The Goddess of Death and Her Empress

Kyrie opened her eyes reluctantly, and though her memories were still sealed, she felt a tinge of loss when she woke up. She saw her little Lena still asleep in front of her, and smiled gently.

"You have to wake up, Empress. Don't you have to keep me company?" Kyrie watched as Lena's eyes twitched, and she slowly opened her now permanently red orbs. She had evolved while she slept beside her goddess.

"Kyrie." She said softly. She yawned delicately. "Mm, feels right to wake up beside you while we are kept warm by our companions." She reached back and lightly tapped Nuri's hand.

"Empress, are you awake?" Nuri lifted her head in surprise. She had not moved much from her position, as she now greatly enjoyed being the one who cared for the Empress, and kept her safe with her own flesh.

"Mm. Thanks for keeping me warm. We need to rise. Have them prepare water for washing, and fresh clothes." She yawned lightly again. She reached out and caressed Kyrie's cheek. "You'll keep me company for a while? I don't like it when you're not there except for when I sleep." Kyrie then felt a simple click within her mind.

'Make her want to stay awake.' Kyrie groaned as she now realized why Lena wanted to sleep all the time. Not just hibernate, but sleep. Kyrie would accompany her while she was asleep, but return to Haven while awake.

"You want to be with me so much that you would sleep your entire life away." Kyrie said softly. Lena blushed.

"You're my Kyrie. Of course I want to be near you." Lena said softly. Kyrie groaned inside. She sat up and slid up over Nadya. She leaned down and kissed Nadya's cheek.

"Well done, little one. Your job is to assure her safety, and care." She looked at Lena and sighed.

"I have to return to Haven briefly. Once I'm sure that Haven is still aligned properly, I will return. It may take an hour or two, but it is necessary." She sighed a bit and rolled her beautiful blood red ruby orbs. "I will spend more time with you while you are awake from now on. In Haven, we may sleep for longer periods, but for now, I will spend more time with you while you are awake." She disappeared into her red mist.

Lena sighed, shook herself mentally, and sat up.

"Ladies, help me to clean up. Get me something to eat." She tapped her chin a couple of times. "No. Which Shadow haven't I eaten yet?" She licked her lips. Valcynie appeared, and smiled as Lena looked at her like she was the prey.

"Oh Empress, please!"

* * *

To a human, this would be a pure and brutal savagery. To the Empress, it was a necessity, and it brought the Others closer to her. The way she sheared through their skin, muscle, and bones was as intimate an act as they could get.

The Others would hunt each other down, revel in the brutality, and express their longings through their lusts. The less they could control their hunger, the closer they felt to the one who hunted and consumed them.

The Others also didn't bleed like a normal human, but leaked a bit as their blood turned into mist when it left their bodies.

"I am so jealous!" Sol said with a pout as Valcynie was slowly eaten, from her feet to her head, with even her bones getting crunched during the meal. "I've only seen her this eager when she ate your breasts." She said as she looked at both Nadya and Nuri.

Both ladies watched as Valcynie expressed her joy at being eaten, and how the Empress made it something to be enjoyed before she finished her prey. She used her long tongue and pulled the core into her mouth before she put it onto her palm.

"You were so delicious, Cynie." She lightly kissed the core. "Tell the goddess she needs to return soon." She held out her palm and watched as a red mist took the core from her palm. Lena sighed softly. Nuri stepped forward.

"Empress, the Elorshin who've come to serve, have prepared the water to wash. The remaining waking elders were hoping to last long enough to meet you before they were Offered to the goddess." Sol said, and knelt at her feet. She closed her eyes and murmured as Lena ran her fingers through her soft dark hair.

"Once I'm washed and dressed, have Kata report. Arrange to have the waking elders meet with me. Have Hannah report on the Elorshin, and how they wish to integrate into the temple, and the surrounding lands." Lena pursed her lips, and thought for a moment. "The lands around the temple will be given to them to manage. The farms, the mines, the coast. Let them decide how to manage them, how to organize the bonded servants, or if they wish to remain completely isolated as a people."

"Empress." Nuri said. "The Shadows have always remained separate from the rest of Haven, unseen, but always ready to act. They are the blade of the goddess." Lena's eyes narrowed.

"They have been assigned that duty, but the goddess could reach out and destroy whomever she wished from any part of Haven." Lena said. "Don't be deceived by this play she presents. The goddess is not as limited as she presents herself." She heard a soft chuckle, and watched as the mist coalesced, and the goddess appeared.

"Still so smart, and not so easy to trick." Kyrie said softly. She sat down beside Lena and filled with warmth as the young woman leaned into her side.

"You may allow others to take the responsibility, and serve so they feel useful, but you are not as limited as those other so called gods." Lena said firmly. "The Elorshin shall decide, and the Shadows shall serve."

"They have a reason for serving in this manner, Empress." Kyrie said, though for some reason, that small truth seemed to be quite vague right now. Like it was shrouded in mist and unclear, though she was sure there was a great reason for the way they served.

"I won't move your precious Shadows out of their assigned roles. The ones that belong to me will serve as I see fit." She said firmly. Kyrie grinned, and cupped her cheek. She let her long tongue flick across Lena's lips.

"I gave them to you for that reason, but make sure there is always one of them nearby." Kyrie said and looked around, her eyes catching the three hidden around the room.

"There are always at least two, though today there are more, and sometimes as much as four at once." She smiled. "My Shadows don't like being away from me, and I feel when they are not near. I don't like it when they are far away, as it's like there are small pieces of myself out of reach." She gave Nuri a squeeze as her hand rested on the larger woman's thigh.

"Just as I feel when these wonderful warm women are out of sight." She leaned back against Kyrie. "I'm glad you came back, my Kyrie. I needed to inhale your scent." Kyrie felt Lena's fingers trail along the outside of her thigh, and growled a little.

'This year is going to be so long! This is torture!' Just as Lena also felt these incessant longings to be near the goddess, Kyrie also felt this deep hunger to be near the young human.

The remaining year until Lena turned eighteen was going to be a hard one to endure, but she was worth every effort.