The Rogue’s Harem

Book Three: The Rogue’s Passionate Harem

Chapter Five: Corrupted Love

By mypenname3000

Copyright 2018

Note: Thanks to WRC 264 for beta reading this.

Chapter Thirteen: A Painful Blow

Princess Ava – Az, Princedom of Kivoneth, The Strifelands of Zeutch

My soul poured into the jade beetle I left in my father’s study. It was as close as I could get to him. I needed him so badly. That lust surged through me. It filled me with such passion. I missed him so much. I needed him to breed me.

He had to breed me.

I inhabited the proxy. I became the jade beetle and… and…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sven Falk

“Gods damn,” I groaned, my dick throbbing. Ava had kicked me hard. My balls pulsed with agony to the beat of my heart. I felt the pain all the way up in my stomach. It shot through me. I clenched my fist and snarled, “Las’s putrid cum, Ava!”

Greta and Nathalie both bolted up from the side of Ava. The two blonde sex slaves trembled, Greta’s large tits bouncing and heaving as her jaw dropped. Nathalie clapped her hands over her mouth, staring at me with trembling eyes.

Ava went limp as I cupped my tender balls, my teeth gritted against the pain. I stared down at the princess as she lay on the journeyman’s bed. Her small breasts rose and fell with her slow, measured breath, her eyes closed. I was so confused by what just happened. Why had she freaked out when I tried to penetrate her.

She normally welcomed my cock into her. She never had a problem with fucking me. We made love last night. She rode my cock plenty of times. I took her virginity. She loved bouncing on me hard, working that silky pussy up and down my shaft while she begged for my cock. She was always eager for me to enter her, to breed her. Just now she wanted to have my child, to be my woman.

“Brother mine!” Kora gasped as she threw herself on the bed. She grabbed me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said, shrugging my shoulders and hiding the pain. “She just grazed me. I’ve taken worst blows to my balls.” It was a lie. Ava planted her foot right squarely on both of them. It hurt so Gods damned much. The pain faded, but torture still stabbed up into my groin while sweat broke out across my forehead.

My nuts felt so tender.

“What happened?” Kora asked, staring down at Ava.

I shook my head, staring down at her. “She was babbling about… about having to be bred by her father.” A dark, bubbling anger swelled through me, fed by the pain pulsing through my nuts. “That she wanted only that Las-damned bastard to… to… fuck her.”

My left hand squeezed hard, muscles bulging in my arms. Why would she want that black-hearted, cock-sucking murderer to breed her? She hated her father. She plotted with us to destroy him. She felt so guilty for what he did to break our betrothal. While trying to kill me, he burned down the house where my little sister and parents slept.

“Why would she want her father to breed her?” Kora asked, her voice growing tight.

Greta let out a whimper.

My eyes shot to her. “What is going on?”

“She… she…” Greta trembled, her large breasts swaying before her. Then she buried her face into her hands, shaking her head with violence.

“Tell me what is going on!” I growled at her. I seized her shoulders in a powerful grip. “Now!”

Greta let out a whimper and shook her head. Her shoulders shook in my hands. Gasping sobs burst from her in between shuddering sniffles. She let out a keening whine, her voice thick from crying as she tried to pull away from me.

My hands tightened on her. I wanted to shake the Las-damned answer from her. She knew something and wasn’t telling me. My balls throbbed in pain, feeding the rage surging through me. It demanded I force the answers out of her.

But that wouldn’t help. She was shaken. I knew women. I understood them. Shouting at her, raging at her, wouldn’t get answers. It would only drive her into more sobs. I beat down that anger, forcing it to join the throbbing pain.

I had to be in control here.

I released her shoulder and, gently, pulled her hands from her face. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her blue eyes swollen. She looked away from me, beads of runny snot beading at her nostrils, bubbling as she sobbed. I cupped her face, lifting her. Her eyes darted around, not wanting to meet mine.

My thumb swept across her smooth cheek, brushing a tear as I leaned over her over the sleeping Ava. “I need to know what’s going on, Greta.”

“I… I…” She swallowed, shaking her head in my grip.

“I’m afraid for her.” I leaned forward, staring into her eyes. “I need to know what made her panic. I’ve never seen her terrified like that. Not even… that night.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kora Falk

That night…

Sven’s words struck me hard. The memory of that night a year ago assaulted me with such visceral presence. The memories felt so fresh, like it happened just moments ago. I could remember the euphoria of the drink buzzing through my veins as I stumbled home with my brother and Ava. Despite the good feelings the night spent carousing at the tavern had given me, envy surged through me.

My brother strolled with his arm around Ava’s shoulder. The princess had such a huge smile on her face, looking so thrilled to be with him. She held him tight, her head leaning on his shoulder. He had a pleased grin on his handsome face, cutting such a fine figure in his tight-fitting shirt, the lacings half-undone to expose his muscular chest. He wore a thick codpiece to draw eyes to his groin.

It made me think of his cock, picturing the few times I’d seen it. I wanted him so badly. This was before Zanyia showed my brother and me that we both had feelings for each other. A year before, I was just a priestess of Rithi who loved her brother and thought nothing could come of it. I believed I could never be in Ava’s position.

My brother made a quip that brought a snort of laughter from Ava. Her mirth sang out through the near-empty, late night street of Az. We turned the corner. Despite my envy, I was looking forward to visiting our home. I lived in the temple. I hadn’t been home in weeks. I missed seeing our parents and especially our little sister, Katriana.

The harsh orange spilled across the street. It danced and crackled as the flames consumed our house. Great tongues of red leaped into the air. The shock punched me in the guts. I stumbled and grabbed my brother’s arm to steady myself.

Our parents… Our sister!

“Katriana!” growled Sven.

“No, no, Father, what have you done?” Ava gasped, clasping hands over her face as she stared at the horror before us.

And then I saw them. The soldiers standing in the street, the fire glinting off the curves of their armor. They stood there watching the house burn. They surrounded it, forming a perimeter. I shook my head, my eyes so wide. There were so many of them and they weren’t helping. They were… hindering…

I couldn’t believe it. My mind rebelled from the implications. I shook my head, not wanting to believe that the soldiers could have set fire to our house. I was frantic to believe that they were there to help. They must have saved our family but… but… They had their weapons out. They stood facing the fire, looking so grim.

“That Las-damned bastard,” Sven roared, pointing ahead.

That was when I saw Prince Meinard ride into view, coming around the house from the side. He sat astride a massive warhorse, looking resplendent in his armor, his face dark shadows surrounded by his lank, blond hair.

Sven broke away from Ava. His hand ripped his dueling sword from its scabbard. He bellowed with such rage. He pounded down the street. Soldiers turned. Prince Meinard pointed, shouting something. Metal clinked. I could only stand there, still stunned by shock. I didn’t know what to do.

Missiles hissed through the air. My brother staggered and collapsed. He hit hard, landing on his face, his body twitching. Another arrow clattered against the road by his limp form, a missile skittering across the pavement, steel point sparking against the flagstones before it came to a rest. Fear clutched at my belly, swallowing the shock that gripped me.

“Brother mine!” I screamed and raced at him.

Something tugged at my sleeve. A blur buzzed past my face, rustling my hair. Archers fired at me. I didn’t care. I reached my brother. Blood flowed from a wound on his scalp. A furrow of skin dangled from a wound, his skull exposed. A part of my mind, this strangely calm part of me remote from the gibbering fear, realized the arrow had glanced off his skull and knocked him out.

He needed magic.

Armor jangled.

Soldiers charged.

That calm part of me acted. While fear gripped me, I found my hand slipping between my pink robes as Ava joined me beside Sven. I shoved my fingers between my thighs, rubbing at my pussy. Despite my fear, my juices flowed, my temple training serving me well. I needed my cream to power my magic.

I conjured an illusion.

“Yes, yes, Kora,” Ava gasped nearby as the soldiers charged down the street. “Hide him. Protect him.”

I shook my head, coming out of my memory of that day. My illusions sent the soldiers charging down a side-street chasing a fake version of Sven and me. Ava rushed up to her father, demanding answers. She was so scared and yet she hadn’t frozen up. She hadn’t panicked despite her father trying to kill the man she loved.

So why had she panicked when Sven tried to enter her now? She’d always welcomed his cock in her at every opportunity. Fear roiled through my guts. I touched Ava and… I frowned. I felt something… An aura. It was faint, almost imperceptible, but it tingled through me. As Sven pleaded with Greta for answers, I turned my head and found the faerie watching from the side of the bed beside Ealaín.

“Aingeal,” I said, my voice tight. “Come here.”

Chapter Fourteen: Corrupted Love

Princess Ava – Echur, Princedom of Kivoneth, The Strifelands of Zeutch

My lusts quieted down. My jade beetle proxy didn’t have sexual organs. It didn’t have a pussy to feel that aching need to be fucked by my father. I shuddered in my current form, frightened by the powerful lust that seized me. I… I wanted to be bred by my father so badly, I didn’t care about anything but taking his seed in me.

I only needed his seed. Only he could impregnate me. Sven could never do that…

I clicked my mandibles and twitched my six legs in the dark crevasse in the wall where I’d left the jade beetle. What would I do? How could I go back to Sven and tell him that he couldn’t breed me? That only my father could plant a baby in my belly. I dreaded telling him how I cheated on him over and over with my father. It didn’t matter that the spell on me had swelled my lusts so that I craved my father’s cock. That even though I hated him, I wanted him in me, spurting his incestuous seed into my fertile depths.

“Your forces are in retreat,” a voice said, drawing me out of my turmoil. I knew that voice. “They were flanked by Prince Reinhold’s forces and you lost a third of their numbers.”

It was Shevoin, my father’s master mage. I crept forward to the edge of the crevasse, staring out at my father’s study from my low perspective. His desk towered over me. The black-robed, older man stood before the desk, his face pale, his liver-spotted hands rubbing together before him. My father sat at his desk, hands clasped before him. He looked even paler than usual, all the color drained from him, his pallid skin almost blending into the gray doublet he wore. His blond hair so light it was almost white.

“They have to hold at the border,” my father said, his voice colder than the heart of winter, more frigid than a howling blizzard. “Only a few more days until we have secured the aid of our new ally.”

My mandibles clicked together as my father’s words rolled over me. What was going on? In retreat? Prince Reinhold ruled the princedom to the east. With my father’s army made of statues destroyed by Sven freeing the slaves bound to the Lodestone, his conquest was crumbling. His mad plan to make himself first the Kaiser of Zeutch then the High King, claiming Peter’s crown, were in ruins.

But he had a new ally? Who?

I could faintly hear Sven calling for me. My real body shook. He wanted me to wake up, but I couldn’t go back to him and confess the truth. He would hate me. I hated myself for how much I enjoyed my father’s cock.

I resisted. I stayed here in my body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aingeal – Az, Princedom of Kivoneth, The Strifelands of Zeutch

“Please, Greta, talk to me,” Sven said as I drifted to the bed.

“What is it, Kora?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s so faint. You have better senses for magic.”

I touched her. abjuration spirits danced around Ava, responding to my will. The flying balls of blue, visible only to me, caressed her body then touched me. I shuddered as they passed the information to me, my forehead furrowing.

“Yes, there’s an… enchantment upon her,” I said. “It’s subtle. I never detected it before. It’s active right now, and it’s affecting her badly. It’s also divine in origin.”

“It’s from a corrupted priestess of Luben,” Greta said, her voice tight. “It was done on behalf of her… her father. He wants a child from her. A son. That’s why she fled him.”

“What are you saying?” Sven asked, his voice surprisingly gentle. I could see the anger trembling through his body, but he controlled it as he stroked Greta’s tear-stained cheeks.

“Th-that she has a strong desire to… to sleep with him,” Greta said. “To be bred by him. That’s why she fled him. Because she couldn’t fight it any longer. She was afraid she would be lost to her desire for him. That she would never escape it.”

“She’s had… sex with him?” Sven asked, his voice growing flat.

I shivered, feeling like the temperature drop in the room.

Greta nodded her head, looking away from my husband. “Many times, Master.”

Sven glanced at Ava, his face blank stone. What was he thinking? I could feel the conflict inside of him as he grabbed Ava’s shoulders and shook her slumbering form. His breath quickened as his jaw tightened.

What would he do now after learning Ava… cuckolded him with her father?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Princess Ava – Echur, Princedom of Kivoneth, The Strifelands of Zeutch

Shevoin nodded his head. “I will relay the message to your forces, your Highness. I will make them understand that they must hold for a little while longer.”

My father nodded then waved his hand in dismissal.

With a short bow, Shevoin turned, his black robes whisking, and practically fled the room. The old man vanished out of the door, closing it behind him with care. My father leaned back in his chair, his eyes growing distant as he stared at some far-away point.

I studied him. I didn’t know what to do. The lusts were gone, but… I couldn’t go back to Sven. I couldn’t face him. I could just live as a jade beetle. No sexual desire. The Las-damned spell on my flesh wouldn’t inflame my lusts. I was free of it so long as I stayed here in my little crevasse. It was tight and dark and safe.

I deserved to be an insect for being so weak. For giving into my lust over and over. I loved Sven, and yet I guzzled my father’s cum. I sucked his cock. I begged him to fuck my cunt and asshole. I rode his dick, reveling in the incestuous pleasure. This man wanted to murder my Sven. He killed my betrothed’s parents and sister. He was a monster.

And I fucked him. I gave him pleasure.

I was just about to wiggle deeper into my crevasse when I spotted the bug crawling across the floor. A shiver ran through me. I hated bugs, and since I was insect size, this one looked as big as a horse and…

It wasn’t like any insect I had ever seen.

It scuttled on small, hair-like limbs. Hundreds of them. The thing’s segmented body looked strangely… melted. Like it was made of wax, heated so its exterior flowed and dribbled and then hardened into a new shape. It wasn’t natural.

I froze. What if it saw me? What if it scurried towards me on those disgusting legs? It had a pair of scything mandibles before it. My father didn’t notice it as he stared absently ahead. The thing headed for his desk. What was it? Was it something wanting to harm him?

I wanted to flee my proxy and return to my body. Sven shook me again. He called for me. He had to know the truth by now. Greta would have told him. He must be furious with me. He must hate me, see me as scum, and yet…

Yet that thing wasn’t with Sven. I could get away from it…

The creature stopped a foot before my father’s desk, pausing about where Shevoin stood. It lifted its head, those cruel, hooking mandibles opened wide. A green flight flooded out of its mouth, the harsh emerald painting the stones of the floor, deepening the shadows of their joints. The light reached up into the air, forming and swirling.

“Pater’s cock,” my father gasped, bolting to his feet. His chair rocked back and fell over, the back crashing into the book shelf behind him.

He reached for the dagger on his belt as the green light formed into the appearance of a naked woman. She looked lithe and lovely, her breasts full and round. A green aura shone around her pale flesh, hairless flesh. The smooth curve of her head gave her a strange, exotic air about her. Her hands stroked her body.

“Greetings, Prince Meinard,” the woman spoke, her voice sounding strange. It almost was like a buzz even though it had a sensuous purr. It echoed through the room. It didn’t come from her, but seemed to come from everywhere else.

“What are you?” Father asked, his dagger whisking as he drew it. He clutched the length of steel in his hand, holding it low as he faced the naked woman.

“The Messenger,” the woman said while the thing projecting it trembled, its mandibles twitching.

“One of the Paragon’s creatures?”

My father’s question made my mandibles twitch. He knew about the Paragon?

“Yes, I am,” the projection said, her hands grasping her bountiful breasts. She squeezed them, wiggling her hips. “Things are growing more dire, your highness.”

“Oh?” Father asked, sheathing the dagger. “Your mistress has heard of my army’s route in Anaopeth?”

The woman shook her head. “Your daughter has gone to the priests of Krab in Az.”

I let out a click of dismay. The Paragon knew where we were. The monstrosity was tracking our movements.

“And?” my father asked.

“Those who can build can also destroy,” the Messenger answered, the insectoid twitching, the projection pinching her fat nipples, twisting them and quivering in delight. “They also know how to manipulate.”

My father furrowed his brow.

“The Paragon is adding a condition to your agreement.”

“Really?” my father growled, leaning over his desk. “She wishes to renegotiate now?”

“It is not an onerous task. Destroy the Temple of Krab in Az and kill all its priests.”

My father’s cheek twitched. “Done.”

I pressed my body low. My thoughts whirled. Everything changed in a moment. How long had my father known I was in Az? How long had he worked with the Paragon? How soon would it be until his forces arrived?

Flashes of Journeyman Carsina and Master Theophil exploded through my thoughts. We couldn’t let them die just because I visited the temple. I had to go back to Sven. I had to warn him. I had to face the consequences of my actions. But… but…

Sven would hate me.

He would stare at me with such disgust. I couldn’t face my betrayal. There was no man I could sleep with that would hurt Sven more than fucking my father. I pressed back into the crevasse as the projection faded away.

I just wanted to stay here. I would never have to see the hurt in my Sven’s eyes. I squeezed my proxy’s eyes shut. Darkness plunged around me. I curled my segmented legs beneath me, wiggling my narrow, wide body down onto my belly, making myself as small as possible.

I could just stay here forever and…

And let those I care about be in danger…

Strong, masculine hands touched my body. I could hear Sven calling me. A finger touched my nipple, stroking it. My real form felt remote, the tingle racing through my flesh almost more a memory. I could ignore it. I could—

Sven whispered three words.

I love you.

I abandoned my proxy and opened my real eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sven Falk – Echur, Princedom of Kivoneth, The Strifelands of Zeutch

Ava’s blue eyes opened as I stroked her nipple. I loomed over her sleeping form, my face inches from hers. Her arms flew around my neck. She pulled me down and buried her face into my neck. Her body shook. Her tears felt so hot as she sobbed into me.

“I’m so sorry,” she moaned between shuddering moans. “Please, please, don’t hate me. I… I couldn’t help myself. I’m so sorry, Sven. I love you. I do!”

I scooped her up in my arms. I held her against me as she poured out her emotions. She clung to me with such desperation. I stroked her strawberry-blonde hair and rocked her. Anger rippled through me.

But not at her.

“Greta told me.”

“I… I cheated on you so many times,” she sobbed, her voice strangled by emotion. “I slept with him. My father! I enjoyed it. I’m such a whore, Sven. Such a filthy, disgusting hussy. Please, please, forgive me.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I told her.

“I did! I was his slut, Sven.” She lifted her head, her raw eyes staring at me as they swam with more tears. “I did everything to please him.”

“And?” I asked, keeping any of that anger out of my voice. She wasn’t to blame.

She furrowed her brow. A sniffling inhalation shook her body. “You’re not angry? Why aren’t you angry? You should hate me. Think I’m filthy. I am filthy.”

“You’re not!” I growled, unable to hide my fury. “It’s not your fault a corrupted priestess put a spell on you.”

“But… but…”

“You can’t help these amplified desires,” I continued. If I ever found the bitch who did this, I would wring her Las-damned neck. “You couldn’t help that her enchantment drove you wild with lust that you couldn’t control yourself. It’s not your fault. You have nothing to feel guilty about. I don’t hate you. I’m not angry at you. It’s not your fault.

“It’s your father’s fault. That bastard deserves to have Dauthaz’s scythe cut off his balls for what he did to you before the God of Death rips out his souls and carries him to the Astral Plane to suffer for his crimes.”

She blinked at me. “But… but…”

I cupped her face and bore into her eyes. “You are not his whore. You are not his slut. You are my betrothed. No spell cast by a Las-fucking priestess will change that. And we’re going to do something about it. We’re going to break it.”

Her eyes widened. Something changed in her expression. Warmth billowed in her sapphire eyes. A tremulous smile grew on her red lips. Her arms tightened about me as she leaned closer to me. I smelled her musk. It filled my nose as she whimpered.

“Y-you mean that? You’re going to free me?”

“Of course,” I told her. “Did you think I’d let one of my women be chained by a spell, let alone to your whore-poxed father?”

“Sven…” she said and then she kissed me.

Salt adorned her lips. She clung to me, her small breasts rubbing on my naked chest as she shook. Her tears spilled down her cheeks, seasoning the kiss as she trembled against me. I held her tight. I loved her with all my might.

I would make Prince Meinard pay. He had one more crime to answer for. I would yank out his guts and listen to him howl for what he did to his daughter. Such fury rippled through me. I wanted to march to Echur right now, ride day and night to reach there and plunge my dagger into his chest.

Ava broke the kiss. “Aingeal… She can do it, right?” The princess cast her gaze over to my faerie wife kneeling beside us, her butterfly wings fluttering behind her. “You can free me?”

“No, it’s powerful enchantment that’s settled deep into your soul,” she answered. “It’s subtle magic placed there by a god. By Las himself. My spirits don’t have the strength to break it.”

“Oh,” Ava said.

“But a priest or priestess of Luben will,” Kora said. “The God of Love can counter his son’s lusts. There’s a temple here in Az. We’ll go right away. We’ll save you.”

“You won’t be a slave to your desires for him any longer,” I told my princess.

“Thank you,” Ava said, a huge smile exploding across her lips. “I… I…” Then her body stiffened. “I almost forgot, but I learned something terrible while I was in my proxy in my father’s study. He’s aligned himself with the Paragon. They know we’re here. He… He’s going to burn this temple down and kill Carsina and Theophil. We have to act. We don’t have time to break this spell.”

Her words whipped through me. I stiffened. Meinard and the Paragon… Of course that slimy, diseased bastard would align with the Biomancer’s monstrosity. My mind worked through the problem, evaluating it, weighing possibilities. We needed to get into the Vault. We had to find the key to the Altar of Souls. It meant losing Kora, but…

But the amulet had to be destroyed. Especially if the Paragon knew about us. Knew we were here. I didn’t miss that implication. If Prince Meinard knew enough to destroy the temple, we must be being watched. Probably by the Paragon. And now he knew where we were.

But Echur was days away.

“We have time,” I told her. “We’ll break the spell, conceive a child, and find the key to the Altar of Souls. Then we can send Carsina and Theophil into hiding or something. We’ll be out of Az here long before your father’s men can arrive.”

Or anything else the Paragon might send.

Chapter Fifteen: Faith in Love

Zanyia

My tail swished as we entered the Temple of Fidelity. It had a stodgy air about it, like this place was adverse to fun. It made my ears twitch and my tail prickle. I wanted to scamper all around the temple and rub my pussy on every inch of it. To drench this place in something naughty.

Everything was made of white marble streaked with black or black marble streaked with white. Everywhere I looked, the colors alternated. The pillars out front holding up the roof of the porch went from boring light to dull dark. The stones formed a checkered pattern of the walls, the floor, the ceiling. It hurt my eyes staring at the patterns.

“I don’t like this at all,” I said as I scampered beside Master.

“It’s the blending of the feminine and the masculine in perfect union,” Kora said from my other side. “Luben believes that true harmony can only happen when a man and a woman unite their lives together and work hard to make what was two become one.”

“A man and a woman?” My tail twitched. “But what about two women? Can’t they be happy together? Or a man and his wives and sex slaves?”

“While Luben is the God of Love, he’s also the God of Fidelity and Marriage,” Kora said. “And his view of marriage is one man and one woman.”

“So boring,” I said, shaking my tail.

“Yes, that’s how lust views love,” a woman said.

I felt eyes staring at me. Two figures approached, a tall and slender man with a brown beard dusted with age who walked next to a motherly woman with short, blonde hair. They both wore priestly robes, his black and trimmed with white, hers the opposite. Just like everything here.

I rolled my eyes at the judgment I felt in their gazes as they stared at my naked flesh.

“Lust seeks to pervert the purpose of our bodies,” the man said. “We were formed to unite together like Pater unites with his wife Slata, to form a perfect union. Thus, by our act of love, we create new life.”

“Lust makes things more fun,” I muttered. “I like women and men. Especially Master.”

The woman smiled. “Luben understands that love can take other forms, but he sees the love that creates new life to be the strongest, the one that should be striven for, but the one that most mortals cannot ever achieve, no matter how hard they strive. For the temptation of Las abounds, especially with his descendants in the world running around naked.”

“The world deserves to see how beautiful I am,” I said, proud that lamia were birthed from Las’s masturbation..

“Yes, spreading Las’s lust,” the priest said. Then his eyes slid to my Master. “You walk with many women. Another who has found a lesser form of love.”

“Lesser?” Sven asked. “I love all these women here, and you call that lesser? I unite with them. Procreate with them. I think you’d celebrate that.”

“Interesting perspective,” the priest said. “Would you care to discuss it over tea? We could talk about the pitfalls of polyamory and its weaknesses versus monogamy.”

Sven smiled and gave a rueful laugh. “I very much doubt you could convince me that sticking to one woman is at all in my interest. Not when there are so many out there in need of my charm.” He grinned at the priestess and winked at her. “Though, perhaps I could talk with your wife on the matter.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You are a cocky one.”

The priest just laugh. “I think that would be an… enlightening conversation for you, son, if you survived her tongue.”

“Oh, I always enjoy a woman’s tongue.”

“Brother mine, stop antagonizing the priest,” Kora said, giving him a look over my head. “We’re here for a reason.”

“Yes,” Ealaín added, her armor rattling as she folded her arms.

Aingeal only giggled. “It’s a shame. Your wife would really enjoy sparring orally with my husband. He is quite skilled with his tongue.”

“Please,” Ava said, her voice tight. “I… I need your help.”

Sven stiffened and nodded his head. His cocky smile vanished. “I apologize, priest. I can’t help myself sometimes. I was born to flirt with a pretty woman. Of course, I wouldn’t try to seduce your wife from breaking her vows of fidelity.”

The priestess gave a snort of disdain. I breathed in and… smelled only amused contempt from the woman. Not a stirring of lust at all for my Master. I furrowed my brow and wanted to glare at her. She should be dripping wet for my Master. She should be honored that he wanted to give her pleasure. Every woman should.

I wanted to pounce on her and kiss her and lick her and drive her wild until she begged for Sven to take her and…

Ava. We were here for Ava.

“I am sorry, too,” I said, bowing my head, my ears drooping. “I… I just like having fun. You have to help Mistress Ava. She needs it.”

“Please,” Ava said, stepping forward.

The priestess cupped Ava’s cheeks and stared into her eyes. The priestess groaned. “Oh, I am so sorry that happened to you, child. How terrible. Of course we will help you. I’m Thea, and this is my husband Otmar. Come, come with us.”

“What has happened to her, wife?” Otmar asked, fatherly concern crossing his face. He stroked his gray-peppered beard.

“Swanhilda,” Thea said, her voice thick. The sour scent of anger poured off of her along with a prickly emotion. I breathed in deeply, parsing out her musk from the others around me, cataloging it with my sensitive nose.

Was it guilt?

“Who is Swanhilda?” Sven asked.

“The rogue priestess who enchanted your, uh, paramour,” Thea said. “I can feel her twisted enchantment on the poor girl’s soul.”

“You know about her?” Ava asked. “Swanhilda?”

“Aye,” sighed Otmar. “She was a promising priestess of Luben. She was raised in the faith, met a male acolyte, and started a courtship. They married as their final stage of initiation into the priesthood, uniting their lives together. They seemed happy. They took up the care of a village temple in western Zeutch.”

“And then she met a passing bard, one of those graduates from Az’s famed college,” Thea said, her voice tightening.

I didn’t care much about the story of this Swanhilda, my head darting around. I noticed a mural on the wall that made me blink. It was made of the same whites and blacks, the darker colors adding deep shadows and lines to make the white figures stand out more. A sad man watched on as a woman lay in the passionate arms of another man.

My head cocked. As Thea explained how Swanhilda abandoned her vows to have a torrid affair with the bard, I found myself drifting towards the mural, padding along on all fours. This picture didn’t fit here. It was clearly a woman doing exactly what this Swanhilda did.

“It broke her vows to our God and twisted her priestly connection,” Thea was saying as I reached the mural. “Las stepped in as he always does when one of his father’s servants becomes weak. She dedicated herself to lust, becoming such a hussy. After she tired of her dalliance with the bard, she moved onto other vices. But she needs money. She rents our her magics, prostitutes herself in every way imaginable. She put a spell of ardor on Ava, giving her an unnatural attraction to another.”

“My father,” Ava whispered.

“Did you make a mural about Swanhilda?” I asked, standing only a foot away. I peered at the sad man. “Is this her husband watching her cuckold him.”

“No, no,” Otmar said. I heard the padding of feet, the rustling of robes. His scent grew stronger. “That is Luben witnessing his wife, Biaute lying with one of her many lovers. If you notice the slight curve to her belly.”

“She’s pregnant!” I gasped, staring at the representation of the Goddess of Beauty.

“The only child she ever conceived for her husband, Luben,” Otmar said. “But her wanton ways corrupted their son. Las was birthed brimming with desire. But Luben loved her still. He was faithful to her, welcoming her back after her trysts.”

“What a fool,” I said, my tail slashing behind me. “Why would anyone want to be with someone who cheats on them and hurts them? Look at how sad he is.”

“Very…” Otmar said, his voice thick. I smelled shame bleeding off of him. “Just like Swanhilda’s husband, our God made an oath. He could not break it. Nor could he change how his heart felt. He could only hope that Biaute would one day stop hurting him.”

That sounded utterly foolish. Why be with someone that caused you pain. My last Masters hurt me all the time. But Sven… I chose him to be my owner. He didn’t hurt me. Well, he did, but in a way that made me feel even sexier. But he didn’t injure my heart.

“Swanhilda is your daughter, isn’t she?” I asked.

“She is,” Otmar said, his voice tight. “Which is why we will do what we can for Ava. But the only way to break the spell is through marriage.”

“Marriage?” Sven asked. “You mean, a Lubenite marriage?”

I frowned at that. It didn’t sound… like anything my Sven would want.

“I’m not one for monogamy,” Sven continued.

“I think you’ve proven that, brother mine,” Kora said. She was so much more comfortable loving her brother now. The more people who learned about their incestuous love, the more pride she took in it.

“It is the only way,” Thea said. “You will have to limit your love to just Ava, swearing before Luben to be her faithful husband.”

“But I have more women I love,” Sven said. “I won’t cut off my heart from them.”

“Do you truly love all these women?” Skepticism thickened the priestess’s voice.

It made me bristle. “Of course he does,” I hissed, whirling around from the mural. “He loves me and Nathalie. He loves Kora and Aingeal and Ava. He’s falling in love with Greta and Ealaín, too.”

Sven gave me a strange look. For a moment, I caught something in his scent. Something pained. My brow furrowed but before I could say anything, he said, “She’s right. I have a big heart. I care for my women. I love them. I don’t want to give them up, but…”

“No,” Ava said. “He shouldn’t have to give them up. I accept that he loves them. I love them. I don’t want to be monogamous either. I want to share my heart with Sven’s other women.”

Thea studied my Master. “Follow me, young man.”

Sven returned her invitation with an arched, cocky smile.

“Prove to me that you truly love all these women,” she said. “Convince Luben of the sincerity of your heart.”

The priestess whirled around, her short hair flaring out from her head. Then she marched with purpose through the worship hall, her footsteps echoing through the high vaults. Sven marched after her, his long strides catching up to her in a few paces. He fell in beside her as she led him to a side door. They vanished through it.

I glanced up at Otmar. “Not worried that my Master will convince your wife that he can love more than one woman by showing her his passion? He has a fondness for married women. He always finds that they… respond to a younger lover. Someone that can give them pleasure.” I couldn’t help myself. “He is skilled with women. He knows how to touch us. How to give us what he wants. He’s pleased faerie princesses and queens. He’s seduced farm wives and noble ladies. He has that smile that just makes you feel so womanly when he gives it to you. It makes me quiver.”

Otmar shrugged.

“So you have no doubts that your wife won’t fall to his blandishments? That she’s not yearning for delights she experienced in her younger days. Before your marriage.”

“We both were virgins when we married,” he answered.

“Then maybe she’s curious at what she’s missed. She must have counseled so many couples who couldn’t stay faithful to monogamy. She’s heard from so many women about the delights they experienced with other men. Maybe… it’s in the back of her mind.” My tail swished faster. This was a fun game. He stood there so rigid. So confident in his wife.

I breathed in and still smelled no jealousy. I hoped my Master did cuckold this man.

“Those of us who have sworn to monogamy devote ourselves to sharing pleasures with our spouse,” Otmar said, his voice calm. I didn’t detect any jealousy or worry souring his scent. “Thea and I have explored all the delights two can share with each other. She has no need to search for her pleasure from another. It’s one of the things we are taught. Sharing physical love, maintaining that intimacy, is an important part of sustaining fidelity.”

“So… your daughter and her husband had that same training, and yet she dallied.” I couldn’t help myself.

His jaw tightened.

I winced. “I am sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

He relaxed after a moment. “I swore my fidelity.” He turned to face the mural. “I would be like Luben, watching as my Biaute strayed time and time again, unable to stop her because you can’t control those you love.

“You can only have faith in them that they won’t hurt you.”

I nodded my head, getting that, at least. “I did that with Sven. I believed in him. I gave myself to him. I’m his slave, even though he keeps trying to free me. It’s a little annoying when he does that.”

The priest smiled at me. “It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? Trusting the one you love.”

“Yes, it is,” I said, nodding my head in full agreement. A strange worry crossed my stomach. Maybe Sven would try to seduce this man’s wife. He couldn’t help himself. He was a rogue. He enjoyed the challenge, and a priestess of Luben, one whose vows were sworn to a God himself, would be such a triumph to bed.

But if he did… How would we help Ava then? Why did Thea need to lead only Sven off? Ava claimed she loved others, too, but it was my Master that the priestess sought to interrogate alone. My stomach suddenly roiled.

I glanced that the priest as he stood resolute in his faith of his wife. I hoped it wasn’t misplaced.

To be continued…

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