Chapter 545: *Little Fantasies*

The moment Raven stepped into the shower, she placed her forehead on the wall and let out the breath she’d been holding.

She felt giddy. Horny. More excited than she’d ever been and yet absolutely terrified.

Turning the water on, she found it was still warm from Arc’s shower, and so there was no cold relief from the churning emotions in her body. She raised one hand to her heart, feeling its rapidness against her ribs, before touching her own cheek...

She could still feel the kiss of Arc’s hand on her face, a pulsing, heated pain that told her more than any words they’d ever shared.

Before meeting at the entrance exams, Raven had only ever seen Arc in the window of the Gale manor. She’d been a distant curiosity, a princess from afar, and one in need of rescuing...

Only...

That wasn’t the real Arc.

Raven knew who Arc was now. Arc was a fighter, just like her. And just like Raven, she wanted to grow stronger, on her terms. That had to be why she’d shouted Owyn away when he’d tried to help her. Raven had been a few steps behind when that drama unfolded, and she’d felt a flutter in her chest at Arc’s shout. The desire for that attention to be turned to her.

But on what terms?

She knew she had to respect Arc not just as a rival, but as a woman and a warrior. And yet she’d been so close to kissing her... just for the sake of catching up to Owyn. That near-violation of their rivalry could have upended everything... yet she’d felt Arc’s gaze as a declaration of war, her slap as confirmation...

What do I want?

With the water dripping down her long, night-black hair, Raven’s body answered what her mind was not yet ready for.

Her pink, diamond-hard nipples felt good even against the featurelessly smooth ceramic of the shower wall as her hands quested down, left hand stopping to seize her breast as her right quested lower.

As she began to part the folds of her lower lips, she gave her nipple a pinch and felt her clit jump as it met her forefinger. The lightning shocks through her body soon drew her into a moaning rhythm as she constructed her fantasies with what she’d learned about Arc.

What would it feel like to have her between my legs? To feel her inside of me...

Allowing that curiosity was too much for her to handle all at once, and her first orgasm ripped up and down her spine, nearly flooring her before she let go of her breast to grab at the shower’s handrail, stifling her screaming lust with the hand that just brought her to completion.

But as she tasted the thick, salty wetness on her fingers, she knew she couldn’t stop. It wasn’t long until her little fantasies had her picturing Arc behind her, one hand pulling her hair as the other took advantage of her vulnerability to coax another moan from her by the cunt. She could almost feel Arc’s teeth against her neck, playing the predator while she was the prey...

She edged into this daydream, leaning her ass hard against the handrail and imagining Arc was grabbing her as the demoness probed between her legs, before thrusting inside and taking her.

Only, the fight wasn’t over, and Raven would turn the tables, pinning Arc against the wall as she bit, and teased, and kissed her. Imagining their lovemaking as an extension of their rivalry, she relished the ambiguity of not knowing whether she would be the conqueror or the conquered.

If the impishly petite daughter of her family’s rivals would submit to being bound. To being fucked to within an inch of death, just as Raven wanted to be. Oh, to taste her lips, to be kissed with a fist and bitten.

When their bodies had pressed together on the bed, Raven could smell Arc’s sweetness through her uniform. She wanted to devour her and be devoured until they could both cease together. Cease to be their fathers’ daughters, the rivalry of their houses, the separation of light and dark...

Raven would drag Arc into the twilight just as Arc would drag her into the morning... And together they would see stars.

When she came to, Raven was sitting on the floor of the tiny shower, her legs akimbo and her hand soaked with more than water. Delicately, reverently, she raised the product of her lust to her lips and inhaled its scent before tasting it, not knowing how many times she came in order to produce such a heady nectar.

As she let the glow fade, she realized she had no answer to the question of what she wanted from Arc. She knew what she’d felt, the heat and arousal of her rival through their touching bodies. The fear that gave way to anger from being made vulnerable, all because Raven had been taught the hard way to be wary even in her sleep.

The one who’d taught her that wariness was her father... when she’d first expressed her desire to become a battlemage just like him. To gain the power to kill gods, just like he wanted, though she’d also witnessed his relationship to the "god" he wanted to kill grow into a strange sort of friendship.

And she remembered what he’d told her, after the entrance exam, after she’d faced the Mage Hunters and the Chancellor, and glimpsed just how far she could fall...

"Stay away from Arcine Gale. She is no match for you, and my rivalry with her Father will only complicate things if you do not. Do not give the appearance that our family is in bed with the House of Stars."

"But you said ’Strong rivalries make stronger mages’."

"There are limits, Raven. Do not test this one. I will not explain more."

She remembered the way he looked at the strange vial of iridescent liquid after that conversation. He’d acquired it some time between his last visit to the House of Stars and the entrance exams.

That was how she felt about Arc. Like an addict, uncertain of where the next encounter would take her. Forbiddenness added thrill, but there was just something about Arc that Raven knew was worth being addicted to, even if she didn’t know what it was.

She felt like she’d almost tasted it, in those moments before they parted bodies.

She felt... shame. Like she should have been more in control of herself.

"I’m so fucked up..." Raven whispered. She stood, sniffing heavily as she let the shower’s ever-warm water wash away the tears of her lust and her shame. Turning it off, she found there were no towels in the room, an oversight that meant she’d have to walk naked in front of Arc, again.

The first time, she’d been brazen about it. But now that she knew how Arc’s body might react, she didn’t want to embarrass the girl further. A few moments of indecision passed until she decided that she would just give Arc a warning.

"I’m coming out!" Raven announced, steeling her face with what she hoped was an air of coy apathy. If Arc looked, she looked. If that made her hard and wet, it wasn’t Raven’s problem unless Arc invited her into-

No! Bad Raven! Chastising herself for that thought nearly made her trip as she left the bathroom. Recovering, she saw Arc sitting with her back to the bathroom, still on Raven’s former bed, with her hands in her lap and a stiffness that made Raven wonder if she’d been louder than the water could muffle.

Thankfully, Raven had been awake that morning when Hunter dropped off her uniform, so she knew she’d at least get her body dry, and she could spare some magic to help her hair. In the case of the latter, she was a bit jealous of Arc’s pixie-undercut, since Arc’s short lilac hair was far easier to maintain than her ass-length waterfall of black.

As she pulled on her uniform, not enjoying the sensation of its self-cleaning, she caught Arc trying not to stare at her as the girl’s eyes flickered from her breasts to her exposed back and all along her legs and the delicate curve of her neck.

Was Arc hiding her crotch again? Raven could imagine that tight, wet, virgin pussy soaking the pristine grey of her school pants. She felt grateful she’d gone for the darkest shade they had when ordering her uniform customized, since she might have the same problem.

She wanted to tease her rival so bad... but instead she cleared her throat. "I know everyone got brought in last night. The boys are across the hall..."

"Yeah, uh," Arc replied, her voice cracking, "I wanted to apologize for earlier, waking you up like that. Next time I’ll just yell or something..."

"Next time, hmm?" Raven couldn’t help herself. "Does that mean..."

"Shut up!" Arc yelped, clearly not completely oblivious. "I’m just saying we should sort out what happened. Maybe over lunch or something. Just lunch. No fighting or weird stuff..."

Raven’s heart started beating faster again, and it took all her willpower to leave her acknowledgement at a nod.

Just lunch... but it was a start.