The Kingdom of Vervania sat on the edge of ruin. Shops, lives and houses had been destroyed. Wounds far more grave than the physical had been marred into the citizens. The healers had swept through the city within the first hours after the chaos. Many lives were saved but far more had been taken. Days passed by like weeks and weeks passed by like years.

Masons rebuilt the wall and improved its structure. Aeronauts cleaned the streets away of the ashes and dust that littered the cobblestone. Citizens assisted one another as houses, stores and lives were rebuilt. News of their King's death drifted quickly and the time for mourning drew near. Except for Melanie and her friends.

*****

Maalceus paced the chamber, ten steps one way and ten steps the other way. Kelly, Melanie and Brandi along with their two guards sat at the table. Melanie looked calm and cold. Not nearly as cold as General Lin who made winter seem like a warm vacation. Melanie though had suffered a mortal wound to her being.

Not any that could be seen on the surface but it was evident in her eyes and aura. Her silvery white hair and piercing indigo blue eyes were indicative of what her soul reflected. Melanie Rivers, now Queen Drakkon of Vervania, had lost some of her warmth. Her smiles were less bright and her gaze was far colder.

Her pale pearlescent skin had the slightest hint of pink but she looked more like a pristine porcelain doll than a person.

"What is taking him so long?" Maalceus grumbled as he paced the room.

Kelly, her dark tan skin had the slightest signs of cracks along it. Her candy corn colored hair hung down to her lower back where it swayed gently. Steam rose up from her skin every so often, revealing her daemon essence that burned within her. The half human, quarter dragon and quarter daemon woman had settled into herself.

Though she had been claimed by Maalceus, they had yet to bond together. A ceremony that occurred when a royal dragon claimed a mate. However, the loss of their King had stalled that. Kelly's fiery eyes flicked over to Maalceus who turned and paced in the opposite direction.

Her transition had done nothing to lessen her libido which burned almost more than it had when she was human.

"I am sure he is signing more documents. There is much to be done still." Brandi answered though she too was feeling antsy.

"Documents can wait." Maalceus replied evenly. "My brother's life hangs in the balance."

"Might I remind you that the kingdom is still in shambles. The city is recovering from ruin. We are not the only ones mourning." Melanie replied coldly.

Without warning, the door opened and Lynx walked in. The feline advisor sighed as he closed the door and locked it. He turned to face the room, bowed to the queen and then to Maalceus before taking a seat. Maalceus walked back over to his seat beside Kelly who rested a hand on his thigh.

He didn't move when her fingers slid over to his bulging crotch. Maalceus was irritated by the slow progress that had been made over the last couple weeks. Even with his irritation, his desire to use his willing slave had not diminished in the least. Kelly enjoyed his brand of use and pleasure.

So much so that she almost considered being monogamous. Though they had not fully agreed to that yet. Kelly ran her fingers along his growing erection and smirked.

"It has been two months. We can't wait much longer." Maalceus spoke, his usual calm and controlled voice returned but there was a hint of anger boiling beneath.

"In his current state his body won't rot or degrade." Lynx replied and gestured to Melanie. "My lady's crystal ice keeps his body in pristine condition."

"Pristine? My King has a hole in his chest! How the fuck is that-"

Kelly squeezed his cock and slid her hands into the folds of his robe.

"Relax." Kelly whispered.

Lynx pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. There had been little to no time for rest. When he wasn't planning with his queen, he was busy signing and drawing out documents for city reconstruction. His feline mind felt heavy and full.

"I'm sorry. It was a poor choice of words." Lynx replied. "All I mean is that the more time we take to really plan this out, the better off we will be."

"We have planned this out for three weeks now. What more is there?" Kelly asked, her fingers stroked at Maalceus' stiffening cock.

"Failing." Brandi answered.

"Not an option." Melanie shot back.

"My lady. We have to consider the possibilities here." Brandi replied she looked to Lynx for support. The tired advisor nodded his feline head.

"What we are attempting might not work and we might just end up dead...or worse." He glanced at Kelly who looked content.

"We presume that this will work in our favor but in truth we can not be sure what will happen."

"My brother will be brought back. That is what will happen." Maalceus snarled.

"How can you know?" Brandi asked. "How can you be certain that what comes back will be your brother? What if..." she let the unfinished sentence hang in the air like some guillotine ready to drop upon their heads and all their plans.

"There isn't much choice." Melanie spoke after a long while.

"Yes there is." Lynx answered her in a soft mournful tone. "You could leave him-"

"No." She cut him off coldly. Melanie's rounded pupils thinned and her body grew pale. The temperature within the room dropped and all except Maalceus and Kelly shuttered at the chill.

"I am getting my lord back." She replied.

"M-my lady?" Joona asked over her shoulder.

Melanie turned towards her personal guard and smiled apologetically as she reigned in her cold aura. The room quickly returned to a normal temperature.

"The Daemon are going to come anyway. If we go to them it saves the kingdom and the people in the process." Kelly added, her grip slowly moving up and around her master's rigid cock.

"It has been months. How can you be certain that they are even coming?" Brandi asked.

"Time between dimensions does not move at the same pace." Lynx answered. "While a few months pass here, only a few days may be passing else where."

Brandi nodded in understanding and folded in on herself. She felt that there were too many variables. Too few positive outcomes that were outweighed by the seemingly overwhelming amount of negative outcomes. It all felt too risky.

*****

The Oguna had worked tirelessly. Mining the stone and picking through the obsidian. The rock trolls were not violent or angry creatures. Much like deep gnomes or dwarves, they were at their best when they could mine the rock and stone. Their pick axes and pales sat on the stone ledges.

Their mining carts sat partially full with more room to be filled. But there were no Oguna to mine the cavern further. Their rocky bodies had been broken into shards and rubble. Tossed about like the rock they mined for. The Daemon did not care for them. The Daemon did not care for much.

Sleeping within the magma pools they ventured out only to eat and track down their own. The pool of magma bubbled up as their slumber drew near to its end.

*****

Kelly and Maalceus hurried up the stairs and to his room. Maalceus' room was a large organized area. His bed sat against the far right wall wedged into the corner. His dresser and furniture took up the space to the left. Near the center left of the room was his training area. A thick heavy weight bag which had nearly as many patches as it did leather.

Maalceus walked over to the bed and sat down, legs spread. Kelly settled between his legs and pulled open his robe. His thick cock sprang out nearly slapping her in the face. Kelly didn't hesitate as she wrapped her lips around his erection and slid down. Three solid inches of his cock vanished into her mouth as she expertly twisted her tongue around his thickness.

She could feel his veins against her blue forked tongue. Kelly embraced his penis between her forked tongue and stroked it steadily. Hearing his groans of pleasure only pushed her to go faster. Maalceus felt his urges rise up and he never pushed them away. Not with Kelly.

*****

Melanie walked down the marble hall and followed it to the last door on the far left corner. The dark grey door looked unassuming. More like a broom closet or storage room door, as it was meant to. She walked through and the darkness beyond became illuminated by the soft blue lights of the orbs above.

A set of stairs spiraled straight down thirty feet and into the prisons. Rows of barred cells sat empty and silent. Untouched by criminal hands in decades. The soft glow of the blue orbs glistened off the metal bars casting light fragments upon the dark walls. Melanie followed the open path across the dimly lit room and walked through a second set of doors that led further down into a hidden chamber.

In the center of the circular room, illuminated by blue light, was Lucian. Trapped within a frozen crystal shard made of her own power and essence, he remained suspended. At the last moments before his heart had given out, she engulfed him in frozen fire. A strange and astonishing feat that she could not replicate, many times she had tried though.

The frozen fire had encased her dying master in a clear blue tinted crystal like shard. Trapped somewhere between life and death she hoped. Her only sincere wish was to bring him back to life. Placing a hand upon his icy coffin she crumpled to the ground and cried.