Aelius’ security truly was an absolute pain in the ass to deal with.
Not that Maeve didn’t have ways to get around the various wards and anti-intruder countermeasures the old Seraphim had set up in and around his home. As she knew from practical experience, no defense was perfect. Plus, it seemed as though Aelius hadn’t updated any of his warding spells in a while. Possibly decades. Maeve had grown a lot since the last time she had been in Glanum; it wasn’t only her name that she had changed. There were definitely weaknesses that she could exploit, if she were of a mind to do so.
That said, the cost wasn’t worth the satisfaction. Aelius had been polite and accommodating towards her thus far, which was a privilege, not a right. If she started circumventing his security measures, that attitude was likely to change. Especially since she couldn’t do so without leaving a trail of broken spells. Maeve didn’t want to get on the old bird’s bad side, not when his displeasure could separate her from Jadis, in more ways than one.
She was still being held in a bad light by Jadis. Maeve knew that was the truth, no question. With how gravely she had fucked up last night, the minor act of distracting Commander Odilia was hardly enough to put her back in the Nephilim’s good graces. She hoped it had put her on the right path, but true forgiveness was likely leagues away. That was why she had gone on her own reconnaissance mission the moment she had found a polite way to exit Aelius’ domicile.
Certainly, if she showed Jadis her value, then clemency would be granted to her. Perhaps not just clemency, either. Maybe… affection. A touch would be nice—
No.
No, best not to walk down that path. Not when so much was uncertain. A kind touch was too much to expect, because the fall when it didn’t happen would be too far to bear. Better to set her sights on lower hanging fruit.
A kind word. That was reasonable, wasn’t it? Perhaps one of those intoxicating grins to go along with a warm word of gratitude? Jadis could spare a grin. She was so free with them. With others, at least.
Not with her.
Maeve mentally shook herself out of the dark path her soul so easily slipped onto. That spiraling would lead her to the same end as so many of her kin. She was stronger than any of those mad fools. She wouldn’t slip. Not again.
Straightening her back, Maeve made her way through the servant’s entrance to Aelius’ manor. The back door was guarded, of course, but the two soldiers there were easy to fool with a simple change in form. Maeve had taken on the looks of one of the maids who had stayed in Glanum to continue their work, unafraid of the Demon army that threatened the city because of her certainty that the great Aelius would protect her and all who lived within his domain.
It was a fair assumption. Wrong, but fair. If Jadis had not arrived when she had, the city would have fallen, and the maid would have died along with all the rest. Maeve hoped the silly woman recognized that fact. It was Jadis who deserved her praise and affection, not the old feather duster.
As Maeve passed by the two guards, smiling and greeting them in exactly the same way the real maid would, they made no sign or indication that they had seen through her deception. Of course they wouldn’t. Aelius had politely keyed his wards so that she could enter and leave the premises freely, since she was with Jadis’ party. That meant Aelius would know that she had returned; that was the price that came with respecting the Seraphim’s wards and working within his boundaries. She couldn’t fool him. But at least she could trick his subordinates.
A Fetch had to have some self-respect.
Making her way through the rear gardens, Maeve slowed briefly as she listened to the men working the forge inside of Aelius’ workshop. By the sound of their voices, she could tell that Sabina wasn’t with them. That meant the relentlessly cheery smith had to be inside the manor with Jadis. There was little else that could keep that woman from her work.
Not ideal. Maeve preferred to speak with Jadis alone, whenever possible. It was easier to put on the right mask in a one-on-one conversation. Not that she had found the one that Jadis liked just yet, but she was determined. There had to be some version of herself that Jadis would find enticing. It didn’t have to be… affection. Lust would do. Lust was better than contempt. Lust was better than most emotions that Maeve knew she had a talent for engendering inside others.
Walking through the halls of Aelius’ home, Maeve didn’t head straight for Jadis’ room. She knew that was the most likely location she would find the champion, but there was no guarantee. Besides, she had a cover to maintain.
By the time Maeve had finished winding her way through the manor on a circuitous route, the sun had long since set below the western horizon. Taking her time had given her valuable information. Jadis was still in the building, as were her lovers and companions. However, none were out in public spaces. That meant Jadis and her harem were gathered in their room. Alone.
As she neared the door at the end of the hall, Maeve slowed her steps. There was a scent in the air. Barely perceptible. A human would not have picked up on it. Likely a therion would not have perceived the aroma either. But Maeve’s body was different. Her nose was not on her face; it was all of her being, just as her whole being was everything she needed it to be. That all-too-familiar scent that just barely leaked out from under the closed door wafted against her feet, which was just as good as holding a scented handkerchief to her face.
Sex.
Sweet and salty and filled with lust. So much lust.
There was love, there, too. A difficult scent to parse from the rest. Not because it was in any lesser measure, but because Maeve had little experience in tasting such a rare flavor. But there it was. The same scent she had been tortured with every time she passed by Jadis’ quarters in Eldingholt. It was so close…
Maeve checked her surroundings. There was no one else in the hall and all the other doors were firmly shut. She was alone.
Good.
Maeve pressed herself against the door. She didn’t need to put her facsimile of an ear to the wood, since any part of her could hear just as well as any other part could. She still did so, since it felt right, and because if anyone did spot her, the maid would take the heat, not her.
Straining her senses, she hoped for a sound. A moan. A slap of flesh on flesh. Something juicier. Anything.
Nothing.
Aelius’ damn wards. The man entertained powerful guests regularly. He knew the value of privacy. There was no chance she would be able to eavesdrop on the erotic activities that were going on just beyond the simple slab of wood. Not without breaking her cover, and a few wards. There was no easy way in. No way but…
She could knock.
Couldn’t she? Jadis was a maniac. Insatiable. She had to have so many lovers; no one woman could handle all of her attention without collapsing from exhaustion. She was having sex. Fucking. Couldn’t she go in? Wouldn’t Jadis welcome her, another warm body to satisfy her lusts and slake her desires? Maeve could be Kerr, or Eir, even Vraekae if that would please. Would she even question if a second Aila slipped into the debauched orgy occurring at that very moment?
She would.
Jadis would spot her. She always spotted her.
Damn her. Damn. Maeve had no idea how she did it, but she did. Jadis always caught on to her disguises and tricks.
It made Maeve want her even more.
Pulling away from the door, Maeve felt her desperation grow. It was a hard emotion to quash, especially when the tempting fruit was hanging so close. There was no chance of spying on the activity within Jadis’ borrowed room, though. Aelius’ frustrating wards were too strong. She’d have to break them to get by, and that would draw attention.
No, it was best to just forget her longing. Set it aside, for the time being. She could return tomorrow, in the morning. Share her findings. Jadis might praise her then. Perhaps more.
Maeve knew what the right thing to do was. She had no doubt. And yet, somehow, minutes later, she found herself outside. She hadn’t meant to be. She’d intended to go to the kitchen and sneak out some food. And yet, here she was. Outside. Standing in the bushes. Mere feet away from the windows that looked into Jadis’ room.
They were curtained, of course. No one would be able to see inside, not even with magic. Aelius’ protective spells were too good to let simple spy work succeed. She knew it to be true. It was best if she turned away before some overly dutiful guard passed by and spotted her shadowed form.
And yet…
Maeve’s eyes were drawn to a crack in the wall of obfuscation. A small gap, a mere sliver. Barely perceptible. But an opening, nonetheless.
Someone had opened the curtains and had not closed them completely.
Maeve moved forward, shifting her back’s color scheme to match the shadows that surrounded her. Any common eye would see her as nothing more than a figment of imagination in the dark. Her front, however, she left looking like the maid. It was as good a guise as any. Maeve always felt more real when she took a mortal form. And for this, she wanted to feel real.
Pressing her eye against the glass, Maeve spied upon her champion.
Beauty.
Gods, what beauty.
Maeve’s insides ached as she watched the licentious scene going on within. She still couldn’t hear anything, but she could well imagine those sounds. So many beautiful, wonderous sounds…
There were five of Jadis. An irregular event. Or was it more regular than she thought? Maeve still wasn’t sure how that body-splitting ability of Jadis’ worked. Whatever the mechanism, the results were glorious. Maeve didn’t know where to focus. So many of the beautiful Nephilim. So many of her lovers worshipping her with abandonment.
Maeve’s attention settled on the closest pairing. One of Jadis was near the window, sitting on the ground. In her lap facing her was the oh-so prim and proper Severina. As haughty as the woman could be, there she was, grinding herself on the massive cock that had impaled her quivering flesh. The sight made Maeve’s mouth water with a hunger she could not put words to.
They were facing each other, eyes locked as they lost themselves in the pleasure of the moment.
No, that was wrong.
They were not just locked in pleasure. Their eyes were filled with passion. Attraction. Lust.
Love.
As Jadis’ hand lifted from between their two joined bodies, a sweet cream that Maeve had not yet had the chance to savor coating her fingers, a moan threatened to well up inside the Fetch. As Severina welcomed Jadis’ two fingers into her mouth, sucking with clear pleasure while never breaking her gaze, Maeve’s own fingers twitched as they moved towards the sex she had formed between her legs. As Jadis pulled her fingers free from the Seraphim’s plump lips, her tongue flicked out to swipe a drop from the side of Severina’s cheek while Maeve’s body practically melted from the heat within her.
And then the two kissed.
Maeve jerked back from the window. What she had seen was…
It was wrong.
Not wrong that that it existed. The world would be wrong if such passion failed to exist. The wrongness was hers. It had been wrong of Maeve to spy on such an act of unadulterated love. Horribly wrong.
She wasn’t invited. This was a private moment. A perfect moment. A beautiful, sacred act of love and she had unknowingly tainted it by her selfish desire.
The loathing that stirred within Meave threatened to overwhelm all other possible thought. It was a bad path. The worst path. Wrongness incarnate.
Purposefully breathing in slow, calm, measured breaths, Maeve stepped away from the bedroom window. She had to leave. She couldn’t intrude on Jadis and her sincere lovers. Not like that.
Not like that.
Maeve hurried away from her act of shame. She needed to find a place to settle for the night, somewhere quiet and out of the way where she could be alone. She’d speak with Jadis in the morning, and to do so, she couldn’t have a guilty conscious. Jadis would see right through her. Maybe there was a little-used closet. Or a storage room. Somewhere alone. She needed to be alone.
She wouldn’t spy on Jadis anymore.
She’d still stroke herself raw thinking about that body, though.
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