MM - Chapter 235 - CUTE ENOUGH TO DIE FOR

As the last vestiges of twilight bled from the sky, Raine distributed equipment to those worthy of it. He took his time, ensuring each piece found its rightful owner. The five-star lances preened under his direct attention, their pride swelling far beyond the value of the gifts themselves. Each member who was called to step forward radiated awe from being so close to ‘The Alaric.’ He greeted them individually, doing his best to commit faces and names to memory.

Celeste’s methodology in selecting her battlemasters became evident as he worked his way through the ranks. She had prioritized unwavering trust and loyalty above raw, unproven talent. Not one had abused their new authority by inflating the star status of lances. The number of five-stars was so lean, in fact, that Raine extended the distributions to include the four-star lances as well, rewarding their honesty.

Pleased with their execution of his commands, Raine made sure the battlemaster were paid the salary for their new positions, and officially upgraded their permissions and responsibilities in the guild interface. The acknowledgement straightened backs, and turned respectful looks to those of complete adoration and outright zealotry. A twenty gold monthly salary, when converted to credits, was five times the ‘annual’ median household income in the Amanath Territories. Astra might not have done much in the way of imparting actual martial techniques just yet, but it sure as hell paid better than any job they ever could have reasonably hoped for.

By the time he finished, the moon had claimed the sky, casting elongated shadows across the blood-soaked pass. With a few sharp commands from the battlemasters, the regulars dispersed to their assigned cohorts. Their steps were lighter now, a palpable eagerness to prove their worth and once again capture Alaric’s attention drove them forward. Watching them, satisfaction coiled warm in Raine’s chest. These distributions were not charity; they were calculated investments into a force that would one day rival any in ZionLine.

He retreated to a nearby peak, observing the sprawling mass of regulars from on high. Under the dancing flames in his eyes, they appeared as flickering constellations born on the mountainside. He made a few final alterations to the composition of several conrois, ensuring an even distribution of the newly-equipped five-star regulars. There was another, more critical reason for his shuffling of the troops, and the man who would soon be taking advantage of that reason stood silently beside him.

Thoris Varak fingered a small vial of Obfuscating Powder, the same substance Raine had commanded each of the Vaaterrans to use before their arrival. The telltale system icon in Varak’s status—marking him as a native—was no longer visible. It would remain hidden as long as the powder’s effect lasted. Raine had deliberately let the Phoenix Elites see the Vaaterrans without the powder first. It was all part of the ruse.

“Do you truly believe it will work?” Varak’s voice was a low grumble, his gaze fixed on the distant cohorts.

“If I didn’t,” Raine shifted his attention to the peaks, scanning for threats, “I wouldn’t be risking our people like this.”

Satisfied that his men were not being sent to their deaths on a whim, Varak nodded, a grim smile pulling at a scarred cheek. He had to admit, a flicker of brutal anticipation was beginning to burn within him. He was very much looking forward to what was coming.

* * *

Knowing how many hours it would take to get a force of thirteen thousand organized, rested in shifts, and ready to march again, Raine logged out. He fell up through a familiar tunnel of sparkling starlight and landed inside his flesh-and-blood body. Refreshment coursed through him after benefiting from several hours of deep sleep. He was still in Mel’s room. The girl herself was absent, having not yet returned from Pamalaiha’s room, where she had logged in the previous day.

Sensing his movement, the drone Morty left beside him buzzed to life. “Welcome back, most disturbing minio—ahem—Master.”

Raine sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Disturbing? Did something happen?”

The drone bobbed in the air. “It is merely that your ability to predict events yet to transpire is beginning to border on the uncanny. CronGate has not launched another attack in almost fifteen hours.”

Raine stretched, joints popping audibly. “Nothing special about predicting the obvious. Why would they attack and risk killing our people before recovering their loot in ZL?”

Morty’s synthesized voice dripped with sarcasm. “Obviously, to cleanse this Earth of the stain that is your morning breath. If your VSCs increase any further, this unit’s built-in Halometer will implode. Thank the Computationals that I cannot actually smell you.”

Raine chuckled, reaching for a clean shirt. “Good one. Hey, that reminds me, have your legs come in yet? We’re long overdue for a sparring session.”

“Uhh… this unit’s on-board memory is insufficient for fulfilling your inquiry!” The drone zipped toward the door, where a small hatch at the bottom hissed open, offering a swift escape.

“Hey!” Raine’s gruff bark halted the drone in its tracks. “Where’s Mel right now?”

The drone’s optical sensor blinked. “With the rest of your harem in Dr. Shroufand’s quarters.”

Raine’s brows rose in genuine surprise. “All three of them?”

Sensing the conversational trap that would undoubtedly lead to danger, Morty’s drone inched toward the hatch. “Uhh… this unit’s on-board memory is insufficient for fulfilling your inquiry!”

Raine grabbed a wadded pair of socks and hurled them at the machine. “If you’re just going to flit about and be evasive, then make yourself useful by finding out why Vought’s next shipment of VN’s hasn’t shown up yet!”

“Gladly.” The drone shot through the opening. 

Before it could seal behind the drone, Raine shouted after him, “And find out when his disciples are supposed to show up!” The hatch slid shut, and Raine dressed with an affectionate smile plastered to his face. He took the AI’s advice and cleaned his mouth with a sonic dispenser, then headed out to find the girls. Imagining their beautiful faces had Raine skipping through the halls, mood about as good as it was possible to get.

His watch’s AR interface had access to the entire building’s resident database, making Pamalaiha’s room easy to locate. He knocked, and when no response came, unlocked the door and peeked inside, finding a scene that stopped him cold. Mel and Celeste were sitting on the edge of a bed, complete with tear-streaked cheeks and puffy eyes. Celeste quickly turned away, hiding her weakness, but Mel looked up as he entered. She jumped to her feet, closed the distance in two steps, and wrapped him in a fierce hug. Pulling away, she rose on her tiptoes and planted a firm kiss on his lips.

Before he could even form a question, she pulled back, watery eyes shining with a strange mix of mischief and sincerity. “I’m giving up my turn to Cely,” Mel was already two steps toward the door, speaking over her shoulder. “She has something important to tell you! Don’t let her weasel out of it, either!”

“Cely?” Raine frowned at the awful nickname, hand reaching out to gently grasp her wrist. “Wait!” His intent had been to work out with both of them, or preferably, all three; that dream was downright drool-worthy.

Mel easily sidestepped his grasp. “No way! If you can make us take turns, then we can give up our turns, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” She stuck her tongue out before dancing away. “Now, you two have fun, and don’t do anything I would do!” Her laugh, high and clear, echoed down the hall as she fled the scene.

Celeste’s back was still to him, her hands furiously wiping at her cheeks. He approached slowly, stopping right behind her, so close she could feel the heat radiating from his body. His voice was smooth in her ear, gentle and low. “It’s not like you to break down like this. Anything I can help with?”

She turned to face him but refused to meet his eyes. She shook her head, gaze stopping at Pamalaiha’s peacefully sleeping form. Realizing how uncomfortable she was without Mel’s presence, Raine carefully took her hand. Her fingers were cold. He guided her toward the door, to a place he knew would cheer her up and loosen her lips. “C’mere. I want to show you something.”

Celeste allowed herself to be pulled along, her voice small. “Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll like it, trust me.” He led her into the hallway and toward the floor’s elevator banks.

“That’s not what I asked!” She stamped her foot cutely in a flash of her usual fire, then immediately bit her lip, annoyed at her childish outburst.

Raine didn’t reprimand her, his cheer shining through a knowing smile and the accompanying twinkle in his eyes. They stood in silence waiting for the elevator. He refused to release her hand now that he had it. Her skin was impossibly smooth against his calloused palm, sending a frantic rhythm through his pulse. The doors slid open all too soon, and he pulled her inside. She still couldn’t look directly at him, but the elevator’s polished walls were a cage of mirrors, making it impossible to completely escape his piercing cobalt eyes. 

The lift ascended, and after several floors passed in thick silence, she mumbled, her words barely audible. “Okay… I’ll do it.”

“Awesome!” Raine exclaimed with a broad grin, his free hand drifting theatrically toward his waistband.

Celeste’s skin immediately flushed a shade of scarlet that clashed violently with her hair. “That’s not what I—argh! Don’t be a jerk! I’m being serious!”

He dropped the act, smile softening as his fingers threaded between hers. “Then you’re going to have to be serious about explaining what you mean, because I can’t read your mind.”

“I… Right. I know that. I’m sorry. I’m accepting… no, agreeing to… that is… I’ll… I’ll be your… your girlfriend!” She blurted the last, trying to cover her burning cheeks with her hands, but Raine grasped her other hand as it rose, holding them both. His smile was a kilometer wide, his eyes filled with nothing but her.

Well, if that wasn’t the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen, then I don’t know what cute means.

The thought, packed with affectionate warmth, was a physical blow that made her knees buckle. His following words—a perfect, teasing mimicry of her own—shattered the remaining tension. “Okay… I’ll do it too.”

The elevator doors hissed open, saving her from having to formulate a response. Laughing, Raine pulled her out onto the top floor of Belehorn Tower. The space consisted of only two ultra-large and luxurious suites, both of which were a complete mess. Furniture had been piled against the walls as crude barricades to slow CronGate’s attacks.

Raine finally released her to clear a path through the debris toward the nearest panoramic window. Using his AR display, he overrode the defensive steelphene shutters. They retracted with a series of metallic clicks, revealing the breathtaking midnight sprawl of Carter City.

Celeste’s breath hitched when Raine came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling their bodies together. “There it is. Feeling better now?”

“There, what is?” She grumbled, though there was no heat in it. Breathing was nearly impossible with the solid feel of his arms around her. “Now who’s being impossible to understand?”

Celeste didn’t feel herself slipping down a steep slope, she was tumbling headlong off a sheer cliff. [What am I doing? What am I letting him do? I have to stop him. If I don’t stop him right now—]

“Everything. All of it.” Raine interrupted her thought with an arm swept wide, a gesture that encompassed the entire glittering cityscape. His voice was packed with the enthusiasm of sharing a piece of his dreams. “Carter. I’m going to give it to you. Not as it is, though. We’ll repurpose every building, every business, into support centers for ZionLine. We will turn this entire city into a massive, self-sustaining credit-printer. Then, I’ll give it all to you.”

“All? Wait… You’re serious?!” She wanted to fold in on herself, to pull away, to run screaming, but he didn’t let her. Her voice was shaky as her heart refused to function properly. “W-why are you suddenly being so generous? You used to steal every credit I earned, and now this?” Celeste squeaked, head spinning at the heady thought of what it would be like to rule an entire city. It was more than a dream come true; it was beyond her wildest dreams.

“I’m not being generous,” Raine murmured, chin resting lightly on the top of her head. “I’m just telling you what I think you deserve.”

Probably shouldn’t tell her that if she’s not in control of the entire Sandrosa territory within ten years, I’ll consider it a failure. Baby steps with this one. Now that I’ve got my arms around her, I’m never going to let her run from me again.

Celeste was completely swept away by the multiple revelations delivered through his words and his thoughts. They were too vast and audacious to feel real. Her body trembled against his. He grabbed her shoulders gently, slowly turning her to face him. 

The familiar panic flooded through her, demanding she bolt. Thinking fast for any way to escape the intensity of his gaze, she balled her fists and gently pummeled his chest. “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? You just want me to deal with all the annoying management while you go have fun in another Mystic Realm!”

Raine threw his head back and laughed, a sound of pure, unadulterated joy that made her whole body grow light. “When you’re the queen of an entire city, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to afford hiring people to do all that annoying stuff for you.” His attention was fixated on her now. Every centimeter of his skin prickled with anticipation as his voice turned to a whisper. “Besides, I can’t keep you too busy, or there won’t be time for us to…” he leaned low, his warmth splashing across her already inflamed skin. “train together.”

He gave her no chance to pull away, no opportunity to run. He kissed her, but to his utter surprise, she attacked first, practically leaping at him. Their teeth clicked together in a clumsy, endearing collision. Raine didn’t find her innocent inexperience amusing in the least; it was, quite possibly, the sexiest thing he had ever experienced.

Desire roared through his muscles as he wove his fingers through the soft hair at the base of her scalp and pulled her up. His arms, powerful enough to bend steel, closed around her like a cage she could never escape. Her heels lifted from the ground, leaving her dangling on her toes, completely and utterly at his mercy—dominated.

Celeste discovered how impossibly good that could feel.

Raine drew her higher, captivating hazel eyes swelling to encompass his entire universe.

Just before their lips met, he stopped, inhaling the scent of her, a mix of clean soap, the salt from her recent tears, and something uniquely, intoxicatingly Celeste. Her lips parted in a trembling and all-too-feminine gasp of anticipation. At that moment, he claimed them. A low groan of pure need escaped her throat, a sound that vibrated straight through him, sealing their new beginning.