A Dragon’s Tale

Chapter 20: A warm reunion and a dish best served cold

* * *

Ethan slowly returned to the waking world, very conscious of the two naked women curled up against him.  Without moving or opening his eyes, he lay there feeling their silky skin pressed against him and hearing the soft sound of their breathing as their chests rose and fell against him. 

It was heavenly. 

He didn’t move in order to avoid waking them.  Instead, he just lay there enjoying the feeling.  He wasn’t sure why they were both head-over-heels in love with him, but he knew exactly why he was in love with them.  The only thing missing was Taloni; then everything would be perfect. 

He opened his eyes and glanced down.   Beth’s blonde hair was draped over the right side of this chest while Alana’s chocolate-brown tresses were draped over the left side. They were both pressed tightly up against him, legs bent.  Somehow, one of his legs had ended up over both of Alana’s, and it was a mirror image with the blonde teen too.  The girl’s legs were touching each other too, in an undeniably affectionate way.  He had his arms around them protectively, and they were sleeping peacefully; without a worry or trouble in the world.  

He smiled. 

He turned his mind toward Taloni, and discovered her emotions were abuzz with happy things.

*Good morning honey.*  He thought to her. 

*Good morning master!*  She thought back to him, her tone bubbling with excitement.

*What has you in such a fine mood?* 

*You’ll be back today, right?  And you’re bringing Beth, right?* 

*Yeah, I think so.*  He replied as he savored the thought of being with all of his wives at once.   *That’s the plan anyway.  Is that what you’re so excited about?* 

*Absolutely!*  The joy in her tone was palpable. 

He chuckled.  *I’m glad you’re so excited.* 

”Hmm?”  Alana stirred as his chuckling disturbed her head. 

Beth yawned sleepily. ”What?” 

”Morning ladies.”  He said, kissing both of them on the tops of their heads. 

Beth looked up at him, yawned, then smiled.  ”You have no idea how wonderful it is to wake up next to you.”

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly, then looked into her beautiful blue eyes and sighed.  ”Actually, I think I do.”

Alana chuckled.  ”So, you think it’s wonderful to wake up next to yourself?” 

They all chuckled.

Alana looked up at him, affection and subtle desire written deeply into her rich hazel eyes.  He leaned down and tenderly pressed his lips to hers.  Their kiss ended after a moment and she looked completely, perfectly, and incandescently happy as she smiled at him. 

”Hi.”  He said softly.

”Hi.”  She replied just as softly.  She looked at him for a moment, closed her eyes as if savoring something, and then laid her head back down on his chest.

The wood elf and the human teen snuggled back up against him.  It felt so incredibly good to have them there.  It was like a balm that soothed away any worries or cares from his mind.

”Ladies, I feel so incredibly lucky to have you both here.”   He said with a sigh as he gave them both a squeeze.   They both made contented sounds and then tried to snuggle in closer, which was hard because they’d already tried once. 

”I think I speak for both of us when I say: ’we feel the same way’.”  Alana replied. 

He chuckled.  ”So, you feel like I’m lucky to have you both too?” 

Beth leaned up slightly and looked at him with a flirtatious expression.  ”No, I feel lucky to be had.” 

”Hear, hear.”  Alana agreed with a sly look.  ”I love being had by him too.” 

Beth blushed slightly and then smiled.  ”Ethan, I love being your wife.  It’s...  I’m incredibly honored.” 

Alana nodded, her expression more serious this time.  ”Beth’s right; it is such an honor.” 

He looked between them; one set of blue eyes and one set of hazel eyes, both shining with adoration and affection.  They were being utterly genuine and completely honest.  If their expressions hadn’t convinced him, the feelings coming over their bonds would’ve.

”I... I don’t know what to say.”  He finally got out.

”Say we’ll always be by your side.”  Beth replied.  ”Say you’ll never leave us.” 

”Say you’ll always want us.”  Alana added. 

He smiled.  ”You’ll always be by my side, I’ll never leave you, and I’ll always want you; both of you.” 

They both closed their eyes as if savoring his words then both let out small sighs and snuggled back up against him. 

”And Taloni too?”  Beth asked.

”Definitely Taloni too.”  He sighed, thinking about his delightful third wife.

”Good.”  The blonde said.  ”I can’t wait to officially meet her.  She seems so nice.” 

”She is.”  Alana and Ethan said at the exact same time. 

”You two were seriously made for each other.”  Beth said with a chuckle as she rolled her eyes. 

”Thank you.”  Alana said.  ”But you were too.”

”Yeah, but not as much as you.”  The blonde said to her.  Oddly, she didn’t seem upset by her statement. 

”You really think so?”  The wood elf asked.

”I do.”  Beth said with absolute conviction.  Again, she strangely didn’t seem very upset by that... if she was at all.

”You really think that, and it doesn’t bother you?”  She pressed.

The blonde teen nodded.  ”I do, and it doesn’t.” 

”Why?”  Ethan asked. 

”If you saw a couple who was already completely, perfectly, and incandescently happy, yet they invited you into their life, why would that make you sad?” 

”Yes, but I’m married to you too.”  Ethan countered.  ”I don’t want you to feel like you’re...”  He tried to think of the right word. 

Beth put a hand on his chest.  ”I know you love me, and I don’t think you love me less than Alana.  I just think there’s something special between you and her that none of your other wives will ever share.  It doesn’t mean you love us less -- I think you love us all equally -- it just means you share something special with her.  You’re both wonderful people, so wouldn’t I be a terrible person if I had a problem with you two sharing something so wonderful? 

Ethan and Alana stared at her.

”What?”

”You’ve really grown up.”  He said. 

”Yeah, where did all this maturity come from?”  Alana echoed.  ”I almost feel like the immature kid in the room.” 

Suddenly, the blonde looked self-conscious.  ”Um, thanks?” 

”What happened on the Astral Plane?”  Ethan asked, marveling at the change in his second wife.

”It’s a long story, and I bet Rachel would like to hear it.”  Beth replied.  ”I would like her to hear it too, because I think she could help make sense of some of the parts dealing with magic.”

”Makes sense.”  He nodded.  ”I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but why don’t you girls put some clothes on so Rachel can come in here; this is something I’ve got to hear.” 

* * *

Kendra woke to the sound of birds singing in the early morning sun.  She didn’t initially get up, move, or even open her eyes.  For some reason, her mind kept going back to that hug from the little Fey girl, Taloni. 

It was silly.

It was such a small thing; nothing really.  It was just a hug and certainly not worth spending this much time thinking about.  And yet...  Kendra tried to remember the last time she had received a hug like that.  Nothing came to mind.  She had received hugs before of course.  Both from her squad mates and from others when undercover. 

But none like that hug.

She wasn’t sure what made it different.  Perhaps it was that Taloni knew exactly who she was, while no one ever had while undercover.  Perhaps it was because the hug had been a completely open, unreservedly genuine hug, which she never received from her former squad mates.  They had been trained not to trust just like she had, so they weren’t that open; that honest, that genuine.

She shook her head.

It was insane that it was taking up this much of her thought time.  She opened her eyes, sat up, and looked toward the Argo with her spyglass.  The only person on the deck was the high elf who had offered her a drink the previous night.  Did she ever sleep? 

She scanned the weather deck, seeing no one else.  The bodies from the previous night had been removed and the blood mostly cleaned up.  She resumed her silent vigil, watching the dragon’s airship to see what he was really like. 

However, she was uncomfortably aware that a shift had taken place in her thoughts and motives.  Whereas before she was determined to be nothing more than an observer who was gathering information, now she felt a definite sense of protectiveness toward the Fey who had hugged her. 

She found it hard to fully determine whether her vigil was to spy on the dragon... or to protect the Fey girl.

She wasn’t sure what to make of that.

* * *

Selene Dawson rubbed her eyes as an alert from her phone woke her up.  A quick check revealed that it was just her mother fussing again.  She decided to deal with it latter and dropped her phone on the passenger seat next to her.

She yawned, stretched, and wrinkled her nose at her morning breath.  She looked around the empty SUV and at the half-empty bags of snacks which where neatly closed on the passenger seat.  Her neck was complaining about sleeping in the vehicle, but otherwise she felt fine.

She reached down and pulled on the headphones, vividly remembering the noises that had come from one of the rooms the previous night.  Whoever this dragon-man was, he certainly seemed to have a way with the ladies in bed.  It had been downright embarrassing to listen to, and unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten much that was worth hearing. 

Well, not information worth hearing anyway. 

She had been determined not to miss anything they might say after their lovemaking, so she’d kept the headphones on the entire time.  To say she was turned on by the end would be a massive understatement.  Halfway through, she’d pulled out the emergency pad that she kept in her purse -- just in case her period came early -- and slipped it on to prevent her from actually soaking her underwear. 

That had been a smart move. 

Unfortunately, they hadn’t talked much afterward.

She grabbed a power bar from her stash, leaned forward as she adjusted the earmuffs, and prepared to listen.  It was several seconds before she realized she wasn’t hearing anything at all, not even background noise.  A quick check revealed she’d accidentally left the mic on all night and the battery was dead.  It was a specialized rechargeable battery too, not a standard size you could get at a local store.

”Crap.”  She sighed.

She leaned her head back on the headrest and decided to transition to a pure stakeout.  They would need to go somewhere sooner or later, and she would be ready to follow them when they did.

* * *

Rachel shook her head at the pure absurdity of Beth’s story.  Of course, the woman telling the story had been dead for two weeks and had been brought back to life by some... ’unpleasant’ means.  She shuddered.  She didn’t think the blonde was lying, but the story was extremely fantastical, to put it mildly.

”So, you spent two weeks with an angel?”  The redhead repeated.  ”An angel that taught you how to touch things on the Astral Plane, how to return to the Astral Plane, and gave you a lot of marriage advice?” 

Beth nodded. 

Ethan and Alana looked slightly dumbstruck, like they were still processing. 

”I guess this is how Jason and Melinda felt yesterday.”   Ethan finally said before looking at Beth.  ”That’s just amazing.  I need to thank you for saving my life so many times; I had no idea.” 

”Me too; thank you Beth.”  Rachel said, remembering how something had pushed her out of the way during the fight with Gonorran.  If Beth hadn’t done so, she was pretty sure she would’ve died. 

Beth smiled.  ”I was happy to help.  I spent so much time on the Astral Plane feeling useless that I was glad to do something.” 

They talked over Beth’s story for a while longer, each of them asking many questions, which the blonde happily answered.  She seemed much calmer and less flighty than Rachel remembered.  There was no doubt that she’d grown up a lot during the two weeks that she had been dead.

The irony of the thought didn’t escape her notice.

Eventually, there was a brief lull so Rachel turned to Ethan.  ”Was there anyone you wanted to see or visit while we’re on your world?” 

”I don’t think it’s a good idea.”  He replied.  ”I looked it up yesterday and everyone thinks I’m dead.  Besides, I have a wife--”  He glanced at Beth and Alana.  ”--well, another wife that I need to get back to in the Ten Kingdoms.” 

”What about your parents?”  Alana asked.  ”Wouldn’t they want to know you’re safe?” 

”I would love to see them.”  He looked conflicted.  ”Is that wise though?  We’ve already run into the FBI and the last thing I want is to drag my parents into it.   Besides, they think I’m dead and I wasn’t planning to come back to Earth.  Aren’t they better off thinking that I’m dead?”

Alana put her hand on his arm.  ”Ethan, I’ll support whatever you decide.  But if our daughter was in your shoes, what would you want her to do?”

”I would want her to let me know she was okay, even if I couldn’t see her again.”  He nodded.  ”They aren’t that far away.  I could probably fly there in about an hour.”

Beth smiled.  ”You two should go visit them while we stay here.

Rachel cocked her head to one side.  ”Wait, you don’t want to meet them too?” 

”I would love to meet them.”  Beth said almost wistfully.  ”But Ethan said that this world doesn’t tolerate polygyny very well.  Me being there might make things worse, so I’ll stay here.  Besides, we only have one weight-reduction necklace, so only one person can go with Ethan anyway.  I’d love to go, but I feel like Alana should be the one to go.” 

Everyone stared at her.

”What?”  The blonde teen asked. 

”You’ve really grown up.”  Rachel observed, not quite believing the immense increase in maturity displayed by the barely-legal teen.  Just a few months ago she would’ve been considered too young to marry.  Now she was voluntarily sacrificing for her husband and the woman with whom she’d been a romantic rival not three weeks before.

The difference was staggering. 

”Thank you.”  Beth beamed. 

Alana got up, walked over to the blonde, and gave her a huge hug.  ”I’ll make it up to you later.”   The wood elf said when she let go. 

For some reason, Beth blushed slightly.

So did Alana. 

It took the redhead a moment to figure out why they could be blushing, and what occurred to her made her blush too.  She’d heard stories of what sometimes happened when men had multiple wives and fancied taking more than one to bed at once.  She’d heard that the wives would sometimes get...  ’intimate’ with each other.

Alana couldn’t have meant...

Could she?

Could her best friend, the sweet, innocent wood elf have meant...

Though with the looks Ethan and his wives were giving each other, she didn’t think that ’innocent’ was an appropriate adjective for any of them anymore. 

Rachel tried to figure out how to feel about that; about Alana sharing a bed with not only Ethan, but also Beth...  and possibly Taloni too.  Ethan was her husband, so that didn’t bother her.  But her sharing that with Beth and Taloni... 

That did bother her for some reason.  She didn’t think it was wrong or that they should stop, or anything like that.  She certainly had no problem with Beth or Taloni doing ’that’ with each other.  But them doing it with Alana...  or Alana doing it with them...  That was different somehow. 

That bothered her a bit.

She wasn’t sure why, but it did. 

Alana took a deep breath, then spoke.  ”There’s one more thing I was hoping we could do while we’re here.”

”What?”  He asked. 

”Um, remember how you told me about your ex-fiancée and former business partner?”

”Yeah, why?” 

The wood elf got a truly wicked smile on her face.  ”I think we should pay them a visit.” 

Rachel couldn’t help but smile.  Saidow’s lair hath no fury...

”Oh?”  Beth perked up, wearing an almost identical wicked grin.  ”What did you have in mind?”

”I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”  Ethan started to say. 

”Please.”  Beth pleaded.  ”Please Dominus, can we at least hear Alana out?” 

Wait, ’Dominus’?

Rachel frowned slightly at the title change.  They weren’t being obvious about it, but each of his wives seemed to have picked a pet nickname for him after he took them to bed.  They were discreet about it, but Alana called him ’sir’, Taloni called him ’master’, and now Beth was calling him ’Dominus’? 

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

It also bothered the redhead because all of those titles were very...  very unequal.  Sir, master, and Dominus were all highly respectful titles that you typically only used of your superiors, not equals. 

That didn’t sit well with her.

”Please.”  Alana and Beth chorused in unison.

Ethan looked at their pleading faces and sighed.  ”Okay, I suppose it couldn’t hurt to hear your idea.” 

* * *

Hailey woke from a pleasant, dreamless sleep.  For the first time in years, she hadn’t woken up once or been stricken with nightmares. She had actually slept, and slept well. 

She felt so much better. 

She adjusted slightly, enjoying the couch underneath her like the company of an old friend.  Even while living with Jason, she had often fallen asleep on this couch because it was so comfortable.  She was still curled up under her favorite blanket that Mels had made.  Jason and Melinda had offered her a pillow and a few blankets after she’d volunteered to sleep on the couch.  Things were awkward enough; she didn’t need to make things worse by asking about beds. 

She took a deep breath of real, true, genuine Earth air.

It had been far too long. 

As she breathed, she noticed a scent in the air that she never thought she’d never smell again.  She heard the sizzling of bacon on the stove, and the gentle clink of pots and pans as someone tried to cook quietly.  She took another deep breath and then opened her eyes. 

Jason and Melinda were in the kitchen.  He was standing over the stove stirring something and she had just pulled something out of the oven.  It smelled like biscuits. 

”You’re awake.”  Melinda said after glancing toward her.  ”We thought you’d enjoy a proper southern breakfast.”

”Is that biscuits and gravy?”  She asked as her mouth started watering.

”Sure is,”  Jason replied, glancing back at her.  ”Still your favorite breakfast?” 

”Always.”  Halley nodded as she sat up.  She could feel tears of gratitude collecting at the corners of her eyes.

”Did you sleep well?”  He asked. 

She nodded.  ”I did.” 

”How, with the racket next door?”  Melinda said with a slightly embarrassed smile. 

”Huh?”  Hailey asked.  She had fallen asleep rather quickly.

”Ethan and his...”  Melinda got a funny look on her face.  ”...his wives seemed to be enjoying themselves.” 

”Ah.”  Hailey nodded.  ”Yeah, I got pretty used to that on the Argo.”

Her Latina friend raised her eyebrow.  ”Oh?  That was a regular occurrence?” 

She shrugged.  ”He’s married to more than one woman and they all slept in the same room.” 

Jason raised an eyebrow.  ”All of them?” 

”I mean, I wasn’t there so I don’t know, but...”

”Ah, okay.”  Jason replied.

There was an awkward silence. 

Jason -- as unflappable as ever -- was of course the one to break it.  ”Well, now that we’ve had enough awkward talk about threesomes--” He glanced at Hailey.  ”--just threesomes, right?” 

She nodded.  ”I think so?”

”Now that everyone is thoroughly uncomfortable, how about some breakfast with a side of embarrassment and a touch of blushing?”  He lowered his voice conspiratorially and winked.  ”My own special recipe.”

Both women laughed. 

* * *

Rachel felt her jaw drop as Alana finished explaining her plan.  It was entirely devious and would be absolutely devastating, yet without physically harming either of the people who’d betrayed her husband.  

”How long have you been planning this?”  Ethan asked, a look of wonder on his face. 

”A while.”  The wood elf grinned wickedly.  ”I may or may not have been thinking about it since you decided to come back here to save Beth.”

”You’re diabolical.”  Ethan said with an appreciative smile.  ”Remind me never to piss you off.”

”Just promise never to destroy my business, break my heart, and then run off with another woman...  oh, wait--” She glanced at Beth, winked, and then put on a mock angry face and pointed her finger at Ethan.  ”I’m coming for you next.”

Beth laughed. 

Ethan winced.

Rachel agreed more with him than either of his wives.

”I guess I did do the same thing to you that they did to me.”  He mused with a grimace.

”Not even close.”  Alana replied without a trace of doubt in her voice.  ”They intentionally betrayed you, while you were forced into a difficult situation and made the best of it.  They aren’t remotely the same.”  Then she smiled.  ”Besides, I don’t have any complaints.” 

”Good.”  He breathed a sigh of relief.  ”Now, your idea...”  He grimaced again.  ”Are you really sure it’s a good idea?” 

”No, but they need to pay for what they did.”  She said, and there was a hard edge to her voice that Rachel had rarely heard from her.  ”Trust me, they’ll rue the day they ever crossed you, and it won’t cause any permanent or physical harm to either of them.” 

He looked at Beth, who nodded and added with an almost malevolent grin.  ”It’s a good plan.” 

Ethan looked at Rachel.  ”Well?”

”What?”  The redhead asked. 

”Do you want to weigh in?”  He prompted. 

”I don’t have a horse in this race.”  She said simply.

”Let me rephrase that: please weigh in.” 

She cocked her head to one side.  ”Why?”

”Because you don’t have a horse in this race.  My wives are rather protective of me--” He gave them both an affectionate smile.  ”--and I’d love to get a little payback, but I don’t want to draw a lot of attention to myself here.” 

Rachel couldn’t help but smile slightly.  She liked that he was including her, even though he certainly didn’t need to.  He seemed to give her voice a lot of weight, and she felt her chest swell slightly at the confidence he placed in her.  He almost treated her like one of his wives, though obviously not the same.

”I don’t think it’ll hurt anything.”  She said after considering for a moment.  ”Especially if you can get them to come here instead of going to them.  You also might enjoy the closure and I know your wives would.” 

Alana and Beth nodded vehemently.

Rachel couldn’t help but be a little jealous.  His wives were going out of their way just to bring a little vengeance on someone who’d hurt their husband, even though they didn’t get anything out of it.  They were doing it for him, and only for him, because they loved him so deeply. 

She wanted that. 

Not with Ethan -- she still didn’t want to share a husband -- but she definitely wanted it.

”Okay.”  Ethan nodded.  ”I know exactly what to say to get them to scurry from their dark hole.  It’ll be a few hours’ drive for them, so we should probably contact them now.” 

”Rachel, did you want to help?”  Alana asked. 

”Come again?”

”Well.”  The wood elf said coyly.  ”His former fiancée will already be jealous when she sees him with two young women on his arm.  We’re both much younger than her, so that’ll rub salt in the wound.  But do you know what would be even better?” 

”What?” 

”I’m a brunette and Beth’s a blonde.”  Alana grinned wickedly.  ”What if we stretched the truth slightly and you made it the trifecta.” 

”Mmm.”  Ethan mused appreciatively.  ”A stunning brunette, a beautiful blonde, and a hot redhead.  Plus all of you look barely legal; that would make her absolutely livid.” 

Rachel blinked. 

A ’hot redhead’?  She couldn’t help but smile.  Ethan thought she was hot? 

”So, how about it?”  Alana repeated.  ”Will you help us make his evil ex-fiancée feel completely inadequate?”

”Okay.”  The still-reeling redhead replied before she could stop herself.  She didn’t want to be Ethan’s wife.  But pretending for a good cause couldn’t hurt...  could it? 

She grinned: a ’hot redhead’. 

The phrase replayed in her head over and over.  She knew that Ethan admired her for her brains and magical prowess, but didn’t know that he thought she was ’hot’.  A tiny part of her just exploded in happiness at his praise of her beauty.  She knew it was silly, but she didn’t care.  She took a moment to revel in the sensation of an attractive man thinking she was beautiful. 

It felt good. 

She glanced at Alana and Beth, who both looked radiantly happy.  She wondered if perhaps this was part of why they were so happy when he was around.  She felt a warmth in her chest that had nothing to do with the temperature.  She felt so content because of that small compliment from him.

Why? 

She tried to push it out of her head, but not before she felt the tiniest itch between her legs. 

* * *

Ethan swiftly punched in his parent’s home phone number on the same burner phone that he’d used to call the ambulance the previous night.  The number hadn’t changed in thirty years, and he didn’t think anything could’ve made him forget it. 

His hand hovered over the ”call” button. 

”It’ll be okay.”  Alana said encouragingly.  ”Imagine hearing from our daughter if you thought she was dead; they’ll be overjoyed.” 

”Okay.”  He nodded, took a deep breath, and then hit ”call”.  The phone rang three times before someone picked up. 

”Ejder residence.”  His mom said.

It was good to hear her voice.

”When I was five, I accidentally knocked over Mrs. Brunson’s flowerpot and broke it.  I was so worried that I would get in trouble that you told her you did it, and promised never to tell a soul, even dad.”

There was a long pause, then his mom breathed a single word slowly and her tone was full of disbelief.  ”Ethan?”

”Hi mom.”  He felt himself tearing up.  ”I missed you.” 

”But...  but I thought...  there was a funeral and everything.” 

”I know, and I’m sorry I couldn’t call you sooner.”  He said as his throat got slightly tight.  ”I can’t talk long and I won’t be able to call you again.  But -- if it’s okay -- I’d like to come by the farm in about an hour.” 

”But how...?”  She trailed off.  ”Honey, how...”

”I’ll explain when I get there.”  He said.  ”But I don’t have long.  Can I come by?  Will dad be there?” 

”He will be.”  She said resolutely.  ”Come hell or high water, he will be.” 

”Okay, see you soon.”  He hung up. 

Alana gave him a hug and Beth made it a group hug moments later.  Rachel was leaning up against the wall and appeared to make a start towards him, but stopped herself. 

”Thank you.”  He said giving his girls a tight squeeze, then he looked at Rachel.  ”All of you.  I don’t know where I’d be without each and every single one of you.” 

Rachel half smiled and looked genuinely happy, but also conflicted for some reason. 

”Now.”  Alana said when he let them go.  ”Shall we bait your former lover and former best friend into some sweet vengeance?” 

He smiled. 

* * *

Beth grinned appreciatively as Ethan dialed the phone for Alana.  The wood elf was absolutely devious and the blonde was slightly jealous of that.  She put her head close so she could listen in on the call. 

”Online Marketing Solutions this is Terry; how can I help you?”  A voice on the other end said. 

”That’s her.”  Ethan whispered.

The wood elf nodded and launched into the prepared script.  ”Hi, my name is Alana and my boss has a problem he thinks you can solve.  He wanted to have a sit-down lunch to discuss it.”

”Very well, are you local?” 

”No, I’m in southern Indiana.” 

”When will you be in the area then?”  The woman asked. 

”I won’t be.  You’re going to come meet me and my boss; today.”

There was a brief pause.  ”Ma’am, we can’t simply drop what we’re doing to drive all day round trip.” 

”I think you can for my boss.”  Alana said, her face shining with glee.  ”His name is Ethan Ejder.” 

There was a long pause.

”Is this some kind of joke?”  Terry said, and she sounded almost fearful. 

”No Terry, no it isn’t.”  The wood elf said with barely controlled glee.  ”He told me to tell you that he still hasn’t told anyone about what happened senior year of college when he accidentally walked in on you in your dorm...  And who you were with...  but he will if you don’t show up.” 

Terry gulped loud enough to hear over the phone. 

”Oh, and bring Peter.”   She continued imperiously.  ”If both of you aren’t here by two O’clock, he’ll start contacting your friends to tell them.”

”He wouldn’t.”  Terry breathed. 

”Two O’ clock, the restaurant ’Popponini’s’ in Gursnburg, Indiana; be there, or...” 

Alana pulled the phone away from her ear and nodded to Ethan, who then hit the ’end call’ button. 

Beth looked at the diminutive wood elf who was usually the kindest, sweetest, most caring woman in the world.  But after seeing that, Beth gained a whole new appreciation for her. 

”That was cold babe.”  Ethan said, and Beth couldn’t tell if he was impressed or slightly intimidated.

”It might’ve been cold, but they hurt you.”  She smiled wickedly.  ”And you know what they say about revenge...” 

* * *

Hailey downed the last bite of her third helping of biscuits and gravy, feeling like her stomach was going to explode.

”Do you want more?” Jason asked with his eyebrows raised and a smile in his voice.

She shook her head.  ”One more bite and I’ll look like Melinda... and not in the sexy way she does it.”  She said nodding to her seven-month-pregnant friend, who you’d never guess was pregnant if you saw her from behind.

Melinda laughed.  ”It’s not all fun and games.  I feel like my ankles are bigger than Jason’s biceps.”

Jason comically flexed his fairly impressive muscles.  Then standing up, he struck a heroic pose that came off as intended: utterly comical. 

They both laughed.

He then got more serious, sat down, and looked at the both of them.  ”Now that we’re all fed, rested, and not completely shocked, we need to have a serious conversation.”

Both women nodded. 

”So, all cards on the table.”  He said.  ”Hailey, you didn’t know this but I was wedding ring shopping when you were kidnapped.” 

Hailey felt herself get choked up.  ”Really?” 

He nodded and turned to Melinda.  ”This was going to be a surprise in about a month, but I’ve been wedding ring shopping lately.”

Melinda put her perfect olive hand over her mouth.  ”Really?” 

He nodded again.  ”Those are the only two times in my life that I’ve been wedding ring shopping.  Therefore, I think we can all agree that to prevent further calamity, I shouldn’t go wedding ring shopping in the future.”  He finished with a wink, which dispelled some of the tension. 

Both Hailey and Melinda chuckled nervously.

He continued.  ”I love both of you, don’t want to lose either of you, and being forced to choose between you two would be the worst thing I can imagine. I don’t have a clue what to do.”  He said.  ”Thoughts?” 

The two women looked at each other.

Her Latina friend didn’t seem angry or upset -- which was good -- but she did seem shocked.  Probably because of the wedding ring thing.  She was always worried that no one would ever like her enough to marry her. 

Hailey wasn’t sure what to think.  She knew Melinda would never have gotten together with Jason if she’d known that Hailey was alive.  Never.  She was far too loyal a friend to do that.  Likewise, the last thing she wanted was to come between Melinda and Jason...  but she definitely wanted Jason back.  She missed waking up in his arms, feeling his tender kisses, and him holding her.  She missed it so badly it almost felt like a physical ache. 

”I don’t know.”  Melinda said quietly, her hand resting on the large bulge in her stomach where Jason’s baby was growing. 

”Me either.”  Hailey said. 

”Yeah...”  Jason ran his hands through his perfect hair.  ”I know what you mean.  Time to weigh in though; tell me what you are thinking.”

”I can’t lose you.”  Melinda said quietly.  ”And I can’t lose our baby’s father, and I can’t lose Hailey; not again.” 

”I...”  Hailey paused, not sure if she wanted to say what she was really thinking.

”Go ahead.”  Jason said.  ”The only way this ends well is if we talk about it.” 

”I don’t want to lose either of you.”  The willowy woman finished. 

Jason gave her a reproving look.  ”I know there’s more going on in your head.  Spit it out.” 

She took a deep breath.  ”I want you back, but I don’t want to break up your family.”  She glanced at the enormous baby bump Melinda was sporting.  ”I don’t want to hurt either of you either.  You both mean the world to me and I...”  Her voice hitched.  

”Hey.”  Melinda put a comforting hand on her knee.  ”We don’t want to hurt you either.” 

”Well, that’s something.”  Jason said.  ”We all agree we don’t want to hurt each other, and all agree we don’t want to be apart.  Now we just need to figure out how that would work.  Any ideas?” 

No one said anything.

”Okay, then we’ll table this for now.”  He said after a few moments.  ”I need to get to work soon, so we’ll all think about it and talk about it later.”

”Okay.”  Hailey and Melinda said at the same time.  They looked at each other and smiled.  They had always been in-sync with each other, she hoped they could be on this as well.  She wasn’t sure how that would work, but she desperately wanted it to. 

 * * *

Alana was extremely glad that she’d braided her hair as the wind whipped the braid all around while she was riding on Ethan’s back.  She was wearing the weight-reduction necklace, which had arrived in this world attached to Beth’s body, so Ethan could fly with her extra weight.  They had taken off from the forest and he’d changed his disguise gem to look like a large eagle with white feathers covering its head.  With as high as he was flying and as small as she was, she didn’t think they were in any danger of someone seeing her riding on his back.

*Okay, I’m about to dive; hang on.*  He warned.

She tightened her grip as he tucked his wings and they hurtled toward the ground at incredible speed.  She closed her eyes as the wind whipped past.  She felt him spread his wings and give a mighty flap and gravity at least tripled, then they dropped lightly to the ground.  The wood elf breathed a sigh of relief as she slid off. 

”Still don’t like diving huh?”  He asked with an amused expression.

She shook her head and then looked around. 

They were near a small cluster of trees in the middle of a large hilly, grassy field.  The cluster of trees was grouped around a wide part of a stream that was running through the field.  Dotted all around the field looking at them with mild disinterest was a small herd of cows.  It could easily have been a view from a rural area of the Ten Kingdoms. 

”This is where you grew up?”  She asked.

”Pretty much.”  He said looking around with a nostalgic expression.  ”We moved here when I was about ten.  Farm work was quite a change from the suburbs, but a good one.” 

She nodded.  She could almost see a little Ethan running around here. 

”Shall we?”  He said offering her his arm, which she took. 

He changed his disguise gem to look like his original human form and then led her to a small bridge across the creek.  After crossing it and stepping out of the cluster of trees, she saw a small house a hundred yards distant.  It looked cozy and well cared for. 

It was tan with a charcoal gray roof and a wrap-around porch with a white railing.  There were flowers around the house which had clearly taken a lot of time and effort to make it this beautiful.  It looked like they had suffered a touch of neglect lately though, as there were small weeds in the otherwise pristine layout.  Alana loved the feel of this place.  It seemed like love, laughter, and good times had been built into the walls. 

”I like it.”  She sighed.

”Me too.” 

They walked up the cobblestone path to the back door, he raised his hand, hesitated only a moment, and then knocked loudly.  A dog started barking and there was a loud scramble from inside.  Moments later the back door was flung open and a middle-aged woman stood there looking flabbergasted.

She was probably in her late forties or early fifties, but looked very healthy and could’ve passed for much younger.  Her hair was a medium brown, her clothes were simple but elegant, and the faint lines on her kind face seemed to be mostly from smiling and laughter. 

”Oh my Lord...”  She raised her hand and covered her mouth.  ”It is you...” 

Ethan smiled.  ”Hi mom.”

His mother rushed forward and threw her arms around him.  He hugged her back and the woman began to tear up.  It was clear there was a great deal of affection between them. 

As the wood elf watched, an older man came to the door.  He looked several years older than Ethan’s mother, but gruff and tough as nails.  He was a bit thin, but wiry and looked like the sort of fellow you didn’t trifle with, even with his age and small frame.  He had one hand behind his back, probably holding something but keeping it out of view. 

He looked wary, but hopeful.

”You can drop the Glock dad.”  Ethan said when he saw him.  ”I promise I won’t shoot any fence posts this time.” 

The older man visibly relaxed and set one of those ’gun’ things down on a small table just inside the door before coming out onto the porch. 

”Son.”  He said, nodding his head in a gesture of respect. 

Ethan’s mother finally let go of him, and he shook his father’s hand.  They held hands for a moment, then the elder Ejder pulled his son into a hug.

”I thought I’d lost you boy.”  He said, his voice cracking slightly.  It almost seemed out of place with his gruff demeanor and Alana got the impression he wasn’t given to displays of affection except in exceptional circumstances. 

”Not lost, just away.”  Ethan replied.  His voice was cracking slightly too. 

”Now who’s this?”  His mother asked slyly as she caught sight of Alana. 

”Mom, dad; this is Alana...  my wife.” 

The smile on his mother’s face could’ve cracked the entrance to a dragon’s cave.  She descended on the wood elf and wrapped her in a huge hug too.  Shocked but pleasantly surprised, Alana hugged the older woman back.  There was something about the hug that was so genuine and wonderful.  It was warm, kind, and spoke of true motherly love, even though they’d just met. 

When his mother had let go, Ethan’s dad extended his hand to the wood elf, which she shook. 

”Delighted to make your acquaintance.”  He said. 

”Likewise.”  She replied.

”Alana.”  Ethan said finishing introductions.  ”These are my parents, Ruth and Richard Ejder.” 

”But I wouldn’t mind if you called me ’mom’.”  Ruth added. 

Alana smiled.  ”I’d like that.” 

Ruth rounded on Ethan.  ”Now, where in God’s name have you been?” 

Ethan repeated the story they’d agreed on.  ”I can’t tell you, but think of it like Witness Protection.  I angered some very dangerous, very powerful people by doing the right thing.  I probably shouldn’t even be here now, but I had to see you since this is the last time I’ll be in the area for...  well, maybe forever.” 

Ruth’s face fell.  ”Well, we better make the most of it then.  Come on in, I just finished a batch of cinnamon raisin cookies and you can tell me all about how you two met.” 

Alana had often wondered how Ethan got to be such a wonderful man.  Standing there, having been welcomed into the family like a long-lost daughter by his parents despite being a perfect stranger, she was starting to get an idea.

* * *

Selene finally gave up trying to find where the dragon man and the brunette had gotten off to in this damned forest.  Natural Reserve? National Park? Whatever.  They had disappeared when she’d let them out of her sight for barely ninety seconds.  She’d been looking for nearly an hour now and hadn’t seen hide nor hair of them.

She hiked back into the FBI-issue SUV and drove back to the apartment, making sure to park far enough away that no one from the apartment would notice the vehicle.  Hopefully, she could pick up their trail again.

Once she was parked, she grabbed the case notes from the back seat and started flipping through them.  The kidnapping part of this case was pretty well sewn up since the kidnapped people had returned, but the perpetrator was still at large. 

Still, something about this strange dragon-man bothered her.  She had this gut feeling he was connected to this somehow. 

Glancing at her notepad, she looked up everyone’s names again, this time using Google instead of the FBI database.  ”Rachel Delmar” and ”Alana Ejder” didn’t return any useful results though.  Strangely, one result was a dragon story on an erotic fiction website. 

Strange.

She ignored that and kept looking. 

She obviously couldn’t google ”Ethan”, but after what she’d heard last night...  She tried ”Ethan Delmar”, but that was a dead end.  Then she tried ”Ethan Ejder”. 

She smiled.

Pay dirt...

...or not.

The top result was a story with the headline ”Man dies in his apartment after accidentally causing gas stove leak”.  She clicked the link and started skimming through the article, which had a picture. 

It was him.

Apparently, he’d lost everything and kicked his gas stove, which moved the stove and somehow ruptured the gas line, then he’d died in his sleep.  But if he was dead, then how was he walking around? 

She frowned.

He didn’t have any siblings, but lower in the article it mentioned a ”Richard and Ruth Ejder” as his parents, and they were alive and well on a farm in Kentucky.  Suddenly, she wasn’t so annoyed that they’d escaped; she probably wouldn’t have gone looking and found this if they hadn’t.

She looked up the Ejder’s phone number and stared dialing. 

* * *

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief as his mother brought out some cookies and chatted with Alana.  His wife was doing a very good job of telling the truth without actually giving away that she was from another world.  He himself had been trying to answer questions from his dad in a similar manner.  He caught up on the major news in their lives, but every time his dad asked a question, he found himself having to avoid it. 

It wasn’t easy. 

”So, where have you been?”  His dad asked.

”Like I said, I can’t say.  It might put you in danger.” 

Richard Ejder nodded.  ”I understand that; a man’s got to take care of his family.  I’m proud of you.”  He nodded toward Alana.  ”And I’ll bet she is too.” 

”Sometimes I’m not sure why, but yeah; she is.”  He agreed as he looked at her fondly.  ”I always wanted what you and mom had.  Now...  now I think I finally found it.” 

”I’m happy for you son.  Life is better when shared.” 

”It is.”  He agreed.

There was a comfortable silence before Richard broke it.  ”So, does this place you’ve been have anything interesting to do?”

”More or less.”  Ethan replied.  ”I’ve been--”

Ring!

”I can’t believe you still have a landline.”  He shook his head as he glanced over at the phone, then noticed the small box next to it.  ”God, that answering machine must be fifteen years old.” 

The phone rang twice more, then went to the machine.  ”Hello, my name is Selene Dawson, I’m a special agent from the FBI.  I’m calling regarding your son, Ethan Ejder.”

Ethan’s brain seemed to lock up for a moment. 

What. 

The. 

Fuck.

Ethan jumped out of his seat and growled at the phone.

The warning bells in his brain were going off like a five-alarm fire.  She had called his parent’s house?!  How had she known to call them?  How could she have possibly known?  He put it out of his mind.  He would figure it out later because now wasn’t the time; they were in danger.  His wife and unborn daughter were in danger.

Ruth and Richard seemed startled; not only by his reaction, but also by the almost inhuman sound that had come from his vocal cords.

”How did she find us?”  Alana breathed. 

”We need to go.”  Ethan said. 

His dad stood up and blocked his way.  ”Now tell me true son, are you in trouble with the law?” 

He hesitated, but knew better than to try and lie to his father.  The man always saw straight through him. 

”Sort of.”  He replied.  ”Some of those enemies I made are very powerful and in government.  I didn’t do anything wrong, but the last thing I need is to be caught by the FBI.”

”Fair enough.”  His dad said, then nodded to Ruth, who sprang into action.  Agent Dawson hadn’t yet finished leaving her message when Ruth picked up the phone. 

”Hello?”  She said in a world-weary voice that stood in stark contrast to the upbeat tone she’d had just moments before.  Ethan’s dragon ears could just barely hear what the gorgeous FBI agent was saying. 

”Mrs. Ejder?” 

”This is she.”  His mom replied, again sounding more tired than he had ever heard her sound. 

”Mrs. Ejder, this is Agent Selene Dawson with the FBI.  Do you have a moment to talk about your son?”

”What does the FBI want with my son?  He’s...”  Ruth didn’t look sad, but her breath hitched in just the right way that anyone who heard it would think she was on the brink of tears.  ”...he’s not around anymore.”

”That’s what I wanted to talk to you about ma’am.”  Agent Dawson continued.  ”Someone matching his description was seen in the vicinity of a crime recently, his name came up in the investigation, and there’s other evidence too.  I’m sorry to ask this ma’am, but how sure are you that your son is dead?” 

”Now listen to me young lady.”  Ruth’s voice rose with the rising temper in her voice... but not on her face.  ”I buried my son less than two months ago.  We saw him at the wake and funeral.  If you think for one moment I wouldn’t recognize my own son...”  She let her voice trail off dangerously, then winked at the others. 

”I’m sorry ma’am, I didn’t mean to imply--” 

”Oh!?”  Ruth cut her off.  ”Then what did you mean to imply?” 

Oddly, Selene seemed undeterred.  ”I’m sorry, but I have to ask: have you seen your son recently.”

”Yes, two months ago at the graveyard.  Good day!”  Ruth finished sharply and then slammed the phone down a little harder than necessary.  She looked up at Ethan, Alana, and Richard with a smile.  ”Well, that was fun.” 

Ethan started a slow clap, which the other two joined in on. 

Ruth did a little curtsy.

”Now, we really need to be going.”  Ethan said and his wife nodded.

”Well hold on a minute.”  Richard said and turned to Ruth.  ”Did it sound like she was fishing to you?” 

His mother nodded.  ”It did.” 

Richard turned back to the two of them.  ”I won’t stop you if you need to go, but just because she called here doesn’t mean anything.  It certainly doesn’t mean she knows you’re here.  It probably means she doesn’t know where you are and is looking for you.” 

Ethan took a deep breath as his heart started beating more normally again.  ”Good point.” 

”I know.”  His father said in his trademark combination of swagger and confidence.

”Please, sit and stay a bit.”  His mom asked.  ”If you aren’t going to come back soon, I’d hate to see your visit needlessly cut short.” 

Ethan looked at his wife.  *Thoughts?*

*He makes a good point.  I’d really like to stay a bit longer if that’s okay?* 

”Okay.”  He said aloud. 

They stayed talking and chatting for almost two hours.  It felt good to be back home, if only for a short time.  His mother and wife got along famously, which turned uncomfortable when the former started telling embarrassing stories about his childhood to the latter.  Alana was in stitches for a solid fifteen minutes while Ethan resisted the urge to hide under the coffee table.

It got much less embarrassing when Alana told a slightly edited version of how they met, including how he had charged a dozen armed men to protect her while they destroyed her ’tree farm’.  His mother looked horrified but proud.

”That’s my son.”  His dad said proudly. 

It was a wonderful visit. 

Eventually, Ethan looked at the time and nudged his wife.  ”We need to go.” 

She nodded, but looked bereft.  ”Okay.” 

”Are you sure you need to go?”  His mother asked.

”I am.”  He nodded.  ”I’m sorry to cut this short because I’m not exaggerating when I say we might never be back here.”

”Then I’m glad you came, and that I got to meet your lovely wife.”  His mother said.  ”We’ve only just met, but I can tell one thing: you did very well.” 

”Thank you.”  Ethan and Alana said at the exact same time. 

Richard and Ruth laughed before the former offered his hand.  ”Take care son.  I’m proud of the man you’ve become.”

Ethan felt his heart swell and his chest inflate as he took his father’s hand and shook it.  ”Thank you, that means a lot.” 

His mother pulled him into a hug.  ”I know you probably can’t come back, but try to send us a message every now and then to let us know that you’re okay.” 

”If I find a way, I will.”  He said as he hugged her back. 

There were many hugs and not-a-few tears from everyone as they slowly made their way to the back door.  Ethan was halfway out the door before he remembered. 

”Oh, mom, dad.”  He said turning back.  ”I don’t know if you’ll ever get to meet her, but you have a granddaughter on the way.”  He glanced at Alana.

His mom’s eyes lit up like Christmas morning. 

* * *

Selene rubbed her ear, which still hurt slightly after Mrs. Ejder had slammed the phone on her.  She hadn’t been convinced though, not fully.  Thinking back on it, something about the conversation didn’t feel right.  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was off.

She had been pondering this for some time when her phone rang. 

”Agent Dawson.” 

”Give me a sit-rep boot.”  Mason barked. 

”I was tailing Ethan until a few hours ago when he slipped.  I’m back watching his apartment in case he comes back.”

”I need you to bring him in.”  He said.  ”One of those school teachers finally let it slip that he was way more involved than anyone let on.  She only defended him, but she was definitely lying and scared about something.  He’s suspect number one right now, so I need you to bring him in.” 

”I will sir, as soon as I can find him.”  She replied.  ”They went into the forest preserve not far from the crime scene and I lost them in the woods.” 

”Then camp out at the crime scene.”  Mason said after a moment.  ”I got a hunch he’ll be returning there soon.” 

”Yes sir.”

Click.  He had hung up. 

Mason was infamous for his hunches, being right far more often than not.  Selene put the SUV in drive and took off.  She wanted to be prepared far in advance and to get some straight answers out of this elusive dragon fellow. 

* * *

Rachel glanced at the clock as Ethan, Alana, Beth, and herself sat in Popponini’s Italian restaurant listening to Alana tell them every last detail about the visit with Ethan’s parents. 

The restaurant itself was nice and was about half full of people because the ’lunch rush’ as Ethan had called it was dying down.  The whole place was decorated in reds and tans with large windows adding natural lighting.  At Ethan’s request, the hostess had seated them in a corner booth with chairs opposite.  There was just enough room for the four of them on the corner bench seat, which wrapped around the table. 

When they had arrived at the table, Alana had given Beth a gentle nudge to sit in the booth and followed her in, pulling Ethan’s arm behind her.  That left Rachel with only one place to sit: on Ethan’s right side.  She sat there now, mere inches from him.  She wasn’t sure why, but she liked being this close to him.  She didn’t like that she liked it, but she definitely did like it.

She liked it a lot. 

Beth was hanging on the wood elf’s every word about his parents and the redhead herself was paying attention, but was a bit concerned that Selene had tracked down Ethan’s parents. 

That wasn’t good.

”Rachel?”  He said, shaking her out of her reverie.  He had nice eyes.

”Yes?” 

”Does your mind ever stop going?”

”Only when I’m asleep.”  She shook her head.  ”And sometimes not even then.” 

He nodded.  ”You might want to try unwinding sometime.  I greatly appreciate your insights, but you could worry a lot less and smile a lot more.  You have a great smile and I wouldn’t mind seeing it more.” 

”I do?”  She felt herself smile unconsciously and her heart swell at his praise.

He nodded.  ”Absolutely, In fact...”  He trailed off as their waitress approached with the pizzas that he had ordered. 

”Here you go.  One meat lover’s, one deluxe, and one deep dish.  Enjoy!”  She said pleasantly before leaving them to it. 

All three women stared at the pizzas and Rachel could feel her mouth start to water. 

”Dig in.”  Ethan said, grabbing a slice of the meat lover’s pizza.

Beth and Alana imitated him and both grabbed slices of the deluxe.  Rachel hesitated a moment, waiting until the other women had taken a bite before trying the strange food. 

”Oh, by Illuminar...”  Alana breathed after taking a bite.

”Mmm hmm.”  Beth agreed as she chewed with a rapturous look on her face. 

Rachel also took a slice and carefully took a bite.  ”Oh, did angels make this?”  She breathed as the heavenly flavor filled her mouth and made her taste buds sing.

”I told you.”  Ethan chuckled.  ”Eat up, we should have enough time to enjoy the meal before they get here.” 

They did. 

Rachel wasn’t one to stuff herself, but she had to try a slice of each.  By the end, she was feeling more satisfied than she had in recent memory.  That was especially true after the rather limited diet on the Argo.

”That was amazing.”  Rachel declared as the waitress picked up their plates. 

”I’m glad y’all like it.”  The waitress said. 

”We’re going to hang here for a bit if that’s okay.”  Ethan said to the waitress.  ”We’re expecting a few people any minute now.” 

She glanced around at the half-full restaurant.  ”Stay as long as you like.  I’ll come back with the bill in a few.” 

”Thank you Dominus, the food was amazing!”  Beth said as she daintily dabbed her mouth with the napkin after the waitress left.

”Yes, thank you very much.”  Alana echoed.

”It was very good.”  Rachel added.  ”Thank you.” 

”You’re welcome.”  He replied.  ”I couldn’t have you come all the way to Earth and then not try...” 

He trailed off as Rachel heard the door to the restaurant open.  She looked over and saw two people enter.

Leading the way was a woman about Ethan’s height.  She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties and was in good shape.  She had somewhat dull brown hair worn back in a bun and wore one of those professional ’suit’ things that Ethan had once described.  She was pretty enough, but not incredibly so.

The man followed her in and was also wearing a suit.  He was a few inches taller than Ethan and built larger too, but not because he was overweight.  He was significantly larger than the woman, but somehow seemed small and cowed next to her too.  His clothes didn’t seem to fit him right either.  He didn’t look frumpy, but they seemed somehow out of place.  Shifty.

The looks on their faces were priceless. 

Rachel had seen countless people have an audience with her father wearing that exact same expression.  It was the look of someone who was trying to look calm and collected but was secretly sweating crossbow bolts.

”Ethan.”  Alana whispered.  ”Put your arm around Rachel.  Remember that we’re all pretending that she’s married to you too.” 

He looked at her.  ”Do you mind?”

”Not at all.”  She said before she could stop herself. 

”And scooch closer.”  Alana urged.  ”You two are supposed to be in love.” 

Again, before she could stop herself, Rachel scooched so her left side was touching his right side as his arm came to rest around her shoulders.

She hated it...

...or rather she hated how incredibly wonderful it felt. 

Because of his arm, she was half leaning up against him the way Alana, Beth, and Taloni often did.  She now fully understood why they sat like that so often.   She had never sat in such an intimate, affectionate way with a man before.  She absolutely hated how much she completely adored it. 

It was heavenly.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to simply enjoy it because their quarry walked up to the table. 

The woman’s eyes bugged out when she saw Ethan sitting there with the three young women.  Ethan was gently stroking Beth’s hair over Alana’s shoulder in an undeniably affectionate, romantic way.  Further, Alana and Rachel were leaning up against him.  To anyone looking at them, it would look like he was romantically involved with all three women. 

For a brief, fleeting moment, Rachel wished he was. 

”Ethan?”  The man breathed in disbelief

”Peter.”  Ethan nodded casually, like it was no big deal

”What the fuck is this?”  The woman hissed looking at each woman in turn.

”Nice to see you too.”  Ethan replied dryly.

Terry narrowed her eyes at each of the three girls in turn.  When she looked at Rachel, the redhead looked back with an expression of casual dismissal that she’d seen displayed on her father’s face countless times.

”That’s her, huh?”  Rachel said dismissively, as if his ex-fiancée was barely worth her notice.

”It is.”  Ethan confirmed. 

”Meh.” Rachel shrugged, wearing a look of mild disinterest and casual dismissal; again, like the woman wasn’t worth noticing.

The woman looked slightly hurt and taken aback.  Inwardly, Rachel smiled at Terry’s reaction.  She had long ago learned that indifference and dismissal were often more damaging than outright dislike.

”I thought she was supposed to be something special?”  Alana said casually, as if they were discussing some trinket in a shop.  ”I don’t see it.”

”And who the fuck do you think you are?”  Terry hissed again, her face slightly red.

”I’m his wife.”  The wood elf said frostily, then put her hand over her womb.  ”And the mother of his firstborn.” 

Terry stared, apparently at a loss for words. 

”Sit down.”  Ethan invited, also having adopting an air of casual indifference. 

Terry did mutely and Peter followed suit.  Moments later, the waitress returned and faced the newcomers.  ”Did you want--”

”We’ll need a minute.”  Terry interrupted, snapping with all the warmth of a snowstorm in January. 

Ethan looked at the waitress apologetically.  ”You’ll have to excuse my former fiancée here.”  He nodded at Terry.  ”She doesn’t like it that I traded up after she cheated on me.” 

”With him.”  Beth added indicating Peter.  ”And they stole my wonderful husband’s business.”  She looked adoringly at Ethan.

”I suppose that means she did it for the money.”  Alana said pensively.

”Good point.”  Rachel mused.  ”Hmm...  I suppose that would make her rather similar to a prosti--”  The redhead paused, allowing the implication to sink in a bit before finishing.  ”Well, a profession that isn’t spoken of in polite company.” 

The waitress stared open-mouthed.

Terry and Peter did too. 

”I’ll give you a few minutes.”  The waitress finally said before nearly skipping away.

”Your husband?”  Terry said looking from Beth to Alana and back before settling her gaze on the brunette.  ”Didn’t you say that you were his wife?”

”I am, and Beth is too.  Please try to keep up.”  Alana said like she was explaining something to someone who was very slow, then turned to Ethan.  ”I see what you meant about her ability to comprehend things.”

Terry spluttered for a moment then hissed.  ”I don’t have to listen to this.” 

”Yes.  You.  Do.”  Alana said firmly.

Terry -- apparently remembering what the diminutive elf had on her -- remained seated.

Rachel felt a bit of primal satisfaction at the discomfort they were all putting the woman through after what she’d done to Ethan.   She smiled and -- before she could stop herself -- snuggled closer to Ethan.  He gave her shoulder an affectionate squeeze. 

That was just part of the act...

Right?

”You’ve changed.”  Peter observed. 

”What can I say, life’s been good.”  Ethan said, glancing at each of his girls in turn. 

Wait...  ’his girls’?

It took a moment for Rachel to realize that she had just thought of herself as one of ’Ethan’s girls’.  Despite how wonderfully comfortable she was leaning up against him, Rachel suddenly wasn’t sure if pretending to be his wife had been a good idea.

”What happened?”  Peter asked.  ”You’re supposed to be dead.” 

Ethan shrugged.  ”You were supposed to be my best friend, not sleeping with my fiancée and stealing my business.” 

Peter looked slightly cowed at Ethan’s reply and didn’t respond. 

”Why did you want us here?”  Terry asked.  ”Just to insult us?”

”Nope.”  He shook his head.  ”I didn’t even want to meet; you’re just not worth my time anymore.  However, my lovely wives wanted to meet you.” 

”We wanted to see if you were as bad as he said.”  Beth said casually.  ”It seems he was being rather kind in his description of you.” 

”Very kind.”  Alana nodded.  ”I can see why you were never fully...  um, satisfied.”  She said with a sensual tone so no one could mistake her meaning.

Feeling slightly foolish and a little daring, Rachel decided to turn the heat up a bit.  ”I’m glad he doesn’t have that problem anymore.”  She glanced at Alana and Beth.  ”How long could you keep him up after he wore me out last night?”

”Not long enough.”  Beth said as her face fell.  ”We kind of passed out from...”  Her face went red.  ”Well, you know.” 

”I’m sorry we couldn’t keep up with you last night.”  Alana said to Ethan with a truly apologetic look on her face.  ”But I promise we’ll do our best tonight... sir.” 

”We promise.”  Beth corrected her.

Alana nodded.

Rachel glanced at Terry and Peter; the looks on their faces were priceless, then Alana turned it up a notch. 

She leaned in close and ’whispered’ loudly enough that the others could hear.  ”May I please be first tonight sir?”  She asked in a perfect combination of innocence, pleading, and sensual naiveté. 

”But you were first last night.”  Beth interjected at a more normal volume level.  ”May I please be first?” 

Alana caught Rachel’s eye, silently urging her to follow suit.  The redhead hesitated for only a moment. 

”But if you let me go first, I’ll...”  She paused, then leaned up and whispered into Ethan’s ear so only he could hear.  ”Please pretend I just said something super sexy.”  She then leaned back and locked eyes with him.  On impulse -- purely for the sake of fooling Peter and Terry of course -- she batted her eyes a couple of times.

She’d never been this close to him before; this intimate with him before.  She was quite literally in his arms and was flirting with him.  As they locked eyes, she thought she saw something in them that was warm, caring, and loving.  It was strong enough that it almost made her doubt her firm resolve to never share a husband...

Almost.

Then the moment was gone. 

He chuckled.  ”After a comment like that, I would let you go first...  but Taloni has already missed sharing my bed for a day or two.  But you’re second.”  He winked at her so they couldn’t see. 

She blushed.

”At least we’ll get to watch while we wait for our turn.”  Beth said wistfully.

Alana sighed, then gave Beth a sexy grin.  ”Oh, I can think of other ways to occupy you.”  The chocolate-haired elf then leaned in and planted a firm, but tender and sensual kiss on Beth’s lips, which the blonde eagerly returned.  Unless Rachel was much mistaken, she thought she saw a hint of tongue.

Terry and Peter looked thunderstruck. 

They were gaping open-mouthed as they watched the blonde teen and chocolate-haired elf kiss tenderly, but in a way that left no doubt that it wasn’t their first time kissing.  Peter worked his mouth soundlessly for a moment before Terry beat him to the punch.

”Okay, how much is he paying you girls?”  She asked looking incredulously at the three young women hanging on Ethan.  ”Seriously, no one is that lucky.”

”True, but Ethan is just that good.”  Rachel replied, surprising even herself.

”Exactly.”  Beth said, casting him an adoring look.

”Impossible.”  Terry hissed.

”Honey, take a good look at us.”  Alana had a look of pity on her face as she addressed Terry.  ”We aren’t lying; we’re all in love with the man.”

Rachel almost wanted to disagree, but she suddenly realized that she might be stretching the truth if she did.  She glanced at Ethan; the best man she’d ever known, bar none.  Too late she realized she had a subtle smile on her face as she looked at him. 

Ethan, Alana, and Beth had seen the look -- she knew they had -- but she could pass it off later as merely good acting.  That’s what she was doing anyway...  wasn’t it?  She was just pretending to adore him like she was in love with him...  wasn’t she?  She was just pretending to enjoy the wonderful feeling of snuggling up to him... 

Right?

Ethan let out a contented sigh, then looked at Peter and Terry.  ”Now, where were we?” 

* * *

Taloni had spent most of the morning going over the various parts of an airship with Anthiel.  Unfortunately, she wasn’t being a very good student because she still hadn’t fully recovered from the previous night.  Last night, the arousal coming from her bond with Ethan had made her nearly mad with lust.  With his permission -- because she felt like she needed to ask master first -- she had tried to take care of it herself, but couldn’t. 

No matter what she did, there seemed to be a wall between her body and the climax she craved.  She had a suspicion that she wouldn’t be able to orgasm until Ethan was back and touching her.  It wasn’t until her absent husband and wives finished their lovemaking that it subsided somewhat...  but she was still horny almost a whole day later.

She groaned. 

She had tried her best to focus on what Anthiel was teaching, but it was hard.  She missed him so much, and not only because of what he could do to her body.  She hadn’t slept well the previous night without him there.  She just felt better with him around.

Anthiel had finally given her a knowing look and told her to ’rest’ in the captain’s cabin.  She had stripped naked and tried again to take care of the itch, but it didn’t work.  It hadn’t ever worked without him there.  She remembered trying before their wedding and it hadn’t worked then either.

”Incoming rider!”  Anthiel’s voice sang out from the quarterdeck. 

Glad for the distraction, Taloni rolled out of bed, slipped on her dress, and walked out onto the weather deck.

It was a beautiful afternoon. 

The sun was shining in a cloudless blue sky, the birds were singing, and a slight breeze helped mitigate the heat.  Anthiel was up on the quarterdeck looking out with her spyglass.  Taloni climbed the stairs and joined the high elf.

”She looks familiar.”  Anthiel said handing the spyglass to Taloni.  ”Isn’t that your friend, Prayla?”

It took the Fey teen a moment to find the rider in the spyglass.  It was indeed Prayla.  Her friend was riding like the wind, as if Saidow himself was chasing her. 

She bit her lip. 

Prayla was a good rider, but she didn’t even like cantering, much less galloping.  She was always scared of falling off and hurting herself.  If she was riding like that, something was wrong.

Very wrong.

* * *

Sitting there, leaning up against Ethan -- entirely for show of course -- Rachel had never felt so wonderful or so horrible; so content, yet so uneasy.  It seemed as natural as breathing, but also as uncomfortable as being attracted to your best friend’s husband. 

Yeah... it was exactly that uncomfortable.

”Now,”   Ethan said to Terry and Peter ”I was planning to go easy on you if you seemed remorseful for your actions, but clearly you aren’t.” 

”Go easy on us?  What the hell do you mean?”  Peter asked.

”Let’s say -- hypothetically speaking -- that I’ve hired a top attorney.”  Ethan replied with a devious smile.  ”Let’s further say that I have a very large budget and a private investigator with an axe to grind.  Do you really think that if someone looked through everything you did that you’ll come out squeaky clean?  Do you really think you covered your tracks that well?”

”There are no tracks to cover.”  Terry said, though there was more bravado than conviction in her tone and expression. 

”Maybe.”  Ethan leaned forward, steepling his hands together.  ”But the statute of limitations won’t run out for many years, so I have long time to gather evidence and build a case.  And based on what I’ve already found...” 

He grinned wickedly. 

Terry and Peter gulped. 

”But not yet.”  Ethan said, leaning back with a relaxed and self-satisfied smile.  ”I’ve got time and I’m a little busy.”  He looked at the women sitting around him.

”You can threaten us all you want.”  Peter said, also with more bravado than confidence.  ”We’re airtight.” 

Ethan shrugged.  ”Then you can sleep like a baby at night.  But if you left even one loose end or one thing out of place...  if you forgot to dot one ’i’ or cross one ’t’...” 

He let that hanging in the air. 

Terry changed tactics at the speed of light.  Her face suddenly turned much more agreeable and remorseful.  She was even rather convincing and a very good actress, but wasn’t fooling anyone.

”Ethan, sweetie, do you really need to do that to me?”  She said in the same simpering, grating tone that Rachel had heard so many use with Lord Delmar. 

”Don’t even start.”  Rachel heard herself say.  ”You wouldn’t know remorse if it kicked you in the head.”

 ”I wasn’t talking to you.”  Terry hissed.

Rachel was momentarily tempted to put this bitch in her place with some magical fire, but resisted. 

”But I’m talking to you.”  Ethan said.  ”If you give him up--”  He nodded to Peter.  ”--and tell me where the skeletons are hidden, I’ll keep you out of the lawsuit.  It’s not much, but you’ll avoid prison.” 

Terry hesitated for a moment too long. 

Peter eyed her, suddenly suspicious.

”Of course I wouldn’t do that.”  Terry said hastily, then subtly winked at Ethan with the eye that Peter couldn’t see. 

”That was a good wink.”  Beth observed. 

”Very subtle.”  Alana agreed. 

Peter clenched his jaw as he turned to Terry.  ”You winked?” 

”And that’s our cue to leave.”  Ethan said nudging Rachel, who was sitting at the end.

Rachel hesitated for a moment before sliding out of her seat.  Her side suddenly felt slightly cold now that Ethan’s warmth wasn’t there anymore.  She missed it.  The warmth of course, not being next to Ethan.  She absolutely, in no way whatsoever missed leaning up against him.  She certainly wouldn’t have sat like that for hours.  No, of course she wouldn’t.  She definitely, positively, absolutely didn’t miss being so comfortably snuggled up against him.

She didn’t...

She was sure of it.

As they slid out, Terry looked at him like a deer in the headlights.

”I was never going to cut a deal with you.”  Ethan said coldly.  ”But now Peter knows you’d sell him out for a song...  just like you did to me.  You made your bed, now you have to sleep in it.”

”Meanwhile, we’ll all be sleeping with Ethan.”  Rachel heard herself say.  Then she decided that if she was in for a copper, she might as well be in for gold piece.

The redhead leaned in and whispered into Terry’s ear loud enough for all of them to hear, but quiet enough that the rest of the restaurant wouldn’t.  ”And let me tell you, he can play a real woman’s body like a...”  For effect, she closed her eyes and sighed like she was recalling a fond memory.  ”If you weren’t passing out from pleasure, it certainly wasn’t his fault.”

Terry looked speechless as the nubile, nineteen-year-old redhead stood and wrapped herself around Ethan’s arm. 

Not to be outdone, Beth wrapped herself around his other arm and cooed at him.  ”Ethan, would you make me a mother tonight, just like you promised?”

”Absolutely.”  He replied with the widest grin the redhead had ever seen.  Though she suspected he’d telepathically told the blonde that wouldn’t be happening. 

”And me too?”  Rachel pleaded, giving him a wink that Terry and Peter couldn’t see.

”Of course beautiful; anything for you.”  He said winking back at the redhead, who couldn’t help but get a big dopey grin on her face at his compliment.

”Uh...”  Terry seemed to be at a loss for words. 

Alana leaned in towards her.  ”I hope you sleep so very well until my husband gives you your comeuppance.”  She straightened up with a satisfied smile and leaned against Ethan.  ”Sweet dreams.” 

The waitress had just come back to take their orders, though she seemed confused at seeing all three women hanging on Ethan that way. 

”They’re paying.”  Ethan said to the waitress, then looked at the stunned traitors still sitting down.  ”And if you don’t leave her a hundred-dollar tip to apologize for your rudeness, I might just let a few things slip out to your friends...” 

And with that Ethan steered them out, leaving behind a shocked couple and a stunned waitress.

* * *

”My lord the king?” 

The king of the wood elves looked up from his meal to see Delabor standing nearby. 

”Approach.”  He turned in his chair slightly to regard his herald. 

Since it was just the king and his lovely wife, they sat in their private dining room just off the king’s chambers.  It was richly adorned with the most intricate carvings in the whole empire, as befitted the high king of the wood elves. 

”Welcome Delabor.”  The queen said in her soft, feminine voice. 

The king smiled at just the sound of her voice.  Tradition dictated that the king must have the best, and thus the king’s bride was always the most beautiful and refined woman among the daughters of the Great Houses.  To choose anyone but the most beautiful woman would send a message that the king deserved less than the best.  To choose a bride from among the commoners would send the same message.  Both would bring shame to the crown, and thus their ancestors.

Delabor hesitated, clearly nervous about breaking the proper protocol about reporting while the queen was present. ”Begging your pardon majesty, and forgive your humble servant for his lack of proper wisdom in this matter: but would you like me to speak on the matter which concerns...”

The king took pity on him and nodded.  ”My queen may hear your news, even if it concerns her niece.” 

”Thank you my king.”  The queen said with a reverent bow of the head. 

The king returned her head-bow with a slight nod of his own, as tradition dictated was proper.  Some kings kept their wives purely for pleasure and children, but he was more modern and allowed her to know the goings-on of the court.

Delabor visibly relaxed.  ”Since the envoy is ready to approach the dragon who is wed to your wife’s niece, would you like to dispatch them now?”

The king nodded.  ”Yes, they should bring word of his reply by mid-morning tomorrow.” 

”Your Majesty knows the swiftness of naiad messengers and sureness of dryad diplomats.”  He said bowing. 

”Good.”  The king replied. 

”Begging your leave my king.”  Delabor said as he bowed.  He then backed out of the room because turning his back to the king would be considered a slight against the crown.

”Might I ask what is happening with my sister’s daughter?”  The queen asked. 

”You may.”  He nodded.  ”She has wed the dragon about whom the rumors are swirling.” 

The queen nodded, her long silky blonde hair rippling in the most beautiful way.  ”Then perhaps she is trying to remove her stain?  Is that possible my king?”

He grimaced.  ”Mere days ago, she assisted her husband in marrying a Fey girl.”

The queen inhaled sharply and then a mournful look crossed her face.  ”Like mother, like daughter.”

”True.”  The king nodded.  ”It is a shame; your sister might have united the Houses of Kalon and Nalfigar.  Now she and her offspring seem determined to shame us all.” 

The queen nodded mournfully.  ”Isn’t it a shame that she still swears she will not take a husband, assuming one could be found who could bear the shame of having her as his wife?”  She stated her opinion as a question, just as was proper for everyone to address the king, even the queen.

”Your trip wasn’t successful then.”  He stated.  ”Not even with her elder sister’s urging -- the queen herself -- will she wed.  Pity, she is near your equal in beauty, grace, and refinement.” 

”Thank you my king.”  The queen bit her lip, glanced at him, then down. 

”Speak your mind queen.”  He commanded. 

”Isn’t she still...”  She took a deep breath.  ”Isn’t she still infatuated with my niece’s father?  Is that right my king?” 

The king sighed.  Tradition dictated that everyone -- even the queen -- must inform him of things phrased as a question.  It seemed a silly trapping when no one else was about, but he couldn’t break tradition.

”I would see her happy, but House Nalfigar couldn’t survive with its next leader wed to a woman so shamed.  She could never even enter the palace, which alone would reduce Nalfigar to a second-class house at best.” 

”But didn’t she shame herself with him?”  She asked.  ”Could she be wedded to him and maintain the house’s honor and standing because of that?” 

”You know that has never been proved as the Book of light requires.  Thus, it matters not who she shamed herself with, only that she did shame herself.” 

The queen nodded.  ”You are wise my king, but I wish it wasn’t so.” 

”So do I.”  He looked at his wife fondly.  ”So do I.” 

* * *

Ethan couldn’t help but smile ear-to-ear as they left the restaurant.  That had felt so good.

”Was that enough?”  Alana asked.  ”Because I’m up for round two of ’torment the exes’.” 

”Trust me, that’ll be plenty.”  He replied as the four of them walked down the street back towards the apartment.  ”Peter is such a nervous fellow that he won’t sleep a wink until the statute of limitations runs out.  Then he’ll kick himself for another decade for worrying when there was no reason.  And Terry...” 

He chuckled.

”Terry will be devastated after what you girls did.  She always hated being compared to anyone, especially anyone more attractive.  That fact that you were so dismissive will be like salt in the wound.” 

He turned to Rachel.  ”And that comment about it not being my problem if she didn’t enjoy sex.”  He let out a satisfied sigh.  ”That’s going to burn her butt for years.  Plus, now that Peter knows she’s a conniving bitch...  She’s about to have a rough time of it.”

”Good.”  Beth exclaimed.

”Agreed.”  Alana nodded.

”I was happy to help.”  Rachel said, and she looked it.

”Thank you.  Thank all of you, especially my fourth ’wife’ Rachel--”  He winked at her with a massive grin.  ”--who absolutely crushed it.  I plan to show my ’other wives’ how thankful I am tonight, but I’ll have to think of something special for you.” 

The redhead seemed uncharacteristically at a loss for words as she gave him a sheepish smile.  ”Thank you.” 

”No, thank you.”  He replied.  The redhead was a phenomenal actress, giving off all the right signals at all the right times.  If she hadn’t already made it 100% clear that she wasn’t interested, he might’ve thought that she was.

”Now, I think it’s time--”  He started, but Taloni interrupted his train of thought.

*Master!*  She exclaimed telepathically.  *You need to come home right now!*

*What’s wrong?*  He asked stopping dead. 

*Prayla just rode to the Argo.  There’s a Drago at the mine demanding to speak with you.*  Her voice was filled with dread. 

”What’s wrong?”  Alana asked. 

*Hang on a second Taloni, let me fill the others in.*  He turned to them.  ”Taloni just told me there’s a ’Drago’ at the mine who’s demanding to speak with me.” 

Alana, Beth, and Rachel all gasped at the same time. 

”What’s a Drago?”  He asked.

”A dragon Lord.”  Rachel replied in awe.  ”They’re among the oldest dragons who’ve accrued the largest hoards of gold and are therefore incredibly powerful...”  She paused for a moment, then cocked her head to one side.  ”I bet that’s what Havorleth meant; why he left so easily.” 

”Why?”

”Because some of the oldest dragon lords -- like a Drago -- force younger dragons in their territory to collect gold for them.”  Rachel explained.  ”He probably thought he could get his Drago to deal with you instead of doing it himself.”

”Oh!”  Beth exclaimed.  ”That explains why his hoard was so small.”

”Great.”  Ethan sighed; his list of enemies seemed never-ending and ever-growing.  ”We need to get home.” 

He started walking at a brisk pace and his girls all fell into step behind him. 

*Taloni, we’re heading back now.*  He thought to her.  *Hopefully, we’ll be back in an hour or two and then we can all discuss what to do.*

*Okay, master.  Please hurry.*  She urged. 

*We will.*  He assured her, then turned to the others.  ”Let’s get our stuff and go.  We should say a final goodbye to Hailey too, but we need to make it quick.” 

They all nodded and started moving double time.

* * *

Hailey sat on the couch in Jason and Melinda’s apartment thinking about their conversation.  She almost teared up when she thought about the fact that Jason had been wedding ring shopping before she disappeared.  Of course, he’d been wedding ring shopping for Melinda recently too.  She was glad they both wanted her in their life, but had no idea where she would fit.  She had no idea if she could fit in their life.

She was shaken out of her reverie by a knock on the door. 

”Could you get that?”  Melinda asked apologetically.  She had just flopped down on the couch and has having a little trouble getting around with her seven-month-pregnant belly.

”Sure.”  Hailey hopped up and opened the door to see Ethan, Alana, Beth, and Rachel standing there looking slightly winded. 

”Hi, we need to go home so we came to say our final goodbyes.”  He said. 

Hailey hesitated for a moment and then gave him a hug.  He seemed surprised but returned it. 

”Thank you for everything.”  She said.  ”If it weren’t for you, I’d still be a slave in that God-awful place.” 

”You’re welcome.”  He said as she let go.  She also gave each of the girls a hug, even Beth who she basically didn’t know at all. 

”Thank you all.”  She repeated.

”Yes, thank you for bringing Hailey back.”  Melinda said as she pulled herself to her feet, waddled over, and offered hugs too.  ”Thank you so much.” 

There were hugs and goodbyes all around, but Hailey noticed that Rachel was a little more quiet than usual.  She slipped through the doorway and pulled the ravishing redhead a few feet away from the others.

”Are you okay?”

Rachel smiled wryly.  ”Is it that obvious?” 

Hailey nodded.  ”What’s wrong?”

Rachel hesitated, and then the willowy woman saw the mage’s eyes flick toward Ethan for the briefest moment.

”Say no more.”   Hailey smiled at her.  ”Look, take it from me that something good can be ripped away from you in an instant.  Treasure the good things in life, the important things... even if you don’t understand them.  Okay?”  She subtly nodded her head towards Ethan.

”I will.”  Rachel nodded, but looked even more conflicted.  ”I hope everything works out with you, Melinda, and Jason.”

”Me too.”

They walked the few steps back to everyone else.  Ethan was mid-conversation when he cocked his head to one side like he was listening to someone.  Hailey didn’t think she ever would get used to him talking telepathically with his wives.

”Okay, we really need to go.”  He said.

There was a final round of goodbyes -- with Ethan making Melinda and Hailey promise to say goodbye to Jason for them -- and then they were gone.   As Hailey watched Ethan leave with two of his wives, one on each arm, she wondered if perhaps she, Melinda, and Jason could have that. 

None of them wanted to lose each other and Ethan’s solution seemed like the only solution.  She just didn’t know how well it would work in America in the 21st century.

* * *

Selene set up her collapsible lawn chair in the trees just outside of the clearing where the crime scene had been.  From where she was, she could see into the clearing without being seen.  She hoped that would allow her to catch the elusive dragon man when -- or if -- he showed up.  Mason’s hunches were incredibly accurate according to his reputation, so she thought they would.

She pulled out her phone and looked at the picture again.  It was indeed a dragon, or at least a dragon without visible wings.  She zoomed in a bit and saw that it actually looked like he did have wings, they were just tucked up tightly against his back, like a bat’s wings when it’s on the ground or is hanging. 

She frowned. 

That was too strange. 

She stared at the picture for another thirty seconds before realizing that it had changed.  She wasn’t aware of it changing.  She hadn’t seen it change, but it did.  She had been scrutinizing a dragon when she realized she was actually looking at a man. 

He must be coming.

Sure enough, the dragon-man, the brunette, the redhead, and the blonde walked into the clearing fifteen minutes later.  Strangely, the brunette was now carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows.   Selene stood up, put her hand on the butt of her pistol, and mentally braced herself for her first real arrest.

Before she could move, the dragon-man reached his hand in her direction.  She froze, hoping he hadn’t seen her.  Fortunately, he seemed to be looking toward the tops of the trees in her general direction, not at her. Moments later, she heard the rustling of leaves as something made its way through the treetops.

Her jaw dropped.

An old-fashioned wooden spear and what looked like a large framing hammer flew from the trees nearby directly towards him and landed in his outstretched hands.  They had flown straight at him, defying every law of physics and all common sense.  She was stunned for a moment, then recovered and walked resolutely into the clearing. 

”Ethan Ejder?”  She said loudly in her best imitation of Agent Mason’s gruff bark.

He whirled to face her, weapons at the ready.  

In a flash, she drew her pistol and had the sights lined up on him.  He seemed to relax slightly upon seeing her and moved to put himself between the girls and Selene.  He was protecting them. 

”Drop the weapons!”  She ordered. 

He looked at her appraisingly. 

He wasn’t scared. 

He wasn’t intimidated.

If anything, he was regarding her in a curious fashion; much like you might consider a child who was doing something strange, but not wrong.  The brunette’s hand had moved to grab an arrow, but after a moment she shrugged like she’d heard something and then dropped the bow on the ground.

He didn’t drop his weapons.

”Drop the weapons, or I drop you.”  She repeated. 

He shrugged, relaxed his stance, and then in a very unthreatening manner, tossed both weapons in her direction so they landed about a dozen feet from her.  She lowered her weapon but didn’t holster it.

”Agent Dawson.”  He said calmly.  ”What brings you here?” 

”You’re wanted for questioning in connection with the kidnappings.”  She replied.  Despite being the one aiming a gun, she felt like she was being questioned by him; like he was the one in charge here. 

He shrugged.  ”What do you want to know?”

Selene hesitated.  She had no idea what questions to ask, just that he needed to be brought in, per Mason’s orders.  ”I know you need to come with me.” 

”Am I being detained?”  He asked casually. 

”I’d rather not make this an arrest, but I will.”  She replied, still not holstering her weapon.

”Then we have a problem.  I have some people’s lives depending on me and I need to go now.  I don’t have time to humor you.” 

She blinked. 

He didn’t have time to ’humor her’?  What the hell?  Once again, she got the uncomfortable feeling that he -- not she -- was in control here. 

”Go?  Go where.”  She looked around the clearing, which had only one entrance and one exit.  They had come from the direction of the town, and the other exit went deeper into the forest preserve.

Smiling, he glanced at the blonde and brunette before replying.  ”Home.” 

”And where is home exactly?”

”You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

”Try me.” 

He eyed her for a moment, then gave her an indulgent look.  Much like a parent would to a child who was making an unreasonable request that the parent decided to indulge anyway.

”I’m going to the Ten Kingdoms; a world where magic is lauded and science derided.  A land where dragons fly free and airships roam the land.  I was just about to have my third wife open a portal.” 

Selene blinked.  ”Third wife?” 

He nodded.  ”She’s a Fey, and doesn’t tolerate this world very well.  Neither does my elven wife.”  He indicated the brunette.

Selene scoffed.

He looked amused, which was strange considering she was the one with a gun.

”No such thing.”  She finally said.  ”Fey, dragons, elves only exist in fairy tales.”

The brunette stepped forward and pulled back her chocolate-brown hair to reveal her pointed ears. Selene had good eyes; those were either her real ears or the greatest prosthetics known to man.

”I don’t have all day.”  He said.  ”Drop the gun so we can leave.” 

”No.”  She said resolutely.  ”You’re coming with me.” 

”Put that down before one of us gets hurt.”  He said.

Judging from the way he said it, he didn’t think it would be him.  There was something supremely confident in his voice that made her suddenly doubt herself.  No one had ever done that before.   

His body language changed subtly. 

She wasn’t sure what it was, but suddenly he seemed less like a man and more like an apex predator on the prowl; more like a dragon.  He hadn’t change appearance one bit, but something about the way he now stood and moved unlocked primitive fears in the back of her mind.  Something about him unsettled her all of a sudden.

She suppressed the shiver that wanted to run down her spine.  She was vaguely aware that her palms were starting to release cold sweat.

”Drop the gun.”  The dragon-man instructed, but it came out like a low growl.

That primitive part of her brain screamed to comply, but she ignored it.  ”Not on your life.” 

He smiled.

It wasn’t quite threatening, but it unsettled her greatly.  She was reminded of some great cat who was about to play with a mouse.

She felt like the mouse. 

He raised his hands in the classic gesture of surrender, indicating he was unarmed.  Somehow, it came across as threatening instead.  His middle finger on his right hand twitched, and the hammer on the ground in front of her twitched also. 

No.

No, it wasn’t possible.

His finger twitched again, and again the hammer on the ground twitched also. 

”What the hell?” She breathed, before taking a few steps forward and scooping the hammer off the ground. 

She didn’t want to take any chances.

He smiled again, this time like he had won something.  She gripped the hammer a little tighter, resting her gun hand on top of the hand that held the hammer for stability. 

He moved his fingers again and she felt a strange tingle in the hammer; almost like static electricity.  It seemed to slowly grow in strength.

”Whatever you’re doing, stop it.”  She ordered, raising her pistol again and being half tempted to put her finger on the trigger. Years of training had drilled it into her not to put her finger on the trigger unless she was ready to fire.  Right now, her trigger finger was where it was supposed to be: along the side of the gun pointing at her target.

”Does it look like I’m doing something?”  He asked with an innocently amused expression.  He waited a short time, then spoke again.  ”Last chance; put down the gun.  Now.”

”Not on your life.” 

”Very well.”  He nodded, then twitched his finger towards the hammer again.

BZZZT!!!

Selene felt her entire body seize for a moment as she was hit with what felt like a Taser.  Her hand holding the hammer locked up a fraction of a second before the hammer lurched in Ethan’s direction.  Since the electricity had her hand locked up, she was jerked forward and off balance.   With the electricity coursing through her body, she didn’t have the muscle control to stop her fall properly.

She was jerked forward and hit the dirt, trying to shake off the random spasms from the electrical shock.

Moments later, she felt her pistol being jerked out of her hand. 

She looked up to see him standing over her. 

He looked amused at her efforts. 

Her father had started teaching her the same Brazilian Jiujutsu that he taught at his dojo when she was three.  She’d taken to it like a fish to water -- much to her mother’s consternation -- and so she had never felt powerless.  On the contrary, she intimidated almost every man she’d ever met, especially the ones who showed any romantic interest.

He didn’t look intimidated.

He looked amused. 

”Nice try.”  He grinned.  Something about his mannerisms and body language was different than the previous day.  He seemed more aloof, more calculating, more -- for lack of a better word -- draconic.

The dragon looked her up and down, eyeing her body like a succulent piece of meat.  He smiled, clearly pleased with what he saw.   Her friends credited her looks to her Brazilian father and Japanese mother and had also said she was drop-dead gorgeous.  She had certainly never wanted for male attention.

She was no stranger to men leering at her and undressing her with their eyes; women too frankly.  He was giving her a similar look right now.  Ordinarily, that kind of behavior would’ve made her disgusted with him.  She certainly had enough men leer at her while being interested in nothing above her ears.

This was different. 

She wasn’t sure why it was different, but it was.  The dragon was standing over her and she was unarmed and near helpless because of the electric shock which was still causing the occasional muscle spasm.  His gaze was absolutely without apology or remorse.  From anyone else, she would’ve felt insulted that they were looking at her with such abject lust.

From him though...

He did it with such swagger; such confidence that it bordered on arrogance.  He clearly thought he was superior to her; that she would be lucky to catch his eye.  She felt stupid for thinking this: but for a moment she almost wished she would.  Men had stared at her like they were superior before, but they always came across as posers.

He didn’t.

She didn’t know why, but he didn’t.  For some reason, his gaze made her actually feel that way: inferior.  It felt like he was -- she almost hated the expression but she couldn’t think of anything else and it fit -- that he was a true Alpha and that she would be lucky to catch his eye.

Something about the way he stared at her like a sex object, and did it completely without shame or guilt was almost...  almost...   flattering?  It would’ve been repulsive and insulting from a lesser man.  But from him, it made her feel wanted; desirable; sexy.

Strangely, being completely powerless and utterly defeated by a man who looked at her like nothing more than a sex object made her feel both flattered and powerful; both worthless and of supreme worth.  It was a heady combination that she had never felt before in her entire life.

Ever.

For the second time in two days, this dragon was making her body respond in ways that no man had ever done, yet he hadn’t even touched her.  And remembering the first time...  how his wives had sounded in bed with him...  if just his glance could feel like this, what about his touch...

She suppressed a shudder. 

Then the moment was gone.

The dragon shook its head as if clearing it then blinked a few times. 

”Are you okay?”  He asked, seeming more human than mere moments ago.  ”I’ve stopped hearts with those shocks before; are you alright?”  There was genuine concern there.

She nodded, almost feeling emotional whiplash at the change from apex predator to caring man.

”I know you’d get in trouble for losing your weapon--”  He hefted the pistol.  ”--so I’m going to leave it behind.  Don’t try to follow us; I can’t waste the day regenerating mana to send you home.” 

”Huh?”

He smiled.  It was a mischievous smile that displayed great confidence and even a hint of arrogance.  Damn, why was that attractive?

”You’ll see.”  He stared into space for a moment, as if thinking about something else, then stepped back to rejoin his girls. 

About a minute later, she saw something incredible. 

Unbelievable. 

Just behind where they stood, something that looked like very viscous water appeared out of nowhere.  It was hovering a few feet above the ground and seemed to spread, flowing outward like maple syrup or honey because it was so thick.  It looked like water swirling down a drain, only in reverse.  The membrane was like the surface of water as it reflected the sun.  Or perhaps like oil left out on a flat surface.  It expanded to about ten feet in diameter, with the bottom eighteen inches disappearing into the ground. 

Her mind immediately went to the strange cutout in the crime scene, because that’s exactly where the bottom half of this...  this portal was.  She suddenly knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this portal was what made it. 

Ethan unloaded her pistol and dropped it on the ground in front of the portal.  ”Don’t follow us.”  He ordered, then called the spear and hammer to his hand and jumped through, disappearing through the rippling, opaque circle like someone jumping into water.  The redhead went next, but the blonde and brunette paused for a moment.  They both gave her knowing looks as the shorter one reached down and picked up her bow.

”Doesn’t it make you weak in the knees when he looks at you like that?”  The blonde said to Selene with a sensual smile. 

The brunette nodded and got a dopey, embarrassed grin on her face.  ”His look is good, but his touch...”  She shivered slightly.

Both women sighed.

”Huh?”  Selene shook her head.

”As good as he is on the battlefield, he’s even better in bed.”  The brunette explained with the air of someone recalling a fond memory.  The blonde sighed and then they both jumped through the portal. 

Selene stared dumbstruck for a moment before she remembered her phone. 

In record time, she had it out and recording.  Moments later the -- she couldn’t believe she was thinking this -- but the portal began to close.  It slowly collapsed in on itself like water circling a drain until it faded to a point and was no more.

She was alone in the clearing. 

They were gone. 

Selene was left with a vague sensation of whiplash and shock at the events of the past few minutes...  and an annoying itch in her nether regions. 

* * *

Alana took a full, deep breath of air for the first time in nearly two days.  Okay, it wasn’t quite air that she had been missing, it was the full, unrestricted flow of mana through the ether’s barrier.  She had expended a significant portion of her normal mana to keep her deep mana full.  Normally, she wouldn’t even need to think about it here in the Ten Kingdoms, but on Ethan’s world... 

Rachel took a deep breath, sighed, and grinned at her.  ”Yeah, I know what you mean.” 

”Master!”  Taloni’s bubbly voice came as the Fey flew straight towards Ethan and wrapped her arms and legs around him.  If she had been naked and he was hard, merely sliding down would’ve been enough for him to slip inside of her. 

She kissed his face several times and then planted one long kiss on his lips. 

Ethan smiled, let out a mock sigh, and said:  ”Dang, I was hoping you’d miss me.  Oh well.” 

”Oh master, you’re so bad.”  She shook her head laughing and then hopped down, using her wings to assist.   The wood elf noticed that she was using them seemingly without conscious thought.  It seemed so natural on her and it was good to see.

Taloni saw Beth and suddenly looked a little nervous.

”Taloni, this is Beth; Beth, Taloni.”  Ethan made the introductions. 

The Fey girl seemed to be unsure what to do.

Beth wasn’t.

She stepped forward and swept the shorter girl into a huge hug.  ”Thank you for saving Ethan in that ravine.” 

”It was my pleasure.”  Taloni said hugging her back. 

”Literally.”  Beth whispered sensually.

They both blushed.

Alana got the impression that they would become fast friends. 

”Hi Prayla.”  Ethan said, waving at the human teen standing near the console with Anthiel. 

”Hi.”  She said back, but looked extremely worried. 

He grimaced.  ”Now, what’s this I hear about some kind of dragon lord?” 

* * *

Selene stood in the clearing watching the replay on her phone.  It was her tenth time viewing it and she still couldn’t believe what she was seeing.  She had already retrieved her pistol and stowed it in her holster.  She knew at some point she’d have to leave and report her failure to Mason, but she had no clue what to say.  She was very glad that she had video though, because this was going to be impossible to explain otherwise.

She was shaken from her reverie by the unmistakable sound of men marching in heavy equipment.  She turned to see a dozen men who were armed to the teeth enter the clearing.  They look vaguely like military operators or SWAT.  They moved as one, everything so perfectly coordinated it looked like they had been born doing this. 

The moment they saw her, half of them raised their rifles at her, but thankfully didn’t fire.

”Hands on your head!  Now!”  One of them barked

She complied while yelling.  ”Agent Selene Dawson, FBI.  Lower your weapons.” 

They ignored her.

”Down on the ground!  Now!”  One of them shouted.

Not wanting to get into an argument with half a dozen M4s, she complied, rather awkwardly getting to the ground while still keeping her hands on her head.

”My badge is clipped to my belt.”  She said, but they ignored her.  Two of them came up and one covered her with his rifle while the other zip-tied her hands behind her back.  The second man patted her down, removed her weapon, and then pulled her to her feet. 

By then, they had spread out and created a perimeter. 

”Area clear.”  One of them shouted.

Moments later, a man in a suit entered the clearing.  His suit looked like it cost more than Selene’s first car.  He was wearing sunglasses and wasn’t large, but was clearly built powerfully. 

He walked up to Selene and looked at her appraisingly.  ”FBI huh?  Give me your name and FBI ID number.” 

She did, and he punched them into his phone. He held up his phone next to her head, apparently so he could compare what was on the phone to her face, then he nodded to one of the armed men. 

”She’s good.”   He said.

The man snipped her zip-tie with clippers, returned her weapon, and then stepped back. 

Selene holstered her pistol, picked up her dropped phone, and looked at the man in the expensive suit.  ”Who are you?”

”I’m part of a government agency that licenses, monitors, and polices alien activity on the planet Earth.”  He said with a completely deadpan expression and tone.

She stared. 

The suit smiled.  ”Nothing?  Come on; Men in Black?” 

Selene blinked.

He frowned, eyes still obscured by his sunglasses.  ”1999 movie starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones?” 

”I might’ve seen it.”  She said after thinking about it for a moment, then realized he hadn’t answered her question; he’d deflected instead.  ”Who are you again?” 

He smiled.  ”You’re very perceptive.” 

”Still not an answer.”  She observed raising one eyebrow. 

He shrugged.  ”Did you see it?” 

”What?”

He nodded toward the center of clearing where the portal had been.  ”You know what.” 

She subconsciously gripped her phone a bit tighter, which apparently didn’t escape his notice. 

He pulled off his sunglasses as he glanced at her phone.  ”You took a picture?”   

She tried not to react, but apparently did because his eyes went wider. 

”Video?”  He looked impressed, which didn’t seem like a natural expression on him.  ”Agent Dawson, you just did something that the entire United States Intelligence apparatus spent thousands of man hours, many decades, and billions of dollars trying to do.” 

”Do I get a medal?”  She said with a hint of sarcasm.

”No, but we’ll pay for a new phone when you give me yours.” 

”Sorry, fourth amendment; I’m keeping it.”  She said. 

”The right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures doesn’t apply when the item in question is property of the United States government.”

”It’s my personal phone.”

He frowned.  ”You’ll be fully compensated, but give me the phone, or things could get...”  He paused, apparently for effect.  ”...unpleasant.” 

”Are you threatening a federal agent?”  She countered. 

”I’m saying that if you don’t give me the phone, you won’t be a federal agent.” 

Selene blinked.

Then she scoffed.  ”Yeah, I don’t think so.” 

”Last chance; your phone or your job.”  He looked serious.  His face was unreadable, all hint of affableness completely gone.  She could read him about as well as a marble statue.

”You’re serious?”  She asked.

”As a heart attack.” 

Selene considered.  He had just rolled up into the clearing with serious operators with some serious hardware.  He seemed to have clout because he could apparently access the FBI database, but getting her fired seemed a little extreme.  He could just get a warrant or call her boss.

”You’re bluffing.”  She finally said.

”I’ll be back in two minutes.”  He said.  He pulled out his phone, turned his back, and walked several yards away.  She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he talked on his phone for about two minutes and then came back. 

”Here’s what’s going to happen.”  He said.  ”In about forty-five seconds you’re going to get a call from your boss, who will let you know that your employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been terminated.”

Selene scoffed.  ”I don’t buy it.”

He ignored her.  ”Then you’ll be out of work with no life direction since you’ve been working toward an FBI career since--”  He looked at his phone.  ”--since the incident with your brother years ago.” 

She set her jaw.  ”You’re a dick.” 

He shrugged.  ”Then I’m going to give you a choice: I can either arrest you for withholding evidence and you can spend a few years in federal prison, or you can accept the position I’m about to offer you with my agency.” 

She shook her head.  ”Wait, you’re going to offer me a--”

Her phone buzzed.

”You should get that.”  The suit smiled, though not in a friendly way.

* * *

Ethan desperately missed couches right now.  When your life was spiraling out of control, couches were the perfect thing to flop down on.  And TVs; couches and TVs were like the perfect couple.  They were always there when you needed them, they never let you down, and they supported you when you were going through something hard.

Like learning a centuries-old dragon had a bone to pick with you.

He sighed.

It was at that exact moment that he realized he had something better than a couch and a TV.  Something so far superior it wasn’t even worth comparing.  He sighed for an entirely different reason as he felt three sets of feminine arms wrap around his torso.  Each one conveyed a profound sense of love. 

*Hey, we’re here for you sir.*

*We’ll do anything we can to help Dominus.*

*We love you master.*

”You ladies are absolutely wonderful; you know that?”  He said as he turned and wrapped his arms around all three of them.  They all sighed as they hugged him back.

*Master, don’t forget about Prayla.*  His Fey wife said, bringing his attention back to the situation at hand.

*Right.*  He turned to her friend.  ”Now, tell me what happened again.”

Prayla recounted how the dragon had arrived and asked where he might find Ethan.  ”And when Thaltien told him, the dragon gave a big sigh and said that was too far for ’one such as him’ to travel.  He ordered Thaltien to send a fast rider to tell you to come to him.  He sent me because I’m friends with Tee.” 

”Yeah, going to meet an ancient dragon who’s pissed off at me sounds like a really bad idea.” Ethan said when she was done explaining. 

Prayla trembled.  ”He said he’d destroy the mine as punishment if I failed to bring you back, and he won’t let anyone leave.” 

”Well, shit.”  He growled. 

Prayla flinched.

Taloni stepped forward, putting herself between Ethan and her friend, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  ”He’s not mad at you, I promise.” 

”Okay.”  Her friend replied, though she still looked wary around him. 

Ethan tapped a clawed foot on the floor of the cavern in which the portal resided.  The absolute last thing he wanted to do was go meet an elder dragon -- a dragon lord -- who was mad at him.  That went double if Havorleth had been, or was, in his service. 

On the other hand, he couldn’t let this dragon run amok through the mining camp with all the people there.  Especially because they had been so wonderful to his Fey bride.

”Alright ladies, time to weigh in.”  He said to his wives.  It took a moment for him to realize that he’d automatically included Rachel when he thought of ’his wives’.  Thinking back, it wasn’t the first time he’d done that either.

Hmm...

Strange.

Apparently, Rachel assumed that she was included too because she was the first to speak.  ”I know you pretty well Ethan; you’ll never be able to live with yourself if you don’t help.  Besides, we’re partially responsible for the problem, so I think we have a responsibility to be part of the solution.”

”I agree with the wise redhead.”  Alana nodded.

Beth looked scared, but resolute.  ”It’s dangerous, but I’d like to help if we can.”

Taloni looked unsure.  ”I know all of them, and I don’t want them to get hurt.” 

”Then we’re all agreed.”  Ethan nodded.  ”And now that we have the ’wise redhead’s’ input, we’ll have to listen.”  He winked at Rachel, who blushed slightly but looked very pleased at the compliment anyway.

”Okay, let’s get going then.”  He wasn’t perfectly happy with the decision, but there was no way he could leave the miners to fend for themselves.

”One moment.”  Rachel called from behind him.

”Yes, O’ wise redhead.”  He said with a mischievous grin.

”The portal.”  She said, ignoring his teasing and indicating the large wooden ring.  ”It’s set for earth, and do we really want to leave it fully functional?  They aren’t hard to use and if someone finds it...” 

”Good point.”  He frowned.  ”I’d hate to destroy it though.  That’s a way to visit Earth and I’d hate to lose that.” 

Rachel looked around the room.  ”Maybe we don’t need to destroy it; just disable it.” 

She spent a minute looking at the ring itself before walking over to the control podium.  She examined that longer, and after a few minutes seemed pleased. 

”I think I can remove the main control stone without damaging the podium.”  She said.  ”Without it, the portal won’t function.  They might be able to just replace the control stone though.” 

She frowned.

”Let me look.”  Alana walked over to the podium and gently rested her hand on the large gem in the center.  She concentrated for a moment, then walked to the ring and did the same thing with a few of the smaller gemstones placed around the circumference.  Then she placed her hand on the wooden ring itself. 

”They’re all linked.”  The wood elf announced.  ”The wood, the control stone, and all the gems were enchanted together to form a set.  If we just take the control stone, someone would need to enchant a whole new set, and possibly another wooden ring to get the portal working again.  That takes serious skill; serious enough that anyone who could do it could also probably build their own portal.”

”Perfect.”  Ethan said, then turned to Rachel.  ”How long would it take you to remove the main stone on the control podium?” 

”Ten or fifteen minutes?”  She replied. 

”Okay, please do and then rendezvous at the Argo.  It sounds like we need to get going.”  He said, thinking about the irate elder dragon who was waiting for him. 

”Will do.”  She replied.

”Thank you...  O’ wise redhead.”  He teased.

She shot him a glare, though she looked somewhat happy at the compliment anyway.

Everyone laughed.

* * *

Selene wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.  She wanted to pretend that this was a joke or that it wasn’t happening.  Sadly, it wasn’t a joke and was happening. 

”I’m really sorry Agent--”  Her now former boss paused almost mournfully.  ”I mean ’miss’ Dawson.  I’m truly sorry, but this came straight from the top and was a direct order.” 

”I understand.”  Selene said, fighting the urge to sniffle.

”You clearly upset someone who’s very well connected.  Tread lightly and good luck.”

”Thank you.” 

The line went dead. 

Selene looked at the suit in front of her.  ”What the hell?!  A court order, warrant, or even asking politely might’ve gotten you the...” 

She trailed off as she looked at him. 

It was true. 

There were a thousand other ways he could’ve gotten that video from her without resorting to such drastic measures.  It seemed extreme, no matter how important it was to whatever government agency he worked for.  There was something more going on...

”But that’s beside the point, isn’t it?”  She asked with a grimace.  ”You wanted me to be fired so I would join your little boy band, didn’t you?” 

The suit didn’t react, but a single muscle twitched in his cheek; it almost looked like a smile.  ”You just got the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge from the FBI.  That doesn’t look good on a resume.  I suggest you consider some...”  He paused, probably for effect.  ”...alternate career paths.”  

”Why?”

”You took a picture of the dragon and video of the portal.  Not a single federal agent has done anything close to that in decades.  You could be a great asset to the agency.” 

”What agency?” 

”The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.”

”S.H.I.E.L.D.?”  Selene raised an eyebrow.  ”Seriously?”

”Well, at least you got that reference.”  He said. 

”All joking aside, who do you work for?” 

”Treadstone initially, but now I work for its offshoot: Black Briar.”

Selene rolled her eyes.  ”I said seriously; this isn’t the Jason Bourne universe.” 

He stared at her for a moment.  ”So, I hear there’s still a suspect loose in the woods.”

Selene set her jaw; that was a subtle change of topic.  ”That’s the rumor.” 

”We’ll find him.”  The suit said.  ”In the meantime, how would you like a job?” 

”I don’t even know who I’d be working for.”

”Ultimately, the same people.”  He replied.  ”The initials change, the agencies change, and even the politicians change; it doesn’t matter because the same people are pulling the strings.” 

”So, you won’t tell me.”

”If our profiler is right, you joined the FBI because you wanted to make a difference.  You wanted to be like the agents who helped during that unfortunate business with your brother years ago.  You could’ve helped a few people working with the FBI; you’ll help thousands of people -- potentially millions -- working for us.”

His voice changed as he did a rather good impression of Darth Vader from the Empire Strikes Back.  ”Come, join me and I will complete your training.”

She raised her eyebrow.

”Too much?”  He almost smiled.  ”Okay, that was too much.  You already know we have clout; I got the head of the FBI to call your boss in just a few minutes.  I might’ve even pulled him out of a meeting with a few cabinet members to do that.  Do you want to join us and truly serve your country, or try to find a job with a dishonorable discharge on your resume?”

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him.  ”You’re not really giving me a choice, are you?” 

He did smile this time.  ”Like I said: perceptive.” 

* * *

Rachel walked out of the cave and towards the Argo with the control podium’s gem tucked under her arm.  She’d managed to extract it without damaging either the podium or the gem.  All she would need to do was replace the gemstone and the portal should be fully functional again.  Of course, the portal’s endpoint would probably be watched by more of those ”FBI” people like the one who’d confronted them. 

That was a problem for another day though.

She rounded one of the buildings and started heading for the gate feeling very conflicted.   It had felt so wonderful sitting next to Ethan at that restaurant.  She’d enjoyed both that and the vicarious revenge on the couple who’d wronged him.

She enjoyed flirting with him even more.

Part of her wished that he wasn’t such a good guy so it would be easy to dislike him -- heck, so it would be possible to not like him -- but he was a good guy.  He was the very best of men... or dragons.  Apparently, he was good enough to keep three wives happy. 

And they were happy.

Deliriously so.

If she was perfectly honest with herself, she was jealous.  Not only of the loving affection that he lavished on all of them, but also of what he clearly could do to them in bed.  She got a frustrating itch in her loins every time she thought of the sounds coming from that bedroom on Earth. 

Unless she missed her guess, Alana and Beth had been...  ’intimate’ with each other as well as Ethan.  She felt a twinge of jealousy at that too.

She stopped dead. 

Why was she jealous of that? 

She’d never had any interest in women before.  Not once.  She certainly wasn’t interested in Beth at all.  And she definitely wasn’t interested in her best friend...  was she? 

Her mind drifted back to when she’d woken up next to the beautiful wood elf in the hammock only a few days ago.  It seemed like a lifetime ago and yet was only a few days.  She would’ve given anything to feel that on a regular basis.  Well, almost anything; she still wasn’t willing to share a husband.  She didn’t think she could take seeing her husband bed another woman. 

She sighed; shame.

She passed through the gates of the former slave camp and headed towards the earthen ramp to the Argo.  As she did so, she saw something that she’d only seen in illustrations before:

Dryads.

Three of them. 

She stopped short, staring at the shiest members of the Fey race.  The three of them looked very much like young, beautiful women in overall form, but that’s where the similarities to humans ended. 

Their skin looked like the smooth bark of a young tree and was an attractive grey-brown color.  They wore no clothes, but there was a growth of green moss that artfully covered their breasts and pelvic regions similar to those ’bikini’ things that Ethan had once described.  Their ’hair’ resembled the dangling vines of a weeping willow, only much finer. 

Their feet resembled the base of a tree.  She couldn’t tell if they were barely lifting their feet to walk, or if they were simply wading through the ground like a human would in a shallow pool. 

Interesting.

They appeared to have been ’walking’ towards the earthen ramp to the Argo, but changed direction when they spotted her.  They walked up to her in unison, bowed low in unison, and straightened up in unison.

”Greetings honored companion of the dragon.”  The lead dryad said.  Her voice was pleasant and had an airy quality about it which reminded Rachel of the sound the wind makes as it passes through the trees. 

”This one is honored to meet you.”  The dryad continued with another bow. 

Rachel mirrored the bow, years of diplomatic training kicking in almost automatically.  ”This one is also honored to make your acquaintance.”  She said, also mirroring the dryad’s verbiage.  ”What may I do for you, honored dryads?” 

”This one would like to request an audience with the most honored and revered dragon who owns this airship.”  The dryad replied. 

”We would be honored to receive you.”  Rachel said, again mirroring the dryad’s language.  She knew honor was extremely important among the wood elves whom the dryads typically served.  It never hurt to be considerate of another culture’s social mores.

”This one thanks you greatly.”  The dryad said cheerfully, but her smile didn’t quite reach her amber-colored eyes.  Instead, there was a flicker of fear as she glanced toward the airship. 

It didn’t take a genius to figure out why.

”If it helps, he hasn’t learned to breathe fire yet.”  Rachel whispered. 

The dryad visibly relaxed.  ”This one thanks you for your assurance.  You are truly a gracious host.”  She bowed deeply. 

”Come, let’s go see him.”  The redhead said, turning towards the earthen ramp. 

The dryads followed her up the earthen ramp to the Argo’s gangplank, using their strange walking-but-wading-through-the-ground gait.

”Ethan, you have some visitors.”  Rachel called when they reached the top of the earthen ramp. 

He turned to look. 

Behind him, Alana glanced at the dryads then did a double-take.  Her eyes went wide and her face went slightly pale.  Dryads were notoriously peaceful though, so she couldn’t be afraid of them.  The wood elf’s gaze flicked to Ethan for a moment and suddenly she looked quite concerned.  It was the same expression that Rachel had seen countless times when her father had caught someone in a lie or half-truth.  Her best friend’s face looked like a combination of anxiety and no small amount of worry as she glanced at the Dryads and then at Ethan again.

That couldn’t be good.

This chapter began and ended on day 55 of Ethan’s life in the Ten Kingdoms.