December Short Story [2022] Volke + Evianna

Hey peeps,

SO, FUN FACT, TRUE FACT - I wrote a scene between Volke and Evianna in Grandmaster that was supposed to be sexier than normal. However, I want the books to be for all ages, so I wasn't sure if it was too sexy, so I re-wrote the scene tamer than before.

This is the "un-tame" version. Mind you, it's not spicy, but maybe they don't have shirts on. You get what I'm trying say (I hope). As Patreons, you get to see the spicier version of this scene (takes place in 31 of Grandmaster).

Hopefully you enjoy! 

Shami

Volke and Evianna Aboard the Diamond of Dawn

The Diamond of Dawn was a smoother and faster airship than I had ever ridden on. The days aboard the vessel were calm and easy, and it made practicing my magic easy.

The scylla waters were farther north than the corona phoenix. The cold winds brought shivering and chills for everyone—except me.

Evianna and I continued to practice our magic at night, but occasionally she stopped so that I could warm her with my world serpent magic. She wanted to create an eclipse aura before we reached the lair of the scylla waters, but since I wasn’t entirely sure how long it would take us to get there, I wasn’t sure if it was possible.

When Evianna attempted to create her eclipse aura, a shiver of shadows shifted in front of the moon.

But that was it.

“Magical auras are difficult,” I muttered, staring up at the sky.

“Why?” Evianna huffed. She exhaled, and the shadows slipped away, leaving the night sky as it was before—beautiful and calm.

“They require your magic to spill out of you. If you’re too inexperienced, it can be painful and confusing. And if you’re not trained enough, it can drain you.”

“I think I’m ready. I just don’t know what I’m doing.”

Evianna walked around the deck of the airship. She wore tight leather trousers, and a giant coat to keep the cold at bay. Since I had no need for a coat, I wore my button-up shirt open to show off my god-arcanist mark, though the wind tugged at my clothes, twisting them with all the zeal of a kitten.

The sailors were in the hold, where it was still semi-warm. Xor remained on the quarterdeck, unable to go anywhere, really. His main dragon head slept, while the ninety-nine snake heads remained alert and watched us with glowing eyes.

“You’ve almost got it,” I said as I motioned to the bright, full moon. “Don’t give up on yourself.”

When Evianna turned to me, her bluish-purple eyes seemed alight with happiness. She strode over and then removed her coat. She had a thin white shirt that caught the light of the moon and shone like pale ivory. With a casual toss, Evianna dropped her coat on the deck.

“Aren’t you worried you’ll get cold faster?” I asked.

Evianna half-shrugged. “I have you to keep me warm.”

“Yes, but…”

After a short breath, she placed a hand on my chest. “I think we should hone our swordsmanship together.”

“Oh? Why?”

It seemed silly. My sword wasn’t a normal weapon anymore. And most fights wouldn’t come down to minute technical detail of parrying and dodging.

“I think we should have a sparring match just like Master Zelfree and Calisto.” Evianna threw some of her white hair over her shoulder. “No magic. Just weapons. Real weapons.”

“Okay. But that didn’t answer my question.”

“Well, we should do it to maintain our skills. And also…” Evianna wrapped her arms around me. She stared up through her eyelashes and offered a playful smile.

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling in response. What was she thinking?

Evianna tugged the collar of my shirt, and I leaned forward so we could kiss. But right as her lips were a feather-touch against mine, she whispered, “Whoever wins our sparing match… they can do whatever they want to the other person.”

Her one statement put a halt to all my other thoughts.

With a slow turn, I glanced over at Xor on the quarterdeck. The massive typhon beast watched us with one hundred and ninety-eight eyes. When I returned my attention to Evianna, my heart beat faster than before.

“Right here?” I whispered.

Evianna nodded.

“Anything?”

Her face shifted to a bright shade of pink. “You’re not supposed to ask for specifics. You’re just supposed to… know the line.” Evianna ran a hand down my chest. “And you’re supposed to lament there is a line, and reluctantly hold yourself back from crossing it.”

That seemed more complicated than her game implied, but that didn’t stop me from getting excited at the prospect. I suspected, since we weren’t wed, this was more a flirtation than an invitation to take things further than we had gone. Still, I liked the idea. Even if Xor was here.

Fortunately, my tremor sense told me Fain was below deck. And so was Adelgis. Both sleeping. This was probably one of the few times Evianna and I would have without them around.

“All right,” I said. “But I need a sword.”

Evianna’s face never returned to its normal coloration. Instead, she stepped into the shadows and disappeared into the darkness. I was alone on the deck of the airship for only a few moments before she returned. With a graceful stride, Evianna emerged from the shadows holding two steel swords—one a longsword, the other a shortsword.

She handed me the longsword.

“I can’t use Retribution?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That wouldn’t be fair,” she said matter-of-factly.

“It’s not fair you have a smaller and lighter weapon.”

“Yours is longer, so I think it evens out.”

Evianna backed away until she was at least ten feet from me. The night breeze rolled over us, fluttering her white shirt, and tugging at mine. Evianna’s beautiful hair flowed with the wind, giving her the appearance of a spirit or specter. She was more beautiful than any other woman I had met.

I supposed I did lament there was a line.

The day of our wedding couldn’t come fast enough.

“Ready?” she asked.

“How do we determine the winner?” I asked. It wasn’t like we could kill each other. This was a sparring match.

“Whoever disarms the other. That’s the winner.”

“All right.”

With a confident stance, I lifted my sword. The clear evening sky, and the twinkling of the stars overhead, set the mood. This was a midnight duel. Not a magi cross, but something more akin to what morals engaged in.

Evianna’s shadow shifted around her feet, and her knightmare, Layshl, rose from the darkness and then stepped off to the side. She was a hollow suit of armor, observing the duel. It made me wonder if she would hang around afterward, but I quickly shook that thought away.

Evianna lunged forward.

I braced myself and blocked her first strike with my weapon.

Clang.

The clash of metal was louder than I anticipated. It had been so quiet moments before. I hoped no one would come up to the deck to investigate.

Evianna slashed with her shortsword, aiming for my arm. I dodged, and although my weapon was awkward, I swung it in an arc. Evianna tried to move out of the way, but she wasn’t fast enough. My blade caught her shirt. I slashed across her stomach, slicing up the fabric and leaving a shallow cut across her abdomen.

Blood trickled out, staining the pure fabric of her white shirt.

The sight caused me to hesitate.

“Evi,” I muttered as I held up my other hand. “I’m sorry, I—”

She thrust her sword forward and caught the sleeve of my shirt. When she pulled her sword up, she cut my armpit and shoulder, but also removed part of my shirt. Without the buttons in the front, or a sleeve holding it up on one side, it flapped around in the evening wind, held onto me only by one arm.

Shaken, I stumbled backward.

Fortunately, we both healed quickly. I was a god-arcanist, and Evianna wore a ring I had imbued with my magic. It gave her increased healing capabilities, so our superficial cuts weren’t much of a worry.

I held my shoulder for a short moment. I wasn’t afraid for myself, but injuring Evianna seemed wrong. Perhaps it was best if I just let her win.

Evianna stood a few feet from me. Again, with a playful smile, she said, “You look good without a shirt.”

Her confidence, and lack of pain or anger, eased some of my worries. With a soft chuckle, I removed the last of my ruined shirt. I tossed it onto her discarded coat. “Maybe I should remove the rest of your shirt as well.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Her statement had me red in the face. I hadn’t really ever been like this with anyone, and the fear of someone walking up onto the deck had us both worried, but excited. It was hard to put into words the feelings. My stomach felt light, my chest twisted in knots, and my head was a buzz without concrete thoughts.

Other than Evianna, of course.

I held up my weapon.

Evianna rushed forward. Our blades clashed, but I was taller and stronger. I pushed her backward, and she stumbled. When her balance was off, I tried to follow her lead by slashing at her sleeve. Evianna dodged to the side, however, ruining my aim. I slashed her shirt more across the chest.

Fortunately, I managed to pull back before actually cutting her flesh.

It just… left most of her shirt open. She wore bindings over her chest, like most women who took up combat. The bindings helped to… keep things in place.

I stepped away, uncertain how Evianna felt. If she wanted to stop, and call this off, I would understand, even if I was ultimately disappointed.

To my surprise, Evianna tugged at her ruined shirt. She unbuttoned the last of the buttons and also tossed it aside. Her chest bindings weren’t tight enough to restrict her breathing, but they were tight enough to cover her perfectly. If she had started the battle like this, I probably would’ve been too distracted to land a blow.

“Volke…”

Evianna’s voice was both soft and husky.

I half-lowered my weapon. “Y-Yes?”

Before Evianna said anything else, the airship grew dark. I caught my breath as I turned my attention to the sky overhead.

The moon…

A shadowy circle moved in front of it, creating a total lunar eclipse. It was Evianna’s eclipse aura! She had formed it while we were sparring. I hadn’t even been paying attention.

The darkness that fell over everything was nearly absolute. A normal person wouldn’t be able to see a thing. Even the stars were no help. The void we found ourselves in had no light.

That was when Evianna lunged forward. I heard the laugh on the edge of her breath as she moved in to strike. Clearly, she thought she had me defeated—she thought I couldn’t see. And she was right. I couldn’t see with my eyes, but my tremor sense still worked, even on the deck of the airship.

But I didn’t let her know that.

I pretended to fumble as Evianna got close. She slashed, and I “surprise” gasped as I backed away, though I knew where she was at every moment.

Evianna pressed forward. As a knightmare arcanist, she could see in the darkest of settings. When she reached for my wrist, in an attempt to disarm me, I switched it around on her. I brought my blade up, caught her hand, and then pulled back.

She shouted, likely from both surprise and the sudden flare of pain. Then I stepped forward, into her stance, and slashed upward. Evianna leaned away as I cut a small injury across her stomach, up past her belly button, to the bottom of her bindings. I cut them half open, and Evianna’s eyes went wide in shock.

She knew then, I saw just fine.

“Cheater,” Evianna whispered with a smirk.

She stumbled backward and held an arm over her chest, protecting the last of her clothes there.

“You’re the cheater,” I said with a chuckle. “You said no magic.”

“I said we wouldn’t use magic on each other. The eclipse isn’t hurting you.”

“What a fine bit of wordplay. I don’t think that’s how it works.”

Evianna lunged forward.

I help up my weapon, ready to parry or counterattack, but then she dove into the darkness. When she shadow-stepped, it was impossible for me to track her. I figured she’d appear behind me, since that was the classic tactic, so I half turned, prepared to strike.

Evianna emerged from the darkness right in front of me. She slashed upward with her sword, about to cut me as I had cut her, but instead, I leaned away. While her sword arm was up, I grabbed her wrist and twisted. Evianna grimaced and dropped her weapon. It clattered to the deck of the airship.

Then she placed her foot between my legs, caught my ankle, and grabbed my shoulders. I was surprised enough, and a little distracted, to the point that when she leaned backward, and knocked me off balance, I didn’t even mind that much. She rolled onto her back, took me with her, and then kicked up with her feet, throwing me over her.

I hit the deck on my back, winded.

The eclipse aura—a perfect use of her magic—disappeared from the sky. The Diamond of Dawn was once again bathed in the light of a full moon. It was a shame, because Evianna’s aura hadn’t been up long.

Evianna moved over and then straddled me, her white hair blowing in the evening breeze. She stared down at me with a smile, but she didn’t have her weapon.

“I win,” I said, my longsword still in hand.

Evianna took in ragged breaths. Then she wiped some sweat from her brow. “I suppose.”

“Your aura… it was amazing.”

That was when her face grew red. She glanced away from me, as though she couldn’t look me directly in the eye. “I…”

And while she was distracted, I grabbed her arm and rolled her over. Once her back was on the deck, I got on top of her, pinning her. Evianna stared up at me with wide eyes, her face redder than I had ever seen it before.

For a long moment, we just stared at each other, both taking heavy breaths.

“I think I’m owed a prize,” I finally muttered.

Layshl, whom I had almost forgotten about, disappeared into the shadows. She practically melted into the deck of the airship, vanishing from sight. Xor didn’t go anywhere, though. Nor did he make a sound.

“As long as you keep me warm,” Evianna whispered. She slowly brought both her hands up to my chest and gently grazed her fingers over my skin.

“Of course.”

I leaned down, bringing my lips to hers. Then I released my weapon, and allowed my hands to explore her sides, from her taut stomach to the curve of her ribcage, to everything soft.

I’d never let her get cold, though. Things were much too intense for that.