Chapter 69
Rosomon
Glorya, Queen of Catha, holds my hand as she leads me to a bedroom in her castle, which is a short distance away from the temple.
Glorya was forced to join the Wives of Othrix. She’s been serving the klericks in Khotor and was brought to Catha with Tynan’s father. Turns out, she was among the women in the den I was held in last night.
The moment we arrived to free them today, Glorya rushed to my side and introduced herself, as did several other former princesses and aristocratic ladies, a few of whom I recognized from their visits to Achotia.
Glorya told me that her father, the last King of Catha, was the first sovereign that King Lancet murdered.
And she also told me that Tynan was very kind to her over the months he was recently in Khotor.
It turns out, she was the concubine that visited his room most nights, and both swear that nothing ever happened between them. Glorya has no reason to lie about this.
There’s so much to right in this world, but now that the temple klericks, Vanora and King Lancet have been captured, all is calm for the moment. And we need sleep, so we’ll be equipped to tackle these problems tomorrow.
Surath and Xendus, the former in Dragon form, are going to watch over the temple tonight, ensuring that all the guards and workers remain inside, until we figure out which ones to trust.
Tomorrow, one or more of the dragons—we’ve yet to settle on who—will fly back to camp to tell the others what’s happened.
There, they’ll gather a group of dragons and riders we trust, and those dragons and riders will spread the word through the seven kingdoms and help to keep order, until a new Council of Sovereigns can be formed.
I can’t wait to be reunited with my brothers and hope that Nurse kept them safe.
Zogar, Saxon and Tynan follow Glorya and me into the bed chamber.
Glorya smiles. “It’s been some time since I’ve been in my home.” She looks around. “But I’m happy to see that the servants have kept this room clean.”
“It’s beyond lovely.” I squeeze her hand. “Far more than I need.”
She smiles softly. “I’ll show the gentlemen to their rooms.”
“We’re not leaving her side,” Zogar says firmly.
“We’ll take turns standing guard,” Tynan adds, as if Glorya requires an explanation. “None of us require private chambers. Not tonight.”
Glorya’s cheeks redden. Embracing me, she whispers, “Do you consent to their continued presence in your chambers?”
Pulling back from her, I nod.
Glorya exits the room, and all three men quickly surround me in a circle of muscle and adoration. I don’t know when or if I’ve ever felt so special, so wanted.
Not far from us, a strong fire crackles, and a four-poster bed, covered in feather-filled quilts and furs, calls out to me. Beyond the fireplace, the room is lit by a few candles, and their light dances over the wood paneling and tapestries.
Cupping my cheek, Tynan draws my gaze toward him. “I’m so sorry about last night.”
“What did he do last night?” Zogar asks gruffly, as his hand slides possessively over my back.
“He saved me.” I smile softly at Tynan and then look toward Zogar. “Tynan protected me. That’s all you need to know.”
Zogar grunts. It’s going to be some time before Zogar trusts Tynan again, but I’m sure he’ll get there.
Tynan’s willingness to admit his complicity in some of his father’s actions was brave and admirable, and Xendus’s assurances washed away the last of my doubts and fears.
I don’t think Tynan can hide his true self from me, and I know he can’t hide his thoughts from Xendus.
Saxon lifts one of my hands to his lips. “Tell us what you want, ma chérie. Tell us what you need.”
All three of them caress me softly, respectfully, and I pull in a ragged breath. “I’m so overwhelmed. I don’t know what I want.”
“Would you like us to leave you alone for tonight?” Saxon asks. “So you can sleep.”
I vigorously shake my head. “No. Please. I want you to stay. All of you.” I glance between them as they continue to touch me softly.
“I need to have you near me. And I need to feel your love—physically and deeply.” I suck in a sharp breath.
My words sound so greedy, and we’ve got so much to discuss.
My biggest question is whether it’s truly possible for one woman to love three men so deeply—and whether those men can accept that she does. If I’m forced to choose, how will I go on without each one of them?
“Tonight, ma chérie,” Saxon says softly. “Let us help clear your mind. Think of nothing. Let us take the lead.”
“Yes,” Tynan says. “Let’s save all the serious talk for tomorrow.”
Saxon presses a hot kiss against my forehead. “Tonight, let us simply love you.”
I draw in another ragged breath. “All three of you?”
“Yes,” they say in unison, and then grin.
“Even the traitor can stay,” Zogar says. “If it will make you happy.”
Tynan frowns.
“Tynan isn’t a traitor.” I slide my fingers along Zogar’s strong jawline. “Tynan saved my brothers. He gained a pardon for Saxon. He helped expose Othrix, and—”
“Yes, yes.” Zogar shakes his head. “I know how much you love the boy.”
“You love me?” A massive grin breaks onto Tynan’s face.
I take a step back, and their hands fall off my body, leaving me feeling cold and longing to step back to their touch. But Tynan’s question brought my most important quandary to the forefront.
“You don’t need to answer.” Tynan shoots me a shaky grin. “I will always love you, even if you never love me.”
“But I—”
Tynan steps forward and captures my words in a kiss that sends sparks straight to my cleft and loosens my knees.
As his kiss deepens, more hands land upon me. Then the set of lips I’m kissing changes. The lips change again and again, but the kissing never stops. And as I kiss the men, my clothes disappear, allowing their caresses to directly fondle my skin.
While the men kiss and touch me, I’m swept up in so much pleasure and joy, completely caught up in every moment, and I lose track of whose lips were on mine last.
It would be so easy to continue like this, to let myself slip into a fantasy world for tonight, a world where the problems in the Light don’t exist, a world where the four of us have made plans for our futures, a world where nothing exists except the pleasure these three men can bring me—each of them fulfilling everything I need in his own unique way.
But I can’t be a coward. Before we make love, I need to be sure that each one of these men knows that I love him, even if I’m terrified of facing the full implications of saying it. Because I can’t imagine how these proud, strong men will ever accept that I want all three of them equally.
When I told Saxon and Zogar that I loved them, neither seemed to object, but we were in the midst of making love, and I know how easily my mind can be muddled by ecstasy.
As their hands roam gently over me, palming my breasts and sliding between my legs to tease me. I’m reaching the point of no return. Soon, all hope of discussion will end.
I break away from the kiss—it’s Zogar’s lips at this moment—and I stumble back on legs, shaky with desire.
“What’s wrong, my Rose?” Tynan asks.
All three men look concerned, and impossibly aroused—their eyes darkened, their skin reddened, their cocks incredibly hard.
“I know what I want tonight,” I say, and their eyes light up.
Tynan’s hand strokes his rod. “Do tell. We will fuck you however you desire.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t mean about sex.” I try to suppress the grin invading my face. “What I want, is to talk—to all three of you.”
“We’ve had enough talk today,” Zogar says.
“And you’ve been through so much,” Saxon adds.
The temptation to surrender to pleasure is strong, but I shake my head. “Tomorrow, we face problems bigger than ourselves, and we’ll have far more important matters to discuss.”
“What could be more important than this?” Looking into my eyes, Tynan pumps his cock in his hand.
Fighting another grin, I shake my head. “You know what I mean. Kings must be crowned. Klericks must be brought to justice—assuming they knew the truth.”
I shake my head. It’s so complicated. “Also, I need to see my brothers.” Happiness rises inside me. “Alfryd’s now king.”
“No, he’s not.” Zogar takes a step forward. “You are Queen of Achotia.”
I look at him quizzically.
“Based on the Founding Principles, the crown passes to the eldest child, not the eldest son.”
“Oh.” Zogar did tell me this once, but… “I don’t want to be Queen.”
Zogar smiles softly. “But you already are one, my queen.”
Shaking my head, I continue to back away. My legs strike the end of the bed, and I look between the three men. “Tomorrow brings hundreds, perhaps thousands of questions and problems, and I fear my most selfish issue will be lost in the shuffle.”
“Tell us what’s on your mind, ma chérie.” Saxon drags over a chair and sits facing me. “Until you have your answers, we’ll keep our hands off you.”
“And our cocks out of you,” Zogar adds. He sets a chair next to Saxon’s and the chair groans as he sits.
“Oh, for thrix sake.” Tynan grabs a chair, dropping it roughly beside Zogar’s. He lands heavily atop it, and grimaces as his cock bounces.
I push back to sit on the edge of the bed and pull a soft fur around my shoulders. They’re all waiting silently—and very patiently, given their obvious arousals.
“I need you to know.” My mouth has gone dry, and I suck on my cheeks for moisture. “I hope you know how much I love you.”
Saxon and Zogar nod, and a massive grin spreads on Tynan’s face.
Closing my eyes, I draw a deep breath as I pull the fur blanket more tightly around me. “I’m not sure you do understand.”
“What don’t we understand, my love?” Zogar’s deep voice crosses the space between us, enveloping me in even more warmth than the blanket. It gives me the courage to look up.
“To be clear.” I look between them. “It took me a long time to recognize how deeply I love you.” All three men beam, looking so confident that I’m speaking to them, and only them. “The problem is, I love all three of you.” I glance down, shaking my head.
The men stay silent as the truth of my words sinks in, and my heart feels as if it might rupture from the speed that it’s galloping.
This is it. The moment they’ll force me to choose. I’m starting to question my plan to talk about this tonight. I should have made love with them all, one last time.
Gathering the blanket about me for courage, I raise my gaze to face the consequences of my greed.
All three men are smiling at me expectantly. They all expect me to tell them I love them best of all. But I can’t do that. I can’t say that to any one of them.
“I can’t possibly choose!” I blurt. “Please, don’t ask me to choose.” Bending forward, I bury my head in my hands.
“Hush, ma chérie,” Saxon says. “I can’t speak for us all, but I would never ask you to choose.”
I tentatively raise my gaze.
“I believe I’ve already made myself clear on this matter,” Zogar says stiffly.
“Sharing has never been one of my strong points.” Tynan winks. “But for you, my Rose, I’d do anything.” He grins. “I’ll even put up with your two, far inferior lovers.”
Zogar frowns but then laughs and claps Tynan on the back. “I think I’m starting to understand this boy.”
“Not a boy.” Tynan says. “I’m all man.”
Zogar rolls his eyes but doesn’t reply.
“How…?” I don’t understand. “I thought love—true love—was meant to be reserved for one and only one. True love is something I never thought I’d experience, at all. It isn’t even something I wanted, or knew that I wanted. But I love you all, so strongly.”
“Your happiness is paramount,” Saxon says. “Your safety and happiness are the only things that truly matter to me.”
I glance up at Saxon. I know that’s not true—he cares about a great many things—but I’m grateful and flattered he said this.
“If you recall.” Zogar’s hands grip his knees as he leans forward on his chair. “The day we wed, I took a vow to make you happy. And if this is what makes you happy—”
“I’d do anything for you, Rose.” Tynan’s voice is strained, as if he’s close to breaking. “Hearing you say that you love me.” He places his hands on his chest. “I’m filled with far more joy than I deserve.”
“You’ve got that part right,” Zogar says gruffly. But then he chuckles and shakes his head.
My entire body is trembling, and my mind is spinning. This is not how I expected the men to react, not in my wildest dreams. “How would we live? What would people say?”
“We don’t need to answer those practical questions tonight, ma chérie.” Saxon leans forward in his chair, and I lean toward him as if some force is pulling us together. “But if we all want this, and I believe that we do, the four of us will find the answers to those questions, together.”
“And who gives a flying fuck what people think?” Tynan adds. “I do what I want.”
Zogar shakes his head. “Yet you claim you’re not a boy.” He chuckles.
Tynan grins mischievously and shrugs, and I’m reminded that while Tynan has but five and twenty years, Zogar has more like four-hundred-and-forty,
“I—” My emotions clog my words in my throat, and the three men all lean toward me, concern and adoration in their eyes.
Out of respect for my wishes, until I invite them closer, they’re going to keep their physical distance.
There’s so much more to express, but words can’t demonstrate what I feel in my heart.
I need to show them with actions.
“Thank you,” I say softly. “You’ve made me so happy. All of you.” I reach my arms out toward them.