Chapter 786: Introductions

Black sulfurous smoke curled lazily out of the jagged steaming crater, carrying the sharp stench of scorched dirt and burnt-out starlight.

At the bottom of the ten-foot hole, Ther’Abella lay flat on her back, her silver hair plastered to her forehead with cold sweat and gray soot.

Her ears were ringing with a high screech that drowned out the gentle rustle of the birches overhead.

Every breath she pulled past her cracked lips felt like swallowing broken glass, and her ribs were screaming where Morrighan’s knuckles had landed.

KOFF! KOFF!

A violent cough racked her slender body and sprayed a fine mist of blood across the pulverized dirt under her cheek.

’By the silver stars...’ Ther’Abella thought, her mind swimming through a sea of nausea and broken light. ’What kind of monster was that...? My starlight shattered the second it hit. My whole body feels like a snapped bowstring... That punch hurt like hell...’

Groaning through clenched teeth, she planted her trembling hands against the hot gravel and dragged herself an inch forward.

Her vision was spinning in sickening circles.

The silver birch trunks above her multiplied into an endless shifting forest, and the starlight in her chest sputtered like a dying candle in a storm.

"Curse you, usurper..." she rasped under her breath, coughing weakly as a puff of ash came off her chin. "Bringing your hellhounds into our home... I-I’ll cut your head off the moment I can breathe again..."

A broad warm hand reached down through the swirling smoke, its fingers open and steady.

Ther’Abella’s dazed teary eyes barely made out the shape of a palm. In her concussed half-blind state, she figured Elowynn had finally climbed down into the crater to pull her out.

She reached up, and her bruised fingers weakly latched onto the hand.

YANK!

She was hoisted clean out of the rubble with absurd ease.

Before her boots could touch solid ground, the world tilted violently as her stomach lurched, her head fell backward, and she found herself flipped upside down in midair.

THUMP!

Her bruised stomach landed right over a broad rock-solid shoulder draped in thick fur.

Ther’Abella’s eyes snapped wide and locked onto the back of a pair of dark trousers and the heel of a leather boot walking steadily across the gravel.

"Let me go, you filthy swine!" Ther’Abella shrieked, her voice cracking as she started kicking her boots at the empty air behind his back. "Put me down this instant! Put me down, usurper! I’m a warrior of the Viridian Guard, not a sack of potatoes! Put me down, or I swear on the stars I’ll tear your throat out with my teeth!"

THWAP! THWAP!

Her heels hit his hip, but Silas didn’t even break his stride.

He reached back with his right arm and clamped his forearm over the backs of her thighs to pin her legs in place, carrying the struggling silver-haired elf over his shoulder like a rolled-up rug.

"Still as feisty as ever, I see..." Silas said with a relaxed amused chuckle, climbing out over the smoking rim of the crater onto the plaza.

Standing ten paces away on the cobblestones, frozen in complete shock, were Aki and Elowynn.

Aki’s long blue hair spilled over the shoulders of her tunic, and her azure eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared at the smoking crater, then at Morrighan’s smoking knuckles and finally at Silas carrying her Hero upside down.

Beside her, Elowynn’s hand was resting on the hilt of one of her cutlasses, and her tall curvy body was trembling with relief while her amethyst eyes shimmered with awe and a dark blush crept down past the low neckline of her tunic.

Silas gave them an easy charming wave with his free hand.

"Hey, you two," Silas called, his deep voice carrying across the plaza. "Hope you’re both feeling better today... The last time I saw you, you were completely plastered on that Slow Acting Blessed Drink, I’m pretty sure I had to carry both of you to bed and tuck you in myself."

Aki’s jaw dropped, and her azure eyes went even wider.

A blazing wave of crimson surged up her neck and painted her cheeks, her nose and the tips of her ears bright scarlet.

"S-Silas!" Aki stammered, frantically waving both hands in front of her chest. "Y-you didn’t have to say that out loud! T-that was just a little mistake! I-I’m a princess, princesses don’t get plastered!"

’He remembered,’ Aki thought, her heart fluttering so hard it hurt as she hid her burning face behind her hands. ’He carried me to bed and tucked me in, and he remembered... Oh, why does he have to be like this? How am I supposed to stand here and act normal when he says things like that?’

Beside her, Elowynn squeaked softly with her hand flying up to cover her mouth as the little mole under her left eye twitched with embarrassment.

"Y-you carried us...?" Elowynn whispered, her amethyst eyes darting to the cobblestones as her knees wobbled. "T-to bed? Oh goodness... I-I don’t remember anything after the drinks started... Did I say anything strange?! B-but thank you for tucking us in, Lord Silas. You’re always so gentle with us..."

"It was no trouble at all," Silas grinned, thoroughly enjoying the sight of two flustered beauties falling apart in front of him. "Just save the drinking for after we’ve cleared out those nests next time..."

Meanwhile, slung over his shoulder, Ther’Abella was practically foaming at the mouth.

"Shut up, you silver-tongued devil!" Ther’Abella bellowed, pounding her fists uselessly against the thick fur on his back. "Don’t you dare talk to my Lady like that! My Lady, tell this savage to let me go! Elowynn, draw your blades and stab him in the knee! Why are you two just standing there blushing like milkmaids?! He’s holding me hostage!"

THWAP! THWAP! THWAP!

Her boots kicked wildly at the air behind his back.

Silas completely ignored the screaming elf bouncing against his shoulder and turned to gesture at the six girls who’d come through the runes with him.

"Anyway, like I promised, I brought some extra hands for the raid," Silas said, sweeping his arm toward them. "You’ve met most of them already, but let’s do this properly..."

He pointed first to the silver-haired wolf-girl, who was busy sniffing a birch trunk with intense fascination.

"You remember Lupina," Silas said.

Lupina spun around and flashed her sharp white fangs in a broad sunny grin, her bushy tail wagging so hard it stirred the fallen leaves around her boots.

"Hey there, blue-hair! Hey, fire-girl! It smells great over here! I can’t wait to rip up some weeds!"

Aki giggled and waved back at her with both hands, and even Elowynn managed a small dazed wave.

Silas nodded at the demon standing on his left, whose knuckles were still venting thin wisps of smoke.

"Morrighan... She takes my safety very seriously, as Ther’Abella just found out."

Morrighan gave a single tiny nod, her molten gold eyes calm and completely blank.

Down behind her heels, the spade-shaped tip of her tail gave a light happy flick.

Hanging upside down over Silas’s shoulder, Ther’Abella twisted around just far enough to glare at the demon who’d punched her into the ground.

Morrighan’s eyes slid over to meet hers, looking flat and utterly bottomless while Ther’Abella went very quiet and very still for almost three whole seconds.

"Rowenna, our Grand Runemaster," Silas went on, gesturing to the shy girl hugging her notebook.

Rowenna dipped into a tiny polite curtsy, her violet-black bangs falling over her eyes as a soft blush dusted her cheeks.

"I-it’s nice to visit your territory, Lady Aki."

"Aurelia El Mimonte, Saintess of the Argent Flame," Silas said, nodding toward the golden-haired healer.

Aurelia gave a warm gentle smile, her golden-amber eyes glowing with kindness. "May the light watch over your lands, Aki. I’ve brought salves in case any of your girls need them..."

Silas then motioned to the elegant artificer, whose nine silver tails were swaying behind her in a wide breathtaking halo of fur.

"Solenne, our artificer. Don’t let the tails fool you, she’s one of the sharpest minds in the forge."

Solenne tilted her head and let out a light musical laugh that drifted across the plaza like silver chimes. "Hello, Lady Aki. You have a lovely little home here."

Finally, Silas patted the shoulder of the petite flour-dusted chef, who was still nervously clutching his sleeve and hiding half her face behind her apron.

"And this is Kaelia, Blessed Land’s S-Rank Chef," Silas finished with a fond smile. "I brought her along so your girls can finally learn what real food tastes like. I’ve got enough of her cooking in my Inventory to feed everyone here..."

Kaelia peeked out from behind his arm and gave a small squeaky greeting.

"H-hello. I brought marrow stew, if you’re hungry..."

Right on cue, Elowynn’s stomach let out a growl loud enough for everyone to hear.

Elowynn turned bright red and clutched her belly with both hands, and Kaelia’s eyes lit up like she’d just been handed the most important job in the world.

Aki’s eyes sparkled, and she bowed to all of them, completely honored by the girls Silas had brought to her territory.

"Welcome to Aki’s Wonderland, all of you!" Aki said warmly, her poise coming back. "Thank you so much for coming. Having all of you here means so much to us!"

Standing beside Aki, however, Elowynn Embershade was going through a quiet disaster of her own.

Her amethyst eyes darted from one Blessed Land girl to the next, taking in every curve, every step and every bit of the overwhelming beauty coming off the women Silas had brought.

There was Lupina, athletic and wild, practically glowing with untamed charm under that gorgeous silver mane.

There was Solenne, breathtakingly mature, moving with graceful poise while nine impossibly fluffy tails trailed behind her like a royal train of silk.

There was Aurelia, pure and radiant, looking like a goddess who’d stepped straight down from the heavens in her flowing white robes.

There was Rowenna, mysterious and adorably shy, and Morrighan, tall and dark with curves that could make a king weep and a presence that made everyone around her stand up straight.

...And then there was Kaelia, petite and soft and so impossibly cute with that flour smudge on her cheek that anyone would want to wrap her in a blanket and protect her forever.

A sudden crushing wave of insecurity crashed over Elowynn’s chest and squeezed the air out of her lungs.

’Look at them...’ Elowynn thought, her fingers tangling in the fringe of her belt as her heart sank straight into her boots. ’Every single one of them is stunning! And they all have real talents! One of them’s an artificer, one’s a Saintess, one’s a terrifying demon, and one cooks like a dream! And me? I wave some fire around and act like a cheap tavern seductress, and my seduction doesn’t even work on him! How am I supposed to compete with this?! He probably looks at me and sees a clumsy loud farm girl playing dress-up!’

Her shoulders slumped, and her amethyst eyes dropped to her boots as she nervously bit her lower lip, feeling smaller than a field mouse in a lion’s den.

Silas noticed the sudden drop in her posture right away.

He took two long strides forward and stopped right in front of the tall curvy redhead.

Even with Ther’Abella still dangling over his shoulder, he leaned in a little, his dark blue eyes finding Elowynn’s downcast face with warm focused sincerity.

"You look really beautiful today, Elowynn," Silas said softly, his voice dropping into that smooth low tone that always made her pulse flutter. "That red hair of yours looks incredible in this light... I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all morning."

Elowynn’s head snapped up in pure shock.

Her amethyst eyes locked onto his and went wide until they sparkled like polished jewels, and a bright crimson blush burst across her cheeks and swept all the way down to her collarbones.

"O-oh..." Elowynn breathed, her voice barely a whisper.

Her hand flew up to touch her hair, and her eyes darted away in flustered panic while her chest heaved under her tunic.

"I-I do? I mean, thank you, Lord Silas. Y-you always know just what to say to me..." she stammered softly, turning her head away to hide her burning face behind her braid.

’He’s been looking forward to seeing me...’ Elowynn thought, her heart melting into a warm helpless puddle in her chest. ’He noticed my hair. He said I’m beautiful. Oh stars, I love him... I love him so much it hurts. I don’t care how many gorgeous women he brings with him. I’m going to burn so many monsters for him today that he won’t be able to take his eyes off me.’

She peeked back at him from behind her braid, just for a second, and found him still smiling at her.

Her heart did something so painfully sweet that she had to press a hand flat against her chest to keep it in there.

’Oh no,’ Elowynn thought helplessly. ’I’m done for... I’m completely done for.’