“Are you worried about them being confined for too long?” Calista asked. She looked down at the bucket of food Vahlatok carried.

Vahlatok shook his head. “No. I visit them every chance I get. I walk them around, preen them.” He glanced sidelong at Calista. “Why? Is something on your mind?”

Calista sighed. “Mostly there isn’t a lot of work here. We need to make money, but living on the road, off the land…not easy…” She shrugged. “So they might be here for a while.”

“They’ll be fine,” Vahlatok said softly. “You can visit them with me, help me care for them if you’re concerned about their wellbeing.”

“I might,” she agreed.

The pair approached the horses, then they set to work. Calista soon lost herself in the repetition of brushing Brahm’s mane. The inept experience between her and Rune was skimming the outskirts of her mind. She hadn’t expected to have a psychic sexual experience in her life, let alone with the man in the room with her. Her cheeks were tinged red while she reflected on the intensity of the experience.

Vahlatok offered an apple to Sille. While she ate he patted the horse’s snout. “That’s my girl,” he cooed. The horse knickered in reply. He smiled contently while doting on the horse. He brushed out the horse’s mane and occasionally stole glances at Calista. The orc cleared his throat, feeling awkward. A lot had happened recently and they spent little time together to discuss the changes and situations. The aromatic scent of straw bedding for the horses, the spring day warmth and the sporadic gentle breezes relaxed the orc despite his self-consciousness. They made small talk about the available money-making opportunities nearby and detailed how they spent their past few days.

“I think he tries to antagonize me when he’s bored,” Calista muttered. She stared off while the horse ate a carrot from her hand.

Vahlatok shrugged, agreeing. “Maybe so. But you also are straightforward and feisty at times,” he remarked. He felt Calista’s gaze on him. His embarrassment grew. “You two may be too much alike to always get along.”

Calista smiled. “Maybe you’re right. We do alright in small increments.”

Vahlatok visibly relaxed. “Yes, and we all like both of you.”

Calista finished feeding Brahm. She then sat on a nearby bale of straw. She crossed her ankles and rested her hands on her knee. “But that is hardly everything important,” she said.

“Oh?” Intrigued, Vahlatok turned to Calista. They were graced with another zephyr that gently scattered Calista’s hair. Finding her enticing to leer at, he stopped feeding Sille.

“I am trying to get used to my new ability,” Calista explained. “Every time I think I have a grasp on it, like I can control it,” she paused and straightened her posture, “it creeps up on me with a new surprise.” Calista flashed back to experiencing sexual pleasure with Rune psychically. Her cheeks became crimson and warm. She shook the thought from her mind, “So I am going to stop assuming I understand it. I don’t need any other surprises like that.”

“Mhm,” the orc acknowledged her despite still being struck by the breeze emphasizing Calista’s beauty.

“But I was assured that the afternoons are often clear for using the kitchen at the tavern. So I was going to make us some bread and other things that are more difficult to make while we travel. I may need the extra energy if recent days are any indicator.” Calista looked from the horses to Vahlatok.

She then heard Vahlatok’s voice in her mind. This is similar to that fantasy.

Calista’s muscles became visibly more tense. She moaned quietly. The sensations of being caressed swept up her flesh. Her body felt as if she and Vahlatok were carnally together. In the orc’s mind a vivid picture of her writhing beneath him, crying out in pleasure played out. Her face warmed from a mixture of embarrassment and pleasure. The phantom feelings of Vahlatok bedding her overtook her mind. She curled her fingers, grasping the bale. She let out several labored breaths while she fought to break the psychic connection between herself and Vahlatok. Calista struggled to push herself to her feet. Her legs were gelatinous.

Vahlatok watched Calista. He felt a pang of concern when he registered her flushed cheeks and the beads of sweat accumulating on her face and neck. “What’s the matter?”

Calista staggered forward. “N-nothing,” she lied. She lost her footing, but Vahlatok kept her from hitting the ground. She whimpered when the sensations intensified. Her body was on the brink of cumming solely from the orc’s fleeting thoughts. Her stomach tightened into knots. Her body quivered.

“Calista, you just fell and you look feverish,” Vahlatok said softly. “I’ll carry you to the inn and find an apothecary. Get you a tonic.”

Calista shook her head. “N-no,” she stammered.

“Then at least let me help you! You can’t stand, let alone walk!”

Calista shut her eyes. “I-I’m fine.” She whispered the words of a spell, then vanished from the orc’s arms. She was overcome with ecstasy as she appeared in her bed. While the pleasure coursed through her body, the grasp Vahlatok’s fantasy had on her dissipated. She sprawled out on her bed while she came, exhausted as if she and Vahlatok had been intimate.

Wish’s eyebrows went up. “Are you alright?”

Calista huffed. Still barely able to think, she shook her head. After the pleasure dissipated she sat upright. “I keep having psychic connections to my friends.” She swung her legs so her feet were flat on the floor. “They keep having sexual thoughts” Calista was once again blushing, “…fantasies…about me and them…”

Wish nodded. “Right. I understand so far. Is there anything else?”

Calista swallowed audibly. “I-I keep feeling them as if we were…you know…” She glanced at the fae and bit her lip.

“As if you were experiencing what they were thinking?” Wish guessed.

Calista nodded. “Yes, and…and I haven’t figured out how to stop it or why it happens or why Rune and Glyph and Vahlatok are having such thoughts!”

Wish let Calista’s words sink it. After a quiet moment the fae simpered. “You forgot one.”

“Huh?”

“Aenaes has such thoughts about you, too. All of the men do,” Wish explained.

Anguished embarrassment filled Calista. “You…you’re serious?”

Wish leaned forward. “You had no idea?”

Calista shook her head. “No idea at all.”

“Oh, well as you develop the ability your life will become more interesting,” Wish remarked. Her grin widened. “And seeing how you sort through their thoughts and feelings will prove entertaining.”

Calista groaned. She remembered the warning her companions issued before she accepted Wish’s proposal. “You wanted to see this,” she muttered in realization.

Wish stood, then approached Calista. She patted the mage’s shoulder. “I did. I am a fae. We like playful mischief. But this is by no means a curse.”

Calista covered her face with her hands. “Oh, no.”

Wish’s smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

“I teleported away from Vahlatok while he was thinking about his fantasy. I’ll have to see him again…” Calista groaned. She raked her fingers down her cheeks. “It was so embarrassing. I-I was feeling everything. His weight on me. How…” her face became redder, “big he is…”

Wish giggled. “That is a good thing. You are a natural for your gift!”

“How am I supposed to face him and Rune after this happened with each of them?” Calista asked. “This is mortifying.”

“Because you aren’t interested in them carnally?” Wish asked. She settled on the bed beside Calista.

“W-what?” Calista felt a jolt to her nerves.

“Is it embarrassing because you don’t think of them that way?” Wish asked.

“I-I…” the mage fell speechless. She searched her thoughts. Why was the situation so embarrassing? She had no control over how her body felt and that was certainly part of it. Knowing what her companions thought of her physically had also become unnerving, though she did find it flattering at surface value. “I hadn’t thought about it,” she admitted.

“Maybe you should,” Wish suggested. She patted Calista’s back. “You can spend some time alone, thinking this out. You seem to have more psychic developments only when you’re close to the men.”

Calista nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”

“You do that. We don’t have to leave for a few days. Take some time to rest psychically.” Wish stood and stretched. “But do let me know if you have any questions about your gift.” Wish flashed a devious smile, then she returned to her bed.

***

Aenaes looked up as Vahlatok ambled into the tavern. The healer raised an eyebrow curiously. “You look worried.” He sat at a table with Rune and Glyph. Each had a beverage and a basket of bread near their place setting.

Vahlatok took an unoccupied seat around the table. “Calista teleported away from me,” he muttered. “Did she come in here? She looked sick.”

“Maybe she ported to her room if she was that ill?” Glyph suggested.

“Maybe,” Vahlatok agreed.

“Should check on her?” Aenaes asked.

“After a sit down I was going to,” the orc explained. “I…I don’t know what happened. She was fine one moment, then she was seating, flushed and unable to walk.” He shook his head slowly in disbelief while he relived the moments before Calista disappeared.

Rune gulped down his mead. “She did that to me, too.” He set down the stein. “We were talking about cooking, then she ran out of the room.”

“What did you do?” Aenaes asked. He stared blankly at Rune, expecting a deeper explanation for both events.

Rune shrugged briefly. “Uh uh,” the half-dragon picked up a piece of bread. “Like I said. We were talking about cooking. Then she ran out. I didn’t do anything. Or say anything. At least…” he tilted his head, “I don’t think I did.”

Vahlatok sank down. “I know I didn’t. She was talking to me about cooking here in the afternoons, then she was feverish, sweaty, staggering and she teleported away right after.”

“It’s not cooking, right?” Rune asked. Aenaes and Glyph simultaneously covered their faces with their hands. “What?”

Aenaes massaged the bridge of his nose. “No, it wasn’t cooking.”

“We were both talking about cooking and she ran away,” Rune said nonchalantly.

Glyph cleared his throat. “My brother may be on to something. I don’t think it was the topic. The topic of conversation and everything happening were blasé. Something we’re unaware of must be upsetting her.”

“We didn’t do anything, though.” Rune frowned. “Did we?”

“I doubt it,” Glyph answered. “She’d probably have left, refused to travel with us, something of the sort if one of us offended her.”

“She could be unwell, though.” Aenaes stood. “I’ll go ask.” He stood and approached the room Wish and Calista shared. He knocked on the door. “Wish, have you seen Calista?”

“She’s sleeping! Not feeling well!” Wish answered through the door.

“Alright. Thanks.” Aenaes sighed, relieved. He rejoined the others at their table. “She’s not feeling well. It would seem she maybe wanted to get to bed instantly to rest,” he announced.

Vahlatok sat upright. “That’s somewhat of a relief. But if she is ill, we may need to delay our departure.”

“We can use the time off the road. Make some extra money.” Glyph shrugged. “Give Calista her time to rest and recuperate from whatever ails her.”

“Good idea. We can get her potions if her symptoms call for them,” Aenaes muttered.