Chapter 29 Koarthandris
KOARTHANDRIS
Vyns was in a bad place, I was worried.
And it was all that vexing nymph’s fault.
My friend — perhaps the only man I’d call such — paced our shared living area in Saldrea’s residence on campus.
“I need to be with her, but… she… doesn’t trust me, and rightly so!”
I growled, but he didn’t seem to notice.
No man needed a woman. Most of the women I’d known were trouble and nothing more.
Though… that hadn’t always been true. Long ago I’d known a woman of beauty and kindness.
She’d treated me with respect and admiration, even if I’d only been a guard within her household.
Hyessa, my old master’s wife had been a lady in truth. And her daughter…
A sense of shame and furious self-loathing swept through me as I remembered Mynrial’s radiant face. I’d failed her, and Hyessa, and my master Talmarion. I’d failed them all and I’d never do it again. I had to protect the crown at all costs, even if that meant protecting the petulant Saldrea.
Because ever since Hyessa and Mynrial and the previous queen had passed from this world I’d not met a single woman worthy of praise.
I served Valnea and Saldrea only out of my undying loyalty to the crown.
I served in hopes that someday, perhaps their daughter or granddaughter might be worthy of respect and admiration.
And until then, I kept to myself. I needed no woman in my life. Even if there was something about the nymph Vyns was infatuated with. She… intrigued me. And I didn’t like it one bit. I pushed the curiosity down and focused on my duty.
“I know we’re meant to be together, but… if so… why has fate conspired to bring other men into her life? Am I to wait? But she said it wouldn’t end with them anytime soon. My life won’t be as long as hers. What’s soon? Gah!” Vyns threw up his arms in frustration.
“Just dump her and fuck a whore,” I said. It seemed like good advice to me.
Vyns spun on me.
“Have you been listening at all?”
Probably not as well as I should. Still, I felt like I could sum up his situation. “She got her talons into you, and you need to forget about her. Go get your dick wet somewhere else.”
He blinked. “That’s what you’ve gotten out of what I’ve been saying?”
I shrugged. As much as I liked Vyns, I didn’t really care for — or understand — woman problems.
“Koar, my spirit knows she’s my mate. It’s a seraph thing. I can’t leave her. My spirit will drag me back to her over and over again.”
Oh.
“So fuck her, get it over with, and settle your spirit.”
Vyns rolled his eyes and began pacing again. “This isn’t something a simple fuck will get out of my system. And that’s assuming she’d let me get that close.” He stopped. “Though… she’s already offered that much. I was the one who turned her down.” He groaned. “Fuck!”
“Because she’s fucking other guys, seems a legit reason to me.”
“She’s fucking a demon,” Vyns spat the word. “Or… maybe not currently, but she has… and that’s… ugh!”
Angels hated demons, but to me, both races were just like any other folk, which is to say, conniving, devious bastards.
I didn’t have much faith in anyone, even other dragons.
Some deep dark part of me whispered about how we were proud beings who should be free to roam the skies and serve no one.
But we’d been cowed by the elves long ago.
Now I served with distinction, even if others were less…
dedicated to their duty. And that galled me.
If we were going to be the elite guards of the realm, we should take pride in that.
“So… what do you want?” I asked Vyns. I wasn’t one for comfort.
“I want Izzy!” he said, voice raised, then instantly cringed and lowered his voice.
Yeah, I hoped Saldrea hadn’t heard that.
“I want… a life with Izzy. I want to love her and have her love me. I want her to heal what’s broken inside me so I can love again. I want to put this world right, so no one is forced to serve anyone else and we’re all free!”
Oh.
That wasn’t going to happen.
The elves had far too much control, not to mention the full force of the dragon army and their allies behind them. Even if some of those allies turned against them, any revolt would be crushed far too quickly.
“Dude, you’re screwed.”
Vyns gave a sour laugh. “Don’t I know it.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know how to help my friend.
Vyns was a good guy. Perhaps that was why he — more than myself — was trouble by what Saldrea often asked of us.
It was wrong and dirty and sometimes horrifying, but I did it all in the name of duty.
Yet it wore on Vyns. And he’d changed seemingly overnight… after he’d met that nymph.
I didn’t see the appeal, really. Sure, she was a nymph, and they were said to be able to fulfill any man’s fantasy, looking like anything a man desired. So what? Also, Izzy couldn’t even change from what I’d heard. She’d grown up in the human realm, oblivious to her powers.
I was certain that whatever was going on with Vyns’ spirit was her doing, some trick to lure him away from his duty. It’s why I’d always been so willing to get rid of her. She was a distraction for my one and only friend.
“I need some air,” he breathed, and was gone in an instant.
He was shirking his duty again. A changed man. And not in a good way.
I sat for a while, trying to picture my ideal woman and finding it quite difficult.
Plenty of women were attractive, including Izzy.
I quelled that tempting line of thought and pushed on, because physical looks didn’t matter that much to me.
In terms of a woman’s body, all I needed was a stout woman able to receive my aggressive passion and survive.
Of the whores I’d been with, only a few succubi had been so sturdy, no nymphs or dryads, definitely no pixies, they were far too fragile.
And I had no desire to rut with trolls or ogres, as tough as they might be.
They tended to be dim of wit and lacking in grace.
Women of this age lacked true wit, elegance, and strength of purpose. Saldrea was strong and cunning but lacked any sense of refinement and grace. She was also mean as a Syrnian Scorpion. I desired a woman with… nobility… sophistication. And few women possessed such qualities these days.
Also, a sophisticated enough woman with a sturdy enough body? That seemed like an unlikely combination. So, since I’d never find my dream woman, why try looking?
Still, some quiet part of my heart whispered about how Izzy wasn’t from this realm and might be different.
But I couldn’t have her.
Vyns was into her.
And Saldrea hated her, which meant she wasn’t long for this world.
A light knock on my door was quickly followed by Fini entering. The skittish mouse-shifter didn’t look up, but I could see a new bruise on her face. She was Saldrea’s favorite toy, a beastfolk to be tormented, healing quickly.
“The mistress demands your presence,” Fini squeaked, then bowed and scurried away.
I rose and crossed the expansive residence to Saldrea’s sitting room, entered, and stood quietly by the door, waiting for commands.
It took a moment for them to notice me, their conversation a rousing debate about the best ways to torment Izzy.
“Oh, there you are!” Saldrea said finally. Then to her friends, “So big and so quiet, don’t you wish he’d make a bit more noise sometimes?”
“I bet I could get him to make some noise,” Di Soara Hanassi said suggestively from her seat, sipping some alcoholic drink, a heady flush on her tanned sylph cheeks.
“Oh?” Saldrea said with interest. “Truly?”
I didn’t like where this was going.
As Saldrea’s guard and manservant, I was duty bound to do whatever she asked of me.
Whatever she asked… This wouldn’t be the first time she’d whored me out to one of her friends.
Though Saldrea herself had never wished to be with me, I suspected that was due to the fact that many elves shunned sexual encounters altogether.
They’d found a way to reproduce through magic, and some elves saw physical interactions as base and disgusting.
It meant Saldrea had no interest in me, but I’d also seen the effects it had had on elves over the generations, creating a cold unfeeling race… for the most part.
Perhaps I could stop this before it started.
“What noise would you like me to make?” I offered.
“No fun!” Di Merial Neyalim chided, her undine’s scales shimmering in irritation.
“Not noise then,” Hana breathed. “Something more challenging?”
Fuck.
“Not this again,” Di Kuro Golana said with a heavy sigh. The dwarven woman had never tried to be with me, not seeming interested. I quietly thanked her for her disinterest.
Neyalim leaned forward in her chair. “Fifty gold says you can’t get him hard in less than ten minutes.”
And there it was. Hana and Neya’s favorite game: toying with the dragon’s dick. They loved to test my resolve, my lack of interest in any of them.
“A hundred gold if you can do it without touching him,” Saldrea offered.
And so it began.
I turned off my mind and detached from my body.
It was disgusting that I’d been turned into this, a toy, but I had to remember…
it was my duty to the crown which mattered.
I served the crown, not Saldrea. I’d do whatever I must for as long as I must if it meant protecting the highest authority in the realm.
And yes, right now, that authority was being disgusting.
Once again, I hoped that some day, in a generation or two or five, pride and honor would return to Seial’s royalty.
I had to hope.
With all my heart.