<~> Chapter 158The walk back to the brothel was quiet. Not the city, that was actually being more lively than ever once you got bato the more poputed parts of town. No, our party was quiet. I wasn't the only oo feel the effects of losing Jasper in the raid. Up until now, I have never had an ally die. Especially not ohat was strohan we were. And the thing that killed him almost killed us as well, had the monster not dropped the tower on itself, I'm not sure if we would have been able to escape it at all.

  I felt bad for his loss but in truth, I don't think it affected me as much as it maybe should have. I didn't really know the guy all that well and while the iions with him were nid professional, I hadn't really sidered him much of a frieher. It was a shame but I guess that's what happens when you risk fighting demons. I just wish there had been more we could have doo help him. I held back a grimace from my face as we kept walking.

  The brothel came into view, the familiar sign of the Ruby Vixen had bee a sight for sore eyes. It was kind htening how much it felt like home now... and soon we would leave. But now my family lives here. I would return here eventually, at minimum on the way back to Traehall after I learned cartography in the capital. It was kind of unfortuhat I wouldn't put down more perma roots here in Goldeh but that just wasn't going to happen. I could already feel an itch to explore and go to new pces, see hings. To boldly go and all of that. I was in a world of magid wonder. As much as I loved a lot of the people here, I couldn't see myself putting down perma roots anywhere right now.

  "Hey, Lilith?" Man tapped me on the shoulder and broke me from my thoughts.

  "Hm?" I turo her.

  "Do you think we could... do that thing with Jade and Tisha? Not the uh, sex part necessarily but the bond part... I told Torien about it and I'd like to experiehat again in a less... inteuation."

  "I actually asked them st night if they would be willing to do that with you two and they agreed. It was something I already wao share with you guys and Silva too if she'd like?" I turo Silva, turning the st part into a question.

  She shook her head. "I think I'll have to pass for now. I'm still getting used to everyone. I'd rather not do something that sounds so... intimate with all of you yet."

  I nodded. "Makes sense. We won't have an opportunity to do it again once we leave town but I'm sure we'll have the opportunity again iure. If you don't choose to join our family before then," I added with a wink. "How about you Torien? Are you ied?"

  "It sounds... iing?" she hedged.

  I didn't want to push her but... if I'm being ho, I kind of want Man and Torien to join us, our family. Maybe that was selfish but I loved both of them, Man as a lover and Torien as a sister. This felt like a way for me to pay them back, give them something for helping me and being my friend. If it freed them from svery as I suspected it might, eveer. Temporarily sharing the bond with them felt like a way to persuade them that didn't feel coercive, it felt more like showing off an advantage.

  On the door of the brothel was a small sign that said, "Closed tonight for a private event." It appeared that pns were already underway for another ritual tonight. It will be the first night the entire brothel, or at least everyone who wants to join my family, will be succubi. sidering what happe night, it's probably a good idea to keep the brothel closed in case the entire building shares a massive asm this time. I'm hoping everyone will be more equipped at trolling themselves this time... myself included. Hopefully, it won't be a problem now that everyone knows about our new abilities.

  Ihe brothel, the bo much stronger, like an interected web of emotions. It was a strange feeling being around so many of the es at once. All of us were tied together with little li various levels of openness. Even as I walked through the lobby I could feel the the attention of people I couldn't directly see all throughout the brothel and at the ter of it, shining like a bea, was Tisha and Jade. Their affinity for the bond empowered it for everyone around them, making it stronger and with me. The inside of the brothel was almost like a hive mind of people passing each other messages in aed thrum of chatter. I would have thought the feeling would be overwhelming but instead, it felt soothing, like being home where you belonged.

  I turo look at Silva. "You aren't ied in watg these two try out the bht? Since you aren't participating you go do something else in the brothel instead if you want."

  Silva gnced around. "Are Raya and Sibyl around?"

  I gnced in their dire through the wall of a different floor. "They're uh... kind of busy at the moment. You may o wait a while."

  She grinned. "I suppose all being ected to each other in a pce like this would make it hard to keep secrets from each other."

  I ughed. "Pretty much impossible yeah. I'm sure everyone here knows how much those two like each other by now."

  "I guess I'll just hang out in the dining room, maybe make myself something to eat si seems like food will soon be less of an issue here," she said.

  I nodded. "Sure. Just make sure you stay out of trouble while we're busy."

  I led the rest of my party through the back to Tisha and Jade's room, before we evehe on room I could feel them expeg us through the bond. Tisha opehe door before we even finished approag. "Hey everyone! I assume you're here for that thialked about before?"

  Their room was small, they didn't have a ton of room for personal effects but they did have what looked like two single beds pushed up o each other in one er.

  "We are," I replied. "Do you have the free time?"

  "We're not doing anything right now. I feel like I need a lot less sleep sihe ge, that must be part of [Succubus stitution]. Head up to your suite, me and Jade will be up in a minute."

  Not lohe couches and chairs were pulled into a circle in the suite. Bel, Mimi, and I were on one side of the couches while Torien, Man, Tisha, and Jade were all sitting oher side fag us.

  Jade cleared her throat. "I'll close off the e to the other bonds around the Ruby Vixen at first. To start, we'll just be eg with the people in this room at first. Depending on how it goes we expand from there.

  "Everyone hold hands," Tisha said with a smile. "This will make it easier to ect everyone. Ohe e is established you let go if you'd like. Is everyone ready?"

  I could see that Torien was tense, from the start she seemed the most hesitant to do this while Man looked excited.

  Torien took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

  Man nodded. "Ready."

  Like before, Tisha and Jade took a synized breath and I felt their mana ee from both sides as the twins ected to the bond. Their emotions flowed through and I could feel their e. It was an iing experieo feel someone I've known for so long ect to the bond like this. Every other time it had been someone I hadn't known for long but this time I could pare how their emotions reflected their personality and my perspective of them.

  Man giggled, joy, amusement, and love flowed through the bond. "You're so funny Lilith, of course your first rea to an experience like this would feel like... curiosity."

  Rather than speak I returned with the silent unication of thoughts aions. Essentially transmitting a shrug and a 'What do you expect?' through the bond.

  Torien's rea to eg to the bond was a bit different than I was expeg. Torien always seemed so fident, so put together, but inside she was a swirl of flig emotions. Ay, fear, caution, but with some other more positive emotions mixed in, trust, hope, love... desire.

  The moment Torien realized I had seen that, her other emotions fell away to embarrassment as her whole face turned red and she looked down at the floor.

  Man ughed again and bumped her shoulder into her sister's. "Hehe, if you're that ied I don't mind sharing with you. Just not with me at the same time, that's gross."

  Torien's embarrassment fred up once again, that st ent mortifying her and firming in everyone's mind that wasn't happening from either of them.

  "Rex, Torien, o be embarrassed. It's okay to be attracted to me, just because you feel that way, it doesn't mean we have to a anything you don't want to."

  fusion, relief, and curiosity swirled around in her chest. "Is that what I'm feeling? A-attra?"

  I hummed. "How about you think about Silva, how does she make you feel?"

  Love, attra, prote, safety, fort, nostalgia. Simir feelings but tinged a different... color. With the trast, it became clear how much more safe Silva made her feel than me. As much as she trusted me, even loved me, there was still ever-present danger associated with belonging to me like property. It was something that always sat in the back of her mind, fear.

  I teared up and realized before I could help it that my emotions flooded back through the bond, they all felt the hurt I did from that discovery. I didn't bme her though, I couldn't... but it still hurt to find out she was still so afraid of me.

  "Lilith... I'm sorry," Torien meekly said.

  I took a breath and tried to ter myself. "It's okay. It's not your fault that you feel that way. ...Let me at least show you how I feel about you."

  I reflected on the memories I had of her. To me, she was an ever-reliable fidante. How many times have I taken fort in Torien being right where I needed her in bat? How many times have I asked her advid trusted her opinion? To me Torie like a stant resence, easily as important as any of my lovers. She was my friend, as close to me as a sister. I felt so much pride irust she had in me, as the leader of roup and as her friend.

  I thought back to the time on the roof when she said she loved me like family, like she loved her sister, and how much that meant to me. I felt her surprise when I recalled the memory, she hadn't realized she said that and she hadn't realized how much it meant to me. Hoy it made me. I felt her affe for me swell as she processed these feelings, my own feelings rebounded against her own and built ever strohe fear, the tension, and the ay fell away as her trust in me solidified. She now knew I would never betray her as much as I k myself.

  Torien ed herself in a hug around me, even with the bond, the aloof reserved Torien jumping up to hug me was a surprise. But not an unwele one. I ed my arms around her and squeezed, taking fort ionic hug. She didn't have the words to express her emotions but that was okay. I could feel them. Before now she thought of me as her friend, her sister's lover, but now she thought of me as her family, an adopted sister. I accepted those feelings wholeheartedly, to me Torien was my family and I loved her.

  Not long after Man joihe hug. Relief, joy, and tless positive emotions filled her after seeiwo favorite people in the world e together and accept each other. Something I could tell Torien had always struggled with. The hug sted a while until our raw emotioled down.

  I was happy.

  Saine

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