There was a new lightness to her step when she followed Lyssa to the stables. Embracing how she felt and making the decision to try to convince all six of them to be with her had freed her, though it certainly complicated her life too.

She was still thinking about it and didn’t at first realize someone had fallen into step with her. She was startled when a hand brushed her wrist, half-expecting it to be Lyssa, though the other woman was several yards ahead of her as she practically ran to the stables. Her heart fluttered with fear for a moment, but immediately calmed when she recognized Eamon. She turned her hand so that he was holding her palm instead of her wrist, and their fingers interlocked.

“Where’re you off to?” He was looking completely at her now, and there was no shyness in his face or voice. They must have spent enough time together for him to be comfortable at their current level of interaction.

“We’re off to see the fire-wings.” She broke off suddenly, realizing she shouldn’t have told him the truth. Her stomach twisted when he spoke a moment later.

“I’ll come with you. I heard they had foals a couple of days ago.”

She managed a sickly smile, her thoughts racing as she tried to think of a way to divert him. If he came with her to the stables, he was sure to see Lyssa meet with Milo. She turned abruptly to block his path. “You have to promise not to say anything.”

He frowned as he looked around. “Are the foals afraid of noise?”

She shook her head as a warm breeze filtered through the ponytail she’d used to secure the hair off her neck. “I mean about what you’re going to see. It’s like super state secret-type stuff, okay?”

He arched a brown brow, and his green eyes revealed his confusion, but he nodded.

Certain she could trust him, she took his hand again and urged him to move faster so they could catch up with Lyssa. Her friend waited at the stable doors, and there was a hint of fear in her eyes when they grew closer. She glared at Eamon before cocking an eyebrow at North. “What’s he doing here?”

“He wants to see the foals, and he promises not to divulge a word of what he’s going to see in there.” She spoke firmly. Changing her voice to a soothing tone, she added, “You can trust him.”

Lyssa wavered for a moment before nodding. At some point, she had returned the headscarf to her hair, so the current proof of their melding auras was hidden underneath the brightly striped fabric.

Lyssa entered first, with North and Eamon right behind her. Eamon froze, his hand tightening on North’s, when Lyssa called softly, “Milo?”

There was a rustling sound nearby, and a bale of hay fell from a stacked pile as he stepped out from behind it. He opened his arms, and Lyssa ran into them. Seeing them together, it was even more noticeable their hair colors had fused and intertwined.

“What the…?”

North put her hand under Eamon’s chin and gently pressed upward to close his mouth. “Let’s see the foals.”

He stood frozen for half a second before he blinked and nodded. “Sure, foals.” He looked at them for another second before diverting his gaze. He seemed embarrassed, so North didn’t have to look to imagine how passionate their embrace must be already.

She walked with Eamon over to the other side of the stables, thankful to have some distance between them and the other couple. The fire-wings stood together, the male mate shielding his female, and the two foals that were barely visible behind them. He snuffled and snorted at them in a threatening fashion.

Eamon chuckled and held out his hand. A moment later, a carrot appeared.

“Is that real?”

“Of course it is.” Eamon held out the vegetable to the protective father, who took it after a moment and lowered his impressive wingspan, which glowed with flickering flame that never seemed to start a fire, even with all the hay around them.

“You can just conjure food?”

“It’s just a matter of manipulating molecules with magic, but like any other magic, it takes something out of you. It’s a wiser use of magical power to save it for truly necessary tasks one can only accomplish with magic—or when you really don’t want to run to the kitchen,” he added with a wink.

She turned from the family before them to grab the front of his shirt, urging him to face her. “Then we should recharge what you’ve lost.” She licked her lips as she said the words, lifting her head as his descended.

The kiss was sweet and unhurried, but there was definitely a low and steady burn of desire beneath. Keeping her promise to herself to start going after what she wanted and admit how she felt, she deepened the kiss as she pressed her hand to the front of his pants. His erection twitched against her hand, but he jumped back. She looked up at him through her lashes. “I like to touch you.”

He flushed. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.” He seemed humiliated to make the confession.

She moved closer, putting a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t shrug it off, so she took that as a good sign. “That’s fine. I don’t want to rush you.”

He shook his head. “I’m a man. I’m supposed to want to jump into bed the first chance I get. My brothers tease me something awful about still being a virgin.”

“It’s not really their business if you’re still a virgin, is it? Just don’t tell them.”

He laughed, though it was slightly hollow. “Most Baeli can see a physical manifestation of everyone’s aura. Mine’s still the pure purple I was born with. It won’t acquire a second layer of color from my partner until we’ve joined. So they tease me every time.”

She put an arm around his waist. “Who cares what they think? We’ll wait until you’re ready.” She stood frozen as she said the words, looking up at him by angling her head. “I mean, if you want to be with me? I’m not trying to force you—”

He brought a hand to her mouth, pressing his finger to her lips. “Of course I want to be with you.” He shifted slightly, shuffling his feet as though uncomfortable. “It’s just, I decided I only ever want to be with one person. Auras accumulate traces of every partner you have, and I just prefer the clean look of one or two colors layered together. My oldest brother has seven or eight colors in his, and it just feels wrong to taint his aura with the magic of someone with whom he doesn’t share a deep connection.”

North was simultaneously charmed by his words, but also disquieted by them. What would he think of her if her aura acquired the presence of all six of her guards? “Can you see my aura?”

He nodded. “It’s a brilliant white, startling so, and almost enough to hurt my eyes sometimes.” Sounding besotted as he spoke the words, he turned her in his arms to face him again. He put one hand around her waist, and his other cupped her cheek. “It’s magnificent.”

“And you’ll consider it tainted if I take a lover?”

He frowned. “No, of course not. All I’m saying is, I don’t see the point in melding auras with someone if it’s only physical.”

“What if you love more than one person?”

He shrugged. “That’s different. My father has two layers to his aura beyond his own, and the first is my mother’s. She died when I was young, so my stepmother’s is his second aura. He loved both of them deeply, and you can tell by how the auras blend together. It’s not like someone just threw on a splash of color. It’s a deep, cohesive arrangement of layers.”

“It sounds amazing. I’d love to see it.”

“Maybe you can when we’re in the Baelic realm. It’s most visible there, where our powers are the most concentrated. Maybe you’ll have enough Baelic blood to see auras as well.”

“How would you feel if my aura reflected six others’?” She held her breath as she asked the question, hoping that wasn’t too vague to get across her meaning.

His eyes widened for a moment, and he looked shocked. Then he frowned, looking uncertain. She braced herself for his rejection.

“If you’re talking about truly loving all six, I’m certain it would only make your aura that much more beautiful.” He leaned closer, pressing his forehead to hers. “Do you love all six?”

She looked up, her gaze locked on his. “I’m certainly starting to. I don’t think I could choose, but I know it’s a lot to ask from all of you.”

“You’re the strongest Trueblood in twelve hundred years, so maybe it makes sense that you need more love and support. You’re going to have great powers when you’re finished training, and maybe that’s more than one partner can help you manage. Maybe it’s meant to be this way.”

“What about the Oracle’s prophecy?” She asked the question without knowing why. Hadn’t she already decided she didn’t care about the prophecy, or what the High Council or others thought of her choice to keep all six? The only thing that mattered was if they were agreeable. Right?

He squeezed her cheek gently before moving his head, making it obvious his lips were about to touch hers. “Oracles have been wrong before. Who’s to say she didn’t get it partially right, or filter the interpretation through her own perception that you could only choose one?” His lips touched hers in another long, gentle kiss.

“That makes sense.” Those were the only words she could get out, and only when they paused for breath. When she extended her tongue to trace across his lower lip, he didn’t protest, and she was certain she wasn’t rushing him that time when she deepened the kiss.

He followed suit, soon setting the pace, and they stayed like that for the next half-hour, just kissing and lightly stroking each other as she waited for Lyssa’s assignation to end. Not that her thoughts were much on Lyssa or Milo at the moment. Eamon dominated them, both because of his physical proximity, and because he’d given her so much to think about.

It was only later, as she walked back to the castle with Lyssa, who looked far less frightened and a lot more satisfied than she had earlier, that she realized Eamon had never explicitly stated he was okay with sharing her with five other men. His words suggested he was, but she need to know for sure.

* * *

With her afternoon free time, she decided to take a swim. She was certain Marek and Kriss would corner her later to practice magic. They’d been talking about weaving the elements together to see what she could do with fire and water at the same time, and they both seemed pleased enough with her progress—though she wasn’t nearly as proficient with fire magic—that she wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to spring it on her at the next lesson. She wasn’t exactly dreading it, but wasn’t certain she was ready for it either. With that in mind, she slipped from her room and ran to the swimming pool, happy she didn’t encounter either man, though she would’ve enjoyed seeing them in any other situation.

She wasn’t alone, she soon arrived realized when she arrived at the pool. Ryland was in the water, cutting strokes cleanly. Orin lay on a lounger, oil making his dark skin shine in a way that made her mouth water.

She cleared her throat as she moved closer, and Orin lifted his sunglasses for a moment to wink at her. “I was hoping you’d be here,” he said.

“How can I stay away? I know they call this autumn here, but it’s still too hot for my comfort.” She made a production of fanning herself with her hand as she said the words while setting down the bag she’d brought with her on the lounger next to his. “Aren’t you going to swim?”

“Oh, perhaps. Getting the braids wet is a deal and a half.”

She winked at him. “Can’t you fix them with magic?”

He slid the sunglasses down his nose, his expression one of reprimand, though his eyes gleamed. “You need to learn you can’t just use magic for every little thing, young lady. It depletes your energy to waste it on frivolity.”

“I guess I’m just lucky. I don’t get fatigued like that, but I’m not old.”

“I’m a hundred and forty, not a thousand.” He gave a lazy laugh as he pushed up the glasses to shield his eyes again.

She stumbled for a moment, distracted from their teasing exchange. “Are you really?”

Once more, he slid down the sunglasses. “Sure am. It’s pretty young by my people’s standards.”

“It’s pretty old by mine.” She giggled at his outraged look and ran for the pool, wondering if she could tempt him into joining her.

She launched herself into the water, surfacing a moment later to find Ryland beside her. She grinned at him. “I thought you vampires couldn’t be out in the sunlight like this?”

“That’s an old wives’ tale.” He flipped on his back, floating leisurely beside her. “Also, I don’t need permission to enter your dwelling, holy water has no effect on me, and crosses are no big deal. No religious symbol is.”

She searched her brain, trying to recall what other weaknesses vampires supposedly had. “What about garlic?”

“That one is actually true. It’s an anticoagulant and works particularly well in vampires. Too much can cause us to bleed out—but I’m talking hundreds of bulbs of garlic, not a single strand worn around the neck. And it only works if we ingest it, not if someone shakes it at us.”

“No garlic in your realm then?” When he shook his head, she sighed. “I guess you’ve taken all the fun out of being in the vampire plane.”

“No. Just out of your silly myths. Earthlings are certainly gullible.” There was a note of affection in his tone that canceled out any censure. “But you all taste delicious.”

“Ah, but I’m a Trueblood. That means I’m not human, right?” There was a hint of anxiety in the question that she hadn’t recognized carrying until she expressed it like that.

He dropped the teasing tone and flipped upright from his back to look at her. “Of course you’re human. We all share the same origins. Mythics embraced our magic, while humans—those who stayed just human—tried to suppress or avoid it. They chose to ignore the power, because they were afraid of the unknown. We’ve since evolved, and most of the beings of the realms have only increased their power over the years as humans’ powers have diminished. It’s kind of sad actually. If they would embrace what they are, there’s no limit to what they could become.”

“That was really beautiful.” She blinked her eyes, surprised to find tears there. Needing to lighten the mood before she started sobbing, she asked in a teasing way, “Have you considered writing logos for fridge magnets?”

He growled at her, flashing his fangs, but there was no anger when he pulled her against him. “You have a sassy mouth.”

“I think—”

Before she could finish her sentence, his mouth closed over hers, sealing the words inside effectively as his tongue thrust into her mouth a second later. She kissed him without hesitation or restraint, determined not to hold back any longer.

There was a splash in the water behind them, but she didn’t move from Ryland’s embrace, even when Orin came up behind her and curved his body around her back. When he started kissing her neck, she tipped her head slightly to allow better access.

Ryland followed the motion with his mouth to kiss the other side of her neck while he trailed a hand down her hip and lightly grazed her mound before sliding underneath elastic of her bikini bottoms. Orin’s hand moved to a similar position, stroking her stomach and the top of her mound before dipping lower.

North closed her eyes as they touched her. She wasn’t certain whose finger was touching her, with both their hands so busy between her legs, but soon realized they both were when another finger entered from the other side, and they started to stroke her in unison. One of them had a slightly rougher finger than the other, with light calluses on the fingertips, and one’s finger was a bit larger than the other. She tried to determine whose belonged to which man, but decided it didn’t matter. Instead, she surrendered to the sensations they evoked in her as they kissed and touched her, bringing her to orgasm in just a few short minutes.

The water in the pool bubbled around them, though it wasn’t hot. It was simply a release of her power that went hand-in-hand with the orgasm.

Her eyes popped open when something soft brushed her face. It wasn’t a finger or one of Orin’s braids. Instead, it was a vine that was suddenly growing from the nearby arrangement of foliage that gave the swimming pool a jungle-like feel. It was stroking her face with a tender touch, and she shivered at the pleasant sensation. She turned her head slightly, breaking the kiss with Ryland to look at Orin. “Yours?”

He glanced at the vine and nodded. “Your power definitely increased mine, even though I didn’t come.”

“Would you like to?” she asked shyly. Knowing she wanted all six of them, and initiating physical contact with more than one of them at the same time, were two different things. It was awkward and a bit embarrassing to admit her desires, though she was certain they shared them. After all, they both kissed and touched her without any apparent acrimony or competition between them.

“If you’re sure, of course.” His eyes were wide, but there was a throaty husk to his tone.

She turned the Ryland. “Do you?”

He gave her a lazy grin. “I’m not going to say no.”

Before she started touching them in return, she paused for a moment. “Did your power surge too, Ryland?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

“But there’s no manifestation of it.”

“That’s because I draw it into myself and use it to sustain me. That reduces my need to feed even on emotion. Right now, I feel invincible.”

She gave them both intense looks of desire, allowing first one and then the other to see how much she wanted both of them. Then North slipped her hands into the waistbands of their swim trunks and curled her fingers around their cocks. They were both long and solid, with girth that made it difficult to fully encompass them with her hands.

She compensated by focusing her attention on the sensitive parts of their shafts, rubbing, squeezing, and stroking as their breathing became more erratic, and they started to buck against her hands. They were oddly in sync, and she wondered if that was just because her hands stroked them at the same rate in the same pattern, or if there was something more to it, something deeper that was like a seal of approval to their union. She was probably being fanciful and tried to dismiss the thought.

Ryland stiffened first, before splashing his release across her hand. Orin followed a second later, and she carefully disengaged from both of them to avoid hurting their sensitive anatomy. Then the three of them floated together, heads pressed together as they drifted in unison, joined as one for that brief moment in time.