"Why did you turn the Queen down?" Joyce asked, breathless as she caught up to Asher. He was strolling casually through the center of the bustling crowd.
"No reason," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "I just want to go ho, see my friends and family, and let them know I’ll be ascending. Besides, we have a Gate of Heavens in Eldoria."
Joyce looked down, her expression thoughtful. "I suppose so. But the people here gathered specifically to receive the blessings of your ascension."
Asher knit his brows in confusion. "The what now? What’s that supposed to an?"
Joyce stopped in her tracks, staring at him in pure disbelief. "What? You’re telling you don’t know?"
"Uh... enlighten ?"
"It’s believed that when the Gate to the Heavens opens, it pours divine energy into the surrounding lands," she explained. "That energy brings fortune, prosperity, and healing. So say it can even cure the terminally ill."
"Whoa... that’s a first for ," Asher said, a smirk spreading across his face. "Guess I made the right call choosing Eldoria, then."
He pictured his ho. After the devastation of the zombie apocalypse, Eldoria desperately needed that grace. It would heal the lingering grief of those who had lost loved ones and revitalize the blighted fields, ensuring the kingdom’s food security for generations. He could see it now: a bustling kingdom overflowing with life and stripped of danger—the exact kind of world he wanted his children to grow up in.
****
As they left the crowds behind and reached Samantha’s house, they found her pouting on the floor, looking utterly defeated.
"And what’s wrong with you now?" Asher asked.
Samantha began rolling back and forth across the floor. "I’ve been thinking, and I can’t co to a conclusion!" she wailed.
Joyce crossed her arms over her chest, skeptical. "You? Thinking?"
Samantha shot upright, resting on her knees as she looked at Asher. "I don’t know what to do! Part of wants to go with you right now. If you leave, I’ll miss you so much I won’t know what to do with myself! And I’ll never—never—allow another man to touch !"
Joyce gasped, giving Asher a murderous glare. "Isn’t she a woman of the cloth? What did you do to Sister Samantha, you scumbag?"
Asher whistled a tuneless lody, looking at the ceiling. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."
"The other part of wants to stay at the church," Samantha continued with a heavy sigh. She crawled forward to clutch Asher’s trousers, looking up at him with watery, oversized blue eyes. "Tell ... what should I do?"
Asher smiled down at her. Between her splashing of freckles and her desperate expression, she looked more enticing than ever. He traced her lower lip with his thumb, making her gulp.
"I told you, didn’t I? I won’t abandon you. But I also don’t want you abandoning your duties for ," he said softly. Her eyes grew even mistier. "I’ll be coming back to the Shangani Kingdom often. I’ve got a partnership with the local inn now, so I’ll be checking in on you every ti I’m around."
"Asher!" Samantha cried, throwing her arms around him. "I love you... I love you so much."
"I love you too," he murmured, stroking her hair. He glanced at Joyce, who was looking away with a face that suggested she’d just swallowed a lemon.
"Co on, Joyce. Join the hug."
Joyce’s face turned scarlet. "I am a warrior! I don’t engage in... emotional displays!"
"Really now?" Asher’s grin turned predatory. "Or do you want to put you under my ’charms’ again?"
She gasped. "Tsk! As if! I’m not afraid of you! Do it if you think you can, you coward!"
"Why do I get the feeling you want to do it very badly?" He watched her blush deepen. "I’d love to stay and have a few rounds with you ladies, but I have a feeling I’ll need my strength where I’m going. I’ve been gone a long ti; I’m sure there are hungry people waiting to devour . So, next ti, alright?"
Joyce frowned. "The nerve to assu I wanted to sleep with you! There’s no end to your arrogance, is there?"
Asher released Samantha and stepped toward Joyce. She backed up until she hit the wall. He slamd his hands onto the surface on either side of her head, pinning her in place. He could hear her breath hitch; her pulse was racing.
He leaned in, tilted her chin up, and kissed her deeply for a long mont. When he finally pulled away, she was breathless.
"W-what was that for?" she growled, though her voice lacked its usual bite.
"You aren’t a fan of hugs," he chuckled. "So I figured a kiss would do."
With his goodbyes said, Asher prepared to leave. He considered using a Dinsional Door to head straight to his harem town then to Eldoria much faster, but he needed to stop at the Felmora Kingdom first to check on Tama. It was a two-day flight, unless...
’You said you can fly now, right, Ifrit?’ he asked ntally.
’Yes...’
’Good. We’ll take turns carrying each other.’
’What?!’
’And you’re going first!’ Asher declared.
Ifrit manifested in his human form, looking indignant. "Don’t you think that’s a bit unfair, Master?"
"All’s fair in love and war," Asher grinned. "Now co on! Show what you’ve got!"
Ifrit grumbled, but enormous wings of blazing fire sprouted from his small fra. They were massive—comically large compared to his boyish stature. Joyce and Samantha watched with deadpan expressions as Asher climbed onto Ifrit’s back.
"Isn’t he just... abusing that poor kid?" Joyce asked.
"Total abuse," Samantha agreed. "That boy is in for a rough life."
From the sky, Ifrit’s roar echoed down. "Say I’m a kid one more ti! I dare you!"
The sudden outburst nearly sent Asher tumbling.
He quickly cald the demon down before they plumted.
Ifrit conjured a barrier of fire to shield them from the friction of the wind, and Asher reinforced it with a layer of pressurized air.
As they streaked toward Felmora, Asher watched the ground blur beneath them.
’Ifrit is faster than I expected,’ he thought. ’At this rate, we’ll be there in no ti.’
Tbc
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