Basilla stared at them for a long moment, her eyes round with shock. “I have never heard of such a thing,” she finally said, “but I suppose I myself would not mind having three lovers, so long as they do not boss me around too much. Unfortunately, my father has other plans.” Her voice colored with displeasure as she flicked a skein of hair over her shoulder. “He plans on marrying me off to Mordan, the crown prince of Shadowhaven. There is no formal engagement yet, but Father has been strongly hinting at the possibility—I imagine I am to be some form of payment in exchange for the help the warlocks have given usrecently.”
“I met Mordan once,” Alistair said, sitting up with a frown. Dareena propped some pillows beneath him and slid her hand in his own, afraid of breaking contact with him. “Long ago, when he was still a youth. He was a pale, sly boy, and liked to slink around and eavesdrop on his betters. He always looked like he was up to something. Animals tended to go missing when he came to visit—cats and dogs and the like. One time, my sister Ara scolded him when she noticed him sneaking pastries out of the kitchens without the cook’s leave. The next morning, she found her beloved calico out on the terrace, the body wrapped up in its ownentrails.”
Basilla recoiled, and Dareena clapped a hand over her mouth as her stomach pitched. “That is beyond awful,” Dareena said, her lip curling in disgust. “How could a young boy be capable of suchcruelty?”
Alistair shrugged. “Some people are born bad,” he said. “Others are made that way by their fathers. I don’t know the warlock king very well, but my impression of him as a young man was that he was not a man to cross, and he had a dark aura aroundhim.”
Basilla sighed heavily. “At least I will be able to insist upon separate apartments if I am forced to wed him,” she said. “What of Shadowhaven itself? Do you know what the capital islike?”
“My brother Lucyan told me it was a large, sprawling city full of magic and metal. There are as many metallurgists and factories as there are potion and spellshops.”
“Metallurgists?” Basilla echoed, sounding horrified. “That sounds terrible! Elves cannot abide such things—they hamper our magic, and too much exposure can shorten our lives. Our own armor and weapons are crafted of mithril—the only metal we can stand to bearound.”
“Well, never mind separate apartments then,” Dareena said, alarmed at the thought of Basilla wasting away in a similar manner to Alistair. “If you marry him, you’ll have to insist on a separate residenceentirely.”
“Too true,” Basilla said firmly. “Outside the capital, and far away from all those nastymetals.”
“You mentioned that your magic is earth-based,” Dareena said casually. “Can you tell me a little more about how thatworks?”
“Oh, it’s the most wonderful thing,” Basilla said, her eyes lighting up. “We gather energy from our surroundings—some elves find it easiest to pull from the air, some from the trees or the oceans, and others from the ground itself. We can use that energy to perform certain spells, though nothing quite so advanced as the warlocks. We excel at healing, and can manipulate the elements—as I tend to pull my magic from the air, I wield air best, though another elf might be better able to controlwater.”
“That’s fascinating,” Dareena said, leaning forward. “Would you be able to heal Alistair, then? Touching me seems to help him some, but the moment I pull away he begins to deteriorateagain.”
Basilla bit her lip. “There is nothing I can do to permanently undo the effects of the warlock spell,” she said. “However”—she leaned forward and pressed her hand against Alistair’s forehead—“I can help reduce the impact abit.”
The air in the room shifted, and Basilla’s hand on Alistair began to glow. Dareena watched as the tension bled out of his face and shoulders and healthy color seeped back into hischeeks.
“Wow,” Alistair said as Basilla pulled away. He sounded deeply relieved. “I feel muchbetter.”
“See?” Basilla beamed. “It should last you for a few hours.” Her smile faded a little as she looked at Dareena again. “It is a pity that only elves can do it…and yet, you said that touching him keeps the sickness at bay. How does thatwork?”
“I think it has something to do with being the Dragon’s Gift,” Dareena said. “The guard let me in to care for him, but I fear that he will separate us again and Alistair will fall ill over thenight.”
“Well, that won’t do at all,” Basilla declared, getting to her feet. “You are our guests, and we promised to keep you safe and healthy. I must be off now, before my lady-in-waiting comes looking for me, but I will tell the guard to keep the two of youtogether.”
“Thank you,” Dareena said fervently. “You are tookind.”
Basilla gave her a sad smile. “It is the least I can do after all you have beenthrough.”
“She seems quite sympathetic to our plight,” Alistair said after she’d closed the door behind her. “Not what I expected at all from Arolas’ssister.”
“She is also Ryolas’s sister,” Dareena reminded him. “Perhaps the siblings get their temperaments from differentrelatives.”
They listened as Basilla ordered the guard to leave Dareena and Alistair in peace and allow them to stay together. The guard sounded skeptical and told her that he would need to clear it with Arolas, much to Dareena’s consternation. She heard his armor clank as he strode off down the hall, followed by the soft pitter-patter of slipperedfeet.
“Sounds like we are alone,” Alistair said, slipping his arms around her waist. He pressed a kiss into the back of her neck, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine. “Shall we takeadvantage?”
Dareena giggled, turning to face him. “We’ve got to keep up your strength, don’t we?” she asked, twining her arms around his neck. She kissed him deeply as he pushed up her skirts, his big hands making quick work of her underwear. He squeezed her bare bottom as she rubbed herself against his growing erection, and she moaned into his mouth as her pussy ached with need forhim.
“Already wet,” he murmured against her mouth, sliding his fingers against her folds. He undid the buttons on his trousers, then lowered her onto his waiting shaft. The two lovers moaned in unison as Alistair’s cock filled Dareena, and she gripped his shoulders hard, ridinghim.
They made love three times—once for themselves, and twice more for Drystan and Lucyan, whom they both missed terribly. The third time, as Alistair pounded into Dareena while her legs were locked around his waist, he splintered the wooden headboard by gripping it toohard.
“Blast it,” he cursed, wrenching his hand back. “That bloody hurts.” Wincing, he carefully picked the splinters out of his bleedinghand.
“Let me see that,” Dareena said, sitting up. She gently took his hand in her own, and after fishing out the last few splinters, decided to try the trick that Basilla had told her about. Closing her eyes, she focused in on the air around them. At first, she felt nothing, but as the seconds passed, her chest stirred. She could sense a low hum in the air around her—an undercurrent of power, she realized with some excitement. She tried to grab hold of it, but it slipped out of her mentalgrip.
“What are you doing?” Alistairasked.
