Page 18 of Shadows of Air and Earth (Remnant Archives)

" G oddess damn it Ri! I blame you for this and the general. Her tone means death, and we marched right into it!" Xi screamed as we ran through the woods, ducking and weaving frantically as tiny darts flew through the air.

Gnomes were always a pain in the ass but these ones were goddess damn feral. Hissing and screeching, angered beyond reasoning, they had been chasing us through this jungle for far too long. All because I just happened to piss on their nesting grounds…how the Sheol was I supposed to know that?

"Fuck! Xi jump!" I snarled back, weaving air to launch her high above into the canopy, narrowly avoiding the large faerie ring that she was about to fall headlong into.

Without pausing to check on her, I continued to roll and dodge, cutting through the thick forest as quickly as I could.

Anything to outrun those possessed gnome bastards.

Somewhere behind me, peals of exhilarated laughter chimed from Remnant Dark.

I failed to see the fucking amusement but I sure as goddess wasn’t going to look back, unless I wanted a dart stuck in my eyeball.

"Poisonous darts incoming again!" Remnant shouted, bringing up our rear.

I did not hesitate when cool shadows fell heavily over my shoulders and draped down my back just moments before a volley of darts whistled through the air.

More than several whizzed by and I cursed as the plant life instantly blackened from the poisonous weaponry.

“Fucking goddess,” I cursed, jumping over the dead plants, not even willing to chance that the poison was no longer active.

Xi hissed with vexation in front of us, swinging and jumping from branch to branch, her strong athletic build demonstrating power and finesse that was more than pleasing to watch.

Though the image was ruined by the five needle-biting bastards hot on her heels, their beards sticky with sap and drool from their hunger to hunt.

Flinging air outwards, I knocked them all off balance, hearing their howls and screeches all the way until they hit the ground below.

When the earth began to tremble, echoing Xi’s frustrations, I knew her control on her power was slipping.

That vibe was back…I wasn’t even sure if it had fucking left.

Gritting my teeth, I mentally shoved away her damning words and the distrust on her end that was only growing with each leg of this journey.

Dancing away, the earth split like a bursting dam, and with it a sense of dread shivered up my spine.

If it wasn’t for Remnant not wanting to hurt these little gnome bastards, our powers combined would have ended them quickly.

Instead we were running for our lives and this shit was about to get much, much worse.

"Xi don't!" I hollered, seeing ahead where splintering earth was rapidly racing toward another Faerie ring sitting peacefully in the jungle—but it was too late.

“Ah goddess,” I whispered, stumbling to a stop when the earth violently shattered the wide circular ring of brightly glowing flowers, breaking the containment that held back something far more sinister than gnomes.

Remnant came to a sliding halt next to me along with the flower pissing bastards.

Paralyzed with terror, the bearded savages stared at the broken ring briefly before shrieking in panic, turning tail and running back to wherever they goddess damn came from, as if they had never bothered to chase us for hours in the first place.

Back to their daily life of pee pollination and farting out glitter.

"Well this can't be good," Remnant mused and I raised a brow at her, admiring her attempted note of levity and also the fact that she was not even breathing heavily.

I snorted, brushing my hair from my sweaty brow before unsheathing my scimitars.

“I really wish you hadn’t said that.” With a quick toss, I launched one of my swords into the air as Xi dropped from the trees, landing in a crouch before catching the blade.

Standing, she expertly twirled the scimitar in a series of whirling silver form that normally would have made my dick as hard as stone if it wasn't for the white mist oozing out from the cursed broken Faerie ring.

Xi’s cheeks puffed before she exhaled forcefully, her white hair briefly flying from her face. "Maybe it won't be that bad."

My other brow quirked, this time at her.

"Are you goddess damn serious right now?

" As if on cue, a long wailing cry cut the still jungle air, blasting the white mist into an eruption of dense, white fog, blocking out our sight. “You just had to say it, didn’t you?” I muttered, reaching outward blindly to where I had last seen Xi, no longer able to see her beauty but still feeling her warmth.

Pulling her into me, I dragged us both to a very perplexed shadow fae who was watching her dormant shadows flicker in and out around her forearms before disappearing.

“Tell me that’s not what I think it is?” I hissed, dreading the answer I already knew.

"Well it’s definitely not good, and likely very, very bad," she mused, shaking her head.

"How is stating the obvious by any means helpful? What is happening? Where have the shadows gone and better yet, why haven’t the other ones come back?

" Xi snarled back. I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose while the two females glared at one another.

I was in the worst possible position for this and in normal self preservation mode I would have taken more than a few steps back from this face off.

But this shit wasn’t normal. Something was off…missing, I could feel it.

Hard emerald eyes cutting through the opaque mist narrowed on Xi and I shifted uncomfortably at their intensity. "Our powers have become void in this mist—a mist that is normally contained within the Faerie rings. It is how the anthousai are so powerful once you are trapped within the rings."

"Impossible," Xi breathed.

Dark hair fell over her shoulder when she tilted her head, the long strands disappearing in the dense fog. "Go on then, both of you. See if you can harness either one of your elements?"

Breathing deep and keeping contact with Xi, I attempted to latch onto the air. All it would take was one forceful gust to rid us of this entire debacle, but when I reached for my power I found nothing. Just pure emptiness. This was what was missing.

"Nothing," I divulged, looking down at Xi to see her shaking her head at me, lips pressed tightly, her singular grey eye wide with alarm. Sighing, I tapped my sword held tightly in her hand, my tone confident. "Then old school it is, just cleverness and steel. What could go wrong with that?"

"Indeed, Ri, what could possibly go wrong?" Remnant mused. Her sarcasm not lost on me. Sighing, she quickly stripped off her leather vest, pushing it up and over her head, baring her torso and causing me to damn near fall over—never mind the fact that she had just called me Ri.

Darting a quick glance down at Xi whose mouth also hung open, we watched as the General's creamy, perky breasts swayed and her firm cut abs rippled as she stooped for a knife at her boot. Flashes of silver and the sound of furious shearing of cut leather had her spinning towards us soon after.

Braided from the strips of her clothing, Remnant held up several leather bindings.

I jerked back, crashing into Xi when the shadow fae stepped towards me, unsure what the Faerie fuck she was up to.

Anticipating my reaction, Remnant’s strong hand snapped out, faster than I had ever seen anyone move before, and gripped my belt dragging me closer.

I cleared my throat, averting my eyes to not stare down at the full breasts that were just short of my torso, as she began to tie the makeshift leather rope to me without permission.

"I uh…I'm not sure what is going on here and I mean no offense General but I am not seeking—" a sharp jerk of the knot she was cinching crashed my body into hers.

Her firm, petite frame radiated a hot heat through my clothing but when my eyes looked down into hers, all I saw was an impish smile.

Thoroughly confused, I glanced over at Xi for assistance, but she seemed to have recovered much quicker than I had. Giving me the first full grin since she found out about my power, Xi nodded. “Go on Ri…what are you not seeking?"

"You are goddess fucking serious right now?"

Remnant snickered, reaching up to pat my cheek. "Do not worry Dragoon, I am not tying you up to have my wicked way with you. I'll leave that to our lovely Xi." Tossing a leather cord to Xi, she stepped away from me winking.

Licking my lips I watched them both warily, even more confused when Xi began to tie her own binding to her belt, "What order would you have us in?" Xi said as she tugged on the rope, testing her knot, and peering at Remnant through the dense fog.

Still not knowing what the goddess was happening, I glanced between them, trying desperately not to stare at the beautiful, bare body that was Remnant Dark and feeling like a fool at the way Xi was watching me do so.

"Best to keep Ri in the middle. If we come across the anthousai they will be more interested in him. He already looks like a flower nymph with his green hair and eyes the color of the woodlands."

"I do not—wait, what in the Sheol is going on." Having enough of the play, I folded my arms across my chest, glaring at both of their smirking faces. Not tits. Faces. Goddess help me.

More soft snickers were my only answer before Xi tugged me into her. Stumbling, I reeled on the balls of my feet, bowing over her body to stop from crushing her with my full weight while she simply winked up at me and planted a kiss upon my mouth. Effectively cutting off my words of outrage.

"Don't worry my little flower nymph, we will take such good care of you," she purred up at me.

Looking between us and watching her tie her binding to mine, the pieces finally clicked together inside my addled brain. This was for safety…not for some kinky sex in the middle of a threatening mist with the female of my dreams and another of nightmares.

I goddess damn needed more male friends.

Another jerk, had me looking down at the source, Remnant now binding us together, looping the leather around her own belt.

Her exposed pale skin melded into the mist that was already thickening.

"We need to stick together," she explained.

"To be separated will be offering our lives to the death god in this mist. No games, no tricks.

Just straight to the pits of Sheol or in a land of no mercy in the Faerie rings. I'm not ready for either. Are you?"

I huffed, waving at the leather cord between us. "You could have just said that from the beginning and why not ask me to use my shirt, it would have given us more room should we need to fight while still being anchored together."

Her dark head shook, the details of her face fading.

"Leather is much harder to sever, the cloth of your pretty shirt would be too frail. I could have used your pants, they are longer and also leather but I thought you’d rather not have your swinging balls exposed in a jungle of gnomes and the siren-like revelry of the flower nymphs.

Then, there was the decision of my own or Xi's pants to use.

And we both know one would have deemed you helpless because if you had a bare pussy and fine ass to look at…

" She shrugged, indicating the rest did not need to be said.

I choked, fucking choked before blurting, "Do you—fuck, do you at least want my shirt?"

Xi chortled behind me, patting my back in sympathy as I stammered like a damn faeling.

Remnant's eyes glowed through the mist. "Nah, that would defeat the second purpose of using my shirt."

"Which is what exactly?" Feeling far too foolish at this point to assume I knew anything that was going on in Remnant Dark’s head.

She smiled. "To stay cool of course. It’s hotter than the goddess's tits out here. What other reason is there?"

I shook my head, sighing with a reluctant smile. "What else indeed."