ELENA
I peered through the brush, the pine needles tickling my face. The morning sun cast speckled rays through the green canopy, and bathed my target in a golden aura. I supposed the man was beautiful. His face was chiseled with elegant features, his hair was a mess of blond, and his body was bronze and lean, toned to perfection. His ears came to points in the elven fashion, but his stature was more human. He lounged nakedly in the clearing, dipping his toes in the babbling stream and plucking idly at the grass. He seemed the picture of nonchalance, but I knew better. When his eyes connected with mine, he knew as well.
"I should've known Adarian would send you." The incubus laughed. It was a jolly sound, rich and baritone. It might've made another girl weak in the knees.
"You're not as subtle as you once were, Verto." I said keeping my arrow notched as I exited the brush.
"I know, I got lazy." Verto pouted his full lips.
"Where is she?" I asked, stopping ten paces away.
"Lydia!" Verto called over his shoulder. From the forest, a dawn-elf emerged. She had sun-kissed skin, red hair, sharp features, and dazzling green eyes. She was naked, and her nubile body was a feast of slender curves and supple creases. She hardly acknowledged me, and instead devoted her adoring attention to her captor. But Verto hadn't taken his eyes off me, and smirked triumphantly when I felt the color rush to my cheeks.
"I swear Ranger Straltaira, if I but had a single breast, you'd never be able to resist me."
"If you had but a single brain, maybe you'd be able to escape me." I said, levelling the arrowhead at his neck. Lydia predictably leapt to the defense of her master, sprawling her teenage body over his and screaming bloody murder.
"Good god shut her up!" I hissed, my eyes dancing around the edge of the clearing. There were far greater threats than incubi this far into the Great Forest. Verto silenced his paramour with a touch of his fingers, and her body turned liquid against his. If I was being honest, I envied the power.
"You've always been fair with me, Ranger Straltaira." Verto said, keeping himself shielded with his captive, "I never take from the Highlands, but I still need to feed. You understand, right?"
"I don't begin to understand you." I said, keeping up my cautious advance.
"Are you going to take me in this time?" Verto asked, tactfully situating himself behind the dawn-elf.
"You knew the rules."
"Her kind and yours are hardy the same." Verto insisted.
"She's still an elf."
"Your kind only make that distinction when it's convenient." Verto sneered, "The dawn-bloods live in these woods; they rejected your sovereignty!"
"I'm not here for a political debate, Verto. You're coming with me."
"I'm not going back to Castle Thorum." Verto said darkly. Lydia plastered herself to her lover, her possessed eyes staring without fear into mine. Her legs tensed as I neared, poised to leap at me. I knew she'd fight tooth and nail for Verto; I'd seen the savagery incubi slaves were capable of when pressed by their masters. I stopped five paces away, and steadied my aim.
"Are you going to resist me?" I asked Verto. The implication wasn't lost on him. Yes, I had been fair with the incubus, fairer than most rangers would have been, but I had my limits. Verto narrowed his eyes, the round pupils turning to their true slits. I slowly elevated my steadying hand, my fingers tensed about the drawn string.
He's a monster.
I thought,
He's a mindless beast undeserving of mercy.
But even in my most callous mindset, I could not convince myself of it. I took no joy in what I was about to do.
An eagle screeched overhead, cutting through the air like a knife. My eyes darted upward, catching sight of the avian as it neared. Its head was laden with a green cowl, and its talons clutched a wooden tube. It circled the three of us, then descended. I took five steps back from Verto and his guardian, and lowered my bow to raise an arm. The eagle perched on the proffered limb, and I retrieved the message from its talons. I read it. I read it again. I read it a third time, hoping vainly that my eyes were deceiving me, but no, they were keener than they'd ever been.
"Ranger?" Verto asked. I never answered his question. I turned from the incubus and his victim, and sprinted into the forest without a look back.
Yavara.
YAVARA
I was in a chair. No, it was a stool, akin to a barstool. I was naked, seated demurely upon the stool with stiff royal posture. Before me was a body-length mirror, its frame wrought-iron and imposing, its glass reflecting my blue eyes, blonde hair, soft features and perfect curves. Blackness was all around me, amorphous shadows tickling my periphery, but I was not afraid. I felt... right.
I'm dreaming.
I thought.
You are,
a familiar voice answered,
but the mind and reality are not separate. For thoughts bring pain and pleasure as assuredly as the touch of another.
There was a face behind me in the reflection. It was beautiful, angular and fierce, canvased with bronze flesh, maned with black hair, and adorned with blazing orange eyes. It seemed familiar, but I did not know why. Orange eyes? An elf with dark skin and black hair? Where had I heard of such a thing? I felt the press of her body against mine, and my mind went numb. Her flesh was supple and warm, her breasts pillowing softly against my shoulder-blades, her belly radiating into my back. My stiff posture failed, and I succumbed to the lassitude her touch compelled, falling into her with a soft cry. She laughed sweetly, threateningly, a sound that leaked into my ear and melted into my consciousness. Desire swelled with in me, hot and desperate. I mewled for her, shifting my hips in a whorish dance upon the stool, looking up at my molester with big, begging eyes.
Please!
I thought.
What do you want, Yavara?
The woman smiled, amusement sparkling in her eyes.
You.