Warriors of the Dragon

Curiosity

*

Sephira woke when she felt her dragon reach out to her in an attempt to block Isis from her mind. Her eyebrows furrowed when she wondered why Isis would contact her and then her eyes opened to the dim room. Knowledge of where she was was slow to return to her but the feelings she had enjoyed were still near in her memory. She sent Caius an image of Craven's sleeping face and bare chest, hoping it was enough to satisfy Leuthil and Dawn that her and Craven were both safe. She knew Sorin would have noticed Caius' behavior and made assumptions of his own about what she was doing. He probably entranced with Caius and felt that she was fine after she went to Ariemme's celebration. She was glad Sorin didn't bother her by contacting her directly. She would've been embarrassed to share her feelings with him in that way. It was much easier to let the dragons share that information. She wondered how much Sorin could feel from Caius. She knew that when Caius mated, the feelings were so strong, they knocked her to her knees. She guessed that her sexual pleasure would be just as strong for her dragon, but maybe Sorin feeling it through Caius was not as jarring as feeling it directly.

She sat up feeling groggy from the wine and clutched her head in turmoil. She took a deep breath, letting it out quietly before slipping carefully out of bed to find the washroom. What in the world was she going to do? Kill the naiad Empress? Threaten her? She seemed to be threatened enough last night and Sephira was satisfied by the fear in her eyes while being bothered by it in her heart. She didn't want to threaten her or hurt her at all.

Sephira washed the paint from her face and hands and stared into the mirror glass over the glass wash basin. Her silver eyes were serious and her expression dark. She found she was more angry with herself than the Empress. She could've resisted the spell. It wasn't that strong, but the look of Ariemme in her tight tunic... She had wanted to touch her. She had been itching to take her mask off all day and the last time she was in Nysa with Feuryn she'd desired to kiss the Empress then too, even without a spell on her. She had wanted to pull her clothes off and fuck her in the pool surrounded by the other naiads. But, she hadn't... Why was she so okay with breaking the rule now? What changed?

Craven and Dawn had seen her. Nothing had changed since they had seen her. Her companions still feared her. Dawn had been avoiding her eye contact and the others still stiffened when she looked their way. She wondered what Dawn had told them. She guessed Craven hadn't said anything and he didn't seem interested in saying anything anyway.

She had taken the opportunity to be with Craven because Feuryn and her murder weren't there breathing down her neck. She trusted Sorin with her life and knew he'd keep her secret. He already knew Sephira had feelings for Craven since she was young and she already knew Craven. She knew his heart before she made the risky decision to be with him. She didn't regret it at all and it seemed neither did he. She had been so relieved that he accepted her affection. She knew she wouldn't have been able to kill him if he had rejected her. Unlike most male orcs, Craven was known to reject females occasionally. She knew there was a chance he'd be mad that she had put him in danger by showing him her face. She had put him in a dangerous position and she also blamed herself for what happened with Dawn. Now she was partly responsible for the naiad Empress having seen her, too.

She was still trying to decide what the Empress really wanted from her, when she heard movement from the bedroom. Ariemme made her way to the huge pool and Sephira watched as she stepped into the warm water and sat on the side with a sigh. Sephira stood unblinking watching her run her hands over her head as if distressed. When her green eyes caught sight of Sephira, she could see the guilt and pleading expression appear on the naiad's face. Her best guess was that the Empress wanted control over Sviat in order to influence Feuryn. With this dangerous information, Sviat would be at Ariemme's mercy if she let her live to hold it over her. However, she guessed if Ariemme told Feuryn, Feuryn would kill her before confronting Sephira and part of her couldn't quite picture her mother killing her.