“Yes.” Ivy grinned, all too pleased that he was asking her about herself. He had done so several times, but he usually cut himself off before he got too far. “But no, not because I was important. My uncle was important. He was the Royal Mage, assistant to the king. But he did not want to hurt his citizens like the king ordered, so they banished him. Now we gather allies to one day march on the castle, overthrow the king, and take our rightful place at the castle.”
“And your uncle will be the leader of mortals,” Vale said.
“All mortals inthiscountry, yes,” Ivy said. “Then I suppose I will be important. But it isn’t about that. Honestly, I dread the day when people might pay attention to me. Whenever people pay attention, it’s usually for a bad reason.”
Vale said nothing for several seconds. Branches and bushes leaned out of their way, and Ivy reached to brush a branch above her head. It dipped down and touched her scalp, making her giggle in delight.
“Do you get yourself in trouble back in the mortal realm?” Vale asked.
Ivy sighed, resting her chin on his antlers. “I try not to. But I keep making mistakes. Many of them are because I’m too busy admiring or reading about local fauna to notice the pot is burning, or that we’ve passed a crucial turn on the map. I guess that same thing happened with the heatbloom pollen. But at least it’s helpful for being your assistant!”
She looked down at him, smiling hopefully. Vale wasn’t looking at her, but his grip tightened on her thigh.
It made a telltale pulse of heat run through Ivy’s core. She ignored it, clearing her throat. The pollen wasn’t out of her bloodyet, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t get some work done on the teeth-lilies first.
“You should tell me about yourself,” she tried, letting her bare foot bounce against his chest. “I know hardly anything about you, and we’re spending all this time together.”
“There is nothing to tell,” Vale replied. “I care for the void.”
“But what do youliketo do?” Ivy asked, her voice annoyingly high. Her skin was already heating up, her breath getting heavy. It was coming on surprisingly fast. It had been slower these past few days, giving her more warning before it rose up to engulf her.
“I told you,” Vale said. “I am always working.”
“I know. But what do youlike?”
“It does not matter what I like,” Vale said, eerily similar to something he had said to her earlier.
The rocking motion of his walk was making the pollen situation worse. Ivy crossed her legs, hoping he wouldn’t smell it. Of course, he would eventually, but she still had time.
“What did you do before?” she tried, trying not to focus on his clawed hand holding her leg. “When the light-motes were here, and you didn’t have to work all the time?”
At first, Vale said nothing. But his tail lashed behind him. Ivy wanted it wrapped around her wrist. Or her throat. Wait, what?
Ivy held back a groan as she noticed how hot she was getting. Her face was hot, and she could feel herself getting wet. Why did this have to happen when she was finally getting him to open up?
“I liked to hunt,” Vale admitted. “And commune with the plants instead of simply tending to them. I would have visitors. Sprites, nymphs, brothers. Sometimes we would go on… my brother Slate called themadventures.”
“That sounds really nice,” Ivy whispered. And it wasreallynice. Any other time, she would have been deeply charmed. But right now, all she wanted was for him to pin her to a tree and force that big cock into her.
Vale tilted his head. Ivy squeezed her legs together, heart pounding, waiting for him to notice.
But Vale only said, “Tell me of your people.”
Ivy laughed hoarsely. “My… my people? The ones you think poisoned your void?”
“Yes. Them. Are they good to you?”
Ivy’s smile faded. “What? Of course they are. Everyone’s… great.”
“You have many friends, then.”
Ivy didn’t reply. She had always felt like an outsider in the Circle, which shunned her for her constant mistakes. She sometimes made friends when they stayed in towns, but that happened less often now. Her uncle always warned her away from people outside the Circle, but she just couldn’t help it. It was hard to stick to a group when they didn’t want to hear what you had to say.
They’re good people, she wanted to say. But she couldn’t say that to Vale. Not when they were getting ready to chain him as they spoke.
“Um,” Ivy whispered. “I guess? Everyone’s— Yes, everyone’s… great…”
She trailed off, her sore hole throbbing. The pollen raced through her body, lighting her up inside. She wanted his tongue again. She wanted his strange, flat-headed cock. She wanted the come that flooded out of it, always so much more than she could handle.
