Monstrous Horizons Chapter 36

The audience chamber of Cleo’s palace was packed full of people. Many of whom had minor grievance or requests for Cleo to take. Ruling was no task for the idle.

Striding into the room, I made quite the spectacle as a man walking on his own. More so, it seemed half of the monster girls were drooling.

“I heard you had a fun afternoon.” Cleo mock pouted as I walked through her audience chambers. I noticed Apep wasn’t in attendance.

Her guards let me pass without issue as I ignored the line of people waiting. Not to mention, I had Cleo’s full attention the moment I entered.

“Bubbles ring.” I whispered, placing my hand against my side as Bubbles pushed out Cleo’s engagement ring into my hand.

There was no time to waste. I dropped down on one knee before Cleo’s throne. “Will you marry me?”

Her eyes went wide before her people. “Yes.” She breathed. “Yes.” Cleo grabbed me by the collar and pulled me up, sealing my lips with a kiss as she squealed and wrapped her arms around me.

I lifted my lovely bride-to-be up without disturbing our kiss and carried her out of her audience chamber. Consequences be damned. After what I’d been through, I just wanted to give her the ring and make this official.

It would seem that I didn’t have to worry though, as applause broke out from the crowd behind us.

“I love you.” Cleo said between kisses and pressing herself to me. “So damn much.”

“Right back at you.” I held her as I walked. “There’s magic in this relationship between us, but at the same time there is so much emotion that it boils over and consumes the magic too.”

She stared back at me with adoring eyes. “I heard from Sylvia where you were.”

“We can talk about it later. I want to celebrate.”

Cleo smiled and snapped her fingers. Even in my arms, the gesture had a dozen palace servants running to serve her. “I’d like a six course meal and a private dining table set up in the garden.” She said. Her demeanor with the servants brooked no argument. It was a cold, harsh tone.

They bolted off to take care of it, and I raised an eyebrow at her. “That was kind of hot.”

“Of course it was.” She kissed me again, holding my head to her lips as she cracked open my teeth, hungry to deepen our kiss.

Right there in the middle of the palace, with guards and servants to watch, I pushed Cleo onto a bench and made out with her for all to see.

Her oiled skin dirtied my clothes as she tugged and plucked everything loose, her hands roaming my body, trying to map out and remember every inch of my skin. She pointedly ignored my pants, keeping them on, though her hands might have slipped beneath them on a few occasions.

A throat cleared some time later, causing me to look up.

“You table is ready in the garden.” A cat girl dressed in sheer strips told me.

I pulled Cleo up before looking down at myself. “Maybe I should get cleaned up.”

“No. I like you messy.” Cleo ran her fingers through my hair, making it worse.

Giving her a playful scowl, I pulled her up and hoisted her back into my arms. “Lead the way.” I told the servant.

She smiles at our antics and moved through the palace to what I realized was likely the area where Cleo had previously kept her harem. But adjoining the two sections of the palace was a large garden fit with a massive fountain splashing and spraying water into the air, keeping the garden humid even in a desert.

There was a table set up with fine china and wine glasses, a few candles lingered around the table and a single small candle on top of it to set the mood.

I plopped Cleo down in her seat with a kiss as the servant pulled out my chair and seated me.

“We will be back shortly with the first course.” The maid bowed and stepped back, just so her lips were at my ears, and whispered. “We are so happy to see our Pharaoh with you. She’s never been this animated before. Ask and you shall get it tonight.”

With that, the servant slipped away.

“Did she promise anything special?” Cleo said, looking back at her finger admiring the ring.

I knew it would mean more than marriage to her. She had her prophecy that I would one day break the curse over her and all monster girl kind, giving her a baby boy. “Something like that.” I maintained an air of mystery.

The servant came back with a bottle of wine, pouring each of us a glass.

“To us.” Cleo lifted her glass.

I clinked my. “To us. May we have a happy marriage and one day, a lovely boy.”

Her smile was so wide it squeezed those kohl-lined eyes of hers closed. “One day.” She said wistfully. “I know it might not be soon.”

“But I think I understand how it will happen.” I said, putting down my glass and reaching across the table to clasp her hand. My finger ran over her knuckles as I thought about how to say it best. “Every time I sleep with a different monster girl, part of them flows back into me.”

“Yes. You told me.” Cleo’s face was soft, yet intent on listening.

“I’m growing physically stronger as a result. My magic has been growing stronger as well.” I squeezed her hand. “Will I still be human if I push this? If I sleep with monster girls across the world, will I become a monster, something that can get you pregnant?”

Cleo gasped, covering her mouth as tears shimmered in her eyes. “But you wouldn’t be human.”

“Maybe being human is overrated.” I squeezed out a smile. Truth was, humanity was falling. Even if I didn’t become a monster, how long could humanity last as monster girls continued to procreate, increasing the demand for men?

Not forever. A few generations at best.

If I could change what I was, then there was a chance that monster girls in a few generations might not be entirely reliant on human men, and a population of humans could be allowed to grow back into this world.

Not to mention I would likely live longer and become far stronger as a monster. Part of me reveled in the idea of that, but another part of me had always been human and always expected to be human.

Changing my identity was a difficult thing to accept.

“Thank you.” Cleo held my hand tight, her misting eyes squeezing out a tear. “I know it isn’t what you expected.”

“But I’ll get so much stronger.” I joked, flexing my arm. “Who’s going to mess with me or my women when I’m a monster?”

“Right, what kind of monster do you think you’ll become?” She asked, her tone upbeat as she tried to push through any potential mood killer towards something else.

“Well, if I’m absorbing part of each monster girl. The thing they all share are the traits of a succubus, so would I become an incubus?”

Cleo shook her head in disbelief. “Almost any monster girl in the world would give up what they are to become a succubus.”

“Are they really so powerful?” I asked.

“Incredibly. The seven sins are the only pure succubi left in the world and their power is uncontested except for the gods. Even then, I think the god wouldn’t want to challenge them.” Cleo gazed into the distance. “I only saw Greed’s strength once, and it was a sight to see. She had strength on par with the greatest of natural disasters.”

I shook my head. Here, the kingdom of Rindall was focused on training mages capable of defeating lamia and other standard monster girls. Since coming here, I learned just how outclassed humanity was. “What of the old stories of the incubus king? How did he compare to the succubi?”

“He enslaved them.” Cleo swirled the wine, watching it dribble back down the sides of her glass. “The seven sins were his daughters, but their mothers were each his sex slaves. I can only assume that he held an iron fist over them while he was alive.”

“Why’s that?” I pushed for more information. Truthfully, all Rindall had was history handed down, no doubt that had been diluted by the passage of time.

“They fight constantly. Yet supposedly they were his generals when he was alive. Given the attitude of Greed, she wouldn’t have served someone that couldn’t pin her to the floor and make her obey. Greed is a right bitch.” Cleo smirked before downing her glass of wine and pouring another.

“Sounds like strength to aspire to.” I said, thinking of what I’d said earlier. What would it be like to have that much power?

“If you really do become an incubus, you’ll have the power to rule the monster girls and with that, the world.”

That sounded like the kind of power I’d need if I were to save humanity from their brink of extinction. Still, the strength I had gained so far seemed like a drop in the ocean to what I’d need. After the wedding, I’d return to Rindall and the fort at Khopesh.

Some of my monster girls would follow me, but there wouldn’t be any new ones unless I went through the prisons after each attack. Even then, what would my men think as I became more monstrous. Would I gain horns or a tail as this went on?

So much to think about for the future.

But I needed to push all that aside. Tonight was about Cleo. “Cheers to that. One day, I’ll become an incubus and seed you with my children. Then we’ll go take on the world together, Cleo.”

“I’d like that. Cheers.” She clinked her glass to mine, and we both drank deeply from the wine as the servants came over with a fancy salad of spiky greens.

I thought they’d be bitter, but with the right dressing, it wasn’t half bad.

The night continued on, plates changed out and bottles of wine magically appeared as we finish the one before it. In our delight, our focus was solely on each other as we talked about fanciful ideals and future possibilities.

In that night, I connected with Cleo on another level, our hands often stretching across the table just to feel each other as we talked and grew closer.

Eventually, when it was time for dessert, I asked for the servants to only bring out one plate and two forks. The servants brought out a heavily honeyed cake, like I asked.

We fed each other across the table as Cleo’s feet wandered naughtily underneath.

“What do you say? We take this back to your bedroom?”

Cleo stood out of her chair and offered herself to me. “That would be lovely.”

AN - I have at least 2 more MH done and I think we are within 5 chapters of finishing. So I might just put these out before moving back to Dao 3. Dao 3 I'm also working on and currently on Chapter 6.