Too embarrassed to face Hazeel, Leresa, or Shar immediately following my crying fit, I opted to teleport Dantae and myself to the small hotel room we had received from Rexir. Thankfully, the part of the apartment with all the bdsm tools was separated from the regular living quarters, otherwise I fear Dantae would have freaked out upon waking up in a sex dungeon.

I stared at the girl’s face and couldn’t help but smile to myself. She was back. She was well and truly back in my arms. I hugged her, and then upon realizing that she couldn’t hug me back, I let go.

That was when my eyes wandered downward, and I was reminded that to the eyes of the three in Shar’s smithy, it had just looked as though I whisked away a naked girl to my residence.

Granted, I knew, and have known Dantae for most of my life. From the test tube to the front lines, she was always there for me, and a very important person in my life.

Unfortunately, the others had no way of knowing that. To them, it probably looked as if I got excited by seeing a naked woman and took her to have my way with her.

Sighing at the situation I was going to be in, I brought Dantae to the shower room and washed her off. She was skinnier than I remembered, but if weight was the only price she had paid in order to recover, she could be a twig for all I cared.

As strange as it was, I didn’t have any carnal desires for Dantae when washing her. I didn’t even think about kissing her. Not even when running the soap all along her body, nor even after washing the suds from its surface.

I think even more than holding her close, I was relieved that I could just see her, just look at her face and know that she was real, and not a figment of my imagination or wishful thinking.

Damn, I really owed Shar big time. The hulking demon had shown finesse and a steady hand in his craft, and even devoting one hundred percent of my resources to him wouldn’t be enough to return the favor.

Plus, if I did what Armando had taught me, and just took the favor and ran with it, I’m sure Dantae would chew me out for quite a bit.

After I dried her off and put her into a loose fitting robe that the hotel provided, I tucked her into the bed and started to go on my way.

That’s when Hazeel burst through the door, buster sword in one hand and a glow of energy in the other. “Leo!” She threw the weapon aside and let the energy in her hand dissipate.

She lunged at me, and proceeded to try and obliterate my ribcage with a bear hug. “Ha… zeel…” I managed to eke out. “Too… much… strength…”

The wood elf gasped and let go immediately. “Sorry, Leo. I thought, you know…” Tears started to form in her eyes and she brushed past me into the bedroom. “I thought you abandoned me. You didn’t say a word of explanation and just left with Vanessa.”

She eyed Dantae, and sat down on the floor beside the bed. After wiping the tears from her eyes, she said, “I know it wasn’t a rational thought, and that your sense of duty wouldn’t allow you to abandon me. I just couldn’t help but worry that since you had your original lover back, you’d no longer have a need for me.”

I put a hand on her head and stroked her hair as gently as I could. I got so caught up in the moment of Dantae’s recovery that I had forgotten to take the wood elf with me when I warped out of the smithy.

I held her closer. “Sorry, Hazeel. It’s alright. You’re a part of my life now, and I’d never, ever think about abandoning you for any reason.” We remained together until she calmed down, at which point she was staring at Dantae’s sleeping form.

“So that’s her, huh?” The wood elf’s ears moved up and down as she studied Dantae. I could see her eyes moving up and down over the sleeping girl’s body.

A smile played on Hazeel’s pink lips. “She’s just as beautiful as you’ve described. Do you have any idea on her condition right now?”

“Normal.” I answered. “And… recovering would be the obvious one. I should explain that the bond we share that allows her form to change gives us a strong mental connection as well. I felt her emotions right as Shar finished repairing her, so I know she isn’t brain dead.”

Even though Hazeel and I were both seated, she turned to me and hugged me. The action caught me by surprise, and I just stared dumbly at her.

She caught my gaze, and squeezed tighter before smiling sadly. “Do you know that you’re crying right now, Leo?”

My eyes opened wide with realization and I wiped away at my own face. “It’s ok.” Hazeel said as she pressed herself further into me. “I told Shar and Leresa that you would need a day or two to recover.”

I nodded absentmindedly. Suddenly, everything felt numb. As if Hazeel pointing out my problems was the gateway for my feelings to escape.

“They said they were fine with it, and that we should just tell Rexir when you wish to revisit Shar to pay him for the repairs.” I registered what she said, but couldn’t find the strength in me to reply.

With a light kiss, she stood me up and we walked to the shower together. It had been so long since we started spending time together, that I had almost forgotten about her being a head taller than I was.

She had no trouble stripping me of my clothes and picking me up before placing me in the hot bathtub. Unfortunately, at that point I was more so trying to figure out why I felt so empty inside rather than trying to be demoralized.

Hazeel stepped into the bath and sat behind me, and started to hug me again. She leaned her head over my shoulder and rested her face on mine.

After sitting in silence for a while, I finally spoke. “Why do I feel so empty now? I’ve finally got Dantae back, and even more, she’s safe and fully in tact.”

“You keep saying ‘fully in tact.’ What do you mean exactly?” I turned around in the bathtub to face Hazeel, and reluctantly told her the part of the story I had omitted before.

She sat in silence, and said nothing as I spoke to her of the General’s atrocities. Her jaw tightened, but she still waited patiently for me to finish speaking before raising any points of her own.

“By the Gods seven hells, that is messed up.” Hazeel was bristling with barely restrained fury. “I want to punch Armando in the face.”

I actually smiled at that, but quickly lost the feeling. I turned around once more to lean back on her. It was far more reassuring having my weight lean on someone else, even if it only superficially helped how I felt.

“In regards to your question, I think I have an answer.” Hazeel returned her head on top of my shoulder.

I was skeptical, believing that she could never understand my feelings. But then I remembered that one person had understood me, and she was lying on the bed in the next room. So, I decided to hear the wood elf out. “Oh yeah? What would that be?”

“You feel empty because it’s over, because you finally got her back. All the energy and commitment and single mindedness that you put into finding Vanessa is all gone. Now, that anxiety, stress, and internal pressure has no productive direction to be put into. Instead of feeling better, you’re anxious about whether she will make a full recovery or not. You’re just struggling with these feelings inside you with nowhere to go.”

I knew she was right, and just exhaled deeply. Now that she had helped me sort through my feelings, I was feeling a lot better. The emptiness I felt was still there, but because I knew where it came from now, it wasn’t as daunting a feeling as it had been previously.

We got out of the shower together. Well, I got out first, and opted to let Hazeel soak in the bath for a while longer.

It took a few moments to wipe my face and dry the water from my head, and after putting on a fresh set of clothes, I lay down in the king size bed next to Dantae.

Hazeel came in after, and after turning off the light, lay down by my side. I tried to fall asleep as normal that night, but my straying thoughts and aching heart kept me up.

---

I woke up the next morning, eyes heavy with a lack of deep sleep and a touch of insanity to boot.

Normally I would have been happy enough waking up next to Dantae in any situation, but she was still fast asleep, not so much as moving a muscle as I willed myself out of bed..

I knew I would need a little while longer to muster up the energy to go out, so I sent Hazeel ahead of me to speak to Rexir and request Leresa and Shar to return to the smithy.

I took one last look at Dantae, and contemplated whether to take her with me in order to insure maximum safety, but decided against moving the unconscious woman more than I already had. Once I was good and ready, and had my facade together, I transported back to the shop, where a smirking Leresa, and a stoic Shar were waiting for me.

“Welcome back lad. I see you’ve gotten yourself straightened up.” Shar nodded at me. “Thanks for that, my boy. I’ve finally pushed through into godhood thanks to you.”

I tilted my head. “Godhood? Are you sure about that? You look exactly the same as before to me.”

Shar said nothing and only grinned, and action which I found disconcerting as he bared his pearly whites. “Stop that please. You’re making me uncomfortable.”

His smile faltered, as did Leresa’s. I turned to the woman and asked, “Where is Hazeel? I thought she would be here with you both.”

Leresa fumbled her words for a minute before responding, “She said that she would go back to where you took that woman yesterday and keep an eye on her safety.”

I smiled, and confirmed to myself that the wood elf who turned herself into a slave was indeed too good of a woman for me.

“More importantly,” Leresa said, “Did you truly not feel any of that energy? I could feel the waves radiating off of Shar and he wasn’t even directing it at me.”

I shook my head. “No, but I’m happy for whatever advancement you-” I stopped speaking, as Shar had transformed into a larger version of himself. “What are you doing?”

The hulking beast shrugged. “I wanted to see if I could alter myself in any way. Besides, I wanted to see if you were truly immune to the powers of a god, or if I just made a mistake in assuming my ascension took place.”

“Well, please go back to normal.” I said, “It’s really distracting not being able to see your head.” With little fanfare, the demon returned to his former shape.

“Thanks. I wanted to discuss-” My thoughts were cut short when I felt a tugging on the edge of my consciousness. I felt Dantae awaken, and she felt scared, confused, angry, and the most worrying of all: violent.

I cursed inwardly, and not wanting to make another reschedule, transported the three of us to the waiting hotel room.