Son of the Void Episode I: A Marvelous Beginning

by Death Legion

Slade was abandoned by his parents in the Void only for it to abandon him in New York a few thousand years later. Luckily, Slade met a strange magician under circumstances only Slade could consider normal. How would the Marvel Universe change now that he's being raised by Dr. Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme? OC/harem.

13. Chapter 12:PC Part 2: Marriage of Change

Chapter 12: Past Catastrophes Part 2: An Marriage of Change

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. All other concepts and ideas from other books or stories belong to their respective authors. No copyright infringement is intended.

Warning: Lemon in chapter.

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Constantinople Marketplace, late 531 A.D.

Sladian walked through the stalls of the marketplace looking for clothing as well as anything to spruce up his new household. He wanted to liven up his house but unfortunately was, as Wanda used to say, born a man so had no sense for what would look good. 'Maybe he should ask Selene for her opinion,' thought Sladian. Shaking that weird thought off, Sladian stopped by a furniture store in order to buy what he needed for his study at the very least. After telling the man his address and telling him to send it to his residence in about two hours, Sladian left to finish his last piece of business.

Sladian was looking to see if there were any books relating to the Second Miracle in the magical bookstores. Sladian had purposefully let people witness his ability with the Second Miracle in hopes that word would get back to Zelretch and he would confront him. However, if word of his abilities have reached Zelretch's ears, he seemed content in leaving Sladian alone. It annoyed him and he couldn't help but wonder if he knew he was from another time and didn't want to meet Sladian for that very reason.

Sladian still hadn't given up on finding a way to get back to his time. From what he had gathered over the years, the dimensional pathways between patrons and their sorcerers were being blocked by some sort of powerful spell. Sladian had no idea who was powerful enough to cast a spell of that magnitude but he doubted it was for any benevolent purpose. Either way, this spell was also what stopped him from being able to travel to Ulthane's dimension. Sure, one could enter this era but one couldn't exit.

It was an ingenious trap in a way. Any deity that tried to come down to fix the problem would be cut off from their dimension which was their source of power. This would make much weaker than they usually even when compared to how their power normally lowered when they traveled to Earth. They would be weak enough for a powerful sorcerer, such as the one who cast the spell, to kill.

It seemed to only get worse as time passed. If Slade had landed when the spell was first cast he could have maybe forced his way through and gone back home. Unfortunately, it was just his luck that he arrived when the spell was at its strongest and from what Slade had felt it was only getting stronger. In the beginning, the gods could come down and go back with effort and be much weaker but still capable. This was because most of the spell's power was directed to keeping the Vishanti out of this dimension and ignored the other god's presence. In the last millennia, however, they had been completely unable of even that due to the spell (and Sladian imagined the caster as well) growing in strength until soon they would be unable to affect Earth even indirectly.

Sladian couldn't return to his time because in order to travel through time, one has to temporarily leave one's own dimension into one outside of time and then 'jump' back in at the target timeline. But since he couldn't leave this dimension or even planet due to the spell, he was stuck here until the spell was undone.

After realizing this, Sladian theorized there were only two ways of getting back to his time. Either he could find and kill the source of the spell therefore breaking it or find a loophole around the spell itself. The latter had been what he had been trying for the past four years without much success. The spell seemed to be almost sentient and adapted to whatever Sladian did in order to become even stronger. This told Sladian that the one who cast the spell was still alive since if they weren't, the spell wouldn't be able to draw on the extra energy to do that. Since option two was out that left option one which was kill the source of the spell.

However, Sladian had no clue as to who had cast the spell and anyone he asked didn't know anything either. Whoever it was had to be at least 13,000 years old at the very least since records indicated this happened around that time. It was about 100 years after Salome lost her position as Sorcerer Supreme when sorcerers first lost their connection with their non-godly patrons. Sladian had no idea of who could live that long since it was never mentioned in any history book back in his own time but he was keeping his ears open just in case.

Until then, he would continue his studies in the Second Miracle if only to polish his already considerable skills in that area. He couldn't travel through time but he could still manipulate it in a certain area, and he could still manipulate space freely.

Sladian stepped into what looked like a normal bookstore to anyone else but was really one of the seediest dark arts store in Constantinople. The owner of the shop was a small, rat-like man with graying brown hair, brown eyes and a pale complexion named Bassus. Most of the time, he walked around slightly hunched over and spoke in a squeaky voice that enforced the rat-like air he gave off. Said owner looked up from his work at Sladian's entrance with a smile on his face. The smile turned from false to sincere when he caught sight of Sladian and greed started shining in his eyes.

"Centurion Invictus. What an honor to have such a distinguished legionary in my shop. Are you here for some clothing perhaps?" asked Bassus in his squeaky voice.

Sladian forced a smile on his face before speaking in Ancient Sumerian with an obvious accent. "Yes, I wish to buy some of your special clothing in the back?" Like all things, there were certain ways to tell the proprietor of the shop what you wanted without saying it out loud. The phrase he just uttered was the standard confirmation that you were, indeed, a customer for the magical arts section. The Ancient Sumerian, however, told him that you were looking for old, dark and/or obscure books that would get both of them killed for possessing much less studying.

Bassus froze at his speaking Ancient Sumerian and a greedy smile crossed his face before leading him to the back once he checked that there was no one else around. Sladian followed Bassus as he passed a hand over a painting of the Mediterranean ocean, causing it to shimmer and turn into a doorway. Sladian was quickly ushered in so they wouldn't be caught.

The doorway was a portal much like the one back home in the Sanctum Sanctorum. It instantly took him to a warehouse hidden somewhere in the world where he could browse to his heart's content. The books had powerful spells on them to prevent one from reading them until one bought it but one could still look through the titles to find what one was looking for without someone holding your hand.

Bassus left through the same door he entered, leaving Sladian alone. It was a show of trust on Bassus' part and one that Sladian treasured.

It was Bassus who taught him that just because someone used dark magic, that did not make them an evil person. Just like a person who solely uses light magic does not make them good. Sladian had seen many supposed light magicals on the council order or condone the deaths of thousands for their own good while he had seen supposed 'dark' magicals sacrifice their lives to defend a village full of women and children. In the end, the only difference between light and dark magic was that dark magic corrupted. However, a strong will could resist the corruption or at least make the effects less pronounced.

For that very reason, Sladian felt no compunction in walking straight to the ancient and forbidden arts section in search of any new books on the Second Miracle since he left for war. He had looked for them before he left but found precious little on the subject. He had hopes that the intervening two years meant that Bassus had gotten his hands on books on the subject.

Of course, when Sladian said 'books' he meant it in the loosest definition of the term. Very little 'books' were made in a codex-like fashion which was similar to the books of his own time. They were actually leaves of a uniform size bound in some manner along one edge, and typically held between two covers made of some more robust material.

However, this was rare and most 'books' were in the form of scrolls on parchment. It had taken a long time for Sladian to get used to using a quill pen and parchment. It had been endlessly frustrating.

Sladian placed a hand along the edges of the books and scrolls, feeling the magic rolling off them in waves. He would be lying if he said it didn't feel intoxicating. The dark magic locked in these books have great power, the ancient and forbidden arts always did, but they also corrupted, tempting the user to use them more often which it worse. People believe that the dark arts make the person evil due to the fact that many past users were always hateful and malicious beings. However, that is only a half truth.

True, dark magic does tend to lead people done dark paths but only because most dark magics require powerful negative emotion to cast. Since the magic tempts them to use it more often, the person uses negative emotions more and more as time passes. It became an endless cycle since the more a person uses dark magic, the more tempted he is to use it again and the more time he spends feeling hate, lust, anger and other negative emotions. Despite all that power, sorcerers are only human and after years of feeling only negative emotions to power their spells they become cruel and hateful people even when not using magic. This was what started the rumors of dark magic turning people evil.

For this reason, Sladian understood that using dark magic doesn't automatically make one evil, it's just similar to a drug. It becomes addictive to use again and since the 'currency' to use it is negative emotion, the wielder must feel them more and more often, leading to a dark place. Sladian didn't use dark magic regularly for this very reason. He had enough nightmares from the battles to not need to be angry all the time just to use dark magic. He used a few dark spells but only rarely and in select circumstances. The one exception was hellfire.

Sladian briefly looked down at the rune schemes at the back of his hands as he remembered banishing that Flame Atronach all those years ago.

He had found out the side effect of banishing the fire atronach about four months into his training with Ulthane. It partly activated his demonic side allowing him to wield hellfire with ease similar to a fallen angel. This was because Flame Atronachs were born from hellfire itself given some form of semi-sentience. It was for this reason they were so easy to control. The sentience they demonstrated was similar to a wand-wizard's Fiendfyre, always trying to burn everything around it, which was easy to overpower for any competent summoner. It actually surprised Sladian that Fiendfyre was considered so hard to control for wand-wizards in his time when Sladian could use hellfire, which was much harder to control, so easily.

Of course, this was due to Ulthane's crazy idea when he found out about it.

Ulthane explained that hellfire had a tendency to lower the inhibitions of the person as time passed. In order to counteract this, Ulthane had injected him with the ability to wield soulfire as well. It was a risky gamble because the abilities were diametrically opposed and by all accounts, should probably have caused his body to explode.

However, his body had instead partly awakened his angelic side, therefore adapting to both abilities and counteracted each other's negative aspects. Ulthane theorized that as the years passed, Sladian would absorb the abilities of both types and probably create a whole new one out of the mix. Sladian had wondered what the new fire would be capable of doing but had ignored it at the time.

Now, however, Sladian felt that the abilities were close to merging together. In the meantime, Sladian could still use the abilities separately. However, he rarely used them except for hellfire which helped extend his stamina when in long, drawn-out battles. The downside was that when he actively used it, his inhibitions lowered and he became less merciful to his enemies. It also had the side effect of making him sort of... horny.

Sladian couldn't help but blush in embarrassment as he remembered the first time he used hellfire in a battle. It was against a sorcerer that wanted to kill him for his position and was too strong to simply subdue into compliance so he was forced to kill him. Afterwards, he had stopped in a village in Gaul and been so turned on that he had seduced a red-headed girl two years older than him and spent the entire night thoroughly taking her virginity in every aspect. The poor girl had been so besotted afterwards that she tried to follow after him like a lovesick puppy. Only the stern hand of her mother stopped her from doing so as well as Sladian leaving them enough gold for them and their descendants to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. He really hoped the two Griffin women would listen to his advice and move to Britain to escape in coming war.

Getting back on topic, it was for this reason that Sladian was also looking for books on hellfire and soulfire. These books on the former were more common than one would think due to the fact that the Fallen had started taking hosts about 5 centuries ago. The hosts would write down their observations on the usage of hellfire and how to use it. The journals would then either get lost and found by sorcerers later on or the hosts would sell them to sorcerers for coin. It didn't matter to the hosts because normally no one but a Fallen host could use hellfire so the notes were useless to sorcerers beyond theoretical study. It wasn't until late in the 6th century when Nicodemus, leader of the Fallen, would attempt to destroy all records for the first time. No one knew why he did it just that he did. Although it may have to do with the fact that wand-wizards managed to create Fiendfyre based off notes of using hellfire.

Go figure.

Sladian had picked two new scrolls which were journals by recent hosts of Fallen on hellfire usage as well as a theoretical journal by a high-ranking sorcerer on the difference between soulfire and hellfire, when he stopped at a book that seemed to call out to him. The book was bound in the codex form with the covers being a dark red color. What drew Slade's eye was the drawing of a kaleidoscope along its edge.

Sladian drew it out of the shelf and read the title in curiosity.

The Second Miracle and Time Travel for dummies by Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.

Sladian's left eye twitched slightly and he took a deep breath to calm his anger. He tried to think on the positive side in that he finally had a book that could answer his problems and he could get back home. The fact that the title was named this could be a coincidence and he had no proof that it was a jab at him. After all, it's not like he knew Sladian was here the entire time. Sladian opened it and started to read the first few lines.

'The first thing one should know when using the Second Miracle to travel through time and space is to always have both the time and destination firmly in mind. If not, one could easily end up somewhere else. If one can't focus on both, then focus on the correct timeline first. After all, only a complete and total idiot would focus on the destination and not the time, therefore risking getting lost in time and showing up in a unclear clearing on the other side of the civilized world...'

Sladian's left eye twitched violently as he gritted his teeth in anger. 'That's it! I'm gonna kill him! I'm gonna rip out his genital and feed them to him! The bastard knew I was lost in time and left me alone for years! I'm gonna cut out his eyes with a rusty knife! I'm gonna get a spiked mace and shove it up his ass! I'm gonna...'

Sladian was so wrapped up in his thoughts of maiming and murdering one of the leading members of the Mage's Association that he missed two seductive chocolate colored orbs staring at him from the shadows. Someone clearing their throat behind him caused Sladian to quickly turn around prepared to fight only to pause when he caught sight of a familiar face.

Selene walked out of the shadows between the bookshelves with an amused look in her eye. She was currently wearing a black cloak that covered most of her body except for her face due to having the hood down. Somehow she managed to make herself look beautiful even with the cloak covering most of her body, something Sladian didn't think was possible until now.

Selene was looking from the codex in Sladian's hands to his face with an amused look on her face. "Should I leave you two alone? You look like you are seconds away from torching that book."

Sladian couldn't help but blush slightly at being caught and shook his head. "No, sorry. I was just... displeased at contents of the codex."

Selene still looked slightly amused but nodded anyway. "If you say so. What are you searching for anyway?"

Sladian smiled even as he discreetly turned the side with the title of the codex away from her line of sight. "Oh, just some books theorizing on fire. I'm quite good at fire spells and the like."

Selene's left eyebrow rose at that and she read the titles of the scrolls on hellfire. "Hellfire? You an Accursed Host, Sladian?"

Sladian rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No. I simply like to read theories on hellfire to see if I could apply it to my own abilities with fire." 'And to master my own abilities with hellfire of course.'

Selene looked interested and walked closer to look over the scrolls. "Is it possible to apply their mechanics to other fire spells? And if so, how?" At Sladian's questioning look, she gave him a cheeky smile. "I'm more than a pretty face, you know."

Sladian smiled as he started to explain theories on the relationship between hellfire and normal magical fire and ways to apply the former's mechanics to the latter. They were so wrapped up in their discussion that he didn't even notice when they left the warehouse and into the shop proper until Bassus cleared his throat to get their attention.

Sladian gave him an apologizing smile and paid for the scrolls and codex. It was a hefty 500 gold pieces but well worth it in Sladian's opinion.

Sladian was surprised he didn't notice the three scrolls Selene had been carrying as she paid for them, as well as leaving a generous tip for Bassus.

"Many thanks, Lady Selene, and come again."

Selene gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Of course, Bassus. Take care."

Selene and Sladian walked out of the shop after hiding their purchases in their respective hiding places and walked down the street of the marketplace.

Selene and Sladian made polite conversation as she accompanied him as he bought decorations for his new home. They talked about the new laws that were passed and those that were rejected and the reasons for both. As they did this, Sladian bought paintings and sculptures, at times on Selene's recommendation. She had a keen eye for beauty and Sladian couldn't help but think it was because she was the ultimate example of it.

Despite this, Sladian made sure to not mention anything that would hint as to either the extent of his abilities or his origins. There were many times when Selene tried to subtly inquire as to where he came from but he simply responded with his rehearsed story of being a Celt who was visiting a village close to where he found the previous Sorcerer Supreme dying. It helped that there actually was a village near there at the time but it was recently destroyed in a Nordic raid. There was no way to confirm Sladian's story one way or another.

The duo finished their purchases and where walking back to Selene's home when Selene turned to Sladian with a nonchalant look on her face. "By the way, we've changed the date of the party. It'll be next week. Some of the ones who were coming are late and will take longer in arriving. Therefore, we moved it to later. I hope you'll come for my sake at the very least."

Sladian tried to detect any hidden intentions behind her invitation but she was either a master at hiding her true emotions or she truly had no secondary intentions. He suspected the former since this is the second time she'd invited him even though they didn't know each other but had no proof so he couldn't prove it. Either way, he wasn't very interested beyond the normal hormonal need to see the three beauties in more casual clothing and that wasn't a very good reason in his book.

Sladian gave a noncommittal shrug. "Maybe. I don't feel comfortable in going to a party between close friends thought. Especially since I'll barely know anyone there."

Selene nodded her understanding. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. I only invited you because I wished to get to know a man that doesn't stare at me all the time as if he was wishing to undress me. It is an interesting change of pace and I find myself intrigues by it."

Sladian had to admit that that would be annoying after a while. He didn't think he would like it if every time he entered a room he would be looked at like a piece of meat. Although, to be fair, the only reason Sladian himself wasn't doing something similar was because he was more paranoid than should probably be healthy.

Sladian nodded his acquiescence. "Then I shall endeavor to become your friend in these coming days so that I would be worthy of attendance."

Selene seemed surprised at his words but quickly smiled in a way that reached her eyes, showing she was truly pleased at his words. "I hope so as well." With that, Selene left Sladian in front of her house as she entered, Sladian not even having noticed they had reached it already.

Sladian smiled slightly and walked back to his house to await for the servants who would bring his purchases.

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Sladian slowly rode his black stallion, which he had named Catastros, across the grassy fields outside of the Constantinople walls with his leather armor in a bag behind him while wearing the normal red tunic that went under a legionary's armor.

Sladian didn't want to become soft now that he was no longer fighting for his life every day and so had quickly decided to spend most of the morning training to keep in shape. He would spend the afternoon either in council meetings or studying the scrolls and codex in order to see if he could find a way back home.

As he slowly led Catastros in search of an appropriate clearing to train, his mind went over his promise to Selene.

Why did he promise to become her friend when his plan until now was to gain enough influence to be able to buy ancient scrolls on the Second Miracle in the hopes to return home? He had purposefully remained aloof in order not to make any friends so that it would be that much easier to return without regrets. Sure, he was friendly with his cohort as well as most of the shopkeepers but he didn't have any true friends in this place. Now he went and promised to become Selene's for no tangible reason he could think of.

For some reason, Selene intrigued him. Not for her beauty but for the way she was. Most women in this time were either adulterous women trying to climb the social ladder, submissive to the men in their lives or bitter harpies who lash out at everyone around them. Selene's friend Circe easily fell into the first group. Sladian could easily see the lust and greed in her eyes when she looked at him, although a part of him had to admit that she had the body to almost be worth it. Morwen on the other hand, fell into the last category, as seen by her stoic demeanor and the barely polite way she greeted him.

Selene, however, was an enigma. At first she came across as one of those women used to using her beauty and looks to manipulate men to do her will. However, Sladian had gotten very good at seeing behinds the masks people put up and saw flashes of the real her behind the mask. She truly hated it when men looked at her like a sex object and a part of her had true respect for him for treating like an equal. There was also the way she walked.

Circe walked with a seductive grace of a sexual predator sure in her beauty and magical power. From what Sladian had seen, both physically and magically, she had good reason to be confident in both. While she may not be the mythological sorceress of legend, she was powerful enough to be her equal. Her physical beauty was also nothing to scoff at and Sladian would be lying if he said he wouldn't mind spending a night or two between her legs.

Morwen, on the other hand, walked in almost military manner with none of the grace most warriors had. Her steps were sure and methodical and spoke of a person that planned everything and became panicked when faced with a situation she hadn't anticipated or planned for. The old Slade part of him couldn't help but think that she reminded him a little of the tsundere in his manga. However, the Sladian part of him pointed out she probably didn't have a soft side at all.

Selene, on the other hand, walked with a very familiar grace. The grace of a trained warrior. He walked similarly. So did the men under his command and so did most veterans. However, Selene's walk was one similar to a panther's or other giant cats. A sort of prowl that only highlighted her attractiveness.

Then there were her eyes.

Circe's eyes, as he previously stated, shone with lust and greed as well as a carefully hidden cruelty. The old Slade in him could also see a small spark of some goodness in her but it was so small to almost be non-existent. Morwen's eyes just showed indifference for the world around her which stemmed from her arrogance. Sladian could easily see that Morwen firmly believed in her ways and would be completely unwilling to change at all.

Selene's eyes, however, showed a sort of age-old weariness with the world. As if she'd seen too much too quickly and was just looking for an escape. Sladian could see that she had done things that she regretted and still haunted even if she suppressed it. Beneath all of that, Sladian could see a spark of... something in her eyes. A sort of childishness that looked out of place on her mature body and personality. It sort of reminded him of the impish look in Jean's eyes when she was playing a prank.

Sladian instantly felt depressed when he thought of Jean. It has been 4 years since he was trapped here and his love for Jean hadn't lowered a bit. If anything, it deepened until Jean seemed almost like an untouchable figure out of his reach. The fact of the matter was that even if he returned to his time now, he didn't think he was worthy to restart a relationship with Jean.

It wasn't just the difference in physical age, that could easily be overcome, but the emotional age difference. Sladian had done and seen things that would haunt him for his entire life. Jean was too pure, too good to be sullied by his bloody hands. As a wise man once said: 'A warrior can't protect what he loves without a sword in his hand but he also can't hug those he loves with one.'

Jean was too innocent to understand the things he'd done and he wanted to preserve that innocence for as long as possible. The idea of tarnishing that purity and innocence with the truth of what he had done caused him to cringe in shame. Mostly because he knew Jean enough to know it wouldn't matter to her and she would still love him which only made him feel worse.

Sladian shook off those thoughts as he found a clearing where he could train. It was open and even had a small stream flowing through it. The stream was just deep enough to wash yourself in but not quite enough to bath without showing everything to whoever might pass by. Luckily, the clearing was far enough away from the Constantinople walls that no one would stumble upon it unless they knew it was there.

Sladian got off Catastros and started to unbuckle the bag from his back before tying Catastros to a nearby tree. He gave Catastros enough slack to be able to walk around freely but not enough to get close to Sladian while he was training. When he was training, Sladian tended to lose himself in the training and would likely hurt Catastros by mistake. That was one thing that hadn't changed since he first arrived.

Sladian started to take out his leather armor to train when he heard the sound of a horse approaching. On alert in case it was someone who followed out here in order to kill, he was surprised when a familiar face showed up on a white horse looking similarly shocked.

Selene looked surprised at Sladian's presence before putting on a stern and suspicious look. "What are you doing here, Sladian?"

Sladian cocked an eyebrow while casually putting his left hand on Líthi in his sheath. "I could ask you the same thing. I found this clearing just now and I was planning on training. What's a Lady like yourself doing out here all alone?"

Selene studied Sladian for a moment before seemingly coming to the conclusion that Sladian didn't mean anything untoward with the question and was simply curious. "I train myself here as well. I've been using this clearing for years now."

Sladian was skeptical and it must have shown because Selene got off her horse and walked over to the tree Catastros was tied to. Sladian watched as she reached into the large roots of the tree that were above ground and pulled out a bag. Selene opened it and showed him that it had some leather armor and weapons, proving her claim of having been here before.

Selene dropped the bag at her feet and looked at him with a scowl. "Now do you believe a weak woman can train as well?"

Sladian put his hands up in defense. "I never said that and I don't believe that women are weak at all. In fact, I believe you women are the stronger sex. I once watched a woman give childbirth and," Sladian gave a sincere shudder that brought a chuckle from Selene, "you all gained my undying respect that day. I think that that gave me more nightmares than some of the bloodiest battles I've been in."

Selene smirked and winked at him. "As long as you know your place."

Sladian smiled back before starting to put everything back in his bag. "Well, I'll find somewhere else to train and leave you then. I promise not to tell anyone else about this clearing so you can train in peace."

However, Selene spoke before he could finish putting everything away. "How about a spar?" At Sladian's perplexed look, Selene smiled. "It would let us get to know each other better and give me a bit of a workout." Selene's face turned teasing. "That is, of course, if you don't mind getting your ass handed to you by a woman."

Sladian gave her a challenging smile and bowed. "It would be my honor to hand you your ass, Lady Selene."

Selene just laughed and went behind a giant oak to put on her training armor while Sladian did the same behind a tree further away.

As Selene changed into her training armor, she wondered why she was doing this. The cruel, calculating part of her was telling her this would be an excellent chance to see how strong he truly was for later on. However, a deep nearly buried part of her was excited. She had fought many powerful people since she'd been born but never one in such a way. Sorcerers were easily defeated in close combat since they relied on their magic and never trained their bodies. The opposite was true for warriors. They trained their bodies but she just had to use her magic and they were turned to ash. However, Sladian was skilled on both areas, a rarity even her millennia of life. A part of her was excited at the challenge of fighting someone strong who wasn't going to hold back because she was a woman.

Selene stepped out behind the tree and didn't have to wait long before Sladian stepped out from behind his own tree. When he did Selene's heart skipped a beat and she couldn't help the slight blush that came to her cheeks at the sight of him.

Selene was slightly surprised by the style of his training armor. Most training gear for legionaries was a simple tunic and sandals with maybe a few strategically placed pieces of leather armor. Sladian, on the other hand, used a full set of leather armor made in the style of ancient Greek warriors. The chest and shoulder pads were one piece of thick leather made to withstand sword slashes and cuts easily. The stomach was protected by a thinner piece of leather made to allowed flexibility while still offering some protection and had a golden circle as a buckle for the belt with a dragon etched on it. Attached to that was a leather skirt that offered modesty while still allowing for full range of movement. He had thick leather shin armor as well as vambraces for extra protection as well.

Sladian's armor finished off with a metal helmet with spikes that she remembered he wore during his gladiator days (Picture the helmet that Russell Crowe wore in Gladiator). His shield was round and not rectangular like the legionary's scutum with a black dragon with a red background in the middle and four red runes in each cardinal direction along the outer silver circle. The armor was tight to his body and this allowed Selene a perfect view of his sculpted body.

He was, in one word, perfect. Unlike the scrawny bodies of most sorcerers, Sladian's had been toned and shaped by constant battle, both physical and otherwise, and the healthy food he had eaten into this masterpiece of a male specimen. His face had lost all baby fat that some nobles still had at his age and was angled slightly, giving him a mature look. That combined with his golden eyes, gave him the look of someone far older than his 19 years of age. His shoulders and arms were slim, but obviously muscular by the way they flexed as he moved. His chest was hidden by the armor but her millennia of life had made Selene a master of observation and she picked up the subtle clues that told her that his stomach was an eight-pack, probably due to his training regimen and keeping himself in shape from a young age.

It was his legs though, that caught most of Selene's attention, the two extensions of the man before her seemed to be made of steel as his muscles flexed and moved while he shifted from his position, not an ounce of fat having accumulated on them. His back was probably just as sculpted but probably more like his arms than his legs. All in all, Sladian's body seemed perfect for strength and speed. The body of what a king should truly look like.

Sladian was in a similar state as Selene as he took in the sight of her body. Her armor seemed to be made of some form of animal leather which covered her breasts while having an opening down the middle up to her navel, allowing a glimpse of her cleavage. Sladian could now confirm her as being a D-cup if not a DD-cup and could honestly say she had the biggest rack he had ever seen. Her armor was tied behind her neck and also held by some metal shoulder pauldrons. On the bottom, she had a leather skirt but instead of going around like Sladian's, it only covered her directly in front and back, while leaving the sides bare to see her beautiful legs as well as allowing full range of movement. Her legs were even more attractive than he had thought, being toned without a hint overt fat while still having plenty of curves in the right places. She also had leather vambraces that doubled as gloves, allowing Sladian to see that while her shoulders and arms were slim, with not much muscle being overtly shown, there obviously was as shown when she flexed them under the small layer of fat that coated her body.

Sladian took in her helmet with a raised eyebrow. Selene had tied her hair in a braid behind her back before wrapping it around her neck so it couldn't be used against her. Her helmet was a normal leather helmet but it had a quarter moon etched in silver on the crown of the forehead. Sladian then saw that she had a round shield similar to his except it had to half-circle openings on either end of the shield and wondered what they were for before thinking it irrelevant.

All in all, Sladian could see that the armor allowed protection in the necessary places while still useful as a distraction technique on less focused enemies, whether male or female.

Sladian was the first to come to himself and smiled at Selene who also shook herself from her stupor. "So... how should we do this? Magic, no magic? Wooden swords or the real thing?"

Selene smiled as she drew a gladius from the inside of her shield. "Gladius and shield. No magic. Just pure skill. We'll fight till first blood. Unless, of course, you're afraid of getting cut by a woman? I'd understand if you are. God knows you men are so delicate."

Sladian gave her a challenging stare and unbuckled Líthi and placed him against a tree before unsheathing his gladius and getting into a ready stance. "Don't worry. You'll find I'm much less delicate than other men."

Selene smiled and got into her own stance which was shield forward and gladius at the ready.

The two circled each other for a bit as they tried to find any flaws in each other's forms. Selene's was low to the ground, almost like a tiger circling its prey while Sladian's was loose, seemingly defenseless but actually in a position to defend against all angles with barely a moment's notice.

Everything froze for a moment and then the two warriors dashed at each other. Selene attacked with lethal grace, probing Sladian's defenses with her gladius while smashing into his shield with her own. Sladian held his ground and deflected Selene's probes with masterful skill while making his own probes into her defenses. The two warriors stepped back and started to circle each other once more.

The spar continued for over two hours, neither backing down nor giving ground. Selene's style was much like the way she walked, graceful and deadly. Similar to a lion or panther stalking dangerous prey, with lightning fast jabs and slashes while still being quick enough to pull up her shield in time as well as use it as another weapon from time to time. Sladian's style revolved around speed as well, but he was more likely to dodge or deflect an attack than block it.

As the spar continued, Sladian felt a smile slowly cross his face as more of the old Slade resurfaced. He had always enjoyed a good spar against someone as strong if not stronger than him. The last four years has soured that because every fight he'd been in had always been a fight to the death. Now, however, he could fight without fear purely for the joy of fighting. He still had his guard up in case it was a trick but after two hours of back and forth, he was truly enjoying the spar.

Selene was in much the same boat. All her life, she'd been looked down upon for being a woman and because of her great beauty. Men thought that because she was beautiful, she was too delicate for any real work. The only fights she'd ever been in were against either soldiers who didn't know how to take no for an answer or against sorcerers who didn't know their place. Both were easily killed through magic for the former and physical strength for the latter. She had never fought someone with master-level skill in both areas and it was exciting.

Selene suddenly jumped and used the momentum given by gravity and her own considerable strength to impale her gladius toward Sladian's shield.

Sladian was so surprised that he barely blocked it and felt the blow reverberate in his bones from the sheer strength behind the blow. Sladian used the force of the blow to spin on his heels and slash at Selene while she was off-balance but she managed to block it with her gladius in time.

The tempo of the fight slowly changed as both fighters started to use more and more complicated maneuvers in order to win the spar. Both fighters using both shield and sword to attack and defend, neither managing to land a decisive hit. Eventually, Sladian learned what the half-circles on Selene's shield were for.

Sladian stabbed at Selene and rather than block or dodge it, Selene caught in the space between her body and her shield. She then latched onto his wrist and twisted the shield so that his arm was being bent at the wrong angle while stuck inside the half-circle. Sladian gritted his teeth as he held on to his sword and used his shield to block Selene's attacks.

Eventually, Sladian managed to escape the vice grip she had on his wrist and retreat slightly. Sladian threw his shield aside and smirked when Selene did the same, both deciding to rely on their own skill with a sword rather than a shield.

The two fighters clashed once more, this time using speed and skill to dodge slashes and blows instead of a shield. The difference became quickly apparent when Sladian used his superior speed to dodge all of Selene's attacks instead of block them. However, Selene kept her calm and continued to push Sladian back as maneuvered her toward the stream.

They eventually started to fight on the stream's banks, the sound of swords clashing reverberating through the clearing. Neither was willing to give an inch, knowing that the spar was about to end one way or another.

Sladian deflected another of Selene's slashes and tried to stab her when Selene caught his hand in a hold using her left elbow. However, Sladian was ready for this and when Selene tried to use the chance to slash at him with her gladius, and therefore end the fight, Sladian rushed forward and literally tackled her to the ground.

Selene was caught off-guard by the unexpected move and her gladius was thrown out of her hand as she was pushed to the ground with Sladian on top. Sladian's gladius also fell from his hand as they fell and the two wrestled on the floor for a while before simultaneously reaching for their blades.

Both reached their fallen blade at the same time and quickly had their blades at each other's throats.

Selene was panting in exhaustion from the fight as she felt the prick of Sladian's blade on her neck. Despite this, Selene had never been so aroused. The fight had gotten her blood pumping from the sheer exhilaration of fighting someone who was both strong enough to match her despite having millennia of practice and skill and respected her enough not to hold back. Another thing was the fact that he was on top of her made her sense his life-force again and it aroused her to no end. If she could compare it to anything it would be like seeing a lake of crystal clear water in the middle of a desert after walking through it for weeks. She just knew there was no way she could absorb all of it or even a fraction of it even if she fasted for years.

The last but no less important reason for her current arousal was the position they were in. When they fell, Sladian fell on top of her and in between her legs. Needless to say, she could say that he was just as aroused as she was. Feeling the length of his arousal, Selene could honestly say that she never wanted to be ravished in the middle of a clearing like a cheap whore so much in her life. Selene had completely forgotten about her original mission to kill him and dropped her gladius which had been at his neck and started to rub Sladian's sides up and down, causing him to shiver in arousal.

Sladian was in similar straits. He could feel Selene's wetness through the leather trousers beneath his leather skirt armor. He could also say with certainty that Selene did not have similar undergarments under her fur skirt. The sweat from the spar caused Selene's face to glisten much like her eyes were, telling him that she felt just as aroused as did. It took all of Sladian's willpower to stop himself from glancing at her glistening bosom and from the small smile on her lips, Selene obviously knew it. When she stopped rubbing his sides and started to instead grind onto his erection, Sladian almost broke down and ravished her right there and then.

However, just as he was about to break, an image of Jean in a similar position flashed through his mind and he jumped off Selene in shock. He didn't miss the flash of hurt and disappointment that crossed Selene's face before she hid it behind a polite smile.

"Well, I guess it's a draw, huh Sladian?" said Selene in a carefully neutral voice. She stood up and brushed off the dirt on her armor as well as moved it back into place to hide everything important. She used this opportunity to bury the feelings of rejection she felt and what they meant deep inside before smiling back up at Sladian.

Sladian calmed his racing heart and hid his confusion as to why he thought of Jean right at that moment before returning Selene's smile with a strained one of his own. "Yes, it was. I truly enjoyed it. You are, without a doubt, a masterful swordswoman."

Selene gave him a small genuine smile at the compliment. "Thank you. I have trained a long time to gain my skills and it's nice to be appreciated. Now if you don't mind I usually use the stream to bathe myself of sweat before returning and I can't do that with you here."

Trying to hide the effect the image of her bathing in the clearing gave him, Sladian gave her a small bow. "Thank you for the spar, my Lady. I hope to see you again."

Sladian walked toward Catastros and started to untie him from the tree when he heard Selene call out to him.

"Sladian! Perhaps... we should have another spar tomorrow? Just to keep our skills sharp?" Despite her best efforts, her voice shook slightly at the idea that he might turn her down. Selene tried to convince herself that she was only doing this to make him trust her but wasn't completely successful in the attempt.

Sladian perked up at the request and smiled warmly at her. "Sure. We'll meet here tomorrow morning then?"

Selene heart rose and she nodded happily. "Tomorrow morning it'll be then."

---

One week and a half later, night of the Diadem Moon; Selene's residence

Selene fussed over her appearance in the mirror as she waited for Sladian to arrive for the party.

The last week and a half had been one of the best Selene could remember. After their near copulation that first morning in the clearing, Sladian had been a complete gentlemen outside of the sparring arena. This frustrated Selene at times because every spar would end with both of them an inch from screwing like rabbits in the middle of the field before he would step back and change the subject.

When she confronted on him the other day, he said she deserved better than to be taken on the field like a common whore. A part of her was touched by his nobility. Over her millennia of existence she had come to see that most men talk pretty but most would have taken her by force if they had been in a similar position. The fact that Sladian held back because he thought she deserved better and not because he wasn't attracted to her only made him better in her eyes.

However, another part of her was sexually frustrated at his nobility and wanted nothing more than to push him onto the floor and ride him like a horse till they were both satiated. Only the thought of what he'd think of her afterwards stopped her.

Selene paused at that thought and silently chastised herself. She was supposed to be seducing him not the other way around! What was she, some love-sick maiden? She had seduced and strung along hundreds if not thousands of men in her millennia of existence. This should be no different.

'But it is,' said a small voice in the back of Selene's mind. 'It's different because unlike the others he truly cares about you.'

Selene bit her lip as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was true, after all. Despite the fact that she had strung along hundreds of men before, none of them had ever actually cared for her beyond her physical beauty. Did they want her to be safe? Yes, but only because they didn't want to lose their trophy wife that they would show off at parties as they tried to rise up the social ladder. Did they take care of her needs? Yes, she never wanted for sustenance or clothing. In terms of physical needs, they tended to care more for their lusts than her needs and she was often left wanting. All in all, all the men she had seduced never made any emotional connection with her and treated her like one would a particularly well-bred dog. Seen but never heard. This made it easy for her to kill them once their usefulness had run out. In fact, one man specifically she had happily drained when he tried to sell her out to his friends in order to climb the social ladder.

Needless to say, none of the men left alive that day and the case of how the house burned down killing everyone inside was never solved.

Sladian, however, genuinely cared for her opinion. Over the last week and a half Sladian had asked about her past which was something no one had ever asked Selene about beyond whether she came from money or not. She had given a version of the truth, saying she originally came from a poor village in the north and after a disaster that killed most of the people on her village, she moved south until she met a kind man that took her in. That was the truth, more or less. She just didn't mention that this was over 15,000 years ago or that the 'disaster' was her or that the man that took her in tried to rape her when she was fifteen only for her to drain him of his life force in retaliation.

Sladian had shown genuine sorrow at the loss of her mother and that, more than anything, showed Selene that Sladian was much too good for a dark soul like her. Despite this, she continued to see him and they became closer over the week. People gossiped that he was courting her and that the "Black Rose of Constantinople" had finally found a suitor. Selene had laughed herself hoarse when the normally unflappable Sladian had blushed like a schoolboy and tried to deny it only for Selene to confirm it, causing his jaw to drop in shock.

After that, things had taken a much more romantic tone and he had done his best to spoil her. The fact that he never tried to push his boundaries despite many obvious and not so obvious invitations from Selene herself only endeared him to her more. The fact that most of their conversations were debates on the nature of magic and the superiority of one class of magic over another only made it better. The only ones she had ever had that kind of debate with were Circe and Morwen and both women hated to debate. Debates had been the main reason Selene had joined the Senate, even if it was as a stand-in for her dead "father" until she got married. There was something about debating over important issues that sent a thrill down Selene's spine.

Selene shook herself and blushed when she realized she had been daydreaming for over half an hour and after a final check on how she looked, she left to greet her guests in the atrium. They would all gather there until everyone had arrived and then move into the dining room to eat before moving to the exhedra to talk. Before entering the atrium, Selene buried her confusing feelings and put up her cold, calculating mask so that none of the people in the atrium could use her feelings against her.

As Selene entered the atrium, she looked around and saw Circe laughing with an attractive Egyptian woman dressed in a form-fitting white dress with a blue trim and a man dressed in expensive and elegant clothing of the new Byzantine style with a noose around his throat.

The woman was of obvious Egyptian descent with the same nose and facial features of the people. She had brown hair that was loose yet still ordered in a way. She had light brown eyes that flickered with an inner darkness that Selene recognized. The woman had a slim yet still attractive body that unlike her or even Circe, had no hint of muscle anywhere on it. Her voice was melodic with a seductive undertone, the voice of a seductress much like Circe's voice when she was trying to seduce somebody. She projected an amused demeanor which was probably from the fact that the man standing with them would like nothing more than to kill her but couldn't since Constantinople was neutral territory for fallen angels.

The man was of average height and build, with strong and handsome features, and appears to be around 40 at most. He had dark eyes and short dark hair with hints of silver. He speaks with an accent similar to Sladian's and had a mellow, and surprisingly deep voice. The voice of a politician and master manipulator. He seemed to project a calm and vaguely amused demeanor that hid the calculating ruthlessness Selene knew he was capable of.

Selene recognized the woman as the latest host of the fallen angel Lasciel and the man as the so-called 'leader of the Fallen', Nicodemus. Selene raised an eyebrow in question when she caught Circe's eye and Circe excused herself before walking over to Selene.

Circe looked over Selene's royal blue dress with silver accents with approval. "Excellent. That dress is the exact shade associated with marriage in the time this ritual was performed. You look good enough to eat, Selene. Seducing him to bed should be cakewalk for you."

Selene pretended not to care about her words even as the reminder that this was all supposed to be a trap disquieted her. "What are Nicodemus and Lasciel doing here? They weren't originally invited."

Circe smirked. "No, but they were in the neighborhood and I invited them. Lasciel is here as my guest and she'll be leaving Constantinople tomorrow. As for Nicky, I told him about our plan and he's interested in helping. He stands to gain from Sladian's death as well and he's willing to lend Magog, Abaddon and Namshiel to make sure the ritual runs smoothly. He's also willing to help me with getting him to cheat on you with me. From what you've said of Sladian, he doesn't seem to be the type to cheat unless influenced so I'll need all the help I can get."

Selene eyed Nicodemus who gave her a polite smile before turning back to his argument with Lasciel. "And what does he want in return?"

Circe shrugged. "Just a chance to study Sladian's sword. He says he's interested in seeing what it's made of for some reason."

Selene studied Nicodemus discreetly through narrowed eyes. "Very well. But make sure he doesn't try to keep it. I don't trust a sword of that caliber in his hands."

Circe rolled her eyes. "Of course not. He'd probably use it against use at the first opportunity. God knows he's looking for the first opportunity to get rid of us. You know how those fallen hate having to bow to our authority despite our greater power."

Selene nodded in agreement before looking around to see who had arrived.

Selene saw the roman magical council standing to the side chatting amicably and Selene mentally pat herself on the back for casting the neutral ground spell on the house. It makes it so no one in the house can attack each other or even sense the other's magical auras. As far as anyone who entered the house sensed, everyone in the house had a neutral alignment no matter who they were. Only active spell-casting would reveal their true alignment and the other part of her spell which restricted them from doing so made it so the dark sorcerers in attendance would never be found out.

Speaking of dark sorcerers, Selene caught sight of Morwen talking to Herpo in the corner. By the cruel smile on both their faces, he seemed to have agreed to take part in the ritual.

Herpo looked like a man in his 60s with white hair, pale skin and yellow eyes that he hid with an illusion to seem a murky brown. He carried a staff that had the shape of a serpent's head on top and Selene shuddered as she remembered what was hidden in it. Herpo was around 1,500 years old, having been born during the time known as the Greek Dark Ages. In his quest for more power and knowledge, he had created what was known as a Horcrux. Many believe it is a piece of the caster's soul lodged into an object but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Nothing except perhaps the Almighty himself can break or cut up a soul. It could be bludgeoned, twisted and tortured but never broken. What the Horcrux does is create an anchor to keep the soul from crossing over. It does this by creating an echo of the original soul at the time of creation. This echo works to both protect the Horcrux itself from harm and to call back the original soul before it crosses over. The soul would return to the horcrux where it would possess the nearest living thing. Once it did this, it would use up the horcrux's 'charge' so to speak to refashion the possessed body to resemble the original one. The now reborn magical could then create another horcrux anchor at his whim and move on.

Selene was disgusted at the creation of these things for several reasons. The ritual to create one involved 'bathing in the sins of man', which obviously involved raping pure virgins at some point. Furthermore, the stress of creating an echo of one's soul at the moment of creation and maintaining it from afar caused the one who created it much mental stress. There were times when Herpo seemed an inch away from attacking everyone around him from the mental stress. Selene couldn't imagine how someone who created more than one horcrux would be like.

'Probably a deranged lunatic with no sense of decency and a host of mental problems,' thought Selene disdainfully.

Across time and space, a man known as Voldemort, who was currently in spirit form, sneezed causing the snake he was going to possess to escape.

Voldemort yelled in anger and swore to maim and kill whoever was talking about him at the moment.

Right after he visited his father's grave to gloat over his superiority.

In his mind, it was worth the 5-day trip to get there.

Selene sighed and started to make small talk while watching the door, waiting for Sladian to arrive.

At that very moment, the man in question was trying and failing to find a way to hide the silver streaks in his hair. While the magical adoption ritual his father had cast over him had caused his hair to lose its previous messy state over the years, he had gained his distinctive silver streaks along the sides of his head.

Normally, Sladian wouldn't care that much about them but tonight he wanted to look his best since he would be meeting Selene's closest friends as well as Selene herself.

Sladian sighed as he gave it up for a lost cause and thought about the last week and a half with Selene.

Ever since his almost ravishing of Selene that first day that was only stopped by thinking of Jean, Sladian had been thinking of why he thought of Jean that day. Selene looked nothing like Jean. In fact, the Griffin girl he slept with three years ago looked more like Jean than Selene.

When Selene revealed she had slight telepathic powers, Sladian thought that was the reason why. However, as time passed and he became closer to Selene he started to realize that wasn't the complete truth.

The truth was he was starting to fall for the dark-haired sorceress with a mysterious past.

Most times, Selene presented a confident face to the world that told everyone that she didn't care for their opinions on her actions. However, there were times she let down her mask around Sladian. In those moments, Sladian saw a woman who was desperately trying to find a meaning in her existence beyond her current goals. They seemed so old that Sladian felt like a child (Ionic because he is technically older than anyone else in the room) before her yet at the same time... Infinitely wiser.

Those moments had become more and more common as the week progressed until she spent most of her time with him with her mask down. Something that Sladian noticed made her uncomfortable and vulnerable.

As time passed, Sladian realized that the reason he thought of Jean when he was about to sleep with Selene was because of the difference between Selene and the other women he had slept with. Unlike the women Sladian had slept with who had been nothing more than bodies to chase away the nightmares and cold of the night and who he had felt at most only lust and mild affection for, Sladian truly cared for Selene.

There was an emotional connection with Selene that hadn't been present with the other women and he knew that if he slept with her, it would mean more than just sex. This was something Sladian had been avoiding ever since he arrived in this point in time. He didn't want to make emotional connections or it would be that much harder when he left to his own time.

Worse still was that if he went further with Selene he could easily himself falling in love with her. Selene and he just clicked in a way that was both terrifying and exciting to Sladian. It reminded him who he used to be and slowly wore away at the mask of 'Sladian' he had been wearing for over 4 years. He knew that if he decided to pursue a relationship with Selene he would be unable to leave without her which would mean abandoning the people of his own time.

This was due to the fact that the way Sladian traveled through time wasn't through a spell, which could be adjusted to allow more than one person to use, but through Runic Mastery of Fate/Kaleidoscope. Sladian had a sneaking suspicion that he was meant to be in this time and that was the reason he had been trapped here despite the fact that he had mostly mastered Space-Time magic. This meant that since Sladian wasn't from this time he could eventually return to his own time the same age he was when he left.

However, Selene was from this time and he had no idea what effect taking her to his time could have. The moment she arrived, time could try to correct the 'error' it made in Selene's age and age her instantly, therefore killing her. If that happened, Sladian would never be able to forgive himself. The only way around it would be to teach her how to master the Fate/Kaleidoscope rune which could take years for her to master. He doubted she would have the same prodigy-level skill he had with runes.

Basically, it would end up with making a choice between Selene and Jean. If he decided to pursue a relationship with Selene then he knew he would commit himself 110% and be unable to leave her. That would mean abandoning Jean and Wanda in his own time. Either way, someone would get their heart broken because he had no illusions that Selene didn't feel the same way. The only question was this:

What did Slade, not Sladian, want?

Sladian sighed and checked himself over one last time before leaving his house and locking it behind him. As he walked toward Selene's residence, he tried to think about what he should do but only came up with thinking about it later.

Sladian knocked on the door of Selene's residence and waited for someone to answer. The door opened, revealing Selene in a beautiful royal blue Byzantine dress with silver accents. The dress was form-fitting and highlighted every one of Selene's magnificent curves. Sladian had to control himself in order to stop himself from drooling at the sight.

Selene seemed to notice if the small, satisfied smile on her face was any indication. "Sladian. I'm so glad you came."

Sladian couldn't but smile at Selene and planted a kiss on her cheek, a recent way of greeting between Sladian and Selene. "I wouldn't have left you alone with those vultures of the council once you told me they were coming. I have no doubt you could have handled them but I would have never have forgiven myself for leaving alone with them."

Selene gave him a wry smile and she hooked her right hand through his left as they walked through the vestibulum and into the atrium.

As they entered the atrium, Sladian took in the sight of the council members talking amongst themselves in the corner with a neutral look on his face. Sladian didn't trust any of them as far as he could throw a mountain with his physical strength alone. They were all greedy, self-entitled pompous bastards that would betray their own child for more power. In fact, Sladian had heard rumors that a few of them had done exactly that.

Sladian studied the rest of the people gathered and saw Circe talking with an average-looking man with a noose around his neck in a way reminiscent of a tie and a fairly attractive Egyptian looking woman. Beyond them was Morwen talking silently with an old man with a strange staff that had a snake motif on top.

Sladian reached out with his senses but found no hostility or maliciousness from anyone present so relaxed his guard slightly.

Selene sensed him relaxing and squeezed his forearm slightly with an encouraging smile before turning to her guests. "My date for the night is here so we can turn to eat in the dining room. May I present to you, Sladian Invictus."

Everyone turned at her announcement and Sladian kept a polite smile on his face and protected his mind as he greeted everyone. They returned the greeting politely and although he knew he could summon his swords at a moment's notice, Sladian wished he had their comforting weight on his hips. The way these people studied him instantly had his guard up. The only exceptions were Selene's soft gaze that held...something in their depths and Circe and the woman standing with her. The latter two were looking at him with a familiar gaze of a woman having found an attractive man they wish to bed.

With a sigh, Sladian was glad for Selene's presence because it seemed as if it was going to be a long night.

---

Two hours later, after dinner.

The group had retired to the exhedra to talk for a while. The meal had been exquisite and Sladian had detected nothing hidden within it so had eaten with relish. Sladian had spent most of the meal chatting with Selene and was happy that he managed to keep a genuine smile on her face for most of the night. Sladian had found himself protective of Selene, especially when he caught a few of the council members staring at her lustfully. A glare from him had caused them to back down fearfully, however, much to Selene's amusement.

Sladian sat himself on a reclining chair and absently wrapped an arm around Selene's waist as she on the arm of the chair and leaned against him. Neither of them noticed how natural the position felt nor how they had done it subconsciously.

A few of the older council members had begged off to retire for the night but 5 of the 8 who had come stayed as well as the man who had introduced himself as Nicodemus, the Egyptian woman named Lasciel as well as the man who introduced himself as Herpo. The name Herpo rang a bell but the only thing Sladian could think of was Herpo the Foul who died over a millennia ago. Sladian knew it couldn't be him since he was dead so filed it away for later study.

Circe sat beside her friend Lasciel to Sladian's left while Morwen sat beside Herpo across from Sladian. To Morwen's left was Nicodemus and the council members filled in the space in between to complete the circle.

Nicodemus was the first to break the ice with a polite smile to Sladian. "So you are Sladian Invictus, huh? Word of your victories, both in the arena and on the battlefield has reached most of the civilized world and everyone agrees that if it wasn't for your lack of noble birth you would be made consul already." Nicodemus's eyes flashed to Selene and he smiled knowingly. "Unless, of course, you are planning to become noble by marriage."

Sladian felt Selene tense at the barb directed at her saying she was basically selling herself to Sladian so he could gain nobility. Sladian hoped she didn't think that was why he liked her and gave her a reassuring squeeze that caused her to relax slightly.

Sladian turned back to Nicodemus and just smiled politely even as his eyes turned slightly frosty. "I believe Selene has done wonderfully as consul in her father's absence and I hope she stays consul for many years to come. Regardless of any future plans."

Nicodemus nodded politely and gave an apologizing smile. "My apologies. I didn't mean to offend. I only wished to inquire as to the nature of your and Selene's relationship. It is not often that the 'Black Rose of Constantinople' allows herself to get so close to a man. Many believed she would live out her days a widow."

Selene smiled coldly at Nicodemus even as her eyes flashed in warning. "Well, we never know what the future may bring. As for my association with men... well, it's simply because I have, until now, never met a man who had the strength, wisdom and courage to stand beside me. Sladian has all in spades."

Selene smiled to herself as she saw Nicodemus eyes flash in anger and his shadow almost lose control of itself and alert Sladian to its true nature. Nicodemus had tried to use Selene's body as a host for one his brethren around 200 years ago and Selene had easily escaped the Fallen's trap. She had then contemptuously smacked him around to establish her superiority and threatening him with throwing his coin into the sea under a spell that would make it so no one will ever find it if he ever attempted something like that again. His pride had made it so he would never forgive her while his calculating side understood that she was stronger and to not challenge her again.

Beside her, Sladian also caught the flash of anger in Nicodemus's eyes and had to hide a smirk. This was one of the reasons he was so attracted to Selene. She took no shit from anyone and didn't need anyone to protect her.

Circe spoke next, looking Sladian over like a hungry tiger salivating over a raw steak. "Yes, the quality of the men has certainly improved this past week."

Sladian simply smiled politely as he felt Selene's jealousy at her words and look and her grip became slightly more possessive as she smiled coldly at her promiscuous friend. Sladian gave her a reassuring squeeze as if to tell her he only had eyes for her which caused her to relax.

It was moments like these that made Sladian question whether he still had a choice about falling for Selene or whether he was deluding himself and had already fallen. The way they subconsciously acted as if they were already together had become more and more evident during the week and Sladian wondered if she felt the same.

The topic changed to the political atmosphere and the laws to be passed as time passed. Eventually, the topic turned to the current relations between magicals.

"I'm telling you that things have never been more precarious between magicals!" yelled a silver-haired council member named Aquila. "We're decades away from civil war unless we find a way to curb the more extremist mages!"

Herpo interjected his own opinion at that point. "How would you do that? Would you pass laws that outlaw certain kinds of magic? Would you restrict what they could learn? They would rebel at the first sign of that happening! Magic is meant to be explored. For its boundaries to be testes and expanded!"

"It depends on what direction you're expanding in," cut in Sladian.

Herpo turned to Sladian with a vaguely contemptuous look. "What do you mean?"

Sladian stared Herpo and the others down as he spoke. "What I mean is that you're right that magic is meant to be explored and expanded upon. However, there are some directions that magic is not meant to be expanded upon. There is a darker side to magic. Any learned sorcerer and magic-user know that to use magic is to walk with death. We are quite literally bending reality to our whims every time we cast a spell and by doing so, risk death with every word. This is the price we pay for our power and we pay it knowingly. Magics that expand into ways to escape death are always... foolish and destructive in the extreme. Studies into those areas always end in nothing but death for all those involved and tend to blacken the land they're performed upon for decades to come."

Herpo looked at him with a strange gleam in his eye as he spoke. "Some would say that the end justifies the means."

Sladian looked at him sharply as his eyes became cold. "The end never justifies the means."

Nicodemus cleared his throat as the air became tense and spoke. "On that note, what is your opinion on these so-called Fallen angels that are walking around? It's hard to believe that even fallen angels would stoop so low as to possess us humans."

Sladian just smiled as he hugged Selene closer to himself, causing her to lean on him more. "You shouldn't be. All angels, whether fallen or not, are jealous of humanity. We have something they do not but wish they did."

Nicodemus made a dismissing gesture. "Yes, free will. Big deal."

However, Sladian shook his head with a knowing grin. "If they did not have free will, there would be no fallen angels now would there? No. What we have... is infinitely greater as well as unique in Creation."

Nicodemus cocked an eyebrow and even his shadows seemed to darken slightly as if knowing what he spoke of. "And what's that?"

Sladian just smiled indulgently and waved him off. "Oh, I'll keep that to myself. But suffice it to say, that it was enough to make even a normally moral archangel like Lucifer fall from grace in envy."

The room was quiet at his words before another council member named Tullianos spoke. "That still doesn't solve the problem of how to go around implementing it. We can say that we wish to make certain things illegal all we want but it doesn't mean it'll work. There are many who will rebel against the idea."

Sladian nodded his head in agreement. "Yes. But those that rebel have to be brought to justice and if necessary, killed." Sladian inwardly frowned as he felt Selene tense slightly beside him and hugged her to him to say he didn't include her in the latter group.

Tullianos seemed shocked at his words. "K-Killed? Surely we don't have to go so far, do we? Taking them in and punishing them should be enough."

Sladian looked at him with steely eyes. "Sometimes bringing them in isn't enough. I'm not saying to punish them for past deeds but once the laws are implemented they must be followed. A soft hand in protecting them will only encourage more to break them. An example must be made of those who would break the laws that we will not tolerate it under anything but the most extreme circumstances. We can make one or two exceptions but a hard hand is sometimes necessary to protect the many from the few."

Lasciel, who had been quite during most of the debate, spoke up. "But isn't killing itself against one of your laws? Doesn't make you hypocritical?"

"Sometimes you have to break the law in order to protect it," retorted Sladian firmly. "Death should only be under the most extreme of circumstances but sometimes it is inevitable. There are those who would play with the fabric of the world in ways that endanger us all. That cannot be tolerated or else we all risk destruction."

Nicodemus spoke up next. "But won't that conflict with the laws of this empire as well? That would cause conflict between the magical and non-magical elements, no?"

Sladian shook his head in exasperation. "And that brings us to the second problem. Magicals should not be ruled under a non-magical government. The worlds are too different, too distinct to allow us to mesh cohesively. It's just asking for something to happen that will lead to civil war. Not to mention that we're divided amongst ourselves even more by our nationality. We have enough problems without fighting amongst ourselves due to one's nation warring against another's. The battles I had with enemy sorcerers are a fine example. That kind of battle shouldn't be so common and for so petty a reason as 'my nation ordered it'. Magicals should govern themselves independent of non-magical authority."

Nicodemus studied him intensively. "A radical proposal for a radical time. Perhaps it would work."

Sladian shrugged. "Perhaps."

The conversation turned to less tense topics and before long everyone except Sladian, Selene, Morwen and Circe had left. Morwen had said she was planning on staying with a friend to discuss some things and so left the three alone.

Circe turned around and smiled at Selene. "Well, I have to go and take care of some things. I'll leave you two alone to talk."

Selene smiled and said goodbye, leaving Sladian and Selene alone at last. Sladian wandered toward the peristylium while Selene locked the house down, for some reason getting nervous as she did so.

Selene took a deep breath and steadied her nerves for what she had to do. She tried to convince herself that she was nervous because of the danger of being caught and not because she was getting married to Sladian without much success. She had been married dozens of times before so why should this be any different?

Selene turned around and was struck speechless by the sight before her. Sladian was standing in the center of the peristylium looking up at the stars with the light of the Diamond Moon shining on him. The way the moon hit his face made him seem almost royal and ethereal to her and for a moment, Selene was struck by the knowledge that, whether he knew it or not, within a few hours they would be man and wife.

A part of Selene that she had buried deep down inside was ashamed at the way she was going about it but she quickly pushed it down. Selene saw a white rose with a few thorns and grabbed it in preparation of what was to come. Taking a deep breath, Selene walked to Sladian and wrapped her right arm around his left, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Selene smiled at him, causing him to return it with a small one of his own. "What are you thinking about, Sladian?"

Sladian sighed. "Just about what happened earlier with Nicodemus and Tullianos. It's people like them that make it hard for real change to happen. Everyone knows what we have to do but are too used to the status quo to do anything about it."

Selene cocked an eyebrow in question. "And what do you want to do?"

Sladian turned to her and looked her in the eye with a gaze that took her breath away. "I want to create a world where someone can study magic without fear. Where magic is a gift freely shared amongst ourselves and not hoarded like treasure amongst a few. I want a world where wars like the one I fought in are a rarity and magicals don't have to fight amongst ourselves in that way for dumb reasons." Sladian sighed and smiled sadly. "In short, I dream of a better world."

Selene was touched by his words but couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle. "A person like me doesn't belong in that kind of world."

Sladian looked at Selene with a deep look in his eyes. "And why do you say that, Selene? I believe you more than anything deserve to live in a world like that."

Selene unwrapped herself from Sladian and turned away. "You say that because you don't know what I've done. The things I had to do in order to survive this harsh world."

Selene was sure Sladian would demand to know what she spoke about and once he knew he would turn his back on her and leave her just like everyone she ever loved had.

Instead, she felt him walk up behind her and embrace her from behind, his hands resting on her stomach making her lean into him. "I don't know what you've done, Selene. Considering some of the things I've done they must be bad. However, I believe everyone can change. All it takes is the will and want to do it."

Selene turned around and looked into Sladian's eyes, losing herself in the deep pools of golden amber, a part of her hoping what he said was true. "Really?"

Sladian smiled and leaned closer before whispering. "Really."

The two magicals stared at each other for a moment before leaning in into a soft kiss. Slowly, almost hesitantly, the kiss became more and more passionate until eventually Selene had her arms wrapped around his neck and Sladian was pushing her as close to him as possible.

Selene forgot all about her ambitions to become a goddess, she forgot about her past and she forgot about the sins that haunted her every time she closed her eyes. All she thought about right now was the softness of Sladian's lips, the love she saw in his eyes and the feel of his hardness against her core that was rapidly becoming wet in arousal.

In her lust, Selene gripped the white rose in her right hand too tightly and one of the thorns pricked her thumb, drawing blood. The feeling of pain brought a small cry from her lips, drawing Sladian's attention.

Selene internally chastised herself for crying in pain for such a simple prick and interrupting their kiss when her breath caught at Sladian's next action.

Sladian brought her thumb to his lips and gently sucked the blood from the wound. As he did it, he never lowered his eyes from hers, showing her his arousal and the growing love in his eyes.

Selene shuddered from the force of the feelings she was feeling and witnessing in Sladian's eyes. Any and all thoughts of killing Sladian instantly left her mind and loyalty and love took its place. The moment he let go of her thumb, Selene leaned forward and drew him into another passionate kiss.

The two continued to kiss passionately before air became a necessity and they broke apart. Selene took deep breaths and made no attempt to cover herself when she noticed that her dress has caused more of her skin to be shown. She felt a small thrill of satisfaction as she saw his eyes be drawn almost magnetically to the parts of skin shown. He hadn't acted that way with Circe or even Lasciel and they had been dressed much more provocatively. It filled her with feminine pride that she could make him act that way.

Taking a deep breath and steadying her nerves, Selene asked the question that for some reason she knew would change everything. "Can you- can you stay the night?"

Sladian looked at her, torn about what he should do. A part of him wanted to say no, stay faithful to Jean and find a way back to his time. The logical part of him told him that making connections would only make saying goodbye that much harder and that he shouldn't. It told him that he barely knew her and for all he knew this could all be an elaborate plan to get him to lower his guard and kill him. Most of her friends were obviously dark mages and the things she said before pointed to her being the same.

However, Sladian caught sight of Selene's eyes. He saw the vulnerability and love in them and somehow he instinctively knew that regardless of whether that was true or not, she truly and sincerely cared for him. Maybe even loved him. It was made more apparent by the fact that she never showed herself so openly before. And if he was honest with himself, he was falling for her as well. The question was whether he would allow himself to love her in return.

The part of old Slade that trusted people and loved freely that had been beaten down and hidden deep inside him stretched out its hand for one final chance in taking a leap of faith.

Sladian smiled at Selene and nodded. "Yes."

Selene gave him a beautiful smile in return, full of love and affection as she pulled him to her room.

---

Lemon start

Selene led Sladian into her room and stayed standing in front of her bed, wanting him to make the first move.

Selene felt Sladian step up behind her and slide his hands down her back and cup her rear through her dress. Her pussy was on fire as she felt a primal need to have Sladian inside of her. She felt his life force and shuddered in arousal. He was so alive, so intense. His every touch on her body sent jolts of pleasure throughout her being.

Sladian turned her around and brought into a passionate kiss that she eagerly reciprocated. As she massaged his tongue with her own, Selene pulled down the front of her dress before Sladian slipped it over her shoulders and down her body, leaving her naked as the day she was born. When he stood back up from pulling the dress off her feet Selene kissed him hungrily once more before beginning to work his clothes off as well. Once they were standing before each other with no clothing shielding each from the other's hungry gaze, Selene had to admit that she had never come across a finer example of the male species. Not once in her millennia of life had she found someone as utterly perfect as Sladian.

'And now he's all ours,' said a small, possessive voice in her head.

Reaching forward, Selene stroked his hard cock with a skilled hand. While it was true that she hadn't taken many sex partners in her millennia of life she had learned well from the ones she had. Now she was going to use every bit of what she'd learned to please this, the man that had somehow wormed his way into her heart in less than two weeks of meeting him.

With that thought in mind, she led him to sit on her bed, an idea in mind. She had done this a few times in her long life but only when she had no other choice to get what she wanted. This was the first time she did this of her own free will and desire.

"I haven't done this a lot so I might not be very good at it," said Selene as she sat on her knees before Sladian, "but something about you makes me want to try my best." She moved closer to his now proudly standing member and took a breath to take in his smell. "Dear God, you even smell good."

Sladian was beyond glad he had bathed before coming to the party or else she might be saying something completely different, meaning he'd miss out on what was to come.

She breathed deeply, her soft breath tickling the taught skin of his cock. Then her mouth parted and soft silken lips attached themselves to his shaft as she suckled up and down him with slow sure movements.

Sladian let out a breath through his nose, resting a hand on her long hair, riding her motion as she expertly mouthed up and down his length. She stopped sucking and teased the major vein along the base of his shaft until she reached his crown and supple lips spread themselves slowly and teasingly around it once more, spreading and becoming more pale as they did so, until his crown slipped into the intense heat of her beautiful mouth, her undulating tongue pleasuring him in ways that even Jean hadn't managed as it seemed to curl around his cock's head and tease the tight skin it was comprised of. It was a wonderfully erotic feeling and blew his mind for a moment, causing him to lean back for a moment and just ride the pleasurable wave of it.

Her hand was busy as she began to stroke him, slowly at first twisting to give more pleasure as it moved up and down his length, bringing him ever closer to nirvana. It was slow, it was sexy and it was intensely erotic. Despite his better judgment, Sladian couldn't help but compare her with Jean. Jean had been passionate and intense like a firestorm, as if she could never get enough of him. Selene was proving to be like a hurricane, slower to arrive but just as powerful and passionate. Her tongue slid around his member as she took him deeper into the intensity of her mouth, her full lips splaying around his girth. She took a breath through her nose and pushed forward slightly taking him even deeper until her tongue was lying flat on the underside of his manhood inside her mouth. Somehow she managed to make it undulate there; teasing him further into pleasurable heights and making him groan aloud and hold her hair a little tighter.

She was a natural Sladian had to admit, already he felt like he could burst and she had only just begun, of course it didn't hurt that he was looking down at the rather beautiful woman that had his manhood entrenched inside the heat of her pretty mouth. There was something amazingly beautiful to his eye for that. Selene was there to pleasure him, like it was her only wish in the world to give him pleasure and he could sense that about her. It filled Sladian with a deep sense of affection for her and he knew that something had changed between them and there was no going back.

"You realize that you are perhaps the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," groaned out Sladian. He was wondering where that had come from when molten chocolate eyes rolled up to meet his gaze and her cheeks imploded as she sucked just a little bit harder. His eyes seemed to cross for a moment but he held her gaze, her beautiful eyes locked onto his golden orbs for a long moment. It was an erotic sight as she kneeled before him like that, almost like she was worshipping him in some way and he had to admit it did his ego good. Jean had been a beautiful girl, but Selene was a grown woman with all the curves that came with it. There was a fair bit of intelligence lurking in those chocolate orbs and he had to admit he liked that about a woman, and while Jean had had an deviously perverted quality, Selene was pure erotica wrapped up in a drool worthy woman. Yes, he had to admit, he would love Jean to the day he died but there was something special going on here with Selene, something different in its entirety.

She pulled back, her lips caressing every millimeter of his shaft as she did so, her lips curving down across his crown until finally she was kissing the very tip of his cock. Then she pushed forward again, her lips splaying around his crown and sucking hard on it for a long moment. Sladian literally felt his knees going weak and a tinkling feeling grow in his balls, which she was still toying with. Then suddenly with no warning she was moving up and down his shaft with speed, her lips sliding all across him and slurping noises coming from where they were joined. Her saliva spread across his entire shaft as she bobbed up and down his length gaining depth with each repetition until finally she pushed forward one last time and took him as deep as she could, looking up at him with a devious look in her eyes. They were smiling at him in a knowing way, which told him she knew exactly what she was doing to him. Then to top it off she pushed a little further he felt the tightness of her throat and then she swallowed three times in quick succession, her eyes actually watering slightly with the effort of it.

With a silent roar, Sladian came down Selene's throat. The woman in question gulped down his seed, slightly disappointed that she didn't pull back in time to taste him. On the other hand, Selene was beyond happy that he so obviously enjoyed it and for the first time, she didn't mind doing it again at a later date.

When Sladian got his breath back, he stood up and brought Selene up with him before kissing her passionately. He ignored the fact that his cock and seed had just been in her mouth and just focused on the feel of her soft lips on his own. The passion she returned quickly revived what little he'd lost during his orgasm and he was back to full hardness.

Sladian ran his hands over Selene's flawless smooth back before sliding down to her luscious ass that had been teasing him every morning during their spars. He felt her shiver in his grasp at the pleasure he was sending her as his fingers slipped down further into her soaking honey pot. Selene ground her hips forward until her slit was rubbing up and down his hard length, causing him to groan in arousal at the feeling. She obviously needed him as badly as he wanted her because Selene quickly guided his cock to her soaking entrance. She didn't even notice that he had gently led her onto her back on her bed as his cock pressed through her nether lips and deep into her fiery core. Her sex gripped him tightly as she welcomed him home into her delicious body.

Selene couldn't help but gasp as Sladian's thick and long length split her insides open with one deep stroke. She winced in slight pain since it had been a long while since her last time as well as the fact that she had never had someone as big as him in her. The pain quickly left and she kissed her lover between gasps as he began to work his wonderful piece of meat in and out of her center. She felt his magic start to undulate like the ocean as he made love to her body. No, not to her body. To her. Sladian was making love to her, not just to her body and this made her feelings of affection and love grow even more.

His hips worked back and forth between her spread legs to stretch out her inner walls. Selene gripped Sladian's cock tightly and worked his length with her inner muscles which were enhanced with mutant strength. An idea came to her as he thrust into her and contemplated it seriously. Selene had never purposefully tried to suck a bit of her lover's life force while having sex because it meant an intimate bond that she had never shared with past lovers.

Selene normally had only two ways of sucking someone's life force: all of it at once or partially which turned the person into a psychic vampire like her only subservient to her will. However, when having sex their life forces were so entwined due to the act that if she sucked a bit of her lover's life force, it would create an intimate and unbreakable bond between the two. She had found out when she tried to suck a previous lover's life force during the act and felt the bond forming.

Luckily, the bond takes about two months after the act to fully form and cement and she could break it at any point beforehand. She had done so quickly the next day and felt nothing from the breaking of bond. Mostly because she felt nothing for him emotionally.

Already she could tell that Sladian was different. If she did the same to him, it would probably be permanent until one of them died.

Forgetting her mission and its planned consequences, Selene brought her lips down to Sladian's neck as she licked his delicious flesh slowly in preparation for what she was going to do.

As Sladian thrust into Selene, he felt her start to kiss his neck gently, drawing a moan from his lips. Suddenly, he felt her almost seem to inhale something from him, drawing a deep orgasmic moan from her lips. He felt nothing change in him but felt something pass between them as something started to form between their spirits. A few hard thrusts later, Sladian felt her cunt clamp down in violent orgasm as she was pushed over the edge. Sladian paused to let her grind her mound up against his pelvis while she rode out her orgasm.

Selene had never known so much pleasure as she did at that moment. Sladian's life force was the most intense thing she had ever felt let alone eaten. It was the most delicious life force she had ever tasted in her 15 millennia of life. She immediately came around his throbbing cock as she felt something fundamentally change inside of her. Selene felt more powerful than ever as she shook beneath Sladian's form in ecstasy. When she finally stopped convulsing in orgasm around Sladian's thick cock she looked up at her lover in wonder and amazement. It was the first time she had orgasmed before her lover and his stamina promised many more sweaty and satisfied nights to come.

"You ok?" Sladian asked with a gentle smile at the beauty pinned beneath him, welcoming him into her wonderful body.

"Yes. Better than ok," gasped Selene before hungrily kissing him.

Selene's teeth nipped at his bottom lip as Sladian began sliding his length through her folds once more, wetter now that they were coated with her orgasmic fluids. Selene pushed her mound up against his pelvis and ground her sparse coating of black pubic hair against him as she squeezed and clenched her vaginal muscles tightly around his length. Her strong body coated with soft flawless skin slid beneath and against him with repetitive grinding movements. Sladian inhaled her sweet scent and pushed himself back against her.

Selene wanted to give her lover as much pleasure as she possibly could after what he just did to her. She truly felt like a woman for the first time since... well, since ever, under Sladian's gorgeous form. She ran her fingers along his rippling back muscles as he worked his hips up and down to drive them between her inviting thighs. Selene had always been told her unblemished ivory skin made her even more attractive and if the way Sladian was licking down her flesh was any indication then she had to conclude that her complexion was indeed one of Sladian's favorite features. She arched her back and drove her mound harder along his deeply penetrating shaft as she felt Sladian suck hungrily at her left breast. When his teeth bit her breast around her nipple sending a slight jolt of pain through her body, Selene felt herself have another orgasm.

Sladian greedily sucked Selene's nipples as if he was trying to draw milk from them. He could feel his arousal increase with every passing moment he spent buried in this beauty's luscious body. She was writhing beneath him in orgasm as he continued to shaft her slick channel. Her scent was heady to his senses as combined with her taste, he was quickly letting his magical aura become unrestrained. This had the effect of increasing Selene's arousal even more and she moaned loudly in passion and lust. Selene's hands slipped down to his bum as she pulled him harder and faster into her inviting snatch with strength he didn't know she had. Her molten chocolate eyes seemed to become brighter as pleasure coursed throughout her entire body.

Selene couldn't believe her lover hadn't cum in her body yet. His stamina was amazing to her because it felt like they had been making love for an eternity. Selene was sure now that what they were doing was truly making love. She sensed a deeper connection with Sladian than any other being she had met in her long existence. She truly felt that she now loved him and looking into his intense golden eyes all she saw staring back at her was a deep well of love and affection directed towards her. At that moment she began working her body feverishly to bring him off into her. She wanted to feel his essence pouring into her womb as his cock pulsed with pleasure. She would think about what this meant for her plans later. For now, she wanted to feel her new husband's seed enter her.

"Cum in me Sladian…fill me with your seed…come on, beloved…I want to feel it in me," moaned Selene into Sladian's ear as her inner muscles worked him tightly.

Sladian couldn't hold back any longer so he pushed his length entirely into her hot sheath where it felt most at home. His balls tightened up as he began to blast Selene's vaginal walls with his seed. Selene gasped and cried out beneath him as she was wracked with her most intense orgasm yet. We both moaned together as our genitals worked to transfer his essence into her body. As her orgasm passed, Sladian kissed her tenderly as she moaned beneath him.

Sometime later he slipped out of her soft folds to hear her whimper in protest. Sladian smiled before pecking her lips and sliding his body behind her and inserting himself back into her hot sheath. Selene sighed happily at the feeling of him inside her again and cuddled back into him as he laid kisses along the back of her neck.

Lemon end

---

Selene smiled genuinely as she felt her lover kiss the back of her neck. Her desire for this man hadn't lowered even a little but unfortunately her body couldn't take much more. While she had a lot of stamina when it came to battle, that didn't automatically transfer to stamina in bed. It was a different set of muscles being used and so didn't have the same level of stamina.

Selene giggled slightly as she told herself she would fix that quickly with Sladian happily helping her 'train'.

"I love you, Selene," murmured Sladian sleepily.

Selene froze and happy tears came to her eyes at his words. It was the first time anyone had ever said that to her and she luxuriated in the feeling.

Selene sniffed and gave a watery smile. "I love you too, Sladian."

Sladian grunted. "Slade."

Selene was confused and said so.

Sladian just smiled and kissed her neck once more. He made another leap of faith as he made a decision. "Call me Slade. It's what my closest friends always called me."

Selene smiled at that. "Slade it is then. I love you, Slade." She cuddled back into him as she felt him drift off to sleep.

Selene froze once more as she felt the ritual saying they were married conclude and felt the bond marking them as husband and wife form. Luckily, Sladian had fallen asleep and didn't feel the bond form.

It was like a bucket of cold water had hit her as she remembered the original plan for Sladian. The idea of him dying caused her heart to break and an almost animalistic rage to take control. But what could she do? Already five sorcerers near her level knew of the plan and if she backed out now they'd kill them both.

Selene bit her lip as she tried to think of an escape but the only thing she could think of was her original plan to become a goddess. Once she did she could resurrect anyone she wanted, right? She'd simply sacrifice Constantinople and ascend to godhood and resurrect Sladian. Surely he'd forgive her? She didn't know what she'd do if he didn't.

Selene turned around and stared into Sladian's sleepy face and felt her heart melt. Could she truly betray this man who was the first to believe the best about her and love her for who she was?

Selene cuddled into her husband's chest and fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat, her thoughts in turmoil.

---

A/N: Chapter 12 done. As always read & review. Don't forget the poll because I am removing some of them and may be adding others next update.

But for now here is the current poll:

Illyana Rasputin/Magik 6

Gamora 5

Barbara Morse/Mockingbird 4

Silver Sablinova/Silver Sable 3

Ava Ayala/White Tiger 2

Dani Moonstar 2

Karima Shapandar/Omega Sentinel 1

Ophelia Sarkissian/Viper 1