Chapter 4

I woke to the feeling of Myala in my arms and a damp tail. I lay there enjoying her warm body without opening my eyes and savoring the lingering taste of her nectar on my tongue. I'd spent almost two hours driving her crazy before she'd finally passed out, and my tongue ached slightly, and judging from the damp feeling on my tail, Myala had probably woken up during the night long enough to bury my tail inside her. It was an old habit I'd gotten used to.

She claimed it helped her feel connected to me since she couldn't weave us together. Damp fur was worth helping her feel comforted.

I could tell from the light on my eyelids it must be decently after dawn, and the faint sounds of the camp rousing around us told me someone would probably be along soon to call us to breakfast.

Then the light against my eyes flickered and I realized someone was in the room, someone silent.

I barely cracked my eyes as my ears strained for any sound to locate the intruder, then froze.

The glowing blue girl looked down on the bed. She hovered some three feet off the ground, the long hem of her robe brushing the floor. Her luminous blue eyes were gazing at us curiously, and she pursed her lips thoughtfully as she silently tapped her finger on her cheek. Tiny little wisps of energy or smoke appeared and vanished quickly like an aura around her. She was utterly silent, but for some reason, I didn't feel any threat from her.

How could I? She'd been in my dreams so many times.

I couldn't deny seeing her this time. She serenely bobbed gently as she floated there, obviously unaware of my barely cracked eye lids.

She turned suddenly as Myala made a noise and dived into the floor, as if scared of being seen. A faint blue glow lingered for a second as I fully opened my eyes and propped myself on my elbow.

So, she isn't just a dream. That looked like a hologram.

Myala felt me moving and wrapped her tail around me. "Nuh-uh, you are not getting away without giving me your flower."

I chuckled and reached over to scritch her triangular ears. "Dear, it's almost time for breakfast."

Her blue eyes opened, and she gave me a lazy grin. "Yup, you're breakfast." She sat up and pushed me back on the bed. "Now shut up, spread your legs and let me enjoy my meal." Well, far be it from me to disobey a royal command.

Some twenty minutes later, one of Myala's female consorts, a purple haired Aurin girl named Yaenna, the first female, poked her head into the tent. "Your Majesty, breakfast is ready."

"I'm having breakfast." Myala muttered without lifting her head.

Yaenna grinned. "Yes, your Majesty, but as delicious as Val is. She's not very filling. You need some solid food."

"Not till she moans for me."

"Of course, your Majesty. It's not polite to leave food on your plate."

I rolled my eyes as Myala's tongue moved to my most sensitive spot and began flicking it earnestly. As aroused as I was, it didn't take long before I could give her the reward she sought and bucked my hips against her eager mouth.

Yaenna looked on lovingly with a happy little grin. I could tell she was pleased that Myala was enjoying herself.

As Myala sat back to catch her breath, I grinned. "Okay, now that you've had dessert. Shall we go see what the main course is?"

She pouted as I gently pulled my now soaked tail free then giggled as I raised it to my mouth to lick it clean. I gave her a lopsided grin. "What? Not every Aurin gets to enjoy the Matria's nectar. It's a shame to waste it."

"Didn't you get enough last night when you mercilessly gobbled my flower?"

"Never. Every drop is precious, you know. I could bottle this and sell it to almost any Aurin for outrageous fees."

"Don't you dare!"

Even Yaenna snerked as I stood and stretched languorously. Myala hopped out of bed and stepped behind me to fondle my breasts. I gently patted her hands. "If you start that, dear. We'll never make it to breakfast, and I am sure you have a busy day ahead."

She sighed and reluctantly stepped away to let Yaenna help her dress. "I know. I have to meet up with Arwick to see how much we lost in supplies and arrange moving everybody to Woodhaven. I am furious that the Dominion destroyed the Elderroot. I was so looking forward to learning from it. It was a truly ancient tree."

"I must admit, that forest kinda creeped me out. I remember wondering what you could hear from the trees."

"They were… odd, yes, but I think they were content enough. The Elderroot was connected to the entire wood. I truly think we could have eventually felt at home there."

I nodded and accepted my clothes from Yaenna and began dressing. As I pulled my tunic down, a faint blue glow in the mirror caught my eye and I looked up to see Her reflected in it.

She floated on the far side of the bed looking faintly puzzled. Then she noticed me watching her in the mirror and her eyes widened in a panic as she poofed.

I blinked, then looked over at Yaenna. The girl had been directly in her line of sight, but she gave no sign of having noticed her.

Odd. Why did only I see her?

I still didn't feel any sense of danger from the strange girl. If anything, she struck me as insanely curious. But it was getting more obvious she was watching me. Me, specifically. And oddly enough, I didn't mind. Something in me actually seemed to welcome it.

Maybe it was just me being a sucker for beautiful girls. Most Aurin didn't really care one way or the other about the gender of who they loved unless they were trying to procreate, but I was kinda odd that way. I only liked girls. My mother had despaired of my ever giving her grandchildren but had finally just stopped trying to hook me up with boys when I became Myala's pet. Even she would not complain about the Queen claiming me. Though given our current situation, I did have to wonder if I should try to find someone I was willing to have a kid with. It wasn't like I hated males after all, I just found them unattractive.

Still, my ghostly observer really was insanely gorgeous for a non-Aurin. She had a strange aura about her too, as if she was impossibly innocent. I couldn't feel a sense of danger from her because she felt far too pure, almost holy even. I found myself regretting that she was so skittish.

And her robe was odd too. The hem hung at least two feet lower than her feet, like floating was her natural state. The length of her hem would make walking nearly impossible. It was a simple enough style and similar to some acolyte robes I had seen before, but cut in an unknown pattern, open as it was all the way up to her hips. It made me wonder if she had on anything under it.

Anyway, Myala was now dressed, and Yaenna was giving her a good morning kiss. I thought about warning them that jumping back in bed wasn't an option, but Yaenna was careful not to let Myala get carried away again. Even though Myala gave a mew of protest, Yaenna broke off the kiss and straightened Myala's dress for her. We were both all too used to Myala's eagerness to avoid her royal duties when possible. Yaenna was good at managing her. She opened the tent flap to the outer section and gave me a wink behind Myala's back along with a thumbs up. I gave her a smug grin and winked back before following Myala off to the breakfast table.

Breakfast was simple, composed mostly of a large salad and some crisp veggies sliced into strips, but there was plenty of it, and a choice of dressings that complimented it well. There was only some smoked meat strips for protein, since the hunters hadn't yet had time to organize a hunt, but it was filling and nutritious without being heavy. After breakfast, I headed off to the explorer's guild to see what jobs needed doing.