Sex Wizards - Initiation Ch. 14-15

I bite the inside of my cheek as a shiver creeps its way up my back. "What kind of punishment?" I ask, my tone matching his in implication.

Arlon hums thoughtfully. "You still haven't tried enchantment," he says at last. "Is there a reason for that?"

I can't stop a small laugh. "I probably would have gotten to it eventually," I say. "I'm willing to try anything twice."

"Good to know," Arlon says. He grins as he thinks, and I'm starting to realize he only shows teeth when he's feeling particularly sadistic. "I think I'll make you a target."

"Ominous," I say, though something about the way he says it makes my gut tighten in anticipation. "What's that mean?"

He reaches for his necklace, and a spell flashes out. "It means that until I decide you have served enough time as a target, your robes will be red. And while they are red, that is a signal to the rest of the wizards that you can be used for casting at their whim."

My stomach does a somersault, a thrill of anticipation going through me. "Oh."

"You always have permission to stop, for any reason," Arlon says, his tone sobering. "But consider this a chance to... get to know the other wizards in the Crux. Agreeable?"

I chuckle, my face flushes hot red. It's a tantalizing idea. I can't lie and say that being passed around in the woods didn't make me feel some kind of way.

"Alright then," I say as I try to rub the blush from my face. "I think that's an acceptable punishment."

Arlon chuckles and presses a kiss to the top of my head. "I hoped you would."

#

After nearly a full two weeks of warmed river water and streams, all I want to do is take a bath. Apparently, I'm not the only one. That night, most folks from the road have found a pool to occupy.

Thaddius and Ambra are sharing a pool with Iona, who rests wrapped safe in their arms. Garrett snores quietly while a silver haired woman I don't recognize is nestled against his chest. Margeurite and Allisande are in a pool in the far corner, talking in low voices with tears in their eyes. I don't disturb them and instead take my favorite pool that's unoccupied in the back.

I swear as I sink into the water. After two weeks of hard travel, every part of me aches, but the sting of heat reminds me what Olbric had said during my first evocation lesson about tempering pain with pleasure. Evening out the bad with the good. It feels like one small step towards getting back towards good.

I take my time to wash and shave before I sink into the pool. The steady trickle of water lulls me to doze, which is only broken when I feel someone's eyes on me. I lift one eyelid and blearily focus on Olbric. He's watching me with a fond smile on his face.

"Fuck, I fell asleep," I croak and rub my eyes. I feel dry as a husk.

Olbric gives a huff of a laugh and offers me his canteen of water. "It's been a long couple of weeks," he mutters. "Can I join you?"

"Silly that you think you gotta ask," I say and take the canteen. I drain half of it in one breath before I put it on the lip of the tub.

Olbric hangs his robe up on the hook on the wall before he sinks into the water with me. The injuries from the cave have only faded so much on the road home. His shiner has turned to a puddle of yellow in the bag under his eye, but his wrists and right shoulder are still dark with green and yellow bruises. The cuts, at least, have more or less healed. "Galiva gave me the all-clear," he says with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Whatever they drugged me with doesn't appear to have any lasting effects."

I slide around the pool to sit next to him. With him naked, it suddenly makes me aware of a whole new level of vulnerability on his part. "Can I touch you?" I ask.

Olbric grins, but underneath it, he looks relieved. I've seen how some of the others treat the recovered wizards like they'll break if someone so much as grazes them. "Silly that you think you gotta ask," he says, imitating my accent with surprising accuracy.

I smile and slide my arms around him, careful of his shoulder. He's solid, and warm, and anything but fragile. He sinks against me, his head resting against my collar.

"According to my friend Walter, you made a good impression," I say. "I think his exact words were 'Olbric's a good guy,' which is a high compliment in Airedale."

Olbric gives a small grin. "They were nice people. Shared their beer with me that first night," he says, but his smile fades. "Wish I had done better by them."

I tighten my embrace. "You did everything you could," I say. "The ones that got away with their lives are grateful to have them."

Olbric sighs and sinks further against me. He's quiet for a long moment, though his finger draws idle patterns through the hair on my chest. "Bandits will get a wayward spells here and there, but this was my first real firefight outside of sparring," he admits. "I've been sent in to quell mobs, fight back bandits and marauders, but I've never felt like this after a fight."

I scoot us over to the stairs that lead into the pool. I pull myself up on a higher step to cool down a bit and set him in front of me. My fingers start to pick the grass out of his long hair. It's tangled to knots, but I'm as careful not to tug. "You've never been overpowered before," I say. "You said yourself that with three against one you didn't stand a chance," I say. "Besides, in those other fights, you were an obstacle. In this one, you were the goal. That's bound to fuck with your head."

Olbric shudders, though I can't tell if it's from my fingers or my words. "I don't think I've ever been so afraid," he admits. "I always assumed if I died in a firefight, it'd be quick. When Diran and the others were bearing down on me, I thought I was dead. But then they took me alive." He swallows and pulls his knees up to his chest. "They were promising... a lifetime of misery in that cave."

I drape my arms around him and press my lips to the side of his neck. "You're safe," I murmur against his skin. It's not the first time, and I know it won't be the last. Olbric lets out a long breath and relaxes against my chest. It feels like he might be starting to believe it. For a long moment, I just hold him.

"Up in the infirmary, Galiva mentioned that you tracked us," he says.

I smile and carefully work through a knot, trying not to tug at his scalp. "You all left a good trail."

Olbric gives a small huff of a laugh. "I'm safe - we're all safe - because of you."

I flush as I pull a twig from his hair and set it on the lip of the pool. "People keep saying that - like I'm some sort of hero."

Olbric chuckles and leans his head back onto my lap to look up at me. His dark hair floats in a halo around him. "That's because you are," he says, but when I can't meet his eyes, he tilts his head curiously. "You have a hard time taking praise, don't you?"

I give a short laugh and give a knot a bit of a yank to try and distract him. "I guess you could say that."

"Why?" Olbric asks, and I should have assumed that wouldn't work against an evocation wizard. He doesn't even flinch. "Because you don't think it's deserved?"

I feel my face getting hotter. "I - no, it's not that," I say even though it's exactly that. I let out a sigh. "Before coming here, I wasn't exactly doing anything worthy of praise."

"I think Allisande would probably have an argument for that, but."

I scowl at him before looking away again. "I guess what I'm saying is I'm just not used to it."

Olbric reaches up and cups my face before guiding me down to a gentle kiss. It lingers, making my lips tingle with the contact. When he allows me to pull away, he's smiling. In spite of the bruised eye, he looks like himself again. "I'll get you used to it. Because you deserve it, Dom."

I swallow and rub my reddened face, wishing that we could talk about anything else "You know," I say with a grin, "if you hadn't gotten nabbed, we never would have found the cave. So, hey, thanks for being great bait."

Olbric chuckles and lurches up out of the water to catch my lips in a much less gentle kiss. "Ass."

I smile and grab a jar of hair soap from the lip of the pool before scooping some of it into my hand. I slather it into his wet hair and use it to carefully untangle the rest of the knots. He relaxes with a sigh of pleasure and lets me do as I please. The silence that stretches between us is a comfortable one, but my excitement from my talk with Arlon bubbles up.

"You know, Arlon confirmed my divination mastery for my vision of you," I say. "So thanks for that, too."

"You're kidding me."

We both look up to see Galiva walking towards our pool. I smile as she discards her robe and slides into the water with us. "He said I've done everything he would have tested for," I say with a shrug. "I thought it was crazy, too."

"It's not crazy," she says. "It is definitely a new record though. Adept to first mastery in a month." She glides towards me and kisses me gently. "Congratulations, Dom."

"Uh, excuse you, it's now Master Dominai," Olbric says, and Galiva swats his shoulder. "Hey, I'm injured! You yourself told me I couldn't cast until the bruises are gone."

"And you can't," Galiva says as she rolls her eyes before she catches his lips. "But it's good to see you acting like your normal foolish self."

Olbric gives a lopsided grin. "I'm glad I'm starting to feel like my normal foolish self again," he mutters. "But seriously - congratulations Master Dominai. We'll have to take a trip to the Devilish Boar to celebrate."

"I may have to wait on that," I say. As much as the idea of being jumped on a whim sounds appealing, I'd rather it happen within the tower walls. "As, ah, punishment for disobeying him at the cave, Arlon's made me a target."

"Oh has he now?" Galiva asks with a sly grin. Her and Olbric share a look that screams trouble. A jolt of anticipation travels straight to my groin as their eyes turn to me, but Galiva just leans back against the lip of the pool and closes her eyes. "Good to know."