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“Take it into your mouth,” I tell her.

She swallows and brings her face closer to my manhood, taking it between her lips. When I feel the warm wetness of her mouth, I brace myself against the tree as I hold her head in place. She pulls back only to catch a breath and then she brings her head forward again, taking my length into her mouth as far as she can, causing me to shudder slightly.

She inches forward, taking me from her mouth and grasps the base of my erection while she slides her tongue along the slit of the crown.

I moan as she dips her head lower and sucks the throbbing length of my cock between her full lips. I yank a little on the strands of her hair and she beams up at me, smiling with hereyes as her tongue rolls. She releases me with her hands and grips my legs, offering her mouth to be used for my pleasure. I do not deny her. I thrust deeper and she swallows more and more of my hard flesh. I growl in the back of my throat, wordlessly praising her.

I grip myself and arch off the dirt ground as seed bursts from my loins. The wet splash against my abdomen is burning hot and uncomfortable. I lay there, panting, until something breaks through the fog. The ethers are shifting.

After wiping myself off, I walk over to the ancient wellspring. The glittering pool of magic swirls and I see Eilish climbing the mountain, inching closer to the Incubus’s sanctuary.

Though I know she only wishes to see the creature who sired her, he is no father. Gildlorthoine is a demon, a monster at heart, and I must go to her before she is killed. The forest quakes with fear. The trees groan and I realize if I leave this place now, I may never return. There are lines in this world, lines that I risk my life to cross and lines that I will defend to the death.

The Raven Forest does not wish for me to leave. This is my home, my domain. Another may stumble upon this pocket of peace that I have created, from the soil to the breeze. The brush, the crisp green leaves, the blackened bark, and the white halo of light that appears in the sky... it is all by my design.

No hooves have trampled through these lands, no blood has been spilled. And I intend to keep it that way. If I cannot seek refuge within the Raven Forest, then no creature shall. Dipping my hands into the wellspring, I churn the waters until it glitters no more. My eyes well with unshed tears as I gaze at the melting image of the trees. Insects wriggle out of their hiding places in fear. The sky begins to warp like a painting left out in the sun, bereft of its vibrancy.

I begin to sink into the muck as my sanctuary is bled of its life. I am buried beneath the weighty blanket of earth, movingand shifting with the changing of the realm. And when I surface, there is no grand celebration as there once was, no song sung in my honor by a bard upon his steed. Flowers no longer fall from the sky to cushion my steps as I bestow a gift upon those who are devout… no, none of that remains. Why? Because most believe the gods have abandoned them. I am the last of my kind until a new pantheon shall rise from the ashes of the old.

Morrigan and her filth do not belong here, but neither do the rest of them. What they have done to the realms sickens me. And yet I stroll through the forest surrounding the Delendren Glade as if time itself has reversed. But this is no merry greeting on a fine spring day, when the air is filled with the laughter of two happy girls and their mother. The glade is cold and colored by sadness that reaches into the very depths of my being.

Eilish should not be here, for if she knew the truth, I fear she would never recover from it.

My eyes linger on Theren, Son of Elioth, as he pelts the Midnight Queen with a spell that nearly severs her head from her shoulders. His power has grown greatly, despite Morrigan’s influences, and a spark of pride for the young boy I knew in his youth begins to flourish within me. Theren is not a child anymore, but a king who has had his kingdom stolen. I understand him most of all. The Hall of The Gods was once my kingdom as much as it was to the others.

And that was how it all started, was it not? The times indeed are repeating. I recall a specific day with absolute clarity, a day when I changed from a mere spirit of the forest to a god among mortals. Three stood before the Throne of The Gods, three with their destinies entwined.

Morrigan was denied the ascension, for her heart had never been pure nor her intentions impartial. Abedon was also denied, as he did not possess the neutrality required of an ineffable being.

It was I who was chosen to join the rest among the stars. It was I who helped to create worlds and govern them, punishing those who were unworthy. Blessings were abundant, yet the greed of Abedon had been consuming to all the realms. Morrigan had come to me in fear, begging for my help as she suspected Abedon would do something terrible. And terrible things were exactly what Abedon was particularly good at. So, I went to him. I, a god, was nearly defeated by one who had been deemed undeserving of my rank. We battled in the way that Morrigan and Theren battle now, and I see the same potential for overshadowing darkness within Theren that I saw that day in my old companion.

Even so, Theren will soon learn the significance of his suffering, and I will have little part to play. Eilish is the destiny that awaits me. Even now, as she climbs fearlessly to the top of the mountain, there is a vulnerability inside her that will stay her hand against even the most formidable opponents. Eilish’s weakness is her bleeding heart, her compassion. She will believe herself stronger for it, believe it makes her different from her enemies. What she seeks upon that mountaintop is not a father, but proof she is more than the others say.

Many months have passed since I last spoke to Eilish. Her memories have mostly returned, and yet I hesitate to approach her. Has she grown to hate me for my part in her destiny? I know not, but I climb the mountain with ease. I move swiftly, past those who seek to come to her aid. Dragan, King of Shadow, climbs beside the necromancer and the vampire. I know him more than the others. Gargoyles are creatures that thrive in darkness and yet are not naturally dark creatures. There is a difference. They are guardians, protectors that watch over the realms beneath the light of the moon. At least… that was what they once were.

Our paths will cross again, but not until more hardship tears the world asunder. These men are more important to the realms than they believe.

Ahead, I see Eilish. She reaches up with one hand, dangling over the edge of the overhang, and claws her nails into the frozen stone for purchase. When she catches on something, Eilish hoists herself up onto the ledge and crawls on her hands and knees. Worry more potent than it should be starts to boil up inside me. The sound of her pattering footsteps echoes through the cave as she approaches the entrance to her father’s lair.

***

EILISH

Delendren Glade

Fingers numb and trembling, I step into the shadows without fear. Though my arms are aching and my lungs burn from the thin mountain air, nothing could keep me from pushing forward. And I feel strong—stronger than I have in a very long time.

I owe that strength to Cambion. In joining with him, there was something that happened to me—yes, my hair returned to its natural white, but there was more. Much more. I don’t feel that horrid hungering anymore. I feel satiated, complete, for the first time in my recent memory.

The blinding, white light that encompassed us as soon as I felt Cambion’s erection inside me seemed to have pulled any pollution from within me. I feel clearer, stronger, more capable of doing what I need to do.

I lift my hand and summon a ball of light to guide me as I move deeper into the cavern. Large claw marks mar the stone along the edges of the tunnel, as though an enormous creature has been dragged through the opening against its will. I reachout to touch the marks, to feel the depth of the claws that gouged the stone.

I step inside, moving slowly through the tunnel, feeling along the walls with my hands. Ripe, musty air fills my lungs and causes my chest to ache as I delve deeper. A cliff with a sudden drop beyond appears before me. Turning back isn’t an option, not when I’ve come this far. But the hole is too wide for me to jump. And I can’t fly across—the tunnel is too narrow to accommodate my wingspan.

With an exasperated sigh, I drop the ball of light and watch as it falls into an endless chasm of shadow. No going back. No going forward. The only way to go is down. I jump, spreading my wings as far as I can to slow the momentum of my fall. I can still see the light below me but it’s difficult to focus on as I drift downward. I hit a film of grease that covers the surface of dirty water.

I gasp loudly and suck in a mouthful of air that smells like decaying flesh. Slicing my arms through the water, I swim toward the opposite wall, then grip the stone and lift myself out of the water. Bones and bloated bodies wearing armor from many different kingdoms float on the surface of the water, each of them in various stages of rot.