There weren’t any words between the two of us. It was difficult to mouth any words with my lips pressed against Cecelia’s. Every anxiety melted off of my body as our tongues danced across each other. It left me in a surprising stupor of contentment. A safety that I hadn’t been afforded in weeks. Was I truly safe at the moment? Who cares? I wasn’t about to divert any of my attention into considering the full scope of our safety in the woods. It would distract from the bliss of the moment, the shuffling of our bodies against one another as we desperately sucked in breaths in between our kisses. Flames of elation lapped at my heart with every changing position of her hands. Fingers wrapping behind my neck, a hand slipping under the seam of my shirt to sink nails into my shoulder. It was heavenly.
In her attempts to move me towards the bed as we kissed, I slammed my shin into the frame of the bed. The flash of pain caused me to bite down on her lip hard enough to draw blood.
“Fuck! Sorry… I’m sorry.” I immediately apologized. The wince that I had heard from her had already begun wracking guilt upon me in waves.
“Don’t apologize.”
“But I-”
“I won’t apologize when I make you scream, so it’s only fair.” Her eyes narrowed as a wide grin stretched across her face. Her intimidating eye contact made me feel hunted. As if I looked away for longer than a blink, I’d be bested. It was intoxicating. For all I had grown to fear the empire’s desperate hunt for me across Kistram, I couldn’t help but find the pursuit of Cecelia akin to a drug. She has spent her life learning how to apprehend a Deathless like me. I couldn’t help but think about how efficiently she could beat me if we were to fight. It might not be so bad…
‘Get me out of this mind, Gods, and I will sing your praises for my eternal life.’
Cecelia could clearly see the effect she was having upon me. We were pressed close enough together that my rapid heartbeats could absolutely be felt crashing against her own chest. For how close we were, it was not close enough to satisfy me. I needed more. I pushed myself even closer and locked my lips around her own. It was different than before.
The blood. Her blood. It swirled around in my mouth from the wound in her lips and ignited a kind of ferocious hunger in me. She tasted like a bright and dangerous force, her blood was like a burning sun. Just like a sun, her gravity kept me firmly tied amongst her limbs as we finally tumbled onto the bed.
I found myself conflicted in my ecstasy. I wanted more of her blood, more of her essence in my mouth, but I couldn’t bring myself to hurt her to get it. I would have to be satisfied exclusively by the addictive blood leaking from where I had bit her. Cecelia’s hand placements had become more and more exciting as we embraced atop the covers of my bed. A palm against my hip, fingers dancing along the lowest rib on the right side of my chest. She had started to fumble towards the bottom of my shirt as we kissed, but when it became clear she was having a hard time multitasking I made a decision. I pushed to the side to throw her onto the bed with me sitting atop, straddling her legs. If the shirt was getting in her way, then it was probably best I get rid of the shirt. I pulled it over my head and threw it to the floor on the side of the bed. It was the start of a pile that I would worry about tomorrow morning.
For the first time since we stepped into my bedroom, Cecelia was the one flustered rather than me. “Damn… Your weird Deathless magic works fast, doesn’t it?” Cecelia’s reaction to my bare chest only made me laugh. If she ever felt awkward, the jokes would soon come out. I couldn’t blame her, really. I did the very same.
“Aww. The Life Hunter is scared of some Deathless magic all of the sudden? I can always put the shirt back on if you’re afraid-” Just as quickly as I began my taunting, Cecelia put an end to it. She twisted the two of us to the side so fast that I had barely even realized that she was on top of me when her hand clasped itself onto my throat. Mission: Taunt was a resounding success.
“You’ve got plenty of weaknesses that I can exploit, Ester. Why would I need to be afraid?” Cecelia’s whispered words tickled my ears and rustled the hair in the surrounding area. It was as if her tone was laced with the very same ecstasy as her blood. Her words sent me reeling as she pushed her tongue into my mouth once again. The hand held firmly around my throat was sending shivers up my spine. I formed dozens of ways to express my pleasure within my throat, but not a single one could make its way past her tongue. I’m sure the result only ended up sounding like a moan by the time it reached Cecelia’s ears. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.
It only served to accelerate the pace of her hunt.
The air she allowed me was very intentional. She would release the grip on my throat just long enough to almost fill my lungs before squeezing once again. It kept me desperate. The desperation flooded my mind with adrenaline, and kept me attentive for every second of our hunt. It was the starkest contrast possible with the first time I had sex. With Vyra, it was gentle and slow. Almost painfully slow in some ways. We had treated it almost like a peaceful drift down a secluded stream. This was anything but a secluded stream. I was in roaring rapids, desperately clinging to a slowly collapsing boat as my head sunk under the water periodically.
It felt dangerous. So why did I love it so much? If this was danger, then why would I ever want to be safe?
Lilith seems to think that I need to learn to be comfortable with danger. That it’s an integral part of being a Deathless.
‘Do not bring me into your copulation, little morsel. I have no desire to reprise a Ménage à trois after my escapades in Bellamure three hundred years ago.’
What better way to adjust to danger than to be hunted in the safety of Cecelia’s grasp?
Her hands danced across my torso as if in search of something. A hidden spot she could never find, and why would I want her to? The desperate search of her hands massaging my skin, brushing against tender flesh that had only known scorn since my rebirth. I was now being brushed and buttered with love in a way I couldn’t possibly cherish enough. If I thought of this moment for the final hour of every day, a lifetime would pass before I could ever truly appreciate her love.
Cecelia loomed over me, casting a shadow over my eyes from the humble lantern that hung in the center of the room. The outline of her body above me was angelic, and the shadow across her face helped to obscure all of the devilish thoughts running through her head about what she could do to be in our enshrouded tryst.
I wanted her to be closer, I needed her to be closer to me. I wanted her pressed against my body like we had when we had kissed earlier. I reached out to wrap my arms around her, slithering my hands beneath her arms and tugging her down to my level.
“SHIT!” Cecelia’s cry of pain shook me out of the moment instantly. I pulled my arms away from her and snapped them to my sides in shame. Cecelia pushed herself against the small headboard while clutching her chest where she had been stabbed a few days ago.
“I’m so sorry, I was so distracted, I just- I wasn’t thinking about-” I couldn’t even bring myself to finish my sentence. Guilt had strangled the words from ever coming out.
“It’s okay…” Cecelia took a few more moments of sucking in breaths before she calmed. “Seriously, Bandit, if you start throwing blame on your pyre-”
“But you just- I just got you back, and I’m already hurting you!”
“I’m gonna start hurting you if you keep this up, Ester. You didn’t mean it. Was it a bit stupid? Yeah. But you weren’t the only one carried away…” Cecelia finally turned to look at me after she had recovered. I knew I had gotten carried away in the moment, but a part of me couldn’t shake the guilt of my negligence.
“Okay…”
“You don’t have to look so damn glum, Bandit. We had a good time until we didn’t.” She reached over to press her knuckles into my shoulder. With a smirk, she gave me a light shove while keeping her other hand firmly placed over her chest. At least the stitches stayed intact. I’d have to thank Sebil or Phern for that, whoever got around to stitching her up while I was sinking down into Uroro.
I slowly moved closer to Cecelia to place a reassuring hand along her thigh. I’m not sure what I thought I was reassuring her of. “I guess it was pretty good. Strange, but good.” I said, watching as she rolled her eyes.
“Strange? You’re telling me you haven’t done anything like that before?”
“I have! In a way. It just wasn’t like this. It was much more… plain.”
“Well despite being reborn as a predator, I’d say you make for some pretty good prey.” She teased. Unfortunately, she got exactly what she wanted out of her words. A burning red blush across my face that I couldn’t even hope to hide.
“Maybe next time you bring me back to life you wait a couple days before jumping my bones, yeah?”
“Wha- I didn’t even start it! You kissed me first!”
“At least put your shirt back on if you’re gonna whine like that. I don’t want to be tempted by that which I cannot have right now.”
There it was again, the unmistakable heat across my face. I was almost tempted to ask if Deathless are capable of blushing, or if that’s something that would slowly fade over my gradual transformation. Unfortunately, there was no Lilith to answer. Strike that, it was very fortunate there was no Lilith to answer. It meant she had fled to the recesses of my mind shortly after she voiced her displeasure earlier.
“Thank you for bringing me back, even if I don’t deserve it.
“You do deserve it. There’s a short list of people I would almost get a watery execution for, and you’re on that list.”
Cecelia’s eyes immediately shot to the ground when I told her that she deserved to be saved. There was a dark kind of expression filling in the outline of her face as I spoke. It lasted uncomfortably long. Long enough that I opened my mouth to comment, but was interrupted before I got a chance to.
“Watery execution? An awful lot happened in such a short time for you, huh?” As soon as it showed up, it was gone. Her expression returned to normal as she spoke again. It was practically screaming at me to be addressed, but I didn’t want to ruin the tender moment we were having between each other.
“Yeah, well I was trying pretty hard to get out of there as fast as possible. I was so afraid I wouldn’t find you again until you were already dead. On the plus side I might have had the shortest trial ever? Do you think they hand out awards for those kinds of things?”
“If they do, I’ll make sure it gets to you.”
“It better, I went through a foreign legal process all while you had an extended nap! At least it went by fast for you, right? Everytime I die I sort of just… wake up later.” It wasn’t entirely true, but that didn’t matter. Cecelia didn’t need to hear about every unpleasant dream that I had while dead.
“Not quite.” She stated plainly.
“Oh, were you conscious for some of the journey?” I asked, hoping to gain some insight into what she meant by her answer.
“We should really get some rest, Ester. I’m sure you know more than anyone that coming back to life really takes it out of ya.” Cecelia was already reaching towards some of the blankets that had been pushed around and disheveled by our irresponsible love-making. I assisted her by grabbing all of the blankets for her, there was no reason to make her strain any more than she had to.
It wasn’t long before we were huddled close to one another under the blankets. Warm flesh wrapped tenderly around more of its kin.
“This was nice. We should do it again sometime.” Cecelia whispered.
“Just say the word, my love.” I responded, with a wide smile that refused to leave my face as I drifted off to sleep in her warm embrace.
* * * * *
The next morning brought with it something that I had not felt in a while. Hope. Maybe it was the optimism of Phern, which I had been deprived of down in the depths of the lake. Maybe it was Sebil’s comforting presence of confidence? Or perhaps it was the warming presence of Cecelia that I had been surrounded by ever since I woke.
Who was I kidding, it was all of the above and more. With Laia severely injured, we had some more distance from our pursuers. We were also one Bandit stronger, and that had to count for something when it came to our chances of survival. Five versus an entire Empire was better than four versus the Empire.
‘You seem to forget me once more. I have contributed more to your survival than any of the others.’
Do you really consider yourself to be a Belligerent Bandit?
‘If it will cause you to properly thank me for my assistance, then I suppose.’
Oh. Okay. Six versus an Empire.
“Where are you all travelling to next?” Nessyndra asked the lot of us, probably under the expectation that it was a rather simple question. It was anything but simple. We had been reactionary for nearly our entire journey. Our destination was always dictated by the overwhelming force that nipped at our heels every step of the way.
“Uhhh…” Cecelia looked to me for an answer while she stalled. I had something in mind, but I was hesitant to say it.
“I can point to something on a map?” Phern replied. Without a second of delay, she began to rummage through an off kilter box nearby.
“Apologies, Love. I’m not sure that we have an answer for you at the moment. We’ve been rather short on time to truly sit and consider our next steps.”
“Euchust.” I broke the silence with the word that I had been chewing on during the conversation. It was the place that Vyra had mentioned in my vision. Or- dream? It was hard to place how exactly she was finding ways to speak with me.
“Gseundheit!” Phern shouted instinctively from the corner where she scrambled around for a map.
“Euchust?” Sebil narrowed his eyes in confusion. At first, I thought it was because he had never heard of the place. The longer our eyes locked, the more I understood. He did know of Euchust. He was more confused at why I would even suggest such a place for our next destination.
“It’s a place that Vyra mentioned.” I wanted to preempt any confusion surrounding the name. “She was my old friend. I thought she died. She did die. But I got a vision of her at the docks. I think she might be alive, and I need to find her. She said to find Euchust. It was one of the few things I could make out.” I saw Cecelia back away from the table as I spoke. She drew herself to one of the sides of the room. Was this about Vyra still being alive?
“But that’s- It doesn’t even make sense, love. A defunct prison from the Divine Epoch? It’s history, a pile of rubble at this point. Why would she have pointed you towards that place?”
“Vyra tried to explain why in our conversation, but I couldn’t understand any of it aside from Euchust.” It sounded like an exaggeration, but it was true. The words were unintelligible. A product of the fractured mind I had at the time. It’s possible if Lilith hadn’t been wrestling around in my head at the time I could have understood more.
‘You are fortunate I did mess around in your head. Had I not stepped in to restrain your feral side, we would not have survived that encounter with Laia.’
“How the fuck do you two even know about that place? I’ve never even heard of it before.” Cecelia chimed in from the corner of the room. She had been crouched over messing with one of her travel bags. From what I could see, she was attempting to fix a broken strap. I had nearly brought attention to the fact that Sebil or Phern could easily fix it up, but I figured there was a reason she had neglected to ask for that help. She wanted to do it on her own.
“An inordinate amount of History books, CiCi. Euchust doesn’t exist on traditional maps anymore, hasn’t for centuries.” I smiled towards Cecelia, proud of any opportunity that I can display how reading has its uses.
“Not to be rude, love. But I feel the need to ask how this helps us evade the very present threat of the Empire? If they follow us to the prison while we’re exploring, what’s to stop them from surrounding the place? I understand that you need to find her, but you need a solution to our biggest problem. If we never deal with our pursuers, our capture and untimely demise is an inevitability.” Sebil seemed to be more concerned with the pursuit of the Empire than ever before. I wondered how much of that had to do with the fear of running into Lucas again.
“I know. I know we need a solution! But you’re asking me to finish a puzzle with only a handful of pieces. I need to know more about what the Empire even wants with me.”
“Then let's start with what we do know. They want to capture you. Laia and Lucas both have made it clear the rest of us are irrelevant to their plans as long as we don’t stand in the way.” Cecelia added as she desperately struggled to pull a small piece of fabric through a knot that she had made way too tight.
‘We know more than that, little morsel.’
I know, Lilith. I’m getting to that.
“They want more than my capture. They want my power. They believe that when I came back to life I did so with the power of Baehevar, and they seek to steal it for themselves.”
“They want the power of a God?!” Phern’s eyes widened.
“Do you have the power of a God, Ester?” Nessyndra cocked her head as she looked at me. It was genuine curiosity, but notably without any fear in her question. Would she be completely comfortable with venturing alongside a God?
“No! No I’m just some random woman with a bad case of the unkillable blues. As far as I know, I’m just as capable as any other Deathless.” There wasn’t any reason to suspect I was special, not aside from the obvious mystery of how Lilith and I became joined by the synapses. At most, we would have the power of two Deathless, right Lilith?
‘...not exactly.’
Lilith "Burying the Lede" Lastname chiming in again with a plot-defining nugget of information.
i just binged this in 2 days. i am LOVING this story. i can't wait for more :)