The Vampire & Her Witch

In the Vale of Mists, the waning moon overhead cast a dim, silvery light through the blanket of fog that covered the valley. In the distance, the faint sounds of night birds hunting and larger animals rustling through the undergrowth added texture to the otherwise still night for those with ears sharp enough to hear them.

On her terrace, overlooking the valley, Ashlynn luxuriated in Nyrielle’s touch, snuggling close to her lover and basking in the contentment that followed one of Georg’s sumptuous meals.

”I missed these moments,” Ashlynn said softly as she closed her eyes to relax into Nyrielle’s comforting embrace. This close, the scent of lavender soap and the subtle touch of honeysuckle perfume that the ancient vampire wore mingled with the misty air and the distant scent of cedar to create an aroma that comforted Ashlynn just as much as the smell of salty ocean air, seagrass and her father’s more rugged, almost leathery scent had comforted her as a child.

It was a scent that blended thoughts of home with safety, security, the freedom to be herself with the knowledge that she was loved, sheltered and protected. After so many months away, she had returned to the Vale and now life was returning to something she recognized as normal.

There were still several burdens weighing on her but having the space and time to enjoy dinner alone with Nyrielle was something more precious than she’d realized all those months ago when she insisted on having meals somewhere less formal than Nyrielle’s underground dining room.

”I missed them too,” Nyrielle said as she gently ran her long, slender fingers through Ashlynn’s pale blonde hair. While much of Ashlynn’s body had become firmer and more toned as she transformed herself from a sheltered noblewoman into a powerful witch who could fight for her place in the world, her hair had become much softer since she left the salty air of Blackwell County behind.

The resulting softness was so luxurious that Ashlynn’s hair was quickly becoming her second favorite part of Ashlynn’s body to touch.

”Was Ollie well when you visited him today?” Nyrielle asked gently. It had been four days since the young man had begun his vigil and according to Ashlynn it wouldn’t be worrisome unless his trial extended beyond seven days, but that didn’t mean her lover had no reason to be concerned.

”His aura is strong and the world is nurturing him,” Ashlynn said without opening her eyes. Heila and the archer Milo had been taking turn standing guard over Ollie’s vigil and Ashlynn visited at least once every day but unfortunately there was no way to know how he was fairing in the depths of his trial. What he was experiencing now was something only he could know and Ashlynn wouldn’t know anything about it until he succeeded... or failed.

”If I compare him to Heila at this time, then he’s doing much better,” Ashlynn said. ”Or at least he seems to be under less strain. The seed I prepared for him is a normal one and he doesn’t have to endure the pressure of an Ancient Seed possessed by a remnant spirit of a previous witch the way Heila did. I think he’ll emerge in the next day or two but there’s no way to really know,” she said.

Ashlynn tried to keep her voice light, but an echo of her heartbeat echoed within Nyrielle’s chest. Given that, even if the vampire didn’t have senses that were far beyond human limits to feel every tremble of her lover’s body and see every jump of her pulse in her neck, it would still be impossible for Ashlynn to maintain a confident face when her heart trembled with worry.

”What about Virve?” Nyrielle asked gently. ”She isn’t undergoing a trial, but she is... transforming, you said. Like a butterfly?”

”I carried Virve’s seed for three days,” Ashlynn said. ”It should take about the same amount of time for the seed to transform Virve into a witch. Even if there is no trial, her body still needs to adjust and atune itself with the energy of the world. It’s just... Virve’s seed feels strangely,” she paused for a moment as she tried to find the right word.

”Aggressive,” she finally said when she thought about the swirl of autumn colors that enveloped the seed. Everyone else in her coven possessed energy in some shade of green and Ashlynn had expected Virve to inherit the Ancient Oak’s golden-green hue, but when she pulled the seed from her chest, she saw hues that ranged from gold through burnt orange to deep crimson all swirling around like leaves caught in a whirlwind, but no trace of green.

”Virve’s seed is potent, but there’s a fury to it that makes me nervous,” Ashlynn said, shifting in Nyrielle’s embrace so she could gaze into her lover’s midnight eyes. ”I may need you to help me watch over her if anything goes wrong.”

”If it would help, I can suggest that she spends some time with Lennart,” Nyrielle said. ”Zedya’s husband is adjusting well to his existence as a vampire but he and Virve are old friends. It might be best for both of them if they can support each other through their changes.”

”I’d like that,” Ashlynn agreed quickly. ”Our families are growing,” she said with a warm smile. ”Now that Zedya has taken her first progeny, will your other children take on progeny of their own?”

”Ha ha,” Nyrielle chuckled. ”Did Thane tell you that he’d considered taking Ollie in a few years? I think you took him by surprise when you made him a member of your coven so quickly.”

”That’s only because Thane is so old and he’s used to thinking in terms of years and decades,” Ashlynn said. ”He should know by now how close we are to war with the Lothians. I don’t have years to wait. Even if some people aren’t quite ready, I have to move now before I lose the chance to take people in.”

”Thane is ’so’ old?” Nyrielle asked, raising an eyebrow playfully. ”Then what does that make me? You know I’m more than twice his age...”

”You, my love,” Ashlynn said, stretching languidly in Nyrielle’s embrace until her lips were close enough to her lovers to feel the other woman’s cool breath on her face. ”Are like a fine wine, aged to perfection until you’ve become the woman who fills my heart with joy and my dreams with... with naughtier things,” she whispered, her face growing hot with embarrassment as she recalled her most recent dreams of her lover and the things they’d done.

Taking Ashlynn’s closeness as permission, Nyrielle leaned ever so slightly forward, brushing her lips across Ashlynn’s lush, bow-shaped lips, sliding her tongue tantalizingly across the seam between her lips, gently prying them open to fully savor her lover’s taste.

The moment their tongues caressed each other, gently dancing back and forth in the shared space between them, Ashlynn’s heart began to race and the echo of Nyrielle’s heartbeat within her chest raced right along with it. The cool night air suddenly felt ice cold against her skin as a fire burned within her body that ached for more than a simple kiss.

”Take me,” Ashlynn whispered, pulling back from the kiss long enough to whisper in her lover’s ear. ”Take every inch of me and make me yours.”