No, not merely another level. Another dimension.
“You made an offer last time,” Nathan said. He pushed Sen forward, and she fell onto her knees.
Sen stared up at him, her eyes widening in horror. She looked between him and Kadria.
“You… You’re working with a demon?” Sen gasped out.
So she could see Kadria, but not the room?
Also, if Sen remembered this afterward, then he might be in some trouble. He hadn’t thought too deeply about what might happen if somebody found out about Kadria, but the results would be bad. A Bastion working with a Messenger wasn’t merely treason.
It was heresy. A violation of everything a Bastion stood for.
Nathan might know that what he was doing was right, given the future he had come from, but every other Bastion would see him as a threat to the world. He couldn’t blame them. As such, he needed to keep Kadria’s existence a secret.
“Oh? I thought you didn’t want to lose the current Sen?” Kadria smirked.
Nathan glared at her. “Enough of your games. I’m here. You said you would bring her back.”
“Allow me to clarify. I said I would help you by bringing back her emotions, her trust in you, her love, etcetera, etcetera. But I made no guarantees as to the behavior, inherent quality, or—” Kadria began to reel off some sort of bizarre script.
“I remember what you said. No memories, but everything else that makes Sen, Sen. You can cut the crap,” Nathan interrupted. He wasn’t in the mood for her bullshit.
Kadria blinked at him, then pouted. “You’re taking the fun out of this.”
“I can leave if you’d prefer.”
“Fine, fine,” Kadria said. “But I do demand payment for this. The gooey kind. I’ve been thirsty since the last time, and you haven’t visited.”
Did she ever stop being horny, Nathan wondered.
“That’s not a problem. So long as you’re not lying,” Nathan said.
“Have I ever lied?” Kadria paused. “Not that you’d know.”
“I’m sorry?” Nathan asked.
“Hahaha, just a joke.” Kadria grinned.
The Messenger crawled off the bed and toppled onto the floor. Sen’s attempt to escape proved useless, and Kadria pulled the other woman into her lap. The two sat on the edge of the bed and faced Nathan. Sen mumbled under her breath while Kadria ran a finger along Sen’s tanned jawline and up to her temple.
“This will only be a moment,” Kadria said.
Sen fell silent. Her eyes lost their fire and her jaw slackened. Even her muscles loosened.
Nathan felt a pit in the bottom of his stomach as he watched. Had he made a horrible mistake? What was he even doing, trusting a demonic Messenger?
A few seconds later, Kadria took her hand away. Sen moved again, life returning to her body. She blinked once. Twice. The emptiness faded from her eyes, replaced by something very familiar to Nathan.
Nathan’s gaze met Sen’s. He knew in a moment.
She was back. His Sen.
She still had green eyes, rather than red eyes. And her hair was still brown, rather than white.
But the look in Sen’s eyes, the way she stared back at Nathan, and the emotions she expressed on her face told Nathan everything he needed to know.
“Hi, Sen,” Nathan said.
“Nathan,” Sen whispered. “Nathan!”
Sen hurled herself across the room at Nathan. He caught her and spun around from the force of her leap. Her giggles echoed around the room, quickly turning to sobs. She buried her face into the crook of his neck.
“It’s you,” Sen mumbled between sobs. “I don’t know what happened, but I felt that I would never see you again. It feels like it’s been so long. Like I’ve been in darkness for years, waiting for you. But you’re here. You’re real. I can feel you. Smell you. See you. Touch you.”
Something slammed into Nathan’s stomach, but he held on tight to Sen. His eyes stared into the black void around him. Her feelings about returning washed over him, but her words hit hard.
“You remember me?” he asked.
Sen froze. She pulled back and made a face. “I… Huh.” She looked at him oddly. “I know who you are. I know that I can trust you. That you comfort me when I’m down, when I’m scared, and whenever I just want to feel you near me.” A blush rose to her cheeks. She darted in for a kiss, then pulled her lips away quickly.
But she didn’t remember him, or anything from their timeline. Her eyes locked onto his and she smiled. She pursed her lips and leaned in close. Nathan felt conflicted.
A hand wandered over his crotch. Sen’s eyes seemed to sparkle. Nathan swallowed, leaned in, and kissed her.
She felt like Sen. Tasted like Sen. Kissed like Sen.
When he pulled away, Nathan’s doubts had vanished. He felt uncertain because of her lack of memories, but she felt the same way about him that Sen always had. She cuddled against him. Her hair tickled his chin, and his stubble rubbed against her scalp. Her hand crept into his pants, and she giggled against his throat as he hardened in her grip.
“Always so big,” she murmured.
Nathan saw Kadria sitting on the bed. The Messenger sat cross-legged, staring at him and Sen with an expressionless face. She stuck her tongue out a few seconds after Nathan locked eyes with her.
Suddenly, Sen flew across the room. She squealed. Her landing was soft, broken by the bed. But she panicked anyway, kicking her arms and legs out because she couldn’t see the bed that she had landed on. After a few moments, an invisible force snapped into place, holding her limbs in place, and preventing her from flailing about.
“Nathan, what’s going on?” she asked.
“You’re fine,” Kadria said. “Now just lay here for a bit while I collect my prize. You can fill yourself up later.”
Sen looked at Kadria, who sat next to her. Then she looked at Nathan, before continuing to squirm. Sen appeared to be able to see and hear Kadria, but she hadn’t panicked like earlier. Although she didn’t like being held down by whatever magic Kadria was using.
“Come here,” Kadria said. She curled a finger inward while pointing at Nathan.
Nathan’s vision blurred, and he found himself standing over Kadria again. Deja vu, he felt. Hot breath blew over his exposed cock, and he stared down at the excited Messenger. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she stared excitedly at his length.
“Mmm, before I forget,” Kadria muttered.
She held a finger out, which glowed white. Power thrummed in it. Nathan could feel a tiny thread of energy pour into Kadria through him and stared in confusion.
Had Kadria drawn on energy from his binding stone? Through him? How had she done that?
“Pay attention,” Kadria said, slowly lowering her glowing finger. “You said last time this was impossible. You’re a smart cookie, so maybe you’ll pick up a thing or two from a demonstration. Even if you don’t, I know the way I like my men.” She grinned. “Insatiable.”
Nathan didn’t know what she meant by that.
Her finger made contact with his tip and the power poured into him. He gasped as he felt his entire crotch throb in response. Something built up within his length and tried to push its way out. After a moment, Nathan felt like that something had succeeded.
Gasping for air, Nathan looked down. Nothing seemed different at a glance.
“Hopefully that worked,” Kadria said, holding her hands either side of his length.
“What did you do?” he asked. His voice was raspy. His cock throbbed like it had never throbbed before.
Before Kadria could answer, Sen let out a squeal. She glared at the two of them.
“Oh, hush,” Kadria said. She waved her hand and suddenly Sen appeared underneath Kadria. “Make yourself useful.”
Without hesitating, Kadria reached down and pulled her panties open. She then lowered herself onto Sen’s face. A strange expression crossed Kadria’s face after a few moments, before she sighed in pleasure.<
br />
“I’m glad I brought over this part of her,” Kadria mumbled. “She really knows what she’s doing. Even if bringing over the lovey-dovey part is playing with fire.”
Kadria’s face was brilliantly red, and her breath hot enough to boil water as it blew over Nathan’s shaft. Somehow, he had an idea of what she meant by “playing with fire.” By playing with Sen’s memories and emotions, Kadria had affected herself.
Or perhaps she was hornier than he thought. No matter.
Nathan gripped her horns. Kadria gasped and obediently opened her mouth wide. Her eyes widened and locked with his, her red pupils noticeably dilated. She was spread flat over Sen, giving him a straight line down her throat. Wet noises filled the room as Sen licked Kadria. Kadria’s hands wandered beneath Sen’s skirt and pulled her white cloth panties down.
Clear liquid bubbled up and dribbled down Nathan’s length. Kadria lapped up every drop even as her fingers explored and exposed Sen. The Messenger began to moan and beg.
“Please,” Kadria mumbled. “You promised.”
Nathan placed a hand on his shaft, lowered it, and slid it down Kadria’s waiting throat. Her eyes curved as her lips pressed against his groin. Using her horns, he used her the way she expected to be used. Her body shuddered as she climaxed from the attention. Sen hadn’t let up.
Heat surged within Nathan and he finished. Kadria moaned around the mess in her throat, eyes closed.
Nathan noticed a funny feeling in his crotch. He looked down and noticed he wasn’t softening. At all. Kadria began to move, entirely focused on his length.
“What did you do?” he asked again.
Kadria giggled around him. He pulled her off.
“You complained you couldn’t get yourself ready fast enough,” she said. “I made sure that wouldn’t be a problem ever again.”
Oh no.
To punish her for messing with his body, he went for as long as he felt possible. Sen tried to tag in, but Nathan focused on punishing one particular Messenger.
Eventually, he gave up. Kadria was insatiable. Nathan felt the same way. He didn’t feel exhaustion even after an hour of doing this. Physically, at least. His mind was spent but his body felt fresh.
“Hey, stop that,” Kadria protested.
Sen lapped at Kadria’s cheeks and lips, sucking up stray bits of white that Kadria had missed. The Messenger pushed Sen away, before using her magic to keep herself protected.
“Mine,” Kadria said, collecting everything from her bronzed skin with her fingers.
“Uh-huh.” Sen rolled her eyes. “Next time save a turn for me, Nathan. Maybe tonight?”
Nathan met Sen’s eyes and nodded. For a moment he felt wrong for agreeing, but the look in her eyes made it clear that Sen wanted this. He’d been with her for years in his timeline and he had her back.
This timeline nonsense drove him crazy. But at least he could get his women back.
He snuck Sen out and back to his room without anybody noticing. If this was to become a habit, he needed to add a bathroom to his office. Or maybe rearrange the keep so that his office and bedroom were closer together.
Once cleaned up and sufficiently filled, Sen stretched and gave Nathan a hug. “I missed you.”
Nathan’s breath caught in his throat. “I missed you, too.” He paused. “Um, about Kadria?”
“Who?” Sen stared at him in confusion.
“The woman from earlier.”
She continued to stare.
“Bronzed skin…” No recognition at all.
Had Kadria used some sort of magic to prevent Sen from remembering her? Or was something more insidious at work.
A knock at the door drew Nathan from his thoughts. Sen opened the door before Nathan could stop her.
Fei stared at Sen, then at Nathan. The beastkin wore her nightgown and underwear and was holding her comb and brush. Her tail and ears stood on end, and she bore her fangs.
“Fei, wait, wait!” Nathan shouted. Fei froze, fangs still bared, as Sen stared at Fei in confusion.
Did Sen remember Fei? She seemed to hold her head as if she was trying to, but the look of confusion on her face suggested something was wrong.
“Shouldn’t she be bound up?” Fei hissed.
“We’ve come to an agreement,” Nathan said. “She’s going to fight for us as a Champion.”
Fei blinked. Several moments passed, and an undecipherable expression crossed her face. Eventually, her tail and ears returned to normal, and she held out a hand.
“Jafeila,” she said. “Call me Fei.”
Sen licked her lips and hesitantly took the hand. Then winced as Fei nearly shattered every bone in it. “Um. Sen. I feel like we’ve met before.”
Another strange expression crossed Fei’s face, and she stared at Nathan for several seconds. Then Fei turned back to Sen with a big smile.
“Silly, we have.”
Wait, what?
“We just fought,” Fei chirped. “I knocked you out. You fought really well.”
Sen blinked. Her head tilted to one side. Giggles crept out of her mouth, and soon both she and Fei were uncontrollably laughing.
Nathan scratched his stubble. He felt lost. All’s well that ends well, he supposed.
“Nathan, brush my tail,” Fei said, bounding up to him.
Sen appeared next to Fei. “Oh, I can do that for you, Fei. Why don’t we let Nathan rest?”
Fei smiled back. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll get plenty of rest while he brushes out my tail. It’s not like he needs to move while I lay on his lap.”
The two women smiled at each other for several seconds before turning to Nathan.
Ah, now this was a nostalgic feeling for him.
Chapter 16
On the other side of the Gharrick Mountains, a mild rain shower passed over a fortress in the Amica Federation. It was known as Fort Taubrum. Pools of water built up on the arid land outside the walls. A moat around the wall captured some of the runoff, and drainage ditches pulled much of it farther away from the fort.
Soldiers in tan and gray uniforms took shelter. A patrol outside the fort paused, and its lead officer held a hand out to the rain. He shrugged and ordered his men to continue as normal.
Within the walls of the keep, protected from the weather in a palatial office, a woman worked through a small stack of paperwork. A young boy stood at attention at the door. He watched every movement she made, but kept himself perfectly still.
The reason was obvious to even a casual observer.
A pair of jade gemstones glittered from the woman’s collarbone. She wore a figure-hugging black dress with a pattern woven it into that evoked the Watcher Omria, and slits were cut into the thighs. In her homeland, this style of dress was relatively commonplace.
The woman was known as Seraph. Nobody knew her true name. Perhaps not even her Bastion knew. That was commonplace for the people from the Kurai Peninsula. They took on a false name when they came of age and only gave their true name to those they trusted.
Seraph finished some of her paperwork and added it to a nearby pile of finished papers. After brushing back her long black hair, she took a sip of wine. The only noises in the office were those she made and the gentle beating of rain on the glass windows behind her.
Her wine glass was empty, so Seraph poured another. She clicked her tongue as only a fingertip of red nectar poured into her glass. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
One of her gems flashed and the wine bottle disintegrated into a pile of glittering dust. Seraph didn’t utter a word. Instead, she retrieved the next item of paperwork. The office filled with the scrawling of her pen.
The boy stepped forward and placed another bottle of wine on the table. It was the same year and vintage, and he had uncorked it in advance. Seraph gave him a dismissive glance, and he scurried away to retrieve a dustpan and brush to sweep up the remains of the earlier wine bottle.
A shadow appeared in the corner of the room within seconds of
the door slamming. It grew into the shape of a young woman, and Sunstorm emerged from the darkness.
Seraph paused. She placed her pen down and turned to Sunstorm, wine glass in hand.
“I didn’t expect to see you for another week,” Seraph said. She crossed her legs and gave Sunstorm her full attention. “I’m assuming this isn’t good news. You’re not prancing about the office, for one thing.”
“I don’t prance.”
Sunstorm strode into the center of the room. A set of plush chairs and sofas surrounded a stained glass coffee table, on top of which sat a set of statues of the Watcher Omria. Ignoring the table, Sunstorm dragged a chair over to the same side of the desk that Seraph sat on.
“You do realize there are chairs there,” Seraph said, inclining her head at the pair of simple chairs on the far side of the massive oak desk.
Sunstorm ignored her. She plopped herself down on the plush couch she had dragged over and glared at Seraph. Seraph sipped at her wine and waited.
“We’ve lost our best bandits,” Sunstorm said after several long seconds.
“The ones under the young spellblade?” Seraph asked.
“Sen, yes.” Sunstorm scowled. “They were too busy licking their wounds after the new Bastion scared them at Trantia. And they paid the price.”
“You wouldn’t be so frustrated if that was it,” Seraph said.
Sunstorm’s eyes lingered on the wine. With a sigh, Seraph snapped her fingers at a cabinet in the corner. Its doors opened, and a wine glass flew across the room. Sunstorm deftly caught it, then held out her glass for a drink.
“Did we lose our other contact?” Seraph pressed. If they had, she would have a tough conversation coming.
“No. I confirmed that there are no issues on that front, despite your concerns.” Sunstorm guzzled down half of her wine in one go, much to Seraph’s dismay. “The Bastion showed up while I was convincing Sen to continue with our deal. The storm came in, and a moment later, he was there.” Her scowl deepened. “His Champion didn’t even have a gem. How reckless could he be?”
“Not reckless enough to lose his head,” Seraph noted. “Or else you would have strode in here with the heads of both him and his Champion. You lost, I take it?”
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