“What’s happening?” Dante said tightly.
“I don’t know,” Orion replied reluctantly.
The flame split into three and then each new flame rushed toward a different Dreki. Crimson for Dante, black for Vesper, and blue for Orion.
What the fuck? “You each have a flame? What does that mean?”
“I know what it means.”
My head whipped round to look at Lorance, who was now awake and staring at the three flames.
He looked from the flames to me and then back again. “The flame has chosen. It means for you to mate with them all.”
* * *
Three mates?
“Are you out of your mind? Is that even possible?” Vesper asked.
Lorance struggled to sit up. “If you’d kindly untie me, then I can explain.” His attention was on me; he was speaking to me, asking my permission. His mouth trembled. “I see it now, the resemblance.” His eyes teared up. “All this time…all this time we thought we were doomed, that the cause was lost, and now…Now here you are, a second chance at freedom.”
I nodded at Dante. “Untie him.”
Vesper didn’t look happy about my call, but he didn’t argue against it.
The mageri pulled himself to his feet and stood, arms folded, hands tucked into his sleeves in his familiar pose.
“You intend to conduct this ceremony in secret, why?”
“Because there are traitors in our midst,” Orion said. “And if I find you to be one, then your death will be painful.”
“The mageri can do no harm to the Dreki.”
“Not directly,” Vesper said. “But they can manipulate events to cause harm to occur.”
His mouth parted in surprise. “We would never. We would not.”
There wasn’t time for this. “Enough. Look, prove yourself and help us. Why is the flame choosing all three lords?”
“The flame chooses based on compatibility.”
“So maybe it feels we’re all compatible?” Dante suggested.
“If that were the case, then the flame would have flitted to each of you and then returned to its central position and turned yellow. This turn of events means that you are most compatible as a whole, that you each have something that the new dragon queen needs and she has something to offer each of you in return.”
Orion looked thoughtful. “The balance will be maintained.”
Vesper didn’t look too happy. “So, we play tug of war, is that it?”
“We work together,” Orion said. “As a team.”
Vesper made a sound of exasperation. “Doesn’t look like we have a fucking choice, does it?”
Dante met my gaze. “Would you willingly take all three of us as your mates?”
If this was the only way to get the suppressor off and help the cause, then, “Yes.”
Orion gave me the book. “Then touch the lantern and read the words to complete the mating.”
I took the open book in one hand and placed the other on the lantern. Vesper and Orion hadn’t taken their hands off the lantern; Dante had, but he was back now. The flames hovering above them flared brighter and then a white flame detached itself from each and floated toward me. The three white flames became one and glowed silver, hovering in front of my chest.
The words on the page stood out from the symbols I didn’t recognize. I read them out loud, syllables that rolled together to make a sibilant sound. The four flames blazed so bright I was forced to close my eyes against the glare, and then a fist slammed into my solar plexus, knocking the air from my lungs. The book slipped from my grasp and I staggered back, barely managing to maintain contact with the lantern.
“Anya, look…” Dante urged.
I cracked my eyelids open and stared at the new flame floating above the lantern, a meld of silver, crimson, obsidian, and blue. It morphed into a ball and grew smaller.
“Brace yourself,” Lorance warned.
“What?” The ball whooshed toward me and hit me in the chest. Heat rippled out over my skin. Ice dug deep into my veins and power unfused the muscles in my body. Vesper let out a sharp cry and Dante fell to his knees. Orion grabbed the table for balance. It was as if channels opened up inside me, trading power and the odd flash of emotions—triumph, confusion, desire. They filled my mind, but they weren’t my emotions; they belonged to the lords.
My lords.
And then power rushed down my body, coalescing in a ring of fire around my ankle.
“Fuck!” I fell to the ground, clawing at the damn anklet, and just like that it came away in my hand.
“It’s off. It’s finally—”
Something inside me exploded outward, cutting off my breath, my words, my thoughts. It was silver and gold, it was rage and defiance. It was determination and love. It was power, and it shattered the box it’d been held hostage in, burning a path of pain through every synapse in my brain. My scream deafened me and then there was nothing but darkness.
* * *
“It’s done,” Lorance said. “Do you feel the connections?”
I could feel more than that. I could see more than that. Everything was heightened, and even the air had a distinctive taste. My limbs felt lighter and heavier at the same time. Was this what it was like to be a Dreki?
“Your Grace?” Lorance prompted.
“I can feel connections, I’m just not sure who’s who yet.”
“That will come with time, and once you lay with your mates those connections will deepen.”
If I fucked one of them, I’d have to fuck all three to maintain the balance of power.
Three lords in my bed. Not at the same time, of course…
“I only have to do it once, right?”
Lorance blinked sharply. “I…I suppose so.”
I looked at the Dreki lords who’d been standing around the bed silently. “We’ll get that out of the way soon.”
“How romantic,” Vesper said, but was that a hint of amusement in his tone?
Dante stepped closer. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel…stronger. Better.”
“Your Dreki genes are taking over,” Orion said. “Your full potential is being allowed to manifest.”
“Will I be able to fly?”
Orion looked to Lorance for an answer.
The mageri
