CHAPTER 43 PORT
I don’t know what Mili said to Max after we repaired the dam, but he’s been awfully chipper the past day or so. Mili and Cory have been sharing the bed, and Max and I have taken the couch (a cramped fit, but I don’t mind much).
Once we heard Mili and Cory start their intimacy last night, Max lunged for me, more ravenous than I’ve ever seen him. He genuinely pinned me by the arms for a moment, feasting on my lips, leaving me completely helpless to him. It turned me on more than anything.
Of course, I took control back after a minute of that, and showed him what happens to dragons who think they can get the better of me. Normally Mili’s the loud one in the house, but Max might have taken over that role last night.
I wondered afterwards, as I held him close to me and felt him fall asleep, whether he’s been intimate with Milica yet. There’s been no indication of any physicality between them since I caught them kissing, but I see the way he looks at her. Max is happy to give in to my demands of him, but I can tell he wants to ravage her.
The thought overwhelms me sometimes, the idea of being with the two of them together. Max and I could take turns with the faery, and Mili could watch me have my way with him.
If Cory were with us, I think the dynamic would be even stronger; his Alpha presence would restrain Max and me both. The need to control ourselves around his commanding presence sounds as enticing as it would be challenging.
“I’m not going easy on you today, you know,” Max grins wickedly at me.
We’re walking to a nice patch, just between the forest and the river, where we’ve been enjoying training as of yesterday. Since the dam broke, and Mili seemed deeply anxious about it, Max and I moved from our typical spot inside the forest to have a view of the river –just in case the vandal returns.
I smirk back at Max, nudging him with my shoulder. “Likewise, my friend.”
Once we arrive at the clearing, I stretch and let my satchel fall to the ground. I close my eyes and raise my arms above my head, pulling until I feel it in my spine. When I open my eyes again, Max is frowning at a spot across the river.
I follow his line of sight, but see nothing. “What is it?” I ask.
“I thought I saw something flicker.”
Brows furrowing, I step around him and get a better view of the other side of the river. I see a flash of light, too, bouncing off a head of long blonde hair. The person is dressed in a dark cloak, so I can’t make out their build, but they look (albeit from afar) strangely familiar.
The figure disappears as they walk down the other side of the hilly field, and I turn to Max with a shrug. “It might just be someone from town going for a walk.”
“How did they get across the water, then?” Max replies, skeptical.
“I’m sure there are loads of faeries in Ethelinda.”
He huffs and shakes his head, but continues unpacking his bag. I go to kneel beside him and lay a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t let it worry you, Max. They didn’t seem to be up to anything wicked, did they?”
Max grumbles something that sounds like I suppose not and lifts his slingshot from his heavy leather satchel. I smile, the thrill of an impending training session rushing through me, and move to grab my short sword.
The two of us stand and face each other, starting to circle one another slowly. Max tosses a jagged stone in his free hand, and I grin at the sight of the gears turning in his head. It’s been a few days since we trained with weapons, and I have to think fast to match Max’s tactical, defensive mind.
He’s quite a bit taller and heavier than me, but he doesn’t fight like a front-line fighter, preferring to hold back and launch counterattacks from a distance. By contrast, I’m happiest fighting at close range with melee weapons: my daggers and short sword are my best friends in battle.
As such, when we fight, it’s always full of surprises and little delightful dangers. It’s as erotic as it is risky, battling Max; our bodies clash and bounce off each other like thrown marbles.
“Well?” Max asks, hand on his hip in impatience.
I laugh before throwing myself at him, hoping to catch him in a moment of surprise. He anticipates my movement before I make it and side steps as he launches a stone straight for my ankle. I pivot quickly, barely dodging it, and Max snarls in frustration.
We continue like that for a while, each of us anticipating the other’s movements, both of us barely avoiding injury. I’d be frustrated if it were anyone else, since I haven’t landed anything more than a small scratch on Max, but it’s him –so how could I stay mad?
Finally, I call for a break, and Max agrees readily. We drink water straight from the river and feed each other dried meats and cheese, chatting about Ethelinda, Mili, Cory, each other –anything we can think of, really. Finally, we train again in hand-to-hand combat, then head back to the cottage.
–––
At the cottage, Max and I are both surprised to find it empty. It still smells faintly of Mili, so she must not have left too long ago; hopefully she’ll return home soon. I haven’t gotten to spend enough time with her recently, and I miss being surrounded by her scent.
I turn to see Max equally as disappointed –apparently, I’m not the only one hoping for a little more companionship. He turns to me, caught in his wistfulness, and blushes.
“Hungry?” he asks, no doubt trying to distract me.
Luckily for him, I am starving, so I nod and smile as he heads to the kitchen to fetch us something to eat. Once he’s in the kitchen, the sound of faint footsteps from outside reaches my ears.
I sit up straighter on my spot on the couch, hoping either Mili or Cory have returned. The door slams open abruptly, and my excitement turns to worry. I jump up at the sight of Mili’s stormy face and rush over to her.
“Mili, is everything okay?” I ask in a rush, words tumbling out of me haphazardly.
She shakes her head, almost shaking with rage, and calls out, “Max, come here!”
Max rushes into the living room, wiping his hands on his trousers and leaving breadcrumbs on his thighs. He blurts out, “What is it?” worry covering his face.
Mili lifts a shaking finger and points to the loveseat, ordering, “Sit, both of you.”
I glance at Max, who’s looking at me, too, and both of us quickly sit on the small seat. I squeeze Max’s thigh with my hand, since it’s bouncing nervously already, and he sighs shakily.
“Mili, are you okay?” I slowly ask.
Mili laughs bitterly and throws her hands in the air. “I’m fine, wonderful, even! I was just wondering why in the godsdamned Realm Helennia and the other townspeople are telling me you and Max broke the dam?” As she speaks, her hands curl into fists by her side, but I sense Max flaring up with righteous indignation at her words.
I grip Max’s thigh solidly in my hand and face Mili directly. “You can’t believe them,” I reassure her. “They must be mistaken. Why would we do such a thing after all the effort we’ve put into saving Ethelinda?”
At that, Mili wavers slightly –her hands twitch and her scent becomes mingled with immediate guilt. Max snarls beside me, though, and her eyes darken again as she pivots to face him.
“How could you believe we’d do that?” he growls.
I feel my heart start racing. This is not going to go well. “Max–”
“– No, how could she? Mili,” he continues, turning again to her, “You’d really trust that gossiping neighbor over us ?”
“She’s not just some neighbor!” Mili exclaims. “She brought me to Chrysthinia, she helped me save them from dying when they got sick! How could I not at least hear her out?”
“Stop fighting!” My voice booms out. It echoes through the cottage, and both Mili and Max’s eyes widen in surprise. I huff out a heavy breath and continue, “I’m not Cory, so I’m not going to tell you both to calm down, but we can’t attack each other in this way. Not when we’ve come so far. We have to find a way to solve these things peacefully.”
I sigh as Mili’s eyes start to glisten with regret, and Max lowers his gaze to the floor beneath his feet. I’m not a leader, I know that –but I couldn’t sit there silently while the two of them tried to tear each other apart. Instead of talking more and getting my words all twisted up, I hold out a hand to Max and help him stand with me.
Mili bites her lip, avoiding my gaze, as we step over to meet her in the middle of the living chamber. I hold my arms out to her, a silent olive branch, and she rushes into my arms. A shaky breath escapes her and I pull Max into our embrace, smiling with relief when he wraps his arms around Mili, too.
“Can we stand here a moment?” Mili whispers.
I nod against her, and Max sighs, “I’d like that, too.”
“We can stay like this as long as we need to,” I answer softly.
After a minute, the three of us untangle ourselves and move to the bed so we can talk in a more relaxed setting. With only room for two of us on the loveseat, it’s bound to feel like an interrogation. Here, it’s quieter –softer. Getting to lay side-by-side is a nice bonus, too.
Max lays on the end of the bed, propped up halfway by his elbows. His right arm is wrapped around my lower calf, and he slowly strokes my leg hair. I get the feeling it’s as much to calm him down as much as it is for me.
I’m sitting on the left side of the bed, my back straight against the headboard. Mili is beside me, laying sideways. Her feet are close to Max’s, but they aren’t quite touching each other. I suppose they don’t want to set one another off again –but I make a mental note to bring it up to Cory. He might have an idea or two to help the two of them be less tense around each other.
“Max, Port, I’m...” Mili starts. After a frustrated sigh, she continues. “I’m so sorry I came into that conversation without hearing your sides, too. I was just panicked, so panicked that I masked it with anger. What would it have meant for all of us if you two had broken the dam? I didn’t want to lose you both, especially everything we’ve all been through, but I have to put Ethelinda first.”
Max snorts at that, and I raise a critical eyebrow of his flippant response. “Sorry,” he starts, forcing his smirk down. “I’m not a fan of the whole ‘duty to one’s homeland’ thing. Never got it, never will.”
Mili frowns, but sits up to face him better. “I don’t judge you for that, Max. We all come from different places, different experiences, different lives . Still, you can understand where I’m coming from, can’t you?”
At that, Max scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Yeah. Yeah, I can. Sorry.”
“Thank you,” Mili sighs.
“I just want to make it perfectly clear, too, that we absolutely did not break the dam,” I say. I hold Mili’s hand while I talk, and she looks down at our entwined fingers instead of directly at me.
“I know,” she whispers. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
At a loss for words, I look to Max. Surprisingly, he nods knowingly. “Honestly?” he starts. “I get it. The paranoia that comes when you put your trust in people is no joke.”
“Yes,” Mili nods, wide-eyed, “That’s exactly it. It’s not that I don’t trust you all, I just –I perhaps overestimated how long we’ve really known each other or how much anxiety I have about Ethelinda.”
I nod, humming quietly. “It makes sense that you’d be so protective of the town. Only a few fortnights ago the blight threatened to destroy it.”
Mili winces at my words, and Max gently nudges her foot with his own. “Hey, don’t get in your head about it, now. We’re not going to let anything happen to Ethelinda, alright?” I watch with a soft smile as Mili nods at him, seemingly strengthened by his words. He grins at her and winks, “That’s our girl,” and she blushes violently.
I laugh at Mili’s quickly-reddening face, and she dives to bury her face in a pillow. “Oh, gods,” she mumbles into the bedding. “You dragons will be the Death of me.”
Max chuckles, too, and the three of us quickly devolve into fits of laughter. After a moment, Mili sits back up, any trace of worry gone from her face.
Impulsively, I reach over and plant a kiss on her lips, and she beams up at me. When I glance back at Max, he’s gazing at us with what looks like longing, and Mili’s eyes follow mine to stare at him.
She rolls her eyes, grinning, and says, “Well, don’t pout. Come here.” Then, with no hesitation, she leans forwards and kisses Max firmly on the lips. When she pulls back, his eyes go wide and his face turns beet-red. She winks, “You’re cute when you’re flustered, Maxey.”
At that, he scowls. Mili and I burst into laughter again, but a memory flickers through my mind.
“There was someone at the river today,” I say, brows furrowing.
Mili’s eyes widen. “What? Who?”
“It looked like a faery, but I couldn’t be sure. Whoever it was had long hair, almost white. They were wearing a dark cloak, too, if that helps.” Mili’s head cocks to the side, gears turning in her head. “Sorry, it’s not much to go on,” I frown, pursing my lips.
“Oh, Realm’s Mother,” Mili suddenly whispers. “I know –I think I know who it was.”
“What?” Max blurts out.
Mili nods, her eyes hardening. “Listen, I’m going to find Aurora. I need to confront Aurora. Will you two be okay here?”
“Mili, we can come with you–” I start.
“No,” she interrupts. “I need to go alone.”
Max and I exchange a hesitant glance, but he eventually nods. I nod, too, silently accepting Mili’s request. As much as I want to go with her, to help her ... it seems like this is tied up in her past. I understand her need to handle it alone. Besides, our presence would probably alarm Aurora, which wouldn’t help.
“Thank you,” Mili exhales quietly. “I’ll be back, okay?”
She stands up from the bed without another word, and I see Max’s eyes soften with concern as he watches her. Mili makes it halfway to the bedroom door before stopping and turning around to face us.
“Don’t worry about me too much. I’ll see you both later tonight.”
I nod, forcing what I hope comes across as a confident smile, and she rushes back over to plant a kiss on my forehead. My heart warms at the gesture, and lights completely aflame as I watch her go and do the same to Max.
He breaks out in a wide grin before he can stop himself, and I turn to Mili with a strange sentimentality in my heart. I really care for her , I think. I suppose I knew it before, but little moments like these never fail to remind me.
“I–” she stops herself. “I care about you both. Be safe while I’m gone.”
“Likewise, little faery,” Max says, voice strained with compassion and worry.
If Mili hears the tension in his voice, she doesn’t let it stop her. She turns to the door without a word and rushes out without looking back.