good airflow.
“We have two mines, with underground dwellings connected to them,” I told the air spirit. “Despite their best engineering, the breezes of the valley don’t penetrate them very well, and the air is a bit stale. Can you help with those?”
“Show them to me, mistress,” she replied, with a trace of anticipation evident in her words. “And I will see what I can do for you.”
I walked her to the closest mine and began to show her around, but she bid me to wait for a moment and then sped off inside. I could feel the breezes begin to flow into the passages as I stood waiting for her to return, and in a flash, she was back by my side.
; “This is a simple matter,” the spirit almost seemed to scoff. “Everything is in place, I’ll only need to supply the winds.”
“There is another settlement across the valley from here that is nearly identical,” I told her. “Can you take care of both of them?”
“I can, if it is not too far away,” she answered cautiously.
“I could show it to you, but I have a feeling you might be able to get there a bit faster on your own,” I smiled as I replied. The elemental’s obvious personality was a stark contrast to Ridge’s robotic nature, and she was starting to amuse me with her attitudes.
“With your leave, I will have a look,” she clearly resented the need to ask my permission to venture away.
“Please do,” I gestured for her to have a peek at the other dwarven community.
The air spirit took off and then returned much more quickly than I imagined to give me her answer.
“It’s close enough,” she offered casually. “Supplying both of them with fresh air is well-within my abilities.”
“Thank you,” I replied, realizing that this time my gratitude might finally have an effect, unlike when I expressed it to Ridge. “Please tend to both settlements for me.”
“Of course, mistress,” the spirit replied.
I hadn’t expected the summoning to actually resolve a problem for me. While the dwarven settlements were in no real danger due to their less-than-optimal air circulation, it was a source of constant complaint for the residents. Hopefully, the expenditure of a small slice of my Aura would alleviate some of their discomfort.
We made our way back home at an equally slow pace as my journey out, stopping again when I encountered the people going about their daily lives. As before, the newer people were shocked that their Empress took the time and actually had an interest in their seemingly mundane existence, but I knew something that most leaders seemed to be unaware of; my power did not come from my Army or my treasury; it came from my people, and I intended to always treat them accordingly.
Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3) Page 92
