I got carried away at the end. It's probably rated R or something. Oops. Hope you like this chapter! 

             "Sheesh, Sephira, you didn't warn me you'd be going wearing that?!" Craven exclaimed when he left the bathing room in his clean tunic and pants to see Sephira adjusting her sparkling black dress to make sure it fit right.

"Well, I couldn't wear armor to a banquet!" she laughed, looking down at the black marks on her arms and the black elvish script down her sternum.

"You have no idea how much I want to... violate you in that dress." Craven told her as his eyes took in the sight of her intricate tattoos framed by the shape of the glittering garment. She stopped focusing on her spell to look up at the look in his deep golden eyes.

"Oh yeah?" she asked with a smile spreading on her face. "And what would an orc like you want from me and my ridiculous dress?" she joked, inviting his embrace as she let her hands slide up his neck into his hair. He hugged her body into his as she kissed him with her eyes closing and her eyebrows furrowing in a wave of passion. His hand found her skin where the dress failed to cover her back while his other ran over her hip and buttocks to push her pelvis up against his. Her hands felt up under his tunic over the muscles of his warm bare back.

"Psst! Bad timing!" Rauka hissed, making their eyes open as they broke apart to look at the female orc. "The maids are going to be here any minute! He sent a servant to tell you he's sending them to help you get ready!"

"Damn it." Sephira huffed a frown taking over her pretty face. Craven drooped dramatically in disappointment and took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Rauka." He told her dejectedly but with a note of sincerity.

"Focus on looking human, will you?!" Rauka implored, making Sephira and Craven share a surprised smile to see a different side of the usually reserved female orc.

"I will." Sephira laughed. She straightened her dress out and flattened her hair as she stepped out from in between Craven and the stone wall beside the bed. She slunk by Rauka into the bathing room to look at herself in the mirror glass. She had to splash water on her face and pace while she shook her hands as she tried to shake off her nerves. Rauka was nervous for Sephira too and it was showing more than usual. Sephira knew she had to be very careful to keep her guard up all evening. She paced barefoot over the cold tile floor as she tried to ready herself for keeping her body cloaked and even more difficult, she had to make sure Craven and Rauka's eyes were yellow just in case. They would probably end up far from her and it would be tiring to keep their eyes yellow while she wasn't very close to them. Usually it was easier for her to keep them yellow only when someone studied them closely. They were going to be used as general guards along the wall of the large hall near the center of the castle. Captain Kenai had mentioned that since many of the high profile guests had personal guards, they were going to have all the personal guards take spots around the perimeter of the room rather than follow their charge closely like they were used to.

She heard the knock at the door, even through the closed bathing room door. The sound of Craven's armor being tightened also reached her ears and had become a familiar sound. She looked deep into her own worried silvery blue eyes in the mirror glass with both her hands braced on either side of the washing basin, before letting her head drop while she focused on cloaking the tattoos she had worked her whole life to earn. When she opened her eyes to see the black marks disappear behind clear beige skin, she took a deep breath as she let the spell slide just behind her thoughts like she was hiding it behind a curtain in her mind.

She opened the bathing room door and walked out with a tall posture and had placed an almost excited but altogether poised expression on her face.

"We've come to do your hair and make-up, General." One of the maids cheered. Sephira raised her eyebrows in surprise and then they dropped in confusion, her poised expression gone.

"Make up?" she asked, having no idea what the word meant. The maids had a basket of jars and paint brushes as well as some strange tools that reminded Sephira more of weapons than anything she would need for her hair.

After what felt like an hour of sitting on a plush stool while four maids surrounded her, she was finally allowed to see what in the world they were painting on her face and burning into her hair. Her hair felt like it was standing off her head and her eyelashes felt thick and crusted. When she looked in the mirror glass, she was shocked at how human she looked. Instead of her mostly straight, slightly wavy hair, it was in curls that reminded her oddly of Hera's nymphs. Her eyebrows had been darkened along with her eye lashes and the top of her eye lids was a most unnatural shade of mauve. Black pencils had been used to poke her in the eyes and she saw that they were actually trying to blacken the rim of her eyes and not stab her eye out like she suspected. They had painted cold, odd smelling paint on her fingernails and toe nails that made them a sparkling gold like dragon scales. The most disturbing thing they did was make her lips a hideous shade of red like she was some kind of blood-drinking demon! She used the washing basin to wipe the red from her lips and the artificial pink and white from her cheeks before they could stop her. Four of them had her arms as they dragged her out of the bathing chamber before she could get the rest of the paint off her face. Rauka and Craven were absolutely struggling not to laugh and Sephira shot them threatening looks and had half a mind to demand they protect her from the crazy humans.

"Don't smudge it!" One of them whined as she felt the urge to scratch the corner of her eye. The young maid was so bold as to slap Sephira's hand away from her own face.

"We found some shoes for you!" One of the others told Sephira in excitement as the other two maids held up some odd blocks with belts all over them.

"I don't need shoes..." She argued, half-heartedly. She was becoming acutely aware that she was absolutely powerless against the four of them. She struggled to balance on the wood blocks until they tightened the torturous straps to squeeze the life out of her feet. She felt betrayed by her seamstress when she noticed the dress seemed made to be worn with these particular type of evil shoes fashioned to her feet.

"Ahh! I think you're ready!" They cheered, making Sephira cringe.

"How am I supposed to get down those gorram stairs with these gorram shoes?!" Sephira growled, making them laugh like she was not seriously asking them.

*

After Sephira had escaped the maids by awkwardly climbing to sit on her white gold dragon, she clung to the saddle with her legs pressed together and her dress held awkwardly down as her dragon was able to find the banquet by the bright lights and music playing loudly. Craven and Rauka rode her other two dragons down after her after the maids started running down the stairs as planned to sneak looks at all the nobles and their ladies that would be attending the grand banquet.

"Shiy-aii! Horrible humans." Sephira hissed under her breath as she straightened her dress while balancing on her shoes after struggling down off her dragon. Rauka and Craven had joined her and she could hear them laughing under their masks. "Shussh." She told them, whacking Craven's chest with the back of her hand.

Their laughs died down as members of the Grey Council started arriving, each with more golden dragons than the last. Even though they weren't wearing their characteristic grey cloaks or disguises they were known for, the magick that Sephira felt from them was different from anything she'd felt before. It was like their magick was stronger when they were all in the same place. She hadn't moved, but fell back into Craven and Rauka when Azaesel landed on Qetesh on the balcony beside her. She cloaked Craven and Rauka's eyes in yellow as she stood with a blank expression on her face.

"You look stunning." Azaesel told her as he approached and she tried not to look like an idiot as she let her spell slide to the middle of her mind and she brought her consciousness back to her face.

He held his elbow crooked for her to slip her arm through around his. She obliged, but an unfamiliar feeling of submissiveness came over her and she didn't like it. The golden chandeliers and crystal sconces had been lit in the large room and as Sephira got used to the feel of walking on the tall shoes, she was able to step more gracefully across the white marble floor from the balcony into the light of the ballroom. Azaesel's dress suit was similar to his black and gold tunic and just what she expected he'd wear. He had a ruff at his neck and a collar on the decorated black jacket that he wore over a satin buttoned shirt. His pants of course were tight and when Sephira looked down she was jealous of the leather boots he was wearing that he could walk normally in. She wondered if he had orchestrated the handicaps that were placed on her. She was taller on her shoes, but if she had to run, she'd break her ankles trying, while probably also ripping her dress that was tight from where it hugged her below her sternum all the way through to her mid-thigh's that she felt like she couldn't part as much as usual.

"You could be an Undine, you're so beautiful." Azaesel told her after he handed her a glass of pale wine that she took a sip of thirstily.

"I assure you. There is no Undine like me." She laughed with her fangs on display.

"You will be the only thing anybody can look at for the rest of the night." Azaesel insisted close to her face. She had to try not to flinch from the uncomfortable feeling of his breath tickling her skin. Her eyes looked out to the guests in curiosity. Many were in the strangest costumes she had ever seen. It was nothing like the elven ceremonies where many wore very little clothing and usually no shoes while they danced to music under the stars and the moon. Here, it could've been daytime it was so bright under the warm chandeliers and Sephira noticed every woman wore tall heeled shoes, large brightly colored dresses like birds, and most wore corsets that made their breasts look like they were going to overflow out of their dresses.

Captain Kenai spotted her, but his eyes flickered to Azaesel who seemed determined to stare down every single man that dared to look upon Sephira in her unique dress. Captain Kenai wore a white collared jacket with odd golden trousers and tall beige boots with many golden buckles. She looked around to see that the ones she recognized as Captains all had a large broach with dragon wings on it on the lapel of their brightly colored jackets. Many of them wore very similar uniforms in the colors of the Nimbi army: gold, beige, and white.

"Hello, Azaesel." A woman said, with a bow to the tall man and her distracted date on her arm.

"Tyrella, this is General Sephim." Azaesel wasted no time in drawing attention to his golden-haired date whose sharp eyes seemed to be judging every part of Tyrella's large frilly green dress. Tyrella had her deep brown hair curled in a poof on the back of her head with strands that seemed to drip from the generously pinned mass. Her brown eyes studied Sephira, but her expression was careful as she felt Azaesel's stare while she decided what to make of the intimidatingly beautiful creature he had brought to the banquet.

Tyrella's breasts were small, but were amplified by her tight corset and her dress ballooned out hiding the shape of her hips and legs. She envied the loose-fitting top and tight waist of Sephim's sparkling ebony dress, but even more, she envied Sephira's sexually appealing feminine body that seemed magnified by the perfectly tailored garment.

"This is my husband, Lord Hawnegy." She told them, making her husband, who was turned towards a food laden table, turn to greet Azaesel and Sephira with a touch of his arm.

"Lord Azeasel! Hello," Hawnegy said, hurriedly as his eyes seemed to stick to Sephira, who looked bored as she sipped her wine.

"And this is...?" Hawnegy asked sounding as if he was choking.

"General Sephim." Sephira answered, unwilling to hold out her hand to shake his grubby hand which he wiped on front of his fine suit jacket that stretched over his rounded torso.

"A General?" He asked with a disbelieving laugh. Sephira and Azaesel both shot him similar frightening looks that made him swallow and frown nervously.

"It was nice to meet you. Perhaps, I'll see you later, my Lord?" Tyrella piped up as she led her husband away carefully.

"Are you an orc-human hybrid?" Sephira asked Azaesel bluntly, after they were left alone for a moment. She made eye-contact with him as his attention turned away from the room to her.

"Aren't you?" Azaesel laughed, surprised by her directness.

"What else would I be?" Sephira asked, sarcastically with a fanged smile that made Azaesel smile fondly back. They were likely the only guests with fanged smiles and pointed ears.

"My mother was an orc. My father was a druid. A human, I guess, but with magick." Azaesel explained as their eyes scanned the room and watched as several Sephira thought were likely Grey Council members entered the other end of the ballroom from beyond a set of columns. She saw Captains seem to gather in order to bow to them and they shook others' hands while they spoke. As she stood watching the seemingly ordinary men from across the large room, she realized her nervousness had evaporated at the sight of them. They were only men; flesh and blood human men, she thought to herself.

"Are they members of the Grey Council?" Sephira leaned close to Azaesel to ask in a quiet voice. He took a moment to follow her gaze before he answered.

"That is Iovis, the pale one on the left, and Jupiter, the taller one on the right." Azaesel explained. She analyzed their silly ruffles on their fancy satin coats that even from across the room she could see them shine flashily. They spotted her and before she knew it, they were moving towards her like they planned on attacking. Azaesel looked bothered, but not overly concerned about their approach.

"I know nothing of druids. What am I supposed to say?" Sephira hissed to Azaesel.

"They're just bastards." Azaesel muttered in a tired voice to Sephira's surprise. He stood with his large hands in the pockets of his jacket as he leaned his shoulder on the sandstone pillar that Sephira had her back to. On the other side of the pillar she knew Craven was standing with Rauka on the neighboring pillar. She wondered how much his ears could pick up of her conversation with Azaesel in the fairly loud echoing room.

"Azaesel," Jupiter called to the yellow-eyed orc hybrid who to Sephira's interest seemed to be brooding all of a sudden by her side.

"Jupiter, Iovis..." He muttered, barely sparing them a look. Jupiter's eyes were a surprising red as he turned to look at Sephira with great interest. His dark hair was coiffed about his square head and he had short dark facial hair shading his square chin and defined jaw. His nose was long and straight, but large and almost blade-like the way it projected from between his two high cheekbones. His bushy dark eyebrows seemed pulled up in almost sympathy as he looked at Sephira in what he considered an overly revealing dress.

"I'm Sephim." Sephira explained, leaving out her title as if to prevent them from seeing her as any kind of threat. She held her slender hand out for Jupiter to shake. His suit was a royal blue that contrasted with his striking deep red eyes and he readily shook Sephira's hand as he couldn't help staring at her eyes which reminded him of a cat's. Iovis seemed the opposite of the smiling friendly tall fellow, Jupiter. Instead he was blond-haired with a round face and a pointed chin. His outfit was pale grey with a white ruffled shirt at his neck. His blue eyes were almost as striking as Jupiter's red ones, partly because of how they stood out from his ghostly white face. Even his eyebrows and eyelashes were white, making him seem void of color besides the bright blue of his eyes.

"How did you get here, Sephim?" Jupiter asked, gesturing to the ballroom full of military personnel and nobles.

"It's a long story. How did you get here? Aren't druids supposed to be from that Northern island? Whatever it's called." Sephira asked, trying to throw them off with a friendly smile on her face.

"Hybrasil." Iovis piped up in an almost cold voice.

"Yes, it's also a long story..." Jupiter answered. Sephira tried not to feel tempted to stare Jupiter down because she was worried she'd expose herself as having wards if she did, so they stood in relative silence for a moment while she looked out to the bright room.

"Have a drink Azaesel, you seem tense. You don't want your lady to get tired of your brooding and go looking for someone more interesting." Jupiter said with a friendly tone, making Azaesel shoot him a look as Sephira raised an eyebrow at the lack of fear of Azaesel in the man's voice. She had never heard anyone speak to Azaesel as if he was less than an equal and she didn't fail to notice him leave out the customary title which Azaesel tended to strictly enforce, even with her.

"Actually, I find his brooding quite endearing." Sephira smirked, as she looked up to Azaesel's annoyed expression and let her fingers graze his chiseled jawline and chin which made his expression change immediately. His lips curled into a slight smile and his eyes sparkled under the lights.

Jupiter and Iovis moved off when a group of women approached them, fluttering fans in their face while they no doubt struggled to breathe in their tight corsets. Their faces were painted with bright colors, similar to how the humans had painted Sephira's and their smiles were slightly pouted as if to make their lips appear fuller.

"Would you like another drink?" Azaesel asked as Sephira sipped the last of her wine.

"Perhaps later." She answered as they started moving through the crowded room and Sephira let her eyes skim the room to locate other members of the Grey Council. When the music picked up, it became more difficult as the women started swirling in their colorful dresses with men in their arms.

The next Grey Council member to approach was accompanied by three women that each wore a fake smile as they accompanied the short, older man. Sephira's senses were on high and she didn't realize he was a Grey Council member until he shook her hand and she could feel power in his palm.

"Sephim, this is Sol." Azaesel introduced, looking down on the short, average-looking man.

"Your hands are rougher than I would've expected." Sol told Sephira with a smile. She hid the irritation that rose in her as she too looked down at the man who was likely her height if she weren't on towering shoes.

"Be careful, my Lord. That sounds vaguely like an insult." Sephira said in a silky voice.

"And that sounds like a threat, my fair Lady." Sol answered, still with a jolly grin on his face.

"I'd listen to her Sol. She has the same number of dragons as you and likely more skill than you in battle." Azaesel joined in, bending slightly towards the man whose eyes showed his surprise, but he kept his face still with his smile.

"Whatever you say, Azaesel." Sol said with mock mirth.

"I'm sorry, my peers tend to be tedious to speak to..." Azaesel told her, as he led her away from Sol.

*

"General Sephim, I assume?" A well-built man with dirty blond hair said with a deep bow. Sephira's sharp eyes found the broach on his lapel that was shaped like a sun before Azaesel introduced him.

"This is General Evemont."

"The rumors of your beauty rivaling that of a goddess are true." He told her with a smile on his ruddy, tan, but scarred face.

"Thank you for the compliment, General." Sephira answered graciously.

"I trust you both will enjoy the banquet. Lord Azaesel." Evemont bowed to Azaesel with a smile for each of them before he moved off.

"General Evemont leads the two legions under Sol's command." Azaesel told her matter-of-factly.

"And which General leads your army, my Lord Azaesel?" Sephira asked slyly. He smiled in response to the sexy look in her eyes.

"Azaesel," A bearded man in a bright red dress coat interrupted him, making his smile fade. "Are you going to introduce us or do we have to wait?" He implored with his eyes on Sephira. He seemed to search her dress or perhaps her skin for a clue to who or what she was and Azaesel grit his teeth.

"Hyperion, Eclorian, this is General Sephim." Azaesel stated. Sephira noticed with a start that the man behind Hyperion had a metal hand and was likely the only Grey Council member she had met previously.

"General Sephim, you are quite a unique woman." Hyperion said in an interested voice as his eyes noticeably stared at her body and not her face. "Azaesel, you have kept her all to yourself. Why didn't you tell us about this gem you have here?" Hyperion had offered his hand for Sephira to take, but to Azaesel's relief she didn't.

"I'm not a possession, my Lord." Sephira said with a sharp intonation.

"As savage and pretty as you, Azaesel." Hyperion said with mirth. Eclorian stood quietly and distractedly by Hyperion. His black hair was long and held back into a pony tail with a gold bow that matched his shining suit coat and the white ruffed shirt had a gold citrine broach at his neck. He had an uninteresting, yet not altogether unattractive, face. He held the staff that Sephira knew too well and she tried not to let her eyes stick to it. Instead she looked out to see three other staffs in the crowd.

"Why don't you go bother the concubines with Sol? You have a better chance of buying their attention than finding a woman that would take you." Azaesel retorted.

"As unwelcoming as ever, Azaesel." Hyperion tutted, "If you get tired of his queer, selfish tendencies, I'd be honored to have your company." Hyperion leaned closer to Sephira with a shadow falling over his dark brown eyes from his heavy brow. Sephira kept a stony look on her face and didn't answer as Hyperion led Eclorian off into the crowd with a long look at her.

Azaesel led Sephira up to the long head table that was set up on a platform elevated above the wide dance floor and pulled out one of the two center throne-like gilded, padded, seats for her to sit. She was glad to get off her feet which had started to ache in her shoes and she found that she liked to be able to look down onto the crowd much more than standing amongst them.

"Thank you." Sephira murmured as he sat down beside her.

Servants seemed to appear as soon as Azaesel had sat down and they offered to get them a meal which seemed to cause many in the crowd to find tables to sit as well. There were round tables in rows along either side of the dance floor and soon the whole company had found a place to sit while the maids and servants started bringing out food to each of the guests. The Grey Council members sat on either side of Azaesel and Sephira at the head table and Sol's ladies joined him while most of the others were alone.

After Azaesel had taken his leave for a moment, one of the remaining three members she hadn't met sat down in one of the empty chairs to her right with a servant boy behind him to hold his long silver staff that held a large white crystal similar to Eclorian's.

"We haven't met." His smooth voice surprised her. She turned to look at the handsome blond, light brown-eyed man in his sparkling white suit coat and his satin white ruffled collar decorated with a silver moonstone broach.

"I'm General Sephim." She told him, holding out her hand for him to shake. He did with a nerve-wracking power in his palm. She tried not to let her discomfort show as she carefully maintained a friendly, unconcerned smile and a hold on her spells and wards.

"My name is Astraeus." He told her, before a beautiful black-haired woman appeared behind him. "This is my wife Rayn." The woman wore a dress more similar to Sephira's than any other in the room, but instead of a sparkling black, it was a pure white. Rather than a deep neckline, it had a detailed corset bodice that transitioned smoothly to a full skirt, but rather than expanding out at the hips like the other women's dresses, it hugged her body down past her buttocks and it gradually became fuller as it reached the floor.

"Hello, Rayn, I'm Sephim." Sephira smiled brightly at the foreign-looking woman who smiled as she took the seat between Sephira and her husband, Astraeus. Although Rayn's eyes seemed to find Sephira's fangs and eyes first, she looked past them to her symmetrical face and golden hair.

"Sephim, your dress is beautiful. I've never seen one like it." She told her sincerely, tossing her braided black hair over her bony shoulder as she adjusted to face Sephira in her padded chair.

"Thank you. I prefer not to be weighed down with a heavy garment or unable to breathe in a corset." Sephira told her with a light laugh.

"Perhaps more women will follow your lead and be brave enough to be different!" Rayn insisted with a high-pitched feminine voice. The woman had a round face, but a very petite body. Sephira was looking at the bones that protruded from her shoulders and her upper ribs visible through the thin skin of her bare chest, when Azaesel returned to sit by her side. Sephira turned to greet him when the red-haired man on Azaesel's other side got his attention first. To her surprise, the man started speaking Elvish with a nervous tone to his voice.

"Azaesel, your woman smells like magick. You cannot trust her!" She tried to look unaware of what he was saying, but quickly grew self-conscious when she saw Astraeus' eyes narrow as he studied her furtively from beyond Rayn. Rayn seemed used to the Elvish, but not able to understand it. It was odd to Sephira to hear Elvish in such a rough, gravelly voice.

"Helios," Azaesel addressed the heavy-set red-haired man, as he put his arm possessively around the back of Sephira's chair. "Why shouldn't another of my kind have magick?" He turned back to Sephira and she tried to look curious and innocent when he met her eyes. "Sephim, this is Helios." He told her, after she glanced at him like she was wondering what happened to make him speak with that worried tone.

"Hello, Helios." She said in a slightly disinterested voice as she distractedly tousled her fingers in her long hair which splayed over one of her shoulders. She purposefully avoided his eyes as she studied the ends of her blond hair, while glancing down at her tattooless sternum.

Sephira listened to the elvish argument that Azaesel had with Helios about her while she ate her meal quietly. She was satisfied that Azaesel seemed to think she was only unknowingly using magick to call out to kin beyond the castle and he didn't think it was a big deal. He told Helios that Qetesh had blocked only one or two weak messages and Helios was mad that Qetesh and Azaesel were not aware of what the messages were about. Azaesel wasn't concerned and told Helios that he'd ask her later if there was anyone she wanted to reach out to. Helios drilled him on where Sephira came from and Azaesel gladly pointed out that she was from a Lightning Kingdom village on the border of orc territory called DeLise and had already fought for the Nimbian army according to her former Lieutenant. She was glad neither of them brought up elves and seemed like they couldn't tell she knew elvish.

"Are you from the Eastern mountains?" Sephira asked Rayn, trying to make conversation to distract from the repetitive Elvish argument.

"My mother was." Rayn answered with a polite smile.

"Have you been to the Eastern mountains?" Astraeus questioned her with a suspicious tone hidden underneath his casual demeanor.

"I've travelled a little bit, but no. I met a man on a ship who said he was from the Eastern mountains. He had black hair and sharp eyes like yours." Sephira lied, with a shrug.

"I heard you have only been a General for a short time and you were a soldier stationed outside of Arcadia." Astraeus said.

"That's true. So?" Sephira challenged.

"Well, then when did you travel? You look too young to have seen much war." He pointed out, making her smile.

"I'm twenty-six, my Lord. I've only been a soldier in the Nimbian army for a short time, but my father trained me to be a warrior since I was very young." She explained.

"Your father is an orc?" he asked.

"He was..." Sephira lied, deciding a dead orc father made more sense than pretending to have a living orc to question.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Astraeus murmured politely as Sephira let her eyes study the table as if she was holding in strong emotions.

"Thank you, my Lord." She murmured back, looking up to see Craven's eyes watching her from where he stood with his back to a large pillar as he faced the interior of the room like the other guards.

"Is that turned Nimbi staring at you?" Rayn asked Sephira, getting Azaesel's attention and making him turn away from Helios to follow Rayn's gaze.

"He's my personal guard." Sephira explained, as she focused on keeping the cloaking spell in place while Azaesel peered over at Craven.

"I don't like the way he's looking at you..." Azaesel murmured. He flicked his fingers, to Sephira's horror as if calling a group of guards to take Craven away or have him killed.

"You'd kill my loyal body guard for keeping an eye on me?" Sephira asked Azaesel, trying fruitlessly to get his eyes locked back on hers. She saw the guards approaching the tables to see what he needed them for and her heart beat helplessly in her chest.

"I don't like the way he looks at you." Azaesel repeated with his yellow eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared into Craven's bold gaze. She glanced at Craven, searching wildly in her mind for a way to divert Azaesel's attention.

"Come, dance with me!" She exclaimed, gathering her dress as she stood, being deliberate in leaning over towards him in the most appealing way using her body to stand between Azaesel and the guards. She ran her hand lightly over his shoulder before she offered him her hand. "No need to kill a beast for merely desiring something he cannot have." She murmured in as alluring a voice as she could manage in her half-panicked state. His eyes roamed her cleavage before they seemed to click right into hers and she flashed him a brilliant smile as he took her hand.

"Why do you keep two turned orcs rather than have a native Nimbi protect you?" Azaesel asked as Sephira tried hard to make sure she didn't miss a step of the human dance she had tried to memorize while sitting up at the head table.

"I like to have orcs protect me. Something about their muscular physique at my beck and call..." She smiled, with her eyes sliding over Craven's handsome silhouette. "It makes me feel powerful." She said resolutely, turning her gaze back to Azaesel's. She was pleased at the enamored look that had taken over his face and she laughed as she continued to dance. "Why are you looking at me that way?" she asked, trying to play dumb like she wasn't pouring her magick into her eyes to keep him clouded and unaware.

"You just look so beautiful tonight." He told her in his deep voice.

*

She felt like she was losing her energy from focusing on keeping her spells in place while still trying to lend strength to her wards to prevent the Grigori from noticing her magickal abilities. She danced with Azaesel until she felt her legs go weak beneath her. Azaesel caught her easily and concern washed over his features.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm afraid I must've had too much wine." She laughed, letting Azaesel remove her from the dance floor. She was glad she hadn't let either of her spells slip as she watched a woman wander by Craven with her eyes studying him closely as he stood like a fine-looking statue. "I think I'm going to just head back to my quarters. I should probably get to bed." She insisted, trying to keep her voice from wavering as she felt her head pounding.

"I'll help you up the stairs." He said softly, but with a lusty look in his eyes that made her a little nervous. She let him support her slightly while they made their way out of the ballroom and she spotted Gia amongst a large group of maids hiding behind one of the pillars looking longingly at the dancefloor. When she glanced back to see Craven and Rauka following she released the cloaking on their eyes to help relieve the strain in her head. They were both smart enough to stay far enough away and Azaesel seemed unaware or unconcerned by their presence.

"I'm sorry I've cut the night short." Sephira blurted out as they came to stand in front of the door to her chambers. "I don't drink wine very often, I guess."

"I'm glad you came to the banquet with me. It would not have been the same without you..." he told her, looking down as he twisted a lock of her hair on his finger while he stood close in front of her. Her heart was beating hard and she was sure he could see it pounding against her chest.

"I'm glad you invited me." She said in a low voice, almost a whisper.

"Let me help you to bed." He tried to persuade her with a note to his voice that told her he wanted more from her than she wanted to give.

"I don't need any help, Azaesel, but I appreciate the offer." She said stubbornly making his eyebrows furrow in discontent and his lips press down in a disappointed frown like a child's. She smiled at his typical male reaction to rejection and made a split-second decision to kiss him in order to keep him under her spell. She only had to tilt her chin up to invite him to press his full lips to hers. His hands were too rough as he clung to her and she had to consciously open her mouth to his tongue as if it was what she wanted. She let her hands slide over the silk shoulders of his suit coat to rest on his neck as one of his hands pressed hard on her back to get her closer to his body and the other pressed uncomfortably on the back of her head. She wished for a brief moment she could've put a knife in his back, but the memory of his childish eyes made her hate herself for the evil thought. He finally let her go as she pulled away from his lips slowly to not offend him. "Thank you for taking me to my chambers." She whispered, still looking deep into his eyes to see only a dark lust lingering there.

"I'll see you tomorrow," She told him, as she pulled her body away from him and opened the door.

"Okay." She heard his disappointed, breathless reply as she slipped in. She was still breathing heavily as she closed the door behind herself and was scared he would come in. When she heard his footsteps disappear down the hallway at an angry pace, she collapsed to her hands and knees and her spell cloaking her tattoos broke.

"Sephira," Craven whispered as he fell to his knees in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked, with his hand held up to caress her cheek as he looked into her eyes. She sat back on her heels.

"I've never been good at appearance magick." She told him, with a frown. "When I was seven, my mother had taken me to visit the Undine. I was jealous the Undine children could play and I decided to disguise myself as Undine to be able to play with them. They were scared of me in my cloak and armor and would've run if I kept it on and approached them. I didn't realize my eyes and hair were that different and I had only disguised my teeth. Anyway, my mother caught me and threatened to pry out my canines if she ever caught me doing it again..." Sephira told him.

"Your mother told you that as a child? Why did she take you to Undine territory at only seven?" Craven asked.

"My training started when I was five." Sephira shrugged. "I was supposed to listen to her meeting with Celebria, but I got bored and snuck out."

Rauka opened the door slowly before coming in.

"Are you okay?" she asked Sephira.

"Yeah, is he really gone?" Sephira asked, referring to Azaesel.

"Yes, I made sure he didn't see me and I thought I'd watch the door to make sure he didn't come back."

"Thanks." She murmured, absently running her hand over her tattoos that had reappeared on her arm. "Did you take my dragon up here?" she asked Craven in suspicion. He smirked.

"I was considering killing him if he tried to take your dress off..." Craven laughed darkly.

"I probably should've killed him while I had the chance, but I didn't have a weapon." Sephira told him, wondering if he had heard them kiss or if he would care if he had seen. "I... kissed him, Craven." She told him, feeling guilty and worried that he would be mad. She could tell by Rauka's expression she had seen.

"I know. I'm sorry you had to do that. Did you think I'd be mad?" Craven asked to Sephira's relief.

"I wasn't sure." Sephira breathed, still avoiding his eyes.

"Come on, let's go to bed." He insisted, holding his hand out to help her up. She took it and he lifted her easily up off the floor. Rauka barred the door before she took off her armor and laid down onto one of the couches in the lounge near the crackling fire. Sephira's three young dragons were sleeping blocking the entrance to the balcony so it was dark in the room with only the firelight and no moonlight.

Sephira laughed when Craven scooped her knees out from underneath her and carried her in his arms through the curtain into the sleeping chamber. He put her gently onto her back on the bed and she watched him as he balanced her calves on his knee and undid the straps on her shoes that were cutting into her feet. He let her shoes drop from her limp narrow feet and she watched from lidded eyes as he ran his hands over her shin and slid one hand around her calf tracing the tattooed rings. There was an elven prayer written in sweeping black script down the side of her right calf and geometric symbols on the top of her left foot with script in a spiral around her left ankle. She watched as he admired the black marks on her skin and as his hand ran over her other shin lightly she felt a sense of relaxation. He knelt down while still holding her legs and she made a gasping laughing sound when both her knees ended up on his shoulders and his hand travelled up the inside of her thigh, pulling her dress up even further. He put his head between her legs and she let him pleasure her until she decided she wanted more. She pulled her body away from him only to grip him by his belt and yank his hips towards her. He smiled a sexy fanged smile in the dark and she loved the look of his animal-like reflective eyes looking down at her. She kneeled on the bed with an exhilarated smile on her face as she let his dagger belt drop to the floor behind him while he took off his armor and tunic over his head. She felt excitement rise in her when she slowly undid the corset on his pants and she could feel the length of his manhood become harder through the fabric as she did. She used both hands to pull down his pants and undergarments, letting his penis brush against her bare sternum and the inside of her breast as she did. She breathed on his sensitive tip unknowingly before she licked the length of it, making him bite his lip with a moan. He couldn't wait any longer so he pulled her legs out from under her while he lightly pushed her back onto the plush bed. He didn't have to use any force to persuade her legs apart and she pulled her dress up to let her knees fall to the side. Even the look on her face invited him to let himself into her. He made a satisfied sound in the back of his throat as he thrust his cock into her already wet vagina and she arched her back in response. His hands were strong as they gripped her hips and hers clutched the silky comforter on the bed as she laid back with her eyes closed and her fangs showing in her slightly open mouth. Their breathing was hard and in-sync as he humped rhythmically into her with his knees bent against the side of the bed as he stood on his toes on the floor. He leaned his body over her as he sped up, putting both his hands on the bed to get leverage as he used all the bulging muscles of his abdomen to push himself deeper and harder into her. Every one of her movements seemed to amplify the force of his as they moved strongly, pressing together faster and harder. They let themselves go together as his hand slid up under the back of her dress on her bare skin and his movements became faster and restricted as if he couldn't bear to let his penis leave the warm pleasure of being inside her. Her hands found their way to the contracting muscles of his lower back as she let out a desperate-sounding cry and he slowed before stopping with his cock pressed deep into her to ejaculate with satisfied groan.

She pulled the dress off over her head and let her damp skin press against his as he breathed heavily with his head pressed onto the bed and his chest suspended over her. She kissed his muscular neck and he let his penis slip out of her, before laying on his side against her. His eyes looked into hers before traveling over the intricate tattoos that stretched across her skin. He ran his fingers down the script on her sternum and then traced the designs that connected from her inner thigh up to her ribs and around her navel. She closed her eyes as his light touch brought more pleasure to her skin and made her feel relaxed. She felt safe with his warm, naked body next to hers.