Slave to the Empire (Elf Slave #1) Read online

  Slave to the Empire

  Sarah Hawke

  Copyright © 2013 Sarah Hawke

  Published by Jade Fantasy

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or used fictitiously.

  All rights reserved.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Dedication

  This series is dedicated to my friend Jennifer Vale for allowing me to write and expand her wonderful fantasy world. Thank you for the opportunity!

  A Note on Appendices

  For readers who are interested in a brief reference guide for the various characters, places, and terms used in the book, I’ve included an appendix at the end of this volume. It isn’t necessary to enjoy the story (I promise!) but I’ve provided it for your convenience in case you are interested.

  Enjoy!

  Chapter One

  Men craved power. It was a simple enough truth repeated throughout history irrespective of age, race, or station. The peasant farmer, the journeyman glassblower, the upstart noble—ultimately they all wanted to be in control. And it was as true in the bedroom as anywhere else.

  “Sit down.”

  I dutifully sank back onto my haunches and allowed Master’s cock to gently slip out of my mouth until just the tip rested atop my tongue. I could tell from the quickening of his pulse and the tightening of his leg muscles that he appreciated the gesture of submission. He always did.

  Gripping my long hair in both hands, he watched approvingly as I kissed, licked, and otherwise worshipped him from my knees. Eventually he pressed against the back of my head, and I opened my throat for him again as he slid in deep. He held me firmly in place, his eyes locked with mine as he scoured my delicate features for any signs of hesitation or distress. He wouldn’t find anything. I waited patiently until he finally withdrew and allowed me the briefest respite before plunging in again.

  “Good,” he said between labored breaths. He could have easily finished several times by now, but this wasn’t about his sating his desire—at least, not directly. This was about my continued education, and I had learned long ago that he was nothing if not a devoted teacher. “Duke Arland will expect complete obedience. He will expect perfection. And you will give it to him.”

  He withdrew slowly, torturously, but again I refused to show any visible signs of discomfort. Once he was free he tapped me gently on the shoulder, and I obediently hopped up on the bed and swiveled onto my side. He clutched onto my calf and nestled in behind me before lifting my leg out of his way.

  I whimpered reflexively when he thrust into me, and I could feel the magic brimming on his fingertips. Now the real battle was about to begin. While his hands remained clamped on my calf and thighs, a set of invisible, illusory fingers tickled their way across my flesh, stimulating each and every nerve from my toes to my breasts. They would arouse and ensnare me until I was almost literally drunk on his touch…and as usual it took every ounce of my willpower not to surrender to his power. This was a test, after all, and I wasn’t about to disappoint him. Not now, not when he had placed so much faith in me.

  And so instead I did what no other slave in the Empire could do: I countered with magic of my own.

  Reaching back to clasp his hand, I tapped into the Aether and channeled its energies from my body into his. I roused his nerves just as he had mine, and I smiled when a faint, uncharacteristic gasp escaped his lips. All the while my hips met his thrust for thrust, and a raw, animalistic heat swelled between us until beads of sweat trickled down my brow.

  Just when I braced myself for his inevitable climax, he abruptly withdrew and flipped me over onto my back. I yelped in surprise; it was a rare thing for Master to take me face-to-face, especially of late. But tonight he wasted no time in swinging my slender legs up onto his shoulders and plunging back inside me, and within moments he was pressing down hard enough that my knees brushed against my own chest.

  “Who am I?” he asked, his dark eyes boring into me.

  “You are Gabriel Kristoff,” I breathed, “Archduke of Glorinfel.”

  “What am I?”

  “You are my master.”

  “And how will you serve me?”

  “I will do anything you wish,” I panted. “And you can do anything you wish to me.”

  He slammed into me harder and deeper than ever before, and for a moment I thought his lips might actually drift close enough for me to kiss. But just before they touched I felt him channel another spell, and suddenly the illusory fingers still dancing across my breasts tickled their way up my sternum before eventually grasping around my throat. They squeezed, gently at first but then tighter and tighter as Master drew closer to climax. It was his way of demonstrating his ultimate dominance over me. He owned me, body and soul. Here in this bedroom it didn’t matter how much influence he had lost in the Imperial Court, nor did it matter how quickly his family’s lands were buckling from the strains of the Emperor’s misbegotten war with the Vaeyn. Here he had power. Here he was in control. Here he could fuck his elf slave any time and any way he wished. My life was quite literally in his hands.

  And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

  My vision blurred as he moaned in pleasure, but I even as my consciousness threatened to slip away I reached my fingers down to his thighs and unleashed the final weapon in my arsenal. There was nothing subtle about this particular spell; it was like I’d fired a jolt of energy straight into his loins. When he had first showed me the technique, it had taken almost a week for him to learn to resist its power. But here and now, with my legs tucked over his shoulders and his cock buried to the hilt inside me, he had no chance at all.

  He climaxed immediately, his ghostly hands clutching and unclutching at my throat between waves of ecstasy. A ripple of delight shuddered through me even as I struggled for breath…and then suddenly the tension around my neck was gone. His spell faded and air returned to my lungs, and before he could regain his senses I slid my fingers around the back of his head and pulled his lips down to mine—

  He pushed me away just as they touched, and despite my body’s reflexive protestations he slipped out of me and sauntered over to the liquor cabinet on the far wall. “You’re getting better,” he said approvingly as he wiped the sweat from his brow and poured himself a glass. “Almost ready for Duke Arland, I think.”

  “I’m pleased you believe so, Master.”

  He grunted softly but didn’t reply. While his back was turned I finally allowed myself a moment to bask in the magic still tingling across my skin. I had no idea how Master had learned to manipulate the Aether in such a way. He had spent almost five years studying at the Aetherium, the vaunted college of magic here in the imperial capital of Sanctum, but based on all his tales about the stodgy channelers who ran the place I doubted they had taught him anything about the erotic applications of magic. Perhaps he had taught himself. If so, it would explain how easily he had been able to pass the techniques on to me.

  Regardless, it took all my willpower to break his hold and sit up in the bed. Under different circumstances I would have begged him to take me again, both because it pleased him to hear it and because I legitimately yearned to cradle him inside me once more. But I knew that tonight was different
. Tonight the lesson was discipline, and he needed to know that I could keep my wits about me even while my entire being pleaded for release.

  Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and let the Aether flow through me. I shaped its ever-present warmth into a cleansing pulse, and the last of Master’s ensnaring illusions faded from my flesh. My longing for his touch, regrettably, did not. But I could resist. I could become the weapon he needed me to be. I would help him secure Duke Arland’s support against the Emperor, and then I would help him secure the loyalty of the rest of the Grand Dukes after that. Once we were finished, the Emperor would have no choice but to end this war…and then at long last we would finally be able to return home.

  “You will need to be perfect,” Master said under his breath as he swirled the last of his wine over his tongue. “Arland himself will be easy enough to please, but his wife will pose a greater challenge. And ultimately she’s the one we need to worry about.”

  “I don’t understand why he would allow her to make such important decisions,” I said. “She is a foreigner, is she not?”

  “You’ll understand once you meet him. Darian is a decent enough man in his own right, but Luriel has been the real power in Sorthaal ever since she stepped off that boat from overseas.”

  I licked nervously at my lips. “I beg your forgiveness, Master, but I still don’t understand why you believe she will respond so well to me. You don’t think she’ll be upset when she learns that her husband is…?”

  “Fucking you?”

  “Yes.”

  He snorted. “On our way here I warned you that you’d have to get used to different rules and different customs. Sanctum is unlike anywhere else in the Empire. Few of the other nobles—especially the other Grand Dukes—possess my restraint. Especially when it comes to avenari.”

  I nodded slowly. I had heard the stories of the unabashed depravity in the Emperor’s Court before, but having never witnessed it myself I still found the tales hard to believe. Courtesans and prostitutes were common everywhere, naturally, and elven pleasure slaves like myself—avenari, in the Old Tongue—were especially prized for our graceful figures, ageless beauty, and inability to bear human children. But if the rumors were true, the court’s appetites went far beyond simple harems and pleasure slaves...

  Master must have sensed my discomfort, and he glanced back over his shoulder and flashed me a faint smile. “I already told you that you have nothing to worry about. Darian and his wife may have voracious appetites, but they aren’t fools. They respect the law. Harming my property is the same as harming me, and they wouldn’t dare risk drawing the ire of the magistrates over something so trivial.”

  “Of course not, Master,” I whispered.

  His smile faded as he turned back around and poured himself another glass. “Still, you will need to be ready for a certain amount of enmity, especially from Lady Luriel. Her people hold long grudges, and her family in particular claims to have suffered greatly beneath the rule of the Faeyn.”

  I frowned and searched my memory. I may have been the only slave in the Empire with the ability to channel the Aether, but my wide-ranging historical and linguistic knowledge was almost as rare. Ever since he had first purchased me at auction, Master had insisted upon training both my mind and body, and as always I was eternally grateful for his generosity.

  “Weren’t my people driven from Torsia over two centuries ago?” I asked.

  “As I said, many foreigners hold long grudges,” Master murmured. “And Luriel may wish to…punish you in some fashion or another.”

  “I see,” I whispered, my voice so brittle it nearly cracked.

  He waved a dismissive hand. “But again, you needn’t worry. She won’t actually harm you, and if by some odd circumstance she tries, Larric will be nearby to protect you.”

  I nodded reflexively as my eyes drifted over to the doorway. Larric was undoubtedly outside somewhere, probably glaring silently at the maids or anyone else who dared approach within a hundred feet of the bedroom. The thought of him being close by at the Arland’s Estate did make me feel a bit better…but not much. I didn’t doubt his ability to protect me, of course—Master had assured me numerous times that his bodyguard was one of the most deadly men in Sanctum. What I doubted was his willingness. Larric had made no secret about his burning hatred of all elves, both free and slave, Faeyn and Vaeyn….and I couldn’t help but wonder darkly if he might appreciate tormenting me even more than Lady Arland…

  I shook away the thought and glanced back to Master as he downed his second glass. His skin still glistened with sweat, and I could see a fresh knot of tension twisting in his neck. Out of habit, I crept up behind him and began to knead away the pressure as best I could. When my fingers proved insufficient, I channeled a soothing spell directly into his aching muscles and coaxed them to relax—

  “No,” he said, spinning around and grabbing my wrist. “No magic. I’ve told you before: you can’t afford to start treating your power as a crutch. If Arland or any of the others catch you channeling, it’s over. For both of us.”

  “I’m…I’m sorry, Master,” I stammered, taken aback by his intensity. “I just wanted to please you.”

  “I understand that, but this isn’t a game, Elara. You have to stay focused, and we can’t afford any mistakes. Do you understand?”

  I swallowed heavily. “Yes. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

  He glared at me for what felt like a small eternity before his expression finally softened. “I know,” he whispered, flashing me a tired smile. “I know…”

  He released his grip and turned back to his wine, and I yet again marveled at just how much he had changed in the two months since our frantic flight from Glorinfel. Life in his family’s castle, Stormcrest, had been contented and carefree even with the war raging along the nearby border. On a typical day, Master would call for me after lunch and bend me over the table or sometimes even take me right up against the wall of his study. Then at night I would spend hours in his bedchamber attending to his desires.

  But the Vaeyn’s devastating attack on the castle had changed everything. Master no longer summoned me for pleasure; everything was centered around my training. And while I relished the opportunity to expand and hone my channeling abilities, I still wished we had never been forced to flee to Sanctum. I still wished things could return to the way they used to be.

  Stifling a sigh, I glanced over my shoulder to the wall-length mirror on the far side of the room. By all appearances, I was the same woman I’d always been: short and willowy, with long brown hair dangling down my back and bright green eyes that Master loved so much. But inside, there were times I felt I like an entirely different person. Not just because of how much I had learned about the Aether, but because of what I had seen that harrowing night in Stormcrest.

  I closed my eyes as the memories flooded back over me as vividly as if the attack had happened yesterday. The Vaeyn had struck just after dusk, and no one, not even the top Legion generals, had seen it coming. I’d barely had time to look out a window before the dark elf sorcerers had blasted a whole in the outer wall, and their black-armored soldiers had poured into the courtyard in far greater numbers than anyone had imagined possible.

  I should have died then and there. I knew it in my heart even now. Most of the castle slaves had been left behind, but Master had personally come to rescue me even as Larric and the other guardsmen had pleaded with him to flee to the escape tunnels. A week later we reached the safety of Sanctum, and Master’s rage had been smoldering quietly ever since.

  In a single night of fire and death, he had lost virtually everything. He was still officially a Grand Duke, one of the five most powerful provincial lords in the Empire, but the Vaeyn had effectively split Glorinfel in half. Worse, the Imperial Legion, the “invincible” swords of the Empire for nearly five centuries, showed no signs of mounting a legitimate counterattack anytime in the near future. It was easy to understand why Master despised the young
Emperor for starting this war in the first place, just like it was easy to understand why he had lost all faith in the Legion. What was hard for me to reconcile was that he had chosen me, a mere avenari, to be the instrument of his vengeance.

  “I’m still not certain whether any of the other Grand Dukes will be at the gala tomorrow,” Master said into the silence, “but either way, Arland has to be our first priority. With a little luck, one or two of the others will end up supporting me on their own. If not…well, then we’ll have to improvise.”

  I nodded but remained silent, and once he finished the last of his drink he finally turned back to me and cupped my hands in his. “You should try and get some sleep,” he told me. “I have a meeting in the morning, but when I return we’ll continue our lessons.”

  “Of course, Master.”

  He brushed his hand through my hair and smiled. “They won’t be able to resist you. I promise.”

  I smiled back, and the knots twisting in my stomach finally started to unwind. “Master is most kind.”

  He leaned in and kissed me. It took me completely by surprise; it felt like an age since our lips had last touched, and I melted into his arms before I even knew what was happening. My tongue greeted his, and for a long moment I thought he might lay me back down on the bed and take me as gently and lovingly as he used to…but then he pulled away and squeezed once at my arm.

  “I will see you in the morning,” he said. “Sleep well.”

  He started to leave, but before he reached the door I hopped forward and locked my arms around his waist. He turned in annoyance, but his expression softened when my fingers curled around the base of his cock.

  “Are you certain you don’t wish to have me again before bed?” I asked. “There is still much I need to practice.”