The walk to the courtyard helped tremendously to calm my lust. My thoughts returned to my former master, Lord Antony, and I let myself mourn the loss. He had been like a father to me, at times, and I would miss him. But he'd left me behind to a broken world of predators and schemers.
Everyone knew that our kingdom had been on the brink of collapse for years. It was why the king had ordered us to summon that Hero in the first place. Per reports, he was actually serving the kingdom well. Corruption and dissention had fallen dramatically, and things were beginning to run smoothly for the first time in a lifetime.
I had believed it to be simple, until I'd actually met the man. Now I was convinced his motives were to consolidate power for himself, and have a lot of fun along the way. Our king was a degenerate. Almost every serving position in the castle was a woman, and most of them young and pretty. This preference of the king, and by extension, the kingdom, to favor pretty young things was well known in other kingdoms as well. I'd have been lying if I said my own manner of dress hadn't been informed by these preferences. There was a rumor among my peers in the Academy that I'd only been picked because I dressed like a whore.
I may have used my beauty to gain the eye of the king, but it had been my power and mastery of magic that had won the approval of the Royal Mage. To my knowledge, Anfony had never lusted for me. Whether kindly or just too old to be interested, I didn't care. It gave me a safe place in the castle, and despite my clothing, I quickly gained a reputation for being not worth the effort. They could look all they wanted, but I never let anyone touch me.
In any case, in a climate such as this, the Hero had plenty of targets. It was no wonder he wanted to stay and reshape things. The whole kingdom was chock full of pretty things for him to play with. Pretty things like me, I realized with a mixture of pride and irritation.
As I pondered all of this on my walk through the halls of the castle, I realized something else. If it was true that the throne was the Hero's aim, I was certain he would succeed, and I wanted to be on his team when it happened. I'd been willing to use my body to gain power in the past, albeit to a very small degree. But could I play the part of whore, even for him? Was that even what he wanted? From what I'd learned from his memories, I doubted very much that I could hope to appeal to him as a romantic interest. No, power was his only love.
The funeral was uneventful. A large crowd had gathered down the hill from the castle, having heard of Anfony, or at least his title. A funeral of such a high ranking member of the castle was a spectacle, after all.
The Hero was in attendance, of course, staying near the king. Or was it that he stayed near the queen? I hadn't considered he would be so brazen, but she was young and extremely beautiful. The thought of him secretly fucking the queen right under the king's nose, gave me a twisted pleasure, and I hoped I was right.
At the conclusion of the funeral, I was expected to perform the cremation. It hadn't been on the list of magics I was allowed, but I trusted in the Hero's control over me. If he wanted me to do it, I could do it.
So when the time came, I stepped forward with confidence and reached for my mana. It answered, and the spell succeeded flawlessly. I met his eyes and he regarded me evenly. Why was it so thrilling to be so completely at his mercy? I'd never known such a power as the one he had over me. I'd never felt so helpless as when I looked in his eyes. No man had ever made me feel **** the way he could. No man could make submission seem the only natural thing.
I wondered if anyone else could see what I saw when they looked into his eyes, but I doubted it. I had a part of his mind inside me. I was host to his mana. I knew him. Truly knew him. He terrified me in the way lightning terrified a child. I could only hold my breath and wait for him to strike again.
I knew that he would. I knew that I could do nothing to stop him. And I knew that he knew.
The Hero took his leave shortly after the end, citing pressing work needing his attention. I had to remain to trade pleasantries with various members of the court, present myself to the masters as the new Royal Mage, and trade stories of Anfony's life with those who knew him. I never relaxed, even after he left. Like the lightning, he was never truly gone.
I spent the rest of the evening burning with a complex and confusing desire.
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