Sasha had not been given much time to prepare for their arrival. They weren’t last minute. Anthony had told Naomi to send the Beast King a message notifying the man of his arrival, but it was clear that she’d not been notified until the last minute. Whether that was because the Beast King had not deigned to notify Sasha or because the woman herself had simply not been paying attention was up in the air.
Their landing had been fairly low-key. The only people who had met them were Sasha and what he assumed were her soldiers.
Sasha had led them to a large van that looked nondescript on the outside but was decked out with all kinds of luxuries on the inside.
Anthony sat on a long couch--and Trinity and Marianne quickly claimed the spot on his left and right.
“Dammit! I should have been faster,” Secilia grumbled as she sat beside Marianne.
“...” Brianna said nothing as she sat beside Trinity, but she did look put out.
“Snooze you lose,” Trinity said poking her tongue out.
“You have another one,” Sasha said with a raised eyebrow.
“Trinity,” the elf disguised as a human said.
Sasha blinked. Then she whistled and leaned back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other. Anthony said nothing, but the action brought attention to her rather muscular thighs and shapely calves. Out of all the women he had met, she was the most ripped. What was the term they called women like her? Muscle mommy?
“I know of you. You’re the leader of Custodes Daemonium.” Sasha furrowed her brow. “I heard about what happened between you and the other two leaders, but… how did this happen?”
“This? You mean how did I seduce Anthony?” asked Trinity, wrapping her arm around his. He felt a very pleasant squish as his arm was engulfed in her feminine charms. This woman had grade-A assets.
“I thought I seduced you,” Anthony said with a frown.
She gave him a look like she was pitying him. “Anthony… I was sending you signals ever since we met. Why do you think I capitulated to you so easily? It’s because I had always planned on making you mine once we met.”
“Wait. Really?” asked Anthony with furrowed brows.
“Of course.”
“This is my first time hearing about this.”
“That’s because you can be really dense sometimes,” Secilia said.
“That’s not true,” Anthony said.
“No, it is true,” Brianna agreed. “You might be… better at intuiting what we want because we are bonded to you, but you are blind to anyone who isn’t already yours.”
Anthony stared at Marianne as if asking her to defend him. However, his puppy dog eyes were met with a head turn. He clicked his tongue.
Sasha laughed. “They have got you figured out.”
“Ugh…”
Anthony had no defense.
“Anyway.” Sasha planted both feet on the floor of the van. A slight left tilt made it clear they were turning. “Let’s not beat around the bush. You are here for a reason. I will hear of it.”
Anthony sighed but decided not to ‘beat around the bush.’ “You are the reason I am here.”
Sasha blinked. Then she did it again. A second passed before she pointed at herself.
“You are here to kill me?”
Anthony twitched. “No. I am here because I want you to join me… er… my harem, I mean…”
Wow. Asking her to become his like this made him feel a lot more awkward than he thought it would. It just didn’t feel natural to him. With the others, even Trinity, they had only gotten together after bonding at least a little. They hadn’t done any of that. He had only met Sasha once before, and it had only been very brief.
Sasha said nothing for the longest time. Anthony felt like he was being pricked with needles. Her expression was blank and her stare was like a pair of daggers pressing against his throat.
“You want me to join your harem,” she said at last, slowly and without a trace of emotion.
Anthony did not know Sasha all that well. He didn’t know her at all actually, so he had no idea what she was thinking. He looked at Marianne, but she had her political face on. Was she telling him that she wouldn’t help with this?
“Uh… yes,” Anthony said, trying to infuse confidence into his words.
Sasha stared at him a moment longer, then looked at Marianne. “You have told him nothing, have you?”
Marianne shook her head. “It’s not my story to tell.”
“Hmmm. You are at a severe disadvantage here, Anthony. You know nothing of me or why I’ve gone unwed for so long. And your bondmate hasn’t shared anything with you,” Sasha said.
Anthony licked his lips nervously. “Well… I figured the reason was because there was no one strong enough to match you. You strike me as the type who would only let someone marry you if they were stronger than you.”
“You are not wrong, but it is far more complicated than that,” Sasha said with a sigh.
She stood up and reached into a drawer, pulling out a pair of sparkling crystal glasses. Then she pulled a bottle of something from a shelf and came back to her seat. A table extended from the seal. After placing both glasses on it, she popped the cork of the bottle and poured.
Anthony was hit with a smell so strong that his gag reflex almost activated. Whatever alcohol was inside of that bottle, it was strong as fuck.
“Drink,” Sasha said as she held out a bottle to him.
Anthony took the drink, knowing that to refuse would be not only an insult but show weakness. He raised the glass in her direction and downed the whole thing in one shot. Almost immediately, the alcohol burned his throat. It was like liquid lava. His eyes watered as he tried not to cough. It felt like hot iron anvil had struck him in the chest.
Sasha laughed loudly. “That’s a good face you are making, but… hmmm… I am impressed. Most people who drink this for the first time scream. Some of the stronger ones cough. No one has ever managed to keep their reaction down.”
“Glad… I can… impress,” Anthony said. Cripes, his throat felt raw.
Sipping the drink like it was fine wine, Sasha continued, much more relaxed. “I obviously will not marry anyone who is not stronger than me. There were a few men who managed to best me in my younger years and they would have made suitable partners. But it’s not just me you have to prove yourself against. My father fights every potential suitor. Unfortunately, dear papa does not know the meaning of the words ‘hold back.’ Every man who has had the courage to go against him died in the ring with him.”
Anthony blinks. “He killed them?”
Sasha nodded. “Killed them quite publically. After the first few deaths, my list of suitors petered out. What’s ironic is that he wants me to get married.” She laughed. “Now he is confused about why haven’t gotten hitched.”
“You mean he has no idea that he’s the problem,” Anthony said with a shake of his head.
“Indeed.”
“So… what do I need to do? Formally challenge your father to a duel?” he asked.
“Something like that,” Sasha said. “However, that will be for later. I have run into a problem right now that is keeping me from the capital. Perhaps you can help me with that.”
“Sure. I’d be happy to help,” Anthony said.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to offer your help without even knowing what she’s going to ask you?” asked Secilia.
Marianne answered before he could. “Sasha isn’t the type to ask for help unless she really needs it. If she’s asking for help, it means her problem is very serious.”
“You have the right of it,” Sasha said to Marianne.
“Well… tell me the details and I’ll see what I can do,” Anthony said.
“Later.” Sasha waved him off. “We should first get you situated, and you no doubt need rest after the long flight. We will talk about this tomorrow.”
The serious discussion shifted to more pleasant topics. Sasha began chatting with Marianne about what she had been up to, and Marianne enthusiastically told the woman about all of the things she had done since the peace conference. Most of it was about their new home, the new cleaning supplies she had acquired, and some of the shows she watched when she was done with her housework. Sasha listened with an amused smile.
“I will never understand your love for housekeeping. It’s so boring.”
Marianne pouted. “We can’t all be meatheads like you.”
“I resent that comment.”
“But you don’t deny it.”
“Hmmm. Hard to deny the truth.”
They eventually reached the Academy Island Embassy. There were not many people working there. While Academy Island had foreign embassies in several countries, they rarely went used because of their policy of non-intervention. Anthony had in fact used the embassies more in the last few weeks than they had ever been used.
The embassy was pretty swanky. However, he was used to the posh and luxurious, even if it had been a long time since he’d been a part of Lilith’s harem. Some things were hard to forget. It was actually more comfortable for him than his cramped living space on Academy Island had been.
“Ah. Lady Sasha,” the man at the front greeted. “We have prepared the rooms for the Academy Island President and his… uh… women…”
“Good. Good. I will leave it to you to show them the way,” Sasha said. Then she turned to Marianne, swept the woman into a hug, and said, “It was good seeing you again.”
“You too,” Marianne returned the hug.
“We will talk more tomorrow.” Sasha gave Anthony a look. “You will help me solve my problem, and then we will talk about the reason you came here.”
“Sure,” Anthony said.
Sasha left soon after, and Anthony was shown to the room they would be staying in. It was a swanky place, though perhaps not as posh as some of the other hotel rooms he had stayed in. The one in New Denver had been the most luxurious he’d visited in the last few years.
“This bed is really soft--holy shit! I’m sinking!”
Secilia had gone right for the massive king sized bed, throwing herself backwards onto it, only to freak when she began sinking. The bed looked like it was more sheets than actual mattress. They were probably that thick because Russia was a cold place.
“What kind of problem do you think Sasha is dealing with?” asked Brianna. Unlike Secilia, she had sat down on one of the chairs after putting her case carrying her sword down.
“Don’t know, but if she’s having trouble dealing with it, then it must be serious,” Anthony said, then shook his head. “We’ll find out tomorrow. For now, let’s unwind.”
“Um. I want to begin cleaning,” Marianne said.
Everyone but Anthony stared at her like she was crazy. He smiled indulgently.
“I doubt you’ll find anything to clean, but feel free.”
“Thank you!”
“Well… I vote we play some video games!” Secilai declared as she began removing stuff from her bag. “I just so happened to have several consoles with me. Anthony! You and me! Let’s go.”
“I mean, if you want me to kick your ass that badly, who am I to deny you.”
“Oh, now you’ve said it. Come on!”
Anthony spent the rest of the evening playing everything from fighting games to racing games. He had a feeling that he was going to be very busy starting tomorrow. Might as well get in what relaxation he could now.