Sex and the Spellplague Ch. 06

He followed her back into the tap room, but before she could even approach Mikhail, she saw him with Cyra, Iliara, Varla, Greta, and Ambrusia. They stood with Benefast and Donnara, and all faced the entrance. It was only then that Lura and Hammer realized there were no patrons in the tavern. The door opened, and Lura and Hammer watched two women, one older and the other Lidia Lovedrake, enter. Lidia was to the left of, presumably, her mother, who had clad herself in a long, sleek robe of the purest violet that seemed to shimmer in the light and appeared to be stitched with silver to resembled a dragon's scaled hide. It was cinched with a black cord around her waist that hung down to about her mid-thigh, and her wrists were clad in silver-and-amethyst bangles, her fingers wearing matching adornments. Around her neck was a silver link choker set with amethysts and diamonds that made Lura's mouth want to gape open. Her hair was set intricately, parted down the middle so that the left side of her face was coyly hid by flowing, silky hair, and the left was pinned back with, of course, amethyst-studded pins.

As beautiful as the middle-aged woman was, though, nothing prepared Lura for the sight that appeared as the two women stepped to either side.

In resplendent, elven beauty, Lidia's hired lover entered. She wore a gown of pristine white silk, the thin halter descending well below her cleavage in a daring neckline, and flaring out to cover her slim stomach before reaching around the elf's hips. The back of the gown was completely gone, revealing her lithe musculature and accentuating the subtle swell of her athletic bottom. Slits rose daringly up both sides of the gown, so that with every step her lithe, shapely leg was revealed. She wore gold-lined slippers with high heels that accentuated her calves and her toes were painted a gleaming, crystalline silver sheen. The entire gown, from the slits and the hem, all the way up to the halter top, was trimmed in gold lace. Between the pristine white of the gown and the moon elf's naturally pale complexion, she looked as if she was completely nude, save for the gold lace and jewelry framing and accenting her body.

Then there was her hair. So black it was almost a midnight blue, it hung loose about her shoulders, with no pins or the like to restrain it. It was long and wavy, curling at the ends, which hung down past her shoulders, curling around her delicate-looking shoulder blades. A good portion of her wavy locks hung around the side of her face, partially obscuring the delicate elven features.

But Lura saw past all that. So did Hammer, Cyra, and Mikhail. As if to confirm their astonishment, the elf's features gaped, eyes wide and mouth open.

Silently, Lura mouthed, "Miria."