Omen of a Bluebell

Even hand in hand with Bella, Cari doesn’t care. She’s all but wrapped us both up in her effort to tackle me, her hair practically drowning me.

The familiar scent of cloves and honey is stronger than usual, too, and it fills me with a warm comfort I hadn’t realized I’d been missing so much.

I return the hug with my free arm as best I can, and when I see Bella looking confused and flustered, I grin. Instead of allowing herself to get swept up in my antics again, she quickly releases my hand and shimmies free of Cari’s grasp.

She takes a step back, watching us with her arms loosely crossed and wearing a faintly conflicted expression. She looks as if she wants to say something, then decides against it.

Her eyes flick between me and Cari, then away again, a tiny frown ghosting across her face before she schools it into something neutral.

Aw, don’t give me that look. I like it better when you try to hide your reactions…

The thought gives me pause, a frown creasing my lips as well.

Why am I—

Then my ear is gripped in a vice-like pinch before being twisted just enough to cause maximum discomfort. I quickly grab Cari’s wrist and bend over sideways, following the twisting motion, but she keeps her demon claws locked in place.

“Ow, ow, wait,” I start, but Cari bowls over my whining.

“A day. A day!” she says, quickly gaining steam. “You waited a whole gods damned day to reply! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!”

“But I didn’t—”

“You swore to respond the moment you got a message! You promised!”

Her voice cracks at the end, and I cut off my next rebuttal.

“I thought you were dead…” she says finally, her voice warbling dangerously.

My focus is entirely on Cari now, her grip finally loose enough for me to gently free myself. I straighten up as I do and pull her back into a tight hug, only then noticing Krissy and Nyria both watching on behind her.

Nyria squirms in place, as if jealous of the hug I share with Cari but unwilling to interrupt our moment. Krissy, on the other hand, wears a smile so gentle and full of affection that it warms my chest.

I wave for them to join us, and they don’t hesitate, and when I hear the first hint of a sob from Cari, my heart seizes.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, and she shudders.

Then Krissy and Nyria arrive, turning our reunion into a group hug filled with softness and warmth.

Bella lingers at the edge of our circle, arms folded tighter against her chest. Her expression is a mix of discomfort and quiet disapproval, as if she’s unsure whether she even belongs in this sort of moment.

I wave her over, smiling in invitation. She narrows her eyes suspiciously at me, not budging. I wave again, more insistently this time, and she lets out a huff before stepping in beside me with an awkward stiffness that almost makes me laugh.

When she joins the hug, the scent of her hits me immediately—warm spice and the hint of a flower I can’t place—and my thoughts scatter. It’s dizzying, and for a moment the rest of the world dulls to a hazy blur, the sound of Cari’s muffled crying distant compared to the thrum of my own pulse.

I blink, my focus suddenly snapping back where it belongs, and pull everyone tighter.

I’m not sure what that was just now, because I know for a fact that her scent isn’t new to me; we’ve slept side by side. But the sudden intensity of it…

Did she do something different? No, she was right next to me until Cari showed up…

She didn’t just spritz herself with perfume, either. I would have noticed.

So what in the hells was that?

I shake the thoughts off for now. Cari matters more than my own conflicted thoughts and emotions.

“Ahem,” a maid coughs from a few steps away, grabbing our attention.

Well, most of our attention. Cari is occupied with angry-crying at me, and Nyria is too busy trying to sneak her hand along the fur of my tail to care about anything else around us.

Bella quickly steps back, seemingly embarrassed at being caught doing something ‘unbecoming’. Probably.

“Do you need any assistance, my Ladies?” the maid asks, a strained smile plastered on her face.

The question makes me realize that we’ve caused a bit of a scene in the lobby. Looking around, I find the gazes of maids, butlers, and wealthy patrons alike watching us with various levels of interest.

But most of them seem outright annoyed at our show of affection.

“N-no, we were just about to head to our room. Thank you,” Bella interjects before I have time to think up a snippy response. “Come along girls, we can finish our reunion elsewhere.”

She says it with a mask of annoyed impatience directed at the onlookers, and many of them decide it’s prudent to look elsewhere.

She’s got to teach me how to do that.

Bella quickly guides us upstairs to the room we’d shared, Cari clinging to me the entire way, and closes the door behind us with a sigh as she slumps into it. After a moment to collect herself, she straightens up, her back stiff as a board, and glares at me.

“Care to explain what… this… is all about?” Her voice is colder than usual, so I try to keep my answer brief and to the point.

“These are my friends. This is my sister, Cari,” I say, squeezing Cari gently to indicate her, “and that’s Krissy and Nyria, my, uh… associates.”

At the word ‘associates’, both Krissy and Nyria glance at between me and Bella with raised brows, before sharing a look with one another, nothing but wickedness in their gazes.

Nyria suddenly dons a terrifying grin that nearly splits her face in half, and Krissy's eyes glint dangerously, matching her smirk.

I continue despite the shiver that runs down my spine. “We were riding to the capitol together when the mercenaries attacked.”

Her eyes narrow ever so slightly. “Is that so?”

Why do I get the feeling I just said something wrong?

“Y-yes?” I say, unsure.

“I’m glad to see you well, Mistress,” Krissy says teasingly, interrupting the impromptu interrogation.

I know she’s trying to lighten the mood by poking at me, and it works like a charm.

“S-stop that! We aren’t at the broth—” I pause for a moment to consider Bella, who already seems utterly scandalized after hearing my ‘title’, and reconsider mentioning the brothel, “—we aren’t in Bephis anymore.”

Nyria tags in, her voice pitched into a cute but somehow still sensual tone, “But you’ll always be our Mistress, no matter where we are.”

Oh, you sneaky little vixen. I'll get you back for this!

Just as she starts to wither under my glare, Krissy jumps in again, rescuing her.

“That’s right. We’ve been at your beck and call for months now, there’s no reason to act differently now,” Krissy finishes, twirling a lock of her hair in one hand.

My glare shifts to her, but she shrugs it off effortlessly.

Damned professional temptresses. Why are they making a mess of things now?

“That’s not the point,” I hiss, more annoyed with the twos antics than I’ve ever been. “Anyways, to finish introductions: this is Bella. Bella, everyone. Everyone, Bella. Now can we please just figure out how you all got here so early? We weren’t expecting you for another day, minimum.”

Krissy’s grin only grows as she spares another glance at Bella, who surprisingly appears to be in shock, before opening her mouth to speak.

Blessedly, Cari interrupts the demoness before she can poison the waters of Bella's mind any further.

“The train rushed to return so that they could report the attack. We got back just over two hours ago,” she says, pulling away to wipe her eyes before glancing at Bella then back to me.

“Is this who you were talking about?”

Her sudden serious question throws me off a bit, but I quickly refocus. With a finger over my lips in a shushing motion, I nod and point to the corner of the room where Bella and I think a listening enchantment is.

Cari looks at it, then back to Bella. She looks her up and down.

“Huh. I thought she’d be more… fancy.”

“Right?! I was expecting poofy dresses,” I say.

“And way too much jewelry,” she continues, nodding sagely.

“And an insanely tight corset—”

“Chasm take me, there’s two of them,” Bella palms her face with a groan.

We giggle for a moment before Cari returns to her earlier seriousness, quirking a brow at me expectantly.

“I responded the moment I got the message, I swear,” I say, holding my hands up in surrender. “It must have been delayed by the dungeon we were in.”

She furrows her brows at that. We’d tested how Tella’s Twinpages worked with one of us in and the other out of a dungeon. The message was, effectively, instant. So my excuse wouldn’t normally hold up to scrutiny.

But Bella and I weren’t in just any dungeon.

“I’m serious! The dungeon was one of those new ones from the World Notice. Something about it must have interfered…” I shrug.

She looks me up and down, then sighs, letting the tension drain from her shoulders.

“Fine, fine. I’m still upset, but I forgive you,” she says before walking over to the bed and flopping face-first into it with a soft fwump.

Her voice comes out of the blankets consuming her muffled and distorted, “So what now?”

When I look at the others to see what they have in mind, Krissy shrugs one elegant shoulder. “Nyria and I still need to visit the Council office to finalize the new Tails and Temptations location. That’ll likely take multiple days.”

When Cari and Bella both stay silent, one too busy being devoured by a mattress, and the other too busy glaring at me suspiciously, I nod, my own decision made.

“I’ll be staying with Bella until we get to the Academy,” I say, my voice coming out more resolved than I’d intended.

My words get Cari moving again, and she looks at me with confusion. “Wait, really?”

I shrug noncommittally, “She needs protection.”

Bella turns away from me before speaking, but I catch an increasingly familiar shade of red at the tips of her ears. “The Academy semester doesn’t start for another few days. Are you certain?”

“Yup. I heard we could head in to get registered anytime before then, though, so we should probably do that tomorrow if we can, now that Cari’s here,” I say, and at her nod I continue. “It’s settled then. Lets get you guys some rooms for now, and we can figure out the rest tomorrow.”

As I finish up, I sidle up behind Cari, grab her under her belly, and hoist her off the bed. She whines, but doesn’t put up much of a fuss.

It doesn’t take long to get a maid to sort them out, and to my surprise, Bella tells the maid to just add it to her bill.

The room feels too quiet once the others leave. Krissy’s muffled laughter at Cari’s antics fading into the distance, leaving only the faint sound of the city through the windows and the rustle of sheets as Bella sits on the edge of the bed.

She looks exhausted. In the refined, noble way that makes fatigue seem elegant somehow.

I try not to stare, but fail miserably just a couple seconds into the attempt.

“Tomorrow will be a busy day,” she says after a moment, her voice softer than usual. “I’m going to rest early.”

“Yeah,” I murmur, then pause. “Oh right! I got you something.”

When she looks up and sees my broad grin, she instantly becomes wary.

“What is it…?” she asks cautiously.

I laugh. “Just a book.”

It appears in my hand, loosely wrapped in a spare cloth I had in my storage, and I pass it to her with my brightest smile. She takes it with no small amount of hesitation, then unties it. The slips of fabric spread out, revealing the cover.

The Duke’s Morning Temptation.

The very well received sequel to The Duke’s Midnight Confession.

Bella immediately throws the cloth back over the cover, her face turning a bright scarlet.

Her eyes race across the room as if searching for anyone who might’ve seen her holding such a scandalous novel, only to land on me and widen with horror.

“T-this is, I, you…” she starts, fumbling over her words.

For a moment, I just watch in wonder, surprised at the effectiveness of my gift. It takes a bit, but she eventually regains her composure, and I enjoy every second of it.

“T-thank you for your gift. As it was given with good intentions, I will… graciously accept it in the spirit in which it was offered,” she says, clearing her throat. “B-but, in the future, please refrain from presenting such crass gifts. I am making an exception this one time simply because you didn’t know any better, given your obvious lack of decorum these past days.”

Wow, nice save!

She stores the book without a sound, then excuses herself to change in the restroom. As she does, I use my Starlight Bangle to swap out of my clothes and into my normal sleepwear: an over-sized comfy shirt and undies. Then I slip under the sheets and sigh with pleasure as the fabric cools my skin.

Cold spots are the best…

She exits moments later, hair braided tightly and wearing an entirely different set of sleepwear from the previous night.

A pale blue silky one piece pajama set covers her entire body, with matching gloves and socks buttoned onto the sleeves and legs. Secured like that, it's clear that nothing can shift in the night.

While its practical in that she won’t have any skin exposed for a repeat of this morning, it also makes her look like a teddy bear, and it’s entirely too cute.

I manage to keep that to myself though.

She slips under the covers without looking at me, even laying down with her back to me, and I just know she must be embarrassed at the reminder of last night. I want to say it’s no big deal, but I know that’d probably make her feel worse rather than better.

When she's settled, a small flex of mana makes the lights in the room dim, then darken completely until all that’s left is the soft glow a nearby lamp that traces the shape of her shoulder, her neck, the line of her braid falling across the pillow…

For some reason, I find myself unable to sleep for a time as I search her outline. I shouldn’t notice the way her breathing slows, or how her scent hangs faintly in the air with its warm spice and that same floral note from earlier.

But I do, and it entrances me.

It’s stronger now. Or maybe it’s just that we’re closer, more enclosed.

My tail twitches. I try to adjust the blanket, and instead shuffle an inch closer, my body altering my commands as if it has a mind of its own.

Another breath, and the scent floods me again, thicker, sweeter, and more dizzying than before. The faint rhythm of her heartbeat just barely reaches my ears, the rest of the world suddenly tuned out. It’s steady and calm, and something in me thrums in response.

My thoughts blur, and for a moment, I don’t feel like myself. I just feel drawn in, like when I first met her gaze on the train.

Then she shifts.

I'm somehow so close now that her back brushes my arm. A small, accidental touch. But it’s enough to send my pulse racing. She freezes too, glancing over her shoulder, and our eyes meet.

For one impossible heartbeat, I forget how to breathe.

Then it hits me. A realization so sharp it cuts through all of the fugue.

The teasing, the closeness, the scent, the warmth, the way my thoughts keep slipping—

Oh. Oh no.

I jolt back like I’ve been burned, nearly toppling out of the bed. “I—uh—I need—” My voice catches, and I can’t even finish the sentence.

Bella blinks, startled. “Emilia? What—”

“I just—I need to go. I’m sorry!” I manage, already halfway to the door.

I’m out before she can say anything more, the hallway air hitting me like a bucket of cold water. My heart’s still hammering, my face hot enough to melt stone, but I stumble my way through the halls, searching for the room Cari said she'd be in.

One word roils through my mind.

Estrus.

It takes me a second as I move to do the math in my head. How long it’s been, how many weeks since the Expedition before the Update, how completely I’d forgotten that this could happen with all the changes in my life…

The answer makes me groan softly in my hands.

Of course. Of course it’s now.

Before the expedition that changed everything, my estrus was three months out, give or take a couple weeks. Then shit happened and I was just gone, somehow, for nine months.

Apparently when I returned from wherever the System tucked me away, my body decided to pick up right where things left off, and... well, three months have come and gone.

Cari’s door opens to my persistent knocking, and I barely have time to look up—much less compose myself—before she takes in the sight of me.

Red faced, panting, visibly frazzled and squirming. It’s horrifyingly embarrassing, but I can’t afford to care about that right now.

“Emilia?” she asks, confusion flooding her tone.

I try to smile, but it comes out weak, and she doesn’t hesitate a moment longer. She pulls me into her room and shuts the door behind me. I lean against it, breathing hard, trying to will my pulse to slow.

Cari quickly moves across the room and sits on the edge of her bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes. When she looks at me next, her confusion shifts to concern in an instant.

“Emi? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve just—”

“Run from a fire?” I finish weakly, forcing a shaky laugh. “Yeah. Something like that.”

She frowns. “What happened?”

I hesitate for half a second. I could lie, say I just needed air. But she knows how this goes. Or at least, how it usually goes.

It’s never been this bad. Sure, it made me hornier than all get out—but I could ignore it.

It sucked, but I could do it.

Had to, even, thanks to the fucking scars making it utterly impossible to get any kind of relief whatsoever.

Now, though? I nearly lost control entirely without even realizing it.

“I think…” I start, swallowing hard, “I think it’s started.”

Cari blinks once, confused. Then her brows lift in sudden understanding. “Oh. Oh.”

I nod miserably.

She slides off the bed, approaching me in a wrinkled shirt nearly half again as large as my own. “That’s… wait, are you sure? You just—”

“I’m sure.” I press a hand to my face, the heat radiating from my skin proof in and of itself. “But it hit me like a gods-damned wall, Cari. I didn’t even recognize it at first, but then…” I trail off, shaking my head. “It’s different this time. Subtler. Stronger.”

Cari’s expression softens. “Your race changed. It makes sense, what with all the other changes you’ve noticed.”

Her voice is calm and measured, and it steadies me. I know she’s trying to sooth me, help me work through this, and it works. I let out a shaky breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

Cari touches her forehead to mine, and I tense before I can help it. For a moment I’m terrified the her smell might set me off again. But it doesn’t. Strangely, it does the exact opposite.

It seeps into my thoughts and smooths the edges of everything rough and insistent and burning inside me, quieting the chaos in my chest.

My shoulders sag, and I lean into her a bit. “You smell calming.”

She snorts. “That’s new.”

I just breathe her in, letting the tension melt away. For a while, we stand in the quiet dark, and I can almost believe the fever under my skin is gone.

Almost.

Then, against my better judgment, my mind wanders back to Bella. It brings with it the faint scent of spice and sweetness that still lingers in my mind. My breath catches, heat rushing to my cheeks again so fast it makes me dizzy.

“Emi?” Cari says, watching me closely now. “Still with me?”

I groan and press my forehead harder against hers. “Barely.”

She hums knowingly before guiding me over to the bed. When we lay down and get situated, she graces me with a soft smile.

“You know, I did some extra research on foxkin after you shared your status. I wanted to see if they typically evolved into what you are, but the results were… inconclusive,” she says, her voice low and musing.

She turns me over before pulling my back flush against her chest, one arm wrapped around my stomach to hold me in place.

“As I did, I ran across a book discussing their breeding habits,” she continues, and I stiffen at that. She laughs at my awkwardness, but doesn’t acknowledge it any further. “It turns out that the severity varies from female to female.”

My interest is made known when my ears twitch, tickling her chin.

“In the most extreme cases, the estrus cycle wasn’t just about desire. It was about hunting for compatibility. Many of the women going through these more extreme cycles mentioned the desire to test their potential partners in various ways, to prove the potential partners worthy in some way,” she murmurs through a yawn, sleepiness returning to her voice.

“They mention it being an almost instinctual desire, but that they could control it easily enough. I bet you’re dealing with a worse version of that…”

Her words linger in my head, echoing endlessly. I shouldn’t, but I test the thought cautiously, letting my mind drift toward Krissy. There’s warmth there, for sure. Appreciation. Maybe even curiosity.

But no pull. It’s like looking at a fire from across the room. Pleasant and inviting, but not all consuming in its blaze.

Then I think of Nyria, and the difference is immediate. My tail twitches before I can stop it. There’s something wild about her, something that makes me want to poke at her, to see how she’d react.

To test her.

My pulse quickens with the thought, but it’s not the same as it is with Bella. Not nearly as urgent.

I swallow hard, realizing what that means.

Oh gods.

I’ve been testing Bella for our compatibility without even knowing it for days.

And apparently, my stupid new instincts hadn’t found her wanting.

I ask Cari the question I don’t want to ask, desperately hoping she’ll erase my concerns. “And Bella?”

She tells me exactly what I don’t want to hear.

“Mm… looks like she passed your test…” she mumbles before her breathing falls into the telltale rhythm of her soft snores.

Well, shit.

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