Himika

“Well, that’s all settled,” Seron said. “Now we know the truth of the matter. The people like us exactly the same. All except Oszin, who liked you better.”

Oszin laughed. “I like taking credit for this, I have to say. Unless you’re going to make me serve wine all week too.”

“Nope.” Seron put his hands on Oszin and Aurekdel’s shoulders. “Aurek can handle being the wine bearer by himself. You’re going to have an excellent night for working so hard for the past year to ruin the legacy of Orvenu.”

“I detect a twinkle of mischief,” Aurek said. “I’m glad you’re taking this well.”

“Well, what matters to me now is that I was the king. I had a taste of it. I didn’t love it, but now I know we’re on equal footing, you and me. Now get me my wine.”

Aurekdel sighed and walked over to the side table.

Seron looked at me and a thrill went down my spine when his eyes met mine. He caught my chin in his hand. “We’re on equal footing too.”

“We…always were, really.”

“Do you believe that, Oszin?”

Oszin picked up way too quickly on this game. “No. She’s been pretty honest about it, really. She might complain about being a princess, but she complains the way only a princess would. And she really likes being the queen. No matter who is the king.”

“I saw the world through the eyes of a peasant for most of my life,” Seron said. His hand was still on my chin. “Remember when you told me to let it all go? That you were my one and only queen?”

“Mmhmm…”

“Take off those clothes slowly, and then get on that bed on your hands and knees.”

I bit my lip, with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. It certainly wasn’t like Seron never took charge before. In fact, it was his usual way to let his desire build up until he just took what he wanted. But he’d never ordered me around before. I took off my dress, feeling weirdly ashamed at the way Oszin, Seron and Ezeru watched my every move. Then my slippers, and finally I stepped out of my underthings. I was a little hesitant now, but Seron’s eyes directed me to the bed, to put my hands on the spread and face the wall.

He walked over to me and grazed his hand over my ass, between my legs—not nearly long enough—and my breasts.

“You are always so beautiful,” he said. “Aurek, I need that wine.”

Aurek made a little sound of frustration mingled with some enjoyment of the situation. Knowing Aurek, he was very curious to see where all this would go.

“Oszin, I think you should fuck that girl’s mouth,” Seron said.

“Seron!” Aurek said. “Who taught you to talk like that?”

“Who do you think?”

I glanced at Oszin and he was definitely aroused at the thought, although he also looked like he was still the farm boy who loved me. I understood what Seron was doing. This was really Oszin’s night. It was his dream, one I hadn’t really liked—for obvious reasons. But I trusted him, and in this case, it actually seemed to work out.

But there was also something sparking between Aurek and Seron. I wasn’t as sure where it was going. Maybe Seron’s joking bet had some truth behind it, and this was the last piece of them resolving their rivalry.

“We’re all equals here,” Seron said. “That’s what this night is really about. Go on. We all know you’ve deferred to us. It’s a hard habit to break, but tonight we’re going to break it. She’s going to pleasure you like you’re the king tonight.”

Oszin loosened his trousers. His eyes were intense with lust and a little disbelief as he climbed into bed with me. I looked at him back, my entire body on fire with anticipation, especially because of the way Seron told me to pose. If he just intended on me pleasuring Oszin, he would have just told me to kneel on the floor, wouldn’t he?

“He’s right, Oszin,” I said. “We are…equals.”

Oszin smirked. “All right. You still hesitated.” He brushed a finger along my lower lip, and when I let my jaw fell open, he took my arms in his and pulled me onto him, pushing my head down on his cock. His erection was hard as a rock under the softness of his skin, trembling with desire for me. I sucked on him, running my tongue up and down the underside of his length, his hand still on the back of my head, but gently. He didn’t try to force me too much, but nor would he be letting me go.

Almost immediately he was reduced to wordless groans of pleasure.

“Good,” Seron said, slowly running a hand along my thighs. I quivered a little, wanting more.

Aurek handed Oszin a cup of wine too. “A little extra heat for your loins.”

“Like I need that…”

Aurek grazed a hand down my back and Seron said,

“I told you, no touching her this week.”

“Seriously?”

“That was the bet!”

“Well, I thought you meant no important touching.”

“I meant what I meant,” Seron said. “I’m getting even with you, just this once. I’m going to play with our things and not let you touch.”

“What is Ezeru doing?”

“Ezeru didn’t make any bets. He can jump in anytime.”

“Oh,” Ezeru said. “Well, in that case, I’m going to fuck her now.”

“I didn’t—I’m obviously working up to that myself. I just mean that when we’re done with this you can seduce her as you see fit.”

“Fine, I don’t know what you mean,” Ezeru said.

Aurek laughed.

“Shut up, Aurek, I don’t have all this experience seducing people. I just—know—what I want.”

I lifted my ass, encouraging him to take it already. If I could have spoken without cutting off Oszin’s pleasure, I would have told Seron that he didn’t need to seduce me. I’d tried to tell him a long time ago that I was glad they each had their own way with me. But I guess Seron’s propensity to get a little frustrated was all part of his charm.

Anyway, my signal snapped him out of it and he gave me what I craved. As I was working my tongue and lips over Oszin’s length, licking the tip, tasting the first beads of his desire before he urged me to take more of him again, I felt Seron thrust deep. My core tightened around him, and then relaxed a little as he slid out, only to be met with an even deeper thrust than before.

I moaned. I thought my mouth was getting tired because it was taking him a long time to release. But as warm pleasure flooded through me I got a second wind. Still, I remembered what my handmaidens told me a long time ago, just to keep my lips and tongue as tight as I could and let him do the work.

As the moment ticked by I melted more and more into them and what they were doing to me, growing more helpless, just trying to keep myself from collapse. I surrendered to them and soon I was rewarded with the gratification of Oszin letting go completely, coming inside me as he growled out my name. “Himika… Princess…”

Deep down, I thought, whether I was a queen or a girl or ‘Moth’, in the end I was his princess.

As I listened to his pleasure it spiked my own and then I was whimpering along with him while Seron kept fucking me.

When it was done, I collapsed into the pillows.

Ezeru picked me up in his arms and sniffed me a little. “You look tired but I don’t want to wait.”

“Oh, my rock dragon,” I said dreamily. “I might be spent, but I don’t have to be done yet. You’ll just have to be a little slower than you prefer.”

“I can go slow,” he said.

“What?” Aurek said. “I’m going to the other bedroom. I didn’t vote for this.”

“Ha…” Seron said. “This week you get to watch me play with your swords. More wine, and then have a front row seat here on the bed.”

“Oh, I see. Revenge. You rigged the whole vote, didn’t you?”

“The whole vote,” Seron said. “All ninety thousand or whatever it was, yep.”

While they argued, Ezeru sat me on his knee and started stroking me between the legs very gently while he nuzzled and kissed my neck and shoulders, licking a little of Oszin’s seed off me. How very Ezeru. He was both demanding and nurturing at once. When he was satisfied with that, he leaned me back, supported by his hand, and sucked and bit my nipples.

“Ooh…,” I moaned.

“She’s ready for more,” Seron said. Ezeru’s hand had moved away from my sweet spot but now Seron’s hand filled the void, his thumb tweaking the nub of desire there before sliding along the lips of my sex. I let out a groan of urgency that surprised even me.

Ezeru took this invitation gladly and lifted me up just enough to nudge his cock between my folds. He spread his knees and my legs spread with them. Seron’s arm was wrapped around Ezeru, still brushing me between the legs.

“Go very slow with her,” Seron said.

“I’m trying…”

Seron’s fingers teased across me so lightly that before long, the slowness was worse than if they had gone fast. Sometimes he deliberately seemed to ignore my most sensitive areas, just teasing around them, barely brushing a finger by before going back to skimming my fingers over my mound. Ezeru followed his head and ground his hips against mine with a painfully slow rhythm.

“Oh, please…,” I said. “More…please…” My voice was breathy, almost squealing, the more slowly my pleasure built.

“Nngh…” Aurek dug his fingers into the bedspread. He stroked his own length and now Seron smacked his hand.

“No.”

“No? That wasn’t the bet.”

Seron wrapped his own hand around Aurek’s cock. “No.” He started stroking me a little faster and he pumped his hand along Aurek’s cock as well.

“Seron—what—why?” Aurek looked agonized in a rather alluring way. I had to watch his surprise even as my eyes were glazing with the sensations rolling through me.

“Well, I’m your champion. And I took an oath of chastity…except to serve at the king and queen’s pleasure. Besides that, I heard what Ezeru’s tail’s been up to and I thought you might decide you like him better than me.”

“You were jealous?”

“No. No. Just—well—this time I really chose it, okay? I voted for you and you won, and I’m glad.”

“This wasn’t such a bad bet after all.”

“Not that I’m doing this every time.”

“Seron.” Aurek’s voice shifted, now serious yet gentle. “Never. You never have to. Unless you want to.”

Seron’s jaw clenched, and he nodded, and I saw emotions there that he had never been very good at admitting. He wasn’t even very good at admitting he loved me, after all.

“It’s not so bad, after all,” he said. “Having the two of you uppity royals be putty in my big strong hands at once. Ez, go as fast as you want now.”

Seron’s hand kept stroking me and Aurek both, and oh, they certainly were big strong hands and we were definitely helpless to them.

Himika

Six Years Later

“It’s a girl, my lady. A healthy little human girl.”

“I did it…” I looked at Oszin. “Our family is complete.”

“Our family was already complete. But…she’s perfect.”

“Remia…” I traced her little fingers. “It’s been so long since we had a little one around. I forgot how tiny they are. Oh, you were so much easier.”

“There was only one of her,” Seron said.

My mates were all gathered close, relief and joy on all of our faces.

Aurek carefully touched her with his clawed hand and she grabbed his scaled finger and made a weird face. We all laughed.

“I think this occasion calls for human hands,” I said.

“I won’t tell,” the midwife said.

The scales melted away and Remia clutched his finger. “She’s big,” he said.

“Well, she had the full nine months and one extra week. I had to coax you out, my love.”

“Mammma!” Ora screamed outside.

Seron looked at me. The other kids were supposed to be with Rima. “It’s fine. Let them in. Luckily this wasn’t like the last time.”

It had taken this many years before I dared to try again. I made an earnest study of magical herbs and flowers that strengthened a woman’s health for pregnancy, and then progressed to direct healing magic. I was nowhere near as strong at it as a proper healer, but since it was my own body, I was very attuned to this pregnancy and was braced to induce a miscarriage if I sensed something was going wrong. To my relief, Remia gave me almost no trouble, although the labor still took twenty hours. Gods, but I envied Phoebe and her priestess magic. By now she’d had four girls and each of them was born with no trouble at all.

Anyway, I was happy with how things had gone. I had never wanted to pop out a slew of royal babies, as Aurek realized from the start, and I’d had some years to keep fighting and traveling without any trouble and devote plenty of time to the children I already had. Now, I was more than ready to welcome the third.

I didn’t want to frighten the kids in case things did go wrong, so they were left with the nurse, but knowing Ora she had broken free.

Ezeru opened the door.

“Come see your sister,” Ezeru said.

“Sister?” Ora was carrying Aki in her arms. Nuru’s daughter was smaller than Ora and so agreeable that Ora and Vorja had been playing house and making her be the baby.

“Yes, a sister,” I said.

“Why is she so ugly and red?” Sorek asked.

“Human babies turn red,” Seron said. “The way your mother does when she’s embarrassed.”

I glowered at him.

“She can’t turn into a dragon?” Sorek asked.

“No, just like your mother and Touta.”

“Hmm. We’ll see, I guess.” Sorek was too young for tact, but he also sounded just like Seron.

“Ora, don’t carry Aki around like that, it can’t be comfortable for her.”

“She my pet.”

“She is my pet,” Aurek said.

“Aurek, that was…not the part of that sentence we most need to correct.” I sighed. “I need a nap. Or maybe to sleep for a thousand years.”

“She’s our baby,” Vorja said.

“Baby,” Aki said, grinning.

Oszin rubbed my forehead as I fell back onto the pillow. When I woke up, I had a crystal dragon, a mist dragon, a rock dragon, three winged cats and a mysterious spatula in bed with me, all sleeping, except for the spatula as far as I know.

“How did you and daddies have a baby?” Ora asked at dinner some weeks later.

Ezeru and I exchanged a look as we noted that this was the first time she had asked a question that reached that far outside of her own existence.

“When I met your mother, I went into heat,” Ezeru said. “And I had to make a baby with her, and that baby was you.”

“Oh—we’re going that far already,” I said.

“Heat?”

“When you grow up, you might know who to be with, because you’ll feel very strongly about them,” Ezeru said.

She chewed her lip. “Can I be in heat for Vorja?”

“We’re going far,” Seron said with a smirk.

“When you’re little, you always think you’ll marry your brothers and sisters and cousins,” I said. “But when you grow up, you might meet someone else because you’ll be around other people more often.”

“Although, let us say, he isn’t really your brother,” Aurek said.

“He isn’t?”

“No, that’s why Vorja doesn’t call everyone ‘Mama’ or ‘Daddy’ like we do,” Sorek said.

I looked at Vorja and wondered if we should have included him. It had sort of been a gradual accident that we ended up raising him. First, he was just with the kids during the day and having an hour of tutoring every day with Aurek, and then he got his own room near our children for convenience sake, and then Aurek heard him having a nightmare one time and brought him into our bed, and at this point it was clear that Aurek had just plain adopted him, but by then it seemed strange to have him call us ‘Mama’, ‘Papa’ (Seron), ‘Daddy’ (Ezeru) and ‘Touta’. Aurekdel, being the king, got stuck with the loftiest title of ‘Father’ and Vorja called him that, and sometimes Aki called Ezeru ‘Daddy’. Ezeru seemed perfectly happy to let that stand.

I guess we were used to things being confusing, but Ora had never wondered about it much before and none of the kids really knew much about what had gone on before they were born.

“Vorja is Father’s son,” Sorek said. “Me and Papa are crystal dragons and you and Daddy are rock dragons and Vorja and Father are blind dragons.”

“Hey!” Vorja said, but then he didn’t seem to know what to say after that.

“Why isn’t Vorja my brother?” Ora sounded furious. “Yes, he is!”

“Actually, he’s about as far from your blood brother as you can get,” Aurek said. “And someday you might be very glad about that. But Vorja is a mist dragon, and when he gets a little older, we’ll take him to the mist caverns to learn his magic.”

“Ohh,” Ora said. “Can I go?”

“Probably.”

Vorja was just poking at his fish now. I always wondered if I should try to talk to him about what had happened, but six seemed way too young to address one’s parents being killed and Dvaro and Izeria maiming him to use as a pawn. In fact, there was no mention of when you should bring that sort of thing up in parenting manuals.

“Erida said that Mama came here when she didn’t want to because of a prophecy,” Sorek said carefully.

“Who is Erida?” I asked.

“A girl at play time. A big gold dragon girl who’s always saying stuff.”

“That kind of girl,” I said. “Well, it’s true. I had to marry the king because of a prophecy. We were supposed to bring peace to the world, and I suppose it came true.”

“Which king?”

“All three of them, I think. Prophecies are funny that way.”

“Yeah,” Sorek said.

“Do you know what a prophecy actually is?” Seron asked.

“I do but you should probably tell Ora,” he said.

“Nice move,” Oszin said.

Ora, however, had lost interest in the conversation, as she always did once big words and more abstract concepts entered the picture. As expected, Ora was behind her brother in everything scholarly. When I tried to teach her to read she was soon in tears.

She was looking at Vorja, though, and patted his hand. “Let’s play evil parents after dinner,” she whispered.

“What on earth is ‘evil parents’?” I asked.

“Oh, Mama, it’s when we pretend to be bad,” Ora said. “But it’s just pretend. We won’t be real life bad. Sorek can play too.” She sensed that Sorek was slightly more trusted.

“It’s a fun game,” Sorek agreed.

“I think that’s how they work things out,” Seron said. “Aurek and I didn’t get to play very much when we got back, but when we did—”

“We always played about murders and hiding from an evil king or something,” Aurek said.

“Just don’t put Aki inside of a box again,” Ezeru said in a tone that made all of three of them look terrified.

“What’s the rule?” Aurek asked.

“Nothing alive goes in a box,” Vorja said.

After we had tucked the children into their beds, Seron reading them a story while Oszin sang Kamiri songs to Remi in the rocking chair, I went down to the baths for the first time in far too long, washing my hair and scenting my skin, and before long Ezeru came downstairs.

“Oh…do I have company?” I asked, giving him a flirtatious glance over my shoulder.

“If you want it, I’m always here,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if it was too soon.”

“No. I healed so quickly this time.”

He picked up a comb and ran it through my hair. All of my men loved to play with my hair, I’d noticed. They could have been my handmaidens myself, except my handmaidens didn’t usually wrap my hair around their wrist and capture me in their grasp for a kiss that made me sigh.

“I got a letter,” he said. “From her today.”

My half-closed eyes snapped open again. “Her? Do you mean Izeria? After all this time?”

Once defeated, Izeria had never shown much heart for aiding with negotiations. But she had never caused trouble again either. She joined a religious order of female dragons who watched over a sacred cavern. I wondered if she’d found some sort of peace there, but mostly…I didn’t care. I was glad she stayed out of our way.

“It hardly said a word,” he said. “Except to tell me what she did to me. All the mists she used and where she found them. She said if I wanted to make Oranu smarter and stronger, that’s how I would do it.” He let my hair uncoil from his hand, and he shut his eyes and pressed his forehead against mine.

“You don’t…want to do that to her, do you?”

I heard him exhale, his hand dropping to my full breast and then to the curve of my hip. “No. I would never change a thing about my daughter.”

“Me neither.” My fingers traced along his brow and cheeks, as we held each other closer and closer. “Not a thing. The children are so different, just like us, but they love each other and I think they understand each other too.” I giggled. “Evil parents. We might have to play that now.” I smacked his behind and he lifted his tail with surprise. I actually blushed just feeling the muscles flex at the base.

I shuddered with pleasure as he spread my legs and slipped the tip of his tail into my entrance and gave it a shake inside me. “Ohh…Ez…”

I wrapped my hands around the muscles of his upper arms, digging into his skin and holding on tight as he drove me to a release that came so fast and hard I could hardly bear it, my neck craned back, my spine arching, my toes spreading as Ezeru flicked my sweet spot over and over.

“That was fast…”

“That was for smacking me. Of course, I’m hardly done with you. You’ve really asked for it,” he said. “What a red, embarrassed little human…”

“Ohhh.”

He nipped my ear. “You’re not evil, but you can be…cruel.”

“When have I ever been cruel to you?”

“Every day. Just by existing.”