Chapter One
Moans of pleasure filled my ears and echoed around my bedroom as I made sweet love to my beautiful wife, Elissa. Her fiery red hair was damp with sweat, and her chest was also dappled with perspiration. I’d only been married for a short time, but so far, the arrangement definitely had its upsides.
Like making love for days straight with two amazing and breathtakingly beautiful women.
“Oh, oh, oh!” Elissa gasped as another orgasm shook her body. “Sebastian!”
“You’re so sexy when you cum,” I murmured against her inner thigh, and I gave her clit one final lick that caused her to whine and collapse back against her pillows.
Elissa was the daughter of the village leader of Addington, Elrin, and I’d won her hand in marriage when I’d defeated the goblins who’d occupied the nearby mine. The town had been in desperate need of help when I happened to arrive, and I was proud to say I’d managed to turn the situation around.
Thanks to my abilities as the God of Time. Or the God of Death. Or the God of Winning.
Whatever I was now. I didn’t quite know for sure.
It still boggled my mind to think about my old life. I’d been working in a call center when I’d laid my head down for a power nap during one of my breaks, and suddenly I’d woken up in the middle of a fantasy world.
It seemed as though I’d been summoned from my world by a sorcerer named Raijin Thornheart so he could kill me and take my power. I hadn’t known what the crazy old man was talking about at the time, but then that Voldemort mother fucker actually did kill me.
But I didn’t die.
At first, I’d thought I was dreaming, and I’d expected to wake up back at my desk when I died, but that’s not what happened. Instead, I’d reappeared in the same moment right before the sorcerer plunged a dagger into my heart. I’d played enough video games to recognize the similarities when I respawned, and it made me realize something special had happened.
I definitely wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
I was in a magical medieval universe where monsters terrorized the small villages and dukes were paid fealties, but beyond that, I had powers: I could respawn when I died.
And I learned how to create a save spot so I didn’t have to keep reliving the same things all over again if I didn’t want to.
I’d never seen the movie Groundhog’s Day, but I knew what it was about, and I figured my current situation definitely had some resemblances to Bill Murray’s most well-known work. My life was now like a Game of Thrones mash up with the repeating day trope.
Or maybe it was more like Skyrim or Dark Souls since I got to make my own save points and then go back whenever I wanted.
While some might view being stuck in a time loop as a death sentence, I saw it as an opportunity. I could improve my skills with each attempt, and I could relive the awesome stuff as many times as I wanted.
Like making Elissa climax.
Her tunnel still dripped her wetness onto the bed sheets because of her climax, and a pool of liquid was forming there as she laid panting for breath.
I took a deep breath and savored the honey sweet scent of her womanhood, and I moaned with delight as I pushed my tongue into her pussy again.
“Hmmm… you taste so good,” I purred. “I love licking your pussy.”
“Ohhh… Sebastian,” she whined as her eyes fluttered open. “You… you… just keep going. What did I do to deserve a god as my husband?”
“Well, you are rather amazing,” I chuckled.
“I’m the luckiest woman in the world,” Elissa purred as she slowly came back to reality.
“You are about to get luckier.” I rose up onto my knees and positioned my body between her spread thighs. Then I gripped my shaft and rubbed it against her swollen pussy lips. I was rewarded with a squirm of her hips that urged me deeper inside her, but I still wasn’t quite done teasing her.
I rubbed her clit with the tip of my cock for a moment until she was thrashing against me, and when she was good and desperate for my dick, I leaned forward and thrust my entire length inside her in one swift motion.
“Fuckkkkk!” my wife gasped as her emerald green eyes shot wide open. Then she stared up at the ceiling above our heads as her body clamped around me.
“You’re picking up my phrases,” I chuckled as I wiggled my hips to rub my shaft against the clenching walls of her tunnel.
“I… I don’t know what it means,” Elissa murmured as she dropped her eyes. “You just… say it when you are enjoying me…”
“You used it perfectly,” I assured her, and then I pulled out so I could slam my cock into her again.
“Ooooh,” Elissa moaned as her legs spasmed against my sides. Then she dug her nails into the flesh of my shoulders and pulled me closer to her. “You’re amazing, Bash…”
“Not as amazing as you are,” I murmured as I leaned forward to seize her mouth with my own. Our tongues danced like they were doing a tango, and the sounds of her muffled moans vibrating against my lips drove me wild.
I couldn’t hold back any longer, so I pushed as deep as I could go into her body and groaned as I sprayed my cum inside her like an open fire hydrant.
“That’s soooo good,” she gasped, but then I realized she wasn’t climaxing, and as my body slowly relaxed I looked down into Elissa’s emerald eyes. She was smiling at me, which was fine, but I wanted her eyes rolling back into her head and her mouth open and drooling when I finished inside of her.
I wanted her mind blown every time we fucked, and I guessed this time was probably just an A-.
That wasn’t good enough for me.
Do over time.
Chime.
Moans of pleasure filled my ears and echoed around my bedroom as I licked Elissa’s perfect tasting pussy. I’d pretty much learned every single nuance of pleasuring her orally, so this part was both easy and rewarding, and I gave her my full attention until she was gasping for air.
“Oh, oh, oh!” Elissa gasped again as her third orgasm shook her body. “Sebastian!”
“You’re so sexy when you cum,” I murmured against her inner thigh, and I gave her clit one final lick that caused her to whine and collapse back against her pillows.
“Mmmhhh…” she moaned.
“Hmmm… you taste so good,” I said. “I love licking your pussy.”
“Ohhh… Sebastian,” she whined as her eyes fluttered open. “You… you… just keep going. What did I do to deserve a god as my husband?”
“Well, you are rather amazing.” I chuckled.
“I’m the luckiest woman in the world,” Elissa purred as she slowly came back to reality.
“You are about to get luckier,” I growled as I spread her legs wide and angled the tip of my cock toward her hungry looking pussy lips.
“Oh, fuckkkkk!” Elissa groaned as I slid my full length inside her once again. For her, this was the first time I’d penetrated her this morning, but for me, it was like attempt number ten to get her to have a mind-numbing six climaxes.
“I like it when you cuss,” I chuckled as I began to fuck her slowly.
“I… I don’t know what it means,” Elissa gasped as my cock stretched her tunnel open over and over.
“You used it perfectly,” I assured her once more, and this time, I made sure to keep a firm grasp on my self-control.
I fucked my beautiful redhead for another hour, and I changed up positions each time she came. Finally, after her sixth climax, I felt as if I couldn’t take it anymore, and I rode her hard in doggy style before we both orgasmed together one last time. The training with my self-control really paid off, and my final ejaculation sprayed inside of her trembling body like an angry firehouse as she screamed.
“That will work,” I gasped under my breath as I finished pouring into her, and then I ran my hands and fingers over her smooth back as she collapsed down onto the bed with my cock still buried deep inside of her.
Then I made another save point, since it was good to be the God of Time, and I’d just given my wife seven mind-numbing orgasms.
“You’re wonderful, Bash,” Lissy gushed as she caught her breath. “That was amazing! I… I… I didn’t know it could ever feel this good, but you make me light up inside like a wildfire. You seem to know everything my body wants, even before I even know I want it. Ohhh…”
“You make me feel pretty amazing, too, you know.” I grinned as I slowly slid my cock out of her. I’d really poured a lot of cum into the beautiful woman, and a river of it dibbled from her puffy pink pussy lips and cascaded down her thighs.
“You filled me up so muchhh…” she purred. “It feels wonderful. I sometimes can’t believe I’m married to a god. I am so lucky.”
“You are a good wife,” I hummed as I moved to lay on the bed beside her. I could get used to the flattery, especially when it came from one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.
“All I want to do is bring you pleasure for the rest of my life,” she said in an earnest tone as she stared deep into my eyes. “Thank you for marrying me.”
“I love you, Elissa,” I said as I invited her to lay her head on my chest. She immediately obliged, and we laid with our limbs entangled as our chests heaved up and down from the exertion of our lovemaking.
“I love you, too, Sebastian.” Her fiery red hair was splayed across my chest, and the floral scent mixed with her sweat and musk was intoxicating.
I savored the moment, and then I decided to create another save spot by focusing on where I was and telling myself I could come back to this instant whenever I wanted to.
Mahini’s piercing blue eyes flashed through my mind, and I wondered what my other gorgeous woman was up to. I’d made love to the tanned desert goddess the night before and passed out with both women in my arms, but when Elissa and I’d woken up, my warrior woman was missing from the bed, so I’d just ate Elissa out for breakfast and then enjoyed another session of fucking her.
Now, here we were. Time tended to flow oddly for me, and sometimes life didn’t seem real, but now was now, and I had lots of cool shit planned for the next few days.
“Are you hungry for breakfast?” I kissed the top of Elissa’s head and squeezed her against me for a moment. Then I stretched my arms above my head and splayed out my toes.
“Sure.” Elissa propped herself up onto her elbow, and her flame-colored tendrils framed her beautiful face like a halo of fire. “Mahini murmured something about cooking before she got out of bed. Then… well… It’s been an hour and a half or so. I think… I must admit I lost track of time, but I’m sure she heard us enjoying each other.”
“Let’s see what she’s up to,” I said.
Of course, the stoic warrior woman was off doing something in service to me, she was one of the most dedicated people I’d ever known, and her love for me exceeded all bounds. Still, the societal norms of my old life still lingered in the back of my mind, and I wasn’t quite used to the idea of having two women devoted to me.
My wife and I got out of bed, and Elissa pulled my white shirt on over her naked freckled body. The garment reached her knees like a dress and hung off one shoulder like she was a sexy model on the cover of Vogue. Then the gorgeous redhead ran her fingers through her hair and shook the curls out across her back as she shot me a coy smile.
“I love it when you look at me like that,” she said as her eyes sparkled like twin emerald stars. “You make me feel like a treasure.”
“You are my treasure,” I said as I crossed the distance between us, gripped her firmly by her hips, and pulled her against me. “My prize, my reward, my woman.”
“Forever,” Elissa breathed, and her eyelashes fluttered as she met my earnest expression. Then her lips curled up into a smirk, and she stepped smoothly out of my hands to stride toward the door. “I am hungry, though.”
I shook my head and chuckled as I pulled on my underwear and followed behind her, and I loved watching her ass swish beneath the edges of my shirt and her dainty little feet tiptoeing down the hallway. We both met Mahini in the kitchen, and her blue eyes lit up like the hottest part of the flame when she saw me.
She wore a simple white shirt tucked into tight fitting suede breeches and her tall leather boots. Her black hair was smooth and shiny in the sunlight pouring in through the kitchen window, and the love in her soul piercing blue eyes was matched by the curve of her lips.
I’d first met the woman when she’d suddenly appeared in the midst of my battle against a horde of kobolds, these lizard-like bastards who were intent on attacking Addington, and I’d struggled at first to do a run through of the fight where she ended up unscathed. Mahini had been intent on dying that day, since the rest of her Golden Sword mercenary brethren had already perished, and with them, her purpose in life, but through careful dialogue and a few hundred Chimes, I’d convinced her to bond with me so she had a new purpose.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I greeted the warrior woman with a grin.
“Morning!” She returned my smile with surprising enthusiasm, and I loved how I’d managed to crack through her stoic demeanor, at least when we were inside the safety of our home anyway.
“You look happy,” I purred as I moved to wrap my arms around her narrow waist so I could pull her back into my chest.
“I made you both breakfast,” Mahini sighed as she melted into me.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, but my stomach growled in contrast to my words.
“Are you not hungry?” Mahini chuckled as she pulled away from me, and her eyebrow arched as her eyes lowered to my stomach.
“Oh, I am.” I ran a hand through my hair self-consciously and smirked. “I just meant it’s nice, and I would have been happy to cook for myself, but I’m really glad you did.”
“Sit, sit,” Elissa urged as she pulled out the chair for me. Then the beautiful redhead moved to help Mahini serve the eggs, toast, bacon, and mixed fruit.
We ate in silence for a while, since I was busy shoveling my breakfast into my face and didn’t want to talk with my mouth full. Then, when I’d licked the plate clean, I leaned back in my chair and put my hands behind my head with a contented sigh.
“This is the life,” I sighed as I gave my wives a loving look. “I have a big home to repair and renovate, excellent food, and two beautiful wives. What more could a god ask for?”
“Not to have a duke send an army to kill you,” Mahini replied with a slight frown. “We still haven’t finalized our plans for dealing with him.”
“He wouldn’t have expected his son to return for a few days, so we still have some time on our hands.” I shrugged.
It seemed like a lifetime had passed since I’d killed the duke’s son, Lucian, and annihilated his small army. I’d restarted lovemaking sessions so many times it seemed like I hadn’t left the house in years.
Ahhh… what an awesome life I had.
“Let’s talk to my father about it today,” Elissa suggested as she pulled her bare feet up beneath her supple ass and hugged her knees. The position gave me a great view of the area between her creamy thighs, and I had to shake my head to refocus on my wife’s face.
“That’s a good idea.” I grinned, and then I gave her a pointed look that showed the full extent of how she made me feel. “Fuck, you’re sexy.”
“Fuck you!” Elissa chirped in a pleased tone as if she was saying thank you.
I busted out laughing, and both women looked at me with quizzical expressions on their lovely faces. I wanted to teach them so much, but that really did take some time since they couldn’t just restart lessons like I could.
That was okay, though. I had plenty of time.
“What’s so funny?” Mahini asked as she and Elissa shared a look.
“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” I replied as I wiped joyful tears away from my eyes. “I just love you both so much.”
If their eyes could have physically changed shape, they would have become hearts in that moment because both women swooned at my words. An image of my wives with snapchat filters over their faces passed through my mind, and I snorted with amusement.
“But, yeah, we should go talk to your dad soon,” I said as I came back to reality and thought about the day ahead. “I want to make sure we have all the supplies we need for the journey to visit the duke, but I also want to ensure the town will be okay without me for a short while.”
“Someone will fetch us,” Elissa said with a dismissive wave of a hand. “Just enjoy your morning.”
“Ehhh… I suppose I could relax for a bit,” I said as I let out another contented sigh.
“I can give you a massage,” Mahini suggested with a slight smile and a nod.
“I can do the thing you like with my lips on your neck and ears?” the redheaded beauty added.
“Both of those sound like great ideas.” I grinned wide and hopped up from my chair. Then I grabbed them both by the hand and took off for the bedroom.
We took turns giving each other massages. When Mahini began to rub on Elissa’s pale shoulders, my cock throbbed, and both women noticed immediately.
“You like it when we touch each other?” Mahini asked in a confused voice.
“But you cannot feel our hands,” Elissa said as she furrowed her eyebrows.
“Think about how you feel when I look at you naked,” I explained patiently. “Before I even touch you, and my eyes are roaming all over your body.”
I did exactly that as I spoke, and I noticed the flush creep up Mahini’s neck.
“See?” I continued. “You can get excited without being touched. It just takes the idea of it, and the image of two beautiful women touching each other for my pleasure sparks my imagination.”
“I’ve never been this close to another woman before,” Elissa said as her emerald eyes roamed over the warrior woman’s body. “I really enjoy having a female around to talk to.”
“Yes, I agree,” Mahini said with a small nod. “We are family.”
“Wonderful,” I breathed, and I leaned back against the pillows with my hands behind my head. My cock stood at full attention between my spread legs, and Mahini licked her lips as her blue eyes dragged across my skin.
Elissa’s green eyes were locked onto my face, and then she began to slowly rub her hands up and down Mahini’s torso. The redhead avoided the warrior’s breasts with purposeful teasing passes, but she grew closer and closer to the tanned woman’s sensitive nipples each time.
Then Elissa’s slender fingers swirled around Mahini’s chest, and they spiraled inward until she grasped a nipple in each hand. Her flame-colored hair flicked across her shoulders, and she squeezed Mahini’s nipples between her thumb and forefinger with sharp pressure.
Mahini gasped as her blue eyes shot wide open, but she didn’t move away. In fact, she arched her back slightly to press herself even closer to the redhead.
“Mmm,” I murmured as I licked my lips. “Keep going.”
Elissa obeyed willingly, and her red hair slid across the pale freckled skin of her back as she lowered her head to Mahini’s breasts. Then my wife slowly trailed kisses in the same spiral pattern she’d done with her hands, and even from across the bed I could see goosebumps raise along the warrior’s tanned skin.
“I feel my skin tingle wherever you’re looking,” Mahini said in a soft, and surprisingly submissive, voice.
I’d given her enough experience by that point that she was far from a virgin, but I considered for a moment whether she was ready for heavier girl on girl action or if I should reload my last save.
“My skin is craving you both,” I informed them as I wiggled my hips, which made my erection wobble from side to side.
The girls giggled and crawled toward me on their hands and knees, and Mahini’s piercing blue eyes were saturated with desire as she stared into my very soul. Elissa’s emerald gem eyes shined with mischief, and she tiptoed her fingers up my inner thigh.
“You want us to satisfy you, my husband?” Elissa purred.
“Mmm, yess,” I purred back.
Then both girls wrapped their hands around my shaft, and I hissed with pleasure from the sensation of Mahini’s leathery palms and Elissa’s silken fingers simultaneously stimulating my most sensitive area.
Suddenly, they lowered their heads down and wrapped their mouths around either side of my cock, and their tongues swirled in twisting circles as they bobbed up and down.
“Oh, god, yes,” I moaned as my hips arched upward to meet their motion.
They stopped seconds before I was going to explode, and they repositioned themselves on top of me. Elissa straddled the head of my cock, and then she slid her tight wet pussy down my length torturously slowly, and her mouth hung open as she enjoyed every last inch.
Mahini sat on my hips behind her, and she returned the gestures the redhead had applied to her before. The warrior woman slid her fingers up and down Elissa’s body with tantalizing movements, and the redhead shivered as she rose up and down on me.
It was a beautiful image, and I looked from one to the other as I savored every last detail. Mahini’s sweaty black locks swayed around her chin as her eyes locked with mine, and Elissa’s eyelashes fluttered as pleasure overpowered her. She laid her head back on the warrior woman’s shoulder, and I gripped her hips and rocked her back and forth on my cock until she began to spasm.
Elissa’s climax drove me over the edge, and I erupted like a volcano into her hot tunnel. I sprayed what felt like a pint of my seed into my wife, and I dug my nails into the skin of her hips to hold her firmly against me. Her walls tightened around me like a fist as her whole body froze like she’d been struck by lightning, and Mahini supported her from behind with a loving expression.
Then both of my women curled up beneath either arm with happy sighs. We laid in blissful silence for a long moment while we all caught our breaths, and I contemplated surrendering to the call of a mid-morning nap.
It was my honeymoon after all.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the front door of my house, and all three of us sat bolt upright and blinked at each other. Then Elissa hopped off the bed and pulled a dress over her head. It was a simple piece made of lightly colored blue fabric with a rounded neck that showed off her cleavage, and the hue made her skin practically glow.
“I’ll go see who it is,” she offered before trotting out of the room. Her red hair bounced around her shoulders, and she shot me a grin over her shoulder before closing the door behind her.
Mahini and I waited patiently, since we were unwilling to get up from our comfortable position let alone put on clothes, but we didn’t have to wait very long. Elissa returned a short while later with a flushed face and a wide smile.
“The feast will be tonight!” Elissa announced. “Let’s get ready!”
“I forgot about that.” I smirked.
I almost wished I could skip the feast and stay in bed with my women for another thousand days, but these villagers thought of me as their god, so I didn’t want to disappoint them. I also didn’t like the idea of an army marching toward what I now considered my town. If the Duke of Ballard was going to have an issue with me killing his asshole of a son, then I needed to resolve the problem before I allocated a thousand days to making love to my wives.
Before I could go on my little journey, I’d have to talk to Elrin to see if the town would survive if I left for a short while. I hated the thought of saving them from so many dangers, only to lose them the minute my back was turned.
Elrin was the Mayor of Addington, and we’d worked as partners to protect the townspeople. He was a good man, and I was happy he’d been smart enough to know I was better suited for his daughter than Lucian. He’d have to understand about the need to get straight with the Duke of Ballard, so I decided I’d talk to him at dinner.
If there was going to be a feast, I wanted to bathe, but in order to do that I’d have to go over to the inn for hot running water. The house I’d been given by the townspeople was sufficient for the moment, but I had plans to turn it into something awesome soon. For starters, the living room floor needed to be gutted, and a bathtub had to be installed.
“I’m going to take a bath,” I informed my wives as I gathered up my nicest clean clothes. Then I pulled on my dirty breeches, white shirt, and my leather boots.
“I will meet you at the feast, then,” Elissa said, and she planted a kiss on my cheek. “I’m going to go help my father set up the tables.”
“I will come and help you with the preparations,” Mahini said to the redhead.
They were already both rifling through their clothes to find something appropriate for a feast, and they waved over their shoulders as I headed out of the bedroom.
After I left my house, I noticed signs of preparations everywhere I looked. Every building was decorated with streamers, and several people were sweeping off their stoops so the town would be extra clean. They all waved and greeted me as I passed, and I returned their smiles and let them know how happy I was to be feasting with them tonight.
The inn had a bathroom with running hot water that the innkeep, Torya, said I could use at any time. There wasn’t anyone in the room, so it didn’t take me very long to get cleaned up and dressed in a fine quality shirt, green doublet, black leather breeches, and my boots.
“Thank you again, Torya,” I called as I dipped out of the inn when I was done. “I’ll see you at the feast.”
“I’ll be heading over shortly,” the innkeeper replied with a twiddle of her fingers.
A couple of hours had passed, and the sun had begun its westernly dip toward the horizon. The streets were lit with torches, though, so it wasn’t difficult to see in the pre-dusk light. Music echoed around the town, and my eyes searched for the source until I noticed a raised platform that had been erected in front of Elrin’s house. Several tables with green tablecloths were positioned a short distance away from the band, and then the aroma of food wafted up to my nose.
The smell of roasting meat, savory vegetables, and sweet desserts stirred up my appetite. After my fun in the bedroom, breakfast seemed like a long time ago, so I hurried my steps and rushed to join the crowd of townspeople roaming the streets.
I saw Jaxtom, the blacksmith, and Bellona the seamstress, and I waved at them as I passed at a quicker pace. Then I spotted Theodora the herbalist, and Caelia, who owned the general store. I’d made friends with a lot of the townspeople in the short time I’d been there, but there were still many I wanted to know more about.
A feast was the perfect opportunity.
Addington had a population of a mere forty-three people, and I knew them all by name, but I still hadn’t mastered everyone in the town. My god status had been tested a few times in the beginning, but I quickly learned how to get people to trust me and believe in my powers. I just had to keep trying until I figured out how to crack each person’s nuanced code.
And I could try an unlimited number of times.
“There’s the guest of honor!” Elrin called out when he saw me. He was a muscular man with auburn hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Today, he wore a well-made tunic of fine green material, and it was cinched at the waist with an engraved leather belt.
“How are you, Elrin?” I greeted as I shook the man’s hand.
“Glad to have the battle over with, the bodies buried, and the feast prepared!” the town leader replied with gusto, and he chuckled as he turned to lead me to the buffet table. “Please, please, eat your fill, Great One!”
“Glady.” I grinned. “I don’t even know where to start.”
The table was full of wonderful food, and there was even a roasted boar on a large plate in the very center with an apple in its mouth. I couldn’t even imagine how long it took to prepare it, and I added the thought to the list of things I wanted to learn in this world. I had all the time I needed to spend lifetimes digging into the fine art of pig roasting if I wanted to.
When I’d first arrived in Addington, this grand of a feast would not have been possible. With the goblins occupying the mines, the main source of income for the entire town was cut off, and they’d been rationing their remaining supplies as they waited for help to arrive. I’d changed all of that, and it warmed my heart to see such bounty laid before me. I knew they would have scraped together whatever they had left to honor me, but I was glad the celebration in my honor wasn’t a burden.
Beside the pig were so many dishes I could barely register what all laid before me. Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, scalloped potatoes, and stacks of fried potato discs all sat beside huge hunks of butter with knives jutting out of them like flag poles on top of skyscrapers. Next were corn, beans, and different kinds of fruit I didn’t recognize. There were also turkey legs, mugs of mead and cider, and small bowls of nuts and seeds that looked like trail mix. I added a little bit of everything to my plate like I was at Golden Corral, and for a moment, I missed the chocolate fountain.
Maybe I could find a way to replicate it in this world. After all, every divine being needed a chocolate fountain.
I tucked the thought away and took my heavily laden plate as I searched for someplace to sit down. I spotted Elissa and Mahini sitting with Jax, Torya, and Elrin, so I sat down in the space between my women across the table from the town leader, and I didn’t hesitate to dig into my feast.
The music created a soothing background to my meal, and the torch light added an ambiance I wasn’t expecting. It was homey, romantic, and straight out of a medieval fantasy story. I basked in the moment for a long time as I enjoyed my food, and then I went back for seconds of the dishes I especially liked. I finished with some berry pie and a mug of cider, and once my stomach was bursting at the seams, I finally gave it a rest.
The other people at the table enjoyed their food and watched me devour mine with amusement in their eyes, and I marveled at the comfortable feeling of the silence between us.
This place felt like home, and these people felt like my family.
Then, when we were all finished eating, Elrin took his mug and a spoon in his hand as he stood up from the table. He dinged the spoon against the mug to get everyone’s attention just like I’d seen people do in the movies, and once the town leader had all eyes on him, he cleared his throat.
“Today we celebrate another great victory at the hands of the God of Time,” he began and gestured for me to stand. “This feast is in honor of our great lord, Sebastian. All hail Sebastian!”
“All hail Sebastian!” the crowd echoed back, and the sound made shivers run down my spine.
“In honor of the God of Time coming to our town in our time of need,” the town leader continued in a loud voice that echoed down the street into the shadows, “I have decided to rename the town from Addington to Bastianville.”
My jaw dropped, and my eyes flew open in shock.
Did he just name a town after me?
The crowd erupted into a loud cheer, and Bastianville was chanted over and over again until the sound ceased to be the same.
I waved at the crowd and was rewarded with a swarm of hands reaching out to touch me. Then the townspeople hoisted me up onto their shoulders, and they paraded me around like an Olympic gold medalist who’d just beat a world record.
Everyone was trying to touch me, like the way people back home would rub the belly on Buddha statues, and it warmed my heart to know I’d made such an impact on their lives in such a short time.
Then the townspeople deposited me in front of the band, and Elissa appeared from between the press of bodies to slide her arms around my neck.
“Dance with me?” she breathed with laughter already dancing in her emerald eyes.
“Of course,” I replied, and I took a moment to create a save spot. I didn’t want to look like a bumbling idiot on the dance floor, but I hadn’t had any formal dance training, so I figured it would take several resets until I was satisfied with my performance.
I swirled her around under the tip of my fingers, and she spun with a laugh while her dress splayed out like a tornado. Then I did a thing I’d seen in a lot of movies, and I tugged her toward me.
Elissa slammed into me with a startled gasp.
Woops.
Chime.
I spun my wife once more, but when I tried to pull her in, she twirled into my arms with a graceful motion. Then we picked up the pace and trotted around in a circle with her back pressed against mine, but when I moved to get her to face me, she tripped over my boots.
Chime.
I managed to spin her into my arms like a natural, and then I made sure to keep my feet out of her way. I only had to repeat the experience a few dozen more times to get the result I wanted, and when I figured I’d mastered the dance, I decided to do it for real.
I grabbed her and spun her around like a top. I led her in a figure eight pattern around the dance floor, with dips and twists, until we were both breathless and laughing.
“You’re a wonderful dancer!” Elissa gushed as we made our way back to the table to sit beside Mahini, who’d been watching with amusement and enjoying a slice of pie.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I teased as I wiggled my eyebrows.
“It still surprises me how talented you are,” she explained with a blush. “At… well… just everything.”
Elrin cleared his throat, and I gave him an apologetic smile. I’d been ignoring my wife’s father while he sat right beside me, but I couldn’t help it, the emerald-eyed beauty was captivating.
“Your daughter captures my attention so easily,” I said as I turned to give the leader my complete focus. “My apologies.”
“All is forgiven,” Elrin replied as he inclined his head. “She has done the same to me for many years.”
“Thank you for the grand gesture of renaming the town,” I said. “It means a lot to me.”
“It is truly the least we can do after all you have done for us,” the leader said as he stroked his auburn beard. “And what you will continue to do for this town.”
“I take it the name is an effort to entice me to stay?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Perhaps,” Elrin confessed with a sly smile, but there was no hint of manipulation in his eyes. “But more than that I want you to feel at home in our humble village. You have enriched all of our lives in the short amount of time you have been here, and I hope you make it your home.”
“There is something else I was wanting to discuss with you,” I said. “I don’t think the Duke of Ballard is going to sit idly by after I killed his third son.”
“No, I don’t think he would let that go.” Elrin stroked his beard thoughtfully. “He will likely send a larger force in this direction if he does not hear from his son soon.”
He made it sound like no big deal, but I wasn’t ready to have another battle with even more enemies. It had taken me forever to defeat the fifty odd men Lucian had with him, and I didn’t want to know how many lifetimes I would have to spend to defeat several hundred.
“Yer the God of Time,” Jax interjected from across the table in a gruff voice. “You can handle the duke.”
“I was considering taking a small trip to visit him,” I informed the table in a cautious tone. “Face the situation head on and hopefully settle it without bloodshed.”
“That could work,” Torya said, and she elbowed Elrin. “He’s a smart one.”
“Indeed.” Elrin frowned and looked down at the table. There was an internal struggle in his eyes now, and he seemed hesitant. “Will you be taking Elissa with you?”
Ah, there it was. He was scared to have his daughter leave town, probably never to return. That I could handle.
“Yes, Elrin, my wife and I will travel together.” I kept my voice calm, but firm, and the leader nodded his consent.
“I understand,” the older man sighed. “But you must understand a father’s worry.”
“You have to understand how safe she is with me,” I pointed out. “I am the God of Time, after all.”
“My apologies, Sebastian,” Elrin said. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“No offense taken,” I assured him. “I just want to be very clear. Elissa is mine now.”
“That’s right, Father,” Elissa interjected. “I am Sebastian’s wife, I will go where he goes.”
“I understand.” Elrin nodded slowly, and his eyes locked with mine. “I trust you to keep my darling daughter safe. You and only you. Keep her close.”
“I swear,” I promised with vehemence, and I meant it. I would destroy anything that even thought about hurting my beautiful bride. “Elissa will be safe with me.”
“Then I suppose it must be done,” Elrin said. “We will make sure you have everything you need for your journey, of course.”
“Thank you,” I said, and I inclined my head. “I also want to make sure the town’s defenses are in good shape. I don’t expect to be gone for long, but if another horde of kobolds shows up, I want you all to be prepared.”
“We will make sure the town stays in one piece until you get back,” Jax assured me with a firm nod.
“Absolutely,” Torya added. “Don’t worry, Bash, we will be okay without you for a little while. Go see the duke and get this whole mess figured out.”
A loud screech suddenly echoed from across the town, and the sound of flapping wings filled the air. A dark shadow swooped across the feast, and judging from the size of the shadow created by the moonlight, the creature was at least ten times the size of a bald eagle.
I craned my neck up to the sky to get a better look, and what I saw made my breath catch in my throat.
It was a fucking griffon, so I guessed when I got a full view of the Ford F-150 sized lion-eagle monster.
“A griffin!” Mahini confirmed my suspicions with a gasp.
“What will we do?” Elissa asked as she grabbed my arm.
The griffon flew over the town and landed on the outskirts where the battlefield had raged a few days before. The bodies had all been removed and the gear scavenged, but the smell of death and blood still lingered. It seemed like this vulture-like creature had been drawn by the recent battle, and it screeched again in a threatening manner as its hackle feathers raised up like a bearded dragon.
That was going to be a problem.
“You won’t need to do anything,” I told my wife and the townspeople gathered around us. “I’ll handle this little guy.”
“Uhh… little?” Jax cleared his throat.
“Yeah,” I said.
I tried to remember everything I knew about the beasts from movies, books, and video games from my old life as I resigned myself to another battle with an unknown threat.
Being a god had its responsibilities.