“Prime Minister. There is a carriage approaching from the south.” One of the female guards said to him. It was late at night, so the fact that a caravan still moved would not be a coincidence. The Death Squad tended to move in the early to late evening, and early to late morning. They always rested in the hottest parts of the days, and at night when they couldn’t see the terrain.

“I see. Any soldiers?”

“Yes. It looks like there are a few hundred.” She looked concerned.

“I understand. If worse comes to worse, take my daughter into the sand and get her to the temple.” Lose the pursuers and take her to the temple. A simple instruction, but she wasn’t sure how many casualties they would take in order to fulfill that instruction.

The Death Squad didn’t mind that their lives would come to an end. They would be happy for it to be upon the sands of the Great Desert. But they had a real problem when that death did not produce the hoped for results.

“Captain.” One of her soldiers called out from the top of the carriage. She put down the eyeglass in her hand. “It’s our sisters, not the Emperor’s men.”

*****

“Seer. I didn’t expect to see you again.” Sami, now the former Prime Minister, said as the Seer was guided out of the carriage.

“I’m sure you didn’t. The goddess has gathered us from the Empire, and sends us to the temple.” She turned her head slightly, and smiled. “Her voice is strong here. In the desert she once walked.” The voice was oddly different in tone then she was used to, but only the goddess could speak to her, and guide her.

“What are her instructions?” He asked quietly. She had to be here for a reason, and that was most likely from the goddess of death.

“Only that we are to go to the temple, and obey the Temple Master. The one the Emperor wanted to kill.” She said with a little bit of a smile on her lips. Her eyes, though they appeared completely blind, were not actually so. She had the same thing happen to her eyes that Lena did. She adapted to the threads of divine power, which changed the color of her eyes to a solid one.

“I see. That’s why you have left.” He closed his eyes.

“Yes, Sami, son of Reigar. The Empire has a platoon of Others on its border. By the morning, all the soldiers of the Empire will be dead. Once the soldiers are dead, the Others will leave.” She said softly.

“Which means the Empire is finished. Our enemies will flow over the Capital like water, and the Emperor will be assassinated.” Sami said with a regretful look in his eyes. “I wonder if I could have taught him better.”

“His actions are his own. As are yours. Your daughter lives because of that respect you showed.” She smiled softly down at the girl. “There is a child at the temple now, Jaana. She needs a friend.”

“You hear her too! But doesn’t she sound too gentle to be a goddess?” Jaana said, a little confusion in the girl’s eyes. The Seer smiled as she came out of her father’s shadow.

“Her tone is different now that I can hear her more clearly too. It is unexpected.” She shivered as that gentle voice encouraged them along. “For now, get the guards ready to move. The nighttime is now the time to move. Your steeds may fall behind, so the goddess has sent some help.”

*****

It was a wondrous sight. Hundreds of armored female soldiers, and the Death Squad, lead two expensive carriages through the sands of the Great Desert. There were enough wagons pulled by jade lizards to ferry large barrels of water that the soldiers needed to live. They would set up tents in the heat of the day, but in the mid evening, night, and early morning, they marched.

Unlike other forced marches through the Great Desert, not one soldier died on the sand, and all made it to the other side.

Morale was so high, the march did not stop at the edge of the desert. They continued, water nearly exhausted, to the next well meant for travelers, and without a complaint.

The only thing the soldiers could think about was the temple, and how the goddess had turned her attention to them once again.

*****

“They are almost here, Rachel.” Lena smiled a little. “That girl is good for Mia, while the soldiers are interesting.” She turned her head slightly.

“They are attractive too, Empress.” Rachel said warmly. “A lot like Sol. Robust figures, dark skin, dark eyes, a lot of big breasts and big butts, a lot of muscle, and loyalty to the goddess.”

“Make sure to meet them on the other side of the town. Their numbers could be mistaken for an invasion force. Take them around, send in a squad to replenish their supplies, and bring them home. Take my silver to pay for it.” She felt Rachel’s presence leave, and Nicci bent down to her ear.

“What do you need me to do, Empress?”

“I need you to be patient, Nicci.” She smiled a little. “How are your wounds?”

“Interesting. I’ve never endured the stiffness, or ache for this long. It reminds me of what being human was like.” She said and shifted her shoulders to feel her sore skin move.

“Properly heal before you come in tonight, but keep them until then. If you don’t know the consequences of your actions, or of the act itself, it has no meaning.” She grinned. “Tonight, I am so going to have fun watching you squirm, Nicci.” Nicci blushed as Lena’s voice turned husky with desire. Lately, it had been difficult to suppress her desire for the Empress.

“How are Nuri and Nadya?” Nicci asked as her cheeks reddened.

“Still asleep. I did keep them up all night. While I play, I am asleep, but you three are awake.” Lena sighed. “But tonight, I’ll go at them first, then let them sleep. You’ll sleep first, then I will sate my appetite for you. I need my attendants awake tomorrow.”

“Yes, Empress. You have hundreds of new initiates to get settled in, which won’t be easy.”

“And one Seer who needs to get pregnant before I will let her be Offered. Send Hanna to the Empire. Find a healthy male. Take a sample and preserve it in Haven.” She smiled softly. “That delectable Seer should not be violated by any male, but by only me and the goddess.” Nicci put her hand on Lena’s shoulder and watched as five tendrils pushed out of the skin of Lena’s back, swarmed up Nicc’s arm, and wrapped firmly about her breasts.

“Calm, Empress.”

“I am calm. I just need the practice.” The tendrils wrapped around her body, and pressed her breasts more firmly. “Now be good, and let me work.”

“Yes, Empress.” Nicci’s cheeks turned a bit more red.

*****

“It should have taken a thousand years for you to grow this much, my Empress.” Kyrie said with a wide grin from her throne. “Such control is beyond what I expected.” She watched as the Kyarhi, or tendrils, writhed and swarmed down Nicci’s belly before they went further south.

Since the day that they tried to plant those seeds, and Lena nearly died, she’s been confined to the wheeled chair, unable to walk, or move on her own. The seeds continued to grow, but they moved where they wanted within her body, like children on the playground. As Lena became used to them, she forced them to take root in their proper places.

Each time Kyrie scanned her, she had a reason to smile. Any other human would have died when the godseeds, the Yglathria, went rogue, and refused to obey her orders.

Not Lena. They dare not disobey. She was the Empress.

Her Empress.