Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
PENNY
“Do you want to tell us what happened?” Brax asks me calmly as he grips my hips, his thumbs rubbing small circles on my skin.
“Well… I… We didn’t…”
“I think he means when you fell down the mountain, Penny.”
“Oh,” I say eloquently. I thought they meant what happened with Indy.
This world with multiple mates was confusing.
Would they really be okay if Indy joined my…
harem? Indy seemed to think they wouldn’t mind, but I’m not too sure, this is so different from the human realm, it’s hard to wrap my head around them being okay with me kissing another man.
I glance at Indy and he gives me a wink, and somehow that action starts to calm my nerves. He isn’t nervous, so I could be brave, too.
“Well, I slid all the way down to the valley. Then…” I glance at Indy before looking back to Brax as I continue. “Then I met Indy, and he said he’d take me to the village, where I thought you two might be.”
“Sugar, I think you might be forgetting something there,” Indy drawls, looking at me with an eyebrow raised.
I play with a lock of my hair, looking at Brax’s chest as I respond, “Uh, no, I’m not.” I shake my head, hoping Indy will keep his mouth shut.
“Baby…” Brax growls, using his finger to tilt my chin up. He searches my eyes before commanding, “Tell us.”
I let out a deep breath as I try to look anywhere but at him. “I may have met Indy while being chased by a bullicorn.”
“A what?”
“A caledon,” Indy says, making me glare at him.
“A caledon!?” Brax says angrily as his eyes roam my body. His gaze locks in on my bandaged hands, and he grabs my wrists, pulling my hands between us.
“What is this? What happened?” he asks in alarm.
“It was from the fall down the mountain. I was using my hands to brace myself and they got a bit torn up.”
“The blood we saw, it was from your hands,” Ryker adds from where he’s standing beside us. I nod as Brax starts unwinding the bandages.
“I cleaned them as best I could out there. But she will need a healer,” Indy says as he moves closer.
When Brax finally sees my palms, he gasps in shock. “Baby, fuck, these are bad. How are you not in pain right now?”
“I am.” His eyes bounce up to mine and I can see his frustration.
“Okay, we need to find a healer, now,” Brax says, standing with me in his arms.
“Wait, what about… Indy?” I ask, worried they’ll take me somewhere and I won’t see him again.
“I suppose this is as good a time as any to ask,” Indy starts, making me look at him in alarm.
“I would like to ask both of you permission to court Penny.”
Oh. My. God. He did not just ask them that. I thought we’d have a conversation first about what this means if they—
“Baby, is that what you want?” Brax’s question cuts off my thoughts and I turn my wide eyes to him.
“I—” This time I cut myself off, unsure how to answer. I did want Indy. I felt the same way about him that I did about the other two. It was different with each of them, but I could tell they each held a place in my heart.
“The truth, Baby. We won’t be upset.” I search Brax’s eyes before I answer.
“Yes.”
“Yes, you want me to court you?” Indy asks, my eyes moving to his as I bite my lip nervously and swallow the lump that has seemed to form in my throat, before giving him a single nod.
“Okay, then, now that’s settled, let’s get you fixed up,” Brax says, starting to move again.
“Brax, wait!” He halts in his steps, looking down at me, where I cling to him.
“What about you? And Ry?” My eyes dart to Ryker’s quickly. “How do you feel about it?”
“Did he help you out there? In the forest?”
“He saved my life, twice.”
“Then he will be a good addition.” He nods his head and moves to the door, not stopping this time when I try to protest.
“But don’t you mind? Having to share me with two other men?” I ask as we follow Indy into the hall.
“No, Baby. I’d share you with twenty other men if they were all dedicated to your safety and happiness, and you cared for them in return.”
“But Brax, it doesn’t seem fair,” I tell him as he carries me down the stairs. “You have to share me, but I don’t have to share you?” This world was so strange to me. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if any of them had another woman they cared about.
“Red, it’s just the way it works in this world, we’re used to it. We’re just happy to hold any part of your heart.” My eyes move to his as Brax sets me on a bar stool. How did I get so lucky with these men? The women in this world are crazy to not have snatched any of them up.
Brax grabs my hands and holds them, palm up between us, frowning. “They’re bleeding again.”
“She’s bleeding?” an unfamiliar voice asks. I glance up to see Silver moving towards us, concern on his face.
“She hurt herself falling down the mountain. We need a healer, is there one nearby?” Indy asks, surprising me by taking the lead.
Silver shakes his head. “No, this village is too small for one. The closest is a full day’s ride at half speed on horseback.”
“That’s too far, she could have an infection,” Ry mutters, pressing the back of his hand to my forehead. “How do you feel, Penny?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re warm, Brax, does she feel warm to you?” The three of them take turns feeling my forehead and repeatedly asking how I feel.
“Guys, really, I’m fine!” I swear they aren’t even listening as they frown down at me. Likely mad there is something wrong that they can’t fix.
“I might have something that can help. But…” Silver trails off.
“But what?” Indy asks, turning to face Silver.
“You have to keep an open mind and not bite my head off. I know how some people feel about it.”
“About what?” Ryker asks, clearly growing agitated.
Silver steps closer, lowering his voice so only we can hear. “I have a magically infused healing cream.”
My men pull their heads back in surprise.
“Magically infused? What does that mean?” I ask when they all grow silent.
“Just what it sounds like. A cream infused with magical essence.”
“Where would you get something like that?” I ask Silver curiously.
It’s the first time I’ve really looked at him.
He stands around six foot one and has a lean but toned body.
His light brown hair is braided back and sits above his shoulders.
But it’s his eyes that stand out the most. They are a steel gray and I swear he sees right into my soul as he stares at me with a look I can’t decipher.
“It’s sold to merchants who travel from village to village. I thought it would be helpful to have on hand, you know, just in case,” he says with a shrug of his shoulder.
“And why do you three seem so taken aback by this… cream?” I ask the others.
“Sugar…” Indy starts. “Most people in this world are not okay with magic. They see it as evil and want nothing to do with it. Some even going as far as to try to harm those who have it, fearing what they might do with their power.”
“That’s terrible,” I tell him, and I see a bit of tension leave his face. “What kinds of powers do people have? Do any of you have powers?” I glance around hopefully. Maybe one of them could throw fireballs!
Indy shakes his head. “Not me.”
“Me either.”
“Nope, not me. But their powers could be anything. Some have the ability to heal, they would be the ones to make the cream. Some can harness elements like water or earth. I even heard of someone who could move an apple with their mind,” Ryker explains.
“So cool…” I think about the possibilities. They could be superheroes! “Can any of them fly?” I ask eagerly, making them all smile.
“I’ve never heard of that one, no,” Indy says, smiling at me.
“Okay, well, as much as I’d like to sit here talking about magic, my hands do hurt a lot.
Silver, how much for the cream?” I ask as I reach for my bag, noticing it on Indy’s shoulder.
He steps closer, letting me rummage through it.
I haven’t been in here since we ate the chocolate bars in the mountain.
“Oh, there’s no charge for you. If you want it, it’s yours.”
“No, I insist,” I mumble, distractedly, peeking in my bag to look for the envelope of cash I threw in here before I left on my search for Ria.
“Dammit, where are you—Hey, what’s this?
” I ask myself, finding a heavy velvet pouch, and pulling it out.
It’s a deep maroon color with a gold-colored string, keeping it closed.
“Here,” Indy says, taking the pouch from me. “You shouldn’t be using your hands right now, Sugar.” He pulls it open and holds it low for me. Heads lean in with mine as we peer into the pouch.
“Is that…” I trail off as I try to reach inside.
Brax grabs my wrist, stopping me, and Ry reaches in and pulls out a single gold piece, holding it up to the light and turning it back and forth. “Gold,” he concludes.
“Where did it come from?” I ask.
All their eyes turn to mine. “You don’t know? This is your bag, isn’t it? Do didn’t know it was in there?” Indy asks in confusion.
“No, I had a lump of cash bills… er… it’s like money, but from my world. But it’s gone now.” I glance at the piece in Ry’s hand as they all stare at it silently.
“How much do I have?” I ask them. “Is it enough for the cream?”
“Well,” Ryker starts, not peeling his eyes from the coin.
“I’ve never seen this particular one before.
See the caledon on it, here?” he points to one side and I nod, seeing the familiar head of the bullicorn.
“That marks it as a crown. I didn’t know any of these were still in circulation, to be honest.”
“Why? What’s so rare about it?” I ask in confusion, studying the coin in his fingers.
“This one coin could purchase this tavern and everything in it,” Silver says, his eyes wide.
“Really?” I ask in surprise. Ryker just nods. We all seem to come to the same question as our heads turn to the pouch in Indy’s hands.
“Indy?” I ask nervously, licking my lips in anticipation of what this could mean.
“Yeah, Sugar?”
“Dump it out on the bar. I want to see it all.”