For the fifth time in the last two weeks, North settled in at the Torture Room in the Drakken palace. She was getting tired of shuffling back and forth between the two kingdoms, trying to split her time and remain diplomatic. It was ridiculous, and she was rapidly losing patience for the apartheid that split the realm.

She was also getting tired of returning to this palace, when it was obvious at least the king and queen only hosted her because it was expected, and not because they wanted to have her around. Neither royal had been particularly open and friendly to her, though Queen Risa was slightly less frigid. King Thorne clearly had no use for her, which undermined her confidence.

It was no surprise to her that she was doing far worse with fire magic than with water magic. When she was in Haedra, she felt welcome and at peace, as though among friends and family. The only similar feeling she got when she was in Celestina was from Kriss or Lyssa.

Thinking of Lyssa made her brighten as she glanced at the timepiece on the wall. It told her she had about ten minutes until Lyssa arrived, ostensibly to take her to see the new foals of the fire-wings living in the stables. She’d seen the animals that resembled Earth horses before, but never tired of looking at their flaming wings.

She planned to spend time admiring the fire-wings and their new babies while Lyssa slipped away to meet with Milo. She didn’t always provide cover for them, but she had been co-opted into accompanying them on more meetings than she’d like. She was happy that they were happy together, but was a little sick of seeing them all over each other.

Maybe she was just envious. Her own love life, or lack thereof, seemed to have reached a plateau. She had kissed all six of them, and she’d experimented with a few of them in other ways, but Marek only seemed to want to exchange orgasms when they were about to perform magic, which left the whole experience feeling tainted. She’d actually shied away from his offers the last few times, unable to get past the disconcerting certainty that he only wanted to boost their magic.

It wasn’t quite like that with Kriss though. He’d also discovered the secret of boosting both their magic with orgasms first, but the few times he stroked her to the point of coming hadn’t always led to magic afterward. They were the two she saw most right now, which made sense with being in their realm, and they were trying to teach her their magic. She was feeling a disconnect from the others, but they were nearby and always available if she needed them. She just didn’t like the circumstances in which they were all currently trapped, feeling watched and desired only for her magic.

When there was a frantic knock at her door, she shook off the thoughts depressing her to cross the room. Lyssa was early and clearly antsy to get underway. She opened the door with an indulgent smile, about to tease her friend over her eagerness, but Lyssa pushed past her and closed the door before locking it. There was a sense of panic in her motions, and she collapsed against the door.

North tensed, instinctively feeling for the thrum of the fire element in the air as she prepared to defend herself from the as-yet-unseen threat. “What’s wrong?”

“This.” With a wail, Lyssa removed the headscarf she’d worn, which covered her previously pristine dark-auburn hair. Now, it was shot through with strands of silvery-blue.

She shook her head in confusion. “Is it from age?” That didn’t make sense, since Queen Risa had only an occasional strand of white through her red hair, and King Thorne had none visible at all in his dark-brown strands.

She shook her head, clutching her hands together. “It’s his magic fusing with mine.” Lyssa blushed, looking downward for a minute. “Last night, we…” She trailed off.

“Oh.” She scrunched her brow. “How was it?”

For a moment, Lyssa’s panic faded, and she got a dreamy expression on her face. “It was amazing. I’ve never experienced anything like it, but then when I woke up, it was like this.” She pointed to her head again before removing a portacomm from her pocket. That was what they called a cell phone here, and though somewhat different, they were essentially the same. Her fingers seemed to fly as she unlocked the screen and pulled up a picture. She thrust it at North a second later. “See?”

It was a picture of Milo, and he looked as startled and fearful as Lyssa. His hair was also shot through with streaks of orange-red. He looked different, but it was surprisingly harmonious. She handed back the portacomm and took a step closer to her friend. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch a strand of her hair, one that was heavily silver, but could detect no difference in the texture from the auburn strands surrounding it. “It’s beautiful.”

“It’s a disaster. Everyone’s going to know.” Lyssa wailed again before clamping a hand over her mouth. She took several deep breaths, clearly trying to regain control. “Sorry,” she said a moment later. Her voice was far leveler. “It’s just—I don’t know what they’re going to do. My father might lock me in the dungeon and never let me out to see Milo again.”

North frowned. “I don’t know much about such things, but I don’t think he can actually do that. Could he?”

Lyssa threw up her hands. “I don’t know. As far as I know, this has never happened before.”

“Is it common for your magic auras to merge?”

Lyssa shook her head. “Not that I know of. The history is a little fuzzy and wasn’t all written down before Balthazar split the realm, but I don’t think it was even before then. Of course, fire and ice beings tend to stay with their own elements. This must be why.”

Judging from the creeping panic in her expression, North braced herself for another wail that didn’t come. She breathed a sigh of relief before putting a hand on Lyssa’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s for the best. It’s not like you could hide it forever, could you?”

“I didn’t want to think about it,” said Lyssa as a tear trailed on her cheek. “It felt like every meeting was our last, and I couldn’t bring myself to think about the future.”

North frowned. “Do you want a future with him?”

Lyssa’s expression softened, and much of her fear faded away. “More than anything. I think he feels the same way too, but it’s impossible.”

“Why is it impossible? Give me all the reasons why, and maybe we can find a solution to each one.”

“For one thing, he lives in Haedra, and I live in Celestina. Our groups don’t really interact.”

“We’ve proven that you can. Nothing happens when either one of you crosses into the other’s side of the realm. Nothing happens to Kriss or Marek when they accompany me to the other’s side. Once upon a time, the realm was a harmonious mix of fire and ice. It could be that way again.” She said the last sentence with less confidence, not entirely sure magic was capable of physically reunifying the realm, and certainly not able to ask anyone at the moment, under the circumstances.

“I’m the heir to the throne. I have to abdicate to be with him.”

“Marek told me he’s stepping aside to come with me—if I choose him,” she said softly, almost reluctant to share the information he’d mentioned a few days ago in passing, as though it was no big deal that he would give up his position in line to stay at her side. She’d been touched then, and slightly reassured that he wanted her for more than a power boost. She wasn’t sure she should tell her friend, in case it added to Lyssa’s fear, but figured she needed to know.

Lyssa paled and sat down on the floor, seeming not to care about the flounces and folds of her dress that crumpled underneath her. “That’s just perfect. He’s the heir then—I mean if Marek really steps aside.” She swiped at her cheeks, unable to hide her tears.

“Then maybe it is perfect. You’ll be Queen here, and he’ll be King there. You just have to marry and reunify your kingdoms.”

Lyssa started to shake her head, but then froze. She looked up with a hint of hope in her eyes. “Do you think that could work?”

North didn’t know, but her friend needed a dose of confidence, so she forced herself to sound assured. “I don’t see why not. Once you’re both reigning rulers, you can pretty much do what you want, can’t you?”

Lyssa clutched her hands tighter together. “Sort of, but there are councils and parliaments to deal with. The High Council could veto it too, I suppose.” Hope faded, and her expression crumpled again. “We’ll probably have to run away to Earth and live in exile.”

“If that’s the choice you have, you’ll make the best of it.” With a sigh, she sank down on the floor beside Lyssa and took her friend’s hand. “You know you would like part of it. I have no doubt you can become a famous designer on Earth, and Milo would find something to keep himself busy as well. It’s probably not going to be necessary, but at least you have a backup plan if it does. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Never seeing him again.”

She squeezed Lyssa’s hand. “Exactly. So you know that’s the thing you don’t want to happen most of all. The rest are just details that we can handle.”

“I still don’t know how to proceed. My parents are going to hate me.”

“If you stop seeing Milo, would your hair go back to normal?” When Lyssa lifted a shoulder in a shrug, she said, “If it did, we can assume not instantaneously. They’re going to find out either way. You don’t have to spring it on them right this minute, but you don’t have to hide how you feel about Milo either. There’s nothing shameful in it. You love him, and he loves you, and if others can’t handle it, that’s their problem.”

Her words were originally meant just for Lyssa, but they resonated deep inside her, pointing out she had been holding back with all six of the men in her life partially because she was still acting under the Oracle’s prediction that she would pick one of them as a husband. She was holding back her desires, afraid what it would mean to have a relationship with six men.

After spending her life in total social isolation, aside from her father as her only companion, she craved human contact and the ability to move among people freely. They were sure to receive a fair share of disapproval if she claimed all six of them as her husbands, and now she realized she’d allowed that influence her. When things got too intimate, she was likely to flee before they could progress.

She was just as much, if not solely, responsible for the standstill that had occurred in her relationship progress with all six of them. She’d spent the last two weeks shying away from anything truly serious that threatened to make her feel deeply. Flirting with the idea of keeping them all and actually going through with it were two different things. Apparently, her subconscious had been fighting both positions all along. Only now, as she spoke the words to Lyssa, she realized how freeing it would be to admit she was falling in love with all six of them and focus on building a relationship that was strong enough to encompass each of them.

“I don’t have to tell them today though, right?”

She couldn’t help a small smile at Lyssa’s hesitant question. “No, of course not.” She looked at the timepiece. “Should we leave to meet with Milo now?”

That perked Lyssa up, and she bounded to her feet a moment later. Her dress was crushed apparently beyond saving, but she didn’t seem to care. “Let’s go.”

North barely had time to slide her feet into sandals before Lyssa disappeared through the doorway.