Chapter Eighteen: Answered Prayers

Chapter Eighteen: Answered Prayers

I slept like the dead. I hadn’t realized how much time I spent at night with my guard up, but laying with the three people I cared about most well within range of my tendril’s defenses relaxed me enough that sleep grabbed me and refused to let me go. Not until I felt something prodding at my shoulder. I tried to ignore it, losing myself in the warmth I was pressed into, but the prodding persisted.

I finally forced myself to crack an eye open. The owner of the finger poking me was Serena, and I stopped a moment to appreciate how beautiful she looked laying there in the early morning light that filtered through the tent. Somehow during the night we’d gotten rearranged, so her back was no longer pressed into me. I was briefly distracted by the fact that she wore nothing but underwear and that a certain naked Arelim was wrapped around her, then I smiled. Even just her face was something amazing to wake up next to.

“Help me,” she whispered. I raised a brow, and she gestured towards Rhallani. “She’s latched on, and I have to...um...you know...”

I chuckled softly. I leaned down to where Rhallani’s face was and started to trail slow pecks up her neck and across her cheek until I got to her lips. She started to stir ever so slightly, and naturally her first instinct was to return the small kisses. I kept at it, slowly pulling my face away. Her lips chased groggily after mine, releasing Serena from her death grip.

Serena wiggled out while I gave Rhallani the kiss her half-asleep brain demanded. When I broke it off and Rhallani went to nuzzle back into her Serena-shaped pillow, she instead found Scarlet somehow in her grasp. Rhallani wrapped around her, nuzzling into Scarlet’s chest with happy mumbles, and I saw a triumphant light in Scarlet’s eyes, and I chuckled again while Serena practically ran from the tent, barely managing to snag a cloak from the clothing pile on her way out.

I reached out and brushed my fingers through Scarlet’s hair. She let out the hum that I was beginning to realize meant she was happy, and my smile widened. “You really like hugs, don’t you?”

Her eyes flicked down to Rhallani’s head, then she nodded. My eyes wandered over Rhallani’s back, pausing at her wonderfully shaped rear, while I did my best to ignore the morning wood in my pants. After a few minutes, Serena ducked back in. She tossed the cloak aside with a shiver and dove under the covers, pressing every inch of cold skin she could into my front. Her freezing fingers slipped under my armpits in their quest for warmth.

“Hey!” I hissed. “That is so rude!”

She must have been feeling particularly bold this crisp morning, because she stuck her cold nose right into the crook of my neck. “Rude is letting such a beautiful, half-naked girl be cold when you’ve got all this warmth to go around.”

Indeed, I could feel two hard somethings poking into my chest. I managed to get a hand between us long enough to massage some heat into her fingers, and she beamed at me. Right before she turned over, curled up, and pressed her freezing feet into my legs.

“You little gremlin.” I wrapped an arm around her and started tickling her sides mercilessly. She squeaked and squirmed, trying her best to keep her giggles quiet.

“Mercy! Mercy!” she hissed quietly. I saw her eyes flick to my lips with some heat in them, so I leaned down and gave her what she wanted. She kissed me greedily at first, then I felt her fingers in my hair and she slowed down to enjoy my lips more thoroughly.

“You don’t have to ask me,” I told her. Then she twisted in my arms and we made out for a good while. By the end I was on my back and she was laying with her upper half draped across my chest and a leg hooked over mine.

She trailed her fingers across my skin. “Is this really okay?”

Now that she was at my mercy, I gave into the constant urge to run my fingers through her locks to my heart’s content. From the way she closed her eyes she enjoyed it as much as I did. “Of course it is. If you want it, that is.”

“I do,” she said immediately.

I kissed her forehead. “Then it’s okay.”

I glanced at Scarlet, who was still watching us with some interest. Rhallani snored happily into her chest. She settled in, and soon neither of us wanted to break the moment of serene comfort. Her fingers never stopped trailing over my skin, though, so I knew she never went back to sleep.

“I leveled up.” She said it so softly it took a moment for me to realize she’d spoken.

“That’s fantastic! Level twenty, right? Have you chosen your new class yet?”

She didn’t answer right away. “I’m still deciding. I wanted to get your opinion.”

A momentary panic flared, but I tamped it down. This wasn’t like back then. I wasn’t a part of anyone’s class being forced on them. I could listen to what she had and give her advice, but the choice would be up to her. “My opinion is for you to pick what class feels right, but I’m happy to listen.”

Rhallani jerked up, one eye half-open. “Classes? Did someone say classes?”

I laughed as Rhallani dragged Scarlet over to lay on my other side, her head resting on my shoulder. Scarlet made an irritated hum, but made no move to relinquish her spot in Rhallani’s arms. “Nice of you to join us. Serena hit twenty.”

The sleep fled from her eyes. “That means a secondary class! What about you, did you level?”

A fair question. Serena had only hit eighteen a few days ago, and I’d just been level eleven when we’d killed those beasts. “I did, actually, but let’s focus on Serena for now.”

Rhallani nodded eagerly, and Serena cleared her throat. “Well, the first class I can choose from is Bladedancer.”

Rhallani started vibrating and I let out a whistle. “That’s a powerful class. With the way you move, you’d be a force of nature.”

Serena nestled deeper into me and I started gently running my fingers up and down her back. She was hesitant about something, I could tell. “My second is Seamstress, but that was an option when I turned sixteen, too.”

Rhallani wasn’t put off in the slightest. “It could be useful to be able to make your own gear.”

But Serena only sunk into me further. “And your third option?” I prompted.

“...ess...”

I frowned. “Come again?”

“Priestess,” she said louder.

Rhallani looked as confused as I felt. “I didn’t know you worshiped,” she admitted.

Serena squirmed, so I started putting a little more pressure into the hand that massaged her. “That's because I don’t. I’ve only set foot inside a temple twice in my life. I’ve never been particularly religious.”

Then why the hell did she get a priestess class? Usually it showed up in people who’d been either raised or saved by the church, and even more commonly in those that devoted their life to a particular god or goddess. To say it was rare for someone who didn’t worship any gods to get the class was a severe understatement.

“Serena, you can tell us anything. We won’t judge you for it.”

My initial fear was that she was some kind of secret cultist, but I banished that thought. She’d never exactly reeked of religious zeal. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. “Well, I don’t worship, but I do pray sometimes.”

Rhallani’s eyes had gained that adorable glow. She sensed a mystery. “Prayer in general, or to one god or goddess in specific?”

“J-just one.” Her face had grown red, and she refused to meet our eyes. “But I’ve never told anyone about it before.”

Could it have something to do with the necklace she wore? I hadn’t noticed it until last night, but she always wore so much armor that was hardly surprising. I tried to recall its shape since it was currently obscured by the shapely legs pressed to her chest, but it eluded me.

“Which one?” Rhallani asked. She’d sat up, dragging poor Scarlet into her lap.

With how uncomfortable Serena seemed to be, I felt the need to step in. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to, but we’d like to know. It might help us make sense of things.”

Her face still buried, she mumbled the last name I ever expected to hear from her lips. Allura. Of fucking course. I slapped a palm to my face even as Rhallani burst out in laughter. I couldn’t see Serena’s face, but her ears had gone crimson.

“She’s not a sex goddess!” Serena protested. “She’s a goddess of—”

“Family, love, and bonds,” Rhallani and I said in unison.

“We know,” I said. “She made that very clear.”Gét latest novel chapters on nov(e)lbj/n(.)c/om

“It’s a perfectly normal goddess to—wait, what?”

I let out a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Long story short, I may be on a mission given to me by Allura herself. The fact that I might have had an affect on your class, though, is worrying.” More than worrying, considering my past. I wanted no part in class eugenics, and I would have hoped Allura would have understood that.

Serena’s jaw went slack. Her arms fell to her sides, and her shoulders slumped. “If that’s a joke, it’s not funny.”

“Actually,” I said, “I think that the fact the sex goddess asked me to save the world is fucking hilarious most days.”

“What I don’t get,” Rhallani said over Serena’s protests at what I’d said about Allura, “is that she still shouldn’t have had something so drastic as a priestess class thrust on her. I mean, look at me,” she pointed a thumb at her still-bare breasts, “my class fit my lifestyle perfectly, and she still gave me some skills that are of use to you.” She looked to Serena, who seemed to be having trouble processing her words. “Unless you did something specific, then there’s no way you’d have gotten a class so different from your lifestyle and primary class.”

Serena opened her mouth to say something, but then her eyes bulged. Her jaw clamped shut, and her entire body started to turn red she blushed so hard. I saw her eyes fix on something in the air in front of her, then she shuddered and her pupils dilated. Even in the light, I could see her skin glow gold for a brief moment.

“Serena,” my voice was dangerously level, “please tell me you didn’t just pick that priestess class.”

“I—I did...”

“What?” Rhallani cried. “Why would you do that? Do you even have any points in the divine stat?”

“Twenty, actually,” she said quietly.

Serena shook her head. “It’s no wonder you’re so strong.”

I kissed her neck and she sighed happily. “My class is designed to thrive against unwinnable odds. To hunt down threats stronger than me.”

Then Rhallani frowned. “Wait, what about your new skill? The one you got last night? You’re twelve, and even numbers mean new skills.”

I didn’t answer right away. The truth was, I still hadn’t decided. I’d had a rough plan for my first twenty levels, but recent events had shaken those plans up a bit. The logical choice was [Cursed Existence].

Cursed Existence (p) - The dark in you fears no curse. You are immune to curses that are a lower level than your combined total, and you gain increased resistance to stronger curses depending on the level difference.

If I took it, then I’d be able to use the cursed sword with much more safety. In the short term, it was the clear winner above my other options, even the new one that had appeared with the last level, [Armor of Shadows].

Armor of Shadows (a) - Fear no blade when embraced by the dark. You can expend mana to form armor made from your shadows capable of withstanding physical and magical damage. Amount of damage absorbed is based on Primal stat. Target must be a willing humanoid, and you can cast shadow-based abilities through the armor without needing physical contact with the wearer.

I’d run over the night again and again while trying to fall asleep. When I’d brought the blade out during my mad dash to save Serena, something had been different. It had always been angry, but for the first time I felt like it was angry with me. Then there’d been a moment where we’d formed a sort of connection. Like it was demanding answers. After it sensed my panic, something shifted. The crimson tendrils that I normally had to fight so hard to control started to hurl me faster through the trees. If they hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to save Serena.

[Cursed Existence] would help me wield the blade, but it wouldn’t help me understand it. Before, I’d only wielded it once without the skill. Once I put that barrier up, whatever emotions existed in the blade would no longer be able to reach me. Even if they could, they’d be muted. Eventually I’d be immune to the blade’s effects altogether. [Armor of Shadows] on the other hand was an anomaly in its own right.

In the seventy levels I’d gained in my primary class before Allura had reset me, I’d never seen the skill. Moreover, it was only the third skill in the Shadowborn line I’d ever encountered that could be used on others. [Shadow Stitching] fit the theme at least, since it caused so much pain when activated. If I ever went full dark side, it would make a very dangerous torture tool. The other was [Conjure Shadows], which is what really gave me pause.

I’d used the sword to protect Rhallani back at the tower, and almost as if in response my skill had evolved into something that could be used for protection. I’d nearly lost Serena because I couldn’t reach her in time, and now I had the chance to take a skill that would let me protect her even from a distance. Was it the sword’s doing? Was it reacting to my desire to protect the people I cared about?

I was jerked from my thoughts by someone prodding my forehead. I blinked, my eyes focusing on Rhallani’s concerned gaze. “Ren, where’d you go there?”

I looked from her to Serena, who also looked back at me with worry, and I made my choice. “Sorry, I was just thinking. I had an option between skills, but you helped me make my mind up.” I took [Armor of Shadows] and then briefly explained the skill to them.

“That sounds both incredibly useful and very overpowered,” Rhallani said with a pout.

I wasn’t ready to voice the theory that my class skills were being affected by a cursed weapon likely not of this world, so I held my tongue. “Perks of a mythic class, I suppose.” I gave Serena a squeeze. “At least now we don’t have to worry about getting you new armor just yet.”

She beamed, then pulled me down so she could capture my lips. Rhallani managed to slide in at some point, taking her place, then turned and planted her lips firmly on Serena’s when the blond pouted. Watching Rhallani and Serena, two women I was very attracted to, sucking on each other’s tongues while their hands roamed across each other’s bodies as well as my own, very quickly got me hard again.

Serena, still sitting on my lap, was the first to notice it. “It’s back already?” She wrapped a callused hand around it. “I still can’t believe this thing is going inside me. Eventually.”

Rhallani’s hand joined hers on my cock. “I know, right? I thought the same thing.” Then she bit her lip, and I knew we were in trouble. “I know we’re waiting for you to get to the main event, but would you like to see it in action? Just so you aren’t worrying about it, of course.”

Serena looked at me with a question in her eyes and I squeezed her in response. “Don’t look at me, I’m more than happy to fuck Rhallani with an audience.”

She couldn’t vacate my lap fast enough.

She nestled into my side while Rhallani lifted a leg to straddle me. “Line me up?” she asked Serena.

With her fingers trembling in excitement, Serena’s warm, slender hands wrapped around my member and pointed it towards Rhallani’s dripping slit. I felt movement on my other side. Scarlet had repositioned so sit next to me. Her unblinking eyes were trained on where Rhallani was about to drop down. I put a hand on her head then ran it all the way down her back, and she made her happy humming sound. Then I slid one arm down Serena’s back as well, stopping when my fingers slipped past the curve of her ass and I was able to caress her pussy from behind.

She shuddered, but like Scarlet she didn’t take her eyes off what was about to happen. I took my hand from Scarlet’s back and put it to Rhallani’s ribcage just under her breast. With a happy smile, she slowly and carefully lowered herself down. My head hit her lower lips and met barely any resistance when they pushed past, then I was enveloped in her hot embrace. She slid lower, inch by inch, letting out a long, low moan right up until I bottomed out and her hips hit mine.

“See?” she said between breaths, “a perfect fit.”

Serena reached hesitantly, but she paused halfway. Rhallani reached out and grabbed her hand, putting it below her navel above where I’d be inside her. “Don’t be shy, it’s not like I didn’t get a good feel of all your wonderful assets.” She started gyrating her hips, drawing a hiss out of me. Gods she felt good, and somehow the knowledge that Serena was watching everything made it feel so much better.

To my surprise, it was Scarlet who spoke next. “It really doesn’t hurt?” It wasn’t the monotone voice she usually used. Curiosity colored her tone in an adorable way.

Rhallani leaned back to give them a good view, supporting herself by resting her hands on my legs. Now that she had leverage, she was able to gyrate even faster. “Gods, no. If it was any bigger, maybe, but his cock stretches me out in just the right amounts.” She lifted her hips enough that half my cock was visible, then slammed them back down with a groan. “And he hits all the best spots.”

Serena slid her hand lower, then inverted it and put two fingers to Rhallani’s clit, eliciting a surprised gasp. “Oh, you are just amazing.” Then she started bouncing up and down while Serena fingered the sensitive nub. She threw her head back, one hand leaping up to dig its fingers into her breast, and did her best to hold in the moans while she rode me. I slipped my fingers deeper into Serena and she moaned as well. I started matching Rhallani’s thrusts with my hand and I felt Serena’s breathing start to quicken.

Rhallani found a comfortable pace and started twisting her hips while she moved up and down. I buried my face in Serena’s hair, breathing her in and letting the waves of white hot pleasure roll through me. Serena leaned back, but she never took her eyes off Rhallani or the slight bulge in her stomach every time our hips met.

“You never—oh, fuck—you never told us about your new skill from your second class,” Rhallani said.

It took me slowing my ministrations for Serena to realize she’d been spoken to. “[Healing Touch] is my new skill.”

Rhallani frowned, slowing a little but not stopping. “[Healing Touch]? Not [Prayer of Healing]?”

“That’s right,” I rewarded Serena by slipping a second finger in and she leaned into me. “That’s what it says. I can heal with a touch, though I’ll need to up my mana and regen.”

Rhallani’s frown deepened. “Then it sounds like you’ve got a nonstandard priestess class.”

I looked at the bandages on Serena’s body. “Try it now,” I said gently.

She looked down, then she frowned. Then she, somewhat reluctantly, pulled her hand from Rhallani’s clit and wrapped both her arms around her stomach. They started to glow, then her eyes widened. “It feels so...warm.”

Rhallani’s walls started twitching, and I knew she was getting close. A wicked idea came to mind, and I leaned down to whisper in Serena’s ear, “do you want to see what happens when I really let go?”

She twisted and captured my lips, then nodded. She whimpered when I withdrew my fingers from her heat, but I heard her breathing quicken when I wrapped my hands around Rhallani’s hips. I pulled her down then flipped over, bringing her with me. I grabbed her thighs and folded her almost in half. Her eyes went wide, but they glowed with excitement.

“I don’t want to bother the rest of the camp,” I told Serena, “so would you be a dear and—what was it Rhallani said a bit ago? Keep her mouth occupied?”

Serena crawled forward uncertainly. “How should I—”

“Sit on my face,” Rhallani babbled, “sit on my face so he’ll fuck me like I know he can. Please, it’s gonna be so hot.”

Serena’s brows shot up. “I think I’m starting to see what you mean when you say ‘pervert.’” Then she swung her leg over Rhallani’s head so that she was facing me. She seemed hesitant to lower herself, so Rhallani’s arms wrapped around her legs and pulled her down.

“I fear we’ve only scratched the surface of her desires,” I pulled my hips back slowly until there was less of an inch of me still inside, “but damn it if I’m not excited to dive deeper.”

I slammed myself in with a single thrust and she moaned into Serena’s core, causing the busty blond to moan in surprise. “Oh, Goddess, do that again!”

I obliged. Then again. Then again. I slammed into her as hard as I dared, slowly picking up speed. I threw Rhallani’s legs over my shoulder and slammed away, enjoying the show of her breasts bouncing while she ate Serena out. Her moans grew into cries and Serena’s head jerked back, her mouth open in a silent scream of ecstasy. I leaned forward and pulled her close enough that I could suck on her neck while my hips slammed into Rhallani’s ass with fervor.

Rhallani clenched around me, her back arching and her muffled cries reaching a new pitch. Serena’s eyes went wide and her chest heaved. “Did she just—”

“Cum? Oh yeah,” I said. Her silken walls clamped down, making it almost difficult to keep sawing in and out, like she was trying to pull me in and keep me there. I could feel my limit approaching, but I held it back. I could get Rhallani one more orgasm easily.

Serena started playing with her own breast and her hips started gyrating on Rhallani’s face. Rhallani reached around and slid one finger into Serena’s cunt while the other started working the nub at the entrance, and Serena’s eyes rolled back into her head. She clutched onto me while she came, and I felt Rhallani coming again.

This time I let Rhallani’s orgasm push me over the edge. I slammed into her three more times then buried myself in as deep as I could before I started pumping her full of my cum. Her orgasm rolled into a second one, and the whole time she never stopped shoving her tongue as far into Serena as she could reach.

Serena’s orgasm finally ended and she lifted herself off Rhallani, who grinned while gazing into nothingness. “Soooo gooooood...”

Serena’s position brought her within my reach, so I leaned in for a kiss. “Well? What do you think?”

She tried to dismount from Rhallani’s face but her shaking legs gave out and she collapsed into me. “I think I can’t wait to get to town,” she panted. I slid my softening cock out of Rhallani and a line of cum dribbled out. She giggled happily, still properly dazed. Serena saw the cum and her eyes widened. “You aren’t worried about... y’know?”

I ran a thumb over the sigil above Rhallani’s womb and another spasm worked its way through her body. It glowed briefly as I focused a little mana into it. “Our resident pervert here knows a simple contraception spell.”

“So...no condoms?” I laughed at the note of hope in her voice.

“Not if you don’t want them.”

She was practically drooling while she traced a finger down Rhallani’s belly and scooped up a fingerfull of the cum dripping from her. “How far till town, again?”

“Two more days,” Rhallani mumbled happily.

Scarlet shifted across the floor and leaned over Rhallani’s face. “Rhallani... is happy?”

Rhallani, finally coming back to her senses, reached up and ruffled Scarlet’s hair. “Very happy. Ren would never touch me if I didn’t like it.” She stretched her arms above her head. “The only way I could be happier is with an hour or so of aftercare and cuddling, but we don’t have time for that.” She sat up and giggled. “Gods that felt good. I haven’t cum that hard since the night you took me into the woods.”

I recognized the look on her face and leaned in for a kiss. I could still taste Serena on her lips, so I figured I’d give Serena a kiss too. Then, giving her plenty of time to pull away or give me a sign not to, I leaned forward and kissed the top of Scarlet’s head. I got a happy hum in response.

“Now, let’s get dressed and hope nobody walked too close to the tent during all that.”