The sound of someone clearing his throat interrupted them, and Calrain jerked his head up. “Starting without me?” Riann asked, raising an eyebrow. He leaned against the doorframe, his powerful arms bulging beneath his sleeves as he crossed his arms. His long hair was unbound, tumbling around his broad shoulders, and his blue eyes gleamed in the candlelight as he watchedthem.
“We’re just warming up,” Calrain said, a cheeky note to his voice. Tariel grinned as the glimpse of the boy she’d grown up with shone through the thick blanket of respectability Calrain had cloaked around himself. He had been a carefree spirit when they were younger, but being a foundling, the other boys had bullied him, and his master had shown him little love. The two had clung to each other as children, but as they’d grown into puberty, segregation had made it impossible to spend time with each other. They had grown apart and into the roles that society had molded forthem.
Roles we are about to smash into pieces,Tariel thought. A surge of triumph rose in her, and she turned to the table by the bedside, where she’d left the abacus. Her fingers wrapped around the cool wood, and the desert spirit rose from thetool.
“I see we are all here,” Zolotais said, her eyes gleaming as she surveyed them all. “Are you ready tobegin?”
“Yes,” Tariel said, and the men echoedher.
Riann cleared his throat. “How do we begin? Do we need any special implements?” He cast his gaze about the room, as if he expected to find some sort of spellkit.
Zolotais smiled. “The awakening is a simple but powerful ritual between a mage and her mates,” she told the three of them. “The female principle represents earth and fertility, while the males stand for the sun, the water, and the wind—all necessary for the earth to cultivate life. It would be better if we had three men to represent all three male elements,” she said to Tariel as an aside, “but two will suffice. When the males and female are joined, Tariel’s magical potential will be fullyunlocked.”
“Her mates?” Calrain repeated. “What does thatmean?”
“It means that you will be bound irrevocably to each other,” Zolotaissaid.
“We will?” Tariel asked as the men sucked in sharp breaths beside her. A frisson of nervous energy skipped down her spine—Zolotais had not mentioned thisbefore.
“The awakening is powerful magic,” Zolotais continued, “and it takes an even more powerful spell to undo it. The binding is not without its benefits—the coupling will strengthen you as well. How much strength depends entirely upon Tariel’s ownpower.”
“Will I be a strong mage?” Tariel asked, looking down at her hands. She’d used magic earlier today to dispel the headache Lady Tyrook had caused, and her reserve was still not refilled yet. “It doesn’t seem like I am able to do verymuch.”
“The lock on your powers limits what you can do right now, but from what I have seen, you are of middling strength, if not higher. Most young mages can barely light a candle—you can cast complex illusions, and you have even manipulated the weather a time ortwo.”
“You have?” Riann and Calrainexclaimed.
Tariel gave them a sheepish look. “When I was twelve, Marilla stole my kite while I was playing with it outside. She was wearing a brand-new dress and had her hair curled, so I made the wind blow her skirts up and ruin her hairstyle.” She frowned as she considered what Zolotais had said. “Do you think I might be able to do more things, like call down a lightning bolt to strikesomeone?”
“That is advanced weather magic, and not something that should be attempted without supervision and many hours of practice,” Zolotaissaid.
“If you really are so powerful, your parents must have been important,” Calrain said, a speculative look in his eyes. “Do you have any idea of your parents’identities?”
Tariel shook her head. “I can only imagine my father must have been someone important from the Maroyan Empire—perhaps a noble—who had a dalliance with my mother. The queen herself sent me here for Lady Tyrook to raise, so I’ve already surmised my mother was someone important. Perhaps a lady-in-waiting?”
“We may find out more about your parentage once we reach the Empire,” Zolotais said, somewhat impatiently. “For now, let’s begin the ritual. We do not have time towaste.”
“Very well,” Riann said. “What is it we mustdo?”
Zolotais smiled. “The three of you will join hands and recite an incantation. Then, you will makelove.”
They stared. “Is that it?” Calrain asked. Even Tariel had to admit it sounded ratherunderwhelming.
“It is not just any incantation you are speaking,” Zolotais warned. “The three of you will be pledging everlasting devotion to eachother.”
She taught them the words of the incantation, which were different for Tariel than the men, then made them hold hands and repeat the words. It took the men a few tries to get them out right, stumbling over the unfamiliar language. Tariel merely smiled and returned their vow to pledge their strength and love to her for her protection with a similar pledge to grant that same strength and love back to them tenfold in return for their protection andloyalty.
After they’d spoken the words, a strange humming filled Tariel’s veins, similar to when she had a magical outburst. But this was gentler, as if her magic was merely settling in her blood rather than trying to force its way out of her. Tariel smiled at the others as they looked down at their glowing hands with awe, and then back up ather.
“I believe you know what to do next,” Zolotais said, inclining her head. “I will leave you toit.”
The desert spirit disappeared, leaving the three of them alone. Tariel had expected there to be a moment of awkwardness, but the magic had reawakened her desire, and that same need was reflected in the eyes of her men. Riann began to stroke his thumb along the inside of her wrist, sending delicious sensations up her arm, while Calrain lifted her other hand and pressed kisses into herskin.
Emboldened, she pulled them both toward the bed, discarding her blanket along the way. Both men sucked in a sharp breath as she lay down atop the bedspread, and a delicious little shiver went through her at their reaction. Reclining against the pillows, she reached for Riann first, pulling his mouth to hers so she could kisshim.
Their lips met in a passionate clash, and Tariel moaned at the taste of him. It was just as she remembered, bold with just a hint of crispness from the mint leaves he liked to chew. She had not thought she would kiss him again, and it was even better than last time as he swept his tongue inside her mouth and stroked it against herown.
As she kissed Riann, another pair of hands skimmed over her body. Calrain’s slender hands curved over her breasts, and she gasped as they brushed against her sensitive nipples. He paused, then did it again, sending another wave of sensation throughher.
