30. Lux

CHAPTER THIRTY

LUX

T he morning sun beat down on my bare chest and shoulders as I ran behind Jay and Rehan. Like our Island, Malta was hot. Unlike our island, it was also dry and flat, with short trees and scrubby shrubs. Although we passed a few houses in various states of repair, we didn’t see another person until we arrived back at Cikku’s Vineyard.

Unlike the pristine visitors' center on the far side, the courtyard of Cikku’s villa was large, undecorated, and full of wine-making equipment and old cars. We came to a stop, and I gasped for air, my chest heaving. A sheen of sweat covered Jay and Rehan, but otherwise, they could have been out for a light stroll. They were fitness beasts. I didn’t want to, but I envied Rehan for the commonality. I knew Jay and I both liked board games, but you actually had to have one to play one, and they weren’t high on my packing list.

“Later,” Jay said.

Rehan reached out and grabbed her forearm. “Stay, train with us.”

Jay frowned. “We already talked about this. I can’t.”

“You won’t.” Rehan challenged.

Jay looked at him flatly. “Cikku’s dropping you in town to do some shopping, and he’s only got space for four in his car.

“Excuses,” Rehan stated.

Jay kissed him on the cheek before stepping to me. “You okay training with Rehan?”

“If I say no, do I spend the day with you?” I asked, feeling like one of my school kids. A memory of me standing up to Jay and warning her about this exact situation flashed across my mind. Only, I didn’t know how to follow through with my threat.

Jay grinned. “Nice try. It’s dusty neolithic sights for me this morning. Super boring.” She kissed me on the cheek as well before hesitating. “Og will be on the shopping trip.” She winked and waltzed to the front door.

I watched her butt sway as several little interactions we’d had recently clicked into place. Jay knew something had happened between Og and me, and she was trying to encourage it further. My mate was trying to hook me up with one of her other mates.

I stood there blinking as the door shut behind her.

I needed to talk to Og. This awkward dance needed to end.

Rehan clenched his fists and punched the nearest object. The rusty shell of a car groaned and dented under the assault.

“I’m trying so hard just to be her friend.” Rehan stepped to my side. “Where Og pushes, I’m waiting with open, supportive arms even if I disagree. But it’s not bringing me any closer.”

“Jay’s trying to set me up with Og,” I blurted before my brain caught up.

Rehan grunted. “She needs to try harder. All it’s doing is making the two of you avoid each other.”

Although we were both standing and facing the house, I slid in front of Rehan. “It doesn’t bother you?” I remembered his simple acceptance of my missing limbs. “Og sucked my dick.”

“He had his mouth two inches from mine,” Rehan admitted.

I cocked my head to the side in surprise.

“How was it? A blow job from another guy,” Rehan asked.

Heat rose to my face. “Forceful, efficient.” My dick twitched. “I guess having a dick helps you know what you want.”

Rehan nodded and sighed. “We’ve lost Jay for today.”

We both paused, knowing Jay would have loved the rhyme.

“We’ve got a few hours before our ride into town,” Rehan continued. “Let’s see what those old air priestesses taught you about fighting.”

“That’s it?” I asked.

Rehan rubbed his shoulder. “I’m not sucking your dick or anyone else's, but we’re a group of five. There will be shite to figure out, as Tyson would say.”

A weight lifted off my shoulders, and a new resolve straightened my shoulders. This afternoon, Og and I would talk, and the four of us would come together to make sure Jay understood she was the center of our world.

After having my ass handed to me by Rehan in the name of training and a short car ride into the walled capital of Malta, I found myself mentally prepared for my long overdue chat.

“I’ll handle the phones,” Rehan stated after Cikku dropped us off.

Tyson threw his hands in the air. “Feck that, Grandpa. Your house barely had WIFI. I’ll handle the phones.”

Rehan narrowed his eyes. “We don’t need fancy gadgets. Just tools to get the job done. We’ve already fried two sets.”

“Are you saying that’s my fault?” Tyson stepped toward Rehan.

Rehan clenched his fists. “I can be.”

Og slid between fire and water and pushed Rehan in the opposite direction. “Rehan, I need some help with, um, rations. Yeah, rations. I’ve never shopped for myself, and we keep getting stranded. What doesn’t need to be cooked or chilled?”

“You better get out of here, fecking Guppy,” Tyson said as Rehan turned his attention to Og.

Og gave me a desperate smile, jerking his chin toward Tyson. I could feel my head shaking as all my mental preparation for our conversation went up in a puff of water and fire dragon drama. Og pulled Rehan down a side ally and out of sight.

Tyson grabbed my shoulder, spun me in the opposite direction, and marched me down the narrow Baroque streets of Valletta, Malta’s capital city. I stumbled, almost in shock from the sudden turn of events.

“If you turn another fecking shade of disappointment, Lux, I’ll take it personally, shift into a dragon, and level this fecking shit hole,” Tyson growled.

I rubbed my eyes before focusing on Tyson. Although he walked ahead of me, his shoulders weren't as rigid as I was used to. It took me a few more steps to realize the arrogant fire prince was honestly feeling insecure.

“I just really needed to talk to Og.” I lifted my chest and matched his stride. “It has nothing to do with you.”

“Is it because his dick is bigger than mine?” Tyson asked. “Are you going to have a threesome with him, too, and leave me out?”

My brain switched gears really fast. “What?”

Tyson only growled before changing the topic.

I knew the fire prince was chatty. If no one would talk to him, he defaulted to pissing off Rehan so the water dragon would fight with him. But our afternoon was like walking next to an endless waterfall. As we shopped for the basics, including multiple sets of clothing we were happy to shred if we shifted into our dragon forms, the fire prince filled me in on everything I’d missed. From The Hunt and Rehan’s cheating to the problem he now saw as being in urgent need of fixing.

As the afternoon eased into the evening, we found ourselves in a high-end suit shop. Tyson came out of the changing room in a dark blue ensemble.

“I liked the black better, though the brown really works with your dark red hair,” I said, watching the fire dragon pose in front of the trifold mirror.

“I didn’t realize how blue this would look,” Tyson admitted. “Do you want to try it on?”

I nodded, and we switched places, though it was a little big on me.

Tyson whistled. “Your silver hair matches everything. I don’t think there's a suit in here you don’t make look better.”

Heat rose to my cheeks, but I accepted the compliment.

Tyson sighed. “How do we fix this, Strategist?”

I flattened the suit against my chest again before slipping back to the changing room and thinking. By the time I came out, Tyson had put in an order for us, though what items he was having custom-sewn or where we would wear them remained a mystery. Jay said her credit card had no max. Although I would have been a little more thoughtful, Tyson took it to heart.

“So,” I said once we were back on the streets. “The problem is: Jay slept with Rehan twice, Og once, and the two of us not at all. She tends to gravitate toward Rehan.” I started to explain why she was probably leaning on the extra supportive water dragon before realizing it wouldn’t make a difference to the fire prince.

Tyson nodded. “We need to even the score. You haven’t even gotten a real blow job.”

I flushed scarlet. Not from Jay, but I was pretty satisfied in that department.

There’s going to be shite to figure out, Rehan had said. This was not the shite I had imagined. However, I had never been good at facing my problems. Helping others was always easier than helping myself. With Jay actively avoiding us, we needed someone to be the aggressor. Of the four of us, that was clearly Tyson.

“I see your brain squirming.” Tyson shoulder-checked me. “Share.”

“We need to find a sex shop first,” I said. “I’ve only seen them in, well,” I coughed, “pornos, but they must be real.”

Tyson flagged down the nearest couple, who looked like they spoke English. The woman turned beet red but pointed us down an ally a few blocks away.

“The Sin Bin’s better,” her date said, giving us directions to a store on the other side of town.

“I mean, if you’re looking for the best,” the woman’s blush eased, and confidence filled her shoulder. “Venus’s Grotto is out toward Mnajdra. It’s not just toys there. It’s oils, herbs, and fertility everything!”

“I don’t think two blokes need fertility potions,” her date stated.

Tyson jerked back, and I stepped forward and thanked the couple, who continued down the street now in a heated debate about our sexual preferences. I put them out of my mind and pulled Tyson toward our next destination.

As we walked, I laid out our plan. My heart raced faster with every word.

Tyson grinned. “If the water and earth brats don’t go for it, we’ll make them.”

I let out my best fake evil laugh, and Tyson joined me. His was not nearly as canned. I silently apologized to Ogden and Rehan before stepping into Dildopholis. A world I hadn’t fully realized existed filled every shelf.