Chapter Forty-Three WITCHING MOON

Chapter Forty-Three

WITCHING MOON

Week Three, Day Five

Year 3000

Ash had hoped that asking Aleksi for help with a small project would shake his old friend out of the dark mood that had descended upon him. Everyone had been worried about him since they'd returned from the Empire, and Ash's predicament was the first thing that had sparked any interest in Aleksi's eyes.

Ash had forgotten how uncomfortable it could be to have the Lover's undivided attention when romance and sex were the topics at hand.

"Have you considered whether you might need to build a nursery?" Aleksi surveyed the open space of Ash's bedchamber. "It's an indelicate question, I grant you, and I wouldn't normally ask a member of the High Court." He paused. "But then, most of us aren't fucking Creation."

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly. At least Aleksi was invested in something again. "We'll face that challenge if it becomes an issue. I don't want to overwhelm either of them."

"Of course not." Aleksi finished his critical review of the room. "You've done well. I approve. Nice touch, putting the swing near the bathing pool."

Ash was nearly four thousand years old. Given the things he had done with and to Aleksi, he certainly was past the point of blushing. But a nervous flush filled him anyway as his gaze swept from the swing to the new hooks on the wall next to it. Three bathrobes hung there instead of the usual one. Piles of fluffy towels were stacked on the floor beneath them. The edges of the pool had been lined with dozens of new vials and bottles and jars filled with mysterious things Aleksi had insisted he include.

The Dragon's den needed more than Ash's single container of soap if it was meant to be a home for both of his lovers.

"Are you sure it's not too soon?" Ash asked, not quite meeting his friend's eyes. "I know Sachi has always wanted to live with me, but Zanya ... Two predators don't always share space well."

"They do when they can find common ground. Besides"—Aleksi wrapped an arm around Ash's shoulders and pulled him close—"I suspect that our snarly shadow queen is fonder of you than you realize."

Ash was gambling a great deal on the truth of that. He slid his arm around Aleksi's waist and held his friend as his gaze swept over the changes they'd spent the afternoon making. Not so many that this wasn't still recognizable as his home—his den —but the subtle alterations still added up to a quiet statement.

A double vanity built to replace the one Sachi had unceremoniously tossed him through had been installed. It was flanked by twin wardrobes that held some of the more casual outfits Camlia had commissioned for Zanya and Sachi. Folding screens painted with exotic Witchwood flowers partitioned off a changing area lined with shelves meant for Sachi's everyday accessories and Zanya's weapons.

There were other touches, too. Three chairs by the hearth, as well as a far plusher rug covered in cushions spread out directly in front of the fire, comfortable for lounging. A couch large enough for three framed the sitting area, and new bookshelves full of Sachi's books lined the wall.

Ash hadn't tried to think of everything, since he wanted them to feel free to add their own touches to make the room theirs . But he'd done enough to make it clear he was ending his centuries of isolation. The consort's tower would exist for Sachi and Zanya to use if they wished.

But the Dragon's Tower would be home.

"Thank you for doing this," Ash said softly. "I know things haven't been easy for you since—"

Aleksi cut him off with a low growl of warning.

"No," Ash insisted. "I need to say this, Aleksi. What you do with my words is up to you, but I have to say them." Even if you hate me for it.

His friend pulled away, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive posture, but he didn't argue, and he didn't leave. "Go ahead, then."

Ash took a deep, bracing breath. "What happened to you was wrong. And I know how hard it must be—"

"No, Ash. Truly, you don't. You weren't on that field." Aleksi's eyes flashed—with anger, sadness. Hopelessness. "What would you do? Not if you lost your fire, but if you reached for the earth and felt nothing ? Not a Void-cursed thing. If you were alone , with nothing and no one."

The thought chilled him. Even now, instinctively, he felt himself reaching out. The implacable stability of their world pushed back, gentle and silent, a vast strength that had always been offered to him freely. What would it be like, to have that suddenly and violently ripped away?

"I'm sorry," Ash whispered.

"Don't worry about me." Aleksi clapped him on the shoulder and smiled just a bit too broadly. "Because you're about to have your hands full, old friend."

Ash let it go ... for now. He squeezed his friend's shoulder and smiled back. "If you're looking for entertainment, I heard the Raven Guard has taken over Ulric's courtyard and are about to have a drinking contest—with his ale, of course."

"Another time," Aleksi promised. "But I'd better go anyway. I don't want to ruin your surprise. If you need me—which you won't—I'll be in my tower on the Godwalk."

A moment later, Ash heard what Aleksi must have sensed—the quiet murmur of voices on the bridge from the consort's tower. Aleksi had already reached the exterior door. "I'd wish you luck," he called out over his shoulder, "but you don't need it."

And then he was gone, and Ash was facing the door that led to the consort's tower, strangling any second thoughts as he waited for Zanya's knock. As usual, it rattled the massive door, but this time he didn't move to open it. Taking a firm grip on his territorial instincts, he raised his voice. "Come in!"

The door swung open, and Sachi entered first, looking behind her and laughing at something Zanya had said. But when she turned around, the laughter died as she gazed around his room, drinking in the changes.

She inhaled when she saw the chairs arranged near the fireplace. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the vanity, and she smiled when she spotted the three bathrobes hanging by the pool.

"You've been busy," she noted.

The pleasure in her eyes soothed his deep, lingering nervousness. Only the Dragon's curious assessment remained, sharpened by Zanya's furrowed brow as she examined the changes. Her response was quieter—a slight widening of her eyes as she examined the wardrobes and chairs, and a tiny smile when she saw the shelves on the wall that would hold her knives.

When her gaze swung back to him, there was a question there, so he answered it. "The consort's tower will remain open for you, to use as you will. But it would please me if the two of you made your home here. With me."

"Ash ..." Sachi hesitated, seeming to struggle for words before she finally found them. "Are you certain this is what you want? You have nothing to prove—to either of us."

He closed the distance between them, and he didn't try to hide his predatory stalk or the hunger that rose in him. Not hunger for sex—not just that—but the hunger to have her safely wrapped in his arms. To have both of them here, in the heart of the monster's lair, boldly unafraid and his .

He held up his hand and exhaled when Sachi eagerly rested her cheek against his palm. "You told me you were no longer the princess they sent to me. But I was never truly the well-mannered god who received you. If you're brave enough to grow into who you were meant to be, then I will be brave enough to show you who I always was. If you want me like this."

Sachi laughed softly, but there were tears in her eyes, too. "I can't believe you think that flying away every time I spoke to you was well-mannered ."

His own laughter rumbled up like gentle thunder. "It seemed marginally more polite than dragging you to the ground and fucking you until you screamed right there in Elevia's courtyard."

"Well, now you know better." She grasped his wrists and held them tight. "I love you, whether you're Ash or Sevastyan or the Dragon, Lord of Earth and Fire. You will always be mine."

Primal satisfaction roared through him, and nothing on earth could have stopped him from kissing her. She tasted sweet and bright, like Sachi but more , as if the gentle glow that had always trembled beneath her skin had been unleashed. It was heady, and the only reason he didn't fall into it was because one bit of business remained unresolved.

Gently releasing Sachi, he turned to Zanya. She wore her usual simple black tunic and pants, but one of the personal maids had finally gotten after her hair with the scissors to remove the charred ends. It fell just below her shoulders now, in dark waves that framed her face as well as the wild intensity of her deep-brown eyes.

She was wary. Insecure. He'd seen that look before, whenever her power evinced itself too strongly and she had to gather herself tightly inward to brace for rejection. "You don't have to invite us both," Zanya said softly. "She's your consort—"

"Zanya."

She fell silent, still standing stiffly. He approached with careful respect for a fellow predator, stopping only when they stood toe to toe, her head tilted back just far enough to meet his eyes. "She is my consort," he agreed. "And you are our shadow queen, our warrior with the heart of a dragon. I love you differently. But I love you both."

The words made her shudder. Her cool, protective shell cracked, and Ash touched her cheek, but only to catch a stray strand of hair and guide it gently away from her face. "You don't have to love me back yet," he told her. "I know it takes time."

Her gaze jumped to Sachi, as if grounding herself in that familiar support. " Love was always just the way I felt about Sachi." Instead of looking at him, she reached for his hand and turned his arm over. Her fingers ghosted over the scar left by a Terror, and he knew she was thinking about the night she'd told him about her own childhood scars. "I didn't think I had it in me for anyone else. What I feel for you is big and confusing. But I trust you with my life." She finally looked up at him, her brown eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I trust you with her life."

For Zanya, it was a statement more profound than a declaration of love. She might as well have torn out her own heart and placed it into his hands. Humbled by that, he caught her hand, lifted it to his lips, and pressed a kiss to her palm. "I will never let you down."

Sachi slipped an arm around Zanya's waist and rested her forehead against her back in almost reverent silence. Zanya hesitated for the span of a heartbeat, then swayed forward, letting the space between the three of them dwindle to nothingness. She turned her head and rested her cheek on Ash's shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around them both.

He let the dragon revel in the moment, in the soft warmth of Zanya's breath against his throat and the silken fall of Sachi's hair over his fingers. Of the way they fit together, their chests rising and falling together, their hearts beating as one.

They were here. They were his .

And he was theirs.

"Come," he said finally. "Let me show you our home."