The Amazon's Pledge

The terrain on the western side of Highwind was far rockier than in the north or east, and trudging through the sparse forest and around the massive, craggy hills would have been annoying even if I had been dry and properly clothed. Considering I was wet and nearly naked, the trip was a bloody nightmare. I sheathed myself in a thin Aetheric barrier, mostly to protect my feet, despite the fact it was a constant--and annoying--drain on my attention.

Kaseya was as sympathetic to my plight as Valuri was amused by it. My old "friend" snickered or outright giggled every few minutes, and I spent at least half my time fantasizing about my inevitable revenge. Almost every scenario involved some combination of my cock, her ass, and a set of strong amazon hands holding her down in the dirt.

A few hours later, after we had put several miles between us and the shoreline, I called for us to set up camp. Night had already fallen, and stumbling through the dark forest was as likely to get us lost as anything. We were probably still at least twenty miles away from the city, enough that we would have to spend most of the next day walking regardless.

"Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and bump into a merchant caravan tomorrow," Valuri said when I sat down on a stump and pulled her cloak as tightly around my body as I could. "Or maybe we'll find a cabin with a hermit who'll take pity on you. You just better hope his boots and trousers fit."

"We should stay as far off the road as possible," Kaseya said. "Ayrael is an expert tracker."

Valuri grunted. "It was a joke, girl. You do have the concept of humor on that backward island of yours, don't you?"

"Yes, though I fail to see what is amusing about our situation. We narrowly escaped with our lives, and Jorem is incredibly uncomfortable."

"Oh, poor baby," Valuri teased. "Maybe his slave should go kiss him and make it better?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled. "Can't you stop being a cunt for five bloody seconds?"

"I could, but what would be the point?" she said, folding her arms across her chest. "The way I see it, you left me to suffer for three months. The least I can do is watch and laugh while you stumble naked through the forest."

Kaseya scowled at the other woman. "You are a truly unpleasant individual. I cannot understand why Jorem harbors so much affection for you."

"We can't all be all be tall red-heads who bend over on command," Valuri replied tartly. "Did he even ask for your name before he slapped that collar on you and jammed his cock in your mouth?"

"Enough," I said, glancing between them. Kaseya seemed more confused than irritated at this point, though I knew it wouldn't be long before one transformed into the other. Valuri had been sniping at her ever since they had come ashore, and eventually the dam would burst. "Look, it's late and we're all exhausted. We should try and get some sleep while we can."

Kaseya's eyes latched onto me, and I swore I could feel her reaching through our bond. "I will sweep the perimeter and ensure we are not disturbed."

"You need rest, too," I reminded her. "I doubt your sister gave you a chance to relax on that ship."

"She did not, but I will be fine," Kaseya insisted. She started to move away, but then stopped directly in front of Valuri. "If you attempt to harm him in any way, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Valuri grinned. "You're welcome to try any time you like, sweetheart."

"I was not making a threat," Kaseya said. "I was merely stating a fact."

The two women glared at each other for several more seconds before Kaseya turned and walked off. The instant she was gone, I closed my eyes and let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"I like her," Valuri said.

I blinked. "What?"

"I like her. She's loyal, she's smart...and Escar's mercy, those tits! I bet you've had plenty of fun with those, haven't you?"

I groaned. "Why do you insist on making this as difficult as possible?"

"Easy is boring." Valuri smirked as she sauntered over and wedged herself down onto the stump next to me. "Look, all I'm saying is that if we're going to be a team again, you need to share your toys like a good little boy."

"Kaseya is

not

a toy."

"Really? How well did she know you before she sucked your cock?"

"That's not--"

"How long did you wait before you fucked her ass?"

"You can't--"

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Valuri said with a snort. "I'm not blaming you. If some red-headed goddess had pledged herself to me, I would have had her crawl between my legs in a heartbeat."

I sighed again and rubbed vigorously at my temples. "Look, it's complicated, all right? I met up with Kaseya when I was fleeing Vorsalos. I didn't know about Ayrael, and I thought you were dead. I needed new allies to survive, and having an amazon at my side seemed useful."

"So the sex was just a nice bonus."

"I didn't know anything about amazon culture or the nature of this

Maskari

bond at first. It all just kind of...happened."

Valuri grinned. "Is she any good?"

I rolled my eyes. "Kaseya is skilled and honest and loyal. I've never met anyone like her."

"That doesn't really answer my question," Valuri said, slowly swinging her leg over mine. She nudged her knee closer and closer until it was pressing against my crotch. "Is she any good?"

I nodded as my cock started swelling again. "Yes."

"Better than me?"

"What if I say 'yes?'"

"I'd know you were lying. Still, I can't wait to try her out for myself..."

Cupping my cheek in her hand, Valuri leaned in and kissed my lips. Her tongue was every bit as warm and soft as I remembered, and her fingernails dragged across my chest in exactly the right places. She was right that she had never needed magic to know exactly what I wanted. I had been wet clay in her hands from the first time we had kissed.

"Ayrael explained the nature of the amazon bond to me," Valuri whispered when she pulled away and pressed her lips into my ear. "She said that her sister can feel anything you feel. Is that true?"

"More or less," I breathed.

"Interesting," she said as her gloved fingers slipped through the folds of my cloak and curled around the shaft of my cock. "What if I made you spill right now? Would she feel it? Would that tight little cunt of hers get sopping wet?"

"Yes."

Valuri chuckled as she nibbled at my ear. "Good. I can't wait to taste it."

I clenched my teeth and moaned in delight. She wouldn't allow me to finish like this--it wasn't her style. There was a reason Kaseya enjoyed teasing me the same way; she could sense my desires, many of which had been carefully nurtured by Valuri over the last year.

"It's like having an audience everywhere you go," she said. "Maybe she'll even learn a few things. She seems like a smart girl, but everyone can benefit from the hands-on wisdom of a master."

I gasped when she abruptly released my cock and slid out of my lap. She squatted right in front of me, balancing herself on the high heels of her black boots, before she leaned forward and kissed the head of my member. Her green eyes never left mine even when her lips finally engulfed the shaft. While her tongue slathered me from tip to hilt, her fingers sensuously kneaded my testicles.

I almost activated my ring just to know what Kaseya was feeling. Would she be jealous? Annoyed? I genuinely had no idea. A better man might have felt guilty about it, but once again, I couldn't hold myself to such a high standard. Or any standard at all, really.

Valuri leaned away a split second before I exploded. I had known she would stop, but that didn't quench the fire in my loins. The head of my cock throbbed a quarter inch from her lips, desperate for her touch. She continued looking straight at me, amused by the strain on my face.

"You really haven't changed, have you?" she asked. "So meek, so passive...I thought that having your own slave girl would teach you to be more assertive. I guess no--erf!"

She yelped when I lunged forward, grabbed the back of her head, and slammed my cock back through her lips. Her eyes widened, first in shock and then in rage, and I was half tempted to hold her in place while I painted her throat in my seed. I could have easily spilled at a moment's notice--her mouth was as hot and wet as any cunt--but perhaps this was an opportunity to set some new ground rules.

Grasping a handful of her black hair, I yanked her off my cock and shoved her onto the ground. She glared up at me, gagging and coughing in surprise, but before she could brace herself, I dove on top of her, wedging myself between her legs and pinning her elbows above her head.

"I've changed plenty," I said, flooding my muscles with Aetheric energy and dramatically bolstering my raw strength. "I'm not interested in taking your shit anymore."

Valuri smiled even as she tried to wriggle free of my grip. She was an expert markswoman and one of the most agile people I had ever met, but I'd never had trouble overpowering her unless she had absorbed magic recently.

While my right hand held her wrists, my left worked at the straps of her leather corset and eventually freed her pale tits. Her legs clamped around my waist when my tongue lashed her nipples, and I felt her lock her ankles together behind my back. I hungrily feasted on her flesh, and all the while my free hand reached beneath her tunic and pulled her trousers down far enough to give my fingers access to her quim. Her folds were so slick they practically sucked my fingers inside her.

"Jorem...oh!"

Her eyes rolled back in her head as a climax shuddered through her, and her ankles unlocked behind me when her toes curled inside her boots. I used the momentary respite to tear her trousers all the way off, though as usual I left her boots in place. Her eyes had only just refocused when I pushed the head of my cock against her smoldering entrance.

"Make her feel it," Valuri breathed. "I want to hear your amazon's cries echoing through the forest!"

I thrust my cock into her. The only cries I heard were Valuri's, though when I toggled on my ring, I could feel the echoes of my own lust cascading through Kaseya. She was out there in the forest nearby, struggling valiantly to stay focused on her patrol even as her

Maskari

fucked another woman's cunt.

The thought nearly pushed me over the edge, but I refused to relent so easily. I slammed into Valuri over and over as if she were a fencepost I was pounding into the dirt, and I could feel the shockwaves of every thrust rippling from my loins into Kaseya. The amazon eventually collapsed to her knees, unable to resist, and when I heard her distant cries echoing through the hills, I lost control.

"Fuck!" I screamed, pulling out. As desperately as I wanted to fill Valuri's quim just like I had done so any times with Kaseya, I knew from experience that my old lover had a different preference. My cock exploded, spraying Valuri's tits and stomach with volley after volley of my smoldering seed. Mere seconds after I was finally drained, the green tattoos beneath her pale skin began to glow in the presence of my magic. The Aether wasn't just in my blood, after all.

I sank back on my haunches and watched her feed. Even her eyes started to glow beneath her fluttering eyelids. Most Senosi drew their sustenance from blood, but Valuri had always preferred this alternative. I was more than happy to oblige. I doubted I would ever grow tired of watching a beautiful woman descend into a euphoric trance after I had covered her with my seed.

Several minutes passed before she finally came down and reopened her eyes. Her green irises continued glowing even after her tattoos had faded back into her skin, and she smiled seductively as she gathered the few stray globules from her forehead and nose onto her fingers. After staring at the long, viscous strands for a moment, she pushed them into her mouth and rolled them across her tongue.

"So that girl hasn't drained you completely," Valuri whispered. "Good."

I grunted and slumped back on my elbows. "When I learned you were still alive, I wondered if the Inquisitrix had taken away your Senosi powers."

"I don't think she can. Not without killing me."

Valuri leaned up and smiled once she had cleaned off the rest of her face. The glow in her eyes was almost eerie in the darkness. I had always thought the Senosi were a little too close to succubi for my tastes, and right now she actually looked like a demon.

"For the record, I'm still upset you never tried to rescue me," Valuri said.

I groaned. "Look, I already explained that--"

"But I'll get over it," she went on, grinning. "Eventually."

"You're too kind," I muttered.

"I missed this guy," she said, gently nudging my wilted cock with the toe of her boot. "And you, too, I suppose."

I smiled despite myself. I had missed her, too, of course, and not just because of the amazing sex. I knew her better than anyone in the world, even the woman I was now magically bonded to. The thought of losing her to the Inquisitrix had driven me mad so many times these past few months...

"Anyway, we do need some kind of plan when we get back into the city," Valuri said after a moment. "Ayrael will be back, and she won't be alone. The Inquisitrix has plans for Highwind."

"Do you know what they are, specifically?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, no. I hadn't fully regained her trust just yet. The mission to capture you and Kaseya was my final test."

"I'm honestly surprised she was willing to give you a second chance. She doesn't strike me as the forgiving type."

"She's not," Valuri murmured. "But she's also not a fool. She recognized that I was a valuable asset, and more importantly, she didn't

completely

disapprove of my methods."

I frowned and leaned forward. "Your methods? You mean working with me?"

"Publicly, she was outraged. The fact that one of that of her best Huntresses had been secretly working with a renegade sorcerer was a major embarrassment. But privately..." Valuri shrugged. "You and I were doing a lot of good, even by her warped definition. I neutralized more dangerous channelers working with you than the rest of the Senosi combined."

I nodded solemnly. I had never been particularly proud of the arrangement I'd struck with Valuri; helping her hunt down and capture other people born with the Aether in their blood seemed like a betrayal of my own kin. But our targets hadn't been beleaguered refugees or exiles like myself--they had been truly dangerous individuals who either couldn't control their powers or didn't want to. Only one out of a hundred or so humans was born with the gift, but in a city as large as Vorsalos, that meant there were a lot of potentially dangerous people. Ignoring them simply wasn't an option.

The problem was that the Inquisitrix had no interest in helping us--she wanted to exterminate us, pure and simple.

"I spent a lot of time trying to convince her that I wasn't a traitor," Valuri went on. "And she spent a lot of time cracking a whip on my back. I never broke, though; not really. And when Ayrael told me about you and her sister, I was able to convince them that I'd be the best bait to draw you out. I'm glad I was right."

I smiled. "Well, I'm glad the multiverse gave us another shot. We just need to figure out what to do with it."

She arched her black eyebrows. "I assume you've been working on a plan."

"Sort of. I've been trying to build some underworld contacts in the city. There's a new player in town calling herself--"

"The Black Mistress," Valuri finished. "The Inquisitrix is obsessed with her for some reason."

"From what I can gather, she's running a massive magical smuggling ring right beneath the noses of the Mage's Guild. The Archmage and the Highwind Council believe it's one of the biggest threats to the city at the moment."

"That definitely sounds like the type of person we should get to know," Valuri said. "Have you had any luck?"

"A little. We had an...

encounter

...with one of her operatives just before we got Ayrael's message. I'm hoping that someone will reach out to us soon."

Valuri grinned. "And here I assumed you were spending every waking moment between the thighs of your new friend."

"You've always underestimated me," I replied mildly.

"Sometimes," she conceded. Her smile widened, and she stretched out her foot again until the heel of her boot could rub against my cock. "But you do have a few redeeming qualities."

I grunted. "Only a few?"

"One in particular."

Valuri continued teasing me with her heel for another moment before she shifted onto her knees and seductively crawled forward. The glow in her eyes was finally fading, but it was replaced by the feral glint of a huntress stalking her prey. I remained still, mesmerized by the sway of her seed-splattered breasts. Her nipples hardened when a gentle night breeze blew through the camp.

"It's getting cold," she said, gently cradling my testicles in her left hand. "Do you have another batch ready to warm me up yet?"

"I always do," I told her, running my hand across her cheek and through her straight black hair. "But you're going to have to earn it."

"That's all right. I'm a hard-working girl...and you know how much I enjoy a challenge."

Valuri pressed her lips against mine, and while our tongues danced, she shuffled into my lap until she was straddling me. I eased the rapidly swelling tip of my cock back to her quim, and it effortlessly slipped back inside.

She fucked me slowly and sensually, lovingly and warmly, as if I were the last man left in the multiverse. I didn't have to move an inch, but that was her plan. She wanted me to remember the taste of her tongue and the softness of her skin; she wanted me to savor the heat of her body and the tightness of her quim. She wanted me to admit just how much my cock had missed being inside her.

And most of all, she wanted me to convey every nibble, every touch, every spark of pleasure through my bond to Kaseya. The two women might have been polar opposites in a hundred different ways, but they were both determined and competitive to a fault. Valuri wanted her new rival to know exactly what she was up against.

I didn't mind. I could imagine far worse fates than having two beautiful, deadly women treat my body as their personal battleground.

"It's almost ready for you," I announced through clenched teeth. My cock was ready to burst at any moment.

Valuri smiled and leaned in to nibble my ear. "Are you sure you made enough?"

"Yes."

"Will it keep me warm?"

"Yes."

"Then feed me, Jorem. Feed me with everything you have left!"

Valuri hopped off my lap, laid flat on her back in front of me, and squeezed her breasts together to give me a target. The sight of her splayed body and open mouth immediately pushed me over the edge. I erupted all over her tits and face again just like she wanted, and the moment the first volley struck her skin, her eyes rolled back into her head. By the time I finished, I was so weak I could barely stay upright. Valuri, on the other hand, looked as energized as a vampire who had just sucked some poor fool dry.

"That's better," she breathed, dragging her fingertips across the thick, milky strands on her cheeks and nose. Mere seconds later, her dormant Senosi tattoos flared back to life beneath her skin. "No woman should have to sleep on an empty stomach."

***

I slept almost bizarrely well, considering we didn't have bedrolls or cushions or anything else resembling basic creature comforts. Valuri had never been the snuggling type, either, so I didn't fall asleep with her in my arms. The last thing I remembered was watching in sordid fascination as she feasted upon the invisible magic in my seed.