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Ch. 28: How 'Bout a Dance?
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Catalyst Ch. 29: Magic
“I’m curious. Why do you dance? Is it a ritual? Or a way to commune with people?” “That in particular?” She asked, her eyes temporarily closed as she enjoyed the sensation of his hands roaming over her body. “It’s a ritual. One that if you asked about it, you would promptly be told doesn’t exist. Just like you’d be told no one used magic... if you asked...” she opened her eyes and looked back at him over her shoulder. “But the two things are very much related. It’s both an initiation and a celebration.” She was scanning his face to see how he would react to her words, and then her mouth opened and the words that came out surprised even her. “It marks you as a witch.” Her own family didn’t even know. It wasn’t something anyone spoke of, and it certainly wasn’t something that would be condoned. Hayward listened to her, though he was more that a little distracted as his hands moved over her body. He raised an eyebrow at her, thinking that she was just messing with him. “A witch, hm
Catalyst Ch. 30: Magic (part 2)
He didn’t have to tell her twice. She moved quickly to break away from him, lying down on the bed. “Done,” she said back with a playful smile. Hayward licked his lips as he followed her more slowly, climbed onto the bed, and crawled toward her. He made it until he was on top of her and then stopped and shut his eyes. “Ooh... ow. Dammit.” He slowly laid down beside her, rolling onto his back. “I’m sorry Elissa. I would love to mount you right now and fuck you senseless... but that’s gonna have to wait.” He groaned in pain and pointed toward his empty glass. “Get me a little more wine, and I’ll be fine, but you’re gonna hafta be on top again.” He flashed a playful grin. “I hope that’s alright.” She shrugged, leaning over to the nightstand and refilled his glass. “You know as much as I want to do this, we don’t have to,” she looked pointedly at him while pouring and then handed it to him. “Because I do really want to do this—but—I don’t want to hurt you.” Some of the intense lust had dw
Catalyst Ch. 31: The Hangover
Elissa awoke the next morning to light streaming through a window and hitting her face. She instinctively groaned and covered her eyes with her hands. “Damnit...” Her head was pounding. She could smell the bits of food still in the room, and it made her horribly nauseous. She then turned her face away from the window and was face to face with Hayward. She groaned, rubbing her temples. Had she fallen asleep in here? Had that been intentional? How much did she drink? She turned back toward the nightstand and saw a little wine was left in the glass's bottom and downed it. “I need water,” she groaned, looking at the pitcher across the room. Determined, she sat up and the entire room spun, and she gagged. “Uh-uh...” she mumbled, falling back to a laying down position. “I’ll just die. It’s not worth it.” Hayward was resting just on the edge of sleep, having already been partially awakened by the morning light. He couldn’t help laughing. “Good morning to you too, beautiful,” he teased her
Catalyst Ch. 32: Saddle Up
Like the walking deus ex machina that he was, Dantares appeared shortly after Elissa left. Hayward was still picking out clothes when the older man knocked. “So. How did it go?” he asked sardonically.“Eh, about as well as could be expected. We got drunk and fucked like rabbits,” the prince answered. “It was enough to keep my mind off the pain, at least until she fell asleep. The rest of the night was miserable, as always.” He picked out a sturdy pair of grey pants and a pale blue shirt—clothes he cared little about, in case they got dirty in the mines.Dantares just shook his head. “You two aren’t wasting any time, are you?”“Carpe diem, my friend. Or perhaps carpe dolium, in this case,” the younger man replied, grinning.
Catalyst Ch. 33: Magic (part 3)
“If you want to go slow, we can talk and ride, and I believe I owe you an explanation.” She sighed. “So, it started back with the prior explanation... about the boy who my father sent away. I was young and stupid and angry, and I wanted to punish him. So I had heard talk that there were witches that came to the woods for full moons to pay tribute to the powers given to them by the moon goddess. And I sought them out. This was where hunting really came in handy.”She paused to see if he actually was interested in this part of the story, or only how it worked.Hayward nodded. “No need to rush. It’s a lovely day.” He wasn’t terribly interested in her history with the soldier, but could at least look like he was. At worst, it would be a window into her relationship with her father, something he was probably going to navigate sooner rather than later. As soon as she mentioned
Catalyst Ch. 34: The Mines
After he had also dismounted and safely tied his horse up, she nodded for him to follow and walked toward the opening. The men in the mines seemed unphased by her presence.“Harold! How are you?” She greeted one, and he nodded.“Just fine, m’lady. Thank you for asking.”“This is prince Hayward from Asaleagh. Prince Hayward, this is Harold, who is the foreman over the mines.”He nodded to the prince as well. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir. I hope you find your time here enjoyable. We run a tight operation. I’m happy to show it to you.”“No need...” she said, holding her hand up. “We just need a lantern, and we will go exploring on our own. You know I more than know my way around!” He nodded and handed her one. “Thank you.” She smiled and nodded for Hayward to continue farther back into the tunnel.Hayward quickly joined her approaching the mine entrance. “A pleasure to meet you, sir,” he said out of reflex. He didn’t need to treat a mere foreman with such respect, but
Catalyst Ch. 35: The Mines (part 2)
They reached a staircase, and she descended. It curved at every ten feet or so, then continued down in the opposite direction. After going down four sets of stairs, they came to another area of the cave. There were a few men scattered about inside, and one was carefully chipping away at a rock as something shiny gleamed through it. He wondered what else he might see as he followed her down the stairs, and the answer was... people, pretty much the last thing he wanted. He had to behave, couldn’t make lewd remarks, or do anything scandalous while there were witnesses. One was actively mining, it seemed, as the prince’s eyes focused instinctively on the gleaming object. “Ooh, that’s neat. What’s that going to be, gold? Or gemstones?” “Gems. Gold is generally found in deposits in the water.” She leaned closer, examining it. It had a slightly green tinge. “Looks l
Catalyst Ch. 36: Prejudices
“Well, I’m glad,” she replied with half a smile, still stiff in his arms. She didn’t believe him entirely, but who was she to argue? She knew there was something underneath he still wasn’t discussing, but her own emotions had clouded her from getting much more than knowing it existed. Either he suppressed it thoroughly, or she was still too emotional to pick it back up again. It seemed to be connected to his anger. But it wasn’t just his anger; she knew something was there. She just had to get him to open up about it.He was content to float on in silence until they reached the dock and climbed out. He quickly followed her to the lift. “You know, that was kinda fun. I think I’d enjoy it more in the sunshine, though, or under the night sky. It feels so strange for it to be so dark, and yet there are no stars,” he observed.When they were both safely inside the much larger lift than before, Elissa held the rope to use the pulley. It was heavier than the other, and going up didn’t use gr
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