Well, that was close. She probably should have realized the student of alchemy would know enough astrology to become suspicious when a god of parasitism was mentioned. 

Fortunately, the old standby strategy of making Christa too horny to think any inconvenient thoughts seems to be working fine.

She'll need to reign Christa in before she loses too much control, she does actually want to finish this conversation soon instead of after another pleasure coma, but if Christa is just a little more out of it, so much the better for Aire.

Her hands reach down to her cock, her conversation with Aire forgotten. 

As she strokes herself, it starts to seem odd to her that she bothered going to classes. Why didn't she just stay home and do this all day? After all, she never runs out of orgasms. And who cares how much money she has, as long as she can cum as much as she wants?

Her eyes slide from her cock to the masturbating woman she saw earlier out of the corner of her eye. She's ten years or so older than Christa, dark haired, slender, pale, and lovely. She's staring at Christa's cock as she plays with herself.

"Do you want to fuck me?"

And then Christa's cockhead is pressing against her entrance.

When did she move?

Her hips thrust forward.

Fuck, that doesn't matter, this feels so good. 

She falls against the woman, thrusting into her as fast as she can, chasing orgasm.

And cumming. Spurting again and again, hips pressed in tight, for near a minute.

The woman whispers in her ear. "More?"

Her pussy squeezes.

Christa starts thrusting.

More!

And, after few rounds of that, that's enough. She wants Christa moderately out of it, not incapable of understanding.

She throttles down on Christa's libido with her arousal seal.

Christa surfaces.

And blushes.

She doesn't even know this woman's name!

"Dia. I've seen that look on more than a few faces new to all this. My name is Dia. Just snuggle up against me, it's all okay."

Well. Now she knows her name, at least. And. Well. They've already had sex. Surely snuggling is fine?

Dia brushes her hands through Christa's hair as she snuggles up to her.

"Now, I believe you were having a conversation with Mistress, before you got all distracted?"

Mistress? Odd. But. Um. Yes she was. She nods against Dia's shoulder.

"You should probably get back to that."

Where were they?

Aire was explaining what happened this morning.

While they were hiding with these nice people, Annabelle got worried about Christa being missing. She went to the inquisitors.

They found Christa's uniform at Alard's. And came to some unfortunate conclusions. They think Alard fed her to Yui. After, he, um, "fed" her to Yui.

Alard and Yui are both imprisoned, but otherwise okay.

It just. It just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?

Yui's a good dragon, they wouldn't do that! And neither would Alard!

She likes Alard. She likes Yui. She hopes they'll both be okay.

She nuzzles against Dia's shoulder again, and gets a pat on the head in response.

Is there any reason they can't just have Christa show up, miraculously alive, and explain there's been a misunderstanding?

That comes down to the thing with the spy. Since they got killed while Christa was there, Christa is the obvious suspect. The Lord-Commander, given the spies, should also know enough about his own son to know he wouldn't do that. So to him, the whole situation probably looks like someone's doing something odd, and if Christa is the suspect, her showing back up just means something even weirder is going on. He'll want to investigate her. And then maybe he finds out about Aire, and kills her. That's actually a concern even with Christa missing.

But. Aire has a plan to solve the vast majority of their problems!

Unfortunately, going into precisely what it is with Christa would be a bad idea. Christa's mind isn't shielded, and some things shouldn't be known by anyone without that sort of protection. The end result should be Alard and Yui cleared of killing Christa. Unfortunately, it probably still won't result in Christa being able to reemerge back into normal society. Aire will try to manage that, if she can. But she might not be able to.

And then there's the second big piece of information Aire has to give Christa.

HOW IS THERE STILL MORE?

Um. Ahem. Never mind that thought.

What is it?

She can focus on her sadness about having to pretend to be dead later. And besides, Annabelle's safe, she should be able to tell her at least. And. Well. She's not that close with her family. They'll be a bit sad. But Christa never really felt like they cared about her that much. Not any besides her mom, anyway, and she passed years ago. They're only supporting her at the Collegiate because they know that Christa's the type to pay them back later.

So! Coincidentally, word came in today through a scrying pair of a new threat out in the Pink. A threat bad enough it has most of the gods united in opposing her. A mind control witch called the Red Queen, evidently bent on world conquest. She's apparently absorbed enough of the Pink that the Tentacled therein have resorted to creating a massive psychic barrier to keep her locked away. But she's still sending agents out into the rest of the world, looking to start a war between those maintaining the barrier and the kingdoms of the outside world. The Dragon Empire has put up posters informing people of the threat.

Aire used Christa's astrology knowledge to confirm all of this. She's a large enough problem that the correct response is cooperation by even those who would typically be sworn enemies.

Wow. The whole world really did go mad in one day, didn't it?

But. Back to what Aire said about Christa not having any shielding. She knows there are ways to get people shields if they don't have them themselves. And Christa's a telepath! She can help!

Aire appreciates the offer. But she's going to be getting telepathic help from the person who saved them, who also has a bunch of capabilities that mean they're much less at risk than Christa would be. And for complicated reasons if Christa came along she'd be in a lot more danger than Aire.

More help is still better! Christa should be able to do something. A telepath isn't something to sneeze at, even if you've already got one!

Aire. Decides she doesn't actually want to risk Christa even if she's right about that.

Christa is useful, more subservient to Aire's wishes than Rele, and most importantly can serve as Aire's host. She'd be more likely to be lost on the mission than Rele, and her loss would cost Aire more than losing Rele would.

Well, there's always her time-tested way of getting Christa to stop paying attention to something she doesn't want her bothering with.

That would make sense, but Christa's been having a really hard time focusing lately, and it would be bad if she was there to help and ended up. Um. Distracted.

Christa can totally focus through being distracted! Like she is right now!

See, her cock's pressing against Dia's thigh, and she's totally tuning it out. She's not fantasizing about thrusting back into her pussy even though it's right there.

Right there.

She's panting against Dia's shoulder.

Right there.

She thrusts forward slightly. Her cock rubs against Dia's thigh. It feels good.

So close.

See. She's in complete control of herself. She's not distracted at all.

Dia giggles, and pets Christa's hair.

"Feeling horny again, are we? Well, if you need my help again, you can have it, okay cutie?"

"I'm not distracted! Just. Just gotta prove it."

"Well, if you say so. You should probably stop rubbing yourself up against me if you want to convince anyone of that, though."

Why would she do that? She can stay perfectly focused while she's doing that. Not distracted at all.

She could even. Show off how good she is at focusing. By rubbing her cock on Dia's pussy instead. Or maybe even by fucking her and not getting distracted. Yeah, that makes sense.

When Christa pulls back and grabs her cock, Dia obligingly spreads her legs for her.

And then Christa's fucking her again.

The pleasure of thrusting back into her drives most of her thoughts from her head, and the rest get driven out slowly by her frantic rutting.

Dia giggles. 

"Still not distracted, dear?"

What's she talking about?

It probably doesn't matter.

Even if she's saying stuff that doesn't make any sense, Christa can still fuck her. Still cum in her. That's what matters.

This really is an enjoyable way to pass the time. And Aire isn't being too extreme about it, Christa should recover pretty quickly. A nap, not a full night's sleep.

But soon enough it's evening, Rele and the other cultists have returned from their information-gathering mission, and it is time to move on to riskier matters.

Where did Rele discover? How well-defended is the Veterinarian-General's home? Unless they discovered she sleeps elsewhere, of course, in which case the question is how well-defended that location is instead. 

Aire finds herself hoping there's noticeable security; if there is, it becomes rather a lot easier for a momentary "failure" on Aire's part to maintain control of her target to lead to Aire being driven off. It's also plausible that Aire will actually fail, which is all the better. The fewer falsehoods involved in the story, the better.

In the Temple of Light, there is a tower, and in that tower there is a renovated complex of offices and laboratories, filled with lost Elven relics and ancient technology. Among that complex is a penthouse that overlooks the city of Arcadia, the view second only to King Drago's throne room.

Despite the cool electric lights, the impossible clarity of glass that one can see through from the inside but which perfectly mimics stone from the outside, and the clean lines of precision manufacturing on every inch of the room, it is utterly spartan, with an ergonomic chair and a large desk, and nothing else.

At this desk sits a man.

Some days are an exercise in patience.

Sir Vergil Drystan was already expecting today to be one of those days, with the release of the Tentacled's message, but it seems more immediate matters have come to complicate his life.

The agent assigned to shadow his son doesn't report in, and cannot be found when Vergil sends a few of his more discreet Dragoons looking. He assigns a new agent to watch his estranged son, and gets a report back immediately that he is starting his day at the castle of masculine learning in Library Gemini as per usual.

One missing agent is no big loss, and Vergil is entirely prepared to delegate the matter and forget about it, when one of his functionaries bursts into his office, alarmed and sweating.

     "Sir! The Inquisitors have just arrested your son!"

Vergil raises one eyebrow behind his spectacles. "What's the charge?"

     "He stands accused of, of having his dragon rape, kill, and eat a young woman, sir."

"Absurd. He lacks the stomach for such things, and his dragon is as docile as they come."

What are the inquisitors playing at, Vergil wonders. Even on the face of it, the charges are absurd. Alard is obviously a pawn in someone's scheme. Vergil's eyes shift to the side. The missing agent. Connected? Timing is suspicious. If someone wanted to frame Alard, an obvious move would be to remove the witness to his innocence.

"Fetch platoon four," Vergil orders. "I will be paying the High Inquisitor a personal visit."

Despite certain fanciful rumors, the Lord-Commander's and the High Inquisitor's rivalry is strictly professional.

Usually.

The High Inquisitor agrees to meet with the Lord-Commander, of course, and there is only the tiniest amount of gloating when he does. He respects that the Lord-Commander is having a quiet meeting about this rather than storming the Inquisitorium on dragon-back. Likewise, the Lord-Commander respects the fact that he doesn't need to storm the Inquisitorium on dragon-back to get his answers.

Unfortunately, the answers that the High Inquisitor has for the Lord-Commander are not things Vergil is pleased to hear. These are not two men who will do favors for each other, respect or no. The High Inquisitor tells the Lord-Commander to his face that the investigation into Alard's alleged crimes will not only be by-the-book but it will take priority. After all, if their roles were reversed, the Lord-Commander would surely do the same.

The High Inquisitor does reassure the Lord-Commander that they are searching very thoroughly for the young woman who is Alard's supposed victim. Dead or alive, finding her would clarify matters quite a lot. To that end, the High Inquisitor trusts that the Lord-Commander will not oppose the inquisitors taking Alard's dragon into custody as well?

     "If that young woman's remains are in Yui's stomach, I wish to know as much as you," the Lord-Commander says simply.

With that established, there is little else for the two men to talk about, and the High Inquisitor has the Lord-Commander escorted out.

Back in his office, Vergil sends a functionary to fetch his left-hand woman.

For the longest time, Sabra believed she was in love.

The Lord-Commander is such a mythic figure, to her. Calculating, wise, dangerous, and yes, powerful. His hard eyes hide such depths for her to probe and tease out. Sabra has been fascinated with him for years.

She knows, now, that he feels nothing for her. Her accomplishments, yes, he values those, but he cares nothing for her. Her hopes and dreams are nothing to him, and her body is merely a convenient cum-toilet. A part of her hates him, for not loving her back, for leading her on.

A larger part of her still craves him. Still longs to tease out his hopes and dreams. When she walks into his office and sees the flash of light reflect off his spectacles, her pussy clenches in raw want, her nipples hardening in her blouse, her heart racing in anticipation.

Vergil explains the events of the morning, the arrest of Alard, and the impending detainment of Yui.

"I want you to oversee the handoff personally," he tells her.

He waits. She doesn't leave.

Vergil laces his fingers and smirks behind his hands. "That will be all. For now."

Sabra hides her disappointment under a mask of professionalism, and hates herself for being so disappointed. He knows he can have her whenever he wants, and she suspects it amuses him to remind her that she only gets to have him on his terms.

She goes.

The trip to the dragon stables passes quickly.

A Lord-Commander's work is never finished.

In the event that Alard is not cleared, or if this proceeding drags on, certain plans will need to be adjusted.

He'll make time to keep his left hand tame... later.