Hellfire Goblin

Why my father, the goblin King, had a succubus in his debt was a secret he had taken to his grave. But now that he was dead, that debt belonged to me.

I shivered, the thin cloak around my shoulders no match for the damp chill of the cave. The small disc of infernal metal in my hand was likely the only thing keeping me from freezing to death. I opened my hand to study the coin, my joints screaming in protest at every movement, as I attempted to decipher the language and symbols carved onto its surface. The symbols glowed eerily in the darkness of my sanctuary but I was grateful for its perpetual warmth. A small comfort to me now in the wake of so much loss.

My family? Dead.

My kingdom? In ruins.

My soldiers? Killed or taken prisoner..

And me? Running and hiding, like a coward.

Three nights ago, five justiciar knights walked into our Great Hall and demanded my father, the Goblin King, hand over his one and only daughter. They added the order came from Lord Ravengaul himself and they had no intention to ask twice. My father was assured his compliance would be greatly rewarded but should they encounter any resistance, they were charged with cleansing the Goblin blight and removing me from the fortress by force.

My father eloquently told them to fuck off and to give Lord Ravengaul a similar, if not the exact same, missive.

Within the hour, our warriors were decimated. The Great Hall and the surrounding Goblin camp were set ablaze. And I was running. I didn’t even know why. I wanted to stay and fight, die with my brothers and sisters in battle the way I always thought I would. But no. My father thrust a medallion into my hand and said, "Run.”

And so I ran.

But I couldn’t keep running forever. I turned the coin in my fingers, exposing a sharpened edge. I pressed the edge to my empty palm and pulled it across my skin. The first blossom of blood disappeared, swallowed by the coin but the metal remained unsatisfied. It glowed brighter as I continued to pull it across my hand, my skin obeying the blade and splitting open with ease. Greedily, it drank from me. Not a drop was spilled or wasted. I witnessed myself being consumed, heeding a voice that soothed any doubt that this should absolutely not be happening.

But of course it should be happening, the voice whispered. Give yourself to me.

The more it took, the warmer I felt and it was such a welcome change. It tugged at me, taking the blood and the pain and the memories, taking it all in and promising to leave peace in its place.

At that promise, I ripped the infernal metal away, the charm it weaved through me interrupted. The soft, lilting voice, the warmth I was filled with was replaced with rage. It was so close…it felt robbed.

The coin pulsed in my hand. Despite its solid, inanimate form, I could feel it thrash against my grip. Or was it my mind? I lifted the metal to my lips, just close enough to taunt it, sounding more confident than I had any right to considering this little item nearly killed me.

“I don’t want peace. Is this all the realm of fiends has to offer? I can only hope Balial and her powers are more impressive. She owed my father a debt, a blood debt. He is dead. His blood flows through me and so that debt is owed to me. Summon her to me now.”

The small disc flashed, its dull black exterior burning white hot and singeing my hand before I could throw it to a larger area of the cave. I cursed the metal, attempting to apply pressure to the burn with my other hand before being reminded that one was injured as well.

Demons are the fucking worst.

~~~*~~~

Balial appeared before me in all her demonic glory, though she was facing the wrong direction. Her silver mane, streaked with deep purple, cascaded down her back, framed on either side by large black leather wings that almost touched the roof of the cave. Her loose hair ended just above the cleft of her ass, right where a long leathery tail began to protrude from her body. It whipped behind her, the way a cat’s might when a toy was taken away.

I cleared my throat.

Having her in my debt afforded me some protection from her sensual influence but not much. Even with such protection, words failed me the moment those bright silver eyes caught me in the glare thrown over her shoulder.

She turned slowly, moving intently to take in her surroundings. Fully facing me, the reality of who my guest was truly began to take root. She was completely naked, breasts and all exposed to me and so tantalizingly close that I could touch her if I reached for her. A desire unlike anything I’d ever known washed over me and while I was no stranger to sex, this new intensity was disconcerting. The rather large dismembered cock in her hands may have also contributed to my uneasiness.

She followed my stare and seemed to also just realize what she was holding. She shrugged.

“This, my lady, is why it is rude to just summon people without notice. You never know what they’re in the middle of.” She dropped the phallus on the ground and I watched as it rolled to a stop at my feet. My stare returned to Balial just as she began wiping as much of the gore from her hands as possible, her long black talons clicking against each other as she flicked blood at the cave walls. “Oh well. He’ll grow a new one.”

I remained speechless.

Hands braced on her hips, she scanned me from head to toe. The heat growing in my belly reached my cheeks and I looked away.

“Hmmm,” she started. “So the old fool is dead. Pity.”

I opened my mouth to argue, to demand she have respect for my father.

“Tut-tut, Princess,” she said, cutting me off. “I called him an Old Fool to his face and he liked it so save your breath.”

The emphasis she placed on you made it sound like a curse. I could see her regarding me with a disdain I’d come to expect from humans and their ilk. Gods damn it, will I never get the respect I deserve from anyone?

I did my best to stand a little taller. “Can you stop looking at me like I’m something you want to scrape off the bottom of your shoe?”

The corner of her mouth twitched but she still looked annoyed.

“Can I stop looking at you like you’re lower than dirt? Yes. Will I? No.”

She was irritating. Thankfully, Balial’s seduction lost its effect the more she talked. It helped me regain my senses as well as recall the purpose of my summoning her.

“Out with it, princess. You called me to satisfy a debt and here I am. Don’t waste my time. Watching a cock grow back is a marvelous experience and I don’t want to miss it. As it begins, its almost as small and sensitive as a clitoris and you can imagine the fun one can have with that.”

I steeled my nerves. “I want revenge.”

“No shit, give me specifics.”

“I— I don’t know exactly what. I do want him, Lord Ravengaul, to suffer. But—”

“But,” Balial interrupted, “he has a veritable army of magic wielding knights and you don’t. I don’t have an army to give you, if that’s what you’re looking for. That’s not how I work.”

My irritation faded into something sharper and impatient.

“Well, how about instead of being vague and an asshole, you do something that’s actually useful and tell me exactly how you work or what you can do to help me. The faster I figure this out, the faster you’ll be free and you can go back to your demonic orgy as quickly as you please.”

Balial rolled her eyes.

“Fucking goblins… What I, as a succubus, am known for is sex magic.”

I was trying to imagine how a room of kobolds could possibly satisfy her. “How exactly does sex magic help me?”

She looked at me, the disdain fading and curiosity taking its place. And then suddenly, she laughed.

“Oh, ho ho ho, no one told you, did they? Mommy and Daddy took that secret to their grave?”

Ah fuck, here it comes.

“Sweet, sweet princess…your daddy wasn’t your daddy. Thank the gods that the power structure is matriarchal for goblins. A lesser goblin would have bashed your head in with a rock and skinned your mother alive for what she did.”

I was shaking. “What in the hells are you talking about?” I demanded.

“You’re only half goblin, lovey. The other half…well, putting it plainly, your mother fucked an incubus so I guess that makes you half succubus.” Balial looked down at her talons as if she were contemplating a manicure or not— all while she delivered the most damning news of my life.

My family was not my family. My father…not my father. I had to sit down but I was already on the floor somehow. I couldn’t remember when that had happened.

The demon squatted in front of me, not finished yet. “That’s why my services were given to your father. I was tasked with suppressing your lineage and anything that went along with that demonic bloodline, including—”

“Sex magic,” I finished for her.

“Sex magic,” she confirmed. “Your father called on me. He would offer a sacrifice and I used that sacrifice to keep the demon part of you hidden. Now that he’s dead, there’s no sacrifice. No sacrifice, no devil magic to keep your infernal half at bay.” Balial stood to her full height and opened her arms to me. “Welcome to the family, darling!”

I rolled my eyes at her sardonic gesture. “What sacrifice?”

The disdain returned. “You really don’t know?”

I shook my head. She sighed.

“His seed, darling. Your father would cum and it fed my magic.”

“My father fucked you every night?”

Balial snorted. “Gods no, who would agree to that? No, just when the devil in you began to show itself. Why did you think you never had any brothers or sisters? It's because I ate them all. Well, maybe not all…we did like getting creative with his tributes. Sometimes he’d–”

“What happens to me now?” I asked quickly to interrupt whatever she was about to share about my father’s sexual proclivities.

She chuckled. “It’s already happening. You felt a certain way towards me when I appeared? That’s the devil in you reacting to the devil that is me. Goblins were always a randy bunch even without adding succubus blood. Now? You’re going to feel that desire in spades moving forward. It will feel insatiable. Not only that, but the beings you encounter will act a good deal less proper around you.. If they’re attracted, it will absolutely show.”

My lip curled into a sneer. “Sex isn’t a problem. Indiscriminate sex has never been a problem. The timing, however, couldn’t be worse. There is the little matter of my revenge and this particular development could prove…distracting.”

Balial rested one hand on her naked hip, tapping her cheek with a talon from the other. “What if…I show you how to use your new found power to facilitate this revenge? Will you consider our business transacted?”

My eyes widened, the thought of consummating my pledge for vengeance renewed but difficult to hold while I looked up at the demon. Thoughts of worshipping her body collided with blood thirst— desire to cleave my enemy’s head in two with my halberd pulsing beneath thoughts of driving my tongue between her folds from where I kneeled and hoping she would return the pleasure onto me.

She cleared her throat and I realized I was staring at her pussy. “And to think,” she mused,” you’re only half succubus. Then again, I suppose you do have 20 years of suppressed sex magic inside you.”

I stood and dusted myself off, hoping the lascivious thoughts would disappear along with the grit on my knees. Balial moved quickly, stepping closer to me. Reflexively, I stepped back, smacking into the cool wall of the cave. Finding myself with nowhere to go, it was my turn to be the focus of her heated gaze.

“Your clit must be throbbing, every hole waiting to be filled.”

There was no chill anymore. My body burned and I could barely stand the feeling of the clothes against my skin.

The demon’s voice became low and husky. The sarcasm that dripped from her every word since I summoned her gone and as much as I knew she could seduce me with her presence alone, this was something different. A thread of something inside me tethered to her, pulling her to me. Opening me to her. My mouth fell open, I thought to say something but no that wasn’t true. No, I wanted her to put something inside me. I wanted to lick one of her talons, feel its hardness on my tongue. I wanted to make it glisten with my saliva. I wanted to grind against her tail. I wanted to ride her face and use her horns like a pair of reins.

Balial smiled deviously. “Do you agree to my terms?”

I tore at my clothes but continued to burn for the touch of something far more eternal.

“You teach me what you know and I am able to avenge my family? My kingdom?” I panted the questions. I’d felt horny before but it was never anything like this.

“Yes.” Her breaths sounding equally ragged.

“And we never see each other again?”

Her smile never faltered. “Are you sure you don’t ever want to see me again?” She dragged the back of her talon along my inner thigh, stroking up towards my own wet slit and the smooth, curved edge easily slid between my fleshy lips. Deftly, she moved the talon back and forth, keeping the sharp edge pointed away but ensuring every wag of the talon stroked my very eager nub.

I clung to the wall behind me. “Is that possible?” I licked my lips thinking of hers. “Can we do this whenever we want?”

“Yes, princess, of course we can. I can visit you whenever you like.” She continued to wiggle the talon against me. “And I can bring friends, if you like. If you pull this plan of yours off, they would loooove to meet you.”

She drew the word love out, breathing it into my ear as she braced herself against the cave with her other hand. I moaned at the million and one thoughts that rushed me, recalling the size of the cock she held when she first arrived. I wanted to meet those friends, too.

“Tell me, princess. Do we have a deal?”

“Yes,” I moaned. “Teach me and once I have my revenge, our business is complete.”

“So be it.”

I felt the rumbling laughter inside her only seconds before she lifted me off my feet and laid me on my back on the cave floor. Her tail caressed my leg, drawing higher along my thigh as she looked down at me from between them, hands casually pushing on my knees to hold them apart.

“Excellent,” she whispered. “Let’s begin.”

~~~*~~~

My father wasn’t my father. My blood father is a hell spawn, and not just any hellspawn, but an incubus. Balial confided that Lord Ravengaul still searches for me, wanting to possess me but for what purpose she could only guess. Knowing the lord and the rumors of his more extreme activities, why wouldn’t he want a half-succubus goblin princess in his thrall? How he found out about my lineage was yet another unanswered question but at least his plan to possess me before I came into my own power failed.

I’d misunderstood the debt between Balial and my father. He could have killed me but instead he raised me, loved me, and prepared me to take my mother’s place on the throne one day. Balial was grateful to him for that. And while she couldn’t tell me anything about my real father–something about the infernal hierarchy very much prevented her from saying his name–she did counsel me. Lord Ravengaul likely believed I remained oblivious to my true parentage and she suggested I use that to my advantage, maintaining the element of surprise. None of his justiciars know my blood either. They think I’m just a pretty goblin their boss wants to keep as a sex slave.

I can’t wait to show them otherwise.

Balial drew a map of where the justiciars were stationed. It was a small village to the west. She taught me how to mask my power. If the knights sensed any kind of enchantment, they’d kill me without a second thought and happily suffer the wrath of their benefactor afterwards. Balial taught me many things last night, all through the night until the break of dawn, each lesson leaving me a trembling, wet mess but begging for more every time. I hoped to find her after all this business with Ravengaul was done and learn all that I could from her and the rest of the “family.”

I arrived at the village gates just before sundown, pounding the solid wood with my fist to be admitted. A small window opened and a human face appeared from the other side. His eyes bulged as he recognized me and hurriedly whispered to some unseen individual. The sound of locks disengaging on the other side of the gate followed.

As the door opened, he was already well into a well-rehearsed speech about surrendering weapons and how fighting in the streets was punishable by a night in the stockade. I stood there stoic. He demanded I remove my cloak so I could be thoroughly searched.

I risked unleashing a little of my power to read the man but I didn’t have to let my guard down much before his thoughts rolled over me in waves. Most sounded exhausted and irritated. Too long hours at the gate…not enough mead on breaks…simply want to be relieved of duty so I can get to the tavern and catch Missy’s eye… sliver of hope that she’ll show me a good time with enough coin. Fucking justiciars, never around to do their own work…never fucked a goblin before…heard they’re insatiable.

There it was. Balial told me if I listened to anyone long enough, I’d hear a thought I could exploit. It could be tiny, like the smallest ember popping off a blazing log. But that tiny thought in the presence of a succubus would take on a life of its own and consume the person attached to it.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure where you think I’d hide any weapons but you’re welcome to search me.” I dropped the cloak from my shoulders.

His jaw fell open as he stared at my nude form. The way his eyes scanned every inch of me, I didn’t need my powers to tell what he was thinking.

My hands cupped and lifted my breasts to show I hid nothing between or under them. I planted my feet apart and smiled. “Be as thorough as you like.”

His gaze fell, landing on the thatch of hair just south of my belly, and I could feel the tether taking hold. The guard looked over his shoulder. Temptation and desire were there but the risk was, too. He wanted to touch me, I was inviting him to, but he also didn’t want to get caught helping himself. Despite having spent the entire night with a demon licking, biting, and fucking me every way she could, I very much wanted to be touched again– to feel him slide inside me and reignite the delicious soreness Balial had delivered the night before. It didn’t have to be him, it could have been anyone. But this guard was close. I could sense the eagerness in him, the need to test how willing I really was.

“Touch me, please,” I begged, smiling sweetly at his desire-panged face. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise. Your friend isn’t on his way back yet. You still have time.”

He closed the gap between us quickly and cupped his hand over the mound of my pussy. He was gentle with me as he slid his fingers along my lips, catching the wetness between them and using it to make small circles around my hardening clit. At the sight of his growing erection, I sighed, more of me melting into his palm. It looked like a very worthy cock, making me even more eager for the second phase of my plan.

He slid a finger inside me and I hissed, the walls of my sex vividly recalling more recent sensations. I smiled at the memories but also the guard’s growing fervor. My cheeks burned with wantonness and I found that same heat mirrored in his eyes.

“Finding any weapons, soldier?” I teased, licking my lips in a way that just barely flashed the sharper canines.

He chuckled. “Only the oldest kind, princess. This,” and he slid a second finger inside me, taking both harder and deeper to punctuate the word, “this has been the ruin of many. I reckon this is what makes you the most dangerous to someone like myself.”

I moaned as he alternated between pistoning the fingers in and out of my cunt and pulling them back to play with my clit again. I wanted him inside me, I told him as much. And just when he began to reach for the belt at his waist, we heard a throat clear behind him.

The messenger he’d previously sent forth stood at the threshold of the gate, dumbfounded at the scene he’d interrupted. Oddly enough, he was all alone. Non-chalantly, the guard withdrew his fingers and I pouted. I watched him bring them to his lips and lick them clean with a rakish smile before turning to face the younger man, all while adjusting himself accordingly.

“Squire, where are the justiciars?”

I stood there panting, a gentle breeze cooling the wetness running down my thighs. The squire stared at me, looking equal parts scandalized and inspired. It was the guard’s turn to clear his throat. The squire jumped at the sound.

“Sorry, sir! The innkeeper said they left early this morning but did not say where they’d gone nor when they’d return.”

“Well then,” the guard mused as if he hadn’t already decided what he wanted to do. “Whatever shall we do with a lovely goblin princess?”

The sun was setting behind me, casting the shadow of my awkwardly bent body ahead of me. I’d never been placed in stockades before, even for fun. I was finding them slightly uncomfortable but it's a design I hoped to improve upon in the future. I was sure Balial and the other hellfiends could offer plenty of advice when I joined them– wherever they are.

The abrupt ending to the interlude at the gate left me quite frustrated and while plenty of people and guards walked past me in the town square, not a single one of them had a salacious thought that lasted more than a second. I heard comments about my breasts and ass but no one stopped to give me more than a cursory glance.

To tell the truth, it was borderline insulting. But my wounded pride aside, I was also getting nervous. This whole plan hinged on me wielding magic that didn’t come to me naturally and while it would in time, right now I needed an artificial boost. An arcane steroid. For the succubi, that just happens to be sex. If I didn’t start fucking soon, I would be no match for the justiciars when they returned and that could be at any moment. I’d felt it earlier, while the guard fingered me– felt the well of magic building inside me. But we were interrupted and I just felt incomplete. He’d escorted me straight to the stockade right after. He wasn’t cruel or forceful about it and even as he lifted the plank that would secure my head and hands, he simply gestured for me to assume the position. He then applied the padlock and made sure I couldn’t escape.

He leaned over then, bringing his face close enough to mine to whisper, “Now I know exactly where to find you later.” I couldn’t help but smile at the promise.

“I hope you finish what you started,” I whispered back. “Maybe bring some of your friends?” The mock scandal on his face made me smile wider.

I’d never met him before but something, maybe my newfound powers, told me he wasn’t the type to press his advantage. He wouldn’t do this to anyone unwilling but we goblin females are notorious for being carnally insatiable. I made that ravenous hunger for pleasure obvious to him. No one had to know my usual depravity served a secondary purpose tonight.

Twilight was upon the village and I cursed Missy, whoever she was, under my breath as she was likely benefiting from my earlier work right now.

I felt a tug at the tether from before, sensing him before he even spoke. He stalked up behind me trying to catch me unawares. The wood on the first step, however, immediately betrayed his presence. I felt every one of my muscles reacting, eager to feel his hands on me again.

I was done playing games. I planted my feet apart and shifted my hips from side to side.

“Ah! So he finally returns to finish what he started? Thank the gods, I thought you’d abandoned me for some other eager pussy.”

Metal hit the platform, startling me. Again and again, items sounded against the wood and I imagined him shedding his weapons, helmet, and anything else that might impede his ravishment of me. I couldn’t turn. All I could see was the plank around my head and wrists.

A hand gripped my hip. Something touched my ass. It disappeared for a moment before coming back down on my cheek with a heavy smack. It happened again on the other cheek.

“I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a pussy as eager as yours.”

Another smack. The village seemed so quiet and anyone in or near the village square would easily have heard the slap of his cock against my skin.

“And don’t think I didn’t try. I went to visit my favorite serving wench at the tavern and all I could think about was you. She pulled me into the alley behind the tavern and got on her knees, but I only saw you there instead. She pulled my cock out and stroked it, licked it, and asked if I wanted to cum on her tits, but I could only imagine being balls deep inside you.” He moved the head of his cock down, sliding it along the lips he’d played with earlier. “Her mouth was magical and it pushed me right to the edge of what would have been a huge load. Can you believe I stopped her? I pulled her off and said I had somewhere to be.”

I felt the head stop right at the entrance to my pussy. I felt him thrusting forward, testing my resistance. His cock was much thicker than his fingers but I was ready for him. I pushed my hips back, gasping at the sensation of my body accommodating his girth.

“You were right, you did have somewhere to be. Right here, inside me.” The desperation in my voice surprised me–hell, it unnerved me. It was like the passion I felt in that moment had a life of its own, my body responding to its demands, not my own. It was a thought that vanished with any reservation as he pushed himself forward, shouting an expletive into the night as more of his cock disappeared inside me.

“Holy shit…fucking hells,” he exclaimed. Breathless, genuine wonder shone through in his tone as he pulled back and thrust in again. “You know, this is usually as deep as I can go with the women around these parts. But you’re different, aren’t you? You can take all of me, every inch of this cock, can’t you?” I heard him grunt as he thrust again and I finally felt his balls slap against me.

I moaned, not caring who heard. I wanted people to hear, to witness.

“I am definitely not like the women around here. I can take you–I can take anyone in this village,” I challenged. “Fuck me like you’ve never fucked anyone in your life and I’ll beg you for more.” I practically growled the last sentence, shouting over the sound of his body slapping against mine.

His free hand slid into the tresses of my hair and he gripped hard, sending tiny pinpricks of delicious pain through my scalp. It fed the fire, the heat in my center. Each time he buried himself to the hilt of his cock, I could feel it grow. Every sensation contributed. Every thrust. Every grunt. Every tug and pull and scratch.

I heard whispers around us. The townsfolk had emerged to see what the commotion was and found us, inflagrante. I scanned the crowd. Some appeared scandalized while others giggled and blushed at the sight. I searched every face until I found the solution, that which would assure my victory.

The squire.

“Young man!” I shouted.

He looked around himself and then pointed to his own chest.

“Yes, you. Your master needs assistance taming a wild creature.” I paused as I heard a laugh from behind me.

“Yes, squire. Go to our quarters and tell them of this challenge we have been issued. Tell them I call for aid and to bring their…swords at the ready. And hurry! I don’t know how much longer I can last. Fuck yes…”

I watched as the squire turned with a sheepish grin and ran.

Hours passed. I’d been set upon by so much cock that I’d lost track of who fucked me and where. Every hole received attention and I can honestly say I’d never felt so full in my life. Each time one of them came, I shouted a number, but after a few hours, I’d lost track. Thankfully, one of the guards was kind enough to mark the number of men who rose to my challenge on my skin with a wax pen. Not just the number of men, but the number of times each of them returned as there were a few who found their second or third wind not too long after they’d expended themselves.

By the time dawn creeped over the trees in front of me, much of the spectators had gone. Some to sleep, others to sate their own needs. I could hear them fucking each other all around us. I discovered I could siphon their energy as well, adding it to what I already amassed through my own gangbang. Guards were passed out or barely conscious all around me. My own legs trembled with exhaustion but I was determined to be the last one standing. The guard presently showing me affection complimented me, thanking me for the pleasure of fucking my ass.

My voice was hoarse from the copious deepthroating and screaming but I made sure to thank him in return, even as his final thrust and groan completely drowned me out. He stepped back, his flaccid cock slipping out as he did. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of that feeling. Something hit the floor hard and the sound of snoring followed.

I looked around and confirmed I was alone. I felt like I was glowing! Every fiber of my being pulsing with power–I just needed something to test that power on.

The lock on the wooden panel reflected the sunlight. I focused my attention on it, shocked that I could see all the springs and internal mechanisms. The tumblers inside listened to me, obeying my thoughts. It unlocked with no resistance.

Pushing the plank away and standing upright was the first and only discomfort I’d felt all night. I reached high, stretching my wretched back and cursing the guard for not locking me in a dungeon instead. I might at least have had a bedroll or a cot then. A cool liquid ran down my leg. I grinned at the thought of me leaking cum all day. Gods, was I always this depraved? As I stretched, my gaze drifted down to my breasts and thigh. Twenty-eight. Twenty-eight marks. Technically, 29 seeing as how that last soldier passed out before he could add his last contribution to the final count.

The sounds of horses and confused shouting interrupted my introspection. I turned to find five justiciar knights trotting into the square on their steeds, confusion plain on their faces.

“What the hells happened here?” one exclaimed. He regarded the bodies of the motionless guards on and around the platform on which I stood. “You,” he shouted at me. “What happened to these men? Who are you?”

I was still rubbing my sore wrists when I turned to face them. Somehow, being stark naked and covered in the sweat and sex of a full night of fucking dozens of soldiers made me feel even more powerful.

“I heard you were looking for me,” I responded. “I came to you and spared you the bother. Trust me when I say, that’s as much kindness as you can expect from me.” It was at that moment when I saw a sixth rider behind the knights.

A noble.

The justiciar attempted to shout something disparaging about goblins. With a thought, I took his voice.

“Silence, please. I’ll be with you and your brothers shortly.” I looked back to the noble. “Lord Ravengaul, I presume.”

The noble sat a little taller in his saddle and attempted a smile. The quiver at the corner of his lips betrayed the fear taking root in his mind. “Princess…I see you’ve learned your true parentage.”

I smiled. “I have, my Lord. Let me show you what else I’ve learned.”