"My life is very different than what it was. It is overwhelming, but I prefer this over what was before," Ylene admitted as she led him out of the room. She scented the air with her eyes closed for a moment. "This way."
"I was asking the question more specifically about how you were doing in this situation rather than generally," Caleldir noted as he squeezed her hand a bit. "But I am glad you are happy with things." He strode alongside her until they came to Selene's room. The succubi had, respectfully, left her alone, so it was just Selene in a chair and Iondae sleeping in a cradle.
"Well, that ended up being exactly as awkward as one would expect," Caleldir said to Selene as he entered and sat down on the large bed. "'High Mistress' Rubella Silverwisp decided to show up and... communicate with us." He sighed. "She had a lot of information to pass on."
"I am not surprised," Selene said as she put down her book and stood. Ylene approached her to stand well within her personal space. The drow smiled at her familiar and began stroking her hair. "It seems like this one didn't get to participate as much as she wanted. But before we get carried away, did Rubella have anything to say that I would find interesting?"
"Yes," Caleldir said. He drew a deep breath. "She and her succubi are in de-facto control of half of Clachleom, the giant lightning monk we released from the Clockwork Artificer's chambers is now the King of Clachleom after marrying both the warring princesses, she found out the origins of the Valkyrie, Nymph, Succubus, and Banshee races and how they are all offshoots of a primordial Nymph civilization from faerie. And..." He took another long breath, closing his eyes. "The mother of that race, the common ancestor of all four races, is my mother: Astellodia. And the more powerful I get, the more my mother's essence shines through me, the more irresistible I become to members of those four races and their offshoots."
He opened his eyes again, studying Selene's reactions. He smiled self-consciously. "So... that explains a lot."
"That explains a lot," Selene agreed as she slowly seated herself on the edge of the bed that was in the room. "Well. That is both good news and annoying news. Duskhaven perhaps has the Consort with the most potential since... well, another, better one does not come to mind at the moment. It may come to a point where you shouldn't be allowed outside of the House. For your own safety... not that Ashyr will go for that," Selene huffed. "I am very conflicted about this new information."
"Being under voluntary house arrest does not sound like the worst of fates." Caleldir sighed. "Though it is not my safety that we should worry about. No member of those four races would be able to bring themselves to kill me, it seems. Mirjana confirmed that they have a sort of block against doing so. Even the most murderous ones. But I would really rather keep my offspring to a number I can actually meet, talk to, and know a bit about. I already have more children than I can handle. And, as Hael'yss said, spreading my seed too broadly will reflect badly on Duskhaven. We managed to contain that by adopting most of the drow I impregnated, but with the four races, well..." He shrugged. "I am upset enough about the breeding contract Goelon made with the Rusalka that I am bound by resulting in five daughters that I can never really have a relationship with." He looked down, a resigned, somewhat unhappy expression on his face.
"Your safety isn't just about you potentially getting hurt or dying. Kidnapping is a more likely fate, and why I think I should convince Ashyr to find a safe place to keep you. And the rest of us, too, of course, you just wouldn't be able to leave unless absolutely necessary." Selene fell back on the bed and stretched languidly. Ylene joined her, casually curling up next to the drow and caressing her naked body. The only indication that Selene noticed was that her breath got just a bit heavier. "Then again, we can never really lose you unless they manage to take your familiar as well." Selene didn't look entirely comforted by that; she didn't trust Dahlia, but then, Selene trusted practically no one.
"That was, more or less, what I was saying," Caleldir remarked. "Frankly, because Dahlia owns my soul, I cannot be killed. She would just turn me into an Imp. As long as anyone in her Seduction survives, I cannot be killed. But kidnapping for breeding purposes is a very real worry." He sighed, though he smiled at Selene as she laid down on the bed next to him. "Also, Dahlia may not prevent that sort of kidnapping. Frankly, she may facilitate it if she thinks it will give her some sort of advantage. Althaia has repeatedly warned me that it is inevitable that she is going to try to Incubize me. It is just a matter of when. Frankly, I do not want to be an Incubus. I am already immortal, so I gain no advantage from being incubized, just a lot of mind-warping."
"I had considered that eventuality as well. She would be a fool if she wasn't planning on corrupting you. You are the perfect mate. But she would need quite a few more succubi than she already has, and Risa hasn't reported any sudden growth in their numbers. But we can't rule out the possibility of her getting up to things that we don't know about..." Selene let out an annoyed breath. "We can theorize all day, but I'm not sure we can do anything about it except to stay vigilant."
"She does port around an awful lot," Caleldir noted. "And I have no idea what her other succubi are up to." He let out a long breath and lay down next to Selene. "Indeed. We need to stay vigilant and know that we can always trust Dahlia to do what is in Dahlia's best interest. Which in most things makes her a reliable ally. But not everything." He looked over at Selene, trying to guess what she was thinking.
"I'd say that we should get Ashyr to gain more of Dahlia's confidence... but I have the feeling that Dahlia would be more likely to convince Ashyr to do something rather than the other way around."
Imagining Ashyr and Dahlia plotting together drew an affectionately amused smile to Caleldir's face. "That does seem likely," he mused, remembering the times Ashyr had tricked him into sex with other people. She was half a succubus herself already. For some reason, Dahlia's 'mischief' was annoying, but Ashyr's was endearing, and imagining Ashyr involved in whatever Dahlia was up to was an odd comfort despite the fact that it really should not have been.
Selene made another annoyed sound before flipping herself over to be on top of Caleldir. "This conversation seems to have no purpose other than annoying me."
He looked up into her red eyes and gave her a smile. "Well, I suppose that we should end the conversation then."
"Yes," Selene agreed with a tone of finality. When she had slipped on top of Caleldir, Ylene had pressed her lithe body into his side. Her hands were roaming across both his and Selene's bodies now, though she seemed too shy to outright touch anything too risque. In some ways, Selene found that unintentional teasing more erotic.
"Do you want something, Ylene?" The drow asked with an amused squint to her eye. She looked over to the sleeping infant on the other side of the room. "Iondae will likely sleep for another half hour." She looked back to Caleldir with a smug smile.
"Well then, as long as we are reasonably quiet..." Caleldir let his words trail off suggestively. His cock was sticking up erect between Selene's thighs right now. Certainly, he had just been forced to have sex with Rubella and to a lesser extent Mirjana a few minutes ago, but he was quick to recover. And more than willing to have more time with Selene. And her familiar.
Speaking of which... "She has been clinging to me pretty closely all day," he noted. "She definitely wants something, but cannot seem to say it." He looked towards the catgirl. "Right?"
Ylene's complexion grew darker with embarrassment the more her companions eluded to her desires. Actually wanting sex and having loving partners to do it with was a relatively new thing in the catfolk's life. It pleased her immensely to have such an opportunity, but she still didn't have the confidence to initiate. Even now, all she could do was bury her heated face into Caleldir's chest.