by Eric Vall
In the evening before he took the ciphers, Phi wore him down the rest of the way.
“This time, when she tried to seize my mind, I let her do it without a struggle,” Gawain admitted with a guilty shake of his head. “Part of me was still convinced she was just in my imagination. What’s the harm in letting a hallucination have its way? So, I let her in. As soon as I did, I realized I’d made a terrible mistake.”
I winced as I imagined what must have gone through his head. I couldn’t imagine the fear and panic if I suddenly found myself being controlled by a monster I thought wasn’t real.
Sera was a powerful, dangerous seductress, but she was patient enough to explain everything as she waited for me to give in to her demands. I was incredibly grateful that Sera’s presence in my head was always clear, and I’d never had to weather it alone. I was in a far better position than Gawain ever was.
Maybe I had more of a chance against my own Archon than I’d previously thought.
“You let her in?” I asked Gawain as questions raced through my head. “She didn’t simply overpower you?”
“I think it was a little of both,” Gawain answered as he hunched further in his chair. “I don’t think she could’ve taken over if I didn’t let her, but it would’ve been close. If she’d had a few more weeks, maybe Phi could’ve done it all on her own.”
“So, Gryff still has to worry,” Nia murmured with concern as her thoughts echoed mine.
“Gryff is strong,” Gawain said reluctantly as he cast a discerning eye over me. “I hate to say it, but he’s such a stubborn ass, I doubt Sera will ever take him.”
“Thanks,” I said with an amused huff of laughter, but I was honestly touched by his confidence in me. “I’ll keep that compliment in mind.”
“Don’t think we’re not going to keep an eye on you anyway,” Varleth added as he cocked an eyebrow in my direction. “I’m going to consider Sera as a serious threat, even if you won’t. She is still one of these Archons, and has the power of a goddess.”
“One of us should be with him at all times,” Layla added with a serious glance toward me. “Day and night, both.”
“At least one of us,” Nia corrected with a slight nod.
“Better get used to it, Gryff,” Cyra added with a severe look at me. “You’re going to be watched carefully over the coming months.”
“Now that we’re on the topic of the coming months,” Arwyn brought up with an unimpressed raise of her eyebrows, “I think we need to discuss what you’re all going to do for school.”
It was easy to forget about classes while we did so much work to save all of Mistral, but Arwyn had a good point. Without the rest of our schooling, we would have incomplete knowledge and practice, and that could put us in danger. There was a good reason mages had to go through so much training, and much of it was to prepare them for battles.
“They’ve missed so much of this semester already,” General Kenefick said as he gestured with one hand toward the group of us. “We can’t possibly ask them to join classes now. Nia hasn’t missed as much as the rest of them, but even she is far too behind to start now.”
“Calm down, Kenefick,” Headmaster Sleet said kindly as he rested a gnarled hand on his stalf. “I won’t make them join classes at this point. I propose private tutoring is the best way for them to catch up. Arwyn?”
“You read my mind,” the red-haired professor agreed with a smile. “I’m happy to tutor the entire group at an accelerated pace. I know they can handle it, and perhaps if they learn quickly, they can return to classes for the second semester of this year. If not, the first semester of next year will be a good time for them to begin again.”
“It will be difficult,” Sleet informed her. “Varleth and Orenn need fifth year curriculum, while the rest of them will need second year teaching.”
“It won’t be a problem,” Arwyn said with a confident smile.
“Then, I believe our meeting is concluded,” Headmaster Sleet said with a large smile that crinkled the lines around his eyes. “Thank you all for your hard work. Your success is something you should be proud of.”
“Thank you for giving us the chance to help,” I said gratefully as I got up to leave.
My team echoed my thankful sentiments to the Headmaster as we filed out the door. Gawain gave his father a quick hug before he followed us out, and it felt good to see them getting along so well.
“Happy to be back?” I asked Gawain as he hurried to catch up with us as Meridan followed in quick succession.
“I don’t know what’s worse,” Gawain griped with an expression of disgust, “the taste of Meridan’s medicine, or seeing your stupid face.”
“You sound happy,” I decided with a grin. “It’s good to have you back, man.”
“Sure, Gryff,” Gawain responded with a snort of laughter and a wry smile. “Good to be back. I almost missed you.”
“Oh, no, that would have been a disaster,” I said with mock severity. “Are you sure you can handle breakfast without me? Should I come with you to the clinic?”
“Somehow, I’ll manage,” Gawain snarked back as he limped away with all the bristling dignity he could muster.
I waved goodbye to his back before Meridan ushered him away.
Gawain was free of his Archon, but Phi only abandoned him once he was near death. What would it take to get Sera to leave me?
Don’t get any clever ideas, Sera purred as her mind twined with mine. I’m keeping you for as long as possible.
Why me, I wondered.
Of course, Sera decided not to respond to that. The dark angel Archon always ignored me right when I wanted answers the most. I knew Sera had some kind of criteria for the body she had chosen, but she’d never told me why I was picked.
My worries couldn’t last long. Our mission was a huge success, and my team participated in our own personal day-long celebration. I caught up on my sleep that morning, and in the afternoon we all met to plan our victory festivities.
We all went out for drinks and dessert, though Arwyn and Ashla were stuck in research, Orenn and Gawain went back to the clinic, and Braden had a date with a lady friend later. Braden emphasized the friend part, but I made sure to give him plenty of winks and gentle ribbing. Braden blushed as he denied everything, but he eventually admitted he probably wouldn’t be back in our room tonight.
The rest of us went to the Retching Goblin for drinks, though it ended in the form of a tipsy trip around Varle Enclave as we visited everybody’s favorite food stands for an extended round of dessert.
Caramel apples, honey cakes, plum pudding, and berry cobbler were the highlights of our journey around the city, as well as hand pies filled with caramelized onions, ground mutton, and creamy cheese. The last one was due to Varleth, who didn’t have much of a sweet tooth. The thin gypsy was a picky eater, which surprised nobody, since we’d all watched him get food at the Academy cafeteria.
We were all stuffed full and sober by the time we got back to the Academy doors, and Layla clutched tightly to a paper bag of extra desserts that we had decided to put together for Gawain.
“Want me to take that down to him?” I asked as I pointed at the bag.
“Nah,” Layla replied with a joking smile. “He’s actually a good guy. I don’t mind getting the opportunity to go down and tease him about it. At this point, I might as well say we’re friends.”
I gawked as I stared at the petite summoner, but I let her go without argument. The idea of the mischievous prankster getting along so well with Gawain’s pessimistic outlook was surprising, but maybe they were just opposite enough to become good friends.
Layla turned and left with a skip in her step as she whistled a drinking tune to herself.
“Weird, huh?” Cyra commented as she watched Layla vanish. “Don’t worry about it going anywhere, since he’s not her type, and all she ever does when you aren’t around is talk about you.”
The tawny-skinned summoner gave me a sly, pointed look, a
nd I grinned in response. Layla and I were more than a little attached, so I wasn’t worried in the slightest.
“It’s nice to see Gawain make friends,” I replied before an enormous yawn interrupted my sentence. “Well, I’m definitely tired enough to sleep tonight.”
“Good,” Cyra said with a subtle smile. “However, we’ve decided it’s my turn to stay with you tonight.”
Nia and Erin waved goodbye as they walked back into the Academy without us. Varleth took a calculating look at Cyra and me and beat a hasty retreat as well.
“Your turn to stay with me?” I wondered out loud. “That should be nice and relaxing.”
“I’d be up for doing more than relaxing,” Cyra hummed close to my ear as she pressed her shoulder to mine. “That is, if you’re okay with it.”
“Of course I am,” I responded as my eyes widened.
Heat pooled in my groin as my imagination took over. The implication was obvious, and I gave the tawny-skinned summoner a lopsided smile as I traced one hand down her back.
We kissed lightly, and her full lips tasted like warm, sweet caramel against mine.
“Let me get some things from my room, first,” Cyra whispered as her eyes trailed down my body. “I’ll need clean clothes for tomorrow, at least.”
“Of course,” I responded with a pleased smile and a wink. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
When I got back to my room, I left the door unlocked, and I kept the lighting dim and warm with just a few candles.
I undressed slowly before I relaxed in the comfort of my bed. My worries faded into the distance, and I smiled as I considered all the successes we’d had recently.
My door opened with a quiet clicking noise, and Cyra stood in the doorway with a sultry smile on her face.
“Ready?” I asked her.
“More than you can know,” Cyra responded, and her breathy voice ignited a slow, smoldering desire within me.
Chapter 3
Cyra entered into the dim room, and her expression grew pleased as she took in the candles and my position in bed. Kalon was gone, though Cyra now carried a pile of folded clothes in one hand. She wore nothing but a sheer, loose white dress with a fabric sash tied around her waist.
Cyra set her pile of clothes down on the dresser before she untied the sash of her dress and dropped her dress around her legs. It pooled around her feet, and her lips parted slightly as she watched me sit up.
I patted the spot next to me, and Cyra slipped under the covers without pause even as she pressed forward to kiss me deeply and thoroughly. Our mouths fit together effortlessly as we played with soft bites and gentle, teasing kisses.
She moaned breathily as we pulled apart, and I ran my hands down her chest to palm her generous breasts.
“You seem tense,” I suggested to her with a wink. “How about a massage?”
“I could never say no to that,” Cyra breathed out as her eyelids fluttered with pleasure.
I flipped her over effortlessly, and she stretched her arms above her head as she lay face-down on the bed. Her skin was smooth and chocolate-colored in the dark, and her thin waist curved out into a beautiful, perfectly round ass that practically begged to be touched.
My hands kneaded firm circles down Cyra’s back, but I wouldn’t let her wait too long. My hands formed around her hips and trailed down to her ass as I squeezed her soft flesh. She wiggled her pelvis responsively as I kneaded my hands over her, and she let out a pleased hum as I enjoyed the feel of her beneath me.
She sounded good, but I wasn’t done yet. I ran my hands down her legs before I curled my fingers toward the inside of her thighs, and Cyra’s entire body jumped as she gasped out with pleasure at the feeling.
“Good?” I asked teasingly as she squirmed around the slow drag of my fingers up and down her inner thighs.
“Hurry up, you bastard,” Cyra moaned out as she tilted her hips needily toward my roving hand.
“If you say so,” I replied with a pleased smile.
The next time I slid my hands up the curves of her legs, I kept going, and I pushed two fingers of my left hand into her wet, receptive warmth.
“Yes, just like that,” Cyra hissed out in pleasure as I slipped my fingers deep into her.
I moved my hand back and forth as she panted and squirmed. When her excitement began to die down, I added a third finger, and her noises of pleasure picked right up again.
“You don’t really look like you’re keeping an eye on me,” I teased as my hand picked up speed.
“This is just as important,” Cyra managed to get out between her desperate sounds of enjoyment. “You’ll never think twice about Sera when we’re like this.”
She was right, I had to admit. I chuckled to myself as I rocked my hand against her clit, and Cyra clutched at me as her body shook with pleasure. She was close, and I sped up my hand inside her while she glanced over her shoulder at me with sultry, half-lidded eyes.
I crooked my fingers to hit her in just the right spot, and her body reacted automatically as her hands clutched at the sheets beneath her. Cyra’s spine arched as bliss overtook her, and her lips parted in a wordless cry of pleasure.
She threw her head back in pleasure as her climax arrived, and I worked my fingers deeper into her as she came with a shout of my name. I felt her muscles shudder around me, but I kept pressing at the internal spot throughout her climax up until she stopped moving completely.
Cyra panted with a spent, pleased look on her face, and she quirked a smile as our eyes met.
“Somehow, you’re still getting better at this,” Cyra sighed happily. “I thought there was no way to improve.”
Before I could respond, she sat up and leaned forward as her mouth came inches from my cock. She looked up at me as her lips parted, and then she leaned forward to lick me from bottom to top. My cock twitched in anticipation as she pressed her lips softly to the head of it.
Suddenly, Cyra opened her mouth and pressed forward to take me in one deep motion.
I sighed in bliss as her mouth enveloped me, and she bobbed her head to create a delicious friction across my length. Her tongue swirled against the bottom of my cock, and then her cheeks hollowed as she pulled back as if she could suck every last drop from me.
Cyra’s dark brown eyes flickered up to my face as she plunged my length deep into her throat over and over again. Her mouth was wet and ready, and she slid quickly and easily along my length. Then she lifted her hands to the small of my back and pushed slightly so my hips rocked in time with the movement of her mouth.
I took the hint and moved compliantly so my thrusts met the bobbing of her head with perfect timing. With each motion, she seemed to go deeper, and she moaned with enjoyment as my cock neared the back of her throat. The vibrations from the sound she made sent pleasure tingling through my cock and up my spine.
Her chocolate eyes flicked up to me again, and I could hardly stand to meet that lustful, beautiful gaze. My cock throbbed in response to it, and I pulled away from Cyra with a wet pop of sound. Her lips were red, and her hair was messy, but she looked more than pleased with me.
She smiled as I pressed her back down toward the bed. I pulled her toward me with a firm grip around her waist and lined our hips up. Then I tilted her onto her side before I lifted one of her legs up and entered her.
Immediately, the tawny-skinned summoner moaned and shuddered around me even before I began to thrust inside her. When I picked up a slow rhythm, her back arched off the bed with the force of the pleasure. I thrust with deep and careful strokes, and then I picked up the speed with a gradual, even pace.
Just when I’d established the steady rhythm, I mixed it up with a few rapidfire thrusts and an unbearably slow push as I reached deep inside her. Cyra’s mouth opened soundlessly as she squirmed around me, and I picked up to the fast rhythm again. As I did, I reached down to finger her clit, and that was all it took for her to climax again.
Cyra shouted out with wordless ecstasy as she c
lenched and trembled around me, and I pounded into her as she came. Within seconds, I felt pleasure build inside me as my own climax neared. Just as Cyra began to slow down, I came deep inside her as I shuddered through my final thrusts.
Both of us panted for a minute as the pleasure sapped us of our strength. Finally, we fell apart as we rolled away from each other to our own sides of the bed. Cyra sighed happily and shifted toward me to trace an abstract pattern on my chest.
“I bet you needed that,” she murmured with a slow, content yawn.
“I think I did,” I responded as I brushed one hand through the curls of her dark hair.
“Feel like things are going to be okay now?” she asked with a lazy smile.
No matter what happened, I had people to love and people who loved me. Even if I needed to leave in the morning for another mission, I could rest easy at night with the comfort of all those who supported me.
Everything was going to be okay.
“I do,” I said, and in that moment, I truly believed it.
Cyra and I woke up late the next morning, and I spent the first half of the day relaxing after our intense mission. I chatted with friends and grabbed a bite to eat, though I didn’t stay long. The cafeteria had delicious, miniature apple pies for dessert, so I grabbed a couple extra ones after my meal and made off with my prizes.
I wrapped the apple pies in a cloth napkin and went to check on Gawain and Orenn, since the two of them were still in the clinic. It only took me a few minutes of waiting in the lobby before Meridan showed up.
“Of course, I can let you in, Gryff,” she cooed at me as her hands fluttered at her sides. “Oh, they’ll be so happy to see you!”
I followed her back through the door and into the patient recovery room. The space was set up so the gap between each bed was hung with a sheet of fabric for the privacy of the patients.
