With the Empress now gone, the kitchen was silent as we all digested what had just been said, resulting in everyone once again looking at me, wondering just what the Empress meant by me being blessed by a Goddess.
I could tell that Anput, Leone and Jahi were all slightly hurt that I hadn't told them, whilst also feeling immensely curious by how this blessing could affect me going forwards.
Leone's siblings on the other hand were staring at me like some kind of exhibit animal, their eyes narrowed as they explored their thoughts on their own, leaving us in a suffocating silence.
One that was broken by Jahi as she stood up, the Demoness' movements slightly stiff as she reached down and grabbed my wrist, pulling me up.
"We need to talk... if you'll excuse us, everyone..."
She gave Dante and Monica a curt nod, the two eldest children of the Empress returning her nod as they watched her pull me from my seat, with Anput and Leone standing up and following Jahi out as we made our way through the halls.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtI remained quiet, waiting for us to return to our room to speak, with the others doing the same as we traversed the Palace in a tense, heavy mood, none of us making a sound as we walked.
I could feel their emotions loosely as we moved, the two women behind me and the one in front all worried and irritated about me.
Throwing open the doors, Jahi pushed me inside before closing the door behind her, pinning me to the center of the room with her golden gaze as she growled "What did she mean, you've been 'blessed'? Was this something you forgot to mention about your time away Kat?"
I resisted the urge to quip back at her, wanting to bring up her own flaws she kept hidden away, but instead I took a deep breath before sighing, taking a seat on one of the beds.
"I... Eventually, yes. I would have eventually mentioned it, Jahi. I don't know much about it myself, nor exactly what it means... All I know is that a Goddess - Reincantra - gave me her blessing, which does... something."
Jahi narrowed her eyes at me, the Demoness leaning down as she growled "You're not telling the entire truth... Kat, please don't fuck with me like this? At the end of the day, your soul is attached to mine, and I can tell when you aren't telling me the entire truth..."
I pursed my lips, staring back at those golden orbs even as they welled with slight anger - anger that was understandable considering the situation.
"She... gave me a way to get stronger faster. When I kill something, I absorb some of it's... it's... experience, which 'boosts' my abilities a little. For instance, when I killed the Lamia monster down in the Academy, I absorbed some of its experience and got stronger because of it. I got a little faster, a little more powerful... That's her 'blessing' to me. A... 'shortcut' to getting stronger."
Jahi still stared at me with narrowed eyes, before she sighed and knelt in front of me, grabbing my hands and squeezing.
"Weren't you the one to tell me never to keep a secret, Kat? So why did you keep one that large? Something that can honestly be of use? Something that important to everything? The blessing of a Goddess... an 'ability' to effectively snatch power from your enemies souls... Kat, really?"
Her eyes returned to their normal amethyst, and I smiled wryly at her as I squeezed her hands back, muttering "I... was worried, alright? Going around saying that a Goddess of all things blessed me, that I had this new ability... What sane person would believe that, Jahi? Why would they believe that?"
Leone gave me a small smile as I looked at her, adding "Especially you, Leone. You would have wanted proof. Some type of 'evidence' to prove that I wasn't just... crazy, or afflicted with some type of mental curse from Cali."
"Nah, the only mental stunts I pull are getting people horny. Why bother with all that other stuff~?"
We all turned to look at the pink skinned woman lounging on the other bed, her sinful body on full display as she looked up towards the ceiling, before leaning her head over the edge and grinning at us.
"What? You accuse me of something, I'll defend myself. I have rights, y'know?!"
Giving her a dry gaze, I shook my head as I said "Not the time Cali...", which made the Arch Fiend widen her pink eyes before she poofed out of existence, a cloud of floral pink mist shrouding the bed she occupied.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"I... don't think I'll ever get accustomed to her. Ever."
I chuckled as I nodded, sadly allowing Jahi to release my hands as she stood up to her full height, stretching herself out some before looking back down at me.
"Trust me, I understand the worry Kat, and I can understand thinking something is best kept to yourself, but... please, trust us a little more than that! We're in this together, forever. After all, there is not a singular chance in hell that I am letting your ass leave~!"
She grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes as she turned the already dissipating feel good moment into something else, though Anput added "None of us would let you go, ever... Kat, you are our everything. We've lost you once, and it almost... it could have very well torn us apart if you were gone for longer. Awakened things in us that shouldn't have ever been there. You keep us on the straight and narrow in too many ways... We would never, not in a million years let you go. The things you do for us..."
The Jackalkin trailed off, her silver eyes locked onto mine before I looked towards Leone, who picked up where Anput left off.
"You center us, satiate us, support us... You, Kat, are what makes us so... Without you, we wouldn't be where we are now. You soothe us and keep us grounded, guiding us into the right directions. Body, mind, emotions, physically, spiritually... anyway that you can, you support us. Sure, I might question something, but it's not because I don't believe you. It's because I just want to make sure everything is fine, that you are okay..."
She approached me, caressing my cheek as she added "Without you, we'd be vastly different women, Kat... To the world, to my siblings, you might just be some intriguing maid that has some promise, but to us you are everything... Just as Anput means so much, just as Jahi means so much, so do you... We would never let you go..."
Her crimson eyes flared as she bared her fangs, those needlelike white fangs turning the normally gentle Princess into a slightly feral woman, her Vampiric blood on full display.
Grinning back at her, I leaned into her palm before twisting my head to kiss it, making her stare hungrily at my neck as I whispered "Well, the same goes for me I guess... I will never let any of you leave me... never..."
Crimson, silver and gold locked onto me, before I moaned as I was pushed onto the bed, the three women looming above me and looking to devour their prey, our emotions running high despite the sun barely having crested over the horizon.