Blackclaw blushed. “Yes, but… that’s not the entire truth.”
“Oh? Do tell,” I said, leaning froward intently.
Her blush deepened. “I, ah… well, I worked very hard when I got here, trained relentlessly, and I began to lose a little weight and start to look like… this and…” She laughed. “I never thought I’d catch anyone’s eye, but—”
“I always thought you were beautiful,” Silence admitted, no hint of hesitation in his voice.
She blushed. “I know, but… I… didn’t really allow myself to believe it, I guess.” She sighed. “Anyway, it wasn’t just Ursa’s eye I caught. You see, she and Grizzly have been together for some time and… they both… wanted me to join them.” She went from a blushing red, to a deep maroon, lips pressed tight for a moment.
Yet I only smiled. “Sounds lovely to me.”
She blinked. “Oh?”
I reached out to touch her shoulder. “Yes. Perhaps I should mention — since I didn’t talk much about my personal life during my retelling of the past year — that I’m now with a whole group of people.”
“Oh?” Her eyes grew a little wide. She looked back and forth from me to Silence to Ant.
“Yes. Silence and I have been together, so have Ant and I. I’m also seeing Sparrow, a woman from my House, and… ah… the Prince — no, I guess he’s King now — of Vauphan.”
Blackclaw’s jaw dropped. “Truly? A prince? And… all at once, or…?”
I took a bit of time to explain how the odd relationship worked, how we all loved each other… except for Ant, he’d only been with me so far, but… who knew what might happen. “And I’d be open to others if they were agreeable to the whole situation,” I said with a grin.
Blackclaw still looked a little stunned, then her eyes went a little wider. “Oh… wait, you don’t mean… me? Do you?”
I laughed. “I wasn’t thinking of you, no, but now that you mention it, you’d be welcome.” I slid Silence a sidelong look. “I think Silence wouldn’t mind warming your bed sometime.”
I caught their combined blush at that. “I… ah…. appreciate the offer,” she said… and I waited, but she didn’t go on to explicitly deny it. Interesting.
We talked for the rest of the afternoon until it began to get dark. Then the three of us: Ant, Silence, and myself took our avatar forms and crawled away through the walls. We didn’t get back to the inn until well after dark. Midnight had food waiting, which we were all thankful for, not having eaten since breakfast.
“How did it go?” Midnight asked.
“We have an ally,” I said between bites of warm bread and hearty stew. “Finally, things are starting to turn our way.”
Now I just had to figure out what I was going to do with this newfound help.
Chapter 10
Alvere
Alvere stood justinside the cave, watching the tide slowly recede off the rocky beach before him. Somewhere, out across the expanse of Dyren’s Bay was his home. Odd though, how he felt just as home here as he did there. In fact, he felt more at home here, amidst friends and lovers, not subjects and people who depended on him. Here he could be himself, there… he wasKingAlvere.
It would be known soon. With things calming in the North, he’d sent word that it would be well to do away with the charade of his cousin, Pierre being crowned. The country could know its true leader and true king had survived and would be leading them. But that also meant, his time here would be limited. This… vacation, away from his responsibilities would soon end, and he’d be a king in truth and have far too much on his plate to go galivanting off to see these dear people whom he loved. He’d grown close to all of them. With Legs and Silence away, he’d spent time with Sparrow, gotten to know her better. They’d slept with each other a couple of times, but only that, lying together for comfort and warmth in these chilly stone halls. They loved each other, but knew their hearts were given to another, the same other. It was Legs who truly made this group… work.
His half-Fey heritage did give him rather good hearing, and he caught the sounds of someone’s footfalls crunching on the stones behind him, coming out from deep within the cave, where a rope ladder had been lowered down a long shaft, the “back door” of the house in the cliffs above.
Arms wrapped around him and warm soft lips kissed the back of his neck. “Hello my king,” Legs whispered. “I’m back.”
“How did it go?” he asked, putting his hands on her arms crossed over his stomach as he savored the feel of her lithe body pressed against his back.
“Very well. Grizzly House is on board.” She sighed and slumped a little. “Now… I have no clue what to do.” Another soft kiss on his neck. “I was hoping you might join me… join us… for some… inspiration?”
He smiled. “There is nothing I’d want more.” He turned in her arms and swept her up in a passionate kiss, his heart thundering now that he held her, his home, his heart, his core. He curled a hand up into the waves of her brown hair, pressing her lips close, as his other hand found the small of her back and urged their bodies together. She hitched a leg, sliding up his thigh, which pulled her skirt back to her hip. He ran a hand along that exposed skin as his arousal surged. His cock was hard and ready, yearning to be inside her. For just a moment, he wanted to be alone with her, selfish, wanting her just for him, not sharing… and so he reveled in this passionate embrace for as long as she’d allow.
Finally, she drew back. Breathless, she said, “That was an excellent start. Shall we reconvene with the others?”
He nodded. He knew he had to share her… and he loved the others as well, if not… quite as much as he loved her. He smiled as he let his soul sink into those russet brown eyes. “Yes, lets.”
