Inga looked over her shoulder. “It’s out of my hands, Adelina. I’m sorry.”

  Adelina stomped her foot and slumped her shoulders. The two smaller girls hung on her arms like she was their big sister. Seeing Brune looking at her, she squished her forehead into a nasty frown.

  Brune turned to Inga, feeling light in the head. Being around all those vivacious women was distracting.

  “Lead the way.”

  “It’s just beyond this thicket of trees.”

  As Inga walked in front of him, Brune noticed she had a big, round backside. It was impossible for her to hide, despite her modest dress.

  Damn. She doesn’t even realize how good that thing is she’s carting around behind her.

  Brune was pitching a tent in his pants. Lilly seemed a little excited, too. She kept flying close to Brune and hanging her arms around his neck as if to tell the other girls that he was taken.

  Come to think of it, the nymphs also seemed very high-strung and eager for the release they’d been promised.

  Brune sniffed the air. The scents of flowers and herbs had grown even more pungent.

  “Inga,” he said, walking alongside her. “Are there any... special flowers growing around here?”

  Inga’s face colored, and her large breasts strained against her blouse as she took a breath.

  “The flowers and herbs here exhale the vapors of eros. The closer one gets to the grove, the more… intense it becomes. But here we are…”

  They came into a meadow dominated by a colossal marble statue of a nude Theodosha. In front of the statue, tied to a post, was Phia.

  She wore a skimpy white dress. Two strands of fabric crossed over her breasts, leaving her midriff bare. Two slits ran up the dress, revealing the soft milky skin of her legs. She wore the same sandals as the nymphs.

  “Phia!” Lilly said, swooping over and wrapping her arms around her.

  Phia broke down in tears as Brune ran to her. “I knew you’d come!”

  Brune pulled his dagger—the same one he’d used to cut Phia loose when he rescued her from the werewolf.

  Inga walked up with a wincing look on her face. “Such a shame to cancel the wedding, but... I suppose it can’t be helped.”

  Brune glanced at the sky. The sun burned above their heads, approaching its midpoint. There were maybe 40 minutes to go.

  “Is this how it’s done?” he said to Inga. “You tie up the Bride and then—what? He fucks her against the post?” Brune’s cock throbbed at the suggestion.

  “No, no, Mr. Hargish. That’s not it at all. We were instructed to tie Phia up because she has a history of running away.”

  Phia looked around. “Wh-where’s Endellion?”

  Brune and Lilly exchanged glances. “Forget her.”

  “What! Why?”

  “She betrayed us. I never should have trusted her.”

  Phia shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes. “No. She wouldn’t do that.”

  “She did, Phia.”

  “I can’t believe it.”

  Brune stooped to cut the rope around Phia’s legs. His ears pricked. There were footsteps in the forest.

  Two figures walked out from the shadows of the trees. Cardinal Waldemarr carried his long staff, looking as composed as ever. Ethlerod walked with his hands in his belt, lips curled into a sneer.

  “I underestimated you, Mr. Hargish,” the Cardinal said. “You truly are a formidable adventurer. Not that I didn’t think you could reach the fourth floor—I just didn’t think you’d be able to do it so fast.”

  “Stay out of my way, Cardinal.”

  “It’s hard to fathom how you got past the mages without a fight. I take it someone must have aided you. This individual will be found out and punished accordingly.”

  Lilly gasped and put her hands on her cheeks. “Mr. Bunny,” she whispered.

  Brune could feel the sun on his neck as he bent down again to cut the rope.

  “Do not touch that rope, Mr. Hargish.” For the first time, there was wrath in Waldemarr’s voice. Bright blue light glowed around his staff.

  Brune slowly stood up. “I never agreed to your proposal, Waldemarr. I’m taking Phia back.”

  “I cannot allow that, Mr. Hargish.” The cardinal looked Phia up and down. His voice grew thicker. “Sol must have his bride.”

  Brune threw up his fists. “Chaos Wave!”

  Inga and the nymphs screamed and held each other as the grove became hot with fire. Cardinal Waldemarr answered Brune’s attack with a shield of blue energy that emanated from his staff and pushed back the flames.

  The air was still.

  Cardinal Waldemarr stabbed his staff into the earth. “A word of advice, Mr. Hargish. Watch out behind you.” He threw his head back and bellowed, “Sevelod! Destroy him!”

  Immediately, everyone turned their heads towards the other side of the grove, behind the statue of Theodosha. Something was crashing through the trees.

  Brune glanced at the sun. It was getting ever closer to high noon.

  Fuck! No time for a boss battle.

  “You could give up now, Mr. Hargish. It would make things easier for both of us.”

  Brune turned to Lilly. She clutched her wand, which glittered pink and blue.

  “Try to hold them off. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Listen: give everything you’ve got. He’s powerful.”

  The nymphs squealed and jumped out of the way as Brune charged past them and bounded into the trees.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  LILLY RAN TOWARDS Cardinal Waldemarr and Ethlerod, putting herself between them and Phia. The cardinal stood on the edge of the grove, watching with arrogant calmness. He nodded to Ethlerod.

  The guard drew his sword and walked towards Lilly. “Stand down, fairy.”

  Lilly backed up a few paces. “Don’t come any closer!” She lifted her wand to the sky.

  Ethlerod snorted. “By the way, that elf friend of yours? Had a change of heart.”

  Phia’s ears pricked up.

  “She tried to give back the money. Demanded we forget the whole deal.” He laughed. “But I’ll tell you a secret. She isn’t so strong when she’s stripped of all that overpowered gear. I’m gonna go pay her a visit, soon as I’m done here.” He winked at Phia.

  “No!” Phia said, struggling fiercely against the ropes. “Leave her alone!”

  Lilly again pointed her wand skyward and threw her head back. Ethlerod watched with a curious frown.

  The fairy recited something in a sing-song voice as a massive disk of blue light appeared in front of her. It was as big as a three-story house, and it glowed with runes and symbols that Phia didn’t recognize. But they soon became hard to see, because the disk began spinning.

  Ethlerod gazed at it, first with bewilderment, and then with fear. Taking several steps back, he turned to look at his boss.

  Cardinal Waldemarr’s mouth twitched as he gripped his staff.

  Phia, Inga, and the nymphs watched with their mouths agape as the disk spun faster and faster, and wind swirled through the grove.

  Lilly turned to the cat girl. “Watch this, Phia!”

  “I’m watching, Lilly.”

  The fairy turned back to her disk. “I hope this works.”

  She took a deep breath. “Fae of the forests of Arullia. Lend me your awful power. Gheimr...dheunos!”

  Lilly spun in a double pirouette and looked at Phia with a grin. The ground began to shake. The air crackled and gusted with wind as the disk grew brighter and spun ever more rapidly.

  “No!” Cardinal Waldemarr yelled above the crashing wind. “Impossible!”

  Ethlerod took cover behind a tree as the cardinal shot a blast of light at Lilly. But everything immediately went white in a blinding explosion. The nymphs’ screams were lost in the deafening sound of the wind. The ground shook in what felt like an earthquake.

  When the blast ended, the disk was gone. Dust and smoke floated in the air as bits of dirt and leaves continued to rain down.

  As the smoke cleared away, the onlookers saw that Phia’s blast had plowed through the forest, leaving a path of decimation all the way into the hazy distance. Lilly had collapsed onto the ground, looking as fragile as a china doll despite the terrible power she’d just shown.

  The cardinal and Ethlerod were nowhere to be found.

  In the meantime, Brune clashed with Sevelod, a snapping, clawing, slithery creature, just as comfortable among the trees as it was in the sky.

  And, to make things more difficult, the woods were thick with the same flowers and herbs that had inflamed Brune and the women before Waldemarr had shown up. During the fight, Sevelod’s tail smashed Brune into a tree, and he fell right into a patch of the stuff. It was all over his skin and clothes, and its tangy taste was in his throat.

  It made fighting a little more difficult. One overwhelming desire burned inside him: to pull Phia and Lilly to the ground and fuck them in every hole for a week straight.

  Nevertheless, Brune got underneath Sevelod and delivered critical blows to its underbelly and neck. Then he danced around it, dodging its attacks as it bled out.

  Finally, when the beast’s movements had slowed down, Brune got on its back and drove his sword into a weak spot under its jaw. Then he raised his sword above his head…

  But just as Brune was about to bring the blade down, a furious wind swirled violently through the trees and a bright flash filled his eyes. Sevelod lurched and threw him off.

  Jumping to his feet, he saw the dragon slithering away, but he bounded towards it, putting a boot on its shoulder as he raised his sword again.

  He swung the blade down and chopped off the dragon’s head.

  All he had to do now was crush Waldemarr if it came to that. Then nothing would stand in the way of his bliss.

  Sevelod’s corpse faded as Brune ran back towards the grove, not stopping to look at the gold coins and diamonds left in its place.

  Clutching his blood-stained sword, Brune bounded over the bracken. His head rushing from battle victory and his veins pumping with ferocious lust, Brune was eager to smash the Cardinal as fast as possible.

  But smoke and debris floated in the air as Brune came into the meadow.

  What the hell happened?

  He charged past the statue of Theodosha and came to a sudden stop. It looked like a meteor had ripped through the forest, leaving a path of burning trees and upturned earth.

  Inga was sitting on her knees with Lilly’s head resting on her lap. The fairy was awake, looking at Brune hazily. The nymphs sat around her.

  She tried to get onto her elbows.

  “Don’t move dear!” Inga said, putting a hand on Lilly’s cheek.

  “I... I did what you said, Lord Brune,” Lilly said weakly, letting her head fall back onto Inga’s lap. “Used...my strongest spell.”

  Brune let out an enormous sigh. He hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath. He looked at the devastated forest.

  Lilly did that!

  “You did well, Lilly.”

  She smiled and closed her eyes. “Thank you, Lord Brune.”

  Phia’s golden tresses shimmered in the sunlight, and the white dress was so bright it almost hurt the eyes. One of her bare legs was visible through the slit of the fabric. Tied up against that post, she reminded him of when he first saw her.

  Only this time, he’d be keeping her for himself.

  He drew his dagger.

  “There’s no time Mr. Hargish!” Inga said as Brune cut the rope around Phia’s ankles.

  He froze. No time? Was it too late?

  Brune squinted at the sky, his heart pounding. The sun was high, but it wasn’t noon yet. They probably had 25 minutes. Or less.

  “What are you talking about?” He cut the ropes around Phia’s thighs.

  “You won’t make it out of the forest before noon,” Inga said. “Sol will come. They did the summoning ceremonies this morning; Phia is marked as the virgin bride. I know you’re powerful, but you can’t defeat a god, Mr. Hargish.”

  Brune cut the last rope. Phia fell into him, throwing her arms around his neck. He pressed his face against her hair and kissed her.

  “You have to take her virginity now, Mr. Hargish. It’s the only way.”

  Phia looked at Brune with wide eyes, her cheeks coloring. He grabbed her ass and kneaded it with both hands. Phia moaned into his kiss as he dragged his hands up to her slender waist and took hold of it.

  Digging his fingers into the soft flesh of her waist, he tore his lips away and looked at the blue sky, as if to address Sol himself. “I’ll fuck her right here then.”

  Before anyone else got to her first. God or no god, Brune wasn’t going to let another male take what was his.

  Phia looked at him in shock, her nipples puckering against the tight fabric of the dress.

  The nymphs stared with open mouths as Brune dragged Phia to the ground.

  Phia’s head lolled to the side. Her face was flushed, a dreamy look in her eyes. Brune lifted her dress and hooked his fingers into her panties, yanking them down her thighs. When he got them down to her knees, he noticed the hot sun burning the back of his neck; every passing second threatened to take her away from him.

  Brune ripped the panties apart and threw them aside. Then he pushed her legs open, exposing the little tuft of blonde hair and her glistening lips.

  He rubbed his fingers along her entrance, spreading wetness around. Then he slid a digit inside. Her cunt gripped his finger. It was going to take some work to open up that pinprick-sized hole.

  Curling his finger up, he rubbed Phia’s G-spot. Her legs tried to shoot together as her back arched and her hand grabbed his wrist.

  “Wait,” she panted. “It... feels... Oh!”

  Brune rubbed faster. Phia squealed as her tight young body writhed on the grass.

  “Feels... funny.”

  Brune pulled out and used two fingers to part her folds. She sucked in air through her teeth and looked at him in anticipation.

  Yes, baby, I’m going to do that thing I did to you in the bathroom.

  Phia’s breath became frantic as soon as Brune took his first lick. When he sucked on her clit, her hips reared and her heels dug into the ground.

  Brune hastily undid his belt. He would have liked to have made a proper meal of Phia. Licked her off until she came on his tongue. But there was no time for that.

  Every inch of his cock was aching as he released it from his pants and dropped it heavily onto Phia’s petite stomach. She stared open-mouthed at his manhood.

  Phia wasn’t the only woman ogling. Inga, having momentarily forgotten her decorum, gawked as her cheeks reddened. Then she remembered she was pretending not to notice the scene before her. She turned back to Lilly, who had dozed off in her lap.

  The nymphs were less shy about watching. Their role in the initiation ceremony was to seduce Phia and get her primed for her divine suitor. And they had fully expected to get fucked alongside her.

  The redhead pouted and sighed loudly. The blonde fidgeted and bit her lip. Adelina, the tall one, stood up and walked over to Brune and Lilly, keeping a somewhat respectful distance.

  Hiking up the skirt of her gown, she sat down and curled her legs, leaning on her palm.

  Brune pushed the tip of his dick against Phia’s entrance. She was already writhing and moaning. Nothing could stop him now from taking what was his. No cardinal. No god.

  Not even his guilty conscience. He still knew it was wrong to drag Phia into a rambling life of mercenary adventuring. Even if she thought she wanted it, she deserved better.

  I’ll aim for something better. I’ll do it for her.

  Brune plowed himself through Phia’s taut muscles, groaning at the feeling of her tight pussy squeezing his cock. He got less than halfway in. Her legs scrambled on either side of Brune’s hips. Her hands pushed at his chest. He felt claws digging into the back of his neck.

  “Brune. It hurts.”

  “I know it does. Relax your body.”

  Her legs fell open. Brune fucked her with the end of his length, spreading wetness around until she loosened up ever so much.

  Then he slammed himself almost all the way in. Phia screamed and jerked her hips as Brune kissed her forehead.

  “It’ll get better if you relax. I promise.”

  Brune slipped his fingers under the lengths of fabric that wrapped up her breasts. Pulling the fabric down, her handful-sized tits were in full view. Phia mewled desperately as he squeezed her breasts and pinched her nipples.

  “You like that, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” She ran her unpracticed fingers over the back of his neck.

  Brune admired Phia, pinned to the ground by his cock like some rare butterfly. The sun seared his neck. It was high overhead; surely the time of Sol’s appointed arrival was almost there.

  Too late, motherfucker. She’s not a virgin anymore. She’s my little slut now.

  Pressing his lips against Phia’s soft cheek, he pulled back and thrust all the way in again. Phia bucked beneath him as her pussy gripped his cock like a vise. She lifted her knees up high, apparently trying to encourage Brune. He gazed at her impossibly smooth legs, her sandaled feet.

  “That’s a good girl. You’re doing a great job, sweetie.”

  Brune’s approval clearly made her happy. A little smile appeared on her lips, her eyes twinkled, and her pussy became even wetter.

  Adelina moved closer to the lovers. She watched Phia’s face through hooded eyes, her legs facing Brune. She opened them and rubbed her pussy through her panties.

  Then she moved over to Brune, putting her arms around his shoulders and looking down at Phia.

  “Yes,” she intoned. “Fuck her. Fuck her hard.”

  Overcoming their shyness, the blonde and redhead came and sat beside Phia, they ran their warm fingers all over her. The scent of so many women—all with their feminine juices flowing—drove Brune out of his mind.

  He thrust himself in, balls deep. Phia moaned, her legs falling open in absolute surrender.

  “Yes!” the redhead said. “Fuck her. Fuck that little bitch.”

  She slapped Phia’s tits and then massaged them, taking a nipple in her teeth.