The morning sun sliced through the heavy velvet curtains, casting a golden bar across the bed. I groaned, blinking my eyes open, only to find a pair of sparkling silver eyes inches from my face.
"Holy fuck!" I nearly rolled off the mattress. "Can you stop doing that?"
"Stop what?" Deborah giggled, the sound light and musical—a far cry from her usual stoic tone.
"Stop creeping up on me the second I wake up," I said, clutching the silk sheets to my chest.
"I didn't 'creep up' on you, Karl. I've been right here the whole night," she said, propping herself up on one elbow.
The memories hit me like a physical wave. The heat, the frantic gasps, the way she'd gripped my shoulders as I hammered home. I'd fucked her so thoroughly she'd passed out the moment my seed hit her womb.
"Did you have a great night?" I asked, my grin widening as I regained my composure.
Her cheeks flushed a delicious shade of pink, and her lips curved into a shy, satisfied smile. "I couldn't have asked for a better night. You are truly worthy of your title, Lord of Convergence. Perhaps more worthy than even the legends foretold."
"Well, thanks," I said, leaning back with my hands behind my head. "I'm multi-talented. I have a lot of... styles... yet to show you."
She laughed softly and stood up, stepping out of the tangle of sheets. She didn't reach for her robes immediately. She stood there in the center of the room, completely naked, the morning light highlighting the soft curve of her stomach and the heavy, swaying weight of her breasts.
I felt a familiar heat stir in my gut. My cock, already half-hard from morning wood, began to throb in earnest. "Why are you trying to make the Lord so hard this early in the morning?" I groaned, reaching out to grab her by the waist and pull her back into the silk. "Come back here. I think I have enough mana for a 'morning prayer.'"
Deborah gasped as I caught her, but she skillfully twisted out of my reach, grabbing her sheer white under-tunic and sliding it over her head with practiced speed.
"No, Karl," she said, her voice regaining that "High Summoner" authority, though her eyes were still soft. "As much as I would love to see if you can back up those claims... we are running out of time. The High Seer was very clear."
"The High Seer isn't here," I countered, sitting up.
"But her eyes are everywhere," Deborah reminded me, cinching her belt tight. "The Black Emperor's shadow is growing, and we are on a razor-thin schedule. Your training must start immediately. My disciples—the girls I told you about—have been waiting in the Outer Sanctum for nearly an hour. If the Lord of Convergence is late because he was 'busy' with his teacher, it will undermine everything."
I let out a frustrated huff, watching her pins up her silver-blonde hair.
"Don't look at me like that," she said, walking back to the bed and leaning down to give me a quick, lingering kiss that tasted like honey. "I promise... if you show progress today, if you can impress the Sisterhood with your control over Zeraphis... then tonight, we can do whatever the Lord desires. No limits."
That was a deal I couldn't refuse.
---------
Ten minutes later, I followed Deborah into the sun-drenched courtyard. The transition from the dim, musk-scented bedroom to the crisp morning air was jarring, but I felt a new sense of vigor in my step.
Five young women stood in a perfectly straight line, their white-and-gold apprentice robes fluttering in the morning breeze. Looking at them, I realized they weren't like the Pillars; they looked to be around nineteen or twenty-one—my age. They were stunning, a curated collection of the most beautiful and magically gifted youth in the kingdom, and every single one of them was staring at me like I was a long-awaited miracle.
At the end of the line stood Caelwyn, the Raven-Haired Pillar. Her severe ponytail pulled her features tight, making her cheekbones look sharp enough to cut glass, but her icy demeanor shattered the moment her eyes landed on the faint, purple love-bite peeking out from Deborah's collar.
"The Lord has arrived," Caelwyn announced, her voice echoing off the stone walls like cracking ice. "And he looks... exceptionally well-rested. Disciples, salute the Convergence."
The five girls bowed in unison, a wave of silk and gold. As they straightened up, the air felt thick with a different kind of tension than I'd felt in the bedroom—this was the tension of a dozen unspoken questions and a mountain of curiosity.
Caelwyn stepped closer, her expression softening into a warm, predatory smile that made my heart skip a beat. "Tell me, my Lord... did Deborah take good care of you? Did she provide the... hospitality... our station requires?"
Damn, she was breathtaking when she smiled. It was like watching the sun break through a winter storm.
The disciples behind her began to giggle, a chorus of soft, musical sounds. It was obvious they knew exactly what had happened behind those closed doors. I took a breath, letting my shoulders broaden. There was no point in being shy. I was in a world of magic and goddesses, and if I was the Lord of Convergence, I might as well own the room.
"I had a splendid night, Lady Caelwyn. Truly unforgettable," I said, my voice steady and loud enough to carry across the yard.
"Clearly," Caelwyn replied, her eyes traveling from the marks on my neck down to the way I stood. Her gaze was full of anticipation, dark and swirling with intent. "I find myself quite envious. I simply can't wait for my turn to... bond... with you."
The disciples' giggling intensified, a few of them whispering to each other with flushed faces. Caelwyn gave me one last, lingering look before bowing slightly.
"I will leave you to your studies for now," she said, her voice a purr. As she turned to walk toward the main spire, her hips swayed with a hypnotic grace beneath her emerald fabric, the silk clinging to her curves in a way that made it impossible to look away.
Deborah let out a long, weary sigh, though she couldn't hide the flicker of possessiveness in her eyes as she watched Caelwyn depart. She cleared her throat, regaining her professional mask.
"Now then, my Lord," Deborah said, gesturing toward the line of girls. "Enough distractions. Allow me to introduce you to the future of the Sisterhood. These are my disciples, and today, they will be your peers."
She gestured toward the line of girls, her voice regaining its rhythmic, instructional tone. "These five are the peak of their generation. Each has mastered a specific element of the Summoning Arts."
She began to walk down the line, indicating each girl with a wave of her hand. "You've already met Elara, our Flame-caller. To her left is Seline, who specializes in Celestial Wisps and healing spirits. Next is Mina, a master of Earth-bound golems, and the twins, Lyra and Kaelie, who synchronize their mana to pull dual-entities from the Mirror Realm."
The girls all watched me with varying degrees of intensity—Elara with a bold smirk, Seline with a shy blush, and the twins with a synchronized, unnerving curiosity.
They were all "baddies," as I'd thought earlier, each one a different flavor of magical elite.
Deborah reached the end of the line, where an empty space remained on the far right. Her expression soured instantly, a vein in her temple beginning to throb.
"And finally, there is—" Deborah stopped, looking at the empty spot. She let out a frustrated huff and checked the sun's position in the sky. "Of course. She's missing. Again."
"Who's missing?" I asked, looking at the vacant space.
"Vespera," Deborah sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "She is technically the most naturally gifted of the group—a Prodigy of the Void—but she has the discipline of a stray cat. She's perpetually late, usually because she's found a quiet corner of the library to sleep in or she's 'communing' with shadows in the cellar."