<~> Chapter 158

The walk back to the brothel was quiet. Not the city, that was actually becoming more lively than ever once you got back into the more populated parts of town. No, our party was quiet. I wasn't the only one to feel the effects of losing Jasper in the raid. Up until now, I have never had an ally die. Especially not one that was stronger than we were. And the thing that killed him almost killed us as well, had the monster not dropped the tower on itself, I'm not sure if we would have been able to escape it at all.

I felt bad for his loss but in truth, I don't think it affected me as much as it maybe should have. I didn't really know the guy all that well and while the interactions with him were nice and professional, I hadn't really considered him much of a friend either. It was a shame but I guess that's what happens when you risk fighting demons. I just wish there had been more we could have done to help him. I held back a grimace from my face as we kept walking.

The brothel came into view, the familiar sign of the Ruby Vixen had become a sight for sore eyes. It was kind of frightening how much it felt like home now... and soon we would leave. But now my family lives here. I would return here eventually, at minimum on the way back to Traehall after I learned cartography in the capital. It was kind of unfortunate that I wouldn't put down more permanent roots here in Goldenhearth but that just wasn't going to happen. I could already feel an itch to explore and go to new places, see new things. To boldly go and all of that. I was in a world of magic and wonder. As much as I loved a lot of the people here, I couldn't see myself putting down permanent roots anywhere right now.

"Hey, Lilith?" Morrigan tapped me on the shoulder and broke me from my thoughts.

"Hm?" I turned to her.

"Do you think we could... do that thing with Jade and Tisha? Not the uh, sex part necessarily but the bond part... I told Torien about it and I'd like to experience that again in a less... intense situation."

"I actually asked them last night if they would be willing to do that with you two and they agreed. It was something I already wanted to share with you guys and Silva too if she'd like?" I turned to Silva, turning the last part into a question.

She shook her head. "I think I'll have to pass for now. I'm still getting used to everyone. I'd rather not do something that sounds so... intimate with all of you yet."

I nodded. "Makes sense. We won't have an opportunity to do it again once we leave town but I'm sure we'll have the opportunity again in the future. If you don't choose to join our family before then," I added with a wink. "How about you Torien? Are you interested?"

"It sounds... interesting?" she hedged.

I didn't want to push her but... if I'm being honest, I kind of want Morrigan and Torien to join us, our family. Maybe that was selfish but I loved both of them, Morrigan as a lover and Torien as a sister. This felt like a way for me to pay them back, give them something for helping me and being my friend. If it freed them from slavery as I suspected it might, even better. Temporarily sharing the bond with them felt like a way to persuade them that didn't feel coercive, it felt more like showing off an advantage.

On the door of the brothel was a small sign that said, "Closed tonight for a private event." It appeared that plans were already underway for another ritual tonight. It will be the first night the entire brothel, or at least everyone who wants to join my family, will be succubi. Considering what happened last night, it's probably a good idea to keep the brothel closed in case the entire building shares a massive orgasm this time. I'm hoping everyone will be more equipped at controlling themselves this time... myself included. Hopefully, it won't be a problem now that everyone knows about our new abilities.

Inside the brothel, the bond felt much stronger, like an interconnected web of emotions. It was a strange feeling being around so many of the connections at once. All of us were tied together with little lines at various levels of openness. Even as I walked through the lobby I could feel the the attention of people I couldn't directly see all throughout the brothel and at the center of it, shining like a beacon, was Tisha and Jade. Their affinity for the bond empowered it for everyone around them, making it stronger and with more range. The inside of the brothel was almost like a hive mind of people passing each other messages in an excited thrum of chatter. I would have thought the feeling would be overwhelming but instead, it felt soothing, like being home where you belonged.

I turned to look at Silva. "You aren't interested in watching these two try out the bond right? Since you aren't participating you can go do something else in the brothel instead if you want."

Silva glanced around. "Are Raya and Sibyl around?"

I glanced in their direction through the wall of a different floor. "They're uh... kind of busy at the moment. You may need to wait a while."

She grinned. "I suppose all being connected to each other in a place like this would make it hard to keep secrets from each other."

I laughed. "Pretty much impossible yeah. I'm sure everyone here knows how much those two like each other by now."

"I guess I'll just hang out in the dining room, maybe make myself something to eat since it seems like food will soon be less of an issue here," she said.

I nodded. "Sure. Just make sure you stay out of trouble while we're busy."

I led the rest of my party through the back to Tisha and Jade's room, before we even left the common room I could feel them expecting us through the bond. Tisha opened the door before we even finished approaching. "Hey everyone! I assume you're here for that thing we talked about before?"

Their room was small, they didn't have a ton of room for personal effects but they did have what looked like two single beds pushed up next to each other in one corner.

"We are," I replied. "Do you have the free time?"

"We're not doing anything right now. I feel like I need a lot less sleep since the change, that must be part of [Succubus Constitution]. Head up to your suite, me and Jade will be up in a minute."

Not long later, the couches and chairs were pulled into a circle in the suite. Bella, Mimi, and I were on one side of the couches while Torien, Morrigan, Tisha, and Jade were all sitting on the other side facing us.

Jade cleared her throat. "I'll close off the connection to the other bonds around the Ruby Vixen at first. To start, we'll just be connecting with the people in this room at first. Depending on how it goes we can expand from there.

"Everyone hold hands," Tisha said with a smile. "This will make it easier to connect everyone. Once the connection is established you can let go if you'd like. Is everyone ready?"

I could see that Torien was tense, from the start she seemed the most hesitant to do this while Morrigan looked excited.

Torien took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

Morrigan nodded. "Ready."

Like before, Tisha and Jade took a synchronized breath and I felt their mana connect to me from both sides as the twins connected to the bond. Their emotions flowed through and I could feel their connection. It was an interesting experience to feel someone I've known for so long connect to the bond like this. Every other time it had been someone I hadn't known for long but this time I could compare how their emotions reflected their personality and my perspective of them.

Morrigan giggled, joy, amusement, and love flowed through the bond. "You're so funny Lilith, of course your first reaction to an experience like this would feel like... curiosity."

Rather than speak I returned with the silent communication of thoughts and emotions. Essentially transmitting a shrug and a 'What do you expect?' through the bond.

Torien's reaction to connecting to the bond was a bit different than I was expecting. Torien always seemed so confident, so put together, but inside she was a swirl of conflicting emotions. Anxiety, fear, caution, but with some other more positive emotions mixed in, trust, hope, love... desire.

The moment Torien realized I had seen that, her other emotions fell away to embarrassment as her whole face turned red and she looked down at the floor.

Morrigan laughed again and bumped her shoulder into her sister's. "Hehe, if you're that interested I don't mind sharing with you. Just not with me at the same time, that's gross."

Torien's embarrassment flared up once again, that last comment mortifying her and confirming in everyone's mind that wasn't happening from either of them.

"Relax, Torien, no need to be embarrassed. It's okay to be attracted to me, just because you feel that way, it doesn't mean we have to act on anything you don't want to."

Confusion, relief, and curiosity swirled around in her chest. "Is that what I'm feeling? A-attraction?"

I hummed. "How about you think about Silva, how does she make you feel?"

Love, attraction, protection, safety, comfort, nostalgia. Similar feelings but tinged a different... color. With the contrast, it became clear how much more safe Silva made her feel than me. As much as she trusted me, even loved me, there was still ever-present danger associated with belonging to me like property. It was something that always sat in the back of her mind, fear.

I teared up and realized before I could help it that my emotions flooded back through the bond, they all felt the hurt I did from that discovery. I didn't blame her though, I couldn't... but it still hurt to find out she was still so afraid of me.

"Lilith... I'm sorry," Torien meekly said.

I took a breath and tried to center myself. "It's okay. It's not your fault that you feel that way. ...Let me at least show you how I feel about you."

I reflected on the memories I had of her. To me, she was an ever-reliable confidante. How many times have I taken comfort in Torien being right where I needed her in combat? How many times have I asked her advice and trusted her opinion? To me Torien felt like a constant warm presence, easily as important as any of my lovers. She was my friend, as close to me as a sister. I felt so much pride in the trust she had in me, as the leader of our group and as her friend.

I thought back to the time on the roof when she said she loved me like family, like she loved her sister, and how much that meant to me. I felt her surprise when I recalled the memory, she hadn't realized she said that and she hadn't realized how much it meant to me. How happy it made me. I felt her affection for me swell as she processed these feelings, my own feelings rebounded against her own and built ever stronger. The fear, the tension, and the anxiety fell away as her trust in me solidified. She now knew I would never betray her as much as I knew it myself.

Torien wrapped herself in a hug around me, even with the bond, the aloof reserved Torien jumping up to hug me was a surprise. But not an unwelcome one. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed, taking comfort in the platonic hug. She didn't have the words to express her emotions but that was okay. I could feel them. Before now she thought of me as her friend, her sister's lover, but now she thought of me as her family, an adopted sister. I accepted those feelings wholeheartedly, to me Torien was my family and I loved her.

Not long after Morrigan joined the hug. Relief, joy, and countless positive emotions filled her after seeing her two favorite people in the world come together and accept each other. Something I could tell Torien had always struggled with. The hug lasted a while until our raw emotions settled down.

I was happy.

Saine

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