Chapter 120: For What Deed?

Everything from the moment they came upstairs was a blur for Solomon.

He was learning that his body did not easily get drunk on wine or spirits. But women were a very different story.

His women made him fuzzy-headed, but hyper focused. He became quieter. He focused on their every sound, reaction, and twitch as if they were the sustenance he needed to live.

Yari was the most fun to torment. Her new journey into eroticism meant that she went from being terribly shy to incredibly enthusiastic without concern for decency.

Solomon’s reveled in watching her beg for more pleasure. On the first night they’d slept together, she could not even fit half of him inside of her. Now, she convulsed in his arms as he pressed against her deepest depths at a relentless rhythm.

She was brought to her peak so many times that her body would no longer obey her after a while. Tears of ecstasy spilled from her bright eyes as she touched euphoria with open arms.

The sweet, possessive kiss that stole her breath away was the crescendo at the end of the symphony.

In the end, when her vision finally returned to normal and she could feel her toes again, she was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and breathing heavily in the arms of the one responsible for her condition.

As relentless as Solomon could be with her, he was also extremely doting. He caressed her body quite tenderly in the aftermath. Grazing his fingertips against her soft skin and placing lingering kisses upon her cheeks and forehead.

Jiaoying would have ordinarily been receiving the same… had she not collapsed after the second round and been asleep for the past two hours.

Evidently, she was quite weak when all of the attention was focused on her. Something Yari would take proper note of for later.

Lifting her head, she gently brought a hand to Solomon’s cheek. She spoke no words, yet her gaze conveyed everything that she wished to say.

They lie together in silence, staring at each other while sharing the occasional kiss.

Their lives had become inextricably hectic as of late.

The two of them. On the run from madmen. Taking shelter with another woman they both cared for immensely.

It almost sounded like a bad novel when one thought about it…

“I never asked you about these…”

Solomon grazed his hand over Yari’s breast, gently touching the small rings that pierced her nipples.

“Do they surprise you?” Yari asked hoarsely.

“They did at first… You never struck me as the kind of woman who would do something so bold.”

“They are not for anyone to see.” Yari shook her head. “It is commonplace in elven culture. True gold wards off the advances of dark fae. It is their one great weakness.

Hiding the piercings under your clothes is a way of saying you wish to be left alone. In peace. Keeping the piercing visible is something similar to a declaration of arms.

It is like saying that you will not cower in fear of them, you will challenge and best them.”

With that explanation, Solomon could very easily understand why Nila had her septum pierced. It fit her personality to a tee.

“I have never heard of dark fae.” Solomon mused. “What makes them so malicious?”

Yari smiled at him, her eyes already half closed. “Are you honestly asking me about my race’s history so soon after we’ve been intimate? I may be inexperienced but even I know poor pillow talk when I hear it.”

“I simply wanted to know everything about you, your people, your life… I will leave no stone unturned when it comes to you, Yari Assata.”

Yari rested her head on Solomon’s chest, her smile giddy and her eyes fully closed. “All in due time, my sweet. I’m… not going anywhere.”

It wasn’t long before her breathing fell into a subtle rhythm. And Solomon, comforted immensely by her last words and the night they’d just shared, entered the dream realm right behind her.

However, he did not stay for very long.

–

For what deed were their cradles razed by ember and sand?

For what sin were their names made ash and scattered from the land?

For what deed were their temples drowned and their bloodlines cut by blades?

For what sin did the heavens hush and never again speak their name?

For what deed did mercy veil her eyes and turn from their bitter cries?

The deceit of those once embraced has brought about their demise.

Their souls consumed and their bodies discarded to strengthen those who came.

So many hearts have rested here, and none have gone away.

–

Solomon awoke hours later, sitting up with a start.

Jiaoying and Yari remained on either side of him, asleep and seemingly very content.

They hadn’t heard anything. They were not even close to stirring.

He started to wake them out of instinct, but pulled his hand back at the last moment. Though he didn’t know why.

Slowly, he slipped out of bed alone. He got dressed in only his underwear and tied closed a simple robe.

Once covered, he left the room quietly.

Jiaoying’s estate felt even larger at night. The long hallways, tall ceilings, and fanciful paintings certainly didn’t help that fact.

So Solomon was certainly glad when he ran into a familiar face.

“What are the two of you doing up?”

Dakota looked relieved to see Solomon. Bansha, who was still full and drowsy from dinner, could not have possibly cared less.

“I… heard a voice in my head.” She answered. “I thought maybe it was just a dream, but… it didn’t feel like one.”

“You guys are up too?”

Everett came down the hall with Raizel close at his back.

“By any chance… You didn’t hear a freaky little voice inside your head reciting poetry, did you?”

Solomon and Dakota nodded grimly.

Everett’s face turned as white as his wings.

“Fuck… I knew this place was too good to be true! Your milf sugar-mama’s place is haunted!” He pointed at Solomon.

“Don’t be foolish. I would have been able to sense it if any spirits were wandering around here. As would Raizel.”

Dakota blinked at Solomon innocently. “I notice that you did not object to any other part of that statement.”

“Why would I?” Solomon blinked back.

As the group tried to figure out what had happened to Solomon since dinner time, another, more purposeful set of footsteps joined the rest of them on the staircase.

Dakota raised a trembling finger, and everyone in the hall turned to find Nila in her pajamas.

Her sword rested lightly over her shoulder and a smoldering red aura surrounded her body.

“Mark my words as holy writ… if one of you pickle-dicked fucks is playing a game at my expense, I will cut your heads off your necks and hang your innards over my fucking toilet..!”

–

The exploration of the group took them all over Jiaoying’s estate. It didn’t take very long before they ended up outside.

From the moment their skin touched the air, they knew they were on the right trail.

Music was playing in the distance. So soft that it could barely be heard over the wind.

They traveled toward the sound as a group. A mix of anxiety and curiosity rushed through them in waves.

Everyone naturally stood behind Nila and Solomon; the only two carrying swords.

Upon finding the source of the music, their surprise could not have been more evident.

Sitting in the middle of a carousel, plucking the strings of a guqin, was the very same entity that the group had laid eyes on just the day before.

Now, even Raizel could see them.

Underneath the soft glow of pale moonlight, they seemed even more beautiful than the last time they’d appeared.

The being did not look up from their plucking. Though their tempo did noticeably slow, and their playing became much softer.

When they spoke, their voice was like the perfect additive to turn noise into true music. The sound was akin to artistry.

“Fear not. I am kinder than I appear. Less dangerous, too.”

Raizel seemed to be the only one capable of speaking up in light of everything. Everyone else was frozen in shock.

“Who are you? What are you-”

“Are you comfortable like that..? I would imagine not, son of Zadkiel and Amanda. Don’t you miss your bellybutton?”

Raizel shuddered at the name of his mother. The single most precious person he had ever known.

She died when he was only seven. In this life and the last. His greatest regret was never being able to save her from falling ill.

It had broken him inside in ways that he never showed.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of.” They said. “Grief is not an ugliness of the spirit. Merely a symptom.”

Raizel clenched his metal fists.

“I… I am not in the mood for your games! Tell me what I wish to-”

“There are many names for what I am. None of them are kind. Even fewer are accurate.”

They finally stopped playing, and the instrument in front of them vanished; replaced by a small candle.

The horned being turned to Raizel with a subtle smirk on their beautiful lips. They rested their chin on their knuckles.

“You may call me benefactor. It wasn’t easy sending your soul back in time without being noticed, you know?”

Raizel, Solomon, and Nila all froze. Dakota and Everett looked around in confusion.

Raizel’s posture became slightly less rigid. His voice lost its hostility.

“Y… You did this to me..? Why??”

“Answers are hardly ever singular in nature.”

“Then pick your favorite and spit it out!”

They smiled fully at that. Their teeth, while white and sharp, did not feel dangerous.

“You were necessary to do what needed to be done. Fate is an imperfect technology with many variables that even I cannot exert control over.

But a Deathless who would stand against their own despite all that they were given? That was a piece too valuable to be taken off the board. It seems my decision was worth the sacrifice. This is the closest we have been yet.”

Solomon had finally pulled himself out of his stupor and stepped forward.

“Stop with these games. The fog you’re weaving grates the nerves. Tell us who you are.”

The being smiled at Solomon. They did not seem put off by his sharp tone in the slightest.

“If a name is what you require, then you may use Eir’vael. If you’re inquiring about my function…”

Eir’vael raised their hand and extended a slender finger with a long black nail.

They pointed at Solomon. They pointed at Dakota. They pointed at Everett. And finally, Nila.

“I am your parent. It is nice to finally converse with you, my beautiful children.”

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