azazele

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-79

Geneva is first. Unfortunately, she finishes preparing breakfast before my two lovers can progress further than a little heavy petting. The time to push aside and ignore my problems has passed. I don’t like it, but I rouse the two women and escort them to the dining room.

The previous night when we walked into room, almost everyone openly watched as we joined Marcella at her table. Now, only a fraction of the patrons in the room raise their heads as we pass. That doesn’t mean they d...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-78

It’s incredible how much the act of making love changes depending on who is involved.

Most people that view Kierra and I’s relationship from a distance are horrified, seeing affection tainted by blood and violence. The violence and conflict is only a consequence of the true foundation of our union. Competition.

The whole of the elven race worships strength and the pursuit of it. My wife says it’s a part of who they are, just as much as their long ears and colorful skin. It s...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-77

Alana’s sword is leaning against a wall when we return to the room hand-in-hand, my lovely knight having progressed to the stretches she does at the end of her workouts. I’m surprised. Normally, she swings her sword for at least an hour but me and Talia couldn’t have been talking for more than half of one, probably less. She’s still covered in an impressive sheen of sweat. Guess she traded time for intensity.

Blue eyes flick up as we enter, taking in our joined hands. I raise a ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-76

“Punish? You wish to cause them pain?”

“If pain’s what it takes.” The problem is, I don’t think it will matter. The worst I can imagine might amuse the succubus at best. Geneva can feel pain. She can suffer. But she has existed for who knows how long. I can’t imagine how much pain she’s endured in that time. Saints, she might not even experience pain the same way people do.

I do hold one trump card. I have complete control over her and, through her, every other suc...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-75

His name is Winter, unimaginatively named for the season he was born in, and his story is rather unremarkable. Like many other hunters, he is a boy from a simple family that wanted more than a legacy of hard work and minimal opportunities. Growing up, he didn’t mind the sight of blood when it was his turn to slaughter the chickens and he was never scared to forage outside the village despite his mother warning him that monsters would make a meal of him, so he figured he would make a decent ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-74

He doesn’t look like an assassin.

It’s not just the ropes binding him to the chair and his lack of clothes, Alana insisting on stripping him to find hidden weapons, never mind said weapons aren’t a danger to anyone with me and Geneva in the room. He simply isn’t…intimidating. His slight frame and lack of height combined with an unassuming face, bah. A killer should look fierce. His glare should be enough to cut a man in half.

Not…this.

At least he has the composu...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-73

To Marcella’s credit, I’m not the only one she bothers. Once she determines that there may be killers hiding amongst her guests, no one’s night goes undisturbed. The Guiness daughter is usually soft but with her territory having been infringed upon, all the might and privilege of a high noble is brought out of her.

It doesn’t matter who it is, wealthy nobles, privileged hunters, fellow merchants. All of them are made to step into the hall in their nightclothes while her men sear...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-72

The hotel is in an uproar when I return.

Crashing into people’s rooms in the middle of the night is sure to rouse the floor. A servant screaming after finding dead bodies on the stairwell is sure to rouse everyone. I can hear the panicked conversations and entitled shouting from the street. The lobby is a whirlwind of activity, as people bombard the poor bastard manning the front desk with questions and others hurry to leave, disregarding their modesty as they walk amongst their peers...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-71

As I run after them, Geneva’s magic touches my mind, sharing her awareness with me. I can hear the pounding hearts of the fleeing assassins but now I also have a general sense of their location, the information flowing into me. Along with it is a sense of Geneva herself as she rapidly approaches from the opposite staircase. She’s already taken down the group of three I sent her after.

Our prey isn’t blind to my pursuit. A single breath is all it takes for them to realize they can�...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-70

Every sense is hyper-focused as I walk through the dark hallways. Normally, instinct allows me to ignore most of what my sensitive ears tell me, the noise an easily ignored jumble unless it catches my attention. Now, everything is carefully parsed, as I don’t know what could be relevant.

The soft and not so soft snores of those peacefully sleeping, unaware of the potential danger. The moans and creaking wood that speaks of intimate encounters. Whispered conversations of people loathe ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-69

Dinner is a short and awkward affair. Alana and Yulia are too worried about the unexpected news to enjoy the meal, which was subpar as expected. Marcella does her best to be a charming hostess but no one’s in the mood. After filling our bellies, we retire to our rooms.

“Sure you don’t want to go back?” I ask Alana again as we’re in bed, Alana in my arms while Talia leans into my back. Though I can’t feel it, it must be a cold night, as my scowling knight cuddles up especiall...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-68

“Over here, Lou.”

As promised, Marcella is waiting for us in the hotel’s dining room. We aren’t the only ones making use of the room and several gazes turn to us as we walk toward the large table in the back. I look at the crowd, taking note of the different customers. My eyes that have mingled amongst nobility all my life have no trouble separating the fake wealth of accomplished hunters and successful merchants from the blue bloods.

Their reactions are what give them awa...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-67

“I’m glad that you’ve returned from your journey safely.”

As expected, a Guiness daughter is waiting in the lobby of the hotel when we enter, though only one, which is a bit of a surprise. Especially because it’s Marcella, the older daughter and new manager of the Quest branch of the Guiness Company.

Marquis Guiness is the wealthiest merchant in the kingdom. Inheritance is always nasty business, but it is especially so in the golden family, as the stakes are higher and t...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-66

Fen returned from the market fairly late. I was almost ready to think she was avoiding me but there was a good explanation. Spring brings the start of another academic year at the Hall. The market is full of acolytes and even new initiates preparing to better themselves through the study of magic.

Traffic is high and supplies are low. Not to mention the pair of them, Fen disguised as a beautiful woman and Junior objectively handsome, or so the succubus assures me as I can’t personally...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-65

Aurelius tries to fight me as I drag him through the house and into the welcoming room but with his weakness and my strength, I don’t notice besides his indignant mutters. I throw him onto one of the couches before undoing the restraints around his wrist and ankles. Then I untie the cloth gag in his mouth, holding it at one of its ends with pinched fingers, trying not to think too hard about where I pulled it from as I toss it aside.

“You…” His voice trails off as drool drips fr...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-64

Between the two of us, we manage to bring down the trees and make them “manageable” in a matter of hours. By the end, the axe is the worst off of us, the blade dull and dented. Kierra is completely disgusted, having expected more from the quality of its craftsmanship. Her ire isn’t directed at the smith who forged it but the poor materials he was forced to work with.

I ask her what elves normally construct their weapons from. The answer is both something I should have expected and...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-63

“What are you doing in the cold?”

“Hm?” I look up to find that the sun has sprinted toward the horizon and Kierra is standing over me. I remember sitting down after sending Geneva away, not wanting to have our next conversation under the sway of anger and self-recrimination. Time must have gotten away from me. “Nothing, I guess.”

“…come. You can help me salvage the garden.”

At her words, I finally notice the large axe she carries on in one hand and the cart...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-62 (Geneva)

As Geneva walked away from her brooding summoner, her blank expression changed, a smirk turning up the corner of her lips. One filled with humor, but not the kind of humor most would appreciate. Fate and its workings always amused her, even when it seemed the unknowable force was working against her.

She was a natural predator with all the advantages: magic, strength, longevity, and control. All of that was tempered by eons of experience. Yet, inevitably, she faced problems that not eve...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-61

“I want to know how he died.”

It might be a mistake to hear the story out of order, but this is something I can’t ignore for even a moment longer. Perhaps it’s because he died during a summoning, the least likely way I expected my father to go. It makes his death unbelievable. Hard to grasp. “You know where I want you to start.”

“…Luke Tome was in charge of designing the summoning circle. It functioned perfectly, bringing the desired drakkon forth. However, the lur...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-60

Several hours later, we’re still in our respective positions, Alana spooning me while Kierra watches over us from a distance. I have no idea what’s going on with the house and can’t bring myself to care. Crying is exhausting. “How did you know,” I ask Alana, voice hoarse and husky. “What to do, I mean. To make me…” To make me confront my feelings.

Alana runs her fingers through my hair. “In Victory, death is normal. Expected. The veterans, they see so many die they’r...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-59

“I’m fine,” I say, but it doesn’t help. In fact, it has the opposite effect that I want. Kierra looks even more distressed while Alana’s already grim expression darkens further. “You two. It’s alright.”

“Tell that to your face,” Alana grumbles before letting out a deep sigh. Then it’s her turn to grab my hand and lead me, though it’s only the short distance to the bed. I smile as she pushes me onto it, anticipation welling up as she climbs on after me. But to my ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-58

Dead?

I don’t understand. The words, yes. Individually, I can parse their meanings but together, they make no sense. My father died in a summoning?

“Are you sure?”

Fen briefly raises her head, spearing me with eyes as dark as the Abyss. Have they always been that color? Or that large? For a moment, they seem larger than my worries, just as deep and unfathomable as the afterlife said to swallow unworthy souls. I let myself drift in her gaze, a welcome break from conside...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-57

At the table, with Jac watching, Fen played the part of the obedient elemental strictly bound by her contract, standing quietly behind Junior’s chair. I trust my cousin, now more than ever, but I still won’t share my more important secrets with her. The less she knows the better, for her and for me.

While I never thought I had to be wary of the crown, one of the reasons I was so reticent about sharing secrets is I feared they would be ripped from the vulnerable minds of the people I...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-56

“What do you mean he’s missing?”

“I mean he’s—wait. This is going to be confusing if I don’t start at the beginning.” Jac grabs her cup and takes a long drink. Water from the smell, or rather the lack of one. Then she clears her throat. “It starts with those decrees, those stupid bans. I understand the king wanting to kick the Grim—the Masons while they’re down to make sure they don’t get back up but the insensitive way they handled it pissed off every summoner i...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-55

While the servants see to the guests and get them out of the house, not our house anymore, dammit, I take a very much needed bath. My body is a little sore, a testament to how, er, demanding last night was, and I’m covered in all manners of dried fluid. Not to mention I reek of sex. I scrub myself vigorously before soaking in a scented bath, using my last moments of peace to fortify my mind and steel my resolve.

An hour later, I’m ready to face the problems our night of revelry held...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-54

Overwhelming. I could describe my time with the women from the Temple with many words but that one is the most appropriate.

Too many sights. Too many smells. Too many hands and lips, touching and kissing too many places. There’s no room for thought, only the capacity to feel and the instincts to react. When lips brush my own, I kiss. I follow the urging of rough hands that move me about and meet thrusting hips with my own. My hands gravitate to bare skin, doing as they please with no ...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-53

With arms like hers and the desire in her eyes, I expect her to start tearing off my clothes in a sexual frenzy, like Kierra when she’s particularly eager. Instead, Shake handles me with the same care she’s shown all night, carefully peeling me out of my clothes, gently urging me to move as needed, and dropping them in a neat pile as opposed to the lack of care she shows her own garments.

Then she begins to question me. She asks about the properties of my hair as she runs her finger...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-52

Not all the Templetees follow me inside the house. The guy with the snake scales lies down beneath one of the colorful standing torches, eyes hooded as a hand distractedly rubs his stomach. I’m not surprised he doesn’t want to move when he practically inhaled a good quarter of the giant pig. At one point, his jaw was unhinged, allowing him to shove slabs of meat down his throat without swallowing. If he moves too fast, he might explode.

Mouse Tail also doesn’t follow us. Interesti...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-51

“Saints preserve him,” I mutter. After Lane’s dramatic exit, the room goes about its business, but tension lingers. Watching a tragedy unfold is uncomfortable, even if it has no bearing on my life. I hate that he had his heart crushed, I feel for the man, I do, but another part of me thinks it’s his just desserts. What did he think he was doing, ambushing her like that? In a crowded room, no less. I can only guess that he wasn’t thinking.

And another, terrible part of me is ha...

ARC 7-Cursed Fates-50

If the confrontation between the two sisters is a road accident, the sudden exclamation is like a giant ball of fire launched into a village in the middle of the night. A surprise assault that catches people off-guard, the explosion and bright light drawing attention. It takes a moment for the shock to fade and the horror to set in.

While Alana and Yulia hurled insults at one another, they controlled themselves, keeping their voices down aside from the odd shout or curse. They drew a fe...