Chapter 405 – Don’t Forget About Zarzi

"So, Alzi, what happens now?" Flametalon asks. "You've claimed the Dragonkin Queen title, Yzzorres has retreated, and you've destroyed Nature's army."

"Sleep?" I say. "I'm getting tired again, and it seems many of my wives are hurt."

'Dragon is insisting that your true body gets to my temple. It seems she will be providing the needed power to teleport you.'

"Bring my daughter," one of the phoenixes says. "I understand why you did it. She won't be happy, but you should keep your mates nearby at the start. They get depressed when they aren't near you for a long time. Be kind and patient with her. She'll be mad at first, but she knows this was likely to happen." Their mouth isn't moving, but I'm not hearing the words directly in my mind, so they're speaking somehow. I guess it isn't surprising that a bird can't talk normally.

"Um, well, thank you for not fighting me," I say. "The Goddess of the Dragons wants us to come to her and is willing to spend her power to get me there, even. I'll bring her along."

"My Queen," Kou says. Is the guard declaring me a Queen all that she needs to give me a new title? "We must get going if it is a Goddess asking. Victoria, can you please help us? We have a lot to do and little time to do it."

"I want Mommy as well," I say. "She's a dragonkin. And we need to bring my Aunt."

"Oh, so that is who she is, my Queen," Kou asks. "Then Elyne comes with us. Syro as well. You take the Aunt. Victoria gets Nanoka. Kiyomi, can you please get Nakuma to Yuki? She shouldn't come with us. Fluvis, get Estrella, and you can come if you like. Sarania and I can handle the phoenix. Shimmer comes as well."Well, a good thing about having a bunch of wives is that I have plenty of women to help me carry things.

"Very well," Flametalon says. "Yumanea?"

"What do you need from me?" Yumanea says. "I have nothing to say. I need to start the cleanup and reconstruction efforts. So many have died in this war, and then there's all the destruction as well. Alzi is free to do as she needs to. I would appreciate any help you can give me, but I have nothing to do here. Alzi, thank you for saving my Mother." She bows down and moves to pick up the old Queen. "We will need to find another woman for you to marry, Alzi. I'm happy my daughter's sacrifice was worth it."

"She's alive," I say. "She should come with us, actually. You too, Ioelena. There's no need to exclude you from things. You take the phoenix, actually. Shimmer has our kid for some reason. We need to move quickly. I doubt Dragon is happy about the delays. But first, we need to pick up some people from Fertility's temple."

"I can take you to the temples," Kiyomi says. "Yes, I'll get Nakuma. Be careful, Kou. Alzi isn't truly a Queen yet."

"Don't be too mad, Mother," Kou says. "Thank you for the help."

Kiyomi just shakes her head, but she picks Nakuma up and waits for us to all crowd around her.

Syro and Ioelena throw my bound Aunt over Elyne's back and come over to join me. I heal over my Aunt's wounds enough to keep her from dying; there's no need to throw away ritual materials. Logistics are annoying.

Slowly, everyone gathers around me. But the dead Queens are still just sitting there.

I'm a Queen now.

"Am I really the Queen?" I ask.

"More or less," Kiyomi says. The guards take the old Queens' bodies.

"We will handle getting them home," the guard says. "What you do with them once they are at the castle will be your decision as the victor. Don't worry about them until then."

Sounds stupid, but we don't have the free hands for it, and a Goddess is asking for us. "Fine," I say. "Do I get a crown?"

"Later, Alzi," Kiyomi says. "We all really need some sleep. You can worry about the jewelry later."

We pop up in front of Fertility's temple, where a Priestess is waiting for us with a small smile. "Here for some of your wives, right?"

"Yes," I say.

"We've got them grouped up, my Champion," the Priestess says. She waves her hand to open the doors and leads the way inside. She takes us back to the Priestesses' quarters. All of the women from the ritual are here. They even moved Elora here. Elora, Mommy, and Sedriresa are doting on the little Goddess.

Lensa is by Azula's side. Azula is one of the few from the ritual that's actually awake. Geta is also sitting up, staring at the floor while her hand hovers over her womb. Someone must have done something for Shimmer to be walking right now.

"Geta, get up," I say. "We have places to go, and I need you for them."

"Yes, dear," Geta says. I walk down the aisle to Mommy and Elora and let Geta slowly get up.

She won't be that useful in a fight, but it would be good for me to check up on the kids for a bit. I'm going to have kids with a Valkyrie of death, though I might have to fuck her for a few months just to keep them alive. I'd better not have to do it that way.

"You're safe!" Mommy says. "Thank the Goddesses."

"They helped some, I suppose," I say. "We're going on a trip. Elora, I hope you're ready to move. We can bring our daughter."

"Whatever you need, my Love," Elora says.

Mommy gives me a big hug while Elora and Sedriresa get ready to go.

"We need to move fast," I say. "There should be only one thing that would have Dragon rushing me to show up. Why didn't I think about it before? Zarzi has to be in labor."

"Oh dear," Mommy says. "So many at once. Are you ok? Who else do we need to bring?"

"Just who I have behind me. I wanted you, and then had a good idea of bringing Elora along to do a marriage. That should be everyone."

"Ok, Elora, do you need any help?" Mommy asks.

"I've got everything I need. Thank you for all the support."

"Then we just need to get Geta up and walking again," I say. "Mommy, I also found a relative of ours. One that caused all of this."

Turning back around, I see Nakuma curled up next to Yuki in her bed. Lensa is helping Azula stand up for something. They'd better not be hoping to come along with us. I don't need to deal with those two right now. Or ever. Well, I'm married to Azula.

Elyne steps forward and shows us my Aunt, unconscious and tied up on her back. Ioelena shows off her face for Mommy.

"Oh, dear," Mommy says. "I- I thought she was dead or something. Why is she here? What is going on? What happened?"

"She became a Champion at some point. What else happened, I don't know. We just need to figure out what to do with her," I say. Maybe I should've waited to tell her about her sister. Fucking bitch. Should I just slit her throat? I've got her tied up, so I guess I can decide later.

"Later," Mommy says. "But yes, we should. Why did it have to be family?"

"I don't know," I say. "It would've been nice if it just didn't happen at all. Do we need to leave the temple for you to move us, Kiyomi?"

"Yes," Kiyomi says. "I'm not bold enough to disrespect the Goddesses like that."

Great, so I'm going to have to walk past Azula. Why couldn't things be easy for me?

"What do you want?" I ask when I reach them. Lensa was reaching out to stop me, so it's better if I speed this up. I have places to be.

"Please remove her collar," Lensa says. "You've both hurt each other now. Let her go."

"When I get back," I say. "I have too many things to do right now. You're lucky I don't have time to fight you. Geta, are you going to fall over?"

"No, I'm fine, dear," Geta says. She's a bit slow to move, but her long legs let her keep up well enough. Still, we shouldn't have much walking to do.

"Outside, everyone," I say. "Zarzi is probably going to die soon. I would like to be there to comfort her, at least."

"Don't say that," Mommy says. "You'll save her. I'm sure of it. But we should hurry up."

"I hope so," I say. "I may have gone overboard with her a little."

"More than a little," Mommy says. "But let's go save her and make it up to her."

The Priestess leads us back outside. As soon as we've all cleared the doorway, we appear before Space's temple. Another Priestess is waiting with the door already open to the temple.

"The Goddesses wish to move quickly, our Champion," the Priestess says. "We're happy you're all doing well."

"Thank you," I say. Crossing over the threshold, I'm once again standing before a new building. Space didn't let me visit her. What is going on?

"This way, my Queen," a silver dragonkin says. "Zarzi needs you. Another Priestess will be here to direct the rest once they appear. I promise."

Another Priestess is standing off to the side, I guess to direct the others when they arrive.

"I guess," I say. Mommy pops up right next to me. "Perfect. Mommy, come with me." Kou would be nice as well, but this will do.

Fuck! Why didn't I get Kelly to come along, or Mai, for some comfort?

The dragonkin leads us into a dark, cave-like building. Just a few steps inside, I hear the screams. Is that Zarzi? What is happening?

"How long has this been going on?" I ask.

"A day, my Queen. Don't worry, she's doing well. The Goddess is helping. But that only goes so far. We are all hoping you will be able to help her. She's been a good High Priestess, surprising us all, I will admit. She's just in here. I'll be right here if you need anything. We pray for her health and the eggs."

The two dragonkin that Zarzi had with her at the party are busy helping her. One has Zarzi's head on her thighs, and the other is handling what is going on between her thighs, and the eggs, I'm guessing.

"Hello," I say. "Sorry for missing the beginning."

"Help," Zarzi groans between a scream. "I'm sorry."

"No. No, I did more than you deserved. This is mine to fix. I have you. I'll help you," I say. I quickly get to her side and flood the cave with my life mana. Zarzi's womb is massive, more than dominating her frame. It's literally most of her body. How much work is the Goddess doing? Blood is just oozing out of her belly; her muscles can't be generating much force. "Is there anything I can do to help get the eggs out?"

"No," one of the dragonkin says. "No, just keep healing her. Zarzi will be able to do it herself. This is the safest way."

"Seems like a good way to kill the mother," I say. "But fine. I'll keep you alive, Zarzi. I can do that."

Zarzi just cries in response. Hopefully, Sarania will be here soon. I didn't think about her sister. She has the thing that would let me take Zarzi's pain. I should take some of that pain. How much has she suffered during this pregnancy?