She wore her Radiant Gown, the sparkly fabric catching only the faintest light of the moon and reflecting it back in a dim sheen. The dress had a thin string that cinched it up her back. I untied it, loosening the dress like a corset. Her large breasts heaved forward, tumbling from her gown as I freed her of its constraints.
Cindra’s arms wrapped around my back and pressed me against her body. I seemed to melt into her, her skin connecting with every inch of my front. My hands found their way further down, pulling her hips against mine.
No amount of exhaustion would stop me from enjoying this night. I had survived a deadly attack and saved not just the city, but its god as well, Nola’s uncle. I was stronger than ever, had filled a few energems, and made new allies in Lily and Ambry. If they ever emerged from their father’s shadow, they’d make fine warrior witches, maybe even mayors in their own right.
My body ached for rest, and it found that with Cindra. My tension released and my muscles moved in a natural rhythm that rejuvenated us both.
It was a good, long night.
+22
I woke up the next morning, half naked under a sun that warmed the stones around me. It took a moment to realize that I was still on top of a tower, well above the temple’s entry level. Cindra was just climbing the wooden stairs to the roof.
“We let you sleep in,” she said. “I thought you might be hungry.” She set down a plate of roasted meat with berry jam, cheese, and bread.”
“Famished,” I said. “I spent more energy in one day yesterday than I did in my whole life.”
“I believe it,” she said. “You were rather unstoppable.”
The sound of a hammer against stone brought reality crashing in on me. Vix. A woman I had also slept with, and who I cared about. My stomach balled up in a knot.
“Cindra,” I said. “Can I tell you something?”
“Anything,” she said.
“I don’t want to upset you, or anyone, but if I’m not honest now it’ll be worse later. I care about you.”
“I know you do,” she said. “I care about you too.”
“I also care about Vix,” I said. “She and I have…”
Cindra took my chin between her fingers. “Sweetie, if you think I didn’t know you two were going at it in the forest, I’ll be insulted.”
“Was it that obvious?” I asked.
“I’ve been living in a cave, and even I have enough sense to know that. Besides, Vix and I spoke about it. When she’s in heat, she has physical needs she can’t deny. She doesn’t want to deny them, not with you. She cares about you too. But she has no need to keep you to herself. Nor do I.”
A huge weight lifted from my shoulders. I never thought women could be so rational about all this. I kissed Cindra once before digging into my food. “You are amazing,” I said. “Both of you.”
“And if you haven’t noticed,” Cindra said, “Mamba is smitten as well. Watch out for her. She likes to ply her men with wine.”
“Noted,” I said, my mouth full of bread and cheese. Cindra disappeared down the stairs and I followed after once I finished my morning meal.
Vix was hard at work on another tower, this one twenty feet ahead of the row nearest the temple’s entrance. “Morning!” she said.
“Good morning,” I replied. I was still sleepy from all of the previous day’s activities.
“I figured I’d get started on this tower now and see what you thought while work was underway. If I make this one three stories, it will be a full story taller than the one behind it, so we can zip line down to that tower when we need to abandon the taller one. With only two of us any good with ranged attacks, this gives us a second shot at keeping enemies in range before it’s up to you and me to fight melee-style at the front door.”
“That’s an interesting approach,” I said.
“Thanks,” she replied, still chiseling away at a large block. “I’m also thinking about making a faulty block in the base, so that we could yank it out and send the tower toppling over onto our enemies. They’d never see it coming!”
“Is there a way to do that,” I asked, “that ensures it doesn’t also kill us?”
“No,” she said, “and there’s a chance the bad guys could pull it out when we don’t want them to. Hmm….”
“Let’s skip that one then. I like the zip-lining though.” I surveyed the space between the first two towers. “Say, can we build a wall and a gate? I saw the front doors to Valleyvale hold off the cretins for a while. It could be worth spending the time and resources on.”
“I could build stone doors, or wood,” she said, “but they would take a long time and you’d need to haul resources for me. Or I could make a wooden pike fence and raise it on pulleys! If I strung wooden logs together and suspended them from the tower tops, we could lower them as a gate or raise them to let each other in!”
“Have at it,” I said. “If that’s the best we can do on short notice it’s better than nothing. I’d like to see a real wall and sturdy gates one day though.”
“One brick at a time, my dear Arden,” she said. Then she went back to hammering rocks.
I wandered into the forest with a hatchet to resume collecting wood. Our resource stock was fairly even, with Vix using stone and wood almost as quickly as we collected them. I didn’t want to let our supplies start to run low.
Cindra and Mamba would be in the quarry pulling up stones with snakes and gi-ants doing the heavy lifting, earning up XP while they did it. I’d have to level everyone up again soon if we were going to keep growing.
A few hours went by in the forest before I heard it. The sound of metal and boots. My first thought was how utterly exhausted I was. After a day of working, traveling, fighting, being disrespected by the mayor, and traveling back to our base, I wasn’t ready for another wave of Duul’s attackers. Not yet.
I hopped onto the donkey cart and forced that poor animal to take us back to the base as quickly as possible. I wanted to leave the cart behind so we could ride faster, but an abandoned supply cart screamed, “I’m here in the forest somewhere,” and I didn’t want the forces of darkness to find me any sooner than necessary.
“Vix,” I said. “We have visitors.” Cindra and Mamba rounded the corner with their minions, concerned looks on their faces.
“We heard them too,” Mamba said. “The rhythm of their feet is mirthless. I don’t like it.”
“Everyone take your positions,” I said.
We waited, and waited.
I sense two dozen this time, Nola said.
Not a uselessly wide range like last time?, I asked.
Do you want intel or not?, she asked.
Yes, please and thank you, holy goddess.
That’s better, she said.
Vix and I stood between the towers. I dug the tip of my spear into a hole in the ground that led to the meditation room below. If this army chased us inside the temple, they might eventually corner us in that dead end room full of spiked stone spires. It wouldn’t be a pretty ending.
The bushes ahead parted and the first person stepped forward.
“You are hard to find, gods damn it!” It was Lily.
“It’s okay,” I yelled to Cindra and Mamba atop their separate towers. “Don’t shoot. They’re from Valleyvale.”
I walked toward them. “What are you doing here?”
“Our father refuses to bring in the empire for help,” Lily said. “After he also refused to give you credit for helping us fight off the last wave of attackers, we knew we didn’t stand a chance there, not without you. We asked him to invite you and Nola to Valleyvale so you could use your skills to make us stronger, and so we could all fight as one.”