Fit for a Goddess

Concept by Lunara

Written by HikerAngel

Editing by Au Goose, Lunara, and Rjjt

Cover by Niall Arts and Lara Fan

© Copyright 2021 by Hiker Angel. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

The fire’s amber flickers shimmered in Delilah’s glassy, blue-ringed irises as she basked in the warmth of the crackling campfire. She drew her long, shapely legs to her chest in an effort to ward off the chill of the cool night air. She tossed her cornsilk tresses over her shoulder, happy to be out of her thick metal armor and relaxing at camp after an arduous day of travel.

“It’s ironic,” came a soft, thoughtful voice from a few feet away. “The woman you pray to for strength couldn’t manage to protect her own temple.” The speaker curled her slender fingers and for a moment, a stately pillared temple formed in the flames, only to vanish a moment later as the log beneath crackled and popped.

Delilah turned to her longtime friend and traveling companion, Loresse. The pair were of a similar age, and she found a familiar note of longing in the dark depths of the slender young elf-maiden’s eyes. Loresse had confessed to having feelings for her on more than one occasion. Delilah was a gorgeous young woman, tall, fit, and strong. Loresse wasn’t the first woman to be smitten with her, nor would she be the last. 

Delilah could understand it. She was attracted to power and beauty herself. It was what had led her to the worship of the Goddess Astra in the first place. Unfortunately, as powerful as Loresse had become through the study of magic, the gifted blonde cleric could only manage feelings of respect for the mage. Delilah would have liked to be attracted to her friend, but all of her feelings of desire revolved around her goddess, as she had told Loresse on each such occasion.

It had always been difficult to see the hurt fill Loresse’s large, expressive eyes, but she knew it was better to be honest with her. Leading her on would be the greater cruelty. The repeated rejections, however, never seemed to deter Loresse. That tenacity was something she admired greatly in her friend, the woman’s seemingly inexorable will to go after what she wanted.

“That’s why she calls on her faithful, Loresse,” Delilah explained. “To assist her in the mortal realm.”

“A more deserving goddess wouldn’t need so much assistance.” Loresse shot back, her dark eyes flashing from within her red hood.

A slow chuckle rose above the crackle of the fire from just beyond its licking flames. “Jealous?” Errickan asked, the tiefling’s tone one of amusement. “Methinks you wish Delilah’s adoring gaze fell upon you as it does her goddess.”

Delilah expected Loresse to bristle at Errickan’s baiting words, but she didn’t. Instead, the raven-haired mage simply turned to him, blinking several times, seeming lost in thought.

***

After another long day of traveling toward Astra’s temple in the faraway city of Elumbria, Delilah and Errickan again enjoyed the comfort of the fire as they rubbed their sore feet.

Delilah closed her eyes in prayer, reaching out to her goddess. She began to commune with the divine, feminine presence, feeling the unearthly beauty and silvery power of her chosen deity fill her. She sat in a trance for what felt like hours, reveling in her goddess’s presence, bathing in its overwhelming magnificence, when her connection abruptly faltered. She opened her eyes just in time to see a sudden flash of pure light from over her shoulder. Blinking, she turned away from the orange glow of the fire before her, instinctively searching for the other members of her party to ensure that they were safe.

A snoring Erikkan lay by the fire, but Loresse was nowhere to be found.

Rising quickly, her brow furrowed in concern, Delilah pivoted toward the mysterious flash. She cast about for the elven mage, but the raven-haired girl wasn’t near their tents. She circled the area slowly, waiting for the colorful splotches in her vision to fade before daring to walk at her normal pace. She rubbed at her arms, feeling the evening chill as she strayed from the warmth of the fire into the grassy field that lay just before the woods.

This was unfamiliar country to all of them, and Delilah worried that something may have happened to Loresse. If it had, it would be her fault. After all, she was the only reason that they were on the journey to begin with.

A moment later, however, Delilah saw Loresse’s slender profile in the distance, a glowing white outline rapidly dimming around the slender elf’s cloaked, black-as-midnight silhouette.

“Loresse!” she cried, rushing to the slim elf, enveloping the smaller woman in a tight hug as the glow disappeared entirely. “What was that glow? Did you cast some kind of spell on yourself?”

Loresse gave her friend a sly smile. “I may have…”

“May have?” asked an astonished Delilah, puzzled by her friend’s coyness. “Usually you’re bragging about your latest and greatest magic!”

Loresse simply gave her a nonchalant shrug in reply, guiding her fair-haired friend back toward the campfire. Then, she changed the subject. “How many more days of traveling do you think until we reach your needy little goddess’ temple?”

“Needy?” Delilah replied, a bit offended at this depiction of the sacred Goddess of Healing and Beauty. “She can’t come to the mortal realm if her temple is occupied by non-believers.”

Loresse waved a hand dismissively. “So you’ve said, but I’m helping you aren’t I? I’m going to help you bail out your goddess, however unworthy she is of your adoration.”

“Unworthy?” Delilah gasped, shocked by her friend’s casual blasphemy. While Loresse was no follower of Astra, she had never quite crossed the line of skepticism into disrespectful territory before.

“Exactly,” said Loresse, crossing her arms with a defiant smirk.

Delilah’s brows furrowed in the darkness. She had never heard Loresse speak with such confidence before. She found her friends challenging words distressing—and a tiny bit thrilling. She knew Loresse had grown powerful, but to challenge a goddess so directly aloud? That took true boldness.

As the pair approached the crackling fire, they noticed that Erikkan had awakened, his hardened leather breastplate creaking as he sat up.

“Where did you two run off to?” he gave the two women a half-smile, his eyes dancing mischievously. “Were you after some privacy?”

Loresse raised her hands in a swirling gesture that ignited a spark in the former guardsman’s hair. His eyes widened in alarm as he felt the rising heat from above, and he quickly grabbed his helmet and pulled it on, dousing the flames.

“For the sake of all that is holy, Loresse! Don’t you think that was an overreaction?”

Loresse merely looked smug, crossing her arms. “I just think it’s about time that Erikkan began treating us with a bit more respect.”

Delilah gaped at her friend.

“What foul spirit has possessed you, woman?!” she sputtered, hustling over to Erikkan to heal the burns on his head.

As she removed his helmet to lay a softly glowing hand on his head, she was startled to notice a faintly red glow to her power. That was new. It had always radiated pure white in the past.

Thankfully, however, the healing proved as effective as ever, and Erikkan thanked her for the effort before casting a dirty look at Loresse and heading for the tents to sleep.

“I hope you’re happy with yourself, Lor! Causing hurt for me to heal! You should be more appreciative of my goddess. After all, it’s only through her grace that I can undo your silly, destructive impulses.”

“Through her grace, huh?” her friend replied cryptically, before turning on her heel to march directly to her tent.

Delilah scratched her head, wondering what had gotten into the young mage.

Chapter 2

The following day, as they walked, Delilah found herself watching Loresse’s black tresses swish back and forth across her scarlet-robed back. The motion was vaguely hypnotic, but something didn’t feel right about what she was seeing, gnawing at the back of the young cleric’s mind. Delilah’s brow furrowed, and she scratched her head.

Then, she had it! Loresse’s hair appeared to have grown several inches since the previous day. Fuller too. It had more body than she was used to seeing—something which simply didn’t make any sense. They hadn’t had an opportunity to bathe during their travels, so the slender elf’s hair should be as matted down and tangled as her own, shouldn’t it?

Before she could further speculate over the lushness of Loresse’s hair, however, a cry rang out from the ridge to their right. Two dozen short, stout beasties emerged from the trees, sprinting downhill toward the party at breathtaking speed.

They had been ambushed!

Delilah cursed herself for allowing Loresse’s hair to distract her as she watched the war party approach at breakneck speed. Goblins swarmed toward them, shoving each other as they jockeyed for position. Their screams were bone-chilling, their misshapen bodies gnarled with tensing muscle as their knuckles tightened over the handles of wicked-looking weapons. 

Erikkan raced to the right side of the party to defend the others. He swung his polearm as the first of the goblins arrived, sweeping it before him to slice the two leading attackers in two. Their bodies fell, torsos rolling down the hill to land at Erikkan’s feet.

A half-dozen other goblins arrived a split second later, however, the nimble fighter raising the long handle of his spear to block a series of quick, hacking strikes launched by his eager adversaries.

More goblins flowed around Erikkan’s left side, threatening to flank him, so Delilah sprang forward to engage the creatures. She threw up a hand, sending a wave of magical enhancement toward her friend. She watched with satisfaction as she watched him push the handle of his polearm forward, his attackers stumbling backward under the force of his spell-bolstered strength. He swung again, cleaving two heads from their bodies, giving Delilah a grateful nod for her assistance.

Delilah, however, couldn’t help but notice that the aura surrounding Erikkan was an ember-like orange rather than the usual silver. There wasn’t time to ponder the change at the moment, however. Goblins were already raising their weapons to strike at her as she lurched to a stop to draw her weapon.

Monsters closed in on her from all sides. Delilah touched a hand to the head of her mace, willing magic to infuse the steel within it. An orange glow enhanced the pointy spikes of her weapon, making it far more deadly. Sliding her fingers down its shaft, she focused on lessening its weight, so that she could wield it more easily. 

Giving the weapon a quick test swing, Delilah raised her shield, readying herself to defend against the small goblin horde that approached. In less than a second the first of them was to her, its weapon held high. She parried its harsh blow with her shield, then countered the blow by swinging down hard on its rusty helmet, hearing a sharp crack as the counterattack sent the goblin to the ground.

As quickly as she had dropped the first attacker, however, another took its place, its weapon sparking as it clanked against Delilah’s shield. Suddenly, a powerful burst of crimson and orange exploded in the midst of three approaching enemies. The goblins screamed as fire consumed them, batting frantically at their clothing as cloth ignited and flesh sizzled.

Delilah wrinkled her nose as the stench of smoldering goblin wafted to her nostrils, a look of satisfaction crossing her sharp features as the three combatants fell to the ground, flames still licking at their deformed, blackened bodies.

“Thanks, Lore!” Delilah called to her friend without turning to look, not wanting to remove her gaze from her enemies. “I love that fireball spell of yours. Too bad one casting takes pretty much everything out of you…”

Delilah swung her mace again, catching another goblin in the side of the head, sending him staggering to the side as another two swords clunked off her shield. She stole a glance at Erikkan, who, despite a pile of bodies at his feet, looked as if he were beginning to tire. Several knicks and cuts bled freely, sapping his strength, making each of his movements more sluggish than the last.

This wasn’t good.

Delilah re-focused her efforts on the large group of goblins still before her, wondering if she could hold her own against so many should Erikkan fall, when another ball of flame swept past her. The young cleric’s eyes widened in surprise as she felt a powerful wave of heat wash over her skin, and a moment later, it exploded in the center of the remaining horde. 

Amazingly, this blast was even more powerful than the first! Far more powerful, in fact!

This time, the goblins didn’t scream and flee. They didn’t have time. They were simply incinerated, their crispy forms bursting into gossamer puffs of ash as searing gouts of superheated flame tore through their bodies as if they were made of tissue paper. As the last of their enemies were destroyed, Delilah and Erikkan turned to gape at Loresse.

The pretty mage wore a satisfied smirk, crossing her robed arms over her slender waist.

“How did you…?” began Erikkan.

“Where did that…?” Delilah said simultaneously. 

The slender elf shrugged nonchalantly. “Why are you both so surprised? I have been practicing, after all. It’s only natural I’ve gotten a little bit more powerful.”

Delilah and Erikkan stood there speechless. Delilah cast a doubtful look at Erikkan, not entirely convinced by her friend’s explanation, but Erikkan simply shrugged and set about cleaning his blade.

Delilah’s brows furrowed. Just last week, casting a single fireball spell had been enough to wipe Loresse out completely for the better part of a day. Today? She had just cast a second such spell within moments—and it was far more powerful than anything Delilah had ever seen her pull off before. Something wasn’t right about that. Mages didn’t progress so far so quickly in both stamina and power.

“Let’s get going,” said Loresse. “Delilah’s goddess awaits.” She said the word ‘goddess’ with a sneer, as if it were a particularly nasty epithet.

Delilah blinked in surprise as the mage swept past her, her friend’s black mane trailing a floral scent as the slim elf stalked by. She watched the woman go, briefly wondering if the top of Loresse’s head seemed a bit higher than she was used to.

Had Loresse grown taller too? 

Delilah stared in wonder briefly before shaking away the thought with a wry smile. No, that was impossible. She had to be imagining things. The mage’s newfound power had the blonde cleric’s imagination running wild with all sorts of unlikely thoughts.

Mages did grow in power over time. So Loresse was gaining power rapidly. As unlikely as her massive advance in skill seemed, it was hardly impossible. She must have had some sort of breakthrough, advancing in ability quickly over the past week. It was the only explanation Delilah could think of. Besides, having a more powerful mage would only benefit the group, right? She had just seen how much easier things were with a mage who could incinerate a dozen enemies with nary a wave of her hand.

The beautiful young cleric marched behind the young elf as they journeyed onward, her thoughts seeming to wind toward thoughts of her increasingly powerful friend as they went.

***

That night, Delilah found a dark corner between the tents, the light of the distant campfire flickering over the canvas fabric, casting long, angular shadows over her angular face. The cleric closed her eyes, her other senses becoming more acute as her mind no longer needed to process constant visual input. Hearing only the snapping and popping of the fire, the soft whistle of the late evening breeze, Delilah knelt in the grass. She reached out with her consciousness, feeling her way along the thread of faith that tied her to her goddess. At the end of the ethereal connection, however, she didn’t see the silver palace of her goddess’ abode in her mind’s eye as she usually did. Instead, there was a wall of amber flame before her, its blistering heat making her feel something far different from the typical calmness that she felt in the presence of her ivory goddess. Instead, she felt the slithering, twisting tongue of fiery desire. It was as if a wealth of angry passion lay beyond those flames, beckoning her to cross its burning threshold to see what dark, carnal pleasures might lay beyond.

Alarmed, Delilah’s eyes snapped open. She felt a bead of perspiration on her forehead, another running down each of her temples. She fanned herself for a moment, cooling herself off, before reaching up to wipe the moisture from her face. Her sculpted brows furrowed in confusion. Why was this happening? Why was she unable to reach her goddess?! Why did she find nothing but burning flame there instead?

It must have something to do with the monsters who had invaded her temple. They were blocking her from her goddess somehow. But if these flames were born of monsters, why did they have her feeling so… aroused.

Lost in thought, Delilah suddenly became aware that she was being watched. She whirled, her eyes shooting open, drawing the dagger at her belt even as she searched the darkness behind her for signs of movement.

But nothing was there.

She continued to scan the darkness for signs of movement but found none.

Her tense shoulders began to relax as she finished a slow, detailed surveillance of her surroundings. Her senses must have simply registered falsely. It happened sometimes. As she sheathed her dagger, however, she caught the hint of a scent. A floral scent, calming her frayed nerves and replacing her worries with a different sort of muted thrill.

Delilah knew that smell—it was the same one that she had detected in Loresse’s presence earlier that day!

The blonde cleric whirled again, marching straight for the campfire as her eyes cast about for her magic-wielding companion.

“Where’s Loresse?” asked Delilah, staring pointedly at Erikkan, placing her hands on her rounded hips.

He pointed to the young mage’s tent before taking a long draught from his water skin. “In there. She went to bed early tonight. I’m not surprised she’s tired. Not with the massive spells she was throwing at those goblins earlier.”

Delilah’s brows furrowed in confusion. She had been sure that Loresse had at least walked past her while she was meditating. The cleric crept stealthily toward the tents, not wanting to make a sound so that she could see whether the mage was truly asleep or simply pretending.

Delilah slipped her long fingers into the gap between the canvas flaps at the entrance to Loresse’s tent and slowly pulled one back. Loresse was inside, lying on her back, breathing softly in and out, clearly asleep. 

Delilah let the flap of the tent fall back into place, thoughtful as she crept into her own tent for the night. She had been so sure she’d sensed the mage’s presence! Her goddess’ plight seemed to be playing all sorts of strange tricks on her mind these days…

Chapter 3

“How are you doing that?” asked Delilah, cocking an eyebrow at her friend as the two of them packed up the tents. 

“Doing what?” asked Loresse, shaking out a dark mane of shimmering hair, so utterly black that it looked as if a pool of thick, black ink had been poured over the young elf’s head.

“Getting your hair to look so amazing!” Delilah ran her fingers through her own stringy mess, sighing as she wished again for an opportunity to bathe.

The beautiful elf shrugged nonchalantly, rolling up the fabric and stuffing it into her pack. “Not really doing anything differently with my hair than I am with the rest of my body…”

Her friend’s words made Delilah’s gaze descend the other girl’s robed figure. It was difficult to truly see the shape of her body, cloaked as it was by the voluminous folds of fabric, but the young cleric could swear that the swell of the girl’s chest was more pronounced and the hem higher above the elf’s slender ankles than it had been yesterday.

“Well, what are you doing with the rest of your body, then?” Delilah joked. “Because it’s looking pretty lush under those robes of yours too!”

Loresse gave the cleric a pointed stare, her face seeming more finely featured than Delilah had ever noticed before. Delilah suddenly realized that her pretty friend had become downright beautiful. When had that happened?

The young mage seemed to consider the cleric’s words, giving her friend a cryptic smile before stalking off.

Delilah’s brows furrowed. That had been… odd. She had expected her friend to make some sort of sarcastic quip, but instead had gotten a distinctly out-of-character reaction. A sultry smile? The young blonde cleric filed the information away to ponder later.

***

That evening, as the sun dipped behind the distant hills, the threesome rounded a bend to find the Six Geese Inn that they’d been seeking—the place from which the call had gone out for adventurers to assist the Goddess Astra. Delilah’s goddess.

Her eyes alight with eager anticipation of a warm bath and a hot meal, Delilah’s pace quickened, the young cleric hustling toward the stone and timber structure, wood smoke billowing from its tall, spindly chimney. Normally, she left Loresse struggling to keep up when she rushed, courtesy of her longer legs, but this time, Loresse had no trouble matching her pace.

Delilah burst inside the door, expecting to find a tavern full of drinking, laughing patrons. Instead, however, she found a makeshift infirmary. Bandaged adventurers lay moaning on the floor.

“What happened here?!” the blonde cleric gasped, her eyes wide as they surveyed the injured people.

A harried barmaid responded. “An attack by a huge group of monsters did most o’ the damage. These brave souls attempted to wrest the Temple of Astra from their control, heeding the goddess’ call for assistance. This be all that’s left of their number.”

Her eyes glassy with emotion for all that these people had suffered in the effort to free the temple of her goddess, Delilah’s jaw tensed with determination, and she marched over to a group of the most gravely injured and set about healing them. Her healing spells flared to life with the same orange, flickering glow that she’d noticed tinting all of her magic of late. This time, however, her spells seemed more powerful, able to make stab wounds and deep cuts heal over as if they had never existed, leaving nary a scar.

She healed all dozen adventurers before tiring, the attendant barmaid astonished at her ability.

“Blessed be! You must be one of the most accomplished healers in all the realm!” the wide-eyed girl exclaimed, passing by Delilah as she helped the healed parties to their feet to take them to rooms in the inn above.

“Well, I guess Astra must have inspired me. I’ve never healed so many all at once before!” Delilah replied, only now realizing just how much she’d accomplished as she surveyed the now-empty room with tired eyes.

“Well, why don’t you retire to the baths and get some well-earned sleep, milady,” said the maid, tossing her a key. “Your mates is upstairs, already in bed, I’d wager. You should join them. You’ve done more than your fair share this evenin’!”

Delilah nodded, truly feeling the strain of the extensive use of magic for the first time that evening and deciding to take the woman’s advice.

Entering the ladies’ bathing room, she found a free tub filled with fresh, steaming water, stripped off her armor and slipped her sore, knotted calf under the bubbling, soapy surface. Finding the water a pleasant, comfortable temperature, she quickly submerged the rest of her body, rubbing her sore muscles and grime-covered skin until it was finally cleaned of the dust and dirt of travel and the blood and soot of combat.

Quietly using her key to open her party’s room, the young cleric set her clothing inside the door of her party’s room and, creeping softly over the creaky wooden planks in the darkness, found a place on the bed next to Loresse. Erikkan snored from a small pile of hay in the corner. Delilah pulled the warm covers to her chin, then let her eyes close, the heady scent of Loresse’s perfumed body lulling her instantly into a deep, fitful sleep.

Delilah’s dreams that night were erotic. She saw the same wall of flame she’d envisioned during her meditation the previous night, but this time the silhouette of a perfect, nude female body emerged from the flames, its face shrouded in rich, sumptuous darkness.

The woman’s long, lush tresses seemed to float around her head, drifting and swirling in mesmerizing patterns as she approached an awestruck Delilah. High and proud on the mysterious woman’s long, lean body, her breasts were achingly perfect, swelling dramatically above a taut, firm stomach. Delilah felt her mouth go dry as her wide-eyed gaze followed the narrow, inward taper of the woman’s tiny waist, the voluptuous swells of her ample hips, the endless journey down long, toned thighs and shapely calves.

The woman’s fingers slithered through Delilah’s blonde hair, her features still strangely hidden from view. Delilah could feel the heat of the other woman’s body, so close to her own. She could sense the fire in the woman’s sensual touch. The feel of the other woman’s body was overwhelmingly seductive as her curvaceous flesh pressed against Delilah’s trembling body. The contact with the woman’s succulent form sent a thrill of erotic exhilaration through Delilah’s heart as her shockingly sexy curves continued to mold themselves to the cleric’s suddenly bare skin.

Delilah woke suddenly, her tanned skin covered in a light sheen of perspiration as the dazed blond attempted to regain her bearings. At the same moment, Loresse entered the room clad in nothing but a towel.

Delilah gasped, unprepared for the vision that was her friend’s body, still reeling from the raw sensuality of her salacious dream.

The young elf was absolutely stunning, her body tight, toned, and luscious. Loresse had always been so slender it was easy to think of her friend as more of an adolescent than a young woman. No one would make that mistake now. The terrycloth towel barely covered enough to meet modesty’s needs, her full breasts bulging over the top of the tight knot, almost the entire length of her silky thighs visible as they emerged from her bottom of the damp fabric’s flowing caress. Delilah’s wandering eyes widened further as she saw the staggeringly perfect lower slopes of Loresse’s smooth, shapely derriere emerging from the shifting cloth that couldn’t quite contain its elegantly flowing arc.

The cleric’s lips trembled as her eyes moved upward to find Loresse’s dark, glimmering eyes.

Loresse’s face was every bit as breathtaking as her sublimely sexy body! Delilah had never seen anyone with delicately sculpted features so utterly exquisite. Her friend was absolutely ravishing, her long, dark hair luxuriant, even in its still-damp state as its thick tresses curled over the swells and valleys of the young elf’s sleekly muscled back.

“L-Loresse?” Delilah stammered, too awestruck to manage any words aside from the elven mage’s name.

Loresse turned to the blonde cleric, her dark eyes twinkling as the soft swells of her rose-colored lips turned upward in a suggestive smile.

“Yes, Delilah?” The gorgeous mage’s voice was rich, a subtle infusion of sensuality allowing it to fill the room with a velvetine rasp that sent shivers down Delilah’s spine. 

The alluring mage turned, the movement tensing the firm muscles of her succulent thighs in a torturously tantalizing way that had Delilah licking her lips, the young cleric’s nether regions warming with the rushing heat of intense, sexual attraction. The blonde cleric had never felt this way around any mortal before—only in the divine presence of her ethereal goddess. And Astra’s presence exuded a certain coolness, completely unlike the torrid, rippling heat of Loresse’s searing sensuality.

“Did you have a pleasant dream last night?” The mage asked her dazed friend, a knowing look in her saturnine eyes. 

Delilah felt her cheeks flush crimson, her eyes dropping, unable to meet her friend’s gaze as the memory of her intense attraction to the mysterious woman from her dreams crashed over her consciousness once again. Her eyes focusing on her own chest, the blonde cleric noticed her nipples poking through her thin nightshirt, quickly pulling the blankets up to her chin to cover them in her embarrassment.

Loresse smirked at her friend’s nonverbal response to her pointed question, then proceeded to the small pile of scarlet clothes in the corner of the room, turning her back toward Delilah as she dropped the damp towel to the floor.

Acres of perfect flesh were suddenly revealed to Delilah’s trembling eyes. Loresse’s sculpted back and shapely backside looked firm and smooth, its heart-like shape voluptuous and dramatic as it flowed sinuously over interminable legs that now looked even longer than Delilah’s own, in spite of Loresse’s shorter height.

Delilah felt moisture trickle the hot interior of her inner thighs. Since when had Loresse had a body like that!

Delilah’s open-mouthed ogling was suddenly cut short by a billow of heavy red fabric as it fell like the sumptuous curtain of an ornate stage over the beguiling majesty of Loresse’s incredible body. Startled back into reality, Delilah attempted to regain control of her suddenly surging desires as Loresse pulled her raven tresses from inside the bulky cloak to let them drop in a tumbling cascade over its flattened hood.

Even with Loresse’s body obscured by the robes, Delilah could make out the changes in the young elf’s appearance. The fabric at the chest drew taut over the full swells of her luscious breasts. Six inches of her sleek legs emerged from the bottom hem of her robes as her garment rode higher on their significantly longer length.

Loresse turned to the side, catching a glimpse of Delilah’s appreciative stare. “Oh, Delilah. I thought you only had eyes for your goddess…” the raven-haired mage said in a soft, amused voice. Its sultry undertones again sent a burst of sensual excitement though Delilah.

The mage didn’t wait for a response this time, slowly turning to gracefully stride across the room and out the door, as if to give her friend one last look of her elegant, curvaceous body as she glided past.

Delilah’s head fell to the pillow, her body still overwhelmingly aroused by the sight of her supremely sexy friend. Erikkan stirred in the corner, finally rousing from his slumber as the cleric squirmed beneath the covers.

“Erikkan?” Delilah’s voice came out hesitant, timid. “Have you noticed any changes in Loresse? Is she becoming… prettier?”

Erikkan laughed as he rose, tugging off his clothes for his own trip to the baths as he turned to give Delilah an appreciative look. “Don’t worry. You look very pretty too, all cleaned up with a bath and whatnot!”

He laughed again as he left the room, leaving Delilah lying in bed, still trembling and frustrated at Erikkan’s obliviousness, at her inability to connect with her goddess, and at her rapidly burgeoning—and slightly troubling—attraction to Loresse.

Chapter 4

The main dome of the Temple of Astra came into view, its upper spires rising above the trees at long last. The party had wound its way through the woods for most of the day after having received directions at the inn. The sight of the temple caused a withering jolt of nervousness to twist Delilah’s stomach after she had witnessed the carnage caused by the last rescue attempt at the inn. Still, the sight of her goddess’ temple also stirred a new sense of resolve within her.

I’m coming, Astra, the young cleric thought to her patron deity, though again she felt nothing in response from her connection with her goddess.

As if sensing Delilah’s thoughtful prayer, Loresse turned to her, giving the cleric a calculating look…

…just before a swarm of monsters erupted from the trees.

Delilah instinctively sprang into action, casting an invigoration spell on Erikkan as he leapt toward their attackers. To her surprise, the spell flared a blinding crimson, temporarily blinding her. By the time she blinked the blurs from her vision, she was shocked at the changes her spell had wrought.

Erikkan was huge! He had grown at least a foot and his massive biceps and broad pecs bulged with incredible strength. His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on his polearm, the steel handle almost seeming to creak under the pressure. Delilah gaped at her companion even as her fingers worked their way along the length of her own weapon.

Suddenly, another red flash caught her attention, this one from below. She looked down. Her weapon was on fire!

The stunned cleric nearly dropped it, but the nearing enemies—large, ferocious trolls this time—quickly brought her back to reality and she brought her mace up before her, its spiked, ball-like head shedding sparks as it rose. She glanced at Erikkan once again, again wondering at his phenomenal size. The man was easily the equal of any of the trolls that now bore down on them! The sight of his taut muscles giving her comfort, Delilah steeled herself. They could do this. They could fend off even a large party of these huge creatures.

She watched as Erikkan raised his axe, swinging it down in a powerful arc on the first of the approaching foes. The blow had such power that it shattered the club that his troll opponent had raised in its defense before its edge sank deeply into the monster’s thick skull.

Then, Delilah turned away, focusing her attention on an attacker of her own. She swung her mace to meet its attack, her heart thrilling in delight when she saw her tentative blow knock its heavy sword to the side and set its ragged clothing on fire.

The troll screeched in dismay, dropping heavily to the ground, frantically trying to put out the flames as more creatures emerged from the dark, foreboding woods around them.

Four trolls came at Delilah all at once. She blocked the attack of one with her shield, another with her mace. She cast a freeze spell at the third, but it somehow resulted in a gout of flame instead. Luckily, it proved equally effective, sending the troll stumbling backward into the trees. She had no way of dealing with the fourth, however. 

Delilah cringed, bracing herself. She expected the incoming attack by the troll on her right to land any minute. Strangely, however, it didn’t come. She opened her eyes, meeting the gaze of her surprised adversary. The monster’s bulbous eyes widened further in surprise an instant before it flew away, yanked by some powerful force from behind. It was sent careening into a tree a dozen yards away.

Loresse stood in the creature’s wake, one hand gripping her staff, the other dropping back to her side.

Delilah blinked, feeling the weight of the other two attackers’ weapons pull away with the scrape of metal as they readied for another swing. The cleric’s mind, however, remained on what she’d briefly seen. Had Loresse pulled that troll away from her and flung him aside as if he weighed as much as a piece of cloth? Had she grown stronger as well as more beautiful?

If she had, it certainly seemed as if she had grown a lot stronger.

Her thoughts quickly returned to the task at hand, however, as Delilah fended off more strikes, driven back by the power of two troll blades against shield and mace. She checked to see that even the massively enhanced version of Erikkan was being similarly battered, a cluster of four trolls pounding at his defenses with their flailing weapons.

Delilah craned her neck to search the area for Loresse, desperately hoping her friend could launch another one of those well-timed fireball attacks. She found the sexy young mage out of the corner of her eye, the elf leaping forward to slam her oak staff down on the head of a troll with a terrifyingly loud crunch. 

Delilah flinched at the sound, almost feeling sorry for the heavily muscled creature as it dropped to the ground, dead before its chest hit the dirt.

The blonde cleric risked another glance at Loresse, this time just in time to see the mage raise her staff and murmur a dangerous-sounding incantation with her newly seductive voice. Dark swirling clouds gathered in a stormy, ominous vortex overhead. Wind whipped the raven-haired mage’s tumbling tresses as her small feet lifted from the ground. The gorgeous elf rose into the sky, closing her eyes in apparent concentration.

Twenty columns of heaven fire roared down from the sky, accelerating downward with breathtaking speed to wash over each troll in a terrifyingly intense wave of searing heat, consuming them utterly.

Only faint traces of ash were left behind, drifting innocuously in the swirling breeze, as the trolls were incinerated by the pinpoint strikes of Loresse’s heavenly inferno. 

Delilah and Erikkan turned to find Loresse drifting back to the ground, a broad smile on her beatific face as the luscious mage lowered her outstretched arms.

“How…?” asked a stunned Erikkan. “That was…” He swallowed, looking about at the scorched patches of earth where each troll had stood moments before, unsure how to properly phrase his question.

Loresse turned her gorgeous visage toward him to give the hulking man a reassuring look. “I’ve become a bit more powerful over the last couple of days.”

“A bit?” said a staggered Delilah, the blonde cleric fascinated as she watched waves of power ripple the air around the young elf’s luscious body. “That was like nothing I’ve ever seen! You destroyed those trolls so easily! Those flames were absolutely precise! I barely got singed even with two of them right next to me!”

“Well, I’m glad you approve, Delilah,” Loresse said, that now-familiar glimmer of amusement once again evident in the beautiful elf’s dark eyes. “Now, let’s go take care of your pathetic little goddess…”

Loresse marched forward and as she did, Delilah noticed that the sexy elf’s robe was now slit to the thigh, allowing tantalizing glimpses of shapely flesh to flash into view as she moved.

“Loresse! You’re… you’re… changing!” Delilah finally got the words out as Loresse pulled even with her, the young cleric’s heart fluttering as the gorgeous, staggeringly powerful mage paused, her stunning face turning toward that of her friend.

“Don’t be silly, Delilah. Of course I’m changing! I’m a growing young mage. I’m getting better all the time!”

“But…” Delilah trailed off, unsure exactly how to respond to that. What exactly was she trying to say?

“She’s right, Loresse,” said the behemoth version of Erikkan, still under the influence of Delilah’s strangely magnified spell. “You’re changing abnormally fast.”

Loresse waved a hand dismissively before retorting. “Says the 8-foot tall hulking fighter?”

The dark-haired elf turned to face Delilah. “Empowered with an amazingly powerful spell from our ever-stronger cleric?”

Delilah’s mind began to spin. Was she right? Were they all changing? The blonde cleric’s powers had become more effective of late, her spells’ silver hue tinged first with orange, then with red. What was happening to her? Was her appearance changing as well? She had noticed anything different about her face when she had gazed into the bath water the previous night, but how closely had she really looked?

A cry rang out from the trees behind the party as another group of monsters rushed from the woods. Delilah whirled a moment too late, and a club cracked her on the head, sending her to the ground, her world quickly fading to black.

Chapter 5

Delilah suckled an erect nipple situated at the apex of a luscious breast’s divine curve. She felt her own breasts flush with heat as her tongue swirled over the other woman’s delicate flesh with all-consuming hunger.

Who was she with again?

She couldn’t remember her partner. What she could remember, however, was that her lover’s body was absolutely divine. She licked the smooth surface of the woman’s full breasts, cupping the dense flesh from underneath with a single hand, squeezing. Delilah delighted in the squirm of the other woman’s body as her slender fingers massaged the sensitive underside of her succulent orb.

Delilah exhaled a contented sigh, feeling the excited woman’s body heat as it washed over her nose and cheeks, kissing her way to the woman’s sculpted stomach. Lean and firm, soft lines of definition ran the length of her lover’s taut abdomen. Mesmerized by the elegant flow of the woman’s abdominal muscles, Delilah ran first trembling fingers, then quivering lips over the woman’s achingly perfect torso.

Every inch of flawless satin skin she kissed was both sweet with perfume and salty with perspiration. Delilah whimpered, hopelessly aroused by the feel of her lover’s body, the taste of her delicious skin. The young cleric’s body was on fire, quivering as she explored the woman’s absolute magnificence. Slender fingers touched Delilah’s bare shoulders, their touch soft but electrifying as they guided her head lower.

Delilah’s shaking fingertips glided over the woman’s voluptuous hips, descending her nubile thighs. Her mouth found the woman’s sex, its shining surface glistening with what looked almost like flickers of flame rather than moisture. As her tongue slipped inside the other woman’s folds, the flavor that enveloped her tongue was beyond description.

Delilah felt her toes spread as her body began to shake. Then, her core muscles began to clench, a climax rapidly approaching…

She awoke suddenly, gasping as her back left the stoney ground of a paved courtyard. She sat bolt upright to come face to face with an irresistibly gorgeous elfin face, the spire of an elaborately decorated temple looming behind Loresse’s impossibly magnificent visage.

Before she knew what she was doing, Delilah pressed her lips to Loresse’s, the raven-haired beauty’s darkly smoldering eyes widening in surprise. The beautiful elf’s long lashes fluttered closed and her sensual lips began languid undulations against the cleric’s own.

As Loresse’s slim fingers began to snake over the toned surface of Delilah’s back, the young cleric suddenly realized where she was and what she was doing, pulling away from her sultry friend in absolute shock.

Delilah’s cheeks burned. Her gaze darted around the ground, distressed eyes taking care to avoid meeting Loresse’s. “I-I’m so sorry, Lor! I have no idea what came over me! I just had this dream, and… and…”

The blonde cleric snuck a furtive glance at Loresse’s stunning face, finding something akin to disappointment within the young woman’s shimmering eyes. Loresse looked suddenly vulnerable, rejection causing tears to well. The young elf suddenly turned away, dashing away to leave a confused Delilah in her wake.

Erikkan came over a moment later, a broad smile forming over his lips as he saw Delilah awake, still staring after her absent friend. “I’m so glad you’re alright! That blow to the head you took was nasty. You’ve been out for hours!”

“Well, thank you for looking after me, Erikkan!” Delilah said distractedly, rising to give her now normal-sized friend a grateful hug as she continued to stare in the direction that Loresse had gone.

“Well, you should thank Loresse, not me! I don’t think she left your side for a moment after she wiped out that group of monsters.”

Delilah released the hug, cocking an eyebrow curiously as she examined Erikkan’s face. His expression was serious. He wasn’t joking. Loresse really had looked after her.

The young cleric thought of Loresse’s disappointed eyes as Delilah had apologized for kissing her. Did the beautiful young mage really still have feelings for her? Had she led the elf on?

If she had, she hadn’t meant to. It was just that her dreams of late had felt so real. So sensual. So deliciously erotic. Her body had been so incredibly aroused, her friend right there, her face so divinely beautiful, that she had simply acted.

The mere thought of the sensual dream fanned the embers still smoldering in Delilah’s loins, jags of intense feeling lancing through her battered body. The young cleric’s head began to pound with the jump in blood pressure, and she placed a hand to her wound, a sharp prickle of pain accompanying the probing touch.

Erikkan slung her pack over his shoulder, placing a calloused hand on her shoulder. “If you’re up for continuing onward, Delilah, I think that would probably be a good idea. The sooner we clear that temple, the sooner you’ll be able to reconnect with your goddess…”

“…and the sooner you’ll get paid!” Delilah finished for him, punctuating her words with a wry smile, knowing exactly what drove Erikkan’s true motivations.

He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he gave the cleric a slight bow of acknowledgement. Delilah laughed, nudging his broad shoulder before walking toward a distant Loresse.

As she neared the young mage, Loresse turned, the sight of the elven stunner making her heart flip, twisting her stomach into knots. The girl was just so unbelievably sexy, the feelings the elven girl inspired in her so strong as to be unnatural  Even Loresse’s robes seemed to be transforming, the neckline that used to be as high and as tight as a choker, now swooping fashionably down her down to reveal a daring expanse of well-formed cleavage. When combined with the dual slits that flashed heart-wrenchingly tantalizing glimpses of toned, tanned thigh with every step, Loresse’s strangely revealing garb left Delilah breathless with desire.

“How… are you… changing so much?!” Delilah demanded breathily even as she felt her body responding to her friend’s unbelievable beauty. “You look absolutely fucking incredible! You can’t tell me that’s natural. You can’t tell me it’s happening to all of us. Whatever’s going on with all of us, it has something to do with you!”

The expression on Loresse’s delicate features transformed from surprise to anger to delight to desire within the span of a second.

Her lips drawing more tightly together, the elven stunner determined not to answer the question from Delilah that still lingered in the evening air, the devastatingly gorgeous elf took two long-legged steps toward Delilah, slowly slipping her slender fingers behind Delilah’s head. Delilah felt the warm touch of Loresse’s soft digits slithering upward through her blonde tresses. She pulled her beautiful friend’s head toward her waiting lips, Delilah’s mouth delivering a tremulous exhale as it moved inexorably toward the wafting fragrance of Loresse’s knee-weakening form.

Erikkan’s eyes bulged with lascivious amazement as he watched the women’s mouths draw near until a bone-chilling sound tore away his entranced gaze.

A massive crash shook the ground, two painstakingly crafted stained glass windows dedicated to Astra’s glory jarring free of the temple’s cracked outer walls to shatter into a prismatic rainbow of glass shards at its foundation. The crystalline cacophony drew an ire-filled look from Loresse’s glimmering eyes. She was clearly irritated at the disruption to the consummation of the long-awaited kiss. Delilah was left in desperate anticipation with closed eyes and breathless, searching lips, even the crackles of nearby destruction insufficient to pry her attention away from the sensual vision before her.

The warrior and mage gaped for a long moment before the pair readied their weapons, the head of a massive black dragon rising dozens of feet above them.

“So it’s you,” said the dragon, cocking its scaled head as it regarded the sexy young mage with a cold, calculating gaze from its shimmering midnight eyes.

Erikkan startled, shaken by the way the dragon seemed to know Loresse.

“Do you know this beast, Loresse?” Erikkan asked, his eyes locked on the dragon before him.

Loresse didn’t answer, intently watching the dragon as it opened its mouth to speak again.

She didn’t wait for the creature’s next sentence, instead choosing that moment to strike.

Chapter 6

Loresse threw out a hand, tendrils of flame launching from her palm to the dragon’s snout, curling around it, tightening to snap it shut.

The dragon reared, shaking its head back and forth in a vain attempt to rid itself of its fiery constraints. It raised a set of razor-sharp claws to its snout, scraping at the flames, but they continued to sear its scaled head.

Loresse lifted a shapely leg, the fabric of her robes billowing over the silky flesh of her thighs as she rose into the air, rising just before the terrifyingly huge creature.

Seeing its prey go airborne directly in front of it, the frustrated dragon swiped a clawed hand at the voluptuous elf. It connected with her torso shearing her robes just below her breasts. Its wicked claws raked across her bared torso, drawing a satisfied smirk from the muzzled beast.

The torn fabric fell away to reveal a sculpted, slender and entirely undamaged midriff between a cropped, halter-like top and long, slitted skirt.

Delilah, opening her eyes just as the gorgeous elf was attacked, gasped first in horror, then in wonder as she saw the impossible truth that her friend was completely unharmed by a blow that should have sliced her body in half! She glanced toward Erikkan, who was similarly entranced by Loresse’s ability to fly as well as her seeming invulnerability.

Loresse looked down, blinking in disbelief herself as she saw that she was unharmed. Her shocked expression turned into a dark smile, however, as five more tendrils of fire grew from each of Loresse’s outstretched fingers, curling downward like flickering crimson ropes.

The dragon, shocked at the lack of damage from its claws on its adversary’s body, frowned. Its jaw tensing with colossal effort, the massive creature snapped away the flaming muzzle, freeing itself from Loresse’s searing cage.

As the dragon’s chest puffed in preparation to unleash its most powerful offensive ability, Loresse drew her hand upward, then ripped her five whips of fire across the dragon’s long neck.

The dragon choked on its rapidly stoking flames as agony raked the underside of its neck, five jagged, smoldering lines charring its midnight skin.

The sexy elf smiled as she watched her flaming whips burn satisfyingly through the dragon’s impenetrable hide, delighted that her attack had resulted in damage while her enemy’s had been completely ineffective.

Furious now, the dragon angrily resumed its inward draw of air, feeding the inferno that now roared within its massive stomach. The red glow of fire shone around the edges of each black scale of its body, lighting the creature from the inside with a spider web of radiant scarlet.

As the dragon let loose a furious torrent of fire, Loresse raised one hand toward the huge monster, forming a translucent hemisphere of crimson energy before her luscious body. The dragon fire raged forth, its powerful, rumbling blast of heat colliding with Loresse’s shield. 

The breathtakingly intense flame washed harmlessly over Loresse’s magical shield, its flickering glow fading into nonexistence as it licked at the edges of the defensive shell.

The dragon continued to roar fire at the sexy elven mage for a solid minute until finally, just as its breath was extinguished, the translucent hemisphere winked out of existence. Sensing victory, the dragon sacrificed a piece of its own elemental soul, sucking in a lungful of oxygen before pouring its essential power into a fierce final gout of blazing dragonfire. Loresse floated there seemingly defenseless, staring down the dragon with defiant eyes as its torrid blast reached her.

Erikkan and Delilah flinched as Loresse disappeared in a swirling inferno of white-hot flame.

As the roar of the blast faded, the dragon pausing for breath, Erikkan and Delilah’s downcast eyes again turned upward as they heard a distinctly unexpected sound break the oppressive silence.

It was the sound of Loresse’s laughter.

The last vestiges of blue-white fire curling about her curvaceous frame, the gorgeous elf threw her head back, dark mane of raven tresses shimmering amber as they shook. Her eyes remained fixed on the dragon’s dismayed face as it realized that she had ceased deflecting his essence-laden flames only to consume them. Her breathtaking form glowed through robes now made as much of flame as fabric. Loresse inhaled deeply, her voluptuous chest rising as she drew the last flickers of dragonfire directly into herself. The dragon let out a desperate wail as it realized that not only it had failed to cause the mage even the slightest injury, it had empowered her all the more.

A vortex of fiery power began to swirl around the diminutive elf, tousling her dark hair to frame her exquisite face in wild, billowing tresses. Full lips parting in a heartbreakingly beatific smile, the blisteringly sexy mage raised her left hand. Her slim fingers curled slowly inward, tapping the vast, quivering inferno of power now at her disposal and drawing it forth.

The dragon gasped as it felt its body rise from the ground involuntarily. Chains of golden fire dropped from the heavens to encircle the creature’s massive, kicking body.

Her fingers clenching into a fist, the mage commanded the burning restraints to cinch around the dragon’s huge muscles, the struggling monster yelping in pain as white-hot flame seared lines into its armored hide.

Dark smile widening, Loresse cast a wide-eyed Delilah a knowing glance. “For your ‘goddess’…”

Manicured nails pressed into her palm and the chains they controlled compressed the dragon’s body, boiling its flesh as they dug inward. The centuries-old monster was vivisected by violet flame far beyond the ability of its fireproof body to withstand.

Huge chunks of sizzling muscle and bone dropped to the ground, Loresse allowing the smoking remnants of the majestic beast to fall to earth as she herself began to descend.

As the magnificent young elf’s toes touched down, Erikkan gasped in an awestruck tone. “Th-that was a d-dragon… and you… you just…”

“Single-handedly destroyed it with ease? Cooked it alive?” finished Loresse, her dark eyes flashing with amusement. “True enough, I suppose.”

Delilah shook her head in disbelief. “Your power… it’s incredible!”

The beautiful blonde cleric’s words were tinged with huskiness, the longtime Astra-worshipper unable to hide the desire she felt for her supremely powerful friend, drawn to Loresse’s utter dominance over such a strong adversary like a moth to an impossibly sexy flame.

Loresse seemed to pick up on her friend’s emotion, hunger filling her eyes. Before she could resume where she had left off, however, the doors to the temple burst open and dozens of monsters fled from its sanctum, disappearing into the surrounding woods.

Delilah turned her gaze from her friend’s smoldering eyes to the temple, stepping lightly toward the now-abandoned structure. From its tall twin doors strode a blonde figure, its silver hair shimmering as if it were moonlight. She recognized the woman immediately.

It was Astra, her goddess.

But she looked strangely hunched, her features drawn, cheeks gaunt.

Delilah’s brows furrowed. “A-Astra? What’s wrong? You look…”

“…tired? Old? Diminished?” A sultry voice finished the cleric’s sentiment, Loresse striding confidently forward to face off with the silver goddess.

Delilah swallowed hard, her eyes darting back and forth between the two figures, noting with absolute shock that Loresse was the more stunningly gorgeous of the two. The fire mage seemed to swell with power, her body becoming more curvaceous by the minute even as Astra continued to look more diminutive in her presence.

Before she knew what she was doing, Delilah dropped to her knees, driven downward by overwhelming feelings of reverence and wonder. To her complete and utter shock, however, she suddenly realized that it wasn’t Astra she felt compelled to kneel to…

…it was Loresse.

Chapter 7

Astra believed Delilah was bowing to her and smiled in gratitude to the woman she thought remained her loyal cleric, turning to Loresse with quiet confidence, in spite of the waves of power now rippling the air around the immensely powerful mage.

“Mortal, why do I sense the same aura in you that I felt touching the minds of the monsters that invaded my temple?” The blonde goddess demanded, pointing a finger accusingly at Loresse.

Loresse turned a sidelong glance at Delilah, a look of victory crossing features that were now so achingly, ethereally beautiful that they almost hurt to behold. The most gorgeous of the divine beings, Astra, the goddess of beauty and healing looked positively plain in comparison to the young elf now. “Probably because I arranged it all.”

Delilah’s bowed head snapped up, her jaw slack as she stared in disbelief at her friend.

“You arranged it?” gasped Erikkan. “The monsters? The dragon?”

“Of course,” said Loresse, turning to the quivering fighter, her smoldering gaze dropping the weak-kneed man to his knees beside Delilah. “I needed to block your earthly connection enough for me to shift the flow of power from your followers’ worship to a more deserving recipient. Disrupting the harmony of your temple seemed like an efficient way to go about it.”

Astra gaped at the supremely beautiful being before her, unable to believe what she was hearing. Delilah and Erikkan reacted similarly.

“More deserving recipient?” the goddess intoned, musing aloud.

“Yes,” confirmed Loresse. “Me.”

Delilah let out a small choking sound upon hearing the revelation, her wide eyes unable to leave Loresse’s breathtaking visage.

“But why?” the silver goddess asked, honestly confused.

Loresse twisted her body until she was again facing the temple’s goddess, her sinuous abs tightening beneath the perfect skin of her slender midriff with the motion. She stepped forward, the long slit in her calf-length skirt parting to reveal the entire length of her endless, heartbreakingly perfect leg. She began to circle the blonde goddess with languidly graceful strides. Mesmerizing lips parted as her seductive voice continued what appeared to be a well-rehearsed speech.

“With your breathtaking appearance and promises of healing powers, you draw in followers and worshippers,” said Loresse disdainfully. “But in truth, you’re weak.”

The nubile elf paused, her lush breasts now straining the halter-like top created when her damaged robes had been torn by the dragon. Delilah could see Loresse’s body changing now, ascending to ever-more-breathtaking heights. Her sleek stomach rippled with taut, feminine muscle. The raven-haired beauty’s long legs continued to tone with ever increasing definition as they drew to a stop, her long slitted skirt swishing to delicately caress the satin skin of her slender thighs. She was now taller than Astra, looking down on the blonde goddess, a haughty expression twisting her perfect lips.

“You never deserved worshippers like Delilah. A goddess? Ha! You couldn’t even stand up to a dragon and some rabble sent to invade your temple. You couldn’t keep me, a simple mage from stripping you of the entirety of your following.”

Loresse leaned toward the goddess, her dark eyes blazing triumphantly. “And it wasn’t even difficult. It was easy.”

Astra swallowed nervously, feeling the radiant aura of might Loresse now possessed, knowing intuitively that the sensual elf’s staggeringly sexy body was vastly more powerful than her own.

“Your followers deserve someone worthy of their worship. They deserve someone who can inflame their passions, to inspire them with her strength…”

Loresse smiled as she watched Astra’s eyes fill with awe, the formerly formidable goddess now trembling before the young elf’s rising magnificence.

“…they deserve me!”

Loresse spread her arms wide, her robes falling away to reveal her naked breasts in all their glory, her body having left mortal levels of perfection far behind.

Astra shook herself from her ensorcelled trance, her eyes wild and desperate as she flung out her hands to launch a stream of silvery mystical energy at her usurper’s fiery form. 

Loresse made no effort to block the goddess’ stream of destructive power, laughing as she allowed it to strike her directly in her perfect chest. The elven mage’s devastatingly perfect body absorbed Astra’s pure energy just as it had the dragon’s breath before it, using its sacred essence to fuel her inexorable rise to supremacy. 

“Good goddess,” Delilah whispered from quivering lips, her body at the brink of climax merely from watching Loresse laugh off the most powerful attacks her former goddess had to offer.

“As I said, Astra. Weak,” the überpowerful mage informed the goddess as the silver-haired beauty drooped, all of her remaining energy expended. “My spell redirects and magnifies the power of your former worshippers’ faith far more effectively than you were ever able to accomplish. My power is limitless compared to yours. Your tarnished silver will never glow as brightly as my flames burn.”

Delilah struggled to her feet, staggering forward to rest a hand on Astra’s shoulder. She forced the former goddess down as her own legs gave out, both of them dropping to kneel before a pleased Loresse.

“Thank you for teaching Astra the proper show of respect, Delilah,” said the elf, shaking back an errant lock of thick sable hair. Her hair seemed to float as it drifted back into place, moving as if of its own volition. “Now, I think I’ll bless her with the opportunity to become part of the future rather than simply a meaningless remnant of the past…”

Loresse bent down, long fingers sinking into Astra’s hair before curling into it with an iron grip. She pulled the defeated goddess into the air, her feet dangling helplessly beneath her. Loresse smiled as she lowered Astra’s stricken mouth to her plush, vermillion lips. Goddesses old and new shared a single kiss, Astra’s physical form fading away in a thinning cloud of silvery sparkles even as Loresse’s flaming aura of sultry crimson grew in breathtaking brilliance.

Loresse gasped, startled for the first time by just how much power had been left in Astra’s withered form, power that completed her long journey to goddesshood.

She turned to Erikkan, the slack-jawed soldier still stunned to have witnessed this lopsided battle between two goddesses of beauty, one of whom he’d journeyed with for some time now. “And thank you, Erikkan. You played your part perfectly, but now I really do want some of that ‘privacy’ you mentioned…”

Momentarily blinded by a crimson flash, Erikkan suddenly found himself outside a place he’d often bragged was his favorite pub, even though it was hundreds of miles from the Temple of Astra. Better yet, four heavy sacks of gold coins clinked around his boots. He smiled and collected his reward, knowing the story behind its earning would buy his first round for years to come.

With an ambiguous smile, Loresse rose into the air on a column of fire. “Now, I’d like my favorite little pet to meet me somewhere more private…” The devastatingly sexy elf winked, then swooped into the temple, a trail of smoke billowing in her wake.

A dazed Delilah struggled to her feet, doggedly tromping after the divine creature that used to be her friend. As she entered the sanctum of the temple, she skidded to a sudden stop, her shield and mace clattering to the floor.

Loresse luxuriated in the throne—Astra’s throne—situated under the temple’s domed ceiling, a long, agonizingly shapely leg draped casually over the arm of the ornate chair. The elf’s clothes were gone, licking, caressing flame their only replacement—and they covered very little of the luscious elf’s unrivaled body, which still continued to improve before Delilah’s trembling eyes.

The cleric dropped to her knees, unable to tear her gaze away from Loresse’s divine form. The act elicited another smile from Loresse’s achingly perfect lips. The nascent goddess extended a sculpted arm and curled a single finger inward, beckoning her follower to the foot of her throne.

Delilah’s knees were too weak to stand, so she crawled to the base of Loresse’s throne, her head weaving from side to side as her eyes focused on the erotic curvature of Loresse’s bare foot.

“You may kiss it if you like,” Loresse smiled, looking fondly at Delilah, a flicker of curiosity lighting her dark eyes.

Delilah couldn’t speak, the lump that had formed in her throat in the presence of such an overwhelmingly seductive presence making speech impossible. So the blonde cleric merely nodded. She leaned forward, pursing her lips as her body shook. When they met the perfect skin of Loresse’s foot, she shuddered with pleasure.

Loresse watched the spasming young woman below her with a broad smile curling her perfect lips, her voice becoming breathy. “Now my calf…”

Delilah felt like falling away, letting orgasmic rapture torture her desire-addled body. But the words of her goddess ignited a compulsion, driving her forward rather than back.

She had to please Loresse. It was the only thing that was important now. She needed to show her goddess the proper respect.

Delilah reached out her tongue, licking the firm, sleek swell of the elven goddess’ leg, whimpering as the delectable taste of Loresse’s flesh rocked her clenching, shaking body once again.

“More,” Loresse said, her husky voice tremulous as the word issued from her divine lips. Her hips began to squirm as her longtime friend’s mouth rose the silken surface of her inner thigh, the nature of their relationship evolving with every inch of progression.

“Loresse,” Delilah whispered, her voice lost to the staggering magnitude of desire as its agonizing fire burned her from within.

Loresse’s long lashes squeezed shut as the divine being luxuriated in the sensation of Delilah’s ascending kisses. “Worship me,” she murmured before losing herself in the pleasure of her cleric’s adoring touch.

Delilah paused, taking several deep breaths as the flames that caressed Loresse’s lower abdomen parted. Still breathing heavily, Delilah leaned forward, pressing her moist, trembling lips to the fire-glazed surface of Loresse’s hopelessly perfect sex as the goddess quivered in anticipation.

As Delilah’s tremulous tongue slithered between her lips to touch Loresse’s body, the goddess’ unearthly form spasmed as if her cleric’s languid lick had completed a circuit of erotic energy, unleashing a terrifyingly powerful torrent of divine potency into the elven beauty’s impossibly seductive form.

“My goddess,” Delilah breathed, her voice the merest wisp of a sound as she succumbed to a lifetime of ecstasy in a second, unbreakable bonds of devotion drawing tight around her rapidly thudding heart.

Delilah’s body collapsed atop that of her goddess, the body of the nascent deity and her foremost disciple writhing in concert as they consummated the first mortal ascension to divinity. Loresse’s delicate fingers curled under her cleric’s shuddering chin, lifting it. Their lips pressed softly together as curved walls of flame rose around two lovers in the heart of the new Temple of Loresse.