“Sex isn’t punishment,” the immortal trigem declared. “Especially with a huge dick.”
These two were incorrigible. A pair of dark elves bored to tears, who took great delight in wasting his time, and messing with each other.
Well, Nurevia messed with Astra, and Astra beat up Nurevia.
Nathan felt stupid for not realizing that Astra genuinely enjoyed violence. The light in her eyes as she looked at Nurevia was playful rather than cruel. Was she the cause of Nurevia’s corrupted nature?
“Very huge,” Nurevia assured Astra. “You should try it out.”
“Maybe later,” Astra demurred, but her fingers twitched.
Rather than push the topic, Nurevia shrugged and sat back down. Astra took a seat opposite her.
This was a typical exchange. Nathan knew there was some history behind them, but the two had fallen out long ago. For whatever reason, Astra seemed unwilling to pursue Nathan.
Although it wasn’t for lack of desire. He felt partially thankful for how slow she took things, however. His hands were full with a lot of other Champions, even if Fei had stopped rutting now. Once Astra finally committed, he suspected there would be some very rough sessions with her and Nurevia.
The things Nurevia told him about Astra terrified him. The Twins had laughed when he had originally convinced them to return his dick to a more manageable size last year, after several of his lovers complained. Now, he wondered if Astra would want the bigger version.
Nathan chose to spend his free time practicing his mental magic. The dark elves shot him dirty looks, but left it at that.
After a couple of hours, and a lot of sake, Nurevia pointed a finger at Nathan. “So, how does it feel to have a bigger dick than your old fuck of a dad?”
Nathan paused, his concentration thrown off. He slowly wound down his current spell, which was an attempt to cast a supercharged fourth rank mental spell. The intention had been to disrupt mental magic in his vicinity, in case he found himself fighting a succubus in the open.
“Why would I care about Tharban’s penis?” Nathan asked.
“Not literally. Although you definitely beat him there. Like, shit, I wasn’t kidding when you said you ruined me. I was already cold on him after my first visit to Gharrick Pass but I had every reason to stay the fuck away from him after tasting you.” She grinned at him lewdly. “I mean metaphorically. You’re one of the most powerful men in the world.”
Nathan grimaced.
She was right, unfortunately. That fact caused a lot of consternation at times, because people didn’t see Nathan, the Bastion protecting the Empire.
They saw Nathan, the Bastion conquering the Empire. Gathering too much power and influence, too quickly, harmed his reputation.
“Is he?” Astra asked. “Less Champions than the Spires.”
Nurevia tilted her head. “Well, yeah, but there were three Bastions there and… Oh, you mean per Bastion. But he has you now. And we were all there to slap shit in the Council chamber. Fei even killed one of them—your kitty is scary, Nathan, just saying.”
“Other trigems are around,” Astra said.
Clicking her tongue, the younger dark elf looked at Nathan and pointed at Astra. “What happened to the adorable Astra I was promised? The one who speaks in one or two word sentences, pokes you in the side, and needs you to say ‘Words’ all the time?”
Astra glared at Nurevia. “Fuck you.”
“Language,” Nathan chided.
Astra repeated the words, but this time directed at him.
“It is a good point,” Nathan said, crossing his arms. “I’m guessing you’re more comfortable now. It’s been months. But why do you speak with so few words? You’ve never told me.”
Astra opened her mouth to answer, then closed it and looked at Nurevia.
“Huh, you haven’t?” Nurevia frowned. “You know how old Astra is, Nathan. If you ask her to talk normally, it’s like trying to read those older books. The words look vaguely familiar, but everything is different. Even the sentences can be in the wrong order.”
“Languages change,” Astra said. “Too much effort. Simple is easy.”
Nathan stared at her. “Wait, so the reason you always speak in such clipped sentences is because you can’t be bothered to speak in modern languages properly?”
The glare he received in response was heated. Astra pouted. “Dozens of languages. All changed. Laughter if I’m wrong.”
“Huh. Never thought of that. I guess people would laugh at me if I turned up to a meeting and spoke poorly, or like someone from centuries ago.” Nathan wondered if that would be him in the future, given he no longer aged.
That was a terrifying thought. He needed to ask Astra for lessons on handling being ancient.
A troubling thought struck him as he thought about his other lovers. He didn’t age, but they did.
Nathan suppressed it and moved on.
The days blurred together. The spring session of the Diet came and went.
Nathan didn’t attend. Maylis had agreed to protect Alice while the Emperor remained on the throne, or until Alice made a move herself. That wasn’t a perfect solution, but Nathan would cross that bridge when he needed to.
“The good news is that the Diet accepted the Emperor’s proposal,” Anna told him over the wireless. “The bad news is that everybody is acting as if the election has been declared anyway. Alice is effectively fulfilling the Emperor’s duties. All we’ve done is buy time.”
“We knew that. How are you holding up? I’m sorry for putting more on you, when you didn’t want to become a duchess in the first place,” Nathan said.
“I’d hold up a lot better if you were here, and I could enjoy sex every night,” Anna teased. “But Fyre is with me. She’s good company. One day you’re going to screw her, and I’m going to lose my advantage over her.”
“I don’t think that’s your only advantage over her, Anna.”
“Oh? Tell me all about my advantages, Nathan. I could do with some cheering up,” the duchess purred. “If I can’t have you between my legs, I can at least have you between my ears.”
After the Diet session ended, the business of the Empire trundled on. The only difference was an unending train of nobles, merchants, and general petitioners that wanted to speak with Nathan about the upcoming election that hadn’t been announced yet.
He met some of them, but quickly realized what most wanted to talk to him about. To save himself the time and effort, he directed most of them through Nurevia. That put her to use, and the only price was an hour every day listening to her whine about her work. If she was busy patrolling or protecting the portals, Nathan used Fei’s lieutenant, Kara, or Narime.
“I overheard something interesting from Narime today,” Seraph brought up with him, when he visited her in Fort Taubrum in late spring.
As always, her office was spotless. She had even cut back on the wine lately. The bags under her eyes could no longer be seen, so Nathan assumed she was sleeping better.
He chided himself. He shouldn’t need to assume that. He should know if she was sleeping better.
“Are you sure you won’t move into Gharrick Pass?” he asked her. “It feels awkward that you’re the only one who doesn’t live with me.”
Seraph gave him an odd look. “Do you want me to?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. If you want to stay here, you can. I just don’t like that you’re easily my most reliable Champion, but you’re not with me,” he said, the words tumbling out awkwardly.
A smile rose to her face. “I’ll think about it. But I’d think a lot harder if you really wanted me, Nathan.” She leaned forward, and the cut of her cheongsam gave him a fantastic view of her abundant cleavage.
He didn’t know what to make of her words. Or perhaps he did, but was scared of messing things up. Seraph remained difficult for him to predict. He had years of experience with his other Champions, but Seraph delighted in being unique for Nathan.
&nbs
p; Just like Fyre, he realized. Maybe he needed to let go of his paranoia and simply enjoy things. There was a lot to enjoy about Seraph.
Seraph’s smiled widened and she leaned back. Had she felt that spike of emotion from him?
“So, what did you hear from Narime?” Nathan asked, changing the topic.
“People are visiting you. Or trying to. They all want to know one thing.”
“Whether I’m going to become Emperor. Or marry the woman who will become Empress,” Nathan said flatly. “It’s a popular topic in the duchy.”
“I’m sure Anna’s all aflutter.”
“Don’t remind me,” Nathan muttered.
Polygamy wasn’t illegal in the Empire. Most races on Doumahr took multiple lovers, so the laws reflected that. But the Empire preferred a single wife or husband. Even so, Nathan might need to test that preference in the future, given Anna’s strong desire to wear matching rings with him.
“I understand you’re not dismissing the rumors,” Seraph asked. “In fact, Sunstorm has been spreading them. Why?” She raised her hands. “I’m not judging you. I just don’t understand. This is a big shift for you.”
“For the same reason I had you spread rumors about Fei when we attacked the Federation,” Nathan explained. “It attacks the enemy’s strength at the roots. The Nationalists want to win an election, but any suggestion that Anna might marry me boosts her popularity.”
“Which will cause a civil war, which the Nationalists also want.”
“Which we both want,” Nathan corrected, to Seraph’s surprise. “Our enemies reveal themselves as traitors, we crush them, redistribute their land and wealth, Alice sweeps to the throne, and then we drive off Falmir.”
“Imagine if it went that smoothly.” Seraph’s tone was acid.
“It won’t. I’ll admit that. But if we wait, then more and more will go wrong. Falmir has already tried to kill Anna and Alice. The archdukes are working with foreign powers. The Spires are in turmoil. We can’t keep putting out fires.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “That’s also why the rumors help. They lay the groundwork that Alice or I will take the throne. The Nationalists will lose supporters, because many who want to restore the glory of the Empire will back me instead.”
Seraph stared at him. “Huh. You’re leaning into the war hero title you gained after beating the Federation?”
“Nobody wins a war by wasting their advantage,” he replied.
“Fair. I’ll readjust my approach then, if this is where things are going,” Seraph said. “When do you think we’ll need to handle them?”
“Next spring,” he said. “Unless they make a move in early fall, they’ll need to wait for warmer weather.”
“A fair assumption. They’ll have food to harvest in fall during the war. Winter is too dangerous to fight during, let alone mobilize armies. Spring gives them plenty of time to win a civil war, although wouldn’t that mean Falmir and Trafaumh can make their move?” Seraph raised a questioning eyebrow.
Nathan didn’t have a good answer for her. Her words troubled him, especially as Narime echoed them when he spoke to her later. Despite that, Seraph appeared more than happy to work with his plans and assumptions.
As he left, he remembered Kadria’s words from last year.
Seraph reveled in everything he did. A born minion. Nathan hadn’t hesitated to use her that way. But he needed to thank her for it, somehow. Loyalty deserved a reward.
Summer arrived, and with it came Nathan’s next decision. Civil war lurked around the corner. He couldn’t afford to wait any longer without giving his Champions more gems.
Chapter 32
“I never thought that we would be able to measure demonic energy like this,” Harrum said as he polished his spectacles. “All of our past research suggested that the portals were voids in the world. Unmeasurable due to their status as spatial anomalies.”
Nearly two dozen sorcerers crowded into a small hall in Gharrick Pass. A makeshift magical device sat in the center, with exposed wires, crystals, tubes, and countless other strange parts. Several magical crystals were embedded in its flat steel top, and projected holographic numbers and charts into the air.
The sorcerers whispered to each other in awed voices, many of them pointing at the machine and the holograms. Apparently, they were some of the most important researchers in the Empire. Nathan had spent half the morning shaking hands.
The other half had involved Harrum showing off over a year of his work, and that of Nathan’s insight from his world.
This device was a crude implementation of the analysis consoles from his world. It used the wireless to connect to recording devices placed inside Gharrick Pass, and then processed the readings and the magic it sensed. The holograms it showed were the simplest method available to display the numbers, given how often they changed.
Magical crystals had been used by mages for information storage and projection for millennia, but the downside was that only mages could use them. To an ordinary person, they were a pretty rock. Fortunately, magical devices didn’t care about that problem.
Nathan was uninterested in the specifics, or how momentous this was for the sorcerers involved.
“Is it ready for use elsewhere?” he asked.
Harrum replaced his glasses, aware that the other mages were paying close attention. “Nearly. I don’t have an estimate for a production model, but I doubt you care.”
“You’re right about that.”
“I want to conduct one final test.” Harrum pointed at the chart. “We can measure the portal activity and that of the nearby leylines. But we have never captured an invasion. Gharrick Pass is too stable. That’s a good thing, I understand, but science requires real data. The possessed girl that has helped us, Sen, tells me that there will be an invasion at Castle Tartus shortly. I want to set this up there.”
“Do it,” Nathan said.
Harrum stared at him.
“Did you think I was going to say no?” Nathan chuckled. “I want these in all of my portals as soon as you’re confident they work. Then you can start working out the kinks, and we can start installing them across the Empire.”
“That would require significant funding.” Harrum smiled. “But somehow I feel you will be in a position to arrange it.”
After the mages left, Nathan and Harrum enjoyed some ale together.
“I won’t say anything more, but I suspect you know something about those kinks,” the mage said.
Nathan shrugged. “You can only measure so much about the portal from outside it.”
“Hmm. I’m not so certain about that. Or perhaps you are thinking of something else.” Harrum’s eyes bore into his.
“The portal isn’t a static thing, Harrum. Enemies come through them. I know you’ve read the legends and records, even if you can’t access many of them.”
“Messengers,” Harrum said.
“You said it, not me. But yes.” Nathan decided to change the topic before things became too uncomfortable. “Have you found an onyx gem, yet?”
“I did. But another buyer beat me to it.”
“Again?”
“I am certain that another nation’s Sorcerer Lodge is involved. It makes acquiring rare gemstones harder, such as those from Kurai. Either Falmir or Trafaumh are bidding up gemstones that can be used for Champions. I doubt the faeries would waste time buying gemstones. The Diet placed an export ban on them last fall, but you know how the black market works. Nobles will happily sell out their country for their personal gain,” Harrum spat.
The man sounded personally offended by the situation. Despite his demeanor, he was loyal to his country.
After finishing his drink with Harrum and promising to let Sen help with the research more, Nathan returned to his other work.
“Still no luck?” Sunstorm asked him later that day.
They relaxed outside, while the knights and guards undertook drills. Scores of new recruits poured in almost every day. They kept Fei and the othe
r Champions busy, especially with the sheer competitiveness the knights showed.
Every knight wanted to be a Champion. Despite attempts to quell the rumor that Nathan would bed all his Champions, the motivation for many was clear. Although he suspected that others saw the power and respect of his Champions and wanted in on that.
Plus the pay and benefits. He hadn’t thought much of it, but the new beastkin Champions apparently made good use of the gateway to Tartus. Shopping trips took place that Nathan dutifully ignored. The private activities of his soldiers weren’t his business.
“No, and the news has worsened in general. This feels intentional,” Nathan said to Sunstorm, returning to reality.
“Are you sure you’re not being paranoid? Shouldn’t everyone be preparing for war?”
The assassin whittled away at a piece of wood. It looked like some sort of figure. Not Omria, given the lack of wings.
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t intentional,” he said. “But the worst affected gemstones are those from Kurai. Rarer ones that aren’t manufactured or demanded much locally. I can get my hands on all the garnets, sapphires, amethysts, diamonds, and the like as I want. But onyxes and jades are out.”
“What about opals?” Sunstorm asked. “Not that you need them, but why don’t you use them?”
“Astra has opals because she’s a fossil. In fact, I doubt she chose them. People today treat garnets the same way opals used to be treated. They’re a cheap, mass-produced gemstone with a physical focus that can accept a wide variety of enhancements and gem abilities. Diamonds are replacing garnets now that they can be produced in a large enough size.”
“Huh. So gemstones are better now than they used to be?”
“Everything improves with time. That’s how technology works. The issue is that we sometimes forget the magic and secrets, although Astra turned out to be a fraud.” He chuckled at that.
Ironic that he thought she had some mystical gem ability lost to history, and it turned out that Omria or another power granted it to her.
“But whoever is behind this doesn’t matter,” Nathan said, refocusing the conversation. “I’ll need to find an alternative for you and Seraph.”
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