“Tell me! Describe them as they come; it will help more to emerge.”
“I remember lying on Tae's lap. He was stroking my face and playing with my hair. Saying pretty things that the other two rolled their eyes at. Then . . . the Princess and Thalsar started kissing.” I blinked. “They were standing in front of the fire, right in front of us too, and they . . . fuck, they took off their clothes. They started having sex in front of us. Holy shit, Thalsar got Sanasenne on her hands and knees and they had sex as we watched.”
“What?!” Avanla's eyes went round. Then she lowered her voice to ask, “You watched the Princess and the General have sex?”
“Yes, and they kept staring back at Tae and me, smiling.”
“Oh, how naughty,” she whispered. “Tell me more.”
I remember . . . Tae had an erection, and I was getting angry.” I shook my head. “I left the room. I should have stayed because after Sanasenne and Thalsar finished, they all followed me up to Tae's bedroom. Well, to the sitting room next to his bedroom.”
“And then?”
“Then Tae tried to talk to me, but the other two kept butting in. The Princess and General were only half-dressed. They kept making light of what had happened, and Tae kept telling me it was just one of the things they liked to do.” I stopped myself before I told Avanla what else Tae had said—that he'd thought I might enjoy watching instead of being watched, and maybe even performing for the other couple. Sort of an exhibitionist swap. My stomach rolled as I went on, “I finally let it go, and everything seemed normal for a while. Tae and Thal were sitting before the fire, just talking, and the Princess sat down beside me.” My eyes went wide. “Oh, that fucking bitch!”
“What?” Avanla asked almost gleefully. “What did she do?”
“She . . .” I decided to tell her about what Tae and I had done after all; I couldn't tell her what Sana said without it. “I have to tell you about something intimate first. Try not to judge me.”
“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “I have had my fair share of sexual escapades. And yes, I've even had sex in front of an audience. A large one, if I'm being entirely honest.”
“All right, well.” I cleared my throat, trying not to think about my esteemed teacher on her hands and knees before an applauding group of faeries. “Tae and I had sex in front of his bedroom window the other day and there was this Falcon flying nearby. We both liked being watched, so he . . . well,wereally put me on a show. The Falcon flew closer and saw everything.”
“You're not saying . . . was that Falcon . . . no.” Avanla gaped at me.
“Princess Sanasenne thanked me for my enthusiastic performance,” I growled. “She said she was only trying to repay the favor.”
“Holy falcon shit!” Avanla exclaimed. “It was thePrincesswatching you?”
“Yes, and it gets worse.” I grimaced. “When I expressed my surprise at it being her, she looked confused. She said that she has very particular markings in falcon form, and she had assumed that Tae recognized her. She said that she loves to watch two men together, something which Tae knows, so she thought he was showing off for her. And she assumed that he had told me who we were performing for.”
“No!” Avanla gasped.
“Yeah,” I growled getting madder. “She acted so sweet, but I knew she was taking great pleasure in pushing us apart. So, I let that go too.”
“You did?”
“Well, I wasn't about to play into her plans, was I?”
Avanla nodded approvingly. “Well done, my lad.”
“Yeah, sure, I did great until I passed out on the couch,” I grumbled.
“Do you remember what happened after that?”
“I was just so tired.”
“A result of the hulrine,” she said.
“Someone started to undress me, and I thought it was Tae so I didn't protest. I remember being moved off the couch and then falling asleep again.”
“So you didn't fuck the General?”
“No, I didn't,” I growled. “He posed me like that and then told Tae that we had sex. He lied. Which means that I was targeted, Avanla.”
“Targeted by some very devious and powerful people, my sweet boy.” She stroked my cheek sympathetically. “Which means that we must be just as devious to expose their machinations.”
“How?”
