Summoner 16, page 24
“Oooh, just like we did with Utuni!” Miralea gushed, and she started to massage her paws into the floor excitedly.
“If that is what you wish,” Sera said in a hesitant voice.
“It is.” I nodded.
“Very well,” the dark-winged Archon sighed, and she motioned to the others. The goddesses walked into the shadows of my dreamscape, but they returned a moment later with Veopa detained between them.
The shapeshifter goddess wore the same quilted, animal skin cloak with the hood hanging over her mysterious face, but I’d gotten a good look at her before so I knew what laid beneath the shadowy folds.
Veopa struggled against the hands gripping her arms and legs, and she writhed ferociously as the other Archons dragged her toward me. Her cloak flapped around her body, and it revealed the silky, glittering blue slip of a dress she wore beneath the quilted garment.
When she was less than a foot away from me, Sera ripped her hood away from her face while she kept a firm hold on her upper arm with one hand. Phi moved to slash into the fabric of Veopa’s dress with her long, sharp fingernails, but I held up my hand to stop her.
“Let me,” I said as I pulled out my dagger from its sheath.
Veopa’s shifty blue-white face slid into the shape of a beautiful woman, and I recognized her appearance from when I’d fought against her in the Shadowscape. Her lips were full and looked soft, and her skin was so pale it practically glowed, but her eyes were full of defiance as she glared at me.
“Nothing to say?” I asked as I slid the blade of my dagger behind the fabric of her dress.
The shapeshifter goddess spat, and the glob of liquid smacked me in the cheek then slid down my face to plop onto the ground.
I gave Veopa a wicked grin. “I guess not.”
So, I yanked against the hilt of my dagger, and as the blade sliced through the silky material of the shifty Archon’s dress, the fabric slid away like water to reveal her large, perky breasts, toned stomach, and the soft skin of her thighs.
Veopa gasped and struggled to keep her legs closed, but Miralea and Utuni tugged on her ankles, and her thighs parted to reveal the wispy hairs of her mound.
I eyed the Archon’s naked body hungrily, and as I watched, her nipples hardened into tiny, rose colored buds. My mouth watered, but there was no reason to deny myself, so I dipped my head down to flick an experimental tongue across the shapeshifter goddess’ breast.
Veopa gasped and pulled away from the sensation of my tongue against her skin, but Phi let out a low growl and shoved the shifty goddess toward me.
I could feel my body responding, so I unbuttoned my pants and pulled out my stiffening member.
“No, no, please,” Veopa pleaded suddenly as her eyes locked onto my hard cock.
“It has to happen,” I informed her in a determined voice. “The less you fight, the faster it will be over.”
“I will never surrender!” she practically yelled in my face, but I ignored her as I aimed my tip toward her feminine folds.
“Mmm, fuck,” I muttered as I slid inside her pulsating tunnel. I pushed in a little more, and Veopa hissed as she arched her back, so I pulled out and then thrust in deeper.
“Oh, oh,” Veopa gasped as her eyes flew open in shock. “That feels… good? Wait… why does this feel soooo gooooddddd? Ohhhhhhh...”
The four Archons who restrained her arms and legs stared with rapt fascination as my cock slid in and out of the shapeshifter goddess’ pussy, and I could tell by the look in their eyes that they were all jealous of Veopa.
Good. Let them watch and want me even more.
My blood turned hot as my eyes trailed down Veopa’s prostrated naked body, and her breasts bounced each time I thrust my cock inside her.
She stared up at me with a look of utter confusion on her face, and her thick, luscious lips were hanging open in a silent question.
I increased my pace, and I growled as I felt the intensity building inside me.
“Gryff, no! Wait!” Veopa gasped, and suddenly she began to shiver and shake beneath my hands. “What’s happening?”
Her body spasmed, and the muscles of her pussy clamped around my shaft like a vise, and I struggled to wiggle my cock at all. As her contractions amplified, her wet tunnel pulsated against my length, and her eyes rolled back into her head.
“Ohhh, Gryfff,” Veopa moaned, and the Archons wrestled with her shaking limbs to hold her upright.
My neck itched, and then it began to burn with a fiery intensity, but I ignored the sensation as I focused on my angry thrusts. I growled with a voice full of rage and pent up frustration as my climax built, but I pulled out in the last instant.
“No, Gryff!” Veopa shouted in a desperate voice as she clawed at me. “Inside me! Fill my womb with your seed!”
“Not this time,” I said with my last clear thought, and then I let go of my control.
My seed exploded out of me in a great wave, and long strings ejected from my cock to spray onto all five Archons like rain. The goddesses all scampered forward on their knees with their mouths open wide and their tongues protruding, and they lapped up every drop available.
“More!” Sera demanded hungrily as she licked a tendril from her lips.
“I want it all,” Utuni announced as she rushed forward and began to lick my cum slick balls.
“There’s more where that came from,” I informed them as I scratched my burning neck absently.
“You will give me more of your seed?” Veopa asked in a subdued voice. “Will you put it inside me next time? In my womb? That is where I need it.”
“We will see if there’s a next time,” I said in a careful tone.
“Did I please you?” the shapeshifter goddess asked.
My eyes trailed over her eager eyes, to her luscious lips, and landed on the droplet of my seed dangling from her jaw.
“Definitely.” I grinned.
“I want to please you now,” Sera said as she inched her way closer to me.
“Not tonight,” I argued as I sidled away.
Her disappointed pout was almost adorable.
“You don’t like us anymore,” Phi noted in a sad voice.
“I don’t understand why,” Utuni drawled. “I am so much more powerful than your mortal women. I could give you more pleasure in one night than any of them could give you in a lifetime.”
“Enough,” I said with an air of authority. “You want me to choose you over my mortal women? Then tell me why you want to get pregnant so badly.”
“Only because I love you, Gryff,” Sera’s yellow eyes were full of hurt, but I couldn’t tell how much of it was real or fake. “A child would be the perfect manifestation of our love.”
“I’m not buying it.” I turned my hard gaze to the other four. “Anyone else?”
“You are the most powerful man I’ve ever met,” Utuni offered in an innocent tone. “I would be a fool not to choose you to father my children.”
“You’ve treated us all so well,” Miralea purred, “the least we can do is repay you with strong, powerful offspring.”
“It’s your power,” Veopa moaned. “I need your child beca--”
“Silence!” Sera growled at Veopa, and the others all turned and hissed at my newest archon.
“Oh?” I snickered. “Looks like I’m getting somewhere. What were you about to say, Veopa?”
“I…” Her eyes roamed to the other women, but then she crossed her arms and shook her head.
“What she is trying to say is that you’re special, Gryff,” Phi purred.
Sera shot her sister a subtle warning glance which told me there was more to it than they were saying.
“I don’t believe you,” I stated simply. “So, I’m going to offer you all a deal.”
“What are you proposing?” Sera asked with obvious excitement.
“I’ll agree to impregnate you,” I said, and I held up my hands to cut off their elated gasps, “but only one of you.”
“W-What?” Sera looked incredulous. “That won’t work. We all need your seed.”
“Why?” I pressed, and it was highly entertaining to watch the dark-winged goddess sputter wordlessly in response.
“So…” Phi looked around at her fellow Archons cautiously. “Who?”
“That’s part of my deal,” I explained. “When you guys decide who deserves to be the one to get pregnant, then I’ll give her all the sperm I can.”
“Obviously, I am the one who deserves to bear Gryff’s first child,” Sera announced with a haughty air.
“What makes you so certain?” Utuni asked with narrowed snake eyes. “I am more powerful than you, I would make a better mother.”
“Ridiculous,” Miralea hissed. “I would be the best mother, I deserve to be the one to bear Gryff’s offspring.”
“I will be the one,” Veopa interjected. “I will have the most powerful child, after all.”
“How dare you?” Sera bared her fangs and glared at my newest Archon.
I couldn’t trust the Archons, but I couldn’t help my attraction to them, either, especially not when they were arguing over my sperm moments after licking some of it from my body.
Who wouldn’t want to have five goddesses lick their cock clean?
As their argument continued, however, their voices and faces grew more hostile toward each other, and I could tell it would get violent soon.
“I’ll give you some time to think it over,” I informed them in a loud voice. “One of you gets my child, but only one. Unless one of you wants to give me a better explanation about why you want to get pregnant.”
“There can’t be just one,” Veopa argued in a frustrated tone. “There would be no cham--”
“Silence!” Sera yelled again, and she swung the back of her hand across the shapeshifter goddess’ cheek.
I narrowed my eyes at the dark-winged goddess, but she avoided my gaze.
There was definitely something going on, and Sera seemed to be the one keeping the others quiet. Maybe Veopa would say more if she was alone, but that would have to wait for another time when I had more patience. After shooting my load onto the gorgeous shapeshifter goddess, I didn’t have the energy to listen to their squabbling all night.
“We will talk later,” I said in a decisive voice. Then I dismissed them with a wave of my will, and I ignored their protests as I faded back into a deep dreamless sleep born of utter exhaustion.
I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and well rested. I opened my eyes shortly before the dawn, and I squeezed my shapeshifting wife against my chest gratefully as I inhaled the morning air.
It was a good day to be me.
I was going to get married in less than a week, I was a teacher at the most highly respected school of magic in the realm, and someday soon I’d be a father, too. It still boggled my mind to think about how differently my life was than I had imagined a year before.
Funnily enough, the shift had started once I’d started using immortal deities in my mind. If I hadn’t been traveling the world hunting Archons, I never would have met Freya, and if I’d never accidentally married the warrior princess, I probably wouldn’t be about to marry the most perfect woman in the world.
Freya was anxious to start our family, and Cyra and Layla seemed just as eager. I wondered how Erin and Ashla were feeling about it after having some time to think, but I’d have plenty of time to dig into everything with them later.
Arwyn really wanted to be a mother, but I wasn’t sure if the gorgeous red-head was as excited about the concept of marriage.
I made a mental note to discuss it with her in person. One of my favorite things about the intelligent, logical professor was our ability to have blunt, honest conversations.
Thinking about my teacher reminded me of my plan. I’d aced my midterms and subdued Veopa, so hopefully Arwyn and Sleet would change their minds and let me join the research team. I knew I could help them if I had access to the books, and determination burned in my gut.
I would change their minds. I had to.
I carefully slid out from beneath Freya’s prone form, and the warrior princess snored peacefully as I inched my way off the bed. I dressed as quickly and quietly as I could so as not to disturb my sleeping wife, but a few moments later, I was trotting down the stairs of the tavern.
I was full of hope as I headed up the streets of Varle toward the Academy, and I barely registered the changing scenery around me. A short while later, I stood in front of Arwyn’s classroom door, and I suddenly realized it was obscenely early.
So, instead of knocking, I tested the handle and found it unlocked. I crept into the room to the healer’s private chambers, and I grinned when the door opened without resistance.
The beautiful red-head was asleep in bed, and her flame colored locks were splayed across her sheets like fire licking at a sheet of paper. Her thick lips were parted slightly, and the serene expression on her face warmed my heart.
My heart beat thudded in my chest as I tip toed toward the bed. The urge to curl up next to her and wrap my arms around her overwhelmed me, so I kicked off my boots and pulled my bandolier over my head.
I was leaning over to tug off my pants when a piece of paper on Arwyn’s nightstand caught my eye.
And it bore my name.
I forgot my pants as my eyes scanned over the parchment, and my mouth suddenly dried.
There, in Arwyn’s handwriting, was the Beastmaker prophecy, and next to it, my name was scribbled and punctuated with a question mark.
Did Arwyn think I was the Beastmaker?
My ears rang, and my vision blurred as the thudding of my heart grew louder.
Why hadn’t she said anything?
This was exactly why I needed to be on the research team. They were chasing dead ends and running down rumors instead of facing the real problems, like who the last four Archons were, how the Guardians defeated them long ago, and other things that would end the war for good.
I swallowed hard and stumbled backward away from the bed. I tripped over my discarded boot, and I cursed under my breath as I struggled to keep my feet beneath me.
“Gryff?” Arwyn asked in a sleepy voice as she blinked at me in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
“Nothing.” My eyes flicked to the paper on the nightstand reflexively.
“Oh?” The playful smile on her lips made me think she didn’t believe me, but I didn’t blame her.
“Actually, I came to tell you I subdued Veopa,” I said as I suddenly remembered my original motivation.
“You… came to tell me you had sex with an Archon? Arwyn raised her eyebrows, and her face filled with confusion. “Thanks for letting me know, I guess.”
“No,” I groaned. “That’s not what I meant.”
“My apologies.” Arwyn shook her head and pushed herself up into a sitting position. “I’m still waking up, and it’s hard for me to follow your thought process. Please, explain.”
“I’m sorry,” I said with an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was excited, and I didn’t think it through. Then, when I saw you laying there… I just wanted to curl up next to you.”
“I wish you had,” she chuckled. “I’m still not sure why you aren’t.”
“I guess I was hoping once I mastered all the Archons I’d captured that I’d be allowed on the research team.” I shrugged. “I completed my bond with Veopa, so no more defiant goddesses roaming inside my head.”
“Just the five women constantly trying to seduce you and convince you to impregnate them?” Arwyn asked, and I couldn’t tell if she was amused or annoyed.
This conversation was starting to feel tricky, and that didn’t sit right with me, especially since it was with Arwyn.
“I have them under control,” I informed her firmly, but then my expression softened, and my voice turned playful. “Are you jealous?”
Arwyn eyed me closely for a long moment, and her face was unreadable.
“Of course not,” she finally said, and she flicked her flame colored hair over her shoulder. “Do you like them more?”
“Of course not,” I echoed easily, but a concerned frown creased my brows. “They want to destroy the humans?”
“But not you?” she whispered.
“No… I mean…”
I wanted to address the troll in the room, but at the same time I didn’t. Each breath I took without uttering a word about the paper made it harder to convince myself to say it.
The silence stretched on for a long, slightly uncomfortable moment while I stood frozen with my pants unbuttoned and my boots on the floor. Arwyn looked me up and down, and then she laughed and patted the bed beside her.
“Come lay down,” the healer urged. “You need more sleep.”
“I can’t,” I replied automatically, and I started to pull my boots back on. “I’ve got class soon.”
“But you came here?” She tilted her head.
“I just needed to see you.” I smiled.
“Oh, okay,” Arwyn said with a disappointed frown. “Another time, then.”
“Absolutely,” I agreed as I slid my bandolier over my head and into its customary position. When I was finished redressing, I gave the beautiful healer an apologetic smile. “Sorry I don’t have time today.”
“It’s okay, really.” Her face lit up into a brilliant smile that radiated love and warmth. “I’ll see you later.”
“Bye,” I said, and I waved as I turned to leave her private chambers.
My heart rate was still rapid, and my palms were sweaty. I didn’t feel good about hiding my thoughts from my red-haired lover, but if she thought I was the Beastmaker, it might not be a good idea to be too open.
My thoughts were troubled as I went through the day. I learned more about my students than I had the day before, but Syman was still a mystery to me. Lunch was full of wedding talk as the girls discussed their bridesmaid dresses and flower bouquets, and I found myself staring mindlessly at the wall while I poked my pork chop with a fork.
No one commented on my abnormal quiet demeanor, though, so they probably thought it was run of the mill wedding jitters. Little did they know, one of the people I trusted had been keeping secrets from me.
