Harem Ethics 101

99. SMACK

Not looking back or speaking, the warden led me by the hand through the trees of the Forest of Embers. Her pale fingers gripped my hand tighter with mounting nerves as we drew closer to Lysandra’s home.

After about ten minutes, we emerged into an open space at least three times larger than the half basketball court-sized grove I’d fought the torchboars in.

Ringed by trees, a lush carpet of flame-colored grass covered the glade. With no obstructing canopy, sunlight streamed down into the clearing from the blue skies overhead.

Made from the wood of the forest, a solitary single story cabin stood in the center of the glade. At least large enough to comfortably house four people, the structure was wellbuilt and solid. A porch and a pair of windows faced us. In the shade provided by the roof over the porch, there was a closed front door.

I whistled in appreciation, recognizing from my brief stint studying to be an architect that whoever had built this knew what they were doing. “Damn