“Why?! Why is she asleep again!” Nicci cried as she got back to the temple and noticed how Lena was in her former position and looked as though she had not moved.

“She never woke up, Nicci.” Kyrie said and pulled the one the Empress was fond of into her arms.

“But she bit me! She ate my breasts!”

“Not the Empress. Just her shadow.” Kyrie said softly.

“Shadow?” Nicci looked up at her in confusion.

“Remember when I said you only saw the shadow of her desire?” Nicci nodded. “The Empress is still asleep, but the shadow of her desire woke up. She ate you, or bit into your breasts like she was from Haven, but it was not her. That was what she has desired for a while.” Kyrie held Nicci to her chest.

“But…”

“No buts, Nicci.” Kyrie held her away from her. “The Empress is still asleep, but you were able to speak to her inner desires. You should be happy about that. The Yglathria have pushed her into a hibernation to protect herself. She will wake up, but it may not be for a while.”

“Then what do we do? Her body needs food and water.” Hanna said from the door. Celeste was behind her.

“She’s right, goddess. The Empress needs real food and water, or her body will deteriorate. She won’t have the strength to wake up, or fight.” Celeste closed her eyes that still appeared to not be able to see.

“I’ll feed her by spoon if I have to. Broth. Blended vegetables. She will swallow instinctively. It will keep water in her body, and nourish her.” Nicci growled. “If she doesn’t wake up soon, I’ll feed her that way until her belly bloats!”

“Don’t you mean ‘burst’?” Celeste asked, her head tilted a bit as she asked in confusion.

“Nope. Bloated. I think she would look cute pregnant.” Nicci said softly, and blushed a bit.

Celeste shivered as she remembered the image of Lena in the shadows of her space, her skin lined with red veins, and wondered if she would ever be able to see Lena as cute ever again. She was not cute.

She was beautiful.

*****

“The Empress said we are to investigate, so we investigate.” Solange said with a sigh. She looked at Ari and smiled. “Not that we don’t enjoy your company, we just want to return to the side of the Empress.” She murmured softly, as her eyes narrowed. Nadya nodded.

“I have lived in Haven for hundreds of years, but only the Empress could make me feel like that. I hunger for her touch again.” Nadya shivered slightly. Eos and Hebe watched the two, and looked like they both wanted to pout. “Don’t give me that look, ladies. All you have to do is go to her. After your duty shift, have a bath, go to her bedroom with a bottle of oil in your hands. Ask if she would like to use the Kyarhi to apply that oil.” Eos blushed, while Sol smiled with and laughed.

“I never thought of that, Nadya! Oh, when I get home, I am so going to the town to get a bottle of excellent quality oil!” Solange hugged her middle and pulled her arms upward so that her chest bulged outward. “I can’t wait to see what she does to me then.” Solange seemed to purr a little when she hugged her own chest. Ari sucked on her bottom lip a bit, and spoke.

“Um, I know how to make good oil. If you have almonds, or a good quality nut, and some sweet smelling flowers, I can also make a perfumed oil that isn’t sickening, but softly sweet.” Ari looked a bit hopeful as she said the words, but when Nadya’s eyes focused on her, she grew fearful. “What are you looking at?”

The carriage was a massive one, with two passenger compartments, three padded cushioned seats on each side of each compartment. It took six Flaming Nightmare horses to pull this massive carriage, as it was quite heavy.

In spite of Nadya sitting on the far right, and Ari on the far left opposite each other, Nadya moved like the wind, lifted Ari into her arms, and spun her around so that she was now laying down with Nadya straddling her hips. Nadya looked down into Ari’s eyes, slowly lowered her lips, her whisper gentle, and husky.

“You make us the oil, for the Empress to use, and you’ll have an unshakable position within the temple.” Ari could barely breathe as Nadya kissed her full on the mouth. Soon, Ari’s robe was torn open.

“Nadya? What are you doing?” Solange asked in shock.

“I don’t know! I can’t stop my hands!” Solange reached out and pulled back the fabric of Nadya’s black robe. Her arms were covered in red veins. She turned and looked Sol in the eyes. Sol’s mouth fell open.

“Black eyes. Empress?” Solange asked. Nadya laughed, with a hollow sound.

“I wondered who you found for me, Sol. I am so going to love ravaging her breasts when you bring her home.” Ari watched as Nadya’s sharp teeth were slowly lowered, and her lips wrapped around her nipple.

“I so want to taste her.” The voice growled when she lifted her lips, while a tongue that didn’t belong to Nadya wrapped around the erect nipple. “But I will taste you with my own lips.”

*****

“That was,” Ari tried to slow her breathing down, but it was difficult. She wasn’t able to finish her thoughts either. Nadya’s teeth had scared her a bit, but the intensity of the sensations as her teeth scraped her nipple, and her long tongue wrapped around it, felt better than she had ever before experienced.

“Intense.” Nadya finished for her. She held Ari in her arms, and let her recover.

“I didn’t know the Empress could do that.” Eos said softly.

“Neither did we.” Solange looked out the window. To take control over a person’s body, someone from Haven, was something not even the goddess could do.

Either the Empress had grown stronger, or that buried part of her personality did. Either way, she had accepted Ari into her circle.

“So, now what?” Hebe asked.

“The Empress is still asleep. The only thing we can do is obey our orders. Continue to investigate the Asmarians, the temples, and the current situation on the east coast. I want to see if any of our sisters still live in this area, and if any of them are loyal to the goddess.” Solange pressed her lips together.

“I would hate to have to slaughter our own people, but if they are not loyal to the goddess, then they are our enemies.”

*****

“But...Father, you created Imera! You created this entire system!” Again, the sun blinked, and she watched her father cringe.

“I did not, nor did I ever claim that I did, Talia.” He spoke in a quiet tone, and hoped that Gallae would not respond. “Although we gods have had a hand in helping Imera spread life on her surface, we did not create life either.” Talia watched as he turned away and pulled out a small crystal. He put it into a slot on the table. Imera appeared, along with a throne room she had never seen.

“Where is this?” Talia asked in a low voice, now quite fearful of that powerful gaze that responded to her words more then once already.

“Deep within the world of Imera...sleeps Imera. Our mother.”