Someone knocked at the door. Half asleep, I responded on instinct.
“Come in.”
At my words, someone shifted beside me. I looked down and saw Vesma curled up on my chest. She smiled sleepily up at me and brushed strands of hair from her face. Then, her eyes widened with alarm as she looked at the door.
The latch on the door clicked, and it started to swing open. At last, my brain caught up with the two different aspects of this moment and how they were about to collide. I hastily pulled a sheet up over our naked bodies.
Kumi walked into the room with the usual confident sway of her hips, long split skirt swaying around her. She looked bright and refreshed, with a beaming smile and neatly tended braids falling across one shoulder and down the curve of a barely concealed breast. A sea breeze seemed to follow her in, fresh, cool, and with a hint of salt.
“Good afternoon, sleepy heads,” she said. “How are the two of you doing?”
I glanced between the two women. While they both knew that they didn’t have a sole claim on me, this was the first time that we’d faced the issue so directly. It was one thing for Kumi, Vesma, or even Faryn to drag me off into a corner where we could have fun with no one looking. It was quite another for one of them to walk in on me naked with one of the others.
If it bothered Kumi, she showed no sign of it. The latecomer to our group, she’d become involved with me knowing that the others were already there. She’d also been the most direct about it, with all her talk about the brides of the legendary Swordslingers and how those ancient figures had made multiple marriages to share their power with the next generation. Even her father, King Beqai, was on board with the arrangement, giving me the Depthless Dream Trident as a betrothal gift.
Vesma, on the other hand, was less open with anything relating to sex and emotions. As Kumi walked in, she stiffened and drew the sheet tighter around her shoulders. Yet the way her eyes wandered across Kumi, there was something more there than just tension or hostility. Affection mingled awkwardly with more troubled feelings.
“Honestly, I’ve only just woken up,” I said to Kumi. “It might be a few minutes before I can tell you how I’m doing.”
“That seems more than fair.” She laughed. “I wouldn’t have interrupted your slumber, but Tahlis is calling for you. He says that he has something important to discuss.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said.
“Of course.” She smiled. “I’ll leave you to it.”
She walked out and closed the door behind her.
Vesma groaned and pulled the sheet up over her head.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Want more sleep,” she said. “Or maybe more of something else…”
Her lips pressed against my chest, and her fingers slid down my body. I stirred at her touch, blood pumping, heart beating faster in anticipation. I ran a hand down her side, treasuring the feel of her smooth, taut flesh, and closed my eyes while I enjoyed the scent of her hair.
“Tahlis is waiting for you,” she said. “We don’t have enough time for me.” She suddenly moved down, and her tongue flashed against my manhood. I groaned as she pleasured me, and it didn’t take long for me to reach fulfilment. I heard her swallow, and she looked up at me with hungry eyes.
“You owe me,” she said.
I laughed. “I’ll have plenty of chances to pay you back.”
Vesma sat up, retrieved a piece of leather cord from the floor, and started tying back her hair. “Now, go save the world.”
I reached for my pants. “Are you going to have a problem with Kumi?”
Vesma took a deep breath before looking me in the eyes. She wore a small, reflective smile.
“It won’t be a problem,” she said. “I just need to adjust to it. I’m used to competing for everything, fighting over everything, proving my worth in conflict with others. Kumi’s great, but that part of my brain keeps wanting to treat her as a competitor, to pick a fight over you. Once I get over the need to mark my territory, it’ll all be fine.”
“I like it when you mark your territory. It means I get these midnight visits.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll be coming for these no matter what.” She leaned over and kissed me, then lay back on the bed. “Now, clear out. I want to get some more sleep.”
I laughed and picked up my robe. A few minutes later, I was fully dressed and heading out the door, weapons in place and ready for action.
I found Tahlis standing on the open ground outside the temple, looking down the stairs that wound up the mountainside. Six figures were making that tiring ascent, all of them dressed in long, brown robes and with weapons at their sides.
“Glad you could take time out from your women,” Tahlis said. “You’re the Swordslinger in more ways than one, aren’t you?”
“Very funny,” I said. “So, what’s the important thing you wanted to talk about?”
“Them.” Tahlis pointed to the approaching figures.
“Visitors from Hyng’ohr?” I asked.
“Where else would anyone come from around here?”
“You tell me. You’re the wise and mysterious one. I’m just your guest.”
Tahlis laughed. “Yes, yes, of course, they’re from Hyng’ohr. In fact, unless my nose deceives me, I know this group. They’re initiates from my guild.”
“The guild that turned against you? So, they’re here to take you out?”
I took hold of my sword and let the channels within me open, ready to unleash the Vigor that powered my Augmenting.
“I doubt it. These were the oddballs, the ones who never quite fit in. They weren’t involved in having me exiled, and I doubt anyone would choose them for an assassination job. If they’ve come this far, then we may have the first recruits to our cause.”
“Why are they here now?”
“They
