Dark Lord in Chains 96 (Patreon)

I carefully examined the small bird of flame in Cinder’s hand, trying to come to a decision, which was more difficult than I initially expected. I needed more information. 

“Tell me, what are the biggest risks of attempting to transform early,” I asked. 

“Going feral,” the answer came immediately, and the shudder that followed told me that it was a very dangerous issue. She might be spoiled, but she didn’t give me the impression that she was a coward. 

Her visceral reaction indicated that the risk was truly great. “Explain,” I asked. 

“Full transformation…” she started with a sigh. “It means total surrender to the living fire, far more intense than what we usually accomplish, but some phoenixes go too far during their first transformation.” 

“And never come back,” I completed her thoughts rather directly. She nodded. “And what do you plan to do, wait until you return back to your home?” 

Her answer came instantly. “No, I can’t afford to wait for that much.” 

“And do you have some ancient tomes with you explaining the potential hidden dangers,” I said. 

“Of course,” she answered. 

“Tomes that you haven’t memorized already?” I asked, which made her freeze as she realized what I was driving at. 

“I’m not ready yet, it’s too soon,” she said immediately, even as I came to a decision. 

I would push her for the attempt. 

It had good reasons. Some were related to the logistical availability of our current situation. We were already in a location that would fit excellently to the environment, suitably away from the civilization, under wards to hide us. And, I was there to help her if she needed me. 

Yet, those weren’t the main reason I was looking at her with a sharp expression that told her she had to try. No, that was about the general degradation of the political situation. Soon, I would launch the fake assassination of Sapphire, and while necessary, I had no idea how it would make the elves, or the other phoenixes react. 

I certainly didn’t want Cinder attempting to transform if she suddenly found herself surrounded, especially since she was not as hidden as she thought she was. 

“No, it’s not,” I said, once again tapping our connection to reinforce the order. I was prepared to explain it in detail, but she just nodded, once again surprised me with the extent of her obedience. 

But just because she accepted didn’t mean I would immediately push her to act. “Explain the transformation to me, in detail,” I asked. It earned a nod from her before she gave a detailed breakdown. 

The kind that took almost half an hour for her to deliver, interrupted by several questions from me, forcing her to restate the same concepts again and again. I wasn’t doing that to be pedantic, but to force her to think deeper about the concepts. 

From her explanation, it was clear that she had memorized every scrap of available information about the transformation, but rather than analyzing them critically, she accepted them wholesale. 

Our short yet intense session solved a few tricky issues, such as delving deeper into the meaning of surrender. As she explained, I could see the reason for the number that lost control, especially when contrasted with my own unique method of using the living fire. 

So, I have explained to her some of my own insights into a unique method of using fire. Not fully, of course, as it would just make her confused, but a few hints about not forgetting to keep herself separate from the fire was reasonable advice. 

“Do you think … it will work,” she murmured, hesitant. 

“It will work,” I said to her, letting her enjoy my words as I delivered the explanation, even as I let my hand dance on her naked body. Since I was never one to miss such an opportunity, I had long pulled her onto my lap, caressing her body as I explained. 

As an added benefit, the distraction helped to keep her away from getting lost in details. “Now, create a fire and meditate, while I explore the ways to intervene with your magic, in case you lost control.” 

“You can’t intervene with the transformation, it’ll create an even bigger disaster,” she said. 

“Maybe, but it’s still good to have the option in case of a catastrophe,” I said, not taking her explanation too seriously. It was clear that her civilization had been treating the transformation as an almost religious experience. 

Which had the unfortunate result that the ritual had been calcified, close to changes. Even from her relatively summarized explanation, it was clear that some assistance would help the transformation quite a bit. 

Of course, the same intervention could easily be used to kill the one that was being transformed if the assistant wished to do so, but luckily for Cinder’s sake, I had no intention of doing so. 

Instead, I focused on the way her magic was flowing to get a better sense of intervening with her casting. It was not the easiest thing to do, but the accidental connection between us significantly reduced the difficulty of the process nonetheless. 

My first attempt was to intervene in her casting directly, trying to manipulate the small ball of fire she created.

The results had been … less than pleasant, using the layered shield I had created to the limit. “Hey,” she gasped in fear as the flames went chaotic in front of her. 

“No need to fear, sweetie,” I said even as I caressed her stomach, calming her down. “I expected that already, hence the shields. I just wanted to see the result directly.” 

“Was that necessary?” she asked, her breathing still quick. 

“Well, it’s better to know it won’t work rather than assuming it won’t,” I said with a chuckle. “Now, start again,” I said, slapping her ass, enjoying the beautiful echo it created. 

She moaned at my slap, her hips moving seductively as she did so, showing that I wasn’t the only one tempted to stop the process halfway for a reward session. I managed the resist the temptation of pushing things further, but I had to admit that it was a close call. 

“Fire,” I warned her, even as I flicked her nipple to punish her, which didn’t help her arousal any. 

An appropriate punishment for her trick. 

“As you wish,” she muttered as she slowly shook her head, trying to handle the effect of my intervention. She moaned softly as I let my hands settle just under her breasts, and cast another fire. 

I used our connection to intervene with her casting again, but this time, I did so on a more fundamental level, by preventing her mana from reaching the spell. 

And we watched as the fire slowly flicker and die easily. “Excellent,” I said. It was an effective trick. Pity, it was completely useless in combat, as after pushing the mana in such a core location, there were much more effective ways to deal with an enemy. 

“Repeat,” I said, and we repeated the attempt almost a dozen times, making sure it worked every repeat. It had the added benefit of making her get used to the process, which would prevent her from reflexively panicking. 

“Let’s start, and don’t forget to give me a sign if you feel like you’re losing control,” I said. 

She nodded obediently before she took a deep breath — which had a beautiful effect on her breasts, enough to make me curse the fact that we had more important things to do. 

She took several steps back before she raised her arms, and the subtle shine on her skin intensified once more. First, it reached the level of a raging fire, then it soon expanded even further like an out-of-control forest fire. 

A majestic forest fire. 

First, her wings of flame grew bigger and bigger, their span reaching almost fifty feet of range rather than just a few feet of initial extent. 

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Isolde reacting once more, but I gestured for her to stay away. The process was complicated enough without her intervention. Luckily, her obedience was stronger than her distaste for magic, so she stayed back like she was ordered. 

Soon, the flames continued to expand over her skin, creating the outline of a bird, the same kind she had displayed as a model earlier. 

Yet, I was more focused on her face, which was getting more and more hidden as the flames intensified. It was good, as I barely managed to catch her expression of alarm, which, along with the sudden intensity of flame that followed, suggested that it was the time to intervene. 

I flared my own magic to cut her flow. 

In response, the flame that surrounded her stopped flickering, and rushed toward me, acting with more intelligence than I had seen from the living flame. 

Luckily, this time, I wasn’t directly connected with the flame, which allowed me to put up a much more efficient defense against it. A flare of my mana was enough to activate the wards that I had set up, dispersing the impact point of the spell, and the Shield was enough to handle the rest. 

Barely, making me glad that there wasn’t a follow-up attack. 

The phoenix transformation was certainly not a joke. 

While I handled the reaction, Cinder collapsed on her knees, breathing hard. Yet, it was Isolde that grabbed my attention, already dashing forward, her blade drawn as she misread the situation. 

I was impressed with her silent rush even as I gestured for her to stop. She had already covered half of the distance without making Cinder have the slightest idea of the risk she had been facing. 

Once again highlighting what a great assassin she would be once I finish her training. I smirked at the view, ready to rush for more even without her indirect intervention. 

“I … almost,” Cinder gasped in shock as I walked next to her. I needed to distract her from the near-disaster she experienced, and a kiss worked wonders on that aspect. My tongue’s invasion distracted her from her momentary daze. 

 “The sensation, it was overwhelming,” she gasped as she took a deep breath, trying to contain her reaction. 

“Experimenting with unknown magic always is,” I said. “But you had good progress, and the next time will be even smoother.” She looked hesitant at the mention of a next time, but I leaned forward for another kiss.

While thinking about the merits of pushing her for another attempt, or letting her rest. 

In a certain sense of the word, of course.