Mason followed the ice princess across her hall, past a dozen more guards and elemental golems. The doors to her âprivate wingâ opened on their own, and she led him into a far more comfortable looking royal chamber.
Animated servants leapt to attention. A small dining table set itself. A fluffy robe floated across the room. Lilith putting her hands through as it wrapped itself around her, and Mason caught just the briefest flash of her nudity from behind as the dress simply vanished.
She turned and looked him up and down.
âDo you requireâŠa moment to refresh yourself?â
He snorted and looked around the chamber, seeing only one large basin that might serve as a tub.
âIf it makes you feel better. Does that have water?â
Lilith gestured, and he heard the basin filling itself.
âThe water will not be warm,â she warned, looking pleased that he might dislike it. He held back the urge to snort again. Instead he walked to the basin and banished his vestments, stepping in naked until he was fully submerged.
He activated Inner Fire just because he could, watching as Blessing of Gaia shimmered through the water. But it wasnât like blessing something on the prime. The water resisted him like he was cleansing corruption, his mana warring with it until the warmth spread and started cleansing his Transformations.
He stepped out equally naked, swiping the water from his face and hair with his hands. The princess just stood there and stared. He saw her nostrils flare, her chest move with a deep breath. He did his best not to smile.
âWill our food bring itself as well? Or do you eat ice or something?â
He summoned the clothing version of his vestments, leaving his feet bare on the cold floor. It would have to be a lot worse than near freezing to bother him.
âI eat, when I wish to,â Lilith said, walking to the dining table. âYou know our gods arenât so different in some ways. They both demand strength, a willingness to act.â Her tone harshened. âThough mine respects the order of things. And she requiresâŠ
responsibility
.â
No doubt there was some ridiculous history between the two gods she was referring to. Maybe it was ironic or stereotypical because of his patron, but Mason didnât really care. The idea that he wasnât âresponsibleâ was also kind of comical. Other than his lust, and OK maybe his risk-seeking, his whole existence was protecting what was left of mankind.
âIâm bored of gods,â he said, sniffing as he detected something coming from a servant door. âI serve Cerebus because itâs useful. I donât really care what he wants. Though my not caring seems to
be
what he wants. It works out.â
Tray after covered tray came waltzing in on ornate legs like in that Disney movie. He kind of hoped they broke out into song, or something, but they just hopped up on the table and arranged themselves.
The lids popped off, and Mason had to fight his eyes from fluttering as the scent of roasted meat hit him. There was almost nothing else under the lids except a pile of berries. He glanced at his hostess, holding himself back from gorging.
âPlease feel free,â she said, watching him as if amused. âI know how my fatherâs gifts affect his chosen champions.â
Heâd stuffed a mouthful of something like beef and started chewing before he really thought about what sheâd said.
Father
. He chewed and swallowed, watching Lilithâs glowing blue eyes.
So, she was the daughter of two gods, one of which was his patron. Lovely. What could possibly go wrong? He ate as fast as possible, running through a list of words to say ranging from âwell thanks for the grubâ, to âreally have to get going nowâ.
âSo what are we, cousins or something?â
Lilith laughed and ate a couple berries like sheâd forgotten how, staring at his mouth.
âHardly.â
She looked even more pale than before, if that was possible. And she was still taking deep breaths from her nose like she was smelling him. As she bit into the fruit, he also decided her teeth looked a little
sharper
than he remembered. Especially her caninesâŠ
He put down his latest hunk of meat and wiped his hands, licking his lips as he watched his hostess. Little hairs were rising up on his neck now, that awful knowing in his gut.
âIâd rather not do this,â he said, putting his hands gently on the table. âIf you can still get a hold of yourself, please do. I donât want to hurt you.â
She shivered and stared, fighting some battle with herself he knew all too well. Her fingernails had grown longer, and as she scratched a hand across the table she sliced the tablecloth.
âJust a taste,â she said, chest heaving. âI donât think IâŠif you gave me a taste. Willingly. ItâsâŠa risk to you. But you smell so full of life. Would youâŠcould weâŠâ
She trailed off, and Mason took a breath. Something about the woman made him feel pity, but also attraction. Like she was a kindred spiritâtrapped by circumstance and power. There were monsters in this world, but he didnât think she truly was one.
He didnât look down on her as he hadnât with the hag, or the people whoâd served Jeong, or his brother Blake. When a thing went too far, caused too much damage, you stopped it. But life was mostly grey and messy. Whatever she was, he was probably the same thing.
He stood and walked across the marble floor, moving to Lilithâs side. She watched him, panting, looking overwhelmed. He reached out and stroked her cheek, skin like ice to the touch. He held out his wrist, and when she realized what he was doing she wrapped her cold hands around his forearm, fangs emerging from ruby lips.
When he didnât pull away, she closed her eyes, and bit. It hurt a little, but for Mason now that was like saying nothing.
The beautiful âvampireâ, or whatever she was, started draining his blood, sucking and moaning in pleasure. It wasnât the proudest erection of his life. He supposed âsurpriseâ was the wrong word to discover he could mix his growing masochism with sex. But it was definitely still a kind of awkward pleasure.
His powers and titles were going wild. But he didnât need to look closely to feel his body was resisting and rejuvenating whatever she was doing. Inner fire, Transformation, Blessing of Gaia and Apex Predator made him pretty much the perfect âdivine winter vampireâ blood donor.
The cold pull of her magic and the sounds of her swallowing made him shiver. It wasnât supposed to be pleasant, he didnât imagine. But it kind of was. Like he was overstuffed with something and she was giving a different kind of relief. He didnât pull away or try to stop her, but eventually she moved her face back, eyes still closed.
She looked like a drunk kitten as she licked her lips. Her head swayed, a slight blush on her cheeks, a faint smile on her lips. She finally looked up at him, somewhere between embarrassed and satisfied.
âThank you, Mason, IâŠâ
Her blue eyes flicked to the bulge in his very tight vestments and she stopped. No matter how used to such porn-like fantasies he was getting, it was still kind of an awkward moment to have your hard-on pop up in some attractive strangerâs face.
He had no idea how sheâd react. He hadnât gotten his dungeon reward, whatever it was, so he still needed her cordial enough to hand that over and send him on his way. Some kind of apology seemed like a decent idea, except he wasnât really sorry, and she
was
the one whoâd asked to feed on him.
He went with âsay nothing and see what happensâ.
Lilith looked up to his eyes for a few seconds. Then she went back to staring at his package, and slowly and carefully, reached out to trail a finger all around it without touching.
This was a lot better and more welcome than yelling for her guards, or marching off with disgust. It wasnât until the fabric literally fell away in a circular cut, leaving his manhood to spring free completely exposed, that he remembered how sharp her fingernails were.
She grinned and spread her hands on either side of his hips, pressing the material flat as if to display how big he was. They took turns glancing between his swollen member and each otherâs eyes, as if waiting for someone to decide what to do about it.
As she looked up at him she seemed hungry again but unsure. There was literally some steam rising off his dick in the cold air, which made Lilithâs eyes widen. Her voice softened, tone whispering up his spine.
âThe smell of Gaia is all over you.â
âItâs usually the other way around,â he said. âBut I get your meaning.â
She stared and stared, and lost another battle against herself.
âThere are many ways and places you can feed my hunger. Do you mind if I take some more?â
He did not, in fact, mind. In response he reached down and opened her robe, showing gravity-defying, pale perky tits with nipples like hardened plastic. They were cold, but they were still fantastic, and she didnât move at all as he gripped both and squeezed.
This âextreme, mortal danger dungeonâ was getting better all the time.