Blood & Fur

Chapter Sixty-Four: Good Night

The slap failed to lift the smile from my face.

A Nightlord’s palm carried more strength than twenty men behind it, and a hundred times the animosity. She struck quicker than a serpent, her blows whistling with each impact. Blood dripped down my cheeks and onto my shoulders.

“Where is she?” Iztacoatl asked me for the hundredth time.

“I do not know, goddess,” I replied truthfully. The pain helped me suppress my laughter. “Have you checked the nearest owl's nest?”

Her next slap threw me to the floor. Eztli was already sitting there, her flayed cheeks healing before my eyes. Our bloody grins infuriated Iztacoatl beyond anything I’d ever seen. The fairest of the Nightlords had grown scales over her face, her fangs and eyes twisting into reptilian parodies of themselves. So overwhelming was her rage that she struggled not to transform into her true, monstrous form.

“No matter how many times the goddess asks, the answer will remain the same,” I replied. I was almost willing to forgive Mother for abandoning Father and I after pulling such a daring stunt. “My treacherous Mother eluded me for years. I have no idea where she is.”

“Liar!” Iztacoatl snapped at me, white scales spreading down her neck. “I know you warned her of my hunt somehow!”

Her panic was something to behold, and more than matched her humiliation. Iztacoatl had failed to catch Mother, twice, and let her escape with a future imperial concubine while she was there. Not only would it shatter her illusion of invincibility among her surviving priests and Nightkin, but her sisters would fall on her the moment they learned of it.

Iztacoatl’s only hope of salvaging the situation was to locate Mother; an unlikely prospect when she and her flying troops had to hide from the sunlight. The Nightlord had cast a divination ritual in the blood bath in an attempt to discern Astrid's location, sent loyal messengers looking for them in all directions, delayed the imperial procession to interrogate all of its members, and had hunters scour every village… all in vain. Mother eluded capture for seventeen years, and her Tonalli form could have flown halfway across the empire by now.

The temple’s atmosphere suddenly grew heavier. The air choked with the smell of death and rot. Iztacoatl’s hand, raised to slap me once again, stopped in midair. The Nightlord glanced at the pool with fear in her reptilian eyes.

The gathered blood rose into the shape of two vaguely humanoid figures. I recognized the two vampires long before their features sharpened into furious snarls and deep scowls, then immediately forced myself to adopt a blank expression before they could see my smile.

Iztacoatl’s reptilian features returned to normal. Her apprehension quelled her anger. “Sisters–”

“You imbecile.” The Jaguar Woman’s fury somehow looked even more terrifying when manifesting through boiling blood. “How can such a fool share my noble ancestry?”

“Is it true, sister?” What Sugey lacked in anger, she more than made up in sheer disappointment. The Nightlord quickly materialized inside of the blood pool. “Did you let a godkin escape with one of our enemies?”

Iztacoatl winced at their reproach. The sight of my tormentor cowering this way more than made up for all of tonight’s pain and struggles.

Word of the disaster had already spread to the other Nightlords in spite of Iztacoatl’s best efforts. Either one of their sorcerous priests warned them somehow, or they discovered it through their own divination rituals.

I didn’t know they could materialize from these pools. I watched as the Jaguar Woman and Sugey both stepped out of the boiling blood, their bodies now fully incarnated. They must use them to quickly travel across their empire.

“This is his fault!” Iztacoatl protested, pointing at me. When stripped of her grandiose facade and confronted with individuals who matched her power, she behaved like a spoiled child. “He set me up!"

Her pathetic attempt at deflecting the blame would have fallen flat on anybody else, but the Jaguar Woman turned her baleful gaze on me next. She was just as desperate to find a culprit to put the blame on.

I quickly bowed, my forehead kissing the ground. The Jaguar Woman’s presence never failed to turn my joy into dread.

“I only sought to honor the goddess by winning the hunting game she prepared for me,” I lied through my teeth. “I thought Eztli could take poor Astrid to safety long enough for us to secure our victory. I never expected my treacherous mother to attack her, nor that Skinwalker to ambush us. I’m sure they set this up together.”

Ever the talented actress, Eztli quickly built upon my lie. “The fault is mine, Iztac,” she said, her hands moving to hold her arms. She played the vulnerable damsel like no other. “It was me that this owl sought to kill. I shudder to think what would have happened had I not escaped her clutches in time…”

Her words worked better than expected. Sugey’s disappointment soon turned into disbelief as she turned back to her sister. “You put Yoloxochitl’s replacement in harm’s way?”

Clever girl. I hadn’t considered it, but Eztli was indeed a weak link in the Nightlords’ ritual. A magician opposed to Yohuachanca could disrupt it by killing her; a likely prospect since she lacked her new sisters’ strength. Between the Skinwalker’s attack on my person and Mother’s presence, it would seem the Nightlords’ enemies coordinated this attack together. The snake whore has stepped in her own trap.

“We have no one to replace the girl with if she perishes,” Sugey scolded Iztacoatl. “Putting her within reach of an assassin’s blade was foolish of you.”

Meanwhile, the Jaguar Woman’s fury smoldered into a scarier, colder kind of anger. “We are at war, Iztacoatl, and you play games?”

Iztacoatl’s flinched. “It was a test!” she protested. “He’s lying–”

“The weapon was destroyed!” The Jaguar Woman cut in, her words hitting Iztacoatl harder than any slap. “A spy broke into the facility and set it on fire. Our sister’s legacy went up in smoke; the herd questions our power and guidance; Father stirs in his tomb; our enemies smell our blood in the water and bare their fangs. And you…”

The coiled serpent statues squeaked around us, an invisible force crushing the stone until it cracked. It became more and more difficult for me to hide my satisfaction. The Jaguar Woman’s anger confirmed to me that my plan to wipe out Yoloxochitl’s plague from the world worked perfectly. She wouldn’t be so furious if she could salvage anything from it.

Their despair brought me such boundless joy.

“What do you think your weakness taught our enemies tonight?” the Jaguar Woman asked her cowed sister. “I will tell you right now: you showed them that they can strike us with impunity!”

“As for the girl…” Sugey shook her head. “She is an emperor’s daughter and a consort’s sister. Her blood is too precious to fall into our enemies’ hands.”

“Speaking of blood…” Iztacoatl swiftly grabbed my head, forced me to look up at her, and sliced my cheek with her nail. My sunlight-rich blood caught fire once exposed to the air, its radiance briefly illuminating the room. “See what he has been hiding from us!”

I mustered all of my willpower not to show any unease. I’d been fearing the Jaguar Woman’s reaction since the beginning. I’d spent a great amount of time pretending to have been cowed into an obedient emperor so she wouldn’t torment my loved ones, and here Iztacoatl revealed that I’d been keeping secrets from her.

The Jaguar Woman’s response proved… strangely subdued.

“I see,” she replied while squinting at my blood with curiosity. She touched it with her finger to examine it more closely. The dose would have melted a Nightkin’s flesh away, yet it failed to irritate a Nightlord’s skin. “Interesting…”

Iztacoatl’s eyes widened in surprise. “You knew?”

“Yoloxochitl’s spawn informed me on our Godspeaker’s behalf before their departure,” the Jaguar Woman replied. “I was too occupied looking for the child’s placeholder to deal with it.”

I immediately glanced at Eztli. She avoided my gaze, though I could have sworn she briefly winked at me beforehand.

She told her? I immediately feared betrayal, but the Jaguar Woman’s subdued response and her words let me calm down enough to assess things rationally. Eztli said she did it on my behalf.

I quickly figured it out.

Eztli had caught on to the Nightlords’ personal dynamics and exploited them. The Jaguar Woman sought to be in control at all times. Giving her a small nugget of information helped convince her that she could keep us both in her thrall. The secret of my blood was bound to come to light sooner or later, come the Flower War. She must have hoped to drive a wedge between the Nightlords too by informing one and not the other.

It was a gamble, I thought. I remained unsure if I should be thankful for Eztli’s foresight or furious that she failed to inform me. It paid off this time at least, but… I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.

Between that scheme and her attempts at sabotaging her mother’s contraceptives, Eztli was taking far too many risks behind my back for my liking. This one spared me a great deal of trouble, but she might eventually overreach and misstep.

That would be a discussion for later. Iztacoatl immediately jumped on the opportunity to accuse me of sacrilege.

“He has used this blood to slay my spawn, my sisters,” she said. “One of them witnessed him laughing when he killed my priests and servants. He also sent Father’s bats to hunt down his pursuers.”

The Jaguar Woman’s cold gaze oozed malevolence. “Is it true, our Godspeaker?”

My heart pounded in my chest with such strength I feared it would explode.

“It was the scarlet Tlahuiztli, oh goddess,” I half-lied. “The moment it tasted blood, I… I was no longer myself. The hunger… it gave me strength, but it sapped my will… it…” I clenched my teeth. “It spoke through me.”

The Jaguar Woman glared at me, as did her fellow Nightlords. “Why fight at all then? You should have fallen to your knees and sought our divine guidance the moment you sensed evil seeping into your heart.”

I avoided her gaze in fake penance. Saying I fought on to protect Astrid would fall on deaf ears. Admitting that I put a child’s life over obedience would be tantamount to admitting my treachery. I quickly found an alternative motive.

“Lady Iztacoatl promised me a reward if I won,” I argued.

“Have I not warned you once already?” The Jaguar Woman’s tone turned sharper than any blade. “Your loyalty is expected. We reward at our whims, not in return for service.”

Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. “I assumed this was a test of faith which I had to complete.”

“No doubt your victory swelled your heart with pride,” the Jaguar Woman said, her voice growing heavier with menace. “The nail that stands out gets hammered down, child. You would do well to remember it.”

“He is right though,” Iztacoatl added with malice. “I did promise our emperor a reward. I shall give it to him after he explains why he lied about his other abilities.”

I suppressed a wince of dread. I could almost hear the executioner’s axe in the background as the Nightlords focused their attention on him.

“He can also speak to animals,” Iztacoatl added. “He commands Father’s bats as easily as he does that feathered tyrant of his. I heard he even seeks the beast’s advice.”

Here it was. I had spent weeks rehearsing a role when it came to Itzili, sowing the seeds of doubt in preparation for a day like this one. I’d followed my predecessors’ advice, baffling Iztacoatl with confusing moves until the climactic finale.

I hoped I could sell the lie.

“With all due respect, oh goddess,” I said, clearing my throat. “Should a son not listen to his father’s wisdom?”

A tense silence fell upon the room. Even Eztli gave me a sideway glance of pure confusion.

“Your father?” Iztacoatl repeated in disbelief.

“My father’s spirit wandered in the void for years, robbed of his corporeal flesh,” I declared with a feverish kind of resolve. I thank my fear and stress for helping me keep my voice unwavering. “Fate has returned his will to me in a new vessel of scales and fangs. That is why I named him Itzili. Father shares his advice through the child tyrant’s voice.”

Huehuecoyotl taught me once that a good Veil worked because people wanted to believe in it, but he also gave another important lesson: that destabilizing people helped them doubt their own sense of reality. The Nightlords saw me either as a rebel in waiting or a cowed human plaything. I now presented a new mask to them.

The mad puppet.

My words managed to throw Iztacoatl off her game too, because no one sane would say something so ridiculous in such a tense moment. A smart traitor would have come up with a more believable lie or denial. I knew these words of mine would damage my credibility with the Nightlords in the long term and limit what concessions I could earn from them, but it sowed the seeds of doubt in their dead hearts.

What if I hadn’t been rebellious, but simply unstable?

After all they put their Godspeaker through, it would make sense for him to fall apart at the seams. The idea worked in my favor. Where the intelligent underling inspired suspicion, the mad only earned pity; pity and disdain.

“I think you broke this one, Iztacoatl,” Sugey said with amusement. “Like so many before him.”

“Enough,” the Jaguar Woman said, at her wits end. “Father’s influence has clearly tainted our Godspeaker’s mind and body. We will need to take measures to limit this.”

Iztacoatl clenched her teeth, her gaze wavering. Part of her knew I was likely lying through my teeth, but another suddenly questioned everything she learned about me. Ever the coward, she would rather retreat for now than wage a battle under unknown conditions.

“Do I not at least deserve praise for finding us a replacement consort, sisters?” she said, changing the subject.

“Her capture is the only good thing to come out of this fiasco,” the Jaguar Woman replied. “If the ritual accepts her."

“Did you get anything out of the Skinwalker?” Sugey asked Iztacoatl. “Has she revealed who sent her?”

My heart skipped a beat in my chest. I had shown the Skinwalker visions of my own atrocities in our brief mental battle. If she mentioned them to the Nightlords…

Chikal was right, I let the power go to my head! I clenched my teeth to hide my shivers. I’d been so drunk on bloodshed that I foolishly revealed potentially incriminating evidence to an enemy! I should have killed the Skinwalker when I had the chance rather than toy with her!

Iztacoatl’s scowl reassured me somewhat. “Not yet. Father’s spawn hollowed her from the inside out. She has been babbling incoherently since we caught her.”

I couldn’t believe what I heard. I suppressed a sigh of relief, thanking the gods for throwing me a bone. I supposed not even a living abomination could survive the touch of undead ones unscathed.

No, no, this is no time to lower my guard. I had no guarantee that the Skinwalker wouldn’t recover. This stroke of luck only bought me a little time. The longer she stays in the Nightlords’ custody, the greater the risk that she speaks.

I would have to quickly eliminate the Skinwalker; both to plug a potential leak and deny the Nightlords a replacement consort for their foul ritual.

The Jaguar Woman wouldn’t make that easy. “A husk will be of no use to us,” she declared. “I must see that your prey can fit her chosen role and tighten my chosen consort's chains. As for you, our Godspeaker…”

The sharp edge in her tone was enough to make me wince. My fear was in no way faked, which certainly reassured the Jaguar Woman.

“Your role is to bring about our Age of Darkness, and nothing more,” she stated, almost dismissively. “Your mother’s foolish rebellion will be met with agony, and her stolen godkin shall soon find its way back into our hands. You shall speak no word of what happened tonight to outsiders, our Godspeaker, and will reassure our subjects that the gods shall ensure their safety, as we shall preserve your own. Do you understand?”

“I do, goddess,” I said while keeping my head down. “Your will shall be done.”

“Submitting to our Father’s will was an act of human weakness unbefitting an emperor,” she continued. “I hoped that you would learn to control this strength in service of Yohuachanca, but such a feat is clearly beyond you. We shall free you from this burden soon enough.”

My blood ran cold in my veins. Whatever means the Nightlords intended to use to cut my connection to the First Emperor couldn’t spell good things for me.

I cursed my foolishness. I should have kept Iztacoatl guessing for longer and prevented her from taking the initiative. I’d saved my neck for now, but at the cost of greater supervision and reduced freedom.

Satisfied with my servility, the Jaguar Woman then ordered Nenetl to be brought to her for examination. I was apprehensive of her return, since she suffered from terrible wounds the last time we met.

Thankfully, whatever blood magic Iztacoatl used to return my vitality worked on her too. The sight of Nenetl entering the temple’s heart without a single wound on her pristine skin soothed my soul.

The fact she avoided my gaze, much less so.

“Show me your tattoo, child,” the Jaguar Woman ordered coldly. Nenetl winced in fear, her eyes staring at the ground rather than facing her tormentor. She slowly removed her robes to unveil her back.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The Jaguar Woman looked at Nenetl’s skin. Her gruesomely detailed tattoo had decayed into a shapeless mass of ink. It was a special precaution in my predecessors’ suggested alteration of the spell; an insurance to ensure the Jaguar Woman wouldn’t track the changes back to me after I triggered Nenetl’s transformation. This had always been a one-time asset.

I considered it wisely spent, though I would have preferred keeping it in reserve.

“This is useless,” the Jaguar Woman stated. From her annoyance, I gathered that she couldn’t draw any information out of the fading tattoo. “It would do us no good if I reapplied the spell as it was. I must ponder what flaw the witch used to turn it against our Godspeaker.”

I didn’t miss the obvious relief on Nenetl’s face. Receiving that tattoo had been a horrendous ordeal the first time, and she wasn’t looking forward to a second branding.

“You will stay in the area for now, our Godspeaker, until we ensure that our foes will not strike at you once more and that no…” The Jaguar Woman gave me an ominous look, “Outside influence rubs off on you.”

An euphemism to say she wanted to ensure her Father wasn’t turning me against them. I would have to be very careful to present a front of utmost loyalty from now on.

The Jaguar Woman had a bottle of my burning blood collected for study, then sent us on our way to rest. I left Iztacoatl’s chambers with Eztli, Nenetl, and a set of guards escorting me to our temporary quarters. The White Snake glared at me long after the doors closed behind us.

She would not forget this humiliation anytime soon.

“I’m sorry,” Eztli whispered in my ear the moment we left.

“For losing Astrid?” I asked evasively. We couldn’t afford to speak openly in a Nightlord’s temple.

“For Tetzon’s death,” Eztli replied. Her guilt sounded halfway genuine. “Your margay came to visit me before a Nightkin killed it. I should have been more careful.”

Tetzon’s death was a shame, but I was more concerned about something else. “What did Lady Ocelocihuatl tell you?”

Eztli looked away. “I asked her if a Nightkin could become pregnant.”

I froze in place, as did Nenetl. She blushed crimson, briefly opened her mouth to say something, then meekly fell into silence.

“I understand that our wombs wither in undeath, but I hoped the Jaguar Woman would have a spell to work around that problem,” Eztli said with a scowl. I suspected the Nightlord told her where to shove it. “She noticed the burn marks your seed left on my thighs while inspecting me.”

So Eztli wove a lie on the spot to quell the Jaguar Woman’s suspicions… if I believed her story. The mere fact that I doubted her account worried me. I used to take her at her word not so long ago. Going behind my back wasn’t like her at all, and that talk of pregnancy even less so.

Necahual was right. Something had gone wrong with Eztli.

“You want a child so much?” I asked under my breath.

“Yes, I do.” Eztli’s arms closed around my neck, and her lips planted a light kiss on my cheek. “Don’t worry, Iztac. I always get what I want. We’ll find another way.”

Like sabotaging your mother’s contraceptives and using her as a surrogate? I hesitated to confront Eztli over it and decided not to. She was slowly growing more unstable, and I couldn’t risk alienating her. I’ll have to keep an eye on her from now on.

How much was her current behavior the result of her increasing boldness or the ritual’s influence? I had no doubt that Eztli continued to support me wholeheartedly. She kept my truly damaging secrets and didn’t hesitate to flee with Astrid to safety when I ordered her to. I could trust her to protect her mother too.

How long would that last though? Would the ritual’s occult sway increase once the Nightlords turned the Skinwalker into a replacement consort? Eztli would play the role of Yoloxochitl full-time afterward. I couldn’t fathom the potential consequences yet.

For now, I simply answered Eztli’s attention with a kiss of my own. “We will,” I replied before glancing at another. “Nenetl.”

She dared to face me this time. So many emotions clouded her gaze. Doubt, relief, unease… I couldn’t exactly blame her. That harrowing night shook her to her core. She felt lost and vulnerable.

“I’m happy to see you safe and well,” I said. “I would like to speak with you alone later, if you won’t mind.”

“I… thank you…” Nenetl gulped and lowered her head. “I… yes. If you want, Iztac.”

“She is like clay, soft and weak and easy to twist,” the wind once warned me. “She will become either your puppet or someone else’s, bound by love’s cruel strings.”

Today was a decisive moment. I could feel it in my bones. If I didn’t handle her well soon, I would lose her forever.

So many moving parts outside my control. The discovery of my blood’s failure to affect the Nightlords rattled me to my core too. My sun does not shine brightly enough yet.

I needed to complete Xibalba’s trials as soon as possible.

True power awaited me further below.

—----

It was well past noon by the time we reached our temporary quarters inside the temple. To my slight surprise, Tayatzin greeted us at the threshold. He was among the priests who survived the hunt for Astrid.

I assumed he stayed safely at the back considering his clear distaste for the event; a precaution which ended up saving his soul and earned him a sliver of my respect.

“Lady Iztacoatl originally wished to organize celebrations for Your Majesty’s success during the hunting ritual,” Tayatzin told me while coughing in embarrassment. “Considering the temporary… the very temporary disappearance of Lady Astrid, I would suggest delaying them.”

“It has been an exhausting night for everyone involved,” I replied. Though I am too pleased to feel tired. “Let us use this day to rest and meditate on what we learned together.”

I had so many subjects to address with my consorts. I had to debrief with Chikal, reassure a likely mortified Ingrid that her sister was safe, manage Eztli’s shift in personality, and last but not least, convince Nenetl that I held no ill will when I altered her tattoo.

I also needed to sleep, both for my personal health and to confront Mother on Astrid’s whereabouts. I still had no idea why or where she took Ingrid’s sister. Mother could have rescued her to pay me back for warning her of the threat on her life, or merely to pay back Iztacoatl for the capture attempt; and while I doubted she would harm Astrid, I could see her abandoning her new charge in the middle of nowhere. That wouldn’t do.

I would need Astrid alive and well to destroy Iztacoatl.

I dismissed Tayatzin and then entered my new quarters. While they paled before those of Iztacoatl’s in terms of luxury, my personal entourage was still afforded a boudoir fit for royalty. I entered to find Chikal and Ingrid resting in a vast, central dining room lit by blazing torches and adorned with reptilian mosaics. A vast obsidian window facing the central table gave us a perfect scenic view of the forest and hills outside.

My consorts sat on feathered sofas in the company of my other concubines. Chikal looked freshly straight out of a bath, though Necahual and Lahun checked her arms for wounds nonetheless. As for Ingrid, her green eyes had reddened with tears. She immediately rose up the moment we entered.

“My lord!” Ingrid rushed at me, forgetting all decorum out of sisterly concern. “Where is Astrid?”

Of course the priests wouldn’t inform her. Iztacoatl tried to keep that secret from spreading out. Of course, the Jaguar Woman only forbade me to tell the truth to outsiders…

“I apologize, Ingrid,” I said, her face withering. She probably expected to hear tales of her death. “A treacherous thief absconded with your sister.”

Shock and gasps spread across the room following my proclamation. Even the usually unflappable Chikal blinked in astonishment.

“Astrid…” Ingrid stammered, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Someone took Astrid?”

“My mother,” I replied. Necahual’s head instantly snapped in my direction. “A Nahualli witch of small renown. No doubt she plotted to steal your sister from the beginning.”

“I am so sorry,” Eztli said. She managed to sound sincerely contrite. “I couldn’t do anything to stop her.”

“This is terrible…” Tenoch whispered, while Atziri covered her mouth in horror. Lahun alone retained her composure among my concubines. From the curious looks she sent me, she either guessed that I was lying through my teeth or wondered about my mother’s Nahualli powers. “My gods…”

Ingrid was sharp. When she quickly picked up on my suppressed smile, her green eyes widened as the truth finally dawned upon her: that her sister had escaped the Nightlords’ clutches with the help of another. The bloody marks left by Iztacoatl on my cheeks let her piece out the rest.

“We have no idea where she is.” I stared into Ingrid’s eyes, unblinking and resolute. “I swear that we will do everything in our power to ensure she returns home safe and sound.”

The utter absence of sincerity in my voice clarified my true intent to Ingrid well enough. Though she wouldn’t see Astrid for a while—if ever, should the worst come to pass—no one would rape or murder her sister. She had escaped the palace’s golden cage and the awful fate that befell her mother Sigrun before her.

“Will you promise me, my lord?” Ingrid asked me, her eyes pleading.

“I swear.” The gods be merciful, the Nightlords would never get her back. “Nothing will happen to your sister.”

Ingrid pressed her lips against mine in a ferocious embrace. My arms closed on her waist and pulled her closer. To outsiders, it would seem that she entrusted me with her sister’s safe return; in truth, she thanked me with her body for fulfilling my promise better than either of us expected.

I’d saved her sister from the cruelest of fates, and in doing so, earned her eternal loyalty.

I had shown Ingrid my honor, power, and wits, while Iztacoatl had nothing to threaten her with anymore. When she broke the kiss, I could see the deep trust and resolve radiating from her green eyes. I’d won her over, now and forever.

Ingrid let go of me, then bowed to her fellow consorts. “Eztli, Nenetl, Chikal…” She struggled to hold back tears. “I wish to thank you all for your bravery. My mother did not raise an ingrate. You have proven yourself to be true friends in my time of need, and I shall endeavor to return the favor you’ve shown me.”

“Ingrid, Ingrid…” Eztli playfully wagged her finger. “Friends do not count favors.”

“I’m…” Nenetl blushed slightly. “I didn’t do much, Ingrid.”

“I beg to differ, Nenetl,” Chikal said calmly. “You fought where many would have fled. Your courage honors you.”

“Quite so, Nenetl,” Ingrid replied before taking Nenetl’s hands into her own. “As far as I am concerned, you are now a sister to me.”

Nenetl blushed at Ingrid’s boldness, her face briefly beaming with a mix of gratitude and embarrassment. After growing up an orphan, her fellow consort’s words likely filled her with joy.

“It has been an exhausting night for us all,” I declared. “I suggest we all take a well-deserved rest.”

Necahual met my gaze. “Will Your Majesty sleep alone?”

I guessed that she wished to discuss Mother or Eztli in private with me, but both would have to wait. I needed to visit the Underworld first.

“I haven’t decided yet,” I replied before turning to face Nenetl. “I ask that you join me for a talk first, if you don’t mind.”

Nenetl assented to my request, albeit with little enthusiasm. “As… as you wish, Iztac.”

Ingrid straightened up, her face radiating with newfound determination. “When you next walk into battle, I shall be first among your choices. I shall train with Chikal until my blood boils. With the gods of Winland as my witnesses, I shall prove worthy of fighting by your side.”

I studied her for a moment before answering her resolve with a sharp nod. “I’m looking forward to it, Ingrid.”

This hunt had united and strengthened my consorts like never before.

Afterward, I retreated into my bedchambers with Nenetl. The opulent room was hardly a fraction of the size of mine back at the palace, but it was quite large nonetheless. The bed was draped in purple silk sheets and surrounded by a collection of sweet flowers. The room lacked any serpentine decorations, for which I was thankful.

I sat on the mattress and invited Nenetl to the same. She did so after a moment’s hesitation, though she kept her distance. She didn’t face me either. Her hands twitched with apprehension.

I’d let a great rift rise between us. It wounded me more than I thought it would.

“Nenetl,” I said. “Nenetl, please look at me.”

Her silence broke my heart.

I was so used to her kindness and warmth, to receiving her support in my greatest doubts, that her coldness hurt more than Iztacoatl’s venom. Nenetl had been my closest confidant second only to Necahual.

And now she wouldn’t even speak to me.

“Do you…” I gulped, fearing the answer to my question. “Do you hate me?”

“N-no!” Her head snapped in my direction, her expression full of concern. “No, of course not!”

Her response took me aback and left me speechless. Nenetl bit her lower lip, her hands tightening.

“I just…” Nenetl stared down at the floor. “I don’t understand you anymore, Iztac. You’ve been so kind to me, and… and so brave. You, you didn’t hesitate to fight vampires for Astrid’s sake. For Ingrid.”

I waited for her to find her words. She was laying her heart bare to me.

“But… I heard you laughing when you killed those men. Laughing. And the things you’ve done…” Her hands scratched her shoulders all the way to the point where her tattoo began. “They were… they were awful.”

She knew. She knew I triggered her transformation and unleashed her on the Skinwalker when it threatened Itzili. I’d held power over her without her awareness, usurping the violation the Jaguar Woman inflicted on her for my own gain.

Of course she would doubt me afterwards.

“I wished I didn’t have to do them.” While I confessed to feeling a certain sense of enjoyment whenever I slew a red-eyed priest or put a Nightkin to rest, I would rather live in a world where neither of them existed. I’d hoped to never use her tattoo either. “I did what I had to do to protect my own. You’ve seen what we were up against.”

Nenetl’s scowl turned grimmer. She was there when Iztacoatl stripped Astrid naked and threatened to have her raped, then killed. She bore witness to the Nightkin’s savagery, the priests’ ruthlessness, and the Skinwalker’s cruelty. She’d already been exposed to our world’s awfulness when Ingrid lost her mother, but she never bore the brunt of the Nightlords’ cruelty until our hunt.

“Is…” Nenetl touched my bloody cheeks. The warmth of her fingers on them soothed the aches and the pain. “Is it… always like this?"

I let out a sigh. “Yes.”

Nenetl nodded slowly. She was bright. She must have expected that answer.

“When you… when you fed me your blood, your hands were so warm and gentle.” She shook her head. “I’ve seen you wear two faces, Iztac, and I… I don’t know which one is the mask.”

“They’re both sides of me,” I replied truthfully. “Like the new moon and the full one. I have committed good deeds and terrible crimes. I’ve saved lives and taken others. I’m not ashamed of either.”

I’d walked past that line long ago.

“Nenetl–”

“How do you feel about me?” she cut in, her eyes meeting mine. She would not allow me to lie this time. “How do you truly feel?”

“I would go the same lengths if you had been in Astrid’s place.” Probably even further. “I would have cut my own arm if it would have kept you safe."

“You would…” Nenetl paled. “Kill?”

“Yes,” I replied without hesitation. “I’ve told you before that I would do whatever it takes to protect you. I would kill, burn, and lie.”

“I don’t want you to, Iztac,” she protested, her voice with sorrow. “I don’t want anybody else to die.”

“I cannot promise you that, Nenetl.” The Nightlords wouldn’t let me. “Not all lives are equal, and yours is too precious to me.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I took Nenetl’s hands into my own. She didn’t resist me. I squeezed her fingers with all of my strength and resolve.

“All I want from you, Nenetl, the only thing I want, is your safety and happiness,” I told her. “I swear it.”

I stared into her blue eyes. I could tell that Nenetl wanted to believe me. She had seen me at my worst and best, and she wished to focus on the latter rather than the former. She simply struggled to accept that while I’d committed heinous deeds and lied, I only ever had her interests at heart.

Words wouldn’t convince her of my resolve. So I didn’t use any.

I leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips.

She let out a small, adorable startled noise when I touched her. The sweet taste of her skin against mine helped wash away the souvenir of Iztacoatl’s loathsome company.

The kiss was short and sweet, though I eventually pulled back. Nenetl’s pale cheek turned as red as my own. Her eyes, so blue and full of goodwill, fascinated me more though. Her fear and apprehension soon turned into deep warmth and profound gentleness. I saw the confusion vanish as Nenetl reached a decision.

She kissed me back.

Her touch was clumsy and hesitant at first, but swiftly grew more confident as she suckled. My hand swiftly threaded to her soft white hair while the other grabbed her back. I pulled her closer until her gown brushed against my chest. She seemed so frail and precious in my arms; nothing like the ferocious wolf she could turn into. I felt I could break her with any wrong move, only for her strength to take me aback.

She was the one to break the kiss this time, though mostly to gather her breath. Letting her go was an agonizing experience, but I let her gather her thoughts.

“Iztac, I…” Nenetl smiled sheepishly. “I think…”

She gathered her breath, exhaled, and then mustered her courage.

“I think that I love you,” she confessed shyly.

I’d faced gods and demons, survived fiendish trials and tortures, and waged so many battles. How could these simple words leave me speechless?

I thought that telling Nenetl the truth about my true self would drive her away; that she would never accept the sins I shouldered or the crimes I’d committed. I’d been deceived. Nenetl loved me in spite of everything else.

The same way Father loved Mother.

And when I pondered her words, I realized that I felt the same. I’d risked so much to save Nenetl and earn her trust. No one besides Eztli and Necahual warranted the same amount of effort I put into our relationship. She was a rare exception among my consorts and concubines: a woman whose affection I yearned not for personal gain, but for the sake of love alone.

My heart overflowed with warmth. “I love you too, Nenetl.”

Nenetl’s bright, blissful smile melted all my doubts like snow in the sunlight.

—- NSFW Scene starts here —

Her hands grabbed her gown and slowly pulled it over her head. Her pale skin was so smooth and hairless. My eyes lingered on her breasts, only for my excitement to die when I saw the beginning of her tattoo tainting her shoulders.

I thought I was beyond feeling guilt anymore, but I was wrong. The sight of that twisted ink filled me with intense remorse. Nenetl immediately realized it, gently grabbed my hand, and put it on her skin.

“I forgive you,” she whispered in my ear.

The words sank into my mind and lifted a weight off my shoulders. I began to caress her curves, first with some hesitation; and when she encouraged me to continue, more boldly. My hands moved up to her breasts. They were smaller than Necahual’s, but so soft and pliable.

I began to massage them and drew a startled cry out of Nenetl. Unlike the other women I’d coupled with, she never had experience or training. She was a virgin, pure and unblemished.

The desire that I bottled up for so long rose to the surface. I’d denied Nenetl’s advances once because our relationship was based on lies and deceit, but no dam of guilt and lies rose to stop the flood this time. She’d seen the true me and accepted me, so I would give her all of myself in return.

Since it was Nenetl’s first time, I resolved to take it slow. I gently caressed and kneaded her breasts, letting her moans of pleasure guide me to her sweet spots. I kissed her down her neckline while my fingers fondled her.

Nenetl’s body squirmed, and her hands clumsily reached for my own clothes. She had no idea where to start, so it took her a while to roll up my imperial robes. By the time she removed them, I was beginning to work my way down her hips and buttcheeks. Her breath shortened into gasps as I massaged her rear. I protectively enveloped her in my arms and claimed her all for myself.

I did most of the work, but Nenetl soon began to return my touch with boldness. I sensed her ragged breath on my neck as her lips kissed my skin while her hands hesitantly caressed my chest. I lightly lifted her up to enjoy the feeling of her warm breasts rubbing against me. When our lips connected again, Nenetl boldly invaded my mouth with her tongue.

One of my hands worked its way between her legs, startling her. Nenetl was soaked. She had been looking forward to consummating our relationship even more than I did. I caressed her warm folds, each moan of pleasure an encouragement to continue. Her knees buckled against me and her cries grew stronger.

Nenetl was a louder partner than most. It made it easy to guess how to please her.

I briefly wondered how it would feel to bite her neck the way Iztacoatl kissed me earlier, trading her blood for my seed. The thought was fleeting and disappeared in an instant, but my hunger and desire only grew stronger.

I wanted to claim her, all of her.

I pried away from our embrace and gently laid her on her back. Nenetl stared at me in confusion until I crawled over her. I took a moment to admire her from above. Nenetl looked so beautiful when she didn’t keep her head down and her back shyly bent. Her sapphire eyes, her white hair messily spread over the purple sheets, the way her chest softly rose with each inspiration… Every detail only strengthened my desire.

I gently spread her legs, keeping one hand on the side of her head and grabbing my throbbing cock with the other. I looked into Nenetl’s eyes, waiting for her permission.

“Is…” Nenetl gathered her breath in anticipation. “Is this going to hurt?”

“No,” I reassured her. “I’ll be gentle.”

Nenetl smiled shyly, then gave me a short, small nod. I slowly began to push my cock against her quivering pussy. Nenetl moaned as I entered her, her breasts bouncing softly with her ragged breaths. She was tight; so tight that I had to push a little hard to penetrate her. I soon felt something viscous and awfully familiar dripping down our thighs.

Blood.

The sensation only excited me further. Nenetl groaned and shivered as I stretched her out, her trembling arms squeezing my hips. My hands soon grabbed her soft stomach to help me gain a better grip

“Ah!” If the others in the hall didn’t figure out what was happening, Nenetl’s cries and shouts certainly solved that. “Iztac!”

Her head rolled back and her eyelids fluttered. Her body pulsed against me, and I soon began to throw caution to the wind. My desire overwhelmed me. I began to pound into her, first slowly, then boldly. Nenetl soon began to meet me, her breasts bouncing as she matched my thrusts with pushes of her own.

Her nails sank into my back, and her behavior changed before I knew it. She held onto me with near-religious fervor and began to kiss me fervently. Her hands grabbed my buttcheeks and pulled them closer. My name stopped coming out of her mouth, replaced with moans of pleasure and animal runting. The bed rocked under our weight.

And as our flesh united, so did our Teyolias.

It took me aback. I wasn’t trying to use Seidr. In fact, I resisted it. Eztli’s warning about practicing it with my consorts might ring true, and doing it in the temple might put us at risk.

But whether because we were each Nahualli with a totem of our own, or because I gave her my blood earlier, our Teyolias connected on their own. Nenetl’s heart-fire was the strongest I’d seen yet, a bright white star shining in the night. Where my Teyolia burned with an accursed flame born of curses and hatred, hers welcomed me with kindness and grace.

Nenetl held nothing back. She didn’t try to dominate me like Chikal, nor did she share Necahual and Lahun’s embers of hesitation. She trusted me and welcomed me unconditionally. Every friction of our bodies, every drop of sweat, every kiss furthered our embrace.

Our spirits joined together because I could not even think of pulling back.

I’d never felt something like this. It was like my very sense of self began to melt with Nenetl’s. I was on her, in her, but I was also below, facing my own self through her eyes. The part where I started and she began became blurry. Our pleasure became reflected, magnified.

Soon my world faded into a vision. Nenetl’s facial features shifted. She kept her sapphire eyes and white hair, but her face sharpened. She gained a few years and a ferocious edge. The room changed too, from a lavish bedroom to a sparse house.

Our house.

I suddenly realized that my arms were darker than before, and recognized the woman’s voice. Where I was used to her speaking to me with coldness, she now whimpered with lust and ragged desire.

Mother.

Few men could boast of witnessing their own conception through their father’s eyes.

I had no idea why the Seidr ritual sent me this vision out of all possibilities, but it didn’t last long. It collapsed into a white flash as my groin erupted like Smoke Mountain.

I returned to reality in the throes of our shared orgasm, my hands gripping Nenetl’s jolting body, her legs wrapped up around my waist while I groaned in pleasure. Every muscle in my body tensed as I came inside her, my seed melding with her blood.

—- NSFW Scene ends here —

We were out of breath by the time I finished. Nenetl gasped, her body covered in sweat. “Iztac, this…” she exhaled in bliss. “Ah… ah…”

Her smile managed to quell all of my fears about the Seidr ritual being discovered. I simply couldn’t muster the strength to worry about anything. I simply basked in the warmth and afterglow.

“Is this…” Nenetl chuckled, her hands caressing my naked chest. “Is sex always like this?”

“Only with me,” I replied.

It sounded much better in my head, but I drew a giggle from Nenetl nonetheless. Her laugh rang like crystal and reignited the fire in my blood. Our lips met again, her hunger matching mine.

This night of nightmares ended on such a good note.

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