Chapter 858 858 - A frustrating question
Profound silence descended on the room. Emma and Astrid looked at Elora with dumbfounded expressions, but Erik instead closed his eyes. Elora's cruelty did not surprise him, but he needed a moment to let the full meaning of her words sink in.
Elora weathered her sister-wives' gazes without visible reaction, focusing her own eyes on Erik to await his judgment. The silence lasted quite a while, until Emma and Astrid moved on from Elora to look at Erik, instead. Their gazes were… concerned, but they didn't know what to say.
Finally, Erik sighed and opened his eyes to meet Elora's gaze. "To clarify… You want to alternate torturing Meilin with pain first, then pleasure. When she orgasms is the moment you'll switch from pleasure to pain, and that's her incentive not to cum. I assume you want Nora to do all this and read Meilin those religious texts she's written the entire time until Meilin's as devoted to me as Anne is?"
"Yes," Elora admitted readily, but sombrely. "I know you don't like this kind of thing, and I won't insult you by claiming this is better than death, but… I'm sure you can see the obvious benefits. To us, at least."
Groaning a little, Erik rubbed his forehead and leaned back on the sofa. He knew Elora had little to no issue with a plan like this… but he did.
'What the hell am I supposed to think of this…?' he muttered to himself. 'I had trouble coming to terms with Nora's abilities from the onset. The only reason I became okay with it was Anne's willingness—and, admittedly, the fact that her and Nora's absolute devotion to me is quite enjoyable didn't hurt, either. But this… this is something else.
Many thoughts floated through Erik's mind, including some he'd rather not have been there, like regarding Meilin's beauty. He absolutely didn't want his dick to be a factor in this decision, knowing the nature of Nora's religion. Meilin would no doubt become as promiscuous as Anne and Nora were, happy to jump onto his cock at the slightest suggestion.
Yet… there was no doubt in his mind that having sex with Meilin after putting her through Elora's plan was crossing a line he hadn't crossed before. It was rape, clear and simple. First of her mind, and then of her body, no matter how willing she may seem at the time.
You'd think he could simply not have sex with her then, but it wasn't that simple, either. Erik knew his limitations and weaknesses. If there was a beautiful woman in his life, eager, devoted, willing, and likely actively seducing him at every turn, then… there was a good chance he'd eventually give in.
He might stop thinking about what he'd done to her, and reduce its importance to nothing in his mind… and that scared him a little. Could he really cross that line and continue calling himself the moral compass in his relationship with Elora?
And that was just reducing the entire decision down to sex. There were plenty more moral objections to be had outside of that. Even if this Meilin was clearly as evil and cruel as they come—he'd seen how she cut off her subordinate's tongue over nothing—did she deserve to have her mind fucked with? Killed, sure, but this was worse.
And yet, he saw that the benefits of this plan were far greater than those of the first plan. It would significantly improve his chances against Imogene and her faction, thereby keeping himself and his family alive, and perhaps even securing a future for Runebound as a group.
It's not like Erik was concerned with ensuring he retained the moral high ground versus the hunters, either. He would only ever follow his own conscience, and not compare it to those of others. The hunters were in his way, and he wanted revenge on them. That was all that mattered.
After all these thoughts stormed through his mind once, he sighed once more and opened his eyes. Gently, he kissed Emma's cheek and then lifted her off his lap before standing up. "Thank you, Elora. I'd… like some time on my own to think about this."
Elora nodded understandingly. "Take all the time you need. Meilin is secured, so we're not in a particular hurry. I'll leave the choice up to you, as always."
Erik nodded and started walking towards his room, deep in thought. He didn't bother thinking about other options, and only debated between the two that Elora had presented him with. He trusted her to have considered this from every angle and to have given him the best options.
To some, it may seem like Elora was dumping responsibility for this choice in Erik's lap, but that would only be true if Elora cared. No, if it were up to the fairy alone, she'd simply take option two and leave it at that. It was practically for the sake of Erik's morality alone that she even proposed the first option.
But that was a part of their partnership. Elora was the planner, and Erik the decider. Though their marriage was one of equals, they couldn't endlessly debate every issue. Thus, because Erik was supposed to be the conqueror, Elora had accepted him as the leader of their family.
Unfortunately, being the leader came with both the responsibility and burden of choice.
Entering his room, Erik dropped down on his bed, closed his eyes, and sank deep into thought as he looked at the issue from every angle he could think of. Though his considerations essentially boiled down to this: were the benefits worth the moral compromise?
The question frustrated him immensely.
***
After half an hour—being no closer to a decision—Elora contacted him.
"There's something you should know that might influence your decision," she told him through their bond, her tone serious. "Based on a hunch, I decided to check something, and… well, you should come see for yourself in Meilin's prison."
Erik opened his eyes and frowned. Knowing this had to be important—and frankly eager for something that might swing his decision in one direction or the other—he snapped his fingers and disappeared from the bed.
Instantly, he appeared standing in Meilin's prison. One look at the bed told him nothing had changed with their prisoner. Looking to his side, he then noticed three people were with him: Elora, Nora, and Anne.
But their presence wasn't what immediately drew his attention… because that would be the expression of profound disgust etched on Nora's face, and the fact her eyes were locked onto Meilin.