Desire Dominion: Every Woman Has A Weakness. He Is Theirs

Lucy walked with one hand resting on her blade, clearly bored by the empty landscape. "If nothing tries to kill us in the next half-cycle I am going to start a fight with the hybrid just for the exercise."

The pit-wyrm hybrid turned its great head and gave her a long, unimpressed look. Lucy grinned back at it.

Isha's slime formed a small, bouncing figure that mimicked the hybrid's walk for three steps before melting back into her boot. "The hybrid has standards. You are beneath them today."

Vespera's living eyes stayed fixed on the distant towers. "They know we are coming. The heat shimmer is wrong in three places. Observation posts."

Serakel's third eye glowed faintly. "Agreed. Disciplined. No one is panicking yet. That will change."

The Reverend Mother Superior pulled her cloak higher against the sulfur stink. "I already dislike their interior decorating choices and we have not even arrived."

Levi set a steady pace across the flats. Gold light from the Sovereign Domain pushed the worst of the heat aside in a comfortable bubble around the group. The hybrid followed like a living siege engine, occasionally crushing a steaming vent under one massive claw for the simple pleasure of it.

'The Spires will try walls, ranks, and speeches about tradition. They always do. The result will be the same.'

They made a short camp at the edge of the flats when the heat grew thick enough to slow even the hybrid. No fire was needed. The ground itself glowed in places. The five women settled into their usual loose circle while the hybrid curled on the open side and glared at the distant towers.

Lucy tossed a small chunk of volcanic glass from hand to hand. "Wagers on the welcome. I say formal challenge at the outer gate followed by immediate treachery."

Isha raised a slime-coated finger. "I say they try to look reasonable first, then release something large and stupid when talking fails."

Vespera's voice was cool. "They will attempt to separate us. Standard doctrine against a small, high-value group."

Serakel nodded. "And they will have already decided which of us is the greatest threat. My coin is on them targeting Isha or Lucy first."

The Reverend Mother Superior looked mildly offended. "I am standing right here."

"You are the sensible one," Lucy said. "No one ever shoots the sensible one first. It is a rule."

Levi listened to them and let the corner of his mouth move a fraction.

'They have turned the approach into entertainment. Good. The Spires will not enjoy the same luxury.'

The final stretch across the sulfur flats took most of the next cycle. The Red Spires grew from distant shapes into towering pillars of dark red stone bound with black iron. Walls connected the pillars in high, severe lines. Banners of deep crimson hung motionless in the hot air. The main gate was a vertical slab of iron wide enough for three hybrids walking side by side.

As the group drew within clear view, horns sounded from the walls in a clean, practiced sequence. Figures in disciplined ranks appeared along the battlements. No chaos. No shouting. Only ordered movement.

Lucy's eyes lit up. "Oh, they practiced. I almost feel special."

Isha clapped once, slime splashing lightly. "Matching uniforms. Adorable. Can I ruin them?"

Vespera's living eyes narrowed. "Ballistae on the second tier. Heated shot. And something large moving behind the gate."

Serakel's third eye flared. "Four primary power signatures on the walls. One heavier presence deeper inside. They are ready."

The Reverend Mother Superior sighed. "Of course they are."

Levi did not slow down. Gold light spread ahead of the group in a wide, visible tide that made the air shimmer. The hybrid's low growl rolled across the final stretch of stone like distant thunder.

At two hundred paces the great iron gate remained closed. A single figure stepped out onto the high gatehouse platform. She wore crimson armor chased with black metal and a cloak that hung in perfect folds. Her voice carried easily across the distance, trained and cold.

"I am Commander Saria of the Red Spires. You approach under a mark that has already swallowed three free courts. State your intent before we decide the range is acceptable for heated shot."

Lucy muttered, "She practiced that one too."

Levi stopped at a distance that made the ballistae useful and the conversation still possible. The golden barrier of the Sovereign Domain expanded just enough to be obvious.

"I am the Sovereign of Neverland," he called back. "The Black Maw, the Hollow Choir, and the Ashen Bazaar answer to me. The Red Spires will do the same. Open the gate and kneel, or I will open it and the kneeling will still happen."

Commander Saria's posture did not change. "The Spires do not kneel to transient powers. You have one opportunity to turn around and leave with your lives. After that the discussion ends."

Isha whispered loudly, "I like her. She has the same energy as Nancy before the boot."

Vespera's voice was dry. "She will last longer than the forgemaster. Not much longer than Nancy."

Levi's internal voice was calm and certain.

'Tradition. Discipline. Pride. All of it breaks the same way.'

He raised one hand. Gold light gathered.

"Last chance," he said.

Commander Saria lifted her arm in a clean signal.

The ballistae on the second tier fired in unison.

The Red Spires had given their answer.

The Sovereign of Neverland smiled without humor and stepped forward into the first volley.

…

The first volley of heated shot screamed toward them. Gold light from the Sovereign Domain flared in a hard dome.

The projectiles struck and burst into harmless sparks and molten droplets that hissed against the volcanic glass.

Levi did not wait for the second volley.

"Hold the line," he ordered the others. "Vespera. With me."

Lucy grinned and already started moving toward the left flank with Isha. Serakel and the Reverend Mother Superior shifted to cover the right. The pit-wyrm hybrid roared and charged the gate hard enough to make the iron boom.

Levi caught Vespera's wrist and pulled her into the partial cover of a low sulfur ridge just outside the main field of fire. The battle noise stayed close, but the ridge gave them a narrow pocket of relative privacy…