The Devil’s Pact, The Tyrants’ Daughter
by mypenname3000
Copyright 2015

Chapter Ten: Sleeping Beauty

Tuesday, June 14th, 2072 – Queenie Glassner – Southern Oregon

My cheeks were warm and my leg throbbed when I woke up. How could a stupid scratch cause so much trouble? My upper thigh ached worse as I sat up. I reached for the pouch of willow bark, pulled out a piece, and chewed on it. It was bitter, but as I swallowed, the fever and ache diminished.

“How are you feeling?” Reina whispered as I painfully crawled out of the tent, my bladder full.

“Same as yesterday,” I lied as I stood up. My leg burned with every step. I hid my wince as I walked away to squat and pee.

So far there had been no sign of pursuit by the slain Holy Liberation soldier’s allies. Maybe they didn’t have any nearby or maybe they didn’t know which way we went. Or maybe they just hadn’t caught up. I couldn’t afford to slow my family down.

Rex crawled out, stepping up beside me and pissing. “How’re you feeling?” he asked.

“Same as yesterday,” I repeated, forcing a smile.

He shook his cock and bent over to kiss my forehead. “You feel warm.”

“A little. I’m chewing on my bark.”

“How’s your leg looking.”

“The same. I checked.” I hadn’t. I didn’t want to look at the inflamed wound and the white pus that filled it. I just to keep walking and hope I healed.

Everyone asked me the same questions except Sister Stella. Her gray eyes gave me a considering look as I limped about the camp as we readied to set out. We loaded up Alison the pack mule with our belongings. I didn’t have to carry my backpack. That was the one nice thing about being wounded.

I really tried to stay positive.

Rex, Reina, and Sarah walked around me was he headed down the trail. The pain was worse today. When I finished chewing on one piece of willow bark, I found another. It was the only way I could keep going. I grit my teeth, and sweat beaded down my forehead.

My limp grew worse.

“You don’t look alright,” Sarah whispered, slipping on arm around my waist. “Lean on me for a while.”

“Thanks,” I nodded.

Reina’s brown, beautiful face furrowed, her lips pursed. I gave her a reassuring smile as I limped on. Sarah helped for a while, and then it was Rex helping me, his strong arms holding me up. I could smell his manly musk as I leaned against him, savoring that scent.

“You can do it,” he whispered in my ear. “We’ll reach Canyonville today. Maybe they will have a doctor.”

I nodded my head. Canyonville was the next major town along I-5 north of Ashville. Hopefully, they weren’t full of Christian fanatics that would try and kill us on sight. Chase said it was the Preacher that lead the army that attacked, getting revenge on us for driving her out of Redding.

I’m glad the dried-up cunt was dead.

“Just keep going, wife of mine,” Reina whispered when it was her turn to support me. “Canyonville will have a doctor with some antibiotics. Maybe penicillin. That’s not hard to make. And then you’ll be right as rain.”

“What does that mean?” I giggled. My forehead was burning, but that expression, right as rain, sent a fit of laughter through me.

“I have no idea why right as rain means feel better,” Reina laughed back. “Maybe Chase knows.”

The next step was agony. My poor leg finally gave out. I screamed out in pain. Reina held me, but she couldn’t stop me from falling down. She made sure I didn’t land too hard on the cement ruins of I-5. The concrete was warmed by the sun, but still felt cooler than my body.

“Queenie!” Reina shouted.

The heat grew worse. And despite the burning in my head, I shivered. My teeth chattered. I trembled on the ground as everyone gathered over me. I tried to put a reassuring smile on my face, but I just couldn’t muster it.

“She’s burning up!” Reina gasped. “Oh, Queenie! Hold on!”

A cool, wet cloth was draped over my forehead. Things grew hazy around me. I struggled to stay awake, but it was too hard. My body was giving up. I drifted like a log down the river, bobbing up to consciousness for a few moments before I was dragged down into the confusion of my dreams.

I rode atop a horse, waving at the cheering crowds. I was a goddess, married to three of the Living God’s children. Everyone worshiped me and loved me. I waved back, drinking in their love. It was a world of happiness, where no one tried to shoot you and—

—I jolted awake. The world danced around me. I was tied to the back of Alison, swaying atop the pack mule. My leg burned. My face was on fire and—

—I flew over verdant fields. But a darkness crept over them. The darkness was somehow as silver as the stars, shining with a beautiful light, but still it consumed everything. A woman sat at the center of the darkness with hair like platinum and eyes as silver as the stars. She watched me like a bug, her hand reaching out to crush me. I screamed out—

—“It’s okay,” Sister Stella smiled, patting my hand. “You have nothing to fear. We’ll find help for you in Canyonville. Just hold out a few—

—hours and then I’ll make love to you,” laughed Rex. “Your my Queen, Queenie. And you deserve to be worshiped as—

—the infection spreads, she’ll grow weaker and weaker,” Chase whispered to Sister Stella.

My feverish gaze looked ahead, barely understanding what she said. The half-charred ruins of a house peaked out from vegetation while a faded sign read, “Welcome to Canyonville, Oregon.”

More ruins spread out before us. The Christians had cleansed this town, too.

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

Sarah Glassner

Canyonville was in ruins.

“I’m gonna…Queen…rule…love me…” mumbled Queenie as she swayed on the saddle. Only the ropes tied about her waist and legs kept her on the pack mule. She wilted like a flower in a summer drought.

We trudged through the ruins hoping to see some sign of habitation. In the center of town, a collection of crosses had been driven into the ground, the grisly remains of bones still clung to the crucifixes. More bones were glimpsed peaking out of the vegetation that had taken over the ruined town. It had been destroyed years ago.

There was no doctor to save Queenie.

Hopelessness filled my spouses faces.

“Silvery darkness…beware…star eyes…” muttered Queenie. “…she deceives…pretends…lion among the…beware…Astarte…”

The sun sank to the west, long shadows spreading through town. We kept going, leaving it behind. None of us wanted to camp in the ruins. Ahead, the South Umpqua River gurgled happily, not caring that Queenie was sick. We reached a crossroad where, according to a faded sign, Grazley Bridge Road crossed Stage Coach Road. The bridge’s footing could be seen a quarter mile ahead, but the span had collapsed into the river.

We camped at the ruins. There were beautiful wildflowers. Queenie loved wildflowers. It seemed appropriate.

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

Wednesday, June 15th, 2072 – Chasity “Chase” Glassner

Queenie was too sick to move. She thrashed in her bedding, her body drenched with sweat. She couldn’t eat and could barely drink. She wasn’t lucid, but rambled about the strange things she dreamed about. The most common was the silver darkness. My three siblings surrounded her, their faces sagging with grief.

When my parents ruled the world, no one would die from something as easy to treat as an infected wound. Even before my parents, that wouldn’t have happened. But now, thanks to the free will of men, they destroyed the world in an orgiastic delight, so bent on punishing those that still followed my parents they failed to preserve the basics of society. Who knew how long it would be before the world recovered.

If it ever would.

I changed the bandage on Queenie’s upper thigh. The wound had spread, the infection eating at her skin. Her thigh was swollen around the red scratch, the white pus reeking of foul cheese. I took a knife, heated in the fire and brought it too her leg.

“Hold her,” I told them. “I need to cut out the dead flesh.”

Queenie howled as I cut, pus draining out with the blood. She fell unconscious when I finished. I packed the wound with a clean cloth while Reina poured a tea made of willow bark down Queenie’s throat, pinching her nose to make sure Queenie swallowed.

“She’ll be fine, right?” Reina asked, her voice tiny. She sounded like a little girl. Her blue eyes brimmed with tears.

“She’ll survive,” I lied. “She’s strong. Her body’s young.”

I crawled out of the tent into the noon sun. Tears rolled down my eyes. I stumbled to the river bank and followed it upstream. This was all my fault. I never should have let Rex, Reina, and Queenie come along. I knew the trip was too dangerous. My sister-in-law was going to die.

My knees sagged and I sank to the rocky bank as I cried. I hugged my knees, rocking back and forth. Once again, I had killed a loved one. Why couldn’t I have just been happy and lived contently with my parents like my other Billings? Why did I have to question everything my parents did?

Why did I have to kill them?

“It’s not your fault she’s dying,” Sister Stella whispered, sitting down beside me. Her arm went around me and I leaned my head on her shoulder. “It’s only the fault of the men who attacked us.”

“Everything’s my fault,” I sobbed. “I stuck the dagger in his side. I created this world we live in.”

“You gave mankind their freedom. It’s not your fault they squandered it. But that will change. When we stop your parents, the world will be reborn. I’ll use the power inside you to see to it. And you’ll be free to live a normal life and witness the happiness you will cause.”

I so wanted to believe that.

“That’s what Tina and Doug promised me when I stood atop Mount Sinai. I would free the world, but I only brought a different from of slavery upon them.”

“These are merely birthing pains,” Sister Stella promised me. “What will come will be magnificent. You will see, Chase.”

“And will I be as bitter about your future?” I spat.

“No.” She smiled, her finger caressed my cheek. “Because unlike Doug and Tina, I love you, Chase. I don’t want to see you hurt anymore. I want to take away your pain.”

Her lips met mine. I closed my eyes and let myself forget in the sweet delight of her kiss. I needed the distraction. Her flesh was so soft as she pushed me back down. I held Sister Stella, her white-blonde hair falling about my face as we kissed. Her body writhed atop me.

Her fingers were deft as they unbuttoned my shirt. I shuddered as her lips moved down and engulfed my hard nipple. I closed my eyes as her tongue swirled about my nub. The excitement raced down between my legs.

“Sister Stella,” I purred as her delicate fingers slid down to my pants. The fastener unsnapped and her hand pushed inside. “Yes!” I gasped as she brushed through my shaved pussy. Her tongue nibbled harder on my nipples, pleasure cascading down my body to my pussy.

I pushed off her white veil, caressing her light-blonde hair. Her gray eyes flashed up at me, twinkling with passion as she kissed over to my other nipple. She nuzzled at my freckled breasts and sucked my dusky nipple between her lips.

Her fingers played with my clit, stroking my bud and sending delicious rapture shooting through me. I drifted on the river of pleasure. I loved her so much. I had grown so close to Sister Stella on this journey. She always seemed to know exactly what I needed.

I gasped for joy as she shoved a finger into my hot depths. My pussy squeezed down on her finger as the pleasure shuddered through me. I moaned, my hips writhing as she pumped them in and out of my body.

“I can’t wait to see your future,” I moaned.

“We’ll usher it in together,” she promised, her fingers curling inside me.

“Sister Stella!” I gasped as her fingers found my G-spot. Her smile grew wicked as she massaged that wonderful place. My hips bucked up, the pleasure racing through my body.

“That’s it. Cum for me. You’re so beautiful when you cum, my love.” Her fingers rubbed harder. Sister Stella licked her lips, staring into my blue eyes as she fingered me harder. Her thumb massaged my bud, the twin sensations of clitoral and G-spot stimulation roared through me.

My hips bucked hard as I came.

“Yes!” I moaned.

My pussy spasmed about her fingers as the pleasure washed through me. I drowned in the bliss and let it carry me away. For a few fabulous heartbeats, I was only pleasure. Everything else had faded. I held onto to it for as long as I could, savoring every fire of nerve endings shooting rapture into my mind.

And then I collapsed. I pulled Sister Stella to me, kissing her lips as I cried again. Queenie was going to die, but I would have Sister Stella to lean on. That comforted me just the slightest.

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

Friday, June 17th, 2072 – Rex Glassner

Queenie’s mumblings had stopped. Her breathing was shallow. I feared she would never wake up.

The tent reeked of sweat and sickness after two days, a foul miasma that turned my stomach. Reina bathed Queenie’s temple, my sister’s face filled with despair. I felt that same yawning darkness inside me. My beautiful wife was never waking up.

It wasn’t fair. It was just a stupid scratch. I’ve cut myself worse and been fine.

The tent was so small, the canvas pressing in on me. Sarah crawled in, holding a fresh bowl of river water. She rubbed it on Queenie’s chest, trying to keep her cool. The fever burned through her body. Her leg was swollen down the entire length. Red lines ran up her belly, following her veins.

When they reached her heart, that would be the end.

I need to take a walk, my subconscious whispered. I need to get out of here. Clear my head.

I nodded. That is exactly what I needed. I couldn’t just sit her and watch my wife die. There had to be something I could do. I couldn’t stand hearing Sarah prattle on about how beautiful the wildflowers were and how much Queenie would love them.

I didn’t want to bury my wife in the middle of Oregon.

“Rex?” Reina whispered as I crawled to the tent entrance. “Where are you going?”

“I need fresh air,” I muttered.

“But…?” She glanced at Queenie.

Her words didn’t need to be spoken aloud. They rattled through my brain. Don’t you want to be here when she dies?

No, I did not. I did not want her to die at all.

I stumbled down the road, not really caring where I walked. The splintered asphalt crunched beneath my shoes. Green plants sprouted through cracks and heavy rains had washed sediment over parts of the road.

I reached the crossroads. I had heard you could summon my father at a crossroads. I sank down on the asphalt. You need to dig a hole. I laughed. The road was made of asphalt. You couldn’t dig it out unless it was already broken.

Next to my knees was a chunk of asphalt. I pried it up and blinked in surprise. The corner of a polished, wooden box peaked out of the dirt bed of the road. I reached down, digging at the box. I pried it out, dusting off the dirt.

“Had someone summoned you here, Father?” I whispered as I opened the box.

A dessicated rabbit’s foot lay next to a shriveled flower, the petals falling to dust when I brushed them. The last item was a lock of faded, red hair. I picked it up, stroking the silky hairs.

“What did you wish for?”

I looked up at the ruins of Canyonville and snorted in disgust. “I see my father didn’t save your town, so why would he save my wife?”

A great anger welled inside me. I stood up and shouted my wordless disgust, anger, and despair, my voice roaring through the night. I threw the box hard into a tangle of brush beside the crossroad. I had heaved with all my might, and the wooden box crashed through branches and leaves. Through the gap my box created, I noticed something red.

I frowned, stepping forward, peering through the tangle of branches and limbs. There was a girl’s face pillowed on a bower of moss, her red hair spread out around her. The box had landed right beside her head, narrowly missing the porcelain beauty of her round face.

My anger vanished as my heart quickened. She was lovely. Enchanting. I pushed more of the branches aside. Her body was clad in a gauzy, white robe, her naked form hinted at beneath the diaphanous cloth. She was round and lush. My cock hardened with a sudden swelling of lust.

She seemed asleep. It had to be over a decade since Canyonville was burned, and some magic had preserved her. My father’s magic. Why was she here? Why would she wish to sleep in a bower of plants while her town burned?

I have to wake her up, my subconscious whispered. Like in that fairy tale Chase used to tell Reina.

I pushed into the bushes, heedless of the thorns that tore at my clothing and face. I didn’t feel them as I broached her sanctuary. The plants had grown around her, cocooning her from the world. The brush was so dense, no creature could have ever spotted her. I doubt even the rain touched her.

I knelt over her, caressing her freckled face. She was warm. Her breasts rose slow, maybe taking one breath a minute. I slid down to her neck and felt a faint pulse flutter through her. It was barely there, her heart barely pumping.

“Were you left here for me to find?” I whispered. “Or is it just chance?”

Sleeping beauty didn’t answer.

I leaned down and kissed her lips. I closed my eyes as I savored the delicate taste. Her lips were warm and lush. I closed my eyes, kissing her with every fiber of my being. My cock hardened as I savored her kiss.

But she didn’t wake up. She needed more love than a kiss could give.

Love. My heart beat faster. She had bewitched me. Some spell seemed to have fallen over me. I loved my sleeping beauty. She beat in my heart with Reina, Queenie, and Sarah. My finger stroked down her smooth cheek to the nape of her neck. I brushed the top of her robe. I had to see her body’s glory.

I undressed her.

Her breasts were round and pillowy, dusted with freckles. A gold ring pierced her left, pink nipple. I couldn’t resist tugging on it gently, her breast jiggling as I released it. A soft sigh escaped her lips. Her body was pale and her hips curvy. Her pussy was shaved bare, her slit tight and virginal. I trailed a finger down and brushed across her vulva. Hot, damp excitement beaded her lips as blood engorged her vulva, the outer labia growing plump as juices leaked out. Her clit appeared, peaking pink from its hood.

I brushed her hymen. My cock throbbed hard.

I drank in her beauty as I stripped. Everything was driven from my mind except the need to have my sleeping beauty. I kissed her again, my hard cock brushing at her thigh. She was so sweet and wonderful. I kissed down her neck, inhaling her sweet musk. I rubbed my face between those delicious, pillowy tits, pressing them against my face.

“You are gorgeous,” I groaned, my finger circling her areola, spiraling in to brush her fat nipple. I leaned down and sucked it into my mouth. Another sigh escaped her lips.

Emboldened, I sucked harder, worshiping her nub with frantic desire. I needed to wake her up. My hand found her pierced nipple, playing with the ring as I suckled. I nibbled and nipped. I used every trick I knew to pleasure her breasts.

It wasn’t enough.

I licked down her breasts, tasting her everywhere as I worked across her belly. Her legs parted and her sweet excitement wafted around us, filling the bower with her beauty. I tongued her bellybutton as my fingers caressed her pussy.

“Time to wake you up.”

I pushed her thighs farther apart as I settled between her legs. Her pussy lips parted slightly, revealing her pink folds and the hymen over her tunnel. I licked up her slit, savoring her juicy delights. My tongue swirled around her nub, flicking and nibbling at her clit before I dived back into her pussy.

“Yes…” she sighed.

I froze, glancing up. She still slept, but her cheeks were flushed and her eyes moved beneath her eyelids. I grinned and buried back into her pussy. Queenie and Reina had taught me how to eat pussy. I licked and nibbled, I played with her clit. I drank down her ambrosia. She was so sweet. I had never eaten a woman as sweet as her. She was pure, virginal.

My sleeping beauty. She had been placed here for me to discover, a gift from my father.

I sucked and licked. I swabbed my finger in her juices and slid it down between the soft cheeks of her ass. Her thighs twitched as my finger wormed into her backdoor. Another moan escaped her lips, her breasts rising and falling faster, jiggling as a shiver rolled through her.

“That’s it, cum for me,” I growled. “Bathe my face in your excitement. Let it wash out of your body and over me. Wake up, my sleeping beauty.”

I sucked her clit into my lips as I fingered her asshole. Her rough, hot flesh clung to me. She gasped again, her head lolling to the side. She was so close to waking up. Her body shook and her back arched. Her thighs tightened about my lips.

Juices flooded my mouth as she came.

I drank them down, keeping my mouth glued to her pussy as her orgasm shuddered through her. Her moans and sighs were a beautiful music. She collapsed onto her back, her breasts heaving. Her eyes fluttered, trying to open.

But it wasn’t enough.

I need to fuck her, growled my subconscious.

I crawled up her body and rubbed my cock against her pussy. I stared down at her closed eyes. “Wake up, my sleeping beauty,” I whispered. “Wake up, my love.”

I kissed her as I thrust my cock through her hymen. Her body bucked beneath me as the thin tissue tore. I buried deep into her tight pussy. My cock spasmed as I pressed on until I was fully buried in her virgin sheath.

Her lips moved against mine. Her eyes fluttered open. I stared into the green depths. She was awake.

I lifted up on my arms and broke the kiss.

“My Lord,” she moaned, her eyes opening. “You have finally claimed me.”

She thought I was my father. “I’m not Mark. I’m his son.”

Her hands reached out, caressing my face. “Yes, I can see that. You are just as handsome. My groom. I dreamed of you for so long.” Her hands pulled me down for another kiss as her body undulated beneath me.

I matched her rhythm, sliding my cock in and out of her tight depths. Her breasts, hard nipples, and harder nipple ring rubbed on my chest. Her hands wrapped around my neck and her thighs around my waist, holding me tight.

“Yes!” she moaned as she rocked beneath me, our hips moving in a slow, sensual pace. I shuddered every time my cock slid into her depths. “This is what I’ve waited for.”

“My father put you here for me?” I asked.

“Yes, my groom!” she moaned. “Oh, yes!”

“Rex,” I growled. “I’m Rex.”

“Rex! My king!” Her smile broadened. “Take me, Rex! Take your bride!”

The virgin’s passions burned hot. “Who are you?” I groaned, my hips speeding up. The aching in my balls grew. I needed to cum.

“Aoifa,” she purred, the syllables rolling off her tongue in a single, gorgeous lilt.

“Aoifa,” I repeated, failing to capture the music of her name. I would have plenty of time to practice. “You’re so hot.”

“Spill in me,” she moaned. “I’ve been consecrated to lie with a god.”

“I’m no god.”

“You are! You’re His son. A demigod! Oh, yes! Take me! Touch me! Gods, yes!”

Her pussy convulsed about my cock. Her virginal moans sang in my ear. She bucked beneath me as she came. I sucked at her pale neck as her fingernails clawed at my back. Her thighs pulled me in tight.

“Spill in me! Give me your seed! I was born for this moment! My faith has been rewarded!”

My cock throbbed. I slammed into her cumming depths. I shuddered as I spilled into her. Our lips met as I groaned through my orgasm. My hips bucked every time a blast of cum flooded out into her virginal depths.

And then I collapsed atop her, our kisses growing sweet.

“And where are my other spouses?” she asked. “Have you found them, yet?”

“Reina, Sarah and…” My eyes closed as the hollow pit in my stomach returned. “And Queenie.”

“She is the one sick. So she is the one I am meant to heal.”

My eyes snapped open. “What?”

“My three gifts for serving them,” Aoifa smiled. “To sleep protected from the Holy Liberation Army.”

“I know those assholes,” I growled.

“To be a bride to a groom and his three wives.” Her smile grew hot. “And to heal with my kiss.”

“We need to go,” I gasped, standing up. “She’s dying.”

“Then let us depart,” Aoifa nodded.

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

Aoifa Coughlan

I smiled as I admired my husband’s strength. He had brown skin, his mother must have been Hispanic, but he had the God’s blue eyes and jawline. My pussy ached with his love and his seed leaked out of me. I grabbed my priestess robes.

“Thank you, Living Gods, for your great gift,” I prayed as Rex pulled on his jeans.

“That’s so weird to hear you pray to my father,” Rex said as he found his shirt.

“I am a priestess in their Holy Church,” I answered. “I had been groomed to be a virgin lover of your father, but they departed this world for the next before I could.”

“I guess that’s lucky for me,” Rex grinned, then his face fell. “Come on, we can talk about that later. Queenie is sick.”

“Right, my Lord,” I nodded.

“I’m your husband now. Call me Rex.”

I blushed. “Of course…Rex.” I was married to one of the demigods. My heart fluttered in excitement. “Are any of your wives also His children?”

“Reina and Sarah.” He grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the bower. My heart sped up. I was bride to two of His daughters. I was blessed by the Living Gods. I whispered another prayer as we raced down the road towards Grazley Bridge. It appeared to have collapsed since I fell asleep.

“What is the year?”

“2072,” Rex answered. “I think it’s June 17th.”

“I’ve slept seventeen years,” I whispered.

I glanced over my shoulder. The ruins of my town were overgrown with wildlife. A great sadness filled my heart. I turned my back on it. My future was with Rex and his family. Ahead, a pair of tents stood by the river bank and a woman wearing a gray robe and a white veil.

“She’s a nun!” I gasped in shock.

The nun looked up. “Warlock!” she hissed.

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

Reina Glassner

The shouts caught my attention. I glanced at Queenie. She was so quiet now. It wouldn’t be long before she died. So the least everyone could do was keep quiet and let her pass with dignity. I crawled past Sarah out of my tent and witnessed the most beautiful woman.

She had flaming hair spilling about the shoulders of her diaphanous gown, her lush breasts bleeding through the thin fabric. My heart beat for her. She was enchanting, joining Rex, Queenie, and Sarah in my heart.

“Get away from her, Rex,” Sister Stella yelled, the nun standing up.

Rex stepped between the redhead and the nun. I hadn’t even noticed him. “You are not touching Aoifa.”

“Why is there a nun with your party, Rex?” Aoifa asked, pressing against his back.

“Because there is,” Rex said, glaring at the nun.

“She needs to be exorcised,” Sister Stella declared. “She has sold her soul to the Tyrants.”

“One of those Tyrants is my father!” Rex growled. “He placed her here to help us.”

“To hinder us,” the nun spat back. “The Tyrants know we are trying to stop them.”

“What?” Aoifa gasped.

“She can heal Queenie!”

Rex’s words shot through me. “Really?” I asked.

“I can,” Aoifa answered. “It is one the gifts the Living Gods gave me.”

“You’ve met my father?” My eyes widened.

“She’s been sleeping here, waiting for us. She’s here to help us.”

“Why would the Tyrants want to help us?” Sister Stella demanded.

“She’s healing my wife,” I declared and strode over to Rex, eying the nun. “So you stay away from her.”

“You can’t trust her. She’s a servant of the Tyrants! She’ll destroy us all.”

“I would not!” Aoifa screeched. “I follow the teachings of the Living Gods. I love all of mankind. I only want to help and heal. It’s you Christians that are the threat.” Aoifa pointed behind her. “We weren’t doing anything to harm anyone. We were just worshiping our Gods and loving each other. But you Christians butchered us! You slaughtered us.” Tears ran down Aoifa’s cheeks. “Everyone I knew and loved died back there! I’m no threat!”

“Let her work, Stella,” Chase said. “Let her heal Queenie.”

“You can’t trust her, Chase,” Sister Stella spat. “She’s a trap. Somehow. Someway. She’ll destroy us.”

Aoifa’s eyes widened. “Holy Daughter?”

“Yes,” Chase nodded. “Though I prefer Chase. Especially if you are joining the family.”

“This is a mistake,” Sister Stella spat.

Chase took her hand and pulled Stella close. “Let her heal Queenie. We can figure out what to do after that.”

“Fine,” the nun sighed. “This goes against all the precepts of my order, but I will do this for you.”

Aoifa gasped in shock as Chase and Sister Stella kissed. I didn’t care. I seized the redhead’s hand and pulled her into the tent. Sarah was still by Queenie’s side, her eyes distant. I don’t think Sarah noticed the commotion.

“She’s beautiful,” Aoifa whispered, moving beside Queenie. “A fit bride for a king.”

“I’m no King,” Rex muttered as Aoifa stroked Queenie’s flushed face.

“Please, heal her,” I whispered.

Aoifa nodded and leaned over. Her lips pressed against Queenie. Red light flared, engulfing the pair. My eyes widened and I trembled. I clutched my hands to my breasts and sucked desperate breaths through my nose.

The light faded.

Queenie opened her eyes. “Wow, who are you?” she whispered. “You’re beautiful.”

“Your wife,” Aoifa answered.

Queenie pulled Aoifa down for a second kiss, the fever gone from her face. I pulled back the blanket. Her leg wasn’t swollen. The red lines were gone. I ripped the soiled bandages off and there wasn’t even a scar.

“She healed her,” I sobbed and Rex held me. “Our father knew. He loves us, Rex.”

Rex held me and rocked me. Everything was going to be okay.

To be continued…

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