by Amy Sumida
I snarled at it, a flash of fire heating me briefly.
“Tell it that its master is dead, and if it wants to live, it will work with you.”
“Align with me or you will fade to nothing,” I declared bravely.
Thomas-magic frowned. “No, I feel your energy. It is enough to sustain me.”
“Not if I lock myself up and deny you what you need,” I growled.
“No!” The image of Thomas began to waver. “You must give them to me! I need to feel their adoration! We'll catch that lost rooster again, and then they will all kneel at your feet to worship me!”
“No one is worshiping you,” I said calmly. “You are not a god, you are a spell –a magical construct. You exist only through our exchange. Your creator is dead, and you have been cast upon me like a leech in rough water –the desperate act of a dying witch.”
“That's it,” Quinlan urged, “keep going.”
“Without my assistance, you will wither. You will die without anyone knowing you ever existed.”
“So will you, bitch!” Thomas's image strengthened and snarled. “I will kill you, suck your energy dry, and freeze you into a fucking ice cube if you don't give me what I need!”
“Then we shall die together!” I shouted. “Look into my mind, magic. I am just that stubborn. I will take you down with me, rather than live with a tyrant in my own body. Mutually assured destruction.”
The image wavered again, Thomas's face briefly shifting into mine.
“What do you propose, spellsinger?”
“Become my ally instead of my enemy,” I shivered, knowing that life was about to change drastically for me, whichever way this ended. “Give yourself to me fully and align our interests. Let go of Thomas's dying vengeance and instead live through me. Change ice to fire. Turn your hatred into love and become my partner.”
“Hatred into love,” its voice was slowly becoming more feminine –my voice. “Give up this cold rage for burning affection. Show me, spellsinger. What will you give me?”
“Focus on those you love,” Quinlan guided me. “You must open yourself up to it or it will not accept this bargain.”
So I did; I threw the doors of my mind open and let the enemy in –in the hopes of making it an ally. The magic rushed through me; my head, heart, and soul. I felt it sifting through my past –all of my pasts– learning who housed it now. Its angry thrashing softened and then stilled. When it finally collected itself back into a human form, it wore my image.
“We are in accord, spellsinger,” it said with my voice. “We are one. You have your alliance.”
“Thank you,” I sighed.
“This is not over.” It smiled wickedly. “You know what we need. I will give you a brief reprieve to do what you must in order to achieve it for us. But fail me, and you fail yourself. We will have that mutual destruction you threatened me with.”
The me-magic faded into my bones and began to warm me. The chill was gone at last, but I shivered nonetheless. I had no idea how long this reprieve would be, but I was certain I would need every moment of it to win back Torin.
“Fuck,” Quinlan whispered as he removed the device from my eyes.
“Preach it, brother,” I muttered.
“The hen and her roosters,” Quinlan shook his head. “You know what this means, Your Majesty?”
“Yeah, I was there, Quinlan.”
“The Onyx King will not be happy.”
“The Onyx King has already turned his back on me,” my voice shook. “I don't know if I'll be able to give this magic what it wants.”
“What does it want?” Declan asked as he climbed back into bed with me.
“It's a polyamorous spell,” I said with a sigh. “It wants men; three of them, to be exact.”
“For now,” Quinlan muttered.
“What?” I looked at the alchemist in horror.
“Well, if you cannot win back King Torin, I think the spell will demand more lovers of you, Queen Elaria. Rather than just die, it will bargain.”
“Dear gods,” I whispered.
“So you must have more than one lover?” Declan asked with more hope than I'd expected.
“That makes you happy?” I was aghast.
“I know you'll get Torin back,” Declan said. “I, myself, have vowed to help you do so. But if you must have more than one lover, that means I can still be with you. If you'll still have me, that is.”
“Declan,” I whispered in awe, “you'd do that for me?”
“Of course I will, Ellie.” Declan smiled. “Did you really have any doubt?”
“Thank you.” I lifted my face for a kiss and he kissed me gently.
“But I think you're wrong,” I said when he pulled away.
“What?” Declan scowled.
“About Torin,” I specified. “He won't return to me if it means he must share. He was very clear about what he wanted, and this is not it.”
“I'm so sorry, Your Majesty.” Quinlan laid a hand on my shoulder sympathetically. “But I think you may not be giving King Torin enough credit. He loves you. If this is how you need to live now, he will accept it.”
“I don't know if Torin has the capability for that kind of love or acceptance, Quinlan.”
“King Torin can be a hard man,” Declan said. “He can be firm in his resolve and possessive with those he loves. But don't mistake his ferocity for foolishness. He will not throw love away simply because he must share it.”
“We shall see,” I whispered, my thoughts turning to Torin's angry face as he walked out on me.
Chapter Forty-Nine
What followed Quinlan's alchemical experiment was a series of magical investigations which made my head spin. Even though Declan was pleased with my situation, he knew that I wasn't. As true love does, Declan acted in my best interests. He tried every avenue of research into my new bonded magic, every path to give us more information, and therefore more power, over it. He even went so far as returning to Thomas Frost's fortress and searching it for clues on the original spell. But the Coven had already cleared Thomas's place, and we were forced to go to them for help.
Explaining to my father about what had happened to me was one of the worst moments of my life. Right up there beside telling him that I was with Declan the Pervert now. A daughter should never have to look her father in the eyes and inform him that his ex-best-friend had found a way to screw him over from the grave by forcing his baby girl into polyamory. Talk about awkward.
Dad had a little bit of a breakdown. Things were set ablaze. But then he rallied and contacted the Coven for us. The Coven leaders handed over Thomas's spellbook, which indeed had the spell he'd used on the sirens written in it. He'd labeled it –of course– the Rooster Spell. I would have been cracking so many jokes about it, if the main joke hadn't been on me.
With the original spell in hand, Declan and Quinlan had worked tirelessly on trying to find a way to undo it. They called in other experts, even collaborating with witches, but no one, not even the Lady of the Lake herself, could come up with a way to break the enchantment.
And time was running out.
Every day, the spell inside me –the spell that looked like me– would remind me that I was living on borrowed time. And Torin still hadn't forgiven me.
Quinlan had returned to Onyx and informed his king of the results of his experiment. Torin said nothing to Quinlan's report, nothing at all. When Quinlan returned to Alexandrite with more of his laboratory equipment, to help us investigate further, he also brought news of Torin's despondency. It appeared that the Onyx King had dropped into depression, isolating himself in his chambers.
Quinlan had been able to collect my things, including my contact charm, my traveling stone, my iPod, and my treasure tributes from the Sapphire War. I instantly tried to call Torin through the contact stone, but he didn't answer. Declan said we needed to give him some time to process, that Torin could be slow to work through his emotions, but he would come around eventually. I just didn
't know if we had enough time to give Torin his space.
Declan responded to this urgency with more questions, questions I hadn't even considered. Like; what exactly would appease this magic? What precisely did it require? Did I have to revive a sexual relationship with Torin, and start one with Banning, or could just having them get on board with this arrangement satisfy the magic? Could we take the time to work this through and build this new relationship slowly, or did the magic need some kind of physical connection with the men immediately?
Inside me, the magic stirred and considered Declan's questions. She had been different when first created; when she had lived inside Thomas. Back then, she had wanted pleasure, as much pleasure as possible, because Thomas's love had been reserved for Bettina. The Rooster Spell had been born of revenge. It had bound Thomas to the sirens in the end, as those sort of spells always do, but it had retained its lustful foundation. Now that it was with me, and altered into a love-based magic, it had to rethink a few things. Like its priorities.
“It wants connection,” I whispered and Declan cursed.
I held a hand out to Declan and he stilled.
“Emotional connection,” I added. “It's okay with working through this slowly, as long as I commit to the others.”
“Then maybe we have a chance.” Declan smiled softly.
“Maybe,” I agreed. “But this could all be moot. We don't even know if they'll consent to this.”
Declan gave me a look that expressed his thoughts on the matter clearly.
“Banning loves me,” I amended. “I know he'll do nearly anything to have me back. But I'm not sure one of those 'anythings' is sharing. And Torin . . . he's a wild card. He vowed to love me past the lifetimes of monuments, but that was before he found out that he'd have to share my love with two other men.”
“As a man who loves you, Elaria,” Declan said, “I can assure you that they will agree to this. There is no doubt in my mind.”
Chapter Fifty
“What the fuck did you just say to me?” Banning gaped at Declan.
“You heard me.” Declan smirked.
“Those are the facts,” I said. “The two of you are not bound by this, and no one will think less of you if you don't want to give it a go, Banning.”
“The fuck we won't,” Declan snapped. “This is about Elaria, her life and health, and if you love her as I do, you will get on board with this.”
“Is he seriously arguing with me to sleep with you?” Banning asked me.
“This is not about sex,” I said. “This is about love. Relationships. If you can't commit to me, to us, to this, then there's the door”–I pointed to the library door–“don't let it hit your ass on the way out.”
“Um, this is my country club, Elaria,” Banning pointed out.
Declan burst out into laughter.
I sighed.
Banning blinked, looking from Declan to me. Then he started to smile.
“Yes,” Banning said simply.
“Yes?” I asked with surprise.
“Hell, yes.” Banning started to smile. “If my options are: live without you or live with you and another man, I'll take the second. Every fucking time.”
“You might want to clarify that statement.” Declan gave Banning a good-natured pat on the back. “It's sounding a little gay, and that's coming from a fairy.”
“I am not gay,” Banning said with deadly sincerity. “Let's just get that clear right now, so there are no mistakes made if we happen to wind up in bed with Elaria together.”
“Mistakes?” Declan huffed. “Like I'm going to accidentally grab your cock or something? As if you could be so lucky.” Declan rolled his eyes. “Trust me, I know the difference between female and male parts.”
I started to laugh. And laugh. And laugh. The men stared at me in shock at first, then began to laugh with me. We all chortled it up, and as we laughed, the spell settled into place. I could feel it stretching between us, reaching out from my solar plexus to each of theirs. They looked at me, and I saw the confirmation in their eyes; they were mine and I was theirs. We began to laugh harder, I have no idea why, and that's how Cerberus found us.
“What the fuck are you yahoos laughing about?” Cerberus growled. “We've got a fucking blooder army on the fucking front lawn.”
“Again?” I asked, and then went back to laughing.
“Wait; what did you say?” Banning went serious.
“Your daddy's here to give you a spanking, little boy blooder,” Cerberus snapped. “And he's brought back-up. These aren't hired thugs; your old gura has come to claim its king.”
“Fuck me sideways,” Banning cursed.
“You need some help, bird-brother?” Declan asked.
“What the hell did you just call me?” Banning gaped at Declan.
“Well, I had only a moment to come up with a witty name.” Declan sighed. “We can work on it later. I simply meant to convey that we are in this together now. Your safety is integral to Elaria's safety, which means that it's integral to my happiness. I will stand beside you.”
Declan held out a hand to Banning. Banning stared at it a moment in shock before snatching it up and giving it a good shake.
“Holy fucking hellfire,” Cerberus muttered, “I must have missed the gods-damned apocalypse. Did you fucktards actually agree to share my girl here?”
“Yes.” Declan's look challenged Cer to say another word.
“Oh.” Cerberus blinked. “Alright then. Get your cock collective out here and send these blooders packing.”
“Cock Collective.” I chuckled and held out a fist to Cerberus. “Nice one, man.”
“Thanks.” Cerberus pounded his fist to mine. “It's about fucking time you approved of one of my names.”
“I do not approve,” Banning said as he pushed by my bestie. “After we handle this, I'll handle you, hellhound.”
“That sounded kind of gay,” Cerberus noted. “Just how close is this cock collective going to be?”
“See?” Declan said to Banning. “I told you. We're going to have to watch our words.”
“I don't give a Shining One shit what anyone thinks of my sexual proclivities,” Banning said as he turned to give us all hard stares. “All I care about is making sure Elaria is safe. Currently, there are blooders on my doorstep, and they are threatening the woman we love. Now, are we going to bicker over wording or are we going to band together and start this association off right?”
“Holy harpies of Hades!” Cerberus declared. “Well said, Ban!”
Cerberus pounded Banning's shoulder.
Thanks.” Banning smirked. “Now, let's go make sure my old gura doesn't fuck things up for us.”
“Whatever you want, baby.” I kissed Banning's cheek and strode out, leaving the men to gape after me. “You guys coming or what?”
Chapter Fifty-One
We made our way up through the subterranean levels of Banning's Crouching Lion Country Club, and as we went, blooders fell into line behind us; faces serious and hands full of weapons. They were dressed in all manner of clothing, some of them even wore heels and evening gowns. It didn't matter; this time, Banning's gura had every intention of fighting for their gheara.
I dug through my purse as we reached the ground floor, pulling out my iPod triumphantly. One look at the blooders around me had given me an idea.
“Is Sorin with them?” Banning asked Cerberus. “Did you actually see him?”
“Yeah, he's there,” Cer confirmed.
“Don't kill him,” Banning ordered all of us, his army included. “If I, or anyone fighting on my behalf, kills Sorin, I automatically become king. Sorin must live.”
“Being killed is probably his back-up plan,” I noted.
“I wouldn't put it past him,” Banning confirmed.
Banning's gura parted for us as we reached the main doors of the country club. I could see the Romanian Gura outside, gathered on the golf course, just as Lincoln's mercenary army had been on the night I
'd first met Banning. What a strange sense of deja vu I was having. Sorin stood at the head of his army, his commanders beside him, and just behind them, I got a glimpse of Mirela. Of course, she wouldn't sit this one out. She was probably looking forward to getting the chance to slice my throat.
“Declan, stay with Elaria,” Banning said as we stepped outside.
“I've got her.” Declan moved up beside me.
“Banning.” I held my hand out to him and he took it. Then I extended my hand to Declan. “Declan.”
Declan wove his fingers through mine, and suddenly, I could feel a connection between all three of us. Not just between me and the men, but between the men and each other. They looked at each other and nodded like an elite team of assassins. I knew then that they would work perfectly together. Each of us would know when to act, and when to not get in the way of the others.
“Right”–Declan smirked–“brothers in arms. So, I will stay with Elaria and guard her with alexandrite magic, while you go handle your family business.”
“Are you ready, El?” Banning asked.
I nodded and stuck an earbud in one ear.
“Banning Dalca!” Sorin shouted, interrupting our moment. “There is no need for bloodshed. Take your rightful place at the head of this gura, and all will be forgiven.”
“Forgiven?” Banning strode a couple steps forward as Declan shifted in front of me and to the right, giving me room to work while keeping me close enough to guard. “I am the one who has been wronged here, and I feel no urge to forgive you.”
“Ungrateful child!” Sorin spat. “I hand you everything I have built, and you throw it in my face.”
“I never wanted any of it.” Banning crossed his arms, his gura gathering behind us. “Choose another heir. Leave me be, and I shall allow you to leave in peace.”
“Get ready,” Declan whispered, and I felt his magic gathering.
“Enough,” Sorin growled. “If you will not be reasoned with, I will shove reason down your ungrateful throat!”