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.

She wasn’t there when I woke, which almost caused me to panic before I saw Kaseya standing nearby, her eyes sweeping the horizon. “Your friend is cleaning up in the stream,” the amazon said. “If you wish to join her, I suggest you do so now. We need to get moving as soon as possible.”

I cleared my throat and leaned up on my elbow. My eyelids felt like they had been tied down with sandbags, and my back ached like I had been sleeping on top of a sharp rock—which apparently I had been, as it turned out.

“Figures,” I muttered, grabbing the jagged stone and chucking it down the hill. When I turned back to face Kaseya, a fresh wave of guilt crashed over me. “I’m sorry about last night, by the way.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Jorem. I knew you would wish to copulate with your friend once you were reacquainted.”

“Yeah, but…” I paused and wet my lips. “Did you even get any sleep?”

“It would have been a serious tactical error for all of us to rest at the same time while we are being actively hunted by my sister,” Kaseya said.

“So in other words, no.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I don’t know what happened. I meant to start a fire and place some wards, but I just…I completely passed out.”

“The Senosi must have drained you quite thoroughly.”

I bit down on my lip and studied her profile. Kaseya didn’t look or sound jealous, but there was no way in the bloody void my antics hadn’t annoyed her at least a little bit. I would have been upset if I’d been forced to feel her fucking another man all night. At least Silhouette had given both of us a piece of the action. 

“I’ll figure out a way to make this up to you when we get to town,” I told her. “I promise.”

“You do not need to—”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “You deserve better than this. Escar’s mercy, you deserve better than me…”

Kaseya finally turned. “I am not sure I will ever understand your need to saddle yourself with guilt.”

“Join the club,” I murmured.

“Your friend brought you a great deal of pleasure—pleasure I was able to experience through our bond.”

I cocked a curious eyebrow at her. “So…you enjoyed it?”

“Of course I did. I was nearby—I am certain you heard me cry out.”

“Once or twice,” I said, grinning despite myself.

“The conditions were not ideal for a silent patrol, and I had some difficulty concentrating upon my work.” Kaseya smiled back. “Still, it was…pleasant. Your friend obviously knows what she is doing.”

“That she does.”

“I am grateful that our bond can grant me the benefit of her experience.” Her smile turned almost dark. “I am also grateful that she has no means of benefitting from mine.”

I frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Kaseya set down her bow and offered me her hand. I took it, confused, as she helped me off the ground and led me over to a nearby stump. “Sit.”

“I don’t—”

“Sit.”

I paused, tempted to activate my ring and figure out what she was up to, but I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and do as she asked. “All right,” I said, tucking the cloak onto my backside so I could sit on it. “Now what?”

“The sun woke you before I could this morning,” Kaseya said, kneeling and pushing apart my knees. “An amazon does not neglect her duties.”

My cock was in her mouth before I could respond. It hardened in mere seconds thanks to the loving caresses of her lips and tongue, and my hand instinctively clasped the back of her head. Her slurps and licks soon drowned out every other sound in the forest.

As my eyes rolled back into my head and my member swelled in her throat, I became convinced that I was, without a doubt, the luckiest son of a bitch in the entire Northern Reaches. Sure, I was being pursued by an insane amazon-turned-mageslayer who less than a day ago had tried to castrate me. Sure, I was almost out of coin and had no legitimate gold-making prospects on the horizon. And sure, in all likelihood I would die at a young age, either to the blades of fanatics or the corruption of the Aether.

But in the here and now, two gorgeous women were vying to see who could milk me dry first. If Escar himself appeared in front of me offering eternal life and salvation in exchange for Kaseya and Valuri’s affections, I would have gladly told him to go straight to hell.

“Shit,” I gasped. “Here it comes!”

I held her tightly against me as I pumped every drop I had left into her waiting mouth. Kaseya groaned from her own collar-induced climax the instant the first jet struck her tonsils, then again when I fired another four solid volleys down her throat. When my eyes finally refocused, I saw Valuri standing on the incline a few feet away from us.

“And here I was thinking about picking berries for breakfast,” she said, crossing her arms and smirking in amusement. “Just make sure you don’t waste any, girl.”

Kaseya slowly pulled away and licked at her lips. She flashed me a contented smile, then turned toward Valuri. “We should get moving. The longer we are out here, the more likely my sister will catch up to us.”

She grabbed her bow and shield and started down the nearby path. Valuri chuckled and reached out a hand to help me up.

“She and I are going to get along great,” Valuri said, her eyes glimmering coyly. “I can feel it.”

 

***

 

We arrived back in Highwind a few hours before dusk. Rather than attempt to stroll through the gate naked, I sent the girls ahead to buy me some clothes while I hid in a copse off the road. I was a little worried about leaving them alone together, given Valuri’s penchant for pointless antagonism, but to my surprise, Kaseya didn’t get irritated even once. Her mood remained calm and focused, and a few times I even sensed mild amusement. That actually worried me more than if she had suddenly gone on a rampage. It belatedly occurred to me that Valuri could—and almost certainly would—tell Kaseya embarrassing stories about me all day.

The realization made my stomach flutter, and I was tempted to sprint through the gate and risk a public indecency charge just to separate the two of them before Valuri could completely sabotage Kaseya’s opinion of me. Thankfully, they returned before I did anything incredibly stupid, though Valuri’s smile was far too smug for comfort…

“I hope you have a plan besides waiting for this half-elf whore to contact you,” she said as I laced up my new boots. “If Ayrael isn’t back in the city already, I suspect she will be soon. And we’re not exactly inconspicuous—she won’t have trouble tracking us down.”

“It’s a huge city,” I reminded her. “There are plenty of places to blend in.”

“You and I, maybe. But our friend here tends to stick out.”

I glanced back at Kaseya and pursed my lips. Her amazon armor was pretty memorable on its own, and her pretty face and long, shapely legs practically guaranteed that every man she passed would remember her.

“I’m afraid Val is right,” I said. “We might have to get you a disguise.”

“We purchased a few additional outfits,” Kaseya said, nodding toward the bag they had brought with them. “I can wear one, if necessary.”

“That might not be a bad idea. You should probably change now before we head back in, actually.”

“I’ll help you with those straps,” Valuri said, winking at me as she helped Kaseya disrobe. My cock stirred inside my new trousers, but only for a moment. The girls had only brought back a few silvers, which meant that after dinner and a room tonight, we would officially be broke.

“It’s too risky to stay at the Knight’s Lantern again, since Ayrael knew to contact us there before,” I murmured. “We’ll swing by the Silken Rose and see if Silhouette left us a message. If not, our best bet is probably the Iron District.”

Valuri eyed me quizzically. “Which is what, exactly?”

“The place with most of the city’s smelters and smiths. It’s heavily populated and we should be able to blend in easily enough.”

“We cannot hide from my sister forever,” Kaseya said. “We need a plan to confront her.”

“One problem at a time,” I muttered, eyeing her new outfit up and down. Seeing her wear a simple, no-nonsense blouse and skirt was incredibly bizarre. It also wasn’t particularly convincing—she still walked and moved like a soldier. For the moment, however, it would have to do.

Night had long since fallen by the time we returned through the gates. I wasn’t particularly worried about Ayrael or the Senosi catching up to us just yet, but we stuck to the main streets just in case. I had assumed that the Silken Rose would be incredibly busy at this hour, and I was proven right. Unfortunately, the long line of men standing outside weren’t customers.

They were Highwind Guardsmen.

“Oh, shit,” I hissed.

There were at least thirty soldiers fanned out in front of the brothel, including six Knights of the Silver Fist and three wizards from the Mage’s Guild. A small crowd had gathered nearby to watch and see what was going on.

“Why are they arresting the whores?” Kaseya asked, frowning at the sight of several half-naked women being escorted out in manacles.

“I’ll give you one guess,” I muttered. “Come on, we need to get out of—”

“Hello again, Mister Farr. What a coincidence to find you here.”

I swore under my breath as I slowly turned around. Strolling up behind us, flanked by guild wizards on either side, was Magister Rethon.

“Magister,” I said, struggling to keep my expression neutral. “Is something wrong? We just strolled by and noticed all the commotion.”

“Yes, I’m sure you did,” the man murmured. He sized up Valuri and eyed the crossbows on her hips. “You have a new friend, I see. Another bounty hunter?”

“One of my many talents,” she said with a smirk. “Are you looking to hire, honey?”

“No,” Rethon replied, not bothering to hide his contempt. “I would actually like to thank Mister Farr, here. Without his help, we never would have been able to track down and identify so many of the Black Mistress’s assets.”

The hairs on the back of my neck pricked up. “What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t buy your ‘explanation’ at Artificer Dieran’s shop, so I ordered my wizards to scry upon you for a few days and see what they could learn,” Rethon explained, a faint but unbelievably smug smile tugging at his lips. “You left quite an Aetheric trail, I must say—one that led right to a young woman calling herself ‘Silhouette.’ She didn’t want to talk at first, but I eventually convinced her that it was in her best interests to help us out.”

My lip twitched despite my best efforts to stop it. This was bad. Not as bad as hanging naked from the ceiling with my cock in a vise, probably, but bad enough.

“Evidently, some of the other whores here have been working for the Black Mistress as well,” Rethon went on. “At least three of these women are guilty of channeling the Aether without an Academy license, including enchantment and illusion magic—very dangerous and very illegal. But of course, you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Jorem is a sorcerer—of course he knows about such things,” Kaseya said. “Why would you ask such a pointless question?”

I resisted the urge to smack my forehead. I really, really needed to work on her social skills…

Rethon’s smug grin grew even wider. “What a charming young woman. Though I must say, you looked much better in that armored skirt of yours.”

“I did not ask for your opinion,” Kaseya said. “And I do not require your approval.”

The magister’s expression hardened. “I am afraid that is no longer true, my dear. Perhaps the four of us should return to the Gray Citadel and have a private chat. I’m sure we could learn a great deal from one another.”

“We’re a little busy, but if you ever have a job for us, we’d be happy to stop by and talk about it later,” I said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us…”

The two mages flanking him stretched out their arms and whispered the words to a spell. A pair of glowing magical manacles materialized in their hands.

“Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear,” Rethon said. “That was not a request. By order of the Highwind Council, I am placing the three of you under arrest.”