Queen Yavara Ch. 35

The following two hours were spent taking turns recounting our stories. I told Elena how I'd recruited the nymphs to take Castle Thorum, and how Zander had freed Arbor from Elena's enslavement. Elena asked about her slaves, and I had a runner fetch them for me. Elena recounted how Prestira had been triggered by Adarian's whistle, and we both wept over the tragedy that followed. I sat with a clenched jaw as she told me about how Leveria had tortured her in the catacombs, then ceased the torment because she needed to use Elena as a diplomatic tool. I told her about how I'd captured Adarian and changed him at the ceremony of the Froktora, and she stopped me.

"You're skipping a part, Yavara." She said, her face solemn.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't just capture Adarian. His mirror was on."

My face fell. "You saw that?"

She nodded.

My heart slowly sank into my chest. "I really wish you hadn't."

"That's all you have to say?"

"There's nothing I can say. I knew what I was doing. I've been trying to make up for it ever since, but I won't lie to you, I've done terrible things along the way. I'll do more terrible things."

"Why?"

A tear rolled down my wet cheek. "Sometimes I have to. Sometimes all the choices I have are all terrible. Sometimes I just make the wrong choice because it feels better, but I'm trying to be the queen you thought I could be." I brought April onto my lap, and showed Elena the kitsune fox, "I'm trying to make it better, but it was really hard without you."

Elena chewed on her lip, then took two consecutive breaths, and let them both out as she said, "I'm fucking your sister."

I blinked. "What?"

"It's just sex, it doesn't mean anything, but... it's happening."

I raised my finger, then slowly pointed it at her. "Did you just try to guilt me into preemptively forgiving you for cheating on me?"

Elena shrugged guiltily. "You did rape and torture someone."

"Because of you!"

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"Don't try to spin this, Ambassador!"

Elena gave me a frank frown. "How many men did you fuck since we last saw each other? Should you give me the actual number, or would it be easier just go by percentages at this point?"

"Yeah, but none of them are my evil fucking sister!"

"What choice do I have, Yavara?!" She snapped, "In case you don't remember, I'm a prisoner here!"

I inhaled through my nose, my lips pursed. "Well, how is she, Elena?"

"Do you really want the answer to that?"

"Does she do the things you like?"

"Yavara, can we—"

"Does she let you fuck her in the ass?"

"We don't need to—"

"Does her pussy taste like mine?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "There's a distinct Tiadoa flavor."

"Is she better than me?"

She inclined her head thoughtfully.

"WRONG FUCKING ANSWER!"

She grinned broadly. "You and her score very high in all categories, if you must know. You're still the undefeated anal champion, but her blowjobs are just..." Elena affected a chef's kiss.

"Well now I'm going to suck every dick in this horde until I'm the empress of oral."

"As if you weren't going to do that anyway, you whore."

"But now I'm really going to do it."

"Are we done with this argument?"

"You know damn well that we will never be done with this argument." I sighed, and smiled, "But I can forgive you if you can forgive me."

It wasn't Elena's forgiveness that I really wanted, but I couldn't make her forget.

We continued recounting our stories. I told her about Adrianna and the other hybrids, and she told me about the nobles and how she was ingratiating herself with them. I told her about the battle, and she told me about the war raging within the Noble Court, where words were weapons and the battles were debates. Seeing her as she was, as confident and eloquent as she'd become, made me realize that there was a whole side of Elena I had not known. Perhaps it never would have flourished if she had always been with me, and that idea bothered me.

Crystal and her daughters burst into my tent a moment later, and snatched the mirror from my hands. "Master!" They cried in unison, though I had already told Elena they'd been released from her slavery. They were like dogs before the porch window for her, all of them chattering over each other, jumping in front of each other to profess their undying love until I had to forcefully pull the mirror away from them. Opal had left an anal print on the glass like a lipstick signature, and I had to scrub it off to see Elena clearly. Then Brock and Zander came into the tent. Brock was delighted to see Elena, and even more delighted to hear about her bedroom escapades.

"Infiltrating the enemy, eh Ranger?" He roared, "The sacrifices you make for your country! Why, you deserve a medal!"

Zander remained subdued about the whole affair, smiling politely, but hiding his obvious misgivings. After Brock had been sated with Elena's detailed descriptions of all the ways she'd fucked my sister (some of which I begrudgingly put on my list for later; Leveria was many terrible things, but she was creative) the wizard and the warlord left the tent, leaving me with Elena once again.

"Yavara," she said, "there is something we need to talk about. I'm doing my best to represent you here in the Noble Court, but I can only achieve my goals if your actions mirror my proclamations. I've told everyone you're a peacekeeper, but then you crossed the marshlands. Why?"

"Peace will only come with fear."

"That's a strongman's message, and it will only be heard by other strongmen." Elena rubbed her temples, "All you've done is made it so that those who want to continue the war—Leveria and Ternias—their voices will be more convincing."

"They must know they cannot win."

She snorted. "You never spent any time in court. Yes, there are some rational heads, but there are also some so wrapped in their own sense of high-elf superiority that they can't fathom losing. They're convinced that there is still a path to victory and conquest, and they will take any provocation by you as evidence that peace was never an option."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Extend a formal peace offering tomorrow."

"No."

"NO?!"

"The only thing keeping this horde together right now is their hatred for the Highlands. When they routed the Highlanders in the Tundra, they tasted victory for the first time in a thousand years. How can I offer peace now while their hearts are still filled with triumph?"

"Yavara," Elena said softly, "are you saying that you will not make peace with our homeland?"

"Let the armies entrench along this border. Let them fight meaningless battles that do nothing but wear on their morale until their bloodlust is sated, and they realize victory through arms cannot be had."

"You marched a horde to the doorstep of our country to force a stalemate. Not a stalemate for peace, but for an indefinite continuation of war."

"It's the only way for peace in the long run."

"Our country is bankrupt! We don't have the resources to fight a drawn-out conflict! When winter comes, and there are ration shortages, how will we import food to feed our soldiers? We can't! We'll have to take it from the stores and our people will starve!"

"That might happen, yes."

She looked at me like she didn't recognize me at all. "Yavara, you are damning thousands of our people to die for nothing."

"You keep saying 'our people, our nation,' but the Highlands is not my home anymore. For Alkandrans, debts of blood can only be repaid with blood. I will not invade, but if I end this war before the debt is repaid, then there will be another war, a greater war. Alkandi and her horde had to be broken at Castle Thorum before there could be peace, and so our armies must be broken at the Rift."

"Is there no other way?"

I thought for a moment. "I know you've at least mused upon the line of succession. If a hybrid rules the Highlands, well, that would be just as good as conquering them to the horde."

Elena took a sharp breath through her nose. "Yavara, do not ever suggest that again."

"Why not? If you love your country so much, why wouldn't you do what is necessary to save it?"

"Why don't you pull back your fucking army?! Don't give me that bullshit about blood debts; this is about you getting to your sister!"

"You said yourself that Leveria will never go for peace!" I snapped, "If I have to bleed the Highlands dry, I will do it! It is up to her, or it is up to you! My responsibilities are to my nation!" I took a deep breath, and eased my anger. "Elena, the Highlands started this war. They must be the ones to finish it."

"Even if I wanted to, I could never convince the nobles to vote unanimously against both Leveria and Ternias. The best I can do is put enough pressure on Leveria that she is forced to come to you with a peace deal. Now, if she did, would you accept it?"

I cracked a smile. "If Leveria comes to me naked and in chains with a crown on her head, crawls the promenade of Alkandra through horse and cow shit, and kisses my foot before my entire nation, then she can have her peace right now."

"Yavara..." Elena sighed.

"Give me a deal that I can sell to my people. Are you not my ambassador?"

"I am Elena Straltaira of the Highlands."

"Does that make us enemies?"

She nodded slowly.

A pit formed in my chest. "Elena, do you still love me?"

"I'll always love you." She smiled ruefully, "I wish you would make it easier though." She reached out, and touched the glass with her fingertips, "Goodnight, Yavara."

"Goodnight." I whispered back. Then the mirror went dark.

ZANDER

Orcs were not allowed in this part of the camp. Centaurs guarded the perimeter of the large tent, making certain that no one but I entered it. I'd put an enchantment around the area to mute the sounds coming from it, for if I hadn't, the terrible harmony of screams would've been heard for miles. It was like a symphony of torture, but the victims here were far from suffering. These had been young Highland men, officers full of ambition and vigor, the pride of their nation. Now the twenty-seven hybrid women were scattered about the tent, writhing and wriggling in the throes of ecstasy. I'd leveraged my contacts with the incubi of the Great Forest, and brought fifty of them here in secret to help train the new women. Now the hybrid elves moved without trepidation, sinuous and inhumanly graceful as they engaged in the act they were made for, each one expressing their sexuality in a beautiful and unique way. They would've been the celebration of Yavara's kingdom, but their fates had been sealed for darker purposes. It was why no orcs could know what was happening here, for if news that holy hybrid women were being transformed into vampires reached their ears, there would be riots.

"Zander..." one of them purred to me. This one had been a colonel by the name of Francis Bortius, though he—now she—went by 'Francesca.' "Zander, Zander, Zander..." she purred, her legs splayed out, her hands gripping the horned heads of two incubi as they nursed from her bronze breasts and slid their thick members together within her stretched anus. "Are we not ready yet for the journey?" She moaned luxuriantly, undulating to grind the cocks deeper into her, "It's been five days, and we grow so restless."

I leaned down, and removed the chastity spell from her. She moaned louder than ever as earthly sensation returned to her virgin slit. I forked my fingers about it, and opened her, peering inside to inspect. She was two days into her hyper-ovulation, and her pink insides were blushing and leaking, the rich scent of her arousal breathing gently from her.

"P-p-p-please!" She sputtered.

I put the chastity spell back on her, and she calmed. Titus wanted virgins, and serendipitously, denying the hybrid women vaginal sex was a fantastic way to accelerate their maturation. With only their anuses and mouths to be used, they quickly experimented in all manners of depravity to satiate their carnal hunger. Their inhibitions were gone, and they were receptive to anything. They were ready.

When I left the tent, there were two figures waiting before the centaur guards. Though they were cloaked entirely in black, their statuesque frames and glowing red eyes gave them away.

"Drake, Tiffany," I said, nodding to each.

"Zander." They hissed back in unison.

"I trust we won't have another incident; I gave those incubi guarantees, and I don't like being made a fool of."

"It won't happen again." Titus assured me, "The new bloods always get carried away, but we'll control them better this time."

"These are the last ones."

"So I've been told, but if there's one thing war creates reliably, it's victims." Titus glanced out the looming ridgeline, ballistae lining it for as far as the eye could see, "Still, I have enough."

"Where will you go after this?"

"We have a little abode in the catacombs of Castle Alkandra waiting for us. I do hope the governess there will be amenable to her new neighbors."

"From what I've heard of Adrianna, she'll be delighted to have you."

"And I am anxious to make her acquaintance." Titus flashed a fanged grin, "Now, if you'll excuse me, Zander, I would like to meet my new children."

I stepped aside, and the two vampires passed me silently; Titus walking with a slight limp, Tiffany carrying a bundle of extra robes. Sitting on the grass, I pulled out my pipe, removed all the chastity spells, and waited. An hour later, a silent procession of black-robed figures left the tent. Their limping leader waved to me, and I waved back. Then the incubi stumbled from the tent flap, looking pallid and sunken, but still able to walk. I counted all fifty of them as they passed me by, and I handed each their payment.

"Verto," I said to the last one, clasping my hand over his.

"Yes?" He asked tiredly, rubbing at the puncture wounds on his neck.

"I've heard you do an excellent high-elf impression. Can I see it?"

The incubus inclined his head, and morphed into a high-elf male.

"I have a job for you, if you're interested." I said to him.

"You want me to go behind the elven lines?"

"No, to Bentius."

He raised his brows. "I'll need to be paid very well."

"I'll make you one of the richest men in Alkandra."

He considered me for a moment, then nodded. "Who do you need me to kill?"

ELENA

When I opened the office door, I found Leveria sitting beside it against the wall, hugging her knees. I frowned down at her. "I told you not to eavesdrop."

"You knew I would anyway." She muttered.

I crouched to her level, and caressed her wet cheek. "What did you hear?"

"Not much." She sniffled, "I heard you laugh. You don't laugh with me like you laugh with her."

I sighed. "I wish you could love without jealousy."

"But I can't." She smiled sadly, sniffling, "You and I will never have what you and she do."

"No," I said, and pulled her into my arms, "but she and I will never have what we do. Come on," I stood up, and carried her into the bedroom, "you promised me the whole night."

Hours later, Leveria was lying atop my abused body, snoring with the utmost contentment. I savored the feeling of her breaths against the cuts around my right nipple, marveling for a moment at how pain and pleasure, captivity and freedom, power and weakness all worked in harmony when Leveria loved me. She was a tactician of lovemaking. Even when she and I engaged in spur-of-the-moment passion, I was always left wondering if she'd planned it all out. Yavara was a beast of the present, improvising effortlessly, changing her role without pause to best fit the moment. I did not know who was better, but Leveria and I had certainly developed a repour that I hadn't with Yavara. For all that I loved Yavara, for all that I longed for her, I'd only been inside her three different times, and I knew Leveria's holes down to the texture.

I jettisoned the thought, and focused on the task at hand. Droughtius, Feractian, Feltian, Xantian, and Huntiata. I needed all five to hold a six of ten majority in the court, and have enough power to sway either Ternias or Leveria. And though I thought them all to be available, in truth, I did not know for certain. Ternias's conspiracy had terrified Leveria, and after meeting with him, I realized her fear had been well-founded. Somewhere within these five names, there was very likely a trap. How would I know which one?

"Mmmm..." Leveria groaned sleepily, "what are you thinking about?"

"Plotting your downfall." I whispered.

"Can that wait until morning?" She nuzzled herself against me, "I can feel your anxiety, and it's making me restless."

"I'm not anxious."

"You should be." She chuckled, "I'm going to destroy you."

I laughed with her, petting her fine hair. "I have a question."

"I have answers."

"If a noble comes to me and professes their interest, how do I know if they're working for another?"

She snorted. "They call it the den of snakes for a reason, Elena. You will never truly know someone's loyalty."

"There must be a way."

"I know only one."

"What?"

"Torture." She grinned up at me, her blue eyes glinting in the lunar light, "But most nobles won't be too keen on following you if you did that to them. You are of course, the exception to that rule." She snuggled against my side, "Now I get to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

She opened her mouth, then shut it. "Never mind," she whispered, "go to sleep, Elena."