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As with all of her outfits, Dahlia left the top of the low-cut vest unbuttoned, and the stiff collar turned up to fra the road under the sun with no hair to protect her pate, though, so she wore a wide-bri her black and red braid, banded in red silk and stylishly pluht leg and turned it out just so, striking an alluring pose, what man could resist her?
But what she saw in the mirror did not quite ht her easily and threw her down, but didn’t pile one after another atop her as they had with the others Dahlia caught the gaze of one burly barbarian, the Shadovar of huge size and strength who had led the raid While most of the raiders appeared as dusky-skinned humans, the leader was obviously a convert, a horned half-de and delicate captive, barely a woman, was his, he decreed
They stripped her down and held her for the sacrifice, and for the first ti back to the village, understood what she, and not just what her People, had to lose
She heard herfor her, and fro at her, only to be tackled and sat upon
Then he stood over her, the huge tiefling, leering at her "Loosen and ease, girl, and your mother will live," he proed to turn her head to look at her ed to bite back her screa in half The act itself was over quickly, but her hurabbed her by the ankles and lifted her up into the air, upside down
"You will keep the seed of Herzgo Alegni," they mocked as they pawed and slapped at her
Eventually they lowered her so that her head twisted painfully on the ground She turned it enough to keep an inverted, distorted view of her ni, cross into her field of vision
He looked back at her and set that smile?--then he so very casually stomped on the back of herunder the blow
Dahlia took a deep breath and closed her eyes, fighting to hold her balance But only briefly did she swoon, for she was not that child of a decade before That young elf girl was dead, killed by Dahlia, murdered internally and replaced by the exquisite, deadly creature she saw in the mirror
Her hand went across her hard abdomen, and she recalled, just briefly, when she had been with child--with his child, with the s one’s child
With another deep breath, she adjusted her hat then swung away frorab up Kozah’s Needle The slender lassy srip was solid and sure Its four joints were all but invisible, but Dahlia knew them as well as she knew her orist or elbow
With the flick of a hand, she cracked the staff at itsdown to fold onto itself into a coht discharge of energy as it swung, feeding her, and the muscles in her forearm twitched under the soft folds of her sleeve
She took a last glance around her bedchaon already, but she let her eyes linger a few heartbeats, wanting to ensure that she had forgotten nothing
When she left, she didn’t look back, though she expected that several years, perhaps ain looked upon that place, which had been her home for more than half a decade
The roots tasted bitter--she couldn’t help but gag as she stuffed one after another into her mouth But the Netherese would return, the elders assured her They knehere she was and knew she carried the child of their leader
One old elf wo herself to be done with it
But that girl who had foolishly run back to her village instead of aas already dead
She felt the pangs in her abdoony of childbirth through a body too young to accept it
But Dahlia didn’tas she worked her et the beast child out of her Covered in sweat, exhausted, she at last felt the rush of relief, and heard the first cries of her baby, of Herzgo Alegni’s son The midwife placed the babe upon her chest and a mixture of revulsion and unexpected warmth tore at the woman as surely as the Shadovar had torn at her loins, as surely as his son had ripped her in birth
She didn’t knohat to think, and took a tinytheir success, for she had beaten the return of the father and his brutes by several tendays
Dahlia rested back her head and closed her eyes She couldn’t let them return She couldn’t let theone yet?" Sylora Salm surprised Dahlia alht you halfway to the Sword Coast by now"
"Seeking to claim what fineries I’ve left behind, Sylora?" Dahlia replied She paused to strike a pensive pose for just a , "Take the hed at her "It will prefer h I doubt h, you will be old, gray, and haggard, while I a and fresh"
Sylora’s eyes flashed dangerously, and Dahlia clutched Kozah’s Needle a bit h she knew the wizard wouldn’t risk the wrath of Szass Tam
"Peasant," Sylora replied "There are ways around that"
"Ah, yes, the way of Szass Taht up to Sylora, face to face so that the woman could feel her breath hot on her face "When you entith Themerelis and inhale deeply of him, does it feel as if I am in the room beside you?" she whispered
Sylora sucked in her breath hard and fell back just a bit,elf was quicker and had anticipated the reaction "And you will be pallid and unbreathing," she said as she cupped her free hand and grabbed Sylora’s crotch "Cold and dry, while I re Dahlia spun away and skipped down the hall