The Goddess of Death and Her Empress

"Sol, these two are Nuri, and Nadya. They will assist you, Hannah, and Nikki in the Empress's care. Do as you need to, and call out for help if you need it. Haven is ready to serve the Empress." Lydia said as Sol came back from the grove, sated after being hunted, and hunting her sisters.

"Mm, I remember you two. The bar, right?" Sol asked. Nuri nodded, and looked uncomfortable. "You do know the rules in Haven, right? If you say no, the deacons and shadows would rip that bar apart in seconds. Why did you never say no?" Nuri lowered her eyes.

"It wasn't like that at first." Nadya said softly. "They ate us, and we didn't mind. Pain is pleasure, after all. It changed later." Sol snorted.

"It was always like that. They just made you feel grateful to be chosen." Sol growled a bit. "From now on, only the Empress has the right to choose for you. Your lovers, your meals, the ones you submit to, all chosen by either the goddess, or the Empress. When she wakes up, you'll know why." She sighed.

"Come. I need to see the Empress again. I feel incomplete while I am away from her."

* * *

"Nikki, I'll take over, while you take Nuri around the temple, and get her to get familiar with the area again. Perhaps take her to the forest, or make some plans for the mines. I'll take Nadya in, and get her assistance." Sol said. Nikki pursed her lips.

"Alright, but are you sure you can handle it? Kata's breasts can heal, but you'll hate yourself if the Empress is upset about it." Nikki said and watched Sol's cheeks flush.

"I wasn't prepared, and didn't know she could inflame me like that. I can handle it. Valina is watching too." Nikki chuckled as Sol pouted.

"I'll let you squeeze me tonight, while Nuri and Nadya look after the Empress. Get it out of your system." She laughed after she walked away, and left Sol to sputter angrily.

"TART!" Her cheeks colored, and she looked a bit flustered. Nadya watched Sol's interactions, and frowned a bit.

"Are you alright?" Nadya asked carefully. Sol blushed furiously.

"I almost took a bite out of the Empress's servant." She lowered her eyes and pouted. "The goddess says that I was inflamed by the Empress while she dreams. Since I'm younger than the shadows, I couldn't handle it." She rolled her eyes. "She was so warm and responsive, I nearly lost my mist." Nadya looked at the Empress cautiously.

"I've been trapped in the bar for the last few hundred years, chained to the table so they could eat me. I don't understand what's going on. Could you explain it for me?" Nadya asked her.

"As best I can. When Lena was five or six, she saw the goddess in public, even when she was hidden." Nadya blinked as though her eyes had twitched, and looked surprised. "I know, but it was possible as it happened. She gave her a bit of mist to wipe her mind of the experience, but it failed. Not only that, the Empress absorbed it."

"Oh. I don't think I've ever heard of that happening." Nuri said in a small voice. Both herself and Nadya were surprised by all they learned about this human.

"It hasn't." Sol said confidently. "Only those taken to Haven can accept her mist. However, over the years, the Empress has gotten stronger, and reflected a lot of the goddess's traits. Ravenous hunger. Red eyes. Long sharp teeth, and the ability to consume one of us right down to our core."

"To our core?"

"Yep. Now, she's gone to sleep, a hibernation of sorts, and it's up to us to watch over her. I'll go get some hot water, and we'll wash her before we keep her warm for the night." Sol said softly, then bent over the sleeping form of the Empress.

"I have so missed being here, even though I was only gone for a day." She lightly kissed her forehead. She turned to Nadya. "Sit down, and wait for me to return. Valina, watch over them both."

"I will, Sol. Never doubt that a shadow always is near our Empress."

After the two left, Nadya sat down on the chair, and couldn't help but glance at Lena as she slept. Slowly, she felt a pull, and moved to the bed.

After several minutes, she was under the blankets, and her robe was on the floor. She cradled Lena to her belly, and chest, and slowly let out a shaky breath.

Valina watched, her eyes blazed with a bit of jealousy, but also wonder. Lena was in hibernation, but her mere presence pulled another person close without her saying a word.

An hour later, when Sol and Nuri returned, Nadya had closed her eyes, and fell asleep beside Lena, while she hugged her with her entire soft body. Sol pursed her lips a bit.

"Since it is closer to night, Nuri, you can stay and rest here. Let Nadya sleep. The Empress will affect each of us a bit differently, so Valina and the shadows will watch over you both, to make sure nothing happens." Sol rolled her eyes. "I don't want either of you to be tempted to take a bite, even if you believe that you wouldn't."

"But I wouldn't!" Nuri protested. Sol smirked.

"I thought that I wouldn't either, but I almost did take a bite of Kata, her personal guard. Nadya probably wouldn't have thought she would slide into her bed, strip off, and snuggle with the Empress." She pointed to Nadya's robe on the floor. "But there she is." Nuri blushed brightly, and didn't say another word.

In truth, if Sol wasn't there, she would have already slid into that bed and snuggled with the Empress, and done so just like Nadya.

The compulsion to be near her was that strong for both of them.

Valina withdrew her presence, and smiled a little. Nuri sat down, and couldn't help but look at Lena as she slept. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Nadya shift her position, and hold the Empress to her front.

"That didn't take long." Valyria said as she moved into her place. Valina smiled, stood up and stretched.

"She's just as vulnerable as the rest of us." She said as Nuri stripped off her robe, and slid in under the blanket on Lena's other side.

"Go back to Haven, Valina. I can already feel the Empress's pull on me, and I just got back. Do you think she'll take us soon?" Valyria asked quietly.

"I hope so. I really want to be eaten just like Valthyria." Valina looked at her. "Do you think..."

"Maybe. She's in hibernation, but it feels like she's a bit stronger than when she went to sleep." Valyria sighed a bit. "Anyone go to Old Asmaria to let them know the temple is reopened?"

"Hmph. Those faithless bastards have all been corrupted by those pale sickly Digallans. Other than the Vhaac, there aren't any who look for the goddess." Valina sneered. "They look so weak too. The Asmarians should be ashamed of themselves to lose to such pale and pasty looking people."

"Light skin doesn't speak about strength, Valina." her sister said. "And neither does the dark. The Asmarians are just more attractive."

"True. The Empress has already made it known about how much she enjoys Sol's company, and her beauty." Valina smiled a little. "She even said I was beautiful." Valyria looked carefully at her fellow shadow.

"The Great Temple is open again. Do you think..."

"We should check. If they haven't woken up yet, we should call them." Valina sighed. "If not for the Empress, we would have to continue waiting for our sisters."

The shadows, specially chosen from among the people of Imera, were not from the tribes of Jie, of the north men, nor the south. They were as slender as a willow, as supple as a sapling, with straight black hair, full cheeks and lips, and black eyes that were said to be able to see through to the soul.

They were the Elorshin, the survivors of the island of Elorha, taken from the island over two thousand years ago when their island sank into the rift between two seas.

They are dedicated to the goddess for how she saved their people, and settled them in a hidden cove somewhere on the east coast of the continent. Each shadow must be of Elorshin lineage, and Offered willingly.

When the Great Temple became inactive, the Elorshin put their people into a magical slumber, to wait for the time that the Great Temple opened again.

"They must wake, sister." Valina said softly. "They have waited centuries for their turn."