Breath of Innocence

The pair of dragons shifted at sunset. Their gleaming scales caught the orange glow to the west. The boat listed dangerously under their combined weight until Rafe lumbered to the opposite side of the helipad. They stretched their wings, testing the air currents, which were strong that evening.

They had already said their farewells, but Camille walked over to Roka again, struggling to hold back tears. He lowered his head and exhaled, encompassing her in a cloud of pale, calming breath. She wrapped her hands around his horns and rested her cheek against the smooth dip between his heavy ridged brows.

“You two take care of each other, all right? We’ll meet you at the Monastery in a few weeks, hopefully.”

She could feel the words rumbling forth from his chest when he spoke, the sounds resonating around her. “Take care of Eben. He needs you.”

“We both need you,” she said softly.

He let out a soft gust of breath, the warm cloud brushed up against her back. “I will be back with you soon.”

She stepped back and watched, mesmerized by his magnificence as he spread his wings. With only a couple strokes he was airborne and flying, his white scales catching the remnants of the dying sunset as he flew into it. The yacht listed once then settled as Rafe took flight. Rafe’s darker shape caught up with Roka’s pale silhouette. When the pair were abreast, they let out a roar at the descending orb of the sun. The sound resonated through Camille’s body, leaving her tingling from head to toe.

They were almost dots against the horizon when Eben wrapped his arms around her. She sank back against him, but even his warmth couldn’t ease her worry.

“They’ll be fine,” Eben said. “They’re dragon elite, pretty much, you know that, right?”

She shook her head and craned her head back to look up at him. “What do you mean?”

“He never told you?”

“Told me what?”

“C’mon, let me make you dinner while the captain gets us moving.”

Eben talked while he cooked. Camille perched on a barstool watching. She’d never been quite so spoiled as she was living with the two men. They rarely gave her a chance to cater to their needs in this way. The things she did do for them didn’t seem like they required such a reward—she felt just as spoiled in their bed as out of it. She didn’t argue, though, particularly not now because Eben actually seemed to have relaxed somewhat now that it was just the two of them.

“Shadows are like soldiers, in a way,” he was saying, and paused, thinking. “Only more like special forces commanders. There aren’t that many of them. Rafe said that Kol’s mother was the only female Shadow ever born, and there are only about a dozen all together. They’re the biggest dragons, too.”

Camille snickered. “I beg to differ.”

Eben caught her eye and smiled back. “Yeah, well, apparently male Guardians can be the exception to that rule. But when they’re young they train together—the Shadows and the Guardians. Like, hard-core, walk-through-fire type training. Literally. It makes them pretty indestructible.”

“And cocky.”

“My point is that the two of them together… there’s probably nothing they can’t do.” He paused his cooking and set a glass of wine in front of her. Leaning with his hands against the counter across from her, he looked into her eyes earnestly. “They’re going to be fine.”

“Please tell me you miss him as much as I do,” Camille said softly.

Eben pursed his lips and turned back to the pan on the stove. He shrugged. “Of course I do. What we have is pretty damn amazing.”

“If you feel that way then why have you been in such a shit mood the last couple weeks? Ever since we learned the Council approved assembly of the Verdanith. Today’s the first day I’ve seen you actually look kind of content.”

He dished out their food and carried two plates to the table. She followed him with their wine. “Last night was good, that’s all,” he said.

“This morning, you mean. And I don’t see how it was any different than other nights.” The truth was, she had a good idea why it was different, but wanted to hear him admit to it. Tell me the truth. Tell me you hate sharing me with someone else. Was it validation she was looking for? She didn’t think so. It was honesty, because even if Eben confessed he felt that way, Camille had a strong feeling that was only the tip of the iceberg with him. He’d had an open relationship with Erika before Camille had met him. He’d also been just as enthusiastic about making love with Roka as she was, a sight she enjoyed watching as much as she enjoyed being the center of their attention.

Eben didn’t answer her at first. When he finally spoke again it was to talk about their travel plans and to speculate what they would need to do to locate the missing fragment of the Verdanith. Camille was too tired to push the issue of his mood, so indulged his change of subject.

As it turned out, Erika didn’t contact them immediately. Late the next day they made it back to their high-rise apartment in Sydney. Camille was reviewing her translations from the temple when the call finally came. They would fly to Singapore and from there, Kris and Issa would meet them and fly them to the Monastery.

“Did she say what she needed us for?” Camille asked after Eben ended the call.

“It’s mostly you she needs. There are ancient texts in the vault at the Monastery. Accounts of the lineages and bonds of the previous Court dragons who each Verdanith fragment belonged to. They actually wrote all this shit down back then. It’s in a dialect older than the Unbound that serve the Monastery, so you’re the only person who is capable of translating it in detail.”

Camille raised her eyebrows. “That’d have to be Dark Ages or older if it predates any living dragons who would be able to translate it.” She fidgeted in her seat and rubbed her palms on her khaki-clad thighs. Eben eyed her in amusement. “What? I’m just eager to get started. I’m better at translating ancient dragon dialects than your wonky moods, so let’s get going already.”

***

If it weren’t for the incessant white glow of Camille’s dragon mark, Eben could have pretended life was perfect. He didn’t begrudge her the obvious desire she had to have a baby. In fact, he believed she’d be a fantastic mother and could easily imagine her boundless curiosity and enthusiasm affecting the child in what could only be a positive way. He just didn’t see where he would fit in the whole arrangement. He could deal with three. Sharing her with Roka had never been an issue, even though now that it was just the two of them he relished having her to himself. And the truth was, he missed Roka every bit as much as Camille did. Two more giving lovers he could never imagine he would have, and the Guardian generally provided a mellow counterpoint to Camille’s vibrance, giving her something different to focus on during the rare moments when Eben wished for solitude.

But he felt like a fraud every time he saw that mark and knew his own still lay dark and unresponsive. She had to have noticed it. He knew Roka had, but the Guardian had avoided mentioning it. One advantage of the marks, however, was that with the magic infusing him he had no concerns about accidentally getting her pregnant. Even though he knew she would be over the moon if it happened, his lack of true desire for a child was the perfect form of birth control. Too bad the dragons couldn’t bottle that magic and sell it world-wide. They’d make millions.

Eben looked forward to their trip to the Monastery. Erika would understand how he felt, at least. Maybe she’d even be able to help him put the whole situation into perspective, or at least figure out how to explain himself to Camille. The leader of their little group had been his best friend and lover for years before they’d discovered their dragon mates. She probably knew him better than anyone, the same way he knew her. They’d both professed early on to not wanting kids until their careers were well established and they’d done all the living they could do. At twenty-eight, Eben felt that he had barely even scratched the surface. Now that they had centuries, he saw no point in rushing.

Camille was her effervescent self, bouncing off the walls while she packed, her chipper excitement infectious to the point that he felt just a little buzzed himself.

“I wonder if they’ve found her yet,” she said as she rolled her cotton panties into tight little bundles and stuffed them in the trekking backpack she preferred to travel with.

Eben looked up from his own more haphazard packing. “She had a few weeks’ head start on them, but Rafe said she was new to being a dragon. Hopefully if they haven’t, they will soon.”

“Just as long as that doofus of a Shadow doesn’t run himself dry again,” Camille said with a sardonic look. Her expression darkened as another thought crossed her mind. “You don’t think Roka would…you know.”

Eben blinked at the suggestion. The possibility had never occurred to him. “You know he would if he had to. You did it—and you loved it. So don’t tell me you’re jealous.”

“I loved it because you were both right there with me. The poor guy looked like he was dying, and if I could help somehow, I had to.”

“Well, let me put it this way, if it were you out there with him and he needed it, would you?”

Camille pursed her lips and cast her eyes down to the khaki shorts clutched in her hands. “Yeah. I did love it, and not just because you were both there. There was something different about Rafe that made the whole experience feel… I don’t know… more dire. We don’t make love with each other for survival. When he had his mouth on me it felt like he needed something only I could give him. Like his sole sustenance came from me alone.”

Her pretty blue eyes met his, wide and intense, and just a little bit fearful. Maybe she thought her confession would upset him.

Eben rounded the bed and cupped her face in both his hands, tilting her head to look at him. “We both need you to sustain us, Cammy. Trust me, I don’t know what I would do without you. I’d be lost, and I think Roka would, too.”

“But that’s different. It’s entirely mutual, that need. With Rafe it was like he was helpless. I didn’t need to do what I did, I only did it because he needed what I could give him. Having another person’s survival in your power like that, it made me feel like I really had a purpose, you know?”

Eben eyed her curiously, his brows drawing together. “Somehow I don’t think you’re trying to tell me you want to be with him again. So what are you saying, Cammy?”

She pulled away, the press of her lips signaling her irritation that he’d yet again misread her signals. “I know you don’t want a baby, so it doesn’t really matter, does it? You and I could start now, if you did want one. It’s the dragons who have fertility issues, not us. But you don’t want it, and Roka won’t go through with it once we can unless all three of us are all in.”

So that’s what it was about. She had most definitely noticed and it had probably been eating at her for weeks. Eben’s teeth ground together and he forced himself to relax. He shook his head slightly. “I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t force myself to want something like that. I’m sorry.”

Camille didn’t respond, but her jerkier movements as she packed indicated that he’d be better off leaving her be for now.

She barely spoke to him during their trip, instead staying hyperfocused on her translation notes that she carried with her. Her mood only improved once they reached Singapore and stood on the roof of a massive high-rise hotel waiting for their ride to the mountainous jungle island where the Monastery lay.

He barely saw them as they flew closer, their underbellies shimmering with reflective magic that rendered them nearly invisible to observers from the ground. He heard them loud and clear, however, the flap of their expansive wings as loud as a ship’s mainsail whipping in a heavy wind. He recognized the pair even before they shifted, but was confused at who had arrived to take them to the island.

“Geva. Kris,” he nodded at the gigantic pair of dragons in greeting. Camille had opted for a more affectionate greeting and was hugging them both, peppering their ridged brows with kisses and stroking their horns. Geva purred at her in response.

Kris shifted, the prismatic scales that covered his large shape fading into smooth, tattooed skin. He stepped close to Eben and pulled him into a warm embrace. “Greetings, brother. It’s been too long.”

Eben returned the hug, only slightly aware of Kris’s naked state, but more interested in having another question answered. “Where is Issa? I thought the two of you would be meeting us.” He tried to camouflage the disappointment in his tone with genuine interest, but Kris’s eyebrows raised briefly.

“She couldn’t make the trip. Other responsibilities at the moment.” Kris shifted his gaze halfway through the statement, glancing at Camille, then accepting another embrace and giving her a peck on the cheek.

“What kind of responsibilities?” Camille asked.

Kris only shrugged. “Council stuff.”

Eben narrowed his eyes. As cagey as his friend could be about dragon politics, something in his demeanor seemed off. Issa had been Eben’s first experience with a dragon. He’d awoken her from her frozen slumber in the Temple, and that brief connection they had shared still lingered. It was in no way as intense as the connections he’d forged with Roka and Camille, but he still considered her one of his closest friends among the dragons.

In truth, they had all been more intimate with each other than Eben ever had with his human friends. Kris’s lingering touch during their hug was enough of an indication that he hadn’t forgotten and the affection hadn’t subsided. It was a comfortable mental zone for Eben, that level of friendly affection that could lead wherever they chose to take it with no worries of emotion complicating the scenario. The anticipation of their stay at the Monastery suddenly aroused him in a manner not unlike his excitement as a kid whenever he was about to leave for summer camp. Even though he and Camille had just ended a very relaxing vacation and he knew this was a working trip, he looked forward to spending time with everyone in a spot where there were no secrets and inhibitions didn’t exist. That was his hope, at least, but a glance at Camille’s closed expression made him wonder if he might be wrong entirely.

“Shall we?” Kris said, pulling Camille by the hand to Geva and giving her a leg up to climb onto Geva’s wide, ruby-scaled shoulders. Then he shifted again and bent down for Eben to climb on his back.

Erika was there to greet them when they landed, a wide, excited smile on her pretty face. Eben felt himself grinning like an idiot to see her again. The second he reached her he pulled her into a tight embrace, reveling in the familiar feel and smell of her. Her soft curves were always at odds with the dusty scent of her skin, like she’d been digging in dirt. It was a scent that was wholly Erika.

“God, I missed you,” she said into his ear. “How’s life treating you guys?” She pulled away and looked up into his face, then at Camille. “Where is Roka, anyway? You didn’t say why he didn’t come.”

Camille recited their scripted answer nonchalantly. “Kol needed his help with something, and when the boss calls, you don’t say no.” It was the perfect answer, particularly considering they had jumped at Erika’s call and were here now.

Camille followed Erika without a glance back at Eben. Before he could hoist his backpack onto his shoulders again, Geva had grabbed it and effortlessly slung it over his shoulder, draping his free arm across Eben’s shoulders.

“She looks a little tense, my friend, are you not satisfying her with the big guy gone? Come to that, you look tense. Maybe the two of you should come to the baths with us after you get settled in, unwind a bit before you get to work and get your issues out in the open.”

In spite of trying, Eben couldn’t hide the tension. Dragons were so goddamn perceptive it wasn’t funny. Now Geva was doing that thing he did with his tickling breath raising goose bumps on Eben’s neck and raising other parts of him in response. He chuckled and shook his head. “Man, are you persistent. I don’t think I can talk about it right now, though, and I doubt Camille wants to, either.”

Geva dropped his arm and shrugged. “Suit yourself, but you know where we’ll be. Erika’s been in the vaults all day. As much as I love the dusty, dirty version of her, getting her wet is always the highlight of my day. I’m sure you would agree?”

Eben would be hard pressed to forget how enthusiastic Erika had been when they were lovers, but at that moment a different visual popped into his head. Camille’s suntanned thighs spread wide in his mind’s eye, the dark golden fringe between them framing the glistening pink of the treasures therein. He was painfully aware of the fact that they hadn’t made love as frequently since the night before Roka had departed. Could he convince her to go join Erika and Geva tonight?

He found her in the sparsely furnished room they had been assigned, across the hall from Erika and Geva’s room. His gut tangled with conflict over how to even approach her now. There was nothing he could say at this stage to make her come around. They clearly wanted different things and that understanding tore him to pieces. He’d only just discovered how much he loved her and now she had pulled away. He just hoped it wasn’t an irrevocable distance that lingered between them.

Stripping down to his skin, he picked up the plain linen drawstring pants that were left for them to wear during their stay so they blended in better with the permanent residents. “I’m going up to the baths to join Erika and Geva before dinner. Want to come?”

Camille was busy brushing and rebraiding her mass of golden waves. She had already changed into her own Spartan underthings, the pants riding low on her hips and the round swell of her breasts pushing the split neck of the shirt wide. The loose robe that would cover everything hung on a hook nearby. She was going braless like she tended to do more often lately, the sight of her nipples pricking at the soft linen a tantalizing treat for his eyes to feast on.

She glanced at him, her gaze skimming down his naked body. Her eyes had that hungry look she would get whenever she was particularly horny. Eben wondered if Geva had gotten to her, too. The man did like to tease them with his breath, get them worked up and then sit back to see what they would do. Except she always gave him a look just like it whenever he took off his clothes. It was usually followed up with a sly smile, then some particularly lewd proposition would spill from her lips, the naughtiest and most arousing contradiction to her angelic features.

She didn’t say anything close to what he hoped to hear. She clenched her eyes shut and screwed up her face. “I don’t think so. I want to get to work for a bit. You go have fun.”

You go have fun. And what the hell did she mean by that? They were here to work, for one thing, but there was no reason to rush it, particularly since they had agreed to deliberately take their time with the research so that Roka and Rafe would have a good head start on finding Rafe’s lover.

Whether or not she meant for him to have the kind of fun he had hoped she’d join him for, he couldn’t be sure. He pondered her comment while padding barefoot along the stone paths that meandered around the lush, meticulously kept grounds of the Monastery.

The slightly citrusy aroma of the baths hit his nostrils long before he reached the cozy outbuilding. The squat, square structure was built of worn stone, smoothed by centuries of weather and use, and the lovely scented steam that billowed out the door only managed to remind him of their brief respite at the Monastery after they had completed the ritual and left the Temple months earlier. It had been the most relaxing session of lovemaking he’d ever had, with the aromatic herbs the monks added to the water, the heat that encompassed them, and the slow languid, fucking the three of them had engaged in for what had seemed like hours without stopping. He’d never felt so intimately bound to any other person as he had been to Camille and Roka during that afternoon. It almost felt sacrilegious to step into the baths without them, but he needed time to think.