I Will Save My Friend!

Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

The ticking sound, maybe from a clock, maybe from the drops falling off the trees surrounding this stinking yet regal swamp, echoed all over the “hall”—if you could even call this place a hall. Cranius, holding a sack with the head of the swamp bastard, stepped forward and tossed it at the foot of the throne.

— Here. Your last “challenger,” as you call them, won’t be asking me riddles anymore, Emiryion, — his voice shook with rage, but there was something else in it… despair.

On the throne, wrapped in a purple haze of fog, sat the young king, Emiryion of Velia. His snow-white hair fell over his forehead, and his mercury-colored eyes slid over Cranius’s face with lazy curiosity. The scepter slowly drew a circle in the air, while the girl, clearly one of the most beautiful half-lizard women in all of Emiryion’s kingdom, gently hugged him with her emerald arm, barely brushing the young king’s legs. Her fingers glided over the velvet of his cloak with almost sacred reverence.

— Hm, — Emiryion dragged the sound out, playfully stroking the girl’s snake tail with his scepter, — so, you actually passed everything. Even the Rotting Enchantress herself. Impressive. But...

He leaned forward, his hair falling over his face, hiding a wicked grin.

— Your request sounds like a demand. And here, Cranius, we’ve got a… different kind of hierarchy.

— I don’t give a damn about your hierarchy, — Cranius stepped closer, — I came for Larvian. You said — I do everything, and he’ll be free. Where is he?

— Oh, he’s here, — Emiryion smiled, looking Cranius straight in the eyes, which immediately started darting around the hall.

— Alright, I’m sick of your damn jokes… — Cranius lowered his gaze, his tone weary, — I get it, he’s here, somewhere in your dungeons. Just let him go. Keep your side of the deal.

Emiryion snapped his fingers.

A faint rustling stirred at the foot of the throne. The snake-girl lifted her head and raised her gaze to the king towering above her. Her massive tits quivered from the movement, gently swaying in rhythm with her breath.

— Hhs'shakrii… hraaa'tes… shiir'kalaah… — the words hissed from the king’s lips, spreading through the hall like a serpent’s whisper, making the walls tremble slightly and the magic mist around the throne swirl like wind had passed through it.

Cranius tensed. He didn’t understand the language, but each word vibrated deep in his chest, unpleasant and eerie. The girl by the throne, who’d been quiet and obedient, suddenly lifted her head. Slowly, as if through the fog, she turned her gaze—and their eyes met.

He froze. Something in her face… looked familiar. And the girl, after a few seconds, widened her yellow pupils, but Cranius, without hesitation, furrowed his brows sharply, clearly showing his contempt.

— Don’t think I’m not grateful, my friend, — Emiryion continued, carelessly turning the scepter in his fingers, as if wondering whether to chop off Cranius’s head or just toy with him a little more. — That’s exactly why I want to reward you… my way. Tonight is the night of recognition. And tomorrow…

He didn’t finish. A smile, far too gentle for such words, flashed across his lips. His gaze slowly slid down — to the emerald body of the snake-girl still lying at his feet. She raised her eyes at the barely noticeable movement of his finger, obeying like a trained creature. Her breasts rose heavily, her breathing quickened — and it wasn’t from lust, but from tension. In her eyes sparkled something Cranius had never seen before in such beings: awareness. Recognition.

Their eyes locked again, and she flinched. Only a hiss slipped from her lips:

— Hssh'taa… Kra'n'a… shu'liria-raa…

Cranius recoiled half a step back.

— She’s yours for the whole night, she’ll do anything you tell her to, — Emiryion snapped his fingers, and a yellow gemstone appeared in Cranius’s hand. The girl instantly turned her gaze to him, then, noticing the shine of the stone, tried to close her eyes, but couldn’t. She stared, mesmerized, at the glittering crystal, slowly rising to her feet, revealing all her beauty to Cranius.

— Whore’s stone?! — Cranius shouted, clearly disgusted, with panic mixed into his voice. — I don’t need this! You know I despise women who sold their soul for a body!

— Oh, — Emiryion lazily drawled, lowering the scepter onto his knees, — then forgive me, I… I didn’t know. Although, there’s no turning back now — she needs that stone, and you own it, and until she drains at least part of your “manly” strength, she won’t...

— I know what it means! You gave it to me on purpose! — Cranius staggered back, clutching the yellow crystal in his fist as if it was burning his flesh. — You’re fucking with me!

The girl had already come close enough for her large tits to press against Cranius’s battle-torn clothes. Her eyes were glued to the stone.

— Hssh'talaa… Kraaan’iii… khriiish-naaa… — her voice grew deeper, her breasts pressing more firmly against his body with growing confidence. And Cranius felt his mind tearing between revulsion and a warm, nauseatingly pleasant tickling sensation low in his belly.

He squeezed his burning fist tighter.

— Don’t come closer, — he forced out hoarsely, feeling his voice betray him, getting higher, cracking like something inside him was breaking. — I’m not like that. I came here for my friend. Not for… not for this...

— But she is your friend, — Emiryion whispered, rising from the throne. His footsteps were nearly silent, like silk brushing against the floor.

— Bought-up love isn’t friendship! Fuck… — Cranius knew one of the most pointless ideas was trying to resist a Whore’s Stone when even one of those women, who sold their soul for a sexual body, was nearby. No, no man had ever escaped what the stone demanded. Never.

— Hssh-krii… ta’la-naaa… hsssh’liaaah… — her lips were almost touching his ear. Her breath was sweet, and with each second he was losing more and more control.

— Leave… please… — he whispered, but his lips were already trembling.

— Relax, Cranius, you’ve waited so long to finally save your friend, — Emiryion’s voice sounded mocking, but Cranius could no longer distinguish his words in the chaos of feelings wrapping around him like birds circling their prey. — It’s just a reward. A bit of… sensuality. A bit of unity. You’ve earned it. You’re a hero.

The girl, as if by sheer will, managed to lift her eyes to Cranius, who, of course, didn’t notice, but for a brief moment panic flickered in her eyes. Her lips quivered, her breath caught for a second — and the next moment she tensed her shoulders sharply, as if about to push him away. But — she couldn’t.

The stone burned between them, and the magic kept doing its merciless work.

— By the way, her name is… Lar… — Emiryion started, but then chuckled and added, — Larvina.

It took Cranius a moment to process what the king had just said. Larvina… Larvian? His mind was already drowning in the fog of upcoming sensuality and tenderness. The words sounded like water rushing past his ears — unclear, sweet, unimportant. He stared into the half-snake girl’s eyes, where pain flickered, like someone locked a scream behind a glass wall. But his gaze was no longer his own — he was drowning in the poisonous yellow glow of the stone, in the sweet scent of her skin, in the velvety heat of her breasts pressed against his body.

— Larvina… — he whispered, almost tenderly, running his fingers over her shoulder, where her skin faded into shimmering scales. — You’re so beautiful… I… I don’t want to… but I have to… you want this…

The fog in the hall thickened, blurring the figures, turning them into a silhouette of desire and magical submission. And in the silence, Emiryion’s voice rang out quietly:

— So, the hero has saved his friend! — he finished and burst into loud, ringing laughter.