Chapter 2-5

What we had to work with turned out to be quite extensive.

An entire small herd of pack goats awaited us, as well as their tack and packs. The goats of Ramana were valuable. The large, sturdy animals were sure footed, and could carry heavy loads compared to their own weight. They were also far smarter and swifter than oxen, and could forage nearly anywhere. On top of everything else they produced a thick coat of wool in winter, which was highly valued for making cloth or rope.

My own goats, Ita and Ina, had been pulling my cart for years. I’d even strengthened them with my own mana, not wanting to lose them to age, or some random ailment. An entire herd, properly utilized and cared for, could sustain a thriving ranch.

Aside from our pack beasts, there was a large amount of supplies and hard currency. Enough to shelter and feed our entire company on the move. The food was all dried and preserved, enough to sustain us for a couple of weeks, and that was clearly intended to be emergency supplies. We could forage, and purchase fresh food as our primary sustenance.

Then Yatek showed me the real treasure. An entire trunk of infused herbs and minerals. Enough to help fuel an entire school of budding sorcerers. It was possible, of course, for a new sorcerer to grow and develop their mana naturally. But the earliest stages were the hardest, when a sorcerer had an undeveloped aspect, and a weak will.

Supplements like these helped strengthen and enhance the spirit early, bypassing that weak and **** time. Potentially saving years of development.

“This… this is a fortune.” I muttered. “Far more than I expected. Does Ramana expect me to train the entire company as sorcerers?”

“He does.” Yatek answered casually. “He has great expectations for the last of the Mithali.”

Sati scoffed in disbelief, and I didn’t exactly blame her. I was surprised though, that she knew of the Mithali at all.

“Whatever expectations he has, they can’t be good.” I struggled to keep my voice even, but when Yatek’s hand hit my shoulder I flinched violently.

“Things are not always what you think.” The minister didn’t touch me again. I knew he was trying to offer me some kind of comfort, but I couldn’t accept it from him. “You will need a great deal of support to act against the Pure, and to defend an apsara. The king considers this to be an investment in his own interests.”

I nodded, staring blankly ahead. Yatek left me to my thoughts, presumably returning to the estate. Myta pressed against my back, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. She didn’t speak, just letting her love and trust soak into me.

Sati was the one to shake me from my funk, however.

“Just how old are you?” She had an indignant, demanding tone. “Mithal fell a hundred years ago. But your spirit is far too weak for that!”

“Closer to eighty, it fell closer to eighty years ago.” My voice was hoarse, and Myta squeezed me tightly. Sati’s expression twisted in frustration.

“Don’t push aside my question! I know you can’t be that old, you barely look twenty!” Her presence crashed against me, fueled by her uncertain anger. She’d thought she had my measure, but Yatek had pulled the rug out from beneath her.

All at once, I felt my patience run out. I wasn’t angry with the apsara, but I was angry. For decades I’d fought to hide myself away, to restrain and veil myself. And now I’d found that not only had my efforts been wasted, but that this callow child looked down on me for it. That she dismissed me for that hard-won control.

For only the second time in long decades, I let my presence slip its leash. I pushed Sati’s presence back, and then let the full weight of my spirit bear down upon her. She was no mortal, she wasn’t so weak that I could warp or damage her spirit with just my unrefined pressure. But neither was she an immoral spirit or god, able to shake off my will with ease.

Gasping, Sati fell to the ground, collapsing under my influence. Her presence condensed, compressing around her anima to protect her from me. Not that it would have helped, if I’d intended her harm. With the bond between us I could have ignored her defenses entirely. Instead I pressured her with brute strength. The sorcerous equivalent of an arm wrestling contest.

I still held back, but only a little. Allowing the former princess to feel almost the full extent of my strength. More irresponsibly, I let her feel the edge of my ire as well. It was petty and I was old enough to know better, but she was the daughter of the man who’d killed my family, destroyed my home. And her casual contempt had worn thin. I looked down at her as she struggled to breathe evenly. Her shock, and the first edges of genuine fear, sang clearly through the bond.

There was desire in her heart too, however. A desire for my power, to tie herself to my star. And, not for the first time, I sensed a deeply buried undercurrent of lust. Apparently the former princess didn’t always long to be the one in control.

Myta’s kiss distracted me, brought me back to reason. She cupped my cheek, turning my face away from the prone and overwhelmed apsara.

“I think she’s had enough, master.” Her hand drifted down my front, gripping my swiftly responding shaft. I grunted, glancing around to see that everyone else had fled the warehouse we were in. I felt a pang of guilt that I had driven them out, but my vas’ skillful touch quickly pulled me from my self-recrimination. She shucked me from my clothes as quickly as possible. Falling to her knees, she pressed her face to my groin and inhaled deeply.

“I love the feel of your presence, master. Like a thick blanket, binding me up. But our princess isn’t ready for you yet. Let your **** take care of you. So she can learn how it’s done. Use me to ease your tensions. I’m here for you.” Myta’s words were a balm to me, soothing my irritation.

No one had been in real danger, but I hadn’t lost my temper like that for some time. I would have been embarrassed, but my flame wrapped her lips around my cock to distract me. She drove her mouth and throat down my shaft, not savoring it as she normally did. A rough and forceful act, to appease my earlier aggression.

I gripped her by her hair, feeling her approving noise vibrate my hard flesh. Sending pulses of pleasure through me. I growled and threw my head back, losing myself in the moment as I held her head in place, jerking my hips forward. Myta knew just how to press her thumbs into the sensitive spots of my pelvis. Heightening my pleasure, while warning me that she was about to ****.

As my eyes opened, and my face turned back down, I found myself meeting Sati’s eyes. She still bore a look of fear, but her hand was beneath her skirt, working rapidly. Her sweet scent reached me, a perfume that hazed my mind with lust.

My eyes lingered on the apsara, even as I began to roughly thrust. Myta made eager noise after noise, gasping and whining each time I withdrew from her throat. But my gaze lingered on Sati, and I smirked as she began to disrobe. Her almond skin was perfect and unblemished, though beading with sweat. Her hips and bust were generous and well formed.

She had a body that was shaped for, and by, lust. As a demigod, I knew that her father’s worshipers viewed all the apsara in such a way. And their faith was made manifest in a body that begged to be touched. The apsaras were dancers, courtesans, and idols of lust. None but another divine being could match the sheer sensuality of an apsara. But as beautiful as she was, Sati couldn’t hold a candle to my flame.

I let my possessive love for Myta flow through the bond, saturating our connection even as I admired the former princess’s now naked form. Both women worked themselves feverishly with their hands, while Myta encouraged me to use her for my pleasure. The bond with Sati deepened, as she, Myta, and I all rode the wave of pleasure together. We crested, my groan of satisfaction mixing with Myta’s hoarse and gulping cry, and the apsara’s loud but musical wail.

In the aftermath, I felt Sati’s sickness surge. She felt the deep bond of love and trust between Myta and I. All at once I knew that she had never shared such a bond with another, and envy ate at her veins like acid, I understood then, what lay under and behind all her arrogance.

She was afraid. Afraid of being left alone, left behind, and helpless. She focused solely on herself and her interests because she had always depended only on herself. To imagine that she was lesser, was to see herself as ultimately **** and abandoned.

I certainly didn’t love her, but in that moment I found my empathy for her. Disowned, and left to a stranger’s care. She accepted my authority because, deep down, she felt she had ****. No other options. I let my sympathy, and my protective urge shine through to her.

Sati screamed, scrambling for her clothes and then racing from the courtyard without even putting them back on. The glow of her emotions cut off abruptly, but I could hear her sobbing cries as she fled into the darkening evening.

“I think that went well.” Myta murmured into my ear, after she stood and nuzzled into my neck. I hugged her close, putting my arm around her waist. Enjoying her closeness, and laying a kiss upon her, even as I shook my head at her words.

“I’m not sure what the best way to help her is.” I replied. “But now I actually want to. Perhaps she can find a real place with us after all.”