Chapter 61

It took around two decades after the sacking of Heacharium before I was able to leave Zuunkhorun. I finished my reforms, rendering myself the final tyrant who could accurately be described that way. After me, the position would look far more like the hobbled monarchs that rule at the pleasure of their parliaments in this Sixth Strata.

Into this rump post I installed a worthy successor. Searching for the perfect person for this reformed tyrant was a challenge, finally deciding upon a descendant of mine from Sarakiel's line, who, as it turned out, had married a descendant of Ujaala's. Thus were our lines merged upon the throne of a great land. Darklings would rule Zuunkhorun for a thousand years. It pleased me that Ujaala, who had been taken as a slave, was now the great-granddam of a house of tyrants.

With the future of the kingdom as assured as such things ever were, it was time to depart. I longed to be in a place that felt more like home. This was, of course, the time I would spend in Bashamailon. I was not certain how long I would stay, but even I was surprised by how long I lingered. Some of that is the fault of my wife the queen, some was the charm of that wonderful place.

Almost all of my children with Lysethe and Maireili were gone, cursed with the few years given to human and ghoul. Kelephas was elderly, a knight-commander in the Order of the Black Rose, and he stayed in the land of his birth with his Theva bride. The bulk of Sarakiel's sizable brood remained in Zuunkhorun, with only Bethor accompanying us as he finished up his apprenticeship. He would depart soon after for a life of adventure.

The other wizards set off to make their own mark upon the world. I had delayed them in my selfish war for too long. Deimara and Shura-Hegal began careers as adventurers and would soon be known as heroes, first on Aucor, then later in the Red Wastes. Dioscoro and Diotai set out into the lands once ruled by the Heacharids. Many of those reading this will know what they did there and those that do not will not have long to wait to learn at least some of it.

The rest of us arrived in Bashamailon on a bright spring day. My steps were light as we traveled through the Hinterlands. Alongside us was a wagon laden with treasure, gifts from my grateful subjects. I had led them into that brutal war, but the ones still living had no memory of the dark days when the Heacharids surrounded the Arkohnum Gate. What was a tragedy a century before was now merely a footnote in the annals of prosperity. I remained an honored figure of Zuunkhorun, the tyrant who ushered in a golden age, reformed the government, and then nobly abdicated. They are far too kind to me.

Melisant and her honor guard of knights waited outside the ring of standing stones. Their pennons flapped in the breeze as the mountain sunlight gleamed off their enameled armor. Thanks to the love of Allegeth, the years had not touched Melisant, and she remained as breathtaking as she had the first time I beheld her.

I prepared myself to gently and nobly correct her when she had used my old form of address. I was no longer Tyrant of Zuunkhorun. I retained but two titles, my Kharsoomian lordship and that I was prince consort to the queen. While Your Highness would be technically correct, my lord was perfectly fine. It was far more than any foundling from the rugged northern shores Rhandonia should expect anyway.

"Your Highness," Melisant said. "Welcome to Bashamailon."

"Thank you," I managed, uncomfortably swallowing my aborted intent of magnanimity.

She greeted my wives as I recovered, her eyes widening when she beheld the vorghal Ten Ghosts rode. My Theva bride was heavily pregnant, which led me to learning that they carried for a little more than three years. The others were horrified by this, but Ten Ghosts expressed only equanimity. I suspect she might have enjoyed the attention and care the others heaped upon her while in her condition.

Melisant led us down the path from the plateau and through the town of Kaibéliard on the way up to the Dragon's Roost. The townsfolk watched us with open curiosity. We were quite a sight, their prince consort and his massive feathered serpent, two darklings, a ghoul, a woman with stark white skin and hair wearing red-enameled plate armor, a Kharsoomian beauty cradling a djinn lamp of Old Qammuz, a ghostly wild-haired pirate woman, and of course a statuesque Theva mounted atop a slavering beast. Tanyth, accustomed to her position, put on her most welcoming smile and waved. She even spoke to a few of the townsfolk, and I believe any who received her attention fell in love. She would be as popular here as she was in Zuunkhorun and Castellandria.

Allegeth greeted us in the main hall of the Dragon's Roost. Her entire court surrounded her, decked out in their finery. She was certain to greet us all in turn, saving me for last. When it came time, her fiery eyes met mine and she took my hands. Her scales were warm and dry and already I longed to feel them against me.

"Welcome home, my husband," Allegeth said, baring her sharp teeth.

"I am pleased to be here, my love." I leaned in and kissed her chastely. She was at once the sole monarch of this land but also the descendant of their living deity. I was not precisely certain where the line for respectability was, but I was determined to fall upon the correct side.

Servants handled our possessions and when grooms came for the vorghal, Ten Ghosts had to politely assist them. Vorghals were never truly tame. They were perfectly harmless to those of us who Ten Ghosts had bonded with as family, but anyone else could be considered prey. Allegeth would soon order a special stable for the beast built, that it would no longer distress the horses.

We were shown to our quarters to be refreshed while the preparations for the feast were finished. Allegeth installed us in a tower of our own, though only Tanyth, Zhahllaia, and Sarakiel would spend the bulk of their time there. I would later learn that when the castle was built a thousand years before, they had not imagined a consort with quite so many mates.

After changing out of our traveling clothes into something more presentable, we were escorted down to the main hall where Allegeth and I had our wedding feast. The fare was hearty but I scarcely tasted it. An uncanny feeling settled over me like a cloak. I kept thinking I needed to return to Zuun Khatai for some pressing business that I could not quite remember. Then I would recall anew that a new tyrant sat the throne and he would not appreciate my meddling.

I was adrift. I'd had purpose for longer than I ever had in my life. I had dedicated myself to the fall of an empire. It had fallen. What could be next for me? What would occupy that time? I had no clear answers.

That night the questions tumbled from my mind. My wives, by mutual agreement, had decided that I should spend the night with Allegeth. We needed to start the royal marriage off properly and of course begin our efforts to continue the dragon's bloodline.

We made our way to the royal suites in the central tower of the Dragon's Roost. Melisant walked with us, now clad in a tunic and breeches embroidered with the dragon of her order. I found myself wondering if the knight would be joining us. Then I found myself wondering precisely what our relationship was. She was Allegeth's wife, and Allegeth was my wife, but what did that make Melisant to me?

Allegeth answered the question as we reached the door into the suite of rooms. She paused, embracing Melisant and pressing a tender kiss upon the knight's mouth. "You will have to excuse us tonight, my love. My husband has certain duties to perform."

"Of course, my lady," Melisant said stiffly.

It seemed Melisant was as confused as I. Though I cursed myself for speaking, I could not leave it there. "Melisant," I said uncertainly, unsure of how to finish that particular sentence.

Allegeth turned, lust in her fiery eyes. "I thought we should be alone our first night in the Dragon's Roost together."

The way she phrased that, it implied we would not be alone on other nights. She had frolicked with my other wives in the past, so it is possible that was what she meant. We had been speaking of Melisant, though, muddying the issue in my mind. I had started to become accustomed to my ageless state and thought that I could solve this conundrum on another night. One perhaps when I did not want Allegeth so profoundly.

"I feel the same way, my queen," I said.

"Good," she said primly. "Now this not for our amusement. We are to continue the Great Red Father's line."

"I know," I said stripping from my robes.

"This is not all fun and games, Bel."

"I understand."

"No Arthan style," she said sternly.

"Tonight? Or until we have a child?"

Her gown dropped from her, revealing her scaled curves, the fiery line running from her breasts to her sex like a beacon for my need. "You'll do your duty first." She smiled, flashing her teeth mischievously. "And if I am pleased, then perhaps I will allow you to despoil me."

"Then I shall have to do an excellent job," I said, my clouds climbing her curvaceous legs as lightning raked over her scales.

She shivered in pleasure. "An excellent start."

***

My feeling of being unmoored persisted for the entirety of my first year in Bashamailon. That is not to say I was miserable. Quite the contrary. Quiyahui and I spent much time in the surrounding mountains and valleys, exploring the contours of the small kingdom. I spent as many nights as I could manage in the arms of my draconic bride. Melisant's resentment only grew, but I felt it was not my place to broach the subject. I thought surely Allegeth noticed.

My family found their purposes far more easily than I. Zhahllaia and Tanyth were the first, instantly becoming fixtures at court as two of Allegeth's most trusted advisors. Allegeth referred to Zhahllaia as her wazira and others called the djinn Your Excellency. Tanyth, the Dowager Princess of Clan Abibaal, was an instant favorite of the populace and she often went among them. I would be willing to bet Tanyth knew the names of every person in Kaibéliard. Allegeth often jokingly referred to Tanyth as her princess consort, though judging by the ardor displayed when the two of them lay together, it was not entirely in jest.

Sarakiel and Maireili found lives as academics. Sarakiel turned to the royal library and soon gained renown for her expansive knowledge and voracious intellect. It had been many years but she was still a qualified Monia of the Grand Library in Castellandria and such things carried weight. Maireili spent much of her time at the observatory on a neighboring peak embracing her love of the night sky. We did not have astronomers then, but Maireili would become something like it.

Jerrika missed the sea. I do not believe she was ever truly happy in Bashamailon, though she tried her best. She could not leave, for away from me she would once again degenerate into the mad scourge of the waves. Mu-Baoth slept upon the surface of the Lapis, an island by appearance, collecting shipwrecks. Jerrika, and with some effort I, could perceive him when we wished. My stormwight captain spent much of her time drinking and gambling in the various taverns of the small kingdom.

Lysethe found her purpose one day in court. On that day, my mind was among the fragrant mountain flowers that called to me. This luxury, of thinking of nothing and worrying about less, was still a novelty for me after the constant pressure of Zuunkhorun. I had recently found a stream in a neighboring valley that I wanted to trace to its source. I thought I might ask my son Bethor if he wished to accompany me, but a band of adventurers had arrived in Kaibéliard and the lad had the look. The same look Rhadoviel would have seen in my eyes just before the Swiftblades took me into that barrow. He would depart with his own party the next year.

Allegeth was in the midst of receiving petitions from her subjects, granting what she could. Bashamailon was far smaller than Zuunkhorun, and while I had tried to maintain a similar tradition, it was not terribly practical. Allegeth, however, could make a profound difference in the life of any of her subjects. I was lost in thought as the woman who would change Lysethe's life began to speak.

"The beast slays my flock!" brought me back to reality. I saw the woman for the first time. She was in her late middle age, her blond hair falling to gray, her heavyset form in a peasant's dress. "I beg the service of your champion."

"By Her Majesty's leave, I will depart immediately," said Melisant.

"Your Majesty?" Lysethe stepped forward. "May I go with her?"

"Of course." Allegeth turned to the peasant woman. "You have Melisant the Faithful and Lysethe the Red Hound of Zuunkhorun. That should be more than a match for a single wyvern, no matter how persistent."

"May the Great Red Father bless you, Your Majesty," said the woman.

Lysethe and Melisant would return a week later with the head of a wyvern that was promptly mounted over the hearth in the great hall. Lysethe found her purpose as an errant of the land and I believe she was truly happy in this. She became beloved in the kingdom, her hound a popular flag flown in many parts of Bashamailon. Ten Ghosts would follow her into this purpose after the birth of our son.

Ten Ghosts bore our son Wind in late autumn. I learned that Theva children have names that follow them for their youths but these change when they make their mark upon the world. He would become known in the histories as Vorghal's Path, but I will call him Wind until he returned from Qel Rylah with his new name. I am muddying events, and I apologize. Suffice to say, Ten Ghosts gave the family a strong and handsome boy and called him Wind.

Soon he was joined by Basila, the first girl to come from Lysethe. We had only finished our loveplay one night and it had been especially passionate.

"I'm with child, Bel," she said, laying her hand over her muscled abdomen. She was not showing yet.

"That was why you were so ravenous," I said.

She chuckled. "I am always like that in the early months, aren't I?"

I leaned over to kiss her. "You do not have to keep bearing children."

"Why do you say that?"

"Merely that Sarakiel, Tanyth, and Maireili are all past their childbearing years. Yours will never end except by choice. You've given us a mighty brood and if you had any obligation in that regard, it's more than filled."

She touched my hand. "This is by choice, my love."

"Good," I said, smiling. "Now come here."

She laughed, allowing me to gather her in my arms. "I thought you were exhausted."

"I was. Now I am elated."

She laughed again, quickly melting into a sigh as I slid into her.

Wind, only a year older than his sister, was a dutiful older brother. While their mothers were out being heroes, Wind and Basila were my life and in them I found meaning.

***

Melisant came and went on her short quests, and soon Lysethe and Ten Ghosts were doing the same. When Melisant returned, she always spent the next several nights with Allegeth, and there were times I thought half of the purpose of the quests was to secure this time. Yes, I know any jealousy on my part is the refuge of a hypocrite. And I would not have felt the slightest touch of envy, had not every time they retreated to Allegeth's chambers, Melisant shot me a triumphant look.

It was an annoyance, but one that I could stand, especially as I looked after little Wind and Basila. They learned to walk and to talk and I was grateful that neither one of them would know war because of me. I spent many nights with Allegeth and several years into my life in Bashamailon, our love bore fruit. I did not know this immediately. All I knew was that one day I thought to entice Allegeth into nature, but found Melisant in front of her door.

"Her Majesty is not receiving anyone," Melisant said.

"I am not anyone. I am her husband."

"She was clear, naming His Highness as one who would not be allowed within."

"Melisant."

"I am sorry," she said, though her tone did not imply any contrition. "She has asked to be alone, and as her champion, I will see her will be done."

"If she is ill, I should fetch someone."

"If she is ill, she inform me. Go to one of your other wives, wizard. You have enough of them." The amusement had vanished from her voice and her witch-blue eyes hardened.

Anger kept me rooted to the spot. I was a violent man, but I did not want to be. I wanted my peaceful years in Bashamailon to matter. I knew who I had been in times of war and no longer wished to see that man. I forced myself to nod. "As you say."

I found Tanyth entertaining Basila and Wind in our quarters.

"I thought you were with Allegeth," Tanyth said.

"She does not want to see me," I said. "She doesn't want to see anyone."

A frown rippled over Tanyth's features, vanishing as quickly as it came. "I would not worry overmuch. Come, let us go down to Kaibéliard and we can forget everything else."

The children clapped and before long we walked along the serpentine streets of the cozy town, eating honeyed nuts from small bags we purchased from one of the many vendors. We attracted attention of course, and it was Tanyth who received the most fawning admirers. She was an old hand at such love, accepting plaudits with practiced ease and making everyone who approached her feel special if only for a moment.

"If it weren't for the climate, I would love this place," Tanyth sighed after sending a few townsfolk away with some kind words.

"Tanyth, it's the spring." The sky was blue, decorated with a few white puffs. Blue-feathered wintanzers soared on the pleasant breeze.

"It's chilly," she said, pulling her cloak about her.

"You have not lived in Kharsoom for two centuries. How have you not grown accustomed to what you call the cold?"

"Oh, Kharsoom," she sighed wistfully. "The heat. The aridity."

"You still miss it?"

"Memory is a funny thing. When we came to Castellandria, the plenty shocked me. Everyone had enough to eat and drink. Zuunkhorun, even in the worst of the war, was the same. I think was I to return to Kharsoom the privation would punish me. But there are things I long for."

"What do you miss, Mama Tanyth?" asked Basila. The little girl's hand, sticky with honey, found Tanyth's.

"Well, my little sprout, it is a matter of culture. In Kharsoom everyone is always thinking of glory and honor and adventure."

I snorted, swallowing a response.

Tanyth shot me a glare. "Something you would like to add, boldisar?"

"That is not what I thought of when I was there."

"That is because you are an outlander," she sniffed, then her lips quirked. "No, I know exactly what preoccupied you."

"What was that, Mama Tanyth?" asked Basila, innocent eyes wide.

She blushed, her crimson cheeks growing darker. "Yes, please, Mama Tanyth," I teased. "What was that?"

"Wizardly matters," she muttered. Then she brightened as the sight of a vendor on the next block rescued her. "Come, I'm parched. Cider will put me right."

I chuckled, taking Wind's small hand. He watched us, his tiny face serious, no doubt puzzling over the parts of the conversation he didn't understand. The vendor filled our mugs with cool cider and refused payment, though Tanyth insisted. I looked forward to autumn, when the cider would be heated, the steam banishing the mountain chill for a few moments.

We continued our aimless perambulations, taking time to watch a puppet show, eat from a few more vendors, and watch the bird dancers in the square. When we returned to the Dragon's Roost that evening, the castle was in an uproar. "Your Highness," said the Lord Chamberlain breathlessly. "The queen requests your presence at once."

"I was out..."

"He will be along presently," Tanyth said. She kissed my cheek. "You see? Nothing to fret over."

We went to Allegeth's chambers. Melisant no longer waited outside. Now it was one of the pages. As he saw us, he announced, "His Highness Prince Consort Belromanazar and Princess Tanyth."

The door opened and a heavyset servant woman bowed to me. "Your Highness."

A fire blazed in the hearth, all light in the room coming from that single, bright source. The shadows were deep and sticky. The air was heavy with the scents of cinnamon, blood, and charred wood. Allegeth lay in her bed, exhausted, her hair lank on the pillows about her head. Her fiery eyes held a feverish glow.

"Allegeth? Forgive me, I was in town with Tanyth and the little ones--"

"Are they outside?"

"They are."

"Bring them in, please. I would like them to be here."

A moment later, the three of them entered, ushered by the same servant who had done so for me.

"Mama Allegeth?" asked Wind, worry on his serious face.

"Oh, my lovely ones, come to your Mama Allegeth. I have something wonderful to share."

They ran to her and she winced as Basila hurled herself into the bed. Allegeth embraced both of them. Wind, though barely six, was nearly as tall as she. She kissed each of them on the cheek, cuddling with the smaller Basila.

"Allegeth, what is going on?" I asked.

She nodded to the hearth. I looked to it and at first, I was not certain what I was looking at. A stone a bit smaller than my head sat in the flames. Its surface was jeweled, the jewels like flames. Its bottom was black, then blue, fading to red, orange, yellow, and finally white at its apex. I stared at the bizarre stone certain it must be what Allegeth wanted me to see but unable to understand what it could be.

I looked back to my wife. "What is it?"

Allegeth broke into a weary smile. "We have produced an heir, my love."

"Oh, Allegeth!" Tanyth exclaimed, embracing Allegeth. Though the Kharsoomian was excited, I watched her resist the urge to hug too exuberantly.

"I was beginning to think it would not happen. My people do not conceive easily."

"It took Bel and I a long while as well. Velena needed to help us."

"I forget the two of you knew each other," Allegeth said.

I recovered, joining my bride on the bed. Basila crawled into my lap, not wanting to be left out of this. Wind looked at the fire, then at Allegeth. "When chickens lay eggs, they must sit on them."

"Will you sit on it, Mama Allegeth?" asked Basila.

"No, my lovely ones. The fire will warm it far better than I could. When I am stronger, I will enchant the fire to burn bright and hot until it hatches."

"I didn't know you laid eggs at all," I said, shaking my head.

"There is a legend about Kharsoomian women," Tanyth said.

"You lay eggs too, Mama Tanyth?" Basila asked.

"No, I had children the same way Lysethe had you, I'm afraid."

"Why did you not tell me?" I asked.

"I was not certain," Allegeth said. "It took us time, and laying can be difficult. We are human but we are dragon and such things do not always work together in harmony. But now, everything is as it should be and I am with my family."

***

Salexys ur-Udraeg clawed her way from the egg with some assistance by a midwife with experience in shepherding hatchlings from all three of the Great Red Father's extant lines. My daughter was tiny, though she grew swiftly on her diet of charred meat, lovingly chewed by Allegeth. The little one was covered in scales and had the same vertically-slitted eyes as her mother, and her draconic appearance was considered to be an excellent omen.

The continuation of the Udraeg line was greeted with ecstatic celebration through Bashamailon. The streets of Kaibéliard and every other town, hamlet, and village in the kingdom was choked with revelers. They had waited a lifetime for this news and it had come.

A week after her birth, we presented Salexys to the sleeping Bashamerax. Allegeth held up the infant, and the beast never stirred, though his breath huffed over the two of them. I was informed this signaled approval, and it is my practice to never second-guess a dragon.

Salexys would later claim that she retains a memory of this meeting and the dragon spoke to her in her mind. She says this is why she chose a life of the cloth. I do not want to call my daughter, who has been a guiding light for so many, a liar. I can only say that I was there when it happened. I watched Allegeth hold the babe up to the beast, and to my eyes he never did more than breathe.

I thought this birth would thaw things between Melisant and me. More fool I. With no more pressing need to continue the line, I spent far fewer nights with Allegeth. This allowed Melisant to spend more. The knight still maintained her aloof demeanor and at times was outright hostile to me.

What made matters worse was that Allegeth kept her choice to herself until the last moment. Sometimes it would be me, sometimes Melisant, and there was no way to predict her passions. We would make our way to her bedchamber and she would pick there, leaving the other to stew in frustration and resentment. I don't believe Allegeth knew what she did. She can be cruel, but only to her enemies and only the razor cruelty of the blade.

One night when I was not chosen, I returned to my quarters to find Zhahllaia standing by the window. She was exquisite, the firelight reflecting off her petite curves, catching the metallic undertones of her skin. I could scarcely appreciate her beauty as I collapsed upon the bed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I thought you might have need of me, Master Wizard."

"Is it so plain?"

"Tell me what troubles you."

"You know."

"I think it would help you say it."

"I am annoyed with Allegeth and Melisant."

"Of course you are. You are not accustomed to being one of many."

"What do you mean?"

"You have eight wives, love. You do not spend every night with every one of us. Sometimes we are chosen, and those who aren't will sometimes ponder the reasons why not."

"Have I been hurting you?"

She smiled, though her gold-flecked eyes held a touch of sadness. "I am a djinn of Qammuz and concubine to a great man. I am Wazira to the Tyrant of Zuunkhorun, Prince Consort of Bashamailon, Lord of Eirashtar, and wife to my sweet Belromanazar of Thunderhead. I have risen to a place higher than I ever dreamed and I bask in love."

"But?"

"Some of the others are rather more fragile than I. They had not Qammuz nor a thousand years of solitude to harden them."

"And now I know how you have been feeling." I sighed. "And I do not like it at all. You offer excellent counsel as usual."

"I am your Wazira. It's my job to offer excellent counsel."

"What should I do?"

"About your wives? Or your wife's wife?"

"Both."

"For us...for them, I think that some will be cured by these more pastoral settings and a husband undistracted by war. Remind yourself why you love us and this will show in your actions and we will feel the intent beneath. For Allegeth and Melisant, you must speak to them. You've foolishly allowed this to fester for far too long."

"Thank you, my love. Now come here, I would like to practice a bit on how I plan to show the others how much I care for them."

She broke into a happy smile. "You have always been quite receptive to excellent counsel."

"That, my love, is my job as your husband."

***

Zhahllaia's advice would not go unheeded. The very next night, as I followed Allegeth to her quarters, Melisant by our side, my heart thundered. It was one thing to know what I had to do and quite another to do it.

I cannot imagine what this might sound like to one who has read The Mad Tyrant or Dirge of the Ageless or even the tales of my exile in these very volumes. How could the man who singlehandedly held the Red Bridge at Tlaican, who battled before the Arkohnum Gate, who turned back the ivory rain at Iarveiros, be frightened of a simple conversation?

The answer is at once simple and complex. I was frightened at those other places, though perhaps not as much as I should have been and not as much as a rational man might be. There, I feared the loss of my life. Here I feared the loss of love, and it should be clear which of these I place a higher value upon.

The thoughts roiled through my mind. My blood was so loud in my ears I scarcely heard Allegeth when she turned to Melisant and asked her to leave us.

"Hold," I blurted. "Melisant, I would ask that you join us. Please."

The two women looked to each other in confusion. "Do you want Lysethe...?" Allegeth asked, trying to make sense of my request.

"No, nothing like that. I merely wish to talk. The three of us. We are long overdue."

"As you wish," Allegeth said. I could not read the look that passed between them.

We went into her bedchamber. The hearth blazed merrily, where Salexys's egg had once bathed. The little one was with Maireili, the only one of my wives who did not mind chewing the baby's food. She had done it for every child she bore, and the only thing she misliked in this case was that the meat was fresh and cooked.

I settled into the chair by the fire, careful to put space between myself and the others. Allegeth sat upon the bed, and after a moment Melisant found a seat on the couch at the other side of the fire.

I wondered if they could hear the hammering of my heart. Dragons were supposed to have exceptionally keen senses and Allegeth certainly kept many gifts from her ancestor. I looked from face to face and I saw only confusion. I suppose that was better than some of the alternatives.

"Thank you for acquiescing to this request," I said, trying to use the platitude to settle my jumping blood. "I want to make clear that I respect the bond between the two of you. I consider you, Melisant, to be Allegeth's wife and my equal in her heart."

Melisant's eyes widened. "I am grateful."

"Allegeth, I do not like the uncertainty. More than that, I do not like the competition I feel from Melisant. I understand that I make this point from shaky ground, but I must make it nonetheless."

"Competition?" asked my bride.

"We do not know which of us you will select to join you for the night. We wait upon your whim. It fosters resentment where none should exist."

"I believe I understand."

"That is not the only source of resentment," sighed Melisant. She turned to Allegeth. "My love, I do not like the thought of you with him."

Allegeth's eyes widened. "But you said...!"

"I know what I said. It is one thing to think you mean something and another to experience it. I know you love him. I saw it in your eyes when Lysethe and Zhahllaia first visited us and told you he lived. Such joy...I was jealous that I could not provoke that in you."

"You do not have to because you were never fool enough to leave her," I said.

"I suppose that is true," Melisant said.

"I think of that often," I said. "Allegeth and I, we were adventurers in those days. I was not ready to settle down when we met and I do not think she was either. Then came the war."

"In Zuunkhorun?"

"The first war I fought against the Heacharids in the Turquoise. One of my companions was an Amazon, so when the Heacharids invaded Axichis, we had no choice but to join its defense. I was on my way home when I was shipwrecked."

"I thought you had died," Allegeth said, sadness heavy in her voice. "I thought I would never be able to tell you how I loved you."

My heart broke anew. I wanted to go to her, but I knew if I did, this delicate moment would be shattered. Whatever truth could be revealed in this place would be buried under a fresh layer of resentment.

"In a way I was dead. It seemed like so long I spent in exile, but against the span I've lived now, it was but a heartbeat." I turned to Melisant. "Fate conspired to keep me away from Allegeth, but you could stay with her."

"I could not leave," Melisant murmured. She was silent, staring into the fire. A knot in the wood popped and that brought her back to the present. "I come from the lowlands to the east."

"Esmia?" I asked.

"Not quite. It would be Jeneveil on any map that listed it. You often make light of your humble origins, but most on Chassudor know of Rhandonia."

"Forgive my thoughtlessness."

"My family was a large one, too large for our meager income. There was never enough to eat and my father was a drunken lout. A hedge knight was passing through and I swore an oath to him. I should be glad it was a knight and not some mummer. I would have sworn anything to anyone if it meant leaving. I became a squire. A year, maybe two later, we were in Münover. The spring tourneys had begun and my knight thought to earn a year's worth of coin. He was a truly excellent jouster."

Meilsant's witchy blue eyes were far away as she succumbed to the memories. "While he was there, he pledged himself to the Duchess of Münover. This is where I learned of the way knights practice love. He encouraged me to do the same, but counseled me to select a lord close to my age. The elders, he said, could be cruel. They would use my youth. Better to have a young man who would discover love with me. I chose Lord Eldin Ettenhaus."

She fell silent again and I spoke to bring her back. "I don't know the name," I admitted.

"You would not. Ettenhaus is a small barony inside Münover. Entirely insignificant. Lord Eldin, though, he was pretty as a maid. I learned the way of the knight."

"The knight's kiss," said Allegeth, her voice rusty.

"My knight had told me of it once night after a tourney. Deep in his cups. Before you ask, he never laid an amorous hand upon me. Sir Theodard was an honorable man. He explained that the knight's kiss was one of the happier duties of a knight. I thought the idea mad until I spied it being done. One of the tourney followers upon her knees sucking lustily at a knight who had won the melee."

Melisant's hands tangled with one another. I saw in the movement the same need as in mine. She wanted to hold Allegeth's hand but she resisted. "I gave Lord Eldin's the knight's kiss for the first time after his sister's wedding feast. I thought I knew what to expect, but there is a stark difference between seeing it done and feeling him in your mouth."

"Did you enjoy it?" Allegeth said.

"Somewhat. I liked holding him...I liked knowing that his pleasure was mine to own. After that, he wanted it as often as we could manage. I spent much of that year on my knees."

"Did he ever reciprocate?" I asked.

She shook her head. "He told me it would not be proper."

"He was a fool."

"He married not long after. Our dalliance did not cease. Why would it? The purpose of the knight's kiss is that we might please our lord without offending his wife. I was wrong. His lady wife caught us and she flew into a rage. She called me a whore and a slattern."

"That was not where it ended."

"It should have, but she was the sister of the Duke of Münover. I was exiled."

"Esmia is fond of exile," I said, thinking of Velena. "In practice, it seems if you move to another duchy, such things are forgotten."

"Perhaps, but I could not handle my shame. I didn't want to be the whore-knight. I quit the kingdom."

"What of your knight?" asked Allegeth. "Sir Theodard?"

"He would not leave his lady. He gave me coin and my horse but stayed in Münover. I came to Bashamailon." Her face went from brooding to content. "And I met my lady. You took me in, Allegeth, apprenticed me to the Order of Bashamerax. I was yours, body and soul, from that moment on."

"That is beautiful," I said. "I am more intent than ever that such love should not be hindered. I want to banish this tension between us, Melisant. I love Allegeth, you love Allegeth, and she loves the both of us."

"I have taken oaths of honor and of duty and you are giving me lessons in both tonight, Your Highness." She rose, her face set. "I shall leave you two and consider the matter settled."

"Do not leave, Melisant."

"Our lady has chosen you tonight."

"Perhaps the choice is not always hers. You have shared a tale that touched me and I would not allow you to quit this place for a cold bed. I will leave."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Melisant said. I saw words behind her eyes, but they were too big for her to say.

"I would leave you with one thought. A proposition of sorts. I believe that Melisant, you should watch Allegeth and me together."

"Why?"

"I have seen the two of you once, and that has prevented my thoughts from treacherous waters."

She looked me over, a new light in her eyes. I believe had she not shared such a story for me, she would have rejected the thought out of hand. "I will give it some consideration."

"That is all I ask." I kissed Allegeth and nodded to Melisant. "Enjoy yourselves." I returned to my quarters, my heart at peace.

***

In the time between my request and their answer, I was not troubled. Rather, I followed Zhahllaia's further counsel, reminding myself and my brides why I had chosen to spend eternity with each of them. I lay abed with Sarakiel while the two of us read poetry to one another. I accompanied Maireili to the observatory where she named the stars for me. I gambled nights away with Jerrika. I rode horses with Tanyth through the valleys of our home. I hunted with Ten Ghosts. And of course I played Alishum with Zhahllaia.

We sat at a table next to a window overlooking the deep valleys to the west. The air snaking through the window was clean and cold. It could have almost been at Thunderhead, though the castle wall was not crumbling with age and the table was finely crafted of local wood. The Alishum set, though, was the one I had crafted so long ago in my apprenticeship. The pieces of coral and driftwood had been worn from centuries of use. Quiyahui danced through the skies, truly at home for the first time since leaving the Mixtayahua. The air was clear and achingly beautiful.

Zhahllaia announced her move. I set the piece on its destination. She had won once again, defeating what I had thought was a bold gambit. "Thank you," I said as I returned the pieces to their case. It was a handsome design, by one of the finest Zuunese craftsmen, worth many times what the pieces and board were.

"You don't have to thank me for winning at Alishum," she said with a smirk.

"You know what I mean, my love."

"That I do."

"I believe I made a promise to you."

"Did you?"

"To make you flesh and blood."

She smiled, though weariness touched her gold-flecked eyes. "I do not know that I need that anymore."

"You do," I said quietly. "And now I've time to continue research I have so long neglected."

***

One night, perhaps a week after my conversation with Allegeth and Melisant, we were dining in the main hall. All of my wives and every one of my children still in Bashamailon were in attendance, along with a few court favorites and the magistrate who governed the capital valley. Bashamailon was somewhat modern in that there was no entrenched aristocracy beyond the queen herself. Even the dragon's other descendants were expected to find vocations, though they were almost always of high status. Egalitarian for the time, but nothing that compares to today.

The pheasant was delicious and I was in the midst of speaking to the magistrate's husband about his negotiations with a local trade guild. I turned to solicit Allegeth's opinion on a matter of terms, and she shyly looked away. I glanced to Melisant, sitting on Allegeth's other side and the knight stared at her food, her alabaster cheeks glowing red.

I stuttered, returning to the magistrate's husband. I was distracted for the balance of the conversation, and every time I looked at Allegeth or Melisant, it was clear they had only recently looked away. When I extricated myself from the conversation, I leaned close to my wife and murmured, "A decision has been reached?"

"One you will like," she said softly, her voice running soft fingers over the back of my neck. I could not prove it, but I believe I smelled her cinnamon perfume.

"Oh good," I said, unsure of what else to say.

Tanyth caught the look between us and chuckled to herself, shaking her pretty head in amusement.

When the meal was over and we bade our guests good night, I followed Allegeth and Melisant to the bedchamber. The air was a storm waiting to break. The fire blazed in the hearth, though it did nothing to fight the shivers that ran through all three of us. I felt like the boy at Thunderhead, ready to be taught the mysteries of love by a passing adventurer.

Allegeth turned, one sharp tooth worrying at a scaly lip. "How do you wish to begin?"

I swallowed, my throat dry. I hesitated, but then reflected that if I was in for a battle I might as well be in for the war. "I admit, I have been curious. Melisant, Allegeth once old me you have a device from Axichis?"

The red had not fully drained from Melisant's face, and it returned, deeper in the flickering firelight. "You want to see that?"

"I would like to see you use it."

The fire reached her eyes. "My lady?"

"Fetch it," Allegeth said firmly. "I want it."

"As you wish."

Melisant knelt by the chest at the foot of the bed, unlocking it with a key she wore around her neck. She took the device from it, holding it up in the glow of the fire. I had of course seen Axichan phalloi. Many amazons enjoyed them as part of their loveplay, though not as many as the more salacious rumors would have it. I avoided them in my youth as I was not as confident as I had become.

The device was approximately shaped like a human staff, though sculpted by one who found the details perhaps more off-putting than alluring. It was smooth where the real version was contoured, sleek where the real thing was lumpen, elegant where the real thing was brutish. It was an impressive device in abstract.

In structure, it was a bit like an Amazonian shortsword. The blade was longer and thicker, intended for the woman who would receive it. The hilt featured scallops on both sides designed to apply pleasure to the pearls of both partners. The handle was shorter, and would be hooked into the sex of the woman who would wield the blade. Most phalloi featured harnesses of leather or silk, but this was the classic Axichan design, marking it as a relic of the Turquoise Isles. It had been built for those warriors of exquisite skill, whose orchids gripped like gauntlets.

Allegeth, shivering, disrobed, her eyes fixed on the Amazonian phallos. Melisant followed suit, stripping her lovely body bare. The process of inserting the device was the only awkward part of watching the two goddesses. These two were beautiful, figures of art, and yet there was something funny about the way Melisant was forced to spread her legs and the quick grimace as the handle disappeared into her thick black fleece.

The moment was over. Then she stood before her love, the phallos jutting obscenely between her legs, its ivory surface only scarcely paler than her skin. She appeared as a figure of divine androgyny with her athletic form, her modest breasts and slim hips, combined with the ivory staff raised in apparent arousal.

Without hesitation, Allegeth dropped to her knees before her love. She gripped the base of the ivory staff and took the tip into her mouth. She displayed the skills she had perfected on me, sucking and stroking, her saliva making the device glisten. Melisant watched, caressing Allegeth's hair with one free hand. I do not believe Melisant gained much physical pleasure from this beautifully obscene act, but the need in her eyes, the unconscious rocking of her hips, the shiver in her breath all showed that the display was doing its work.

I detected a faint wobble in the air and the soft color of music at the corner of my senses. Allegeth had worked magic while industriously giving her knight the proper kiss. The queen's saliva, coating the device, thickened to a greasy oil. A scent like cooked cinnamon rose between them. I recognized a version of my own spell. I was pleased I could teach Allegeth something she could make such use of.

I do not think I would have understood what I beheld before Tanyth's own awakening. Allegeth did not wear a slave collar as part of her loveplay but I saw her, a mighty descendent of Bashamerax the Mountain's Flame, kneeling before a human, sucking and licking in supplication, her eyes searching her lover's for approval. Melisant brushed her fingers through the thick, smoky waves of Allegeth's mane.

Allegeth kissed the tip of the phallos and rose, her lips finding the knight's. Melisant guided her to the bed, caressing my brides' scaly folds, their mouths roaming over one another. I believe they forgot I was there entirely, existing as they were between the passion that burned between the two of them.

Allegeth lay back on the bed, Melisant moving between her thighs. I thought perhaps a thrust, but the dance was not finished. Melisant grasped the device, guiding it in circles. I knew she was tracing the folds of the dragonblood, as I had done so many times. Allegeth's full hips chased the motions, desperate for more. Melisant's buttocks was in front of me, the ivory globes sculpted by a master. I was mesmerized watching the muscles working under the smooth skin. I longed to part her and find what mysteries lay between. The dark spot of her peeked between, tantalizing me.

Melisant hooked her arms beneath Allegeth's knees, lifting the queen's hips up and exposing her. Then, gently, she pushed into her love. Allegeth moaned. Her fingers closed about Melisant's hips, the claws biting softly into the flesh. I saw now faint scars there. These were the queen's handholds, loving reminders of the passion they shared.

My robes unraveled from my body, reacting to my unspoken but readily apparent desire. I gently began to stroke myself, finding that I would have to go slowly or else lose the first spurt of bliss to nothing but my own hand.

Melisant's stroke was even. A push in, a grind of her hips, a slow withdrawal. The two of them could have moved together for hours in a maddening equilibrium, never quite breaking.

Allegeth opened her eyes, momentarily coming to awareness. She looked past the beautiful woman to me, her pupils little more than slits in a sea of flame. A smile spread over her face. "Come here, my love," she said. "Join us."

I needed no further invitation. I went to the other side of the bed. She shifted once, leaning back, her hair falling over the side like a smoky waterfall. She took my staff in a hand that had only recently held the phallos. Her touch was wet silk. She kissed the underside of me, her hot tongue running over me in streaks. It was maddening, for she was in the wrong position to take me. I had to content myself with the light teasing.

I found Melisant staring. Her witchy eyes were feverish as she watched our love lick my turgid staff. The knight never stopped her stroke, her hips moving in languid circles. In, grind, withdraw. Our eyes met. For a moment I was not certain what to do, and I saw the same indecision in her eyes. Would this moment be awkward, would it spark jealousy. Or could it be a place to come together. I broke into a smile partly because I did not know what else to do, and her echoing smile was relieved.

"Hold," Allegeth said, apparently unaware of the détente her paramours had just achieved. "We need to do this properly."

She carefully sat up, easing the phallos from her. I had seen many wonderfully decadent sights, but her scaly sex releasing the greasy phallos was one that lingers fondly in my memories. Her scent hit us both, as though the object had corked her. I breathed in cinnamon milk as she turned over, getting onto all fours.

"I want you both inside me at once," she said.

Melisant and I looked at one another once more, and I am confident that the unbridled lust I saw in her eyes was in mine as well.

Melisant guided herself into Allegeth as the queen took me in her mouth. Passion had overwhelmed us. The dragon's daughter was a creature of flame and we could not be surprised when the flames overtook our senses. Melisant's strokes had quickened, still pushing deep, the swirl of her hips, the withdrawal. Every time she penetrated our love, Allegeth took me deeper. Her mouth was awash in hot saliva, surging over me as she frantically sucked.

I broke first, and Allegeth choked for the first time, but only once. Melisant let out a sob, shaking against the queen. A shudder took Allegeth as her fists balled in the bedclothes.

I thought we would climb into one another's arms, but Allegeth once again surprised me. She pulled away from Melisant, then turned about, grabbing her knight and kissing hard. Melisant's eyes widened and she swallowed reflexively. I knew then what Allegeth had done, a suspicion confirmed when they parted, as a strand of my seed dripped from the corner of the knight's lips.

Allegeth parted from her champion with a cheeky grin. She placed a claw at the drip, collected it and held it out. "This as well."

"My lady," said Melisant, gently sucking the claw clean. "It has been some time since I tasted that."

I climbed into bed next to Allegeth. "I hope it wasn't objectionable," I said.

"No, you have a certain charm," Melisant said.

She reached between her legs and drew the phallos from it, setting the glistening length aside and climbing into bed. Allegeth lay back between us as we caught our breath the room, heavy with the scents of the three of us.

"I enjoyed that thoroughly," Allegeth said.

"I thought you might," I said.

"And you, my love?" Allegeth asked.

Melisant kissed her. "It was lovely."

"Good," murmured the queen. If any words followed, they were quickly swallowed by more kissing.

I chuckled to myself, picking up the phallos. I turned it over in my hands, curious about the object. It was slick with the both of them, their two fragrances warring with each other. Allegeth's was familiar, but Melisant's was knew to me. It was bright and airy, reminding me of a freshly mulched field.

The material of the phallos was spongy, a tiny bit of give despite its ivory appearance. Phaeliope had owned one such as this, that she liked to use with her hetairoi. It was the bone of a mairserpent, treated with certain alchemical processes. I wondered if such techniques were lost. That would have pleased the Heacharids.

I felt a gentle hand at my staff, which was already beginning to rise. Allegeth stroked me, never looking, as she continued to kiss Melisant. I was soon hard, covered with the remains of her spittle and my seed, coaxed to readiness.

Allegeth broke from the kiss, taking Melisant's hand and placing it upon me. The knight was still, but soon began to stroke tentatively. "You want me to give him the knight's kiss?"

"I want you to feel him inside you," Allegeth said. "I want you to know what I feel."

"You are certain?"

Allegeth kissed her. "I am."

"And you, Your Highness?"

"I will not refuse so generous an offer."

Melisant took a deep breath and climbed over me. She knelt over my thighs, letting my staff jut upward between her legs. She took me in her hands, her caress fluttering from root to crown. "It has been some time for this as well."

"You are doing well," I sighed.

Allegeth moved up behind Melisant, pressing her body against the knight's back. Melisant sighed, leaning back. Allegeth's hands roamed over her paramour, cupping her breasts and toying with her nipples. Her mouth found Melisant's neck, and a moment later, they were kissing once again, their bodies rising and falling in a pantomime of lust.

Allegeth's hand ran down Melisant's belly, dipping into her orchid. "You are wet."

"By the Father," breathed Melisant.

"Wet enough for my husband's spear."

Melisant broke into a shaky grin. It was not quite fear in her eyes, but its gentler cousin. She wanted to please, the power of this night taking hold of her. She pushed herself up, guiding me to her gateway. "Slowly, Your Highness," she said.

I nodded, placing my hands gently upon her hips. "As slow as you wish, my lady knight."

She was wet and the phallos had helped prepare the path. Yet she was tight. I do not know how much was trepidation and how much was simply that she was not accustomed to such attentions. I fought the urge to haul her down over me. I let my need grow as she eased me inside her.

She held me like a velvet fist. Her powerful muscles quivered as she refused to sink over me. Her face was a mask of concentration, her eyes closed and her brow furrowed. Each time she sank another inch over me, she whimpered in surprise.

Allegeth never stopped her teasing. She kissed the knight's neck, toyed with her nipples, and stroked her pearl. Finally, Melisant came down, and I was sheathed inside her. She gripped me and I remained still, my fingers finding the light scars on her hips. The storm roiled inside me, begging to be spilled into her body, but I refused, breathing slowly and evenly until the initial rush retreated.

I opened my eyes. Allegeth leaned over, picking the phallos off the bed. She caught my eye and grinned wickedly. Foolishly, I was too besotted to understand what she had in mind. I could not see, but judging by her awkward posture she was inserting the device. Then her hand came over Melisant's shoulder, the other involved elsewhere.

Melisant's eyes opened wide. "My lady, what are you doing?"

Allegeth leaned over to whisper in her paramour's ear. "Relax, my love. Let both of us fill you."

"Yes, my love." The final word was gone in a groan of pain and pleasure as Allegeth pushed into her. Melisant bit her lip, about to beg, but she was a knight.

She bent over, pressing her chest flat against mine. I held her face, kissing her, and when the next whimper came, it was into my mouth. Melisant was still, as I was buried inside her. I had the strange sensation of feeling the phallos through the inner walls of Melisant's body. I held the knight steady, kissing her mouth, her cheeks, her eyelids, as Allegeth took her.

"By all the--" Melisant couldn't finish the curse. Her eyes were shut tight, and her grimace was set.

"Are you well?" asked Allegeth.

"Yes, oh, by the gods yes. I'm so full!"

We began to move. A dance between Allegeth and I, pushing back and forth. My stroke was slow, growing with each, pushing deep, then pulling back. Allegeth's were closer to Melisant's. The deep thrust, the heavy grind, the gradual withdrawal. We took this noble knight from both ends, sawing our staves into her. She was always filled, with me or with the device. She broke immediately, quaking over the both of us, her moans torn form her throat.

"Is this what you intended, my love?" Allegeth asked as she took Melisant.

"No," I gasped, desperately holding onto my own pleasure.

"Spill, my love. Fill my brave knight. I want her to know that feeling too."

"Allegeth, I..."

She pushed hard into Melisant, and the knight squealed in sudden bliss, another ecstatic wave crashing over her. That was enough for me. The decadent sights, the sweet sounds, the tight grip pulled the pleasure from me. I cried out as I felt myself spilling hot wave after hot wave into the writhing knight.

Not long after, the three of us lay together, exhausted. The phallos had been placed upon the chest where it glistened in the firelight, promising many other such nights of passion.

"I can feel you leaking from me," Melisant sighed.

"We should get you night tea," I said.

"She is long past her childbearing years, love," Allegeth said.

"Of course," I said, shaking my head. "Foolish of me."

"I would hope you are not thinking well," teased the knight.

"We will do this again," said Allegeth.

"Perhaps the wizard might consent to allow me to use the device upon him? After all, he is the only one who has not yet sampled it."

"Perhaps," I mused. The thought once might have frightened or horrified me, but I found myself intrigued.

"And perhaps Tanyth could join us one night as well."

Allegeth laughed. "I am no longer enough for you?"

"You've had her!"

"That I have," sighed Allegeth. "I suppose there will be more to discuss."

"But not tonight," I said. "Sleep beckons."

"That it does," agreed Melisant with a yawn.

Though that night did not entirely banish the tension between Melisant and me, it thawed our relationship. We grew to love and trust one another, but most importantly, we were joined in the purpose of loving Allegeth, and that was a fine purpose indeed.