Ch 38 – The tides may have calmed, but a distant storm yet grows beyond the horizon…umm, probably.

With a gesture from Lilis, the magical rope slackened, fading around me. I fell, my legs too wobbly to hold me up as Lilis stepped forward, catching me in her arms. My naked body sunk comfortably against hers, relaxed and serene, despite the beating she’d just given to me and the resulting orgasm that had briefly knocked me unconscious.

“I’ve got you,” she said, a gentle hand brushing along my back.

And I believed her. My roommate held an aura of safety about her, and I felt as though I was soaking in it. I believed her, and for what was surely the first time in many years, I felt truly safe.

It was an oddly comfy feeling. One I could assuredly get used to.

“Aww,” Evara complained, still tied up with her arms dangling from the ceiling. “But things were just getting exciting!”

Lilis leaned to the side, handing her riding crop over to Phaori. “Here, take care of the minx behind me while I take care of this one.”

Phaori responded, though I paid her no mind, instead focusing on Lilis’s fingers as she lifted me up into the air. She struggled with my weight quite a bit more than Phaori did, but that didn’t seem to stop her.

Carrying me, Lilis brought me over to a wide couch and laid me down, before joining me. My arms wrapped around her as my face pressed against her shoulder. Snaking an arm beneath me, my roommate hugged me, one arm rising to rub the back of my head.

After a long, quiet moment, she whispered, “Did I go too far?”

I blinked, taken by surprise by the question, then shook my head.

“Are you sure?” she fretted aloud. “I feel as though perhaps I may have pressured you into things. And well, I know I tend to push for things without really asking. It’s not really one of my best qualities.”

I pressed a finger against her lips, stopping her rambling. “I’m fine, really.”

Her worries were touching. Though as mortifying as the fact was, I had in fact asked for her to spank me. I practically begged her to do it. And there was no point where I’d ever wanted things to stop.

All of that was difficult to just admit to myself, however. There was no way I could say any of it aloud.

“Can I drink your blood?” I asked instead.

With my lips so close to her, my teeth ached more than ever. I met Lilis’s gaze with eyes full of hunger. She gave a small nod, and I waited no longer. My teeth sunk into her skin, causing Lilis to suck in a deep breath. As she groaned, my eyes drifted shut.

— — —

I’d taken to pacing across the upper decks of the airship, allowing the stiff wind to brush through my wings and tickle the thin feathers as I stretched the limbs outward. My gaze stared out across the endless sea of red grass that touched the gray horizon in every direction. It wouldn’t be long now before we arrived in Asphodel, capital of the Kingdom of Havkh.

Despite them winding down into aftercare, Ruby’s antics left me unable to sit still. I almost regretted not taking the time to learn how to block it out.

It would be pointless before long, either way.

“Ho!” A voice yelled out in greeting as a figure walked up behind me. I’d hoped that by not acknowledging him, he’d keep walking. That unfortunately was not the case. “You seem stressed, young kh’aithri. What’s eating at you?”

It was the sort of question I’d expect from Nhlia, but the lizard was off napping the day away. Instead, as I turned, I met the gaze of the captain of this merchant vessel taking us across the red plains. The preparations to join him had been hastily made, and I’d let Nhlia and her priestess acquaintance take care of most of it. The less I had to do with it, the better.

I stared into his eyes. They were narrowed, though that was normal for the anu, who tended to dislike the sharp light of the day. His gray leathery wings were held high, as though expecting to need to take off at any moment's notice.

“Nothing,” I lied.

By instinct, my posture straightened into a refined pose that came from a lifetime of etiquette lessons. There was only one person on the ship who knew about my situation with the vyxa in the human realm: Hestia, a priestess of the  Sanctum Eternal. I planned to keep it that way. Through her, I’d be able to get an audience with one of the high priests.

The captain hesitated, his bat-like wings folding back in blatant unease. It was clear the man didn’t know what to think of me. Judging by the way he’d spoken to me, he no doubt presumed I was among the lesser clans. Or perhaps not part of a clan at all, given my plain clothes. But my form implied something else entirely.

“What clan did you say you were from again, um…” he asked, the question of my name and title made clear.

“I didn’t.”

“Right. Of course.” The man shuffled in place, unable to hold the weight of my stare. “I’ll leave you be, then.”

With a bow—a clear sign that he thought me a noble—the bat-like anu turned, walking away several meters before taking flight to another part of the ship. I went back to my sightseeing and let out a sigh of frustration, knowing that my secret wouldn’t hold forever. Now heading back to Asphodel, it wouldn’t be long before my family caught wind of my whereabouts.

“I see you’re harassing the poor captain,” came the quiet voice of the priestess—her words like a whisper slipping through the winds.

In a gust of air, she appeared a few feet to my side and joined in looking out across the sea of red grass. Thus far, Hestia had agreed to keep my identity a secret, which I was quite thankful for. That would change once we reached the capital.

“He should know better than to look into other people’s business,” I replied.

“Perhaps. Or perhaps he saw someone who appeared distressed and simply wished to offer aid.”

I turned to eye the priestess, a young ethlin whose flowing white robes were looped around her golden-orange feathers. She gave me a hesitant smile, clearly concerned that she’d overstepped and almost as unsure of what to make of me as the anu captain had been. The gesture contrasted with her normal avian grace.

I waved it off, deciding to change the subject. “You mentioned being unsure whether the Sanctum would agree to perform the ritual.”

“Yes, while I’m sure they will be receptive to the young vyxa’s plight, there is a chance the Sanctum synod will refuse you.”

“Surely between the both of us they will hear us out.”

“They will at least listen, yes. However, I am but a simple traveling priestess out on my journey for enlightenment and the wisdom of the spirits. I cannot say how the great spirit Ena will react, and the decision will largely be dependent on that. The winds have been kind to us thus far, which gives hope that at least the lesser spirits at large do not stand in opposition to your purpose.”

It all came down to the spirits then. A fact that didn’t give me much hope. Soon I would find out one way or the other.

— — —

The figure of a young woman dressed as a student at Fir’va Academy phased into existence within the white, void-like pocket dimension. A place she’d come to detest more and more each time she came. Before her, a shadow flickered, growing into a vaguely human-shaped figure.

“You called,” the woman stated, giving a small bow toward the shadow, just enough to be polite and nothing more.

“Yes,” the shadowy man hissed, the word echoing strangely within the “room.”

That he was a man, she was fairly certain of. One of the few things she’d finally been able to determine with some certainty, based on the way the shadow spoke. The voice was far too discordant to make heads or tails of, most of the time. However, men and women still tended to have slightly different ways of speaking. And he had a few telling cues.

“Update me on your findings today,” he demanded.

The student nodded. “Gellin has acquired a demonic heart from the student Melkar after a fight with him and the ogre, Karga. He seems intent on making a potion to become himself again.”

He didn’t ask for more details on the fight, meaning that this was either something he already knew or that he simply didn’t care to know more. Given how often he asked for more details on the succubus, she suspected the former rather than the latter.

“And after the fight?” asked the voice.

The spy hesitated. “Nothing notable.”

She knew he wouldn’t be satisfied by the answer, but hoped he wouldn’t push for more. While it would be satisfying to tell him all the little things the succubus got up to, the resulting anger would only be directed back on her. Much like when she’d tried to tell him that she suspected that the boy-turned-succubus seemed to be enjoying their new form. She hadn’t even gotten to the change in name before the shadow blew up in rage at her.

Some things were better left a secret. That the succubus now went by “Ruby” was one of those things, as was this. She didn’t want to risk his ire.

“Nothing? Really?” he questioned. Before she could think up a response, the shadow waved an arm. “Begone. Perhaps you’ll have something useful to tell me tomorrow.”

A flash of light, and the student found herself back in her room. She couldn’t help but scowl.

Once again she’d left no closer to figuring out just who the shadow was or what exactly their motives were. She’d crossed demons off the list a while ago. His relation with Ruby was much too personal, which hinted toward school faculty, or at the very least someone of relative importance among the shadow families. Someone that Ruby knew, for certain. A teacher, the provost, or a family member were the most likely possibilities. That narrowed things down, but not enough.

If only she could figure out who they were, she’d perhaps stand a chance at getting out from under their thumb.