CH 190: A Discussion for Later

Ursa was wary of the knight beside her. She knew that the woman was an ally, yet she couldn’t help but feel a bit of hostility. Or maybe it was rivalry? She didn’t know. All she really knew was that Hannah’s eyes weren’t looking at her with just lust.

Whatever it was, it spurred Ursa’s warrior instincts on. She could feel the burning need to fight threatening to take over, but she had to stay civil. Riefleheimians do not take kindly to fighting in public. She glanced around at the boys scattered all over the tavern, either eating or playing while the owner watched them.

Ursa’s eyes lingered on the twins’ mother, something the knight noticed.

“Got a thing for older women?” Hannah asked with a sly smile.

“No,” Ursa said in a monotone voice.

“I don’t know,” Hannah replied as she rubbed her chin. She glanced at the tavern owner. “I’d bet money you looked at Claire’s mom like that.”

Ursa’s eyes widened. “How could you possib-”

“Really?” Hannah cut her off. She laughed hysterically before continuing. “That was just a guess.”

“Fuck off,” Ursa grumbled. She pushed away from the knight and headed for the kitchen.

“Aww,” Hannah said. She watched the northerner walk toward the kitchen. She did have mixed feelings about the woman. She felt a need to fight the woman for dominance, either as a warrior or a lover, she did not care. Her competitive spirit was ignited the moment she saw the northerner.

Hannah exhaled. She needed to calm herself. There would be time to spar with the woman later, right now, she had to focus on her master. While she couldn’t truly follow the conversation they were having, even she knew the groundbreaking information that was being discussed.

The Tyrant. The man who doomed all other men. The man who rivalled the Gods. He was really nothing more than a twig. No more threatening than Lily, who delivered the information. At least when it came to physicality.

There had to be something to the man’s strength.

Hannah shook her head. She could think about it later. She wanted to get to know Ursa more right now. She hurried into the kitchen to join the Ravian.

Back upstairs, the five were left in silent speculation. What Elsie said could be true, but there was no real way to verify it. Maybe if they returned to Fyre, they could find something, or it could just be a waste of time.

Did they even need to figure that part out? Was it necessary to unlock the spell guarding the two goblins? Another thing they’d just have to shelve for now.

Claire let out a groan. She was thankful the discussion was taking a break. She leaned back and lay on the bed, feeling the faint warmth Hannah left behind. She truly wished she could have lazed about this entire morning with the three of them. However, Lily did bring them some groundbreaking information.

Learning the truth about the Tyrant was crucial for her mission. If she could spread the real story, then maybe they could break the cycle of oppression. It wouldn’t erase the part about him slaying Gods, but it would change the public’s perception. He wasn’t always a warmonger.

Claire sighed. “Honestly. If we spread the information that He was nearly a Saint… that might be enough to change people’s minds.”

“I doubt it will be that easy,” Elsie mused. She eyed Claire as she lay on her back and was tempted to lie beside her. “We’ll need more information about Him before the war. For that, we’d need those two.”

“A-and to unlock their knowledge,” Ana chimed in. She, too, was eyeing Claire. “It all comes d-down to the final God.”

“Right,” Lily rubbed her chin. She had no idea how to find the information they needed outside the Royal Library. It’s nearly impossible for them to enter that legally, so they’d have to hope the knowledge was stolen, just like with Fyre’s collection. “Which is the hardest part. We need to find a God’s name lost to time.”

“How hard is that?” Toni asked. He glanced back at Claire with a shy smile. He was the third person to be tempted to lie beside her.

“Nearly impossible,” Elsie sighed. “Without someone already knowing the name, or some text preserving it, the name would show up like Claire’s Goddess’s name. A jumble of symbols and cryptic letters.”

“Could Samira have the answer?” Claire asked. She decided against sitting up. “She has to be connected to Firewater and Silkie somehow.”

“Could be,” Lily rubbed her chin. She moved closer to Claire and lay beside her. She was still quite sore from her morning with Hannah. “I hope so. Otherwise, we have no real leads.”

Lily joining Claire led to the rest of them piling in on her. Toni took her right side while the twins lay on top of Claire. Claire could hardly breathe properly until all four of them adjusted around her.

Claire took a deep breath, smelling the aroma of her lovers.

“This is so much easier,” Claire mumbled. Though she couldn’t move or hardly breathe, the warmth of her lovers was enough to calm her racing mind. “Why can’t every day be like this?”

“If only,” Elsie agreed.

“Conflict makes moments like these better,” Jasmine said. Her voice and presence went unnoticed as the five of them were far too comfortable. Here she was ready to discuss their next steps, only to find them lazing about.

“Agreed,” Toni added. He nuzzled closer to Claire and smelled her aroma. It was truly intoxicating. “If only I weren’t still sore or tired…”

“Don’t start that,” Elsie muttered. She felt the aching need for intimacy threatening to take over, but she couldn’t. She and Ana had a long night of their own after the ritual.

“Still need to dance for you gals,” Toni squirmed. He had so many dresses to show off while dancing. He couldn’t wait to try stripping, too. He’d heard rumors about the style of dancing suggestively, but never thought about it. Not until joining Claire.

Claire giggled. She could feel Toni growing against her. “Be careful, Toni.”

“Sorry,” Toni mumbled. He held back the urge to rub against Claire. “Um, dancing sounds like too much fun with your gift…”

“I can already imagine,” Claire cooed. The twins on top of her squirmed after feeling Claire’s growing arousal. But before they could escalate anything, the door opened.

“I said I was sorry,” Hannah said when she entered the room.

“And I said it was fine,” Ursa muttered. She walked in and set the food and coffee Claire requested on the table.

“Obviously it’s not,” Hannah said while trying to hold back her smile. She might have pressed too far. “You are radiating annoyance.”

“Mhmm,” Ursa exhaled. “Somehow, I met someone more annoying than Elsie.”

“Hey!” Elsie exclaimed.

“At least she used your name,” Ana whispered.

“Hello, Jasmine,” Ursa greeted the assassin after rolling her eyes.

Claire nearly sat up and threw the twins off of her. She looked around until she spotted her. “How long have you been here?”

“Mmm, five minutes,” Jasmine said with a small smile. “Good morning, Ursa. And good morning, Miss Hannah.”

“Just Hannah is fine,” Hannah waved her hand. “I don’t need honorifics with companions. And lovers.”

“Noted,” Jasmine nodded. “And give Ursa some space. She’s not very good with people.” “Not good with annoying people,” Ursa growled.

“Hannah,” Toni scolded his knight. “What did you do?”

“I overstepped,” Hannah bit back a smile. It was intended as a joke, but the woman did not take it as one. “She seems to very much like her companions mo-”

Ursa lept towards the knight on instinct. Even she didn’t know if it was to shut her up or to attack her. Jasmine stepped in the way and redirected the northerner’s trajectory.

“Down girl,” Jasmine said in a cold tone that instantly sobered Ursa’s mind.

“Hannah!” Toni scolded his knight once more. He left the warm embrace of Claire to talk to her. “Seriously, what has gotten into you. I’ve never seen you act this way.”

The knight took a deep breath and refocused herself. She knelt on her knee, knowing she truly messed up. “I apologize, my master.”

She dipped her head. She hadn’t even realized what she’d been doing. She was goading the northerner into a fight. Her competitive spirit took over and Hannah needed to know who the better fighter was.

“And to you, Miss Ursa,” Hannah continued in a formal tone. “I repeatedly stepped over the line. I apologize.”

Claire exhaled and relaxed her shoulders. She was thankful Jasmine was able to step in and control Ursa. “Ursa, are you okay?”

The woman let out a soft whine. Ursa was too focused on Jasmine’s hand to register what Claire had said. Jasmine was petting her head to calm her down, making it hard to think clearly.

“Fuck,” Toni muttered under his breath. “I’m sorry for my knight's actions.”

“It’s alright,” Claire relaxed back into the bed.

“Mmm, for now, it is,” Jasmine chuckled. She could get used to this level of control over Ursa.