Free Web NovelGiselle didn’t follow him as he stumbled up the hill and down into the Pit. Overcome with grief, his feet carried him forward until he was standing in the fighting square itself. Distraught as he was, he hadn’t realized that there was a senior Fighting course being held and now he found himself right in the middle of it.
The square was filled with senior Fighters, all in their sports clothing, loose fitting tank tops and exercise pants. They were receiving instruction as they sparred in pairs. The crowd was dotted with Mentors from the Military League. Linhart hadn’t gotten a good look at the Mentors of this world yet.
In his previous world, Mentors had been tough, gristled men who had graduated from the Academy several years earlier. Many of them had seen combat in the first year of the Wizard War. Some of them came to the Academy to guide and train the next cohort of Fighters, while others made it their goal to eliminate the last of the weaklings from the senior class. Fewer than half of the Fighters who started in senior class survived to graduation.
Looking around, the same could be said about these Mentors. They were hardened soldiers, all women by the looks of it, who had a dangerous air to them even when standing still. The well-muscled seniors looked tame beside them.
When he saw that he was attracting attention just being here, Linhart starting to walk through the crowd, trying to leave the square. Some of these seniors he knew, like Maeve who was sitting on the benches, with recent wounds. Her arm hung dislocated from her shoulder joint at her side and a cloth pressed to her temple was stopping the flow of blood. She was looking at him now, smiling. Her long red braid really looked gorgeous in the bright sunlight.
Ami was there, too. She was in the midst of sparring with a much larger senior, she glanced over at him with a look of surprise, and almost got hit because of it. She continued to throw him glances, though she seemed to be barely able to dodge the attacks being thrown her way.
One mentor, with a particularly nasty sneer on her face, called out, “Hey, little lamb. Have you come to fight with the wolves?” She was upon him in a second, grabbing his arm and baring her teeth, “It’s been a long time since I had something tender like you to eat.”
Her rough hand pulled his face towards hers, filling his vision with her thick dark hair and swarthy complexion. Linhart looked into this woman’s eyes, and felt a chill run through him. She was a predator and he was prey.
“And you’re going to have to wait longer still,” called a familiar voice. Xenia appeared through the crowd and put her arm on the soldier’s. Xenia was even more perfect than he remembered her being. Her face was flushed with effort and her muscles glistened with sweat. She was breathing from a workout that had left no marks on her perfect body. Her purple sash was tightly wrapped around her huge breasts, which bounced in a tantalizing manner as she walked. Her gaze and stance made it clear that she was still the Alpha Wolf, even around these Mentors.
She looked into Linhart’s eyes and he could feel the relief running through her. Then she looked back at the soldier, and Linhart knew there may be trouble. She was ready to snap this woman’s arm in two, if she didn’t let go of him right away.
“Oh, is this one of yours, Stratega?” The woman laughed and released him almost too quickly. “I should’ve known. You like them young and pretty… It’s such a shame that they keep disappearing on you.”
“And it’s a shame the wizards didn’t charm you when they had the chance, but I guess they only keep the girls with tits, Beatrice,” Xenia’s retort was fast and cutting. “It must be tough getting boys when you've got a body like one.”
The soldier let loose a curse that made Linhart’s ears burn, but Xenia seemed to be done with the interaction, her focus on him. Her eyes twinkled but her voice remained hard.
“I’ve been waiting for your return. Come let’s talk away from here.” Her firm hand was around him and she was leading him away. Mentors and seniors alike moved out of their way, and Linhart had no choice but to move with her.
* * * * * * * * *
Xenia, unsurprisingly, knew that he had been with Octavia all week. But she knew none of the details; a feeling of frustrated curiosity flowed from her. She asked him a few coy questions as they walked, and Linhart could feel the needles of jealousy poking through. Still, strongest of all was her happiness to see him alive and well.
“And you went with her just so you could be free of me?”
Linhart couldn’t hide the truth. She knew him too well. “I did.”
“I should never have introduced you two!... Well then, if my protection is not wanted, why have you come back to me? You could go live a happy life with your Utility Stratega.”
Linhart had no good response to that. So he kept his mouth shut, broadcasting regret and sorrow. Did she know he was close friends with Drystan?
They two of them had entered the infirmary. There were 4 Healers on duty now, waiting on the couches locked in quiet conversation that they cut off as soon as Xenia entered the chamber. Linhart didn’t recognize any of them. By the robes they wore, he knew they were all Seniors, and all of them appeared to be boys, though their faces were hidden deep within their cowls. Their aloofness was the same as the junior Healers and they seemed just as wary when Xenia approached them. She looked them up and down with frosty eyes before speaking.
“Freshman Linhart and I need to speak. Privately. There are injured among the senior Fighters outside, treat them out in the Circled Square as best you can.”
“Yes, Stratega.” The four intoned in one voice. They didn’t hurry out, but they did not waste time leaving either.
Meanwhile, Linhart looked over and saw what he’d hoped he would find there. There was one solitary figure laid out on the medical beds. Her long chestnut hair and gentle curves marked her, even from this distance. It was Serapha.
He rushed across the room to the bed, a flood of emotions hit him as he approached. She was lying there, illuminated in the low lamp light. Her body, all but her head was covered by a white sheet, appeared to be undamaged, but her breath was labored and she was feverish and sweaty.
“Serapha, I'm here. It’s me, Linhart” he whispered, taking her hand in his own. She was very warm and her hand closed upon his, but she did not respond.
Xenia was standing across from him now. Her eyes, shadowed in the lamplight, were studying him with purpose. He could feel the mix of emotions that were welling up in her as she gauged him.
A stream of desire and horniness flowed through the connection between them. But he knew she could sense his feelings for Serapha and she held back. Only watching him, the jealousy in her rose up again.
“This girl is wearing one of Octavia’s special bracers. Did you give this to her? Who is this girl to you?”
He had no choice. She required answers, so he told her the whole story. She listened and watched, occasionally interrupting with a probing question. Linhart spoke of the four bracers and the fight in the theater a week before. He spoke of the experiment in the Nexus and the bargain he made with Octavia. The hardest part of his story was mentioning Drystan. Xenia clucked her tongue in sympathy, when he told how he had given Drystan a bracer and promised him to introduce him personally to the Stratega.
“You couldn’t know that it would work out like that at the time, Linhart,” she said, comforting him. “But I know he was a skillful and dedicated young man. I would’ve loved to be his personal tutor…”
Hearing those words, Linhart realized how badly he’d handled Drystan’s request. Maybe, if he had introduced the two earlier, he wouldn’t have been killed. How did that even happen? Xenia didn’t seem to know anything more about the perpetrators than he did.
“I have investigated all of the senior Fighters. There were clear signs that a senior was responsible for these kidnappings and now murder. But not a single one has any memory of entering the boys' dorm that night…”
Linhart knew that she was suffering personally, especially with Quan being missing now. So he continued with his story, hoping that something he had to say would help ease her worries. But still, he held back some things, not willing to tell this fickle woman all his secrets. He didn’t mention the slave bond, the secret settings on Octavia’s bracers, or the findings of the experiment. Everything else he shared, and as he spoke he felt like a burden was being lifted off his heart and shared with this strong, protective woman.
When he was done talking, Xenia nodded, seeming to make a decision in her mind. Then she circled around the bed to stand right behind him. His hands still holding Serapha’s, he didn’t flinch as she wrapped her powerful arms under his arms and around his chest. A small and warm kiss on the side of his neck was the first indication that all was well between them.
“What you're telling me, is that I chased you into the arms of that bitch, Octavia,” she said in a low voice, speaking into his ear. Her lips kissed him lightly, and she somehow restrained the torrent of desire that he knew was rushing through her body. “I suppose I should not have held you here without first asking your opinion, my little flower. I forgive you for running from me.”
“I am sorry for running. I know now you were just protecting me from danger. But, you must know, if I am ever to become a true Fighter, then I am going to have to go out and fight.”
A deep sigh from Xenia, and he felt her accept what he said as reality.
“Well, I suppose that means I will have to share you with these other girls that you’ve given bracers to.” She lifted Serapha’s other hand and showed her bracer, displaying her score.
Linhart gasped. Serapha’s Fighting score was -640. An impossibly low. It’s a miracle that she was still alive, she must be fighting for her very existence right now.
“It's shocking, I know. There’s no way she can recover from this. And she’ll never be able to Fight again.” Xenia hugged him tighter, sensing his need for truth and reassurance. “She’ll be dismissed from the Academy as soon as she is well enough to leave, just as Taylor was dismissed last week.”
“Oh, Serapha…” he mourned, “You wanted to become a Fighter, just as much as I did. Wait, Xenia…” A thought occurred to him, but he didn’t know how to talk about it, without saying more about his special powers than he wanted.
“What if I could somehow raise her Fighting score to above zero without her having to Fight anyone? Would she be able to stay at the Academy?”
“What you’re saying is impossible, Linhart. Unless…” she hesitated, her hand sliding down his body until it rested on the bulge in his trousers. Her fingers closed around the long shape that was forming there. Just the feeling of her hand pressing against his manhood through his pants and underwear sent a shiver through his body. Her breasts pressed harder against his back and he felt his resolve slipping. She was too powerful and far too sexy to resist. “...you are keeping something from me?”
Linhart knew she would find out. With their mutual bond and her keen senses, there was no way of keeping such a secret away from Xenia for long. Even here, in front of the unconscious body of his friend, he couldn’t help but want her. She was like the legendary Queen of Desire… well, King of Desire in this new world.
He turned around, and faced her now. Face to face, she was even more irresistible. Her eyes were green depths he could gaze into all day. Her lips were full, red, and so kissable. He recalled watching those lips slide up and down the entire length of his shaft, consuming him and his semen with an urgency and need that only she could display and not seem desperate. She was always in control. He wanted that feeling again, but after he shared this secret, he may never get head from her again.
“It’s what happens when I creampie a girl. I mean, when I cum inside a girl… her Fighting score goes up.” freёwebnovel.com
Xenia must have suspected something already, because he didn’t feel a bit of amazement or surprise out of her. In fact, the emotion he felt most pouring into him was victory and happiness, which became obvious by the wide grin that spread across her face.
She didn’t waste time asking permission this time. Her fingers went to his buttons and, as she expertly started to remove his clothes, she said skeptically, “Well, that is a claim that I cannot trust without testing it for myself.”
