Jadis’ feelings were torn in two very different directions. On the one hand, since she had just found out that afternoon that she was pregnant with Alex’s child, she wanted to stay with her demonic lover and cuddle for the rest of the night. Hopefully, with all of her lovers joining in on the pile so they could all bask in the glow together. On the other hand…
She just couldn’t help but feel some excited anticipation at the prospect of fucking Vraekae.
After Kerr had gotten all the laughter and crude jokes out of her system, everyone took the time to have an earnest discussion about Vraekae’s request. There were still quite a few teasing interjections by Kerr, and to a lesser extent Bridget and Sorcha, but overall the group took the matter seriously. And, just as Jadis had hoped, no one was particularly bothered by the idea.
Everyone had known since their arrival in Eldingholt that Jadis had been given a mandate to repopulate her species. The fact that Severina had been bringing Seraphim candidates to Jadis for just that purpose was known and accepted by all of her lovers. While they were going to do their damnedest to increase the Nephilim population themselves, they all understood that Jadis was likely going to get involved with a few women who weren’t necessarily a part of her multi-partnered relationship for the purposes of genetic diversity, if nothing else. So, ultimately, it was an easy conversation to have.
The only hiccup at all really was the fact that the woman in question was Vraekae.
Aside from the apprehensions some of them brought up that were allayed by Eir concerning Vraekae’s status as a close relative, Aila pointed out the fact that having a child with the Magistrate would be another step in showing a political alignment with Prince Kestil. While Vraekae was a decently impartial judge, she was still a firm and vocal supporter of the second prince. Even if Jadis and the elf weren’t forming the same kind of relationship that Jadis had with her lovers, there would still be a deep connection formed between them that would be inescapably visible in around nine months, if not sooner. If Jadis didn’t want to appear to be in support of the second prince, Aila advised, she probably shouldn’t be showing so much obvious favoritism in her relationships.
It was around that point that Severina had landed on the rooftop terrace and walked into the bedroom.
While Jadis made sure to take the time to catch Severina up on everything that had happened that day, which had naturally resulted in several more emotional embraces that spread like butter throughout the room, she also used the Seraphim to highlight an obvious point. She was already in a committed relationship with Severina, who was literally one of Kestil’s closest subordinates. If that didn’t make people think she was on Prince Kestil’s side, nothing else would.
While Vraekae had made a point of highlighting how Jadis was as apolitical as a person of note in the empire could get, a niggling little doubt ate away at the Nephilim’s mind. While she didn’t particularly care for Kestil as a person due to his openly manipulative nature, she absolutely had been showing him a lot of favoritism in comparison to First Prince Hraustrekr. Kestil’s older brother had pissed Jadis off royally when he had sent Runar to forcibly bring her to the capital, but since then he’d been relatively easy to deal with. Sure, the elf was a dick of the highest degree, and Noll’s suspicions regarding his involvement in false-flag operations weighed on her mind, but otherwise Jadis had not been disturbed by the crown prince overmuch. He really had left her alone. It was the actions of various dukes who were in the first prince’s camp that had been causing her problems lately, and so far as Jadis could tell, Hraustrekr didn’t appear to be involved in those clandestine maneuvers at all. He just didn’t seem to care to police them.
So, why should she care about either prince?
Really, the only reason why the thought bothered Jadis at all was because of the emperor’s request. Somerulf had personally asked Jadis to help unite his two sons together into some kind of harmony. How exactly she was supposed to do that, Jadis had no fucking clue. She wasn’t a family therapist, and her idea of conflict resolution usually involved blood and broken bones. Still, she wanted to fulfill the old man’s wish. It had been obvious to Jadis when she had met him that emperor Somerulf was a good soul, who truly only wanted what was best for both the empire and his beloved children. His desire to have his sons rule the nation together and without destructive conflict erupting between them was entirely reasonable. Of course, Jadis didn’t know how she was going to go about accomplishing that goal, but she figured alienating one brother entirely while seemingly cozying up to the other via his allies wasn’t the right tactic.
The problem of what to do about Hraustrekr and Kestil was a concern for later, though. There were more important things to focus on in Jadis’ estimation, one of which being what she was going to do about Vraekae.
After including Severina in the talk, everyone had agreed that it was reasonable for Jadis to at least give it a try with Vraekae that night. Since her Breeding Time skill had indicated that Vraekae was in the best possible condition to potentially be impregnated, and further taking into account the vagaries of elven reproductive cycles, it was deemed a foolish idea for Jadis to skip out on spending the night with the magistrate. Not that Jadis expected she would be spending much time sleeping in Vraekae’s bed. Jadis wasn’t sure what sex with the icy woman would be like, but she doubted there would be much post-coital cuddling. Once she and Vraekae were done, she could head back to the compound to spend the night with her lovers. Unless the elf wanted a little company afterwards. Jadis wasn’t a stranger to the booty-call, but she highly preferred other sorts of engagements. She didn’t know what it would be like to be with Vraekae, but both the one-night-stand and the lovey-dovey scenarios felt weird when applied to her mental image of the woman.
Smirking at the thought, Jadis had to wonder if she would even want to spend the night at Vraekae’s manor. She wasn’t about to deny that she was looking forward to having some fun with the red-eyed elf, but she had a picture in her mind of what Vraekae’s bedroom looked like. Mostly, it involved a bed made of marble and pillows made of steel. If there was a blanket, it was probably made out of chainmail. Vraekae did not give off the impression of someone who enjoyed creature comforts, much less lounging around in a soft bed.
Standing in the foyer of the magistrate’s estate, Jadis felt like she might have to revise her opinion.
When the doors had opened upon her knock, Jadis had been greeted by a reserved, older elf with gray skin and golden eyes. The manor’s head butler, Delby, was about as standoffish as she had expected based on Eir’s reservations from earlier in the day. However, the manor itself was a different story. There was nothing clinical or utilitarian about Vraekae’s furnishings. The foyer as well as the rooms Jadis could observe through open doors were all richly decorated with furniture that bordered on lavish. Everything was warm tones and polished mahogany. While none of the chairs that Jadis saw were anywhere near large enough to suit her frame, she found that she was a little envious of the comfort that the fine furnishings seemed to possess. She idly wondered if maybe she could get Vraekae to tell her who had made the chairs and if the craftsman would be willing to make similar pieces in her size.
“Follow me, if you would,” the butler said with polite deference. “Magistrate Vraekae is expecting you.”
“Funny that she’s expecting me when I wasn’t sure myself if I was going to show up,” Jay mused out loud as she walked behind the finely dressed servant. “Though I guess she’s pretty good at predicting things, isn’t she?”
“I do not make observations concerning Magistrate Vraekae,” Delby replied with utmost seriousness.
Quietly rolling three pairs of eyes behind the butler’s back, Jadis followed him up the stairs to the fifth floor of the tall building. Along the way, Jadis noticed that while there were many rooms, all of which were meticulously maintained, there were no servants other than Delby around to explain the exceptional cleanliness. Making a not too wild leap of logic, Jadis presumed that since Vraekae had been expecting her to show up that evening, the magistrate might well have told the serving staff to have the rest of the evening off. Less witnesses around to make things awkward.
When the butler stopped in front of an unassuming door, Jadis presumed they had arrived at Vraekae’s personal study. Her assumption proved correct when Delby opened the door and announced her presence in lordly tones.
“Lady Jadis Ahlstrom,” the old elf said with the air of a solemn priest.
Walking through the door, Jadis was taken aback by what she saw.
All the furniture in the study was just as luxurious yet stylishly understated as the rest of the manor. The rows of bookshelves lining the walls, all crammed full of thickly bound tomes, were also well within expectations. Even the large family portrait that hung over the fireplace was something Jadis could reconcile well enough, since it was the kind of thing a noble would have as a matter of course. What caught Jadis off guard was the way Vraekae was dressed.
Magistrate Vraekae was not waiting for Jadis in some kind of sexy negligee, as fun as that would have been. She was, instead, still dressed in her military uniform. Partially. The outer layer of her dress coat had been removed and was hanging neatly over the back of the elf’s chair. The white shirt underneath had brass buttons, a couple of which had been opened to reveal just the barest hint of blue cleavage. She still wore her dress pants, but as Vraekae stood from her seat and walked around her well-ordered desk, she revealed that she wasn’t wearing any shoes or socks. The sight of her bare feet, while not exactly a turn on for Jadis, did present an air of intimacy that made her three hearts beat a little faster, probably in part thanks to certain actions she had taken with a certain Seraphim in recent memory.
Overall, this was the most undressed and relaxed Jadis had ever seen the magistrate, and it was strangely acting as a bigger turn on for her than if the elf had been waiting for her naked.
“Good evening, Jadis,” Vraekae said cooly in greeting. “I am glad you were able to make time for me tonight.”
“Yeah, good to see you again, too,” Jay said with a growing smile.
The aura or whatever it was that Jadis had first noticed when she had seen Vraekae at Lyssandria’s temple was still present. She couldn’t help but softly inhale the scent of the elf. She knew it wasn’t a sexual scent, precisely. She was exceptionally familiar with those kinds of smells, so she knew she could identify the taste of sex in the air if she caught a whiff of it. This, whatever it was, was another thing entirely. Related, though, since Jadis could still feel her pants growing tighter with every inhale.
“Will there be anything else, madam?”
Jadis didn’t bother to turn her gazes away from Vraekae when the stuffy butler asked his question. She had lost all interest in him. No, her gaze was on the surprisingly alluring magistrate, and she wasn’t planning on changing that attention for quite a while.
“Nothing more for tonight, Delby,” Vraekae dismissed the old servant with a flick of a finger. “I will see you in the morning at my usual breakfast hour.”
“Yes madam,” Delby said before politely closing the door behind him as he left.
There was a moment of silence between the Nephilim and the elf.
“So…” Jay drew out the word.
“I would offer you a drink,” Vraekae said as she lifted a glass of some brownish-gold liquid to her lips. “However, in light of recent events, I do believe you will need to abstain from alcohol for the foreseeable future.”
“That’s alright,” Dys shook her head. “I already swore off the stuff when I found out that Kerr was pregnant. If she can’t have any, I figured it would be unfair torture to drink it in front of her.”
“How beneficent of you,” she said with the slightest of smiles. “May I suggest an alternative drink that you, Kerr, and others may enjoy?”
“Sure,” Syd shrugged. “I’m game to try most anything.”
Vraekae walked over to a nearby cabinet. Opening the doors, she revealed a collection of shot glasses, snifters, and all kinds of bottles that likely held all sorts of wines, whiskies, and who knew what other exotic beverages available in the capital. Vraekae carefully selected a large glass bottle and poured the golden amber contents into four shot glasses. Passing them out Jadis’ three selves, Vraekae raised her own glass in a silent toast.
Taking a taste, Jadis’ three selves couldn’t help but smack their lips.
“That’s strong,” Jay said while controlling her wince. “Nice flavor, but still. Pretty sure I shouldn’t be drinking this.”
“It is not alcoholic,” Vraekae said after swallowing her own sip. “This is called Smoke Water, in the imperial language. It comes from Tiaga, a country on the western continent. It mimics the smokey flavor of a barrel-aged liquor but has no actual alcohol content. Tiagan merchants often drink smoke water while providing their customers with true alcohol. This allows them to keep their wits while the foreigners they trade with dull their minds.”
“That’s a sneaky trick,” Syd smirked. “I’m guessing it’s one you’ve used before?”
“Sometimes,” Vraekae admitted. “When negotiating deals with difficult nobles, having an edge over the competition can make a difference.”
“Well, you don’t need to get me drunk at this point, do you?” Jay asked while taking a couple of steps closer to the elf. “I mean, the negotiations are pretty much done now. I’m happy to move on to the action, if you are.”
Vraekae showed no sign of discomfort as Jay invaded her personal space. She never even dropped her gaze as Jay loomed over her, standing so close that they were practically touching.
“There is one more item I wanted to discuss, actually,” she said with her usual coolness.
“Really?” Jay asked, a little surprised. “What’s that?”
“I am led to believe that you have a ritual spell that will allow you to replicate the effects of one passive skill that another person possesses.”
Jadis paused at Vraekae’s statement. She wasn’t really surprised that the magistrate had somehow found out about that. Gunnar was admittedly the noble elf’s informant. In fact, Gunnar probably overheard something of that nature while he was still a soldier in the squad that had gone to the Dryad’s grove with Jadis and her companions back in Weigrun. That was before Jadis had really understood how to guard her secrets, and the muscular elf had even directly told her that she was a little too easy for him to eavesdrop on.
“I do,” Jay confirmed, though Vraekae hadn’t exactly posed the sentence as a question.
“Most of my passive skills would be of minimal aid to you in battle considering your role as a front-line fighter,” Vraekae spoke in a calm, professional tone. “However, there is one that I would like for you to replicate, as I believe it will benefit you. At the very least, it should give you some freedom to choose other skills that would serve you better without having to worry about one particular facet of your attributes.”
“What skill?” Jay asked, her increasingly heated attention momentarily diverted to the practical.
“It is called Elite Battlemage’s Reserves. It will increase your Focus attribute equal to your CLR. Considering your level of progress, I would think that should be able to cover any current or near-future magic reserves concerns you might have.”
“Woah…”
Jadis’ mind was jarred out of her aroused state completely by Vraekae’s description of the skill. Considering her three decidedly overpowered classes, Jadis was used to dealing with skills and spells that were just too awesome to believe at times. However, hearing about this one from Vraekae definitely took her by surprise.
The skill also almost pissed her off, in a way. Jadis had been putting free attribute points into her Focus stat specifically so she could reach the point where she could cast her Blessing of the Progenitor spell without having to spend hours moving her duplications skills back and forth. Progress that way was slow, since each attribute point in Focus increased her magic pool by only ten points. Now, Vraekae was offering her a passive skill that would increase her reserves by six hundred and ninety points! It really made her past attribute placements feel like a waste.
Not that it was Vraekae’s fault by any means. In fact, Jadis knew that she was going to have to thank the magistrate profusely for allowing her to replicate such an incredibly useful skill. She was helping Jadis out immensely, when she really didn’t have to. However, Jadis held back on showering Vraekae with her undying gratitude. While Vraekae may have learned of the effects of the skill duplication ritual, that didn’t mean she knew how the ritual was performed. That was a detail Jadis would need to clear up first.
“That’s actually amazing,” Jay grinned down at the smaller woman. “But, just to make sure, you do know how I perform that ritual, right?”
“I have a general awareness,” Vraekae nodded.
“It’s not just sex,” Jay pressed the issue. “It’s sex for two hours. And you’ll have to take on two of me. At the same time.”
“I see,” Vraekae’s expression did not change, nor did her tone of voice. “I understand and I feel I am capable of handling such a ritual.”
“Really?” Jay raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
Vraekae’s lips twitched up at the corners as she assessed Jay with cool eyes.
“Your concern for me is… endearing, Jadis. However, it is not needed. I am not virginal. And you are aware of the fact that male elves have two penises, are you not? Copulation can be creative, among our species.”
“Right,” Jay smothered a grin as she tried not to laugh. “Elves are twice as fun, so they say.”
“Indeed they do,” Vraekae agreed.
“But I’m no elf,” Jay explained as her other two selves gathered closer, surrounding Vraekae in a wall of Nephilim. “And any time spent with me is three times as intense. Maybe I should use my Ritual Time Reduction skill? It’ll bring the replication ritual down to an hour.”
“Only if you feel you can’t keep up,” the calm and collected magistrate challenged Jadis with all the same icy reserve as she had always displayed in their interactions.
Only this time, the smile on Vraekae’s face could have melted steel.
270