Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

Evian eyed her. Looking cutekt dumbfounded. It wasn\'t hard to glean what exactly was going through her mind but why in all hell would he say it out loud?

"Are you alright?" he asked. His tone sounded genuinely concerned.

"Of- of course," Ember said shaking her head since the first head shake had not taken the inappropriate thoughts off her mind. Especially as his scent wafted into her nose.

It was the scent of the perfumes that had been added to the bath perfectly mixed with Evian\'s natural sweet-smelling aroma.

To convince him she was indeed \'fine\', Ember looked up into Evian\'s eyes.

Big mistake for someone trying to resist his lure.

Grey as they were, they pulled her in, so she looked away. She looked down just below his loosely tied sash to what she could see was a bulge. Prominent enough to catch her attention.

The sight furthered her invasive thoughts.

A virgin by all definitions of the word, Ember had never fantasized about the act between a man and a woman. At least not until this very moment.

Evian had patiently eyed her and eventually sighed with a smile as he realized Ember would not be able to bring herself to speak about anything at the moment. Certainly not about why she was here, at least.

"So-" Evian started but Ember\'s tongue finally loosened and she immediately interrupted.

"I came to thank you!"

"Oh," Evian said, "I see."

Ember opened her mouth to say more when the door of the bath on the other side of the room opened and Daria walked out dressed in a robe. Her hair was wet from the bath water and her lips were stretched in a silly smile.

She saw Evian first and made to walk toward him, her arms spread wide to wrap around him only to pause and fold them beneath her breasts when she finally sensed Ember\'s presence.

Ember\'s eyes widened a bit at Daria whose breasts stood enticingly within her robe and then she looked from the Witch to Evian and back.

\'Were they- \'together\'?\' she asked herself not with disgust but with envy. Envy directed at Daria.

"Hello," Daria said simply as her silly smile slipped and her expression became a pragmatic serious one.

"Hi," Ember said, somehow finding courage in the expression Daria gave her. A surprising desire to \'stand her ground\' surfaced and emboldened her,

"I just wanted to thank you. The both of you. Without you, none of us would have been able to get away."

"You would also have been killed," Daria said matter-of-factly.

Evian turned slightly to address her,

"Why\'d you have to say it like that?" he asked.

"No, she\'s right," Ember said with her palms raised, "I mean She DID save my life. Thank you for that."

Daria nodded sharply with a light smile.

"You\'re welcome," she said before walking over to the bed and taking a seat. One of her legs crossed over the other delicately and casually while her back was cushioned by pillows.

The action caused the lapel of Daria\'s robes to fall open slightly, revealing more of her skin, especially that of her well-developed breasts. Ember blushed in embarrassment at the sight. Especially since it looked performative for Evian\'s benefit.

"Anyway," she managed to say, "I have spoken to my Father. He agreed to let you stay at the Mansion. Both of you."

"For how long?" Evian asked.

Ember\'s brows furrowed like she found the question strange since the answer should have been obvious. At least according to her.

Still, she answered.

"For as long you need or want to."

"Oh, that\'s very gracious of him but we\'ll likely return to the Stygian Territory soon," Evian said.

"Really? But the security- Patrols- Isn\'t that dangerous?" Ember asked.

"I think I\'ve shown today Evasion is quickly becoming a specialty of mine," Evian said with a smile, "We should be fine."

"B-But what\'s the hurry?" Ember asked.

Evian sighed.

"Matters of the Stygian Estate, mostly. Also, Daria\'s home is in the Territory and she might want to return."

As Evian namedropped Daria, his and Ember\'s eyes glanced over at her but she paid them no mind. Despite very clearly listening to everything that was being said.

"Oh alright. But at least have dinner with us before you leave?" Ember asked once she and Evian were looking at each other again.

"Of course," Evian answered with an enthusiastic nod that brightened up Ember\'s face.

"Alright then. Dinner will be in a few hours," the Redhead said before finally turning away from him.

"Hold on," Evian said and reached out to gently grab her shoulder causing Ember to shiver slightly. The spot Evian touched tingled in a way that surprised her,

"Yes?" Ember said with her cheeks red as she turned back around to face Evian who took his hand off her shoulder.

"Gillert and Gryon... How are they?"

"Oh," Ember said and the red hue in her cheeks lightened up a bit as she sobered up,

"Gillert recovered already. Gryon is being treated... He\'s coming around. He should be alright."

Evian sighed and nodded.

"That\'s good to hear," he said. He was quite fond of the large man.

Ember nodded.

"Yeah, so I\'ll see you at dinner then."

She walked out of the room and only now did Evian really notice the dress she had on. Her face had had his total attention before.

Gone was the martial attire Ember used to wear which had gotten smeared in the battle. In its place was a feminine gown of simple design but quality material. It hugged her waist and showed off her shape. Whatever injuries she had sustained in battle had also been healed.

"She\'s interested in you," Daria said suddenly once the Guest room doors closed.

"It\'s mutual," Evian said simply as he turned around to face the lounging Witch while retrieving Arcane Manuscripts from his Spatial ring.

Now seemed a good time as any to get her opinion on what could be illegal property.

"What are these?" Daria asked as she received the Manuscripts.

"Take a look," was all Evian said.

Daria did and the nature of the writings was immediately known to her. What followed was an intense widening of her eyes as her hand shook in awe and just a bit of terror at the sight of documents that rightfully should only have been within the walls of the Arcane Church.

"These- These are- Where did you get this?" she asked shakily.

"They were Koln\'s. This was his Spatial Ring," Evian said as he raised his hand and brought attention to the circular band on his finger.

Daria paused as though trying to remember who Koln was.

"Oh him," she said once the memory was finally pulled out of the recess of her brain.

"Could this be why he was dishonorably discharged from the Arcane Church?" Evan asked.

"If he was actually caught with these, there is no way he could have made it out alive. The Church does not take kindly to this sort of theft.

His discharge must have been because of something else. We have a lot of rules... Theft of Sacred Manuscripts just happens to be one of the gravest of them all."

"But doesn\'t discharging him just set him free to do as he pleases?"

Daria shrugged.

"We are conditioned from our induction into the Church. Basically forced to NEVER reveal Church secrets. Either the higher-ups felt that was enough to curb Koln or someone looked out for him and made sure he got out alive which means he\'s a wanted man."

"He WAS a wanted man," Evian corrected, "Koln is dead. Been dead for days now."

"Oh. You killed him?" Daria asked.

"With help," Evian answered with a nod.

Daria nodded a few times and let out a sigh,

"That\'s good."

"So," Evian started as he tapped the Manuscripts in Daria\'s hands, "What do you make of this?"

"What do you mean?" Daria asked, confused.

Evian raised a brow in surprise,

"You ARE going to learn the spells, aren\'t you?" he said, "They were quite useful for Koln."

"I-"

Daria looked taken aback by the suggestion. Her eyes went from looking at the Manuscripts to looking at Evian\'s handsome face and then back,

"I-I don\'t know."

...

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