descended on the paper mill. I watched as a group of sprites carved the skin off a water nymph, trying to ignore her wails as I pressed my head to the dirt.”
Herrik tossed the rabbit into the makeshift oven, licking at the pink tips of his fingers. “It is a sound I will not soon forget, Andrax. She was laughing amidst the screams, and they began to fuck her as they wrapped her flayed skin around their faces. That’s when I knew I had to run. I raced along the Heartriver, and Bower Ridge opened its golden gates for me. Luckily there are still some decent Fay left in this cursed corner of the world.”
Herrik’s face was half in darkness, his voice monotone and detached. “When Trixie Bower heard my tidings, she sent me back out with a fresh mount to gather you. Her grandfather had word from the Council that the Dark Lady Minerva had found the Moonheart once more, and that you were the only one who could bring her tyranny to an end. She seeks you now as she always has, and she will let the entire world fall into darkness if it means your return. Unfortunately, I got waylaid in the forest and lost my mount, but Boxer Ridge remains our deliverance.”
So she has found it again. When Andrax had finally collapsed before the Council with news of his escape, the Negress had stepped inside the weave and banished the Dark Lady from the Ice Mountains, using the subtleties of the weave to obscure the tree’s location. But Minerva was nothing if not persistent, and Andrax knew that Shadehaven could not hope to stand against the divine influence of the tree of flesh.
“I must speak to Rorke Bower. If he is in communication with the Council, I can summon the Negress. She will know what to do, Herrik. She sees all.”
Herrik tilted his head at Andrax, a vague look of distaste on his face. “The Negress, yes. No doubt she sees much, Overseer.” The journey had certainly had a profound effect on Herrik. His eyes were glassy and distant, and his tufts of facial hair were flecked with drying blood. Andrax knew that this was not the same lovable curmudgeon who had served him so faithfully for years. He is changed, his eyes cannot hide it Andrax reached out a hand and rested it consolingly on the wood elf’s shoulder, but Herrik turned away brusquely and stared out into the night. “We must ascend. The children of the moon are out tonight.”
They ate the rabbit wordlessly and made for their leafy hideaway. Resting his head against his coarse pillow of bark, Andrax stretched his weary legs and closed his tired blue eyes. Wind whistled through the overhead leaves, and Herrik sat opposite him watching the forest with grey eyes. He had claimed first watch, and Andrax let sleep settle over his drained body.
A beautiful dark-haired woman insinuated her curvaceous body through the pendulous branches, approaching him with feline grace. She was naked, and blue ink flashed above the glossy sheen of her pubic mound. Her blue-black hair brushed his face as she straddled him, locking his body beneath her warm flesh. Andrax tried to resist, tried to call out to his treetop companion, but his words caught in his teeth.
The woman licked the hollow of his throat, an electric trail of wetness that made him moan as he breathed in the florid scent of her hair. Her tongue was practiced, and he grabbed a fistful of indigo and shoved her face down to the swell of his cock. His trousers parted as if the hands of ghosts were pulling at them, and his prick sprang free and bounced against the woman’s lips. She wet the tip with her tongue, a thin line of spit dripping off her mouth. She exhaled cool air on his glistening cock, and he whimpered at the cold sensation. Then she slid her mouth down the entire length of his shaft, so he could feel her lips brushing against his groin. His mind had emptied of all thoughts of Minerva, the Negress, and Shadehaven’s safety. All he wanted was the warm hole in this woman’s splendid face.
She looked up at him
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