Kassandora pointed with a stick at the board behind her. These men had made the Binturong, they had made the Raptor, the Lemur, the Lynx and the multitude of rifle models that now existed. It was one thing to steer a ship along with the wind, it was another to try and wrestle with it every step of the way. Kassandora would have not achieved half the success she managed if she did not know how to go with the flow.

So the Goddess of War smiled at the engineers as she dropped the series of projects onto the table. Two models of helicopter, a heavy bomber, a fighter, something lighter than the Lynx, a handheld mortar, a quick jeep, a troop carrier, one for mass production and one armed with a small turret. Anti-aircraft guns, both mobile and stationary, and missiles.

She did not care what order they would be done. Once the invasion from the ocean actually came, she could start reacting then. But for now, all she could do was just get as far ahead as possible.

“It’s done.” Anassa said as she finished crafting a golden ring. Personally, she hated any sort of work this precise. It was easy to mess up, and a single mistake would send her back to the start. She had taken a small heartstone gem and wound it tightly into the gold, to make a thick ring. It worked under the same principle that Elassa’s containment crystals did, but naturally better. Better because Anassa made them.

“Took you long enough.” Fer said idly. She had been tasked with helping Anassa watch over Elassa as the Goddess of Sorcery manufactured a ring strong enough to keep the woman in check. The magical array in the Divine Library had been old technology. Once Kassandora had explained what a containment crystal was, it was undoubtedly better. And once Anassa worked out the details, she didn’t need to know the nitty gritty details of it. It would work because she willed it to work.

“Could you have made it?” Anassa asked.

“I’d have eaten the limbs and sewn the wounds. Then have two guards cut off the nubs whenever they start re-growing.” Fer said, her head resting on the table as her golden eyes stared at Elassa. The Goddess of Magic went pale with the words. “I wasn’t threatening, don’t worry Ela.” Fer said.

“That’s worse.” Elassa managed to whisper out. Anassa saw Fer smile in satisfaction to herself as she brought over the finished ring. As always, magic worked out the principal, sorcery mastered the work. “What’s that?” Elassa asked as Anassa put the ring down on the table. They were in CR. Elassa wasn’t around close to Nanbasa, and no one wanted to leave sleeping Baalka without a supervisor in case the Goddess did actually wake up. Fat chance of that though, Anassa had tried, Kavaa had tried, even Arascus and Fer had tried. Even Neneria had tried to coax Baalka’s soul to awaken, but there had been nothing. Yet the woman’s heart was still beating, she was still breathing, so Anassa would let her sleep for a thousand years more if it meant she would wake up.

“This is a containment crystal.” Anassa said innocently. It basically was, simply an enchantment of draining on a hungry catalyst that constantly leaked its energies into the air. It wouldn’t work on someone like Fer, who was naturally strong, but on Elassa? Who practically a living leyline node? It would drain her quickly. “But in ring form, but it on.” Elassa looked up at Anassa from her chair. She was in a dress of blue, one that Helenna had so generously sewn for the Goddess of Magic at Arascus’ behest. Anassa herself was just wearing her conjured clothes, and now that Fer was out of Nanbasa and that CR was almost empty, she was walking around in animal skins again.

“That’s it?” Elassa asked.

“It will work.” Anassa said.

“I’d rather you put it on.” Fer hurried Elassa up. The woman was impatient today.

“How do you know it will work?” Elassa asked nervously as she prodded the ring with her fingernail. It moved lightly on the table, as any other ring would.

“Because I made it.” Anassa replied. “Now put it on.” Elassa sighed. She looked up at Anassa, she down across the table at Fer. Of Beasthood’s two ears bounced as she nodded for Elassa to hurry up. The Goddess of Magic sighed again, she picked up that ring of gold. With red veins as if it was pumping blood, and she slipped it on her finger.

Anassa felt it immediately, the seeping magic pouring from Elassa as if every pore in the woman’s skin had suddenly started to sweat her magical energies out. Of Sorcery took a deep breath in that small wooden room, it was one of the giant trees that made up Central Requisitions. The brown walls seemed to get richer in colour, Fer’s ears up stood up, her hair turned a richer shade of gold. And Elassa swayed in her seat. Once to the left, once to the right. Forwards and backwards and forwards again. Anassa put her hand on the woman’s shoulder. There were maybe a dozen people on this world she did not like to see suffer, Elassa was one of them.

But she still needed to be imprisoned. That much was obvious. They had all scene Allasaria’s new proclamation. Anassa would be needed in the coming days, and she would not be able to fight a war if she had to stay by Elassa every day. The ring was a temporary measure, it would have to be recharged every now and then. If Elassa started fighting it, it would run out of power in just two weeks. Otherwise it should hold for two months. “Ahh…” Elassa moaned, her throat trying to make some word.

“She looks as if you’ve drugged her.” Fer said flatly. She looked at Elassa with those golden eyes. Maybe in front of someone else, Fer would try and pull a face or feign an emotion. Not in front of Anassa though, yet even though they knew each other far too well for Fer to hide what she was feeling, Anassa still not could not read that woman’s face. Was it concern? Fer was empathetic. But for Elassa? Was it pity? Was it just cynical approval? Anassa could not place her finger on it.

“She’s most likely feeling drugged right now.” Anassa said. That was how it usually went when energies were expelled so rapidly. That was the difference between Anassa’s ring and Elassa’s crystals. Elassa’s stopped energy from escaping, Anassa’s stopped them from entering in the first place. A far more total approach to imprisonment.

Elassa swayed as she felt herself fainting. What Divine had not felt themselves faint at least a dozen times? She leaned forwards to get the blood flowing back into her head. Terrible. Just downright terrible. She tried moving her hand to the ring, but her arms wouldn’t respond. Someone grabbed her shoulder. Fer looked at her, looked at Anassa and stood up.

What they were saying, Elassa had no clue about. Her body simultaneously felt as if it had all the weight in the world, yet was also weightless. She was sure she was spinning her arms about, yet she knew they weren’t moving. She was cold, yet a sweat had burst out across her whole body. She had never felt more alive, yet she was sure this was what dying felt like.

“I can take her.” Anassa said glumly from behind Fer. This was truly annoying. The comments, the argumentation, everything else, she could take. Yet when someone else touched Elassa, it was the same as if a member of the White Pantheon tried to touch Arascus. It simply would not be. Elassa was Anassa’s. Why was Fer the one who was carrying her back to her room?

“It’s better when they can hear a heartbeat.” Fer said. She held Elassa close over her chest, her head nuzzling into the woman’s bosom.

“What are you talking about?” Anassa barked from behind. She wasn’t even walking, only floating through the air as sorcery carried her.

“You’ll carry her with sorcery.” Fer said. “And I am telling you, it’s better when they can hear a heartbeat.”

“Why?” Anassa had never heard of such a thing. Yes, for babies. But Elassa wasn’t a newborn, she was older than Anassa. Maybe older than Fer, although no one really knew how old Fer was.

“I don’t know.” Fer replied flatly. “It’s just how it is.” Anassa scowled and rolled her eyes from behind. There was no point arguing and besides, Fer was the people person amongst them. What claim to fame did Anassa have about playing with hearts? “Are these free?”

“Put her next to…” Anassa remembered Elassa did not know who they had sleeping in this tree. “Well, you know who.”

“I do.” Fer said, she stopped next to Baalka’s door, awkwardly moved to open the door as she still held Elassa. Anassa snapped her finger and the door opened itself, at least this way she could pretend she was useful. Fer stepped in, crossed the entire room in three long steps and gently rolled Elassa onto the bed. “Isn’t that adorable?” Who was she even asking? Was the smile for herself, or directed at Elassa? Ana knew it wouldn’t be for her at least.

Fer leaned down and put the back of her hand onto Elassa’s forehead. “She’s hot.”

“It will pass.” Anassa said. It always did with these things, they were never pleasant. Anassa’s eyes bulged as Fer sat Elassa straight and pulled the woman’s dress up and over her head. The next moment, Elassa was rolled up into covers and Fer purred from above. “You don’t have to strip her.”

“Better she sweat into the bed than her clothes.” Fer said and pointed to Elassa’s shoes. “You do those.”

“Why me?” Anassa asked.

“Stinky.” Fer replied. Anassa rolled her eyes, snapped her fingers, sighed, and listened as the pair of boots shot off Elassa’s feet and onto the floor. “And the socks too.” Fer added. Anassa snapped her fingers again and the socks thumped into the wall, then bounced down onto the floor. “There we go.” Fer said as she rolled Elassa onto the side, head on the pillow, one arm forwards, the other supporting the head. One leg forwards too, to stop the Goddess from rolling onto her back.

“Do you find that fun?” Anassa asked incredulously. This was a farce! Elassa would be up by the end of the day, once her energies drained, she’d stop feeling as if she was dying.

“I do!” Fer said. Anassa merely turned as Fer spun to fetch a bowl. That she placed at the foot of the bed. Then she brought a bottle of water, cracked it open, and held it to Elassa’s lips. “Drink Ela. Drink.”

“Mmmhhh….” Elassa made some unintelligible sound.

“Are you serious?” Anassa asked.

“When you and Kassie fight, who takes care of you?” Fer said. Anassa blinked. It was Fer. Every single time. She sat there, on Elassa’s bed, stunned. How could she even reply to that? Anyone who wasn’t one of Anassa’s sisters, Anassa would scoff at for this behaviour. It was merely playing nice to try and get someone into debt. But Fer? Fer had no magic, only raw strength and speed, and she could rival Anassa in power. Why would Fer, of all people, ever act in such a way?

“This is fun?” Anassa asked flatly. She watched Fer rub Elassa’s head and mouth drinking water. Elassa drank some. “You’re serious?”

“Nene bakes. Olephia paints. I can’t do this?” Fer said in a happy tone as Elassa drank a quarter of the bottle. “I think she’s going to be sick.”

“She’ll be sick a few times. It depends on how much power leaves her.” Anassa said. She had gone through the same thing after all, several times, it was good endurance and regeneration training. “Archmages may throw up once, but Divines?” Anassa rolled her head from side to side. Elassa would be throwing for the next hour, if not two.

Fer quickly grabbed Elassa’s shoulders, rolled her onto her front, and pulled forwards over the edge of the bed. In the next moment, Elassa emptied her stomach into the pink bowl on the floor. “Are we feeling better?” Fer asked it in the same way she’d ask a child. Elassa looked up at her, looked down at the bowl, and coughed. “More water. Drink. You’ll throw it up, but better than coughing your stomach out.”

And Anassa watched. Maybe she had never seen this, because whenever Fer was like this, Anassa was in Elassa’s position. She didn’t know what it was. Annoyance? No, not annoyance. There was nothing annoying about it. Even if Elassa was a White Pantheon member, she was still a prisoner. Fer would treat Allasaria this way if she was given the opportunity. It was that simple. She would treat everyone this way, but she was treating Elassa this way right now. Elassa, and not her… Anassa caught herself. What a child. Was she really jealous because this girl was getting doted on? It was just entertainment for Fer, in the same way that little girl played with dolls, Fer played with the needy. It was nothing to worry about whatsoever.

Fer made Elassa drink more water, which Elassa threw up, to which she drank more, until she stopped throwing up. It was as simply as that. Fer used a small cloth to wipe her mouth, and then gently pushed her deeper into the bed. “Don’t throw up there. Alright Ela?”

“Mmhh-hhhmmm.” Elassa confirmed from the pillow. She had curled up into a bowl, only the top of her head visible. Two blue eyes looked through messy dark hair at Fer, at Anassa, and back again.

“You’re sweating.” Fer said. Elassa nodded and pulled the bedsheets tighter around herself.

“Cold.” She whimpered.

“It will be fine once you run out entirely and stabilize.” Anassa said again. It really was that simple. Elassa moaned, her hands appeared from under the covers, her fingers tried to fiddle with the ring. Anassa merely watched, she herself had never been contained by a containment crystal, but Kassie had. And Kassie knew all too well what it felt like. Elassa’s hands moved, her fingers closed around the ring, and then they stopped. The shiver, the woman strained, she burped, and Fer quickly grabbed her to pull her over the edge of the bed.

And all the water she had drank left her again. “Here, some more.” Fer said. Elassa drank greedily, and she looked at her finger. She tried touching the ring with her other hand. It would close most of the distance, and then her hand would simply stop, unable to press on any further.

“Mine are different.” Elassa said weakly.

“Are they?” Anassa asked.

“Mine, you can’t move towards it if you the intention of moving it. Yours is almost like a challenge.”

“You’re welcome to read it as that, it’s a challenge of sorcery.” Anassa smiled, there was no one on this world who would beat her in that.

“Ah…” Elassa said as Fer passed her another bottle of water. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Fer said as she patted Elassa’s head. “We’ll stay here until we’re recalled, alright?”

“Thank you.” Elassa said, Anassa saw the woman finally smile, and she smiled herself.

Elassa did not know what it was. Maybe she had imagined Fer would be worse? Maybe it was the illness of her magic being drained? Maybe it was that now, she had a constant reminder of the fact she was a prisoner on her finger? But whatever it was, she really did have to admit one thing.

How Fer was treating her right now, no one had ever done.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep