Page 36 of Avaritia

The tentacle in my mouth withdrew, and I panted my way through seemingly endless waves of pleasure, my pussy stretched tight around his bulbous knot.

For a long while, there was no speaking. I could barely muster the energy to breathe, let alone to talk.

I also wasn’t entirely sure what to say after something that intense. Based on our first foray into feeding, Theon didn’t do cuddles. Probably best to wait in silence until his knot softened and then we could both get on with our days.

“You enjoyed that,” Theon rasped, though it sounded sort of like he was confirming rather than accusing.

“Very much.”

He harrumphed grumpily, though I was familiar enough with his drama queen ways now not to take it personally.

“What about you?” I asked, verifying that I hadn’t taken advantage of him.

“Yes.” Verbose as always. He paused for a moment before speaking again. “What else can I do to you?”

It might have been the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me.

I took a deep breath, and let every fantasy I’d ever had spill out.

Chapter 11

Aderith was all but glowing, presumably having fed from the mostly unused stores here in the manor that I’d been topping up with excess power I’d gathered from feeding from my mate.

Despite how liberally I’d siphoned—both Aderith and Wilder were comfortably old enough to be feeding from the stores regardless of the current situation—I felt no weaker. Siphoning had merely been enough to take the jittery edge off.

Everyone deserved to feel this level of full. Aches and pains I didn’t know I had disappeared. My eyes glowed brighter, my skin felt smoother, even my claws and teeth felt stronger.

Eschewing my workshop, I instead headed upstairs, toward the turret that rounded off the western corner of the manor. The circular study at the top of the tower afforded some of the best views of the expansive forest that surrounded my home, and everything about the room and its aspect were meant to inspire a sense of awe. This was the place where I should be taking meetings—in my spot behind the grand wooden desk, currently covered in dust, with a great fire roaring in the currently empty grate. My father had certainly done as much when he’d resided here.

I’d never had much cause to use it.

My workshop had always been the place that had called to me most. I preferred to be practical, to use my intelligence to create rather than to theorize. But in the case of the Hunters, drawing up theoretical plans was an unavoidable reality. I suspected efficiencies could be made to the stores and the siphoning process, and I certainly intended to investigate that further, but ultimately, we needed more Hunters in the shadow realm. It was a question of numbers before anything else.

I pulled out a fresh sheaf of paper, a pen, and an ink pot, considering what I knew of the situation, and now knew of Verity.

She’d wanted a sense of purpose—a very natural thing for any sentient being to want. I had been… not as aware as I should have been about the Hunters having deep emotional needs of their own, but I wouldn’t overlook that aspect again.

Large-scale food production was going to be a key component. Verity had favored the brightly colored selection of items at the dinner party. More would be needed to provide for a greater number of humans, and that would also create opportunities for work—both for Hunters and for Shades. I spread my map of the realm out on my desk, making a note on the paper of locations which I thought would be suitable, based on what I’d seen of food production in the human realm. The crops grown in the shadow realm were primarily used to feed the livestock—surely, some of those pastures could be mixed use?

They would also need accommodation. I’d only seen the outside of Elverston House, but I couldn’t fathom how Allerick thought that was a suitable place to host honored guests. However, their proximity to the palace and the Guards’ barracks was advantageous, especially when they were new to the realm and adjusting.

With a huff of irritation at keeping any part of Allerick’s “plan” intact, I quickly sketched the outside of Elverston House as I remembered it, noting down the repairs I could recall off the top of my head, as well as a few additional features that could be added on to make the place more functional. Certainly, clearing some of the vegetation on the border would be wise, allowing room for a pergola perhaps, somewhere that Hunters and Shades could meet that offered some privacy, but in a public environment for safety.

Setting that aside, I drafted a list of human-friendly forms of employment here in the shadow realm, noting down the sort of lifestyle they afforded. Not all of them would wish to sit in the confines of the palace all day, waiting around for something to happen to them. Some would want to be masters of their own fate.

Absurd that Allerick hadn’t considered such a thing, but I wasn’t surprised. With a slight frisson of uneasiness, I realized that perhaps if I were in his position, I wouldn’t have either.

After all, Allerick’s fate had been determined for him from a young age, and the life of a monarch involved a lot of sitting around, waiting for things to happen. Of course, leadership was required, but there was an entire council to assist him, as well as other figures of authority, responsible for their own spheres, such as Captain Soren.

Allerick had a high level of responsibility, but a low level of daily routine, and not everyone would be content to operate as such.

With the few minutes I had before I was due downstairs to meet Verity for lunch, I drafted suggestions for protective laws that would enshrine the rights of Hunters who pledged their allegiance to the shadow realm. Slightly less contentedly, I suggested a list of appropriate punishments for Shades who broke the rules, uneasily thinking of my own situation.

No, that was ridiculous.

It wasn’t the same at all.

My actions had improved Verity’s life here in the shadow realm. The end justified the means.

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