Coughing at the liquid flowing down his throat, Daniel gasped and sputtered as the simple act sent a spike of pain through him.

“Knock it off and swallow, you rock-headed, foolhardy fisherman.” Darak’s voice was loud, and Daniel felt someone holding him down.

It took a moment, but Daniel forced himself to swallow, blinking as his eyesight slowly returned. He could hear sobbing, and as his eyes regained focus, the fuzzy blurs above him slowly turned into three people. Albert was scowling at him, Darak was smirking in a way that made him nervous, and Sina’s face was streaked with tears.

“W-what happened?” Daniel gasped, the pain through his chest and right arm duller than it had been, but still present.

“You stupid idiot! You attacked that demon who’d disabled all of us!” Sina exclaimed, hitting Daniel’s shoulder and sending a spike of pain through him. “She killed you, you big fool! What did you think you were doing?”

“I… I died? How did I…?” Daniel asked, slowly raising his arms to look at them, and wincing at the sight of his right sleeve covered in blood.

“You’re fortunate that Sistina’s dungeon has the occasional silvercap mushroom,” Albert replied tartly, scowling at Daniel. “It was fairly uncommon in the beginning, but after she realized how valuable they were to us, she started making them rarer. We only had a half dozen that the Guild didn’t purchase and have carted off, which means I only had six resurrection elixirs. Congratulations, Daniel. You owe me fifty gold.”

“What?” Daniel exclaimed, his eyes huge. “I… how could I possibly pay that? I’ve only got one gold and fifty silver!”

“Should’ve thought about that before you attacked something way out of your league, Danny,” Darak interrupted, shaking his head. “It was brave, I’ll give you that, but it was damned stupid, too. The Guild prices accordingly.”

“I’m willing to write off half of it, Daniel, but you’re going to have to pay it back eventually, if you’re going to stay in good standing,” the Guildmaster informed him, and offered a hand to help Daniel up. “Now get up, and we’ll get you back to your room. A resurrection elixir never fully heals you.”

“We also need to have words! What were you thinking, Daniel?” Sina demanded, and Daniel’s thoughts ground to a halt as he looked around the plaza. It looked oddly calm, but he shook off the odd fuzz to his thoughts.

“I… she was talking about enslaving everyone. Enslaving you. I… I couldn’t stand it, so I didn’t even think, really. I thought that since my spirit let me ignore her presence, I had a chance,” Daniel replied slowly, flushing. “Obviously not.”

“Stupid dumbass. Don’t you dare ever do something like that again,” Sina retorted, hitting him gently and causing another wince.

“Alright, alright… but what happened? Why has the fighting stopped?” Daniel asked, nodding toward the gates.

“Well… first Tyria came flying out of the dungeon and attacked ‘her enslavers’ for a bit before heading off, and then we found out that all of the slave brands in Kelvanis’ control just vanished,” Sina replied, her eyes glittering. “It seems that there’s a bit of a revolt going on out there, and the siege has pretty much broken.”

“Oh. That’s good,” Daniel replied, hesitant. As he considered the situation, though, he blanched and shook his head. “That’s… going to be unpleasant. I’m glad I’m here, not in Kelvanis.”

“So am I. Now come on, you need to rest up and heal,” Sina replied, prodding him toward her shop.

* * *

“There you are. May the Goddess’ blessing go with you,” Elissa told the man, nodding as she stepped back, his injury almost fully healed.

The elven man nodded and smiled, his voice friendly as he hefted his stolen sword. “Thank you, Your Grace. I’ll do my best to keep from needing your attention again.”

“Please do,” the priestess replied, and watched him go as her smile faded.

Kelvanath may not have actively been in flames, but large parts of it were. The temple had taken damage when the palace had exploded, but that had been relatively minor, as shortly afterward the carnage had truly ensued. With the loss of every slave brand in the city things had descended into chaos, and she’d already heard of dozens of harsh slave-owners having been torn apart by their servants. If similar events were playing out across the country, as she suspected they were, Kelvanis was going to tear itself apart.

Fortunately the church had already gotten onto the good side of the slaves, otherwise their rampaging mobs might have attacked the temple. As it was, Elissa was spending a lot of time putting the faithful back together.

“High Priestess? You’re needed in the back.” The voice of one of the acolytes interrupted Elissa’s thoughts, and her nervous tone caught the High Priestess’ attention.

“Is something wrong, Megan?” Elissa asked, frowning.

“It’s… it’s Our Lady. She wants you to come back to your rooms!” Megan replied, her eyes wide.

“Oh! I’ll go attend to her immediately, then!” Elissa exclaimed. What was Her Lady doing here, considering the situation? “Tend to the injured as they come in, and keep an eye out for people who’re combative. We want to stay out of the conflict outside.”

“Yes, High Priestess,” Megan assured her, and quickly got to work as Elissa briskly walked toward her room, making sure the door that led to the priestess’ wing was locked, just to be safe.

Her door was slightly ajar, and Elissa opened it to find Tyria looking out the window at the smoke-shrouded city. The goddess turned to face her, and Elissa felt her knees almost buckle under Tyria’s gaze, a strange, restrained anger in it.

“M-my Goddess? May I ask why you’re upset?” Elissa asked, going to her knees after an instant of hesitation.

“I have learned something very, very disturbing, Elissa.” Tyria’s voice was oddly calm, and she looked the priestess in the eyes as she asked, “Were you aware that I was once Medaea, and that I had succubus blood introduced to my body?”

“I was. I saw you when you were first sleeping in the chamber where you woke, My Lady.” Elissa didn’t hesitate to reply, not with Ulvian almost certainly dead. “I suspected on the blood, but the method they used to change you wasn’t shared with me.”

“Why did you not tell me this during our last conversation? This seems exceedingly important to me,” Tyria demanded, and Elissa’s eyes dropped to the floor.

The priestess considered several answers to the question. All of them were true, from the fact she hadn’t really thought about it, to the possibility that it might cause problems for Tyria. But in the end she chose to go with the simplest, and most true of the answers.

“I was too scared to tell you. Scared that you might revoke your blessing, or that you might grow enraged or something more. I was also too scared of Ulvian,” Elissa explained, not daring to move as her hands shook. “He captured you, and I was enslaved to Irethiel for sixty years, with that hanging over my head. If I told you and things went wrong, I feared what would happen to me. I planned to tell you if you asked, but not to volunteer the information.”

“Ah.” Tyria turned away and looked at the city.

For a long minute there was silence in the room, broken by the occasional sound of fighting and cries of alarm or pain from outside. It was a telling thing to Elissa, and she looked at the floor and her hands, not daring to speak.

“I will have to deal with the consequences of the demon blood sooner than later. It was made into part of me, and I cannot simply remove it,” Tyria finally said, a little more brightly and with determination in her voice. “As to who I am and was… this is going to lead to many difficulties in the future. I do not like that, but it is something that must be dealt with. Your tasks are going to be difficult, Elissa.”

“Milady?” Elissa asked nervously, afraid of what might be coming.

“Your first task is to try to reduce the scale of the destruction in the city outside. Not all of those who are being harmed deserve it. Try to mitigate the damage and keep the nation from entirely imploding,” Tyria told her, smiling thinly. “Difficult, I know, but you have some standing here.”

“You’re right. I’ll do what I can, Milady,” Elissa replied, her spine firming at the goal. She’d always been good at convincing others, so the task played to her strengths.

“Good. Once the city has settled down, you will come to Beacon, as will representatives of the church of Medaea. I will spend the intervening time figuring out what it is I wish to do about my identity, and trying to repair the damage done to Zenith.” The goddess paused, then smiled at Elissa. “That will be an unpleasant experience. But I will not have two radically different churches dedicated to me in two separate names. You and they will meet, with myself present. Then we will figure out a compromise that I can live with.”

“Oh. That could be… painful, Milady,” Elissa replied, swallowing hard at the thought of being in the same room as members of Medaea’s church.

“I agree. But it must be done,” Tyria told her, and nodded. “Now, get out there and see about keeping the city from burning to the ground.”

“Yes, My Goddess,” Elissa acknowledged, bowing her head, then rising to her feet in relief.

A faint part of her was simply thrilled that, unlike Ulvian, she’d at least gotten what she’d always wanted.

* * *

“This is one hell of a lot better than sitting on the castle walls waiting for the next attack,” Vendis commented, trotting along the trail with a smile.

“Yep.” Slaid’s reply was oddly short, and Vendis gave him a sidelong look.

“What, you don’t think hunting down orcs is a good plan?” she asked skeptically. “They raid everything in the neighborhood!”

“Oh, sorry! I was just thinking about something else,” Slaid quickly replied, shaking his head and smiling at her. “I definitely agree with you! I’m just thinking about the invasion of Kelvanis, and a few other things.”

“What sort of other things?” Vendis asked, smirking.

“Simple things. What do I do if I actually managed to take the throne? What about the succession?” Slaid explained. Then he asked, quite bluntly, “Captain Vendis Cascade, would you marry me?”

“Those are good… wait, what?” Vendis asked, her eyes wide as he smiled at her. For a long moment she stared and then spoke incredulously. “You asked like that?”

“Yep!” He grinned and shrugged. “I thought about something more complicated, but it didn’t feel right. What do you think?”

“Of course I will! But you’d better do it properly in town,” Vendis told him, blushing deeply and shaking her head. “That was just…”

When the man started chuckling, Vendis grabbed a few rocks and tossed them at him, leading to even more laughter.

* * *

“Your Majesty, I request leave to join your army.” Isana Dayrest’s voice was soft, and her eyes were oddly dead, with little of the liveliness that Phynis had grown to expect from the otherwise icy woman.

“May I ask why? You seemed content enough as the majordomo,” Phynis asked, sitting forward in her throne. Sistina was actually paying attention, which caused a bit more worry, but not too much. The dryad seemed a little more aware since she’d recreated her body again, and Phynis suspected it was the divine power she’d used to remake it.

“Of course, Your Majesty. The reason is simple enough… I want to exact what vengeance I can on Kelvanis,” Isana replied courteously. “I have lost too many friends and loved ones to their hands. My father died during their invasion, and most of those who lived in Dayrest are dead or slaves, or former slaves. I don’t believe you were aware, but Desa and I had also grown close, and she…”

Isana’s voice began to trail off, and Phynis blinked in surprise. Desa and Isana? She hadn’t noticed anything of the sort! But now that she thought about it, it did rather explain how much she’d found the two of them in the same rooms over the past few weeks, before Desa had gone on her ill-fated trip.

“I… I hadn’t realized. You have my sympathies, Isana. I wish that I could say she was well, but I have not heard anything about her since she was transported to Kelvanath. I—” Phynis blinked away unshed tears, but in mid-word another voice spoke.

“If that wasn’t a cue, I don’t know what is!” A woman’s voice, eerily similar to Phynis’ own, rang out in the room, and a portion of the air took on a mirror sheen. The woman who stepped out of the mirror looked identical to Phynis, save that her coloration was reversed, and her hair was blue instead of pink. The woman smiled, gesturing behind her as she spoke. “Come along, ladies. I told you I’d bring you back.”

Three women followed the first, and as they did, Phynis stood up in disbelief. Desa was there, wearing a dress for the first time in Phynis’ memory and with her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Behind her was Alissa, also in a dress and seeming much more poised. Last was Wenris, of all people, though she was grinning broadly and actually wearing what Phynis could think of as clothing this time. The portal closed behind them, and Phynis tried not to gape.

“Desa!” Isana cried out, clambering to her feet and almost tackling the other woman. “What happened to you? How did you get here?”

“Easy, Isana, not so tight,” Desa replied, hugging her and looking at Phynis as she blushed more deeply. “As to that… we were going to die. The Archon was going to have Alissa torture me to death, but just before that happened we were rescued by our host. I’m told you know of Emonael?”

“You’re Emonael?” Phynis asked, suppressing her shock and looking more closely at her mirror, who grinned in return.

“I am, Queen Phynis. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Emonael told her brightly.

“Why? Why would you be interfering in all of… this?” Phynis asked her, frowning.

“I owed a debt to Kathyria, which I never had a chance to repay, as well as one to your Sistina, who I knew as Marin. I also wished to see Irethiel fail,” Emonael replied with a smile, glancing over at Sistina. “I got to see all of them occur, so I am quite happy with how things have progressed.”

“You are not Emonael. You are a projection,” Sistina said calmly, smiling slightly as she tilted her head. “Why?”

Emonael’s form flickered and flowed, and in moments she looked like an elf with chestnut hair down to her buttocks and tanned skin, her brown eyes glittering warmly as she took a step toward Sistina. To Phynis’ surprise, the woman then curtsied deeply.

“Hello, teacher. Though you have taken a new name, you are still one of those who I’ve looked up to for longer than I care to think about,” Emonael said respectfully, then rose and continued. “As to that, I’ve ascended to full godhood. I cannot enter the mortal world any longer. I believe that to be a credit to you, teacher, and have come to give a final gift to you, not just to deliver your wayward guards.”

Extending her hand, the goddess smiled and a spindle of lights appeared above her hand as she explained. “Your work was the underpinnings of many of my greatest achievements, the theory upon which it was based. This is an even greater piece of my work. My teacher, I gift you a spell which I developed to unravel the slave brands which Kathyria and Irethiel wove. While I dare not unleash your tenth volume on the world, it is only right that you wield a piece of it.”

“You are not my student. This… is a spell which is beyond me,” Sistina murmured, extending her hand and allowing the lights to float and swirl over it. She smiled, then nodded. “Thank you, Emonael. There are many who should be freed.”

“It will not work on Tyria. The chain which she forged can only be broken by her,” Emonael warned. “Things have not worked out exactly as I’d hoped, but they are close enough. Now, since I’m done I’ll leave all of you alone. Fate is unhappy enough with me as it is.”

With a jaunty wave, Emonael vanished, leaving behind the others. Blinking in surprise, Phynis asked after a moment, “And you, Wenris?”

“Me? Oh, I’m just here to have a brief conversation with Diane,” the succubus told her happily. “I have far too much going on at the moment to take her with me, so rest assured that isn’t going to happen. I intend to speak with her and leave immediately afterward. Is that permissible?”

“It is, if that’s all you intend,” Phynis replied, frowning slightly.

“Excellent! I will go speak with her and be on my way,” Wenris replied, grinning as she left the room. Watching her go, Phynis took a deep breath and nodded at a guard, who quickly followed the succubus.

Once the man was gone, Phynis turned her attention to the women and smiled at Alissa. “Welcome back, Alissa. And you as well, Desa. I thought I’d lost you.”

“I wish we could have told you that we were fine, but Emonael wouldn’t let us. She said it could mess everything up,” Alissa replied with a small smile in return, looking at the floor and holding her hands in front of her, blinking back the tears welling up in her eyes, her voice growing unsteady. “I… I’m so happy to be back!”

“As am I. Though if Isana would let go of me so I could breathe, I’d be very happy,” Desa added, gasping for breath as Isana giggled and let go.

“Are you still wanting to join the army, Isana?” Phynis asked with a smile.

“No, not anymore,” Isana replied, smiling radiantly, then blushing and putting on her icy mask once more. “I mean, if that is acceptable, Your Majesty?”

“Of course it is. I’m glad you’re staying, Isana,” the Queen told her, and reached out to squeeze Sistina’s fingers gently.

* * *

“Hello, Diane!” Wenris’ voice was unexpected, and Diane let out a yelp as the succubus suddenly embraced her from behind.

“Wenris, unhand my mother!” Jaine spoke crossly, prompting a laugh from the succubus.

“Don’t worry about it, Jaine,” Diane hastily interjected, looking away from the garden to meet the demon’s eyes. Something about Wenris felt different, but she ignored it as she asked, “S-so… did you finish your business?”

“Indeed! I went where Emonael told me to go, and was pleasantly surprised by the result,” Wenris replied happily, her tail lashing like a cat’s. “I’m just back to have a quick chat with you before I go off to deal with a few fires.”

“Oh?” Diane asked, blinking at Wenris’ odd tone, and the succubus gave her a quick kiss.

“Miss Wenris! You’re in public!” Lily’s voice was unexpected, and everyone in the area froze as the gardener glared at them from a nearby field, her eyes narrowed. “This is my garden! Behave!”

Diane’s jaw nearly dropped. She’d never heard such a sharp tone from Lily before, and the way the young woman was glaring at the succubus was different too. Beside Lily was Kitten, and the panther cub gave an almost chiding growl of its own.

“Whatever do you mean, Lily? I just gave her a kiss,” Wenris asked, seeming startled herself.

“You’re in my garden, in front of Diane’s daughter, and I’ve heard about succubi from Sistina,” Lily retorted, her cheeks coloring as she looked away, swallowing. “A-and I won’t have anything like that going on in my garden!”

“Very well, I promise to behave,” Wenris replied, detaching in amusement.

“Good!” Lily replied, and as her courage seemed to vanish she gave Diane an embarrassed look and vanished behind a hedge.

“That was unexpected,” Jaine murmured.

“Quite. The gardener is growing a backbone,” Wenris agreed, smiling. “It’s adorable, really.”

“Wenris? May I ask what it is you were going to talk to me about?” Diane asked, shifting a little. Lily’s interruption had helped her regain some of her poise.

“Oh, yes! Right, I’m a demon lord now, and my responsibilities are going to keep me busy enough I’m not going to be able to attend to you with the attention you deserve,” Wenris explained, a wicked smile on her face as Jaine gasped, but she continued. “Because of that, I’m leaving you here. Go where you want, have relations with whomever you want, but every new moon you’re to sleep alone, waiting for me. That’s it, really.”

“Are… are you serious?” Diane asked, swaying in sudden shock.

“Very. Unless you would like me to drag you off to my new realm?” Wenris asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. “It’s in desperate need of housekeeping at the moment, I’m afraid. I’ve only got one maid, and she’s untrained.”

“No, no! I just… I have a hard time believing it,” Diane told her in a daze.

“Well, it’s true. Have fun, Diane, I’ll be in touch. Dream of me.” The succubus grinned again as she cut the air open and vanished through her planar portal.

“Mother? Does… does this mean we can go home?” Jaine asked after a moment, the garden all but empty save for the two of them and their maids.

A slow smile grew on Diane’s face, and her voice was soft as tears welled up in her eyes, then began to spill down her face. “I think it does.”