“I’m so happy for you, Tási, but how do you feel? Physically,” I clarified.
“I’m fine, I think,” she said, as she struggled to sit upright.
As she tried to worm her way up with her hands still bound behind her, Venna finally caught a glimpse of Tási’s eyes.
“Tási,” Venna asked hesitantly. “Aren’t your eyes supposed to be brown?”
“Very light brown, yes,” Tási replied in confusion.
“I’m going to need you to lay back down,” Venna said firmly as she took Tási by the shoulders and guided her back down to the ground.
“I think it’s alright, Venna,” I tried to reassure her. “I recognize the color from something I saw inside her.”
“Can one of you please explain what’s going on?” Tási pleaded.
I brushed Venna’s hands away and sat Tási back up again.
“Your eyes changed color, Tási. They’re blue now,” I told her gently. “A very beautiful blue that comes from your mother.”
Venna pulled out a small pocket mirror and held it in front of Tási’s face for her, and the vivid color of her deep blue irises reflected back at her from the silvery glass of the mirror. She stared at herself for a long while, and tears began running down her checks.
“It’s alright, Tási,” I tried to comfort her before she cut me off.
“I’m not sad,” she said as her voice cracked. “After all these years, I finally have a piece of her. I can see her looking back at me, and I don’t feel alone anymore.”
Wordlessly, I slipped my dagger free and sliced through the rope behind Tási’s back. Then, I pulled her to me, holding her close, and she sobbed against my shoulder as her body wracked, while years of pent-up emotion spilled out of her in bursts of tears.
As Tási leaned into me, I could feel the hurt and pain flowing from her, but the sensation I felt from her was not one of experiencing those unpleasant emotions; instead, it was the feeling of letting them go, of releasing the anguish that had haunted her for so long.
Venna started to leave, to allow Tási to vent her pain more privately, but I laid my hand on her arm, imploring her to stay for a while longer.
We needed to figure out how to break this news to the rest of our companions—the dramatic change in Tási’s eyes would not go unnoticed. Just how much, and exactly when we chose to share this news needed some careful consideration.
“Thank you.” Tási whispered as she pulled away from me a few minutes later.
“You’re welcome,” I replied as I wiped a stray tear from her face. Staring into the clear blue of her eyes was still unsettling for me, but I held her gaze for a moment, allowing her to feel my reassurance.
“Obviously, we can’t keep this secret,” I said bluntly. “We need to decide right now what we’re going to tell everyone.”
“I’m not sure how people will react to the truth, Dreya,” Venna responded candidly. “I think we need to limit full disclosure to our small group.”
“I agree, at least for now,” I replied. “Maybe later when things are more settled, we can consider this again, but right now I don’t think this should become general knowledge.”
“Can we wait until tomorrow?” Tási implored. “I can let the others know what happened in the morning. As far as everyone else goes, I think if I stay around camp and keep out of sight for a few days, people might just think they remember my eyes the wrong way.”
“I’m not sure that will work, Tási,” I replied doubtfully. “But it’s worth a shot.”
“That sounds like the best plan we’re going to come up with,” Venna sighed. “If you don’t mind, since everything seems alright, I’m going to go back to my own tent now. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Tell Bane everything went fine,” I called after her.
Venna nodded in affirmation before she left, and I settled back into the pile of blankets, finally able to relax for a moment. Tási laid down beside me and let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Tási,” I whispered to her as she laid her head down on my chest. “I didn’t want to say anything in front of Venna, but you need to know exactly what happened when I delved inside you.”
“I already know, Dreya,” Tási replied. “I was there with you. I saw you stir the fire and water together and bring the dormant half of me to life.”
“I didn’t sense you with me,” I responded, not knowing what else to say.
“There’s something else you didn’t notice,” Tási added and I sensed a mischievous undercurrent in her words. “When you woke my elemental spirt, you also bonded with it. We are now linked, just like you are with Bane.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I sputtered.
Tási didn’t answer me, instead, she simply slid her hand under the collar of my shirt and grazed the tips of her fingers across my skin. I felt Tási trying to send her own fine tendrils into me, and only barely managed to hold off the enticing sensations she tried to slip past my defenses.
“I almost had you,” she purred coyly while her fingers continued to slowly trace their way around the neckline of my shirt.
“Tási, I don’t—”
“Let me explain what I know,” she cut me off.
“You linked our heartbeats, and created a connection between us,” Tási began as she sat up again. “That connection allowed you to peer inside me, to look into my essence. Then, when you touched my core and stirred up the elemental spirit inside me, it reacted to your presence by bonding with you. The link we now share cannot be broken, my love, and it gives me some small ability to affect you the way that you have always affected me.”
As she finished speaking, she threw her leg across my waist and straddled my body. While I tried to process her stunning revelations, she hit me with one final declaration.
“We have resolved nearly all our outstanding issues tonight, Dreya,” Tási said as she stared down at me with her unfamiliar blue eyes. “All save one. I still owe you for that night of torture you inflicted on me. So tonight, I’m going to test the limits of my new abilities. On you.”
10
Tási had been quite earnest in her desire to find out just what she could do with her new-found powers. When I’d tested my abilities on her, I had limited myself to trailing a single finger across her skin, trying to coax her to climax without touching any of her more intimate areas. Tási had begun in the same fashion, but quickly resorted to more persuasive means. Her hands wandered all over me freely, and she used every inch of her body to channel her passions into me.
The sensations she conjured up were so different from my own that I had trouble resisting her impulses. Her desires came across as seductive waves of passion, tinged with the irresistible influences of cool and warm water, alternating in temperature and frequency in a tantalizing current of desire.
While the strength of her projections was far weaker than my own, the strange sensations overwhelmed me, tearing through my attempts to maintain control, almost as if they did not exist. Once Tási passed through my barriers, I felt the pure joy she experienced having me at her mercy. She took great delight at repaying me in kind and held back nothing as she unleashed her new abilities on me. The sensations roiled inside me, filling me with profound ecstasy as I felt her tongue gliding languidly over my nipple.
But I was not completely defenseless against her, as she quickly found out. Tási may have broken down my barriers, but she hadn’t eliminated my own ability to retaliate. So, while Tási’s hands groped at me and her lips grazed across my delicate skin, I reflected the passionate turmoil she was evoking back to her.
The effect was not anything either of us were prepared for—I had hoped to simply give her a taste of the desire she was stirring in me, but what actually happened was far more intense than that.
An emotional loop formed between us, and while Tási was feeding me her heated passions, I was sending my own into her. The intense desires echoed back and forth between us, magnifying every
time the powerful emotions crossed over from one of us to the other.
Barely seconds after I sent the first round of ecstasy back at her, Tási and I were rocked with successive waves of passion that sent us both over the edge. Her release fed into mine, and mine then fed hers in return. We held onto each other fiercely as our bodies were wracked by a series of orgasms that increased in intensity with every rebounding wave of desire that flowed between us. The cycle only ended when we both collapsed in utter exhaustion, finally breaking the powerful connection between us.
Our bodies glistened with sweat and we lay still atop the blankets, unable to move and overcome by the incredible power of our shared release. We fell asleep just like that only a few minutes later, too tired to move or even slip under the covers.
The next morning, however, I struggled to find just where all my clothes had disappeared to amongst the jumble of blankets. With Tási still sleeping peacefully atop the pile of covers, I gave up trying to locate my lost garments and resorted to pulling out spare clothes from my backpack.
Once I was dressed, I stepped outside and took a deep breath of fresh air. It was still quite early, and I had a full day ahead of me, but I felt better than I had in a long while, cherishing the feeling of peace that had finally settled over me.
Bane uncurled himself from his sleeping spot next to the cold embers of last night’s fire and hopped onto my shoulder as I rekindled the flames. I had just put up a pot of water to make some tea when he sent his words to me.
You have bonded with Tási. How is this possible?
‘I should have expected that you might sense that,’ I sent back to him. ‘We will be discussing what happened when I delved into her last night once everyone else is awake, but I will not make you wait to hear the truth from me. Tási’s mother was a water spirit, and Tási carries that elemental essence within her. I unintentionally bonded with that part of her when I woke the water spirit within her.’
This is a very strange development, my Sintári. I do not think you should share this news with your companions.
‘Neither do I, but since you have already sensed our bond, I’m not going to try to hide it from you.’
Venna emerged from her tent just then and came over to sit beside me. The water was already boiling by then, so I poured us each a cup of tea and we drank a few sips in silence before she inquired about Tási.
“How is she feeling today?” Venna asked.
“Still sleeping,” I replied. “But she seems fine.”
The rest of our companions filtered out slowly and joined us sitting around the fire. Khorim was on breakfast duty that morning, and was busy putting together some food for us to share when Tási finally joined us. She sat down next to me and rested her head on my shoulder as she took the cup from my hands and drank a deep sip of tea.
“Let’s get this over with,” she sighed reluctantly.
“Don’t say anything about the bond,” I whispered back to her.
“I’m not that stupid,” she smiled at me.
Tási stood up and I held her hand in support as she gazed directly at Stel. He looked back at her in puzzlement for a moment before he noticed the change that had happened.
“What caused that?” He asked in confusion.
When Broda and Khorim looked to see what Stel was referring to, Broda immediately gasped as she too noticed the sudden change. Khorim only stared dumbly before asking what was going on.
“Her eyes, you dumb fool,” Broda scolded him. “They’ve turned blue!”
“Weren’t they always that color?”
“You’re such an idiot,” Broda sighed.
“It happened last night,” Tási began to explain, relieving Khorim from any further humiliation. “I know that I can count on your support, but don’t know how other people might react to what I’m about to tell you, so the knowledge I am trusting you with must remain between us.”
“I have been feeling a strange presence inside me. Last night, Dreya and Venna helped me uncover what it was. I had been told that my mother had abandoned me at birth, leaving me with my father while she departed mysteriously. We discovered that this was not entirely true.”
“My mother was a water spirit, something akin to Ridge, but more highly developed. She left me behind because she could no longer maintain her mortal-looking form. What I had been feeling inside me was my own inner water spirit, the essence from my mother that was dormant inside me.”
“Dreya woke that part of me, and now it is emerging. I promise all of you that I am still the same person you have always known, but I’m not sure how much its influence may change me in the future.”
She sat back down immediately and buried her head against me. I wrapped my arm around her, and Bane even crawled over to perch on her shoulder in a demonstration of his solidarity.
While the others were stunned by the news, Venna spoke up almost as soon as Tási sat down.
“I always wondered how your healing magic was so strong, Tási,” Venna said. “Restorative magic is most closely related to the water sphere, yet even though you came to our Order as an Evoker specializing in fire spells, your affinity for healing was incredibly powerful.
“I do not believe that your water spirit was quite as dormant as you think. In fact, I think that it has been influencing you your entire life, even if that influence may have been subtle at times. The point I’m trying to make is this; I don’t expect this revelation to change you very much, if at all. I think we already know the real Tási, and she is someone we all love and respect. This tiny matter is of no consequence to me in that regard.”
As Venna spoke, Tási never lifted her head from my shoulder, but I felt the warmth of her tears as they soaked into my shirt. I patted her back reassuringly, and Bane even nuzzled against her cheek, but her head remained firmly buried against me.
“Bah,” Khorim chortled. “Blue eyes, green eyes, you’re all a bit strange to me. But that’s the way I like you.”
“I feel the same way about you, master dwarf,” I replied, returning his smile.
Stel stood up and strode over to where Tási and I sat. He knelt down beside her and pried one of Tási’s hands free and waited patiently for her to acknowledge his presence. When she finally looked his way, the words he spoke touched my heart deeply.
“I met you as acolyte, Letási,” Stel began. “You have traveled far with us and I have watched in admiration as you have grown in power. My wife has said this is a tiny matter, of no consequence between us, and she is right. You are one of us now Tási, you are family. And you will not be rid of us quite so easily.”
“Thank you,” Tási’s voice cracked with emotion.
“You are most welcome, Cintal,” Stel replied before returning to his seat.
I glanced at Venna, puzzled by the term Stel had used. She knew precisely why I looked to her and immediately explained its meaning.
“There are few words that remain from our old tongue,” her eyes grew misty as she explained loud enough for Tási to hear as well. “Cintal is one of them. The closest translation is ‘beloved sister.’”
Despite the fact that she was crying profusely, Tási stood up and rushed across the short space and threw herself into Stel’s arms, hugging him fiercely as she shed her tears against his broad chest. Stel held her in return and kissed the top of her head tenderly as the two remained locked in a tight embrace.
“Food’s ready!” Khorim shouted, timing his disruption perfectly to prevent the moment from becoming overly awkward.
Stel and Tási finally broke away from each other and Tási returned to my side as Khorim began passing out the plates. When he came to us, Khorim handed me my food, but lingered a moment before passing the second plate to Tási.
“I’ve no gift for words, little one,” he said uncomfortably. “But I’d face an entire legion of orcs for you. You need not lose any sleep thinking this might come between any of us.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Khorim practica
lly scurried away. He returned to distributing breakfast to the rest of our companions, avoiding glancing our way as he did so.
While we observed Khorim pointedly trying to not look in our direction, Broda made her own statement of support. It was a simple raising of her mug followed by a quick sip, but her meaning was clear—Tási had earned her confidence as well.
With at least that aspect of the matter resolved, I turned my attention to more mundane issues.
“I’m going to do my usual round of inspections today,” I told Tási. “Hilgreth wants me to wait until later to see the gate she and Dellon have put together, so I’ll probably start in the valley today. What are you going to do with your free time?”
Tási had planned on sticking to camp for a few days, hoping her absence would make the sudden change in her eyes less obvious. There wasn’t all that much to occupy her in the small area, and I was wondering just how she planned to fill up all the hours.
“Well, in case you hadn’t noticed,” she smiled at me slyly. “Out tent is a bit of a mess for some reason. I’ll probably start by sorting out the disaster that’s inside there.”
“That might take you a while,” I laughed.
“Yeah, I had trouble finding my things this morning,” Tási replied before leaning closer and whispering in my ear. “I think I’ve got your underwear on.”
I practically choked on the mouthful of eggs I was chewing and Venna clapped me on the back trying to help me breathe again. Once I cleared my throat, Tási just looked at me with a mischievous grin and set about cleaning up the dishes.
As soon as possible, I happily left camp behind and began my daily rounds while Bane flew off on his scouting mission. My trip through the valley revealed that everything was progressing as expected, and the farms and houses were going up at a steady rate. The few chickens that we had were together in a small area and had begun providing us with a meagre supply of eggs. Most of those would be allowed to hatch, slowly growing our small collection of livestock into more productive numbers.
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