“Thank you!” Nex grabbed my face and planted a kiss on my lips.
Rath, Xae, Kel, and Taroc all snarled at him.
Nex just chuckled and sat back in his seat, his old self again.
Thank the Goddess for Evina's open mind. And whatever else she opened for Nex.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Plans for the Harvest Celebration went forward. As the weather chilled, the Wraith Lords warmed up toward me. Vardan didn't return to our table, though he did smile at me a lot. He, like all the other Lords, had learned that once I started something with a new man, I focused on him. But I sensed that he was biding his time.
The thought of having Taroc and then dating Vardan made me shiver in excitement but also dread. How many men would be enough to end the war? Ten? Twenty? I had committed to this. I couldn't back down now. But I started to have nightmares. Rath and Xae thought they were about the Corrupter. I suppose, in a way, they were. But mostly, they were insane visions of my life in the future. A house so full of men, I couldn't move without touching one of them. Hands always grabbing me. My mouth and ass constantly aching.
I grimaced as I struck the pell with my practice sword again. The last bit wasn't so insane. Already, my insistence on spending alone time with each of my lovers had resulted in more sex than one man should have in a day. If I hadn't been immortal, I don't think I could have taken it. As it was, I had to put limitations on when they could surprise me. Never after a meal.
Smack! I hit the pell again, taking out my anxieties on the padded wooden pole. Taroc, working a pell a few feet away, slid a look at me that had nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with concern. Before he could say anything, Rath was on me.
“What the fuck is that?” Rath growled. “Are you striking an opponent or smacking the dust out of a rug?”
I let my arms hang and rolled my head back. “Can we stop for the day? I can't focus right now.”
Taroc gave up on his pell work and came over to ask, “What's wrong?”
“Nothing. Same shit.”
“He's been having nightmares,” Xae said to Taroc.
“You've been having nightmares?” Kel asked as he came over from his pell.
“Shh!” I hissed. “Fuck, don't make it the entire keep's business.”
“What are they about?” Taroc asked, keeping his voice down.
“What do you think they're about?” Keltyr huffed and slid a hand on my shoulder. “You need more time to relax, Ember.”
“That would be nice,” I murmured.
Taroc narrowed his eyes at me. “So, they're about the war?”
“Of course,” I said, glancing at him.
“They're just nightmares,” Kel said. “Does it really matter what they're about?”
“Ember is not a normal man,” Taroc said. “And he's been training with Death. Yes, it matters.”
I bit my lip, turned, and went to put my practice sword away. The men followed me, Taroc and Kel setting their swords in the rack too. They didn't pester me as I walked away. They knew me well enough to wait for me to speak.
Once we were out of the training yard, I turned to face them. “Let's go to the lake.” I took Taroc's hand so I didn't have to explain which lake. “I'll direct you.”
Taroc pulled me in against his chest, and we all faded to the lake that we used for training Xae and Kel. Someday, we might be training Taroc too. At least, he had Fire Magic, so Rath and I wouldn't have to train him to use that. Just as Kel had Earth Magic, so we got to skip that with him. Shit. Would Rath and I be training my lovers endlessly? I guess the trained ones could help with the new recruits. New recruits? Yup, I was making my own army.
I let go of Taroc and went to sit near the shore.
The men joined me, sitting on the smooth pebbles to either side. We stared at the glossy surface of the lake, broken only by the occasional surfacing fish. Sunlight streamed down, mirroring the water, but gave little warmth. With the sweat coating my skin, I quickly cooled, then shivered. Xae put his arm around me, his Ladrin heat blasting me immediately, and I sighed.
“My nightmares aren't about the Corrupter,” I admitted. “Not directly.”
They waited for me to go on.
