I held her down helplessly as Líann tried to buck herself out from under me, all while a series of low moans escaped from between her slightly parted lips. While she struggled, I leaned in and ran my lips and tongue over her breast before I took her nipple in my mouth, biting down on her slightly. The tendrils I sent to her with my mouth pushed her over the edge, and for the second time that morning, I watched her as she shuddered in release.
The feeling of her hips slowly rocking beneath me simply wasn’t enough, and I lifted my head from her breast and kissed her almost violently. As I thrust my tongue into Líann’s mouth, I sent yet another tendril into her, flooding her with my urgent desires. The effect on her was more than I’d anticipated, and Líann’s gentle shudders turned into a series of uncontrolled spasms of ecstasy.
I could have reflected some of her passions back to me and taken my own pleasure in the complete domination I had over her, but chose to simply watch while my desires ran their course through her. In the future, I knew that I would do exactly that, but this time, I wanted to not only appreciate what I’d done to her, but the truly exquisite way that Líann reacted to it as well.
Her thin, graceful form writhed with such complete abandon that I felt compelled to watch as her back arched and her hips slowly pulsed beneath me. Líann’s eyes never opened to meet mine, but I watched her intently, nonetheless. She was simply captivating in the throes of her passion, and I remained straddled across her waist, staring down at her until her last lingering tremors slowly faded away.
“Was that better?” I whispered in her ear when she settled down at last.
Líann’s eyes opened slowly when I spoke to her, and in between her deep breathes, she struggled to reply.
“Please, Empress, no more,” she pleaded as she tried to push me away.
I looked down at the hand she pressed against my chest and a wry smile crossed my lips.
“If you’re comfortable enough to put your hand there, perhaps you should call me Dreya.”
Líann pulled back immediately when her mind finally registered just where her hand had been pushing against me. Despite what had just happened between us, she flushed red, and quickly turned away from me.
“You have very interesting boundaries, Líann,” I observed in amusement.
“I told you that I’d been waiting for you, Empress,” she replied without turning around to face me. “You are my first and will be my only love. I’m only now just learning what that means.”
She’d mentioned that before, and I should have realized what it meant much sooner, but her enthusiastic response to me had caused me to forget her lack of experience. Obviously, when she was under my influence she’d lost her shyness and inhibitions, but they seemed to return quite rapidly once I no longer held her strings. The change in her was quite dramatic.
“I love you already, Líann, and that will only grow stronger with time,” I assured her as I ran my fingers across the flawless skin of her back. “There are no limitations between us.”
The tension vanished from her and as she relaxed, I alternately stroked her back softly and scratched her skin with my nails. Líann stretched out languidly with pleasure at the opposing sensations, and I stopped to wrap my arms around her, cupping her breast in my hand as I drew her into me.
“I have to leave you now,” I whispered in her ear. “But I’ll see you again at our weekly meeting. Make sure that you’re ready for a more… intense discussion.”
Líann shivered as my lips brushed against her, and I rolled away from her to get dressed and be on my way. I’d already spent a bit more time in her chambers than I’d intended, and still had my own morning duties to attend to.
Líann turned to watch me get ready, and in an ironic twist on something I’d done long ago, I put on my garments slowly, letting her take me in as I dressed at a deliberately slow and provocative pace.
Líann curled herself up in her covers and I heard a soft, contented purr escape her as I turned and walked away towards the door. She may have been the last to come to me, but I knew that she was in many ways the most important of my lovers. Her ability to help restrain my darkness was absolutely critical to me.
I had thought that it was under my control—that I was the master of the shadows creeping around inside of me, but that was only partly true. While they were indeed under my control, that was only the case so long as I did not let them build up inside me for too long. I’d learned that my darkness was not just a product of the outside world. It did not just come from events that outraged me or caused me pain. My darkness also came from deep within me, generated by something inside me, something buried within my own core.
Without the nearly constant outlet of combat and adventuring that I’d experienced early in my life, the shadows inside me had been building up while I’d been forced into the relatively conflict-free life of governing on a daily basis. During that time, my internal darkness had accumulated almost beyond my ability to control, and only the release afforded by Gilfri’s assassins and the attack by his troops had kept me from losing control. Still, I couldn’t count on such things to hold my darkness at bay—I needed Líann. I needed the outlet she offered for the shadows that threatened to overwhelm me, but I also knew that I needed Líann herself as well. She was more than just a means to control my demons, she’d already become far more than that to me in the short time that had passed since I’d accepted her.
“Empress,” Thelmé’s hesitant call interrupted my musings. “Please, if I might have a word before you go?”
“What is it Thelmé?” I asked. She’d usually only speak to me on matters of some importance, so I was intrigued to hear what she had to tell me.
“It may not be my place to say such things, but I see the Queen not only as my liege, but almost as my own daughter in some ways,” she began. “I beg you not to toy with her heart. For all her worldliness, she is vulnerable in that way, and I do not want to see her hurt.”
“Sit, Thelmé,” I told her as I tried to come up with a way to respond. She had obviously not been fooled by my thinly veiled attempts to conceal my liaisons with her Queen, and I needed to come up with a way to convince her to not only accept what had developed between us, but to keep the secret for us as well. I decided to begin with buying myself a little more time to think.
“Feel free to speak your mind with me, Thelmé. What makes you think I’m going to hurt her?”
“You already have Tási,” Thelmé replied. “Your relationship with her is quite public. I don’t take you for the type to simply cast off someone you’re so obviously in love with, so it seems likely that your interest in my Queen is only a passing fancy.”
“You’re quite correct about Tási,” I answered her. “But are very mistaken in your assessment of how I feel about Líann. Since you already know about us, I will explain things to you, but what I’m about to tell you must go no further than that.”
Thelmé wasn’t just poking her nose in my affairs, so to speak. She was truly concerned for her Queen, not just as her advisor, but as someone who’d raised Líann from birth, she’d come to care for and even love her in an almost motherly way. I respected the bond she felt, and also looked on it as an opportunity to bring Thelmé into our conspiracy to keep things discreet. Having the Queen’s aide working with us would certainly make things quite a bit easier, so I let her in on as much as I felt comfortable sharing with her.
“You know that I am Sintári,” I continued. “In your own ancient language, that word means ‘true feeling.’ That title is not one without meaning; due to our stronger connection with our emotions and the world around us, my people’s ability to love as well as our needs are much more powerful than that of any other race.”
“I love Tási with all my heart,” I confessed to Thelmé. “But that takes nothing away from my feelings towards Líann. Although this is not usual among the people of this world today, it is typical among the Sintári. We feel more and can give more than you are capable o
f understanding, Thelmé. If things were different, I would not hide my love for your Queen, but I fear that I’m already asking too much of my people, and the time is not yet right to make such revelations.”
“I will not hurt her, Thelmé,” I concluded. “The truth is, I need Líann. She has completed me, I couldn’t cast her off even if I wanted to.”
“You have done so much for her already, Empress,” Thelmé replied. “The changes you’ve brought about in her have made her into the Queen I’d always hoped she’d be. If you’ve also finally brought love into her life, I cannot bring myself to object.”
“I need more from you than that, Thelmé,” I responded as I held her gaze. “You must keep this secret for us, and even more importantly, help us when we need you to. You alone know about us, and I swear, if you utter a single word of what I’ve told you, or tell anyone about my love for Líann, I will rip your heart out with my bare hands.”
I didn’t raise my voice, or let my eyes flare; instead, I spoke to her calmly, making my threat even more ominous for the lack of emotion I displayed in making it.
“The secret you ask me to keep is my Queen’s just as much as it’s yours, Empress,” Thelmé replied evenly, despite how obviously shaken she was by my words. “I will not betray either of you.”
“I’m sorry I had to say that to you, Thelmé,” I softened a bit as I stood up. “But I needed to make sure that there was no doubt about how seriously I view this matter.”
“Thank you, Empress,” she said with some relief. “I understand.”
I finally left Líann’s quarters, not only having claimed her as my own, as I’d intended, but with Thelmé also on our side to help us maintain the privacy we so desperately needed. It bothered me to have to keep my love for her secret, but Tási’s needs, even more than any of the other factors, were far more important to me.
When I made it back upstairs, I had a quick breakfast and then sat down for my morning meeting with Talína. Not much of note had occurred, but I was quite amused when she let me know that Líann had responded to my letter, accepting my requirements for her to host our weekly breakfast meetings.
The rest of my day was equally devoid of anything significant, as were most that followed. It was the beginning of a relatively calm period for The First Sintári Empire, but one that was destined to end before too long.
23
Over the next several months, things remained relatively tranquil and peaceful, and the Empire ran smoothly. The Realms that had joined me sent us the troops they’d pledged, and the First Marshal organized them into a unique fighting force.
In the forefront of our Army stood five hundred stout dwarves clad in half plate and carrying shields made of Dwarven Steel. The weapons they bore were also made of the same metal, but varied between stout hammers, wicked battle axes, and even a few heavy broadswords.
Behind that front line of nearly solid metal, Evans placed the human soldiers from Lorida. Clad in Dwarven Steel chain and with the long swords and even longer spears they bore, they were able to attack anyone that engaged the dwarves in front of them, almost with impunity.
The back line of the Imperial Army Evans fashioned was comprised of the elves of Íforn. They were equipped most lightly, in leather, with just a few carefully placed sections of Khelduin to protect their vital areas. But it was not their armor that was important, it was the heavy longbows they carried that made them most effective. Their proficiency with those weapons let them get off multiple volleys before most foes could even engage our front lines, reducing any attacker’s numbers dramatically before they would even be able to strike their first blow against us.
But as impressive as all of them were, it was the line of halflings that stood between the humans and elves that presented our army’s greatest and most deadly threat.
Nadiel had sent me nearly four hundred Evokers, halfling casters with their people’s extraordinary gift for magic, in addition to dozens of guards, whose sole responsibility was to shield their charges from danger while they invoked their deadly spells. Apparently, once word had gotten out about my goal of uniting Arrika under the concepts of my Imperial Charter, there had been no shortage of volunteers to join my efforts. As a result, we had an abundance of spell casters, and Evans intended to use them to his advantage. From their position of relative safety behind the human line of spears, they could rain death upon anyone closing in on or even engaged with the metal wall of dwarven warriors in front of them.
Sprinkled among the Evokers were nearly fifty Curates, ready to heal any wounds that the troops around them received. Combined with the healing crystals I made sure everyone had in adequate supply, my army was far better equipped to overcome any battlefield injuries than any other force on the continent.
I was surprised to learn that none of the Realms protected their soldiers this way. The value they placed on life was simply too low, and the cost of providing the measures I had were conversely too high for any of them to justify. But my perspective wasn’t the only factor that made my actions possible. The monetary boon Líann had gotten for me from Olóra was partly responsible as well, in addition to the priceless fortunes that the constant stream of immigrants brought to me, in the guise of talented people.
Among the many who came to settle in the Imperial District over those months were several apothecaries who crafted the crystals I’d distributed to my troops. Venna and Stel negotiated quite favorable terms for us, and in addition to providing them with housing and workspace, they only requested a slight profit margin above their cost of materials. This cost was especially low because nearly all the ingredients that they required were found within the confines of the valley. Even some otherwise rare flowering herbs grew in plentiful supply there, a fact that I attributed without doubt to the Dryad’s continuing efforts. Consequently, I was able to provide a great deal of additional protection to my troops, at a fraction of the typical cost.
That protection was not limited to preventative measures either. Líann had come through for me with the scribes she’d promised as well. I immediately set them to work, and she browbeat the lot of them until they agreed to accept a somewhat reduced fee for their work. It wasn’t much, but the difference allowed me to purchase over one thousand scrolls, more than enough for the time being, although I made sure they knew that I’d likely need even more in the future.
Nadiel had also delivered in that regard, although the number of Curates with the resurrection magic I needed were few in number. Only seven had responded, and they initially made rather ridiculous demands for compensation for their services. I’d thought about their request long and hard before making them a counteroffer that not a single one of them refused.
In exchange for their services, throughout both my efforts to unite the Realms and conquer the Dark Lands, I offered each of them a full suit of Khelduin chain mail. The armor was worth even more than they’d asked for but cost me almost nothing to provide. In addition, their payment would be made up front, and they would have the benefit of the armor’s protection immediately upon agreeing to my terms. Once I made my counteroffer, every last one of them immediately signed the contracts I had prepared, binding them to my terms.
Nadiel did make one additional contribution that I appreciated greatly, and I sent her a very gracious letter of thanks in response. Along with her troops, she sent several Evokers who’d agreed to join my personal guard. The vulnerability they had due to the absence of casters in their ranks had been made obvious when Insleí had torn through them so easily, but with the addition of the Evokers, that oversight had been corrected, and Ella made sure that at least one of them was included on each of my guard details.
Several weeks after Gilfri’s death, we received a message from Wenflé. After quelling the unrest that had followed in the wake of Gilfri’s demise and the release of so many from the onerous blood clauses he’d forced on them, Wenflé had taken the throne. Nearly all of Gilfri’s supporters had fled Olóra or had been killed on
ce his power over the decent people had vanished. Under Wenflé’s rule, Olóra not only became a safe place once more, but among his first acts, he’d signed the Imperial Charter, joining my Empire as well.
Olóra was not the only Realm that came to me during that time. The neighboring elven Kingdom of Eória also signed the Imperial Charter, almost immediately after Wenflé had. Eória was ruled by a very young King, who Gilfri had apparently taken advantage of and bullied into a subservient role. Once he was free of Gilfri’s influence, the young monarch asserted himself by doing the one thing he’d known would have angered Gilfri the most, and pledged himself to me and my vision of a united Arrika.
The human Realm of Ashton, located between Eória and Isouri, also signed the Charter during that time. Ashton was the beneficiary of a rather rare set of circumstances. Positioned as it was, with Eória to the West, the horse lands of Hygan and Zonnia to its north, and the ocean on its southern and eastern borders, the people of Ashton were almost completely shielded from the threat of the Dark Lands. Although they maintained a standing army for defense, their lands had seen nothing but peace for some time. So, when my envoy arrived, and they realized that my Empire controlled the nations on either side of them, it took very little convincing for them to sign on as well.
Evans scrambled to adjust his carefully organized army to account for the troops that Olóra, Eória, and Ashton sent to us in the wake of their admission to the Empire. Some he folded into the already existing units, integrating the various races for the first time, something that was inevitable given the path we were on. The rest he formed into a group of skirmishers; heavily armed but lightly armored, they would protect our flanks and make quick, harassing strikes against our enemies.
Unfortunately, the troops we received from Ashton were… subpar. This was no slight on the Realm’s part; they simply had nothing better to offer. But Evans had the perfect assignment for them. Rather than begin the arduous task of making them into front line soldiers, Evans started training some of them with the siege weapons Dellon and his sons had been working on for our army.
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