by Amy Sumida
“Not exactly,” Odin said with a matching grin. “Though that will be part of it. Ilis, this is about the diamond.”
“What about the diamond?” Her face hardened.
“It's been stolen.”
“By the same person who did this to you?” She waved her hand at his eye.
“The very one,” Odin affirmed.
“It sounds as if we have much to talk about,” she said firmly. “Introduce me to your companions, and then we may go inside for refreshments.”
“Drachen are big on adhering to their laws of hospitality and social etiquette,” Odin said to us as he smiled at Ilis.
“Yes,” she agreed. “We want to make you feel nice and relaxed before we eat you; fear taints the meat.”
We all stared at her in horror, until she burst out laughing.
“I'm teasing,” she said while she and Odin shared a chuckle. “You are most welcome and safe here.”
“Elaria is the Spellsinger I've mentioned to you.” Odin waved toward me.
“Oh?” Ilis' eyes widened and she reached out a hand for me to shake. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Elaria.”
“I thought you hadn't talked to each other in awhile?” I asked Odin as I shook Ilis' hand.
“We haven't seen each other in years,” Ilis corrected. “But we speak often. Thank you for saving the realms, Elaria Tanager.”
“Sure, no biggie,” I said casually.
Ilis chuckled and looked at Odin. “She's exactly as you described.”
“I try not to embellish.” Odin motioned to Cer. “This is Cerberus, previously of Hades.”
“My lady,” Cerberus bowed over Ilis' hand and gave her a sexy smile.
“Oh yes; I've heard about you as well, Hellhound,” she said with a knowing look.
“Damn it all,” Cerberus huffed good-naturedly. “My bad reputation precedes me.”
“And these are Elaria's consorts; King Torin, King Declan, Gheara Banning, and Gage of Torr-Chathair,” Odin introduced each man.
“The Shining One Kings, the Blooder Prince, and the Griffin,” Ilis nodded to each man. “Yes; I recall. What a lovely collection you have, my dear.”
“Thanks,” I said flippantly. “I like them.”
“Come in, all of you,” Ilis offered warmly “We love visitors.”
We followed Ilis into the mountain, and the door slid back into place behind us. As soon as the mountain was sealed, little lights came on. These pinpricks of illumination emanated from the stone walls, and there were so many of them that it created more than enough light to navigate by.
Ilis took us through winding corridors, past cavernous rooms full of luxurious décor and beautiful people, and then into an enormous atrium. Light poured in from above; shining through glass panels that stretched across the entire room. The room itself was full of tropical plants; fruit trees spreading out over fields of flowers, beds of vegetables, and wild herbs. A stream flowed through the center of it all, and a stone path bridged over the gurgling water. Couples strolled hand-in-hand, and children played in the open meadows.
“Whoa,” I whispered.
“We have learned to work with what we have,” Ilis said to my reaction. “We tap underwater rivers and lessen the sun's heat with translucent panels so that we can grow food and have sanctuaries such as this to enjoy.”
“It's amazing,” I said.
She nodded her thanks. “Let's sit here,” Ilis waved to a circular collection of stone benches. Help yourself to fruit or water.”
She waved first to the fruit heavy in the trees around us and then to a discreet table set near the stream which had several golden cups placed on it.
“Thank you.” Declan went to fill some goblets with water. He came back and handed one to Ilis and one to me. “I'm honored to be invited into your home, Lady Ilis.”
“Oh, how gallant,” Ilis noted, then looked at Odin. “This is the overly-sexual one, yes?”
“Oh yes,” Declan answered before Odin could. “But I'm a one-woman pervert now.”
“A shame,” she teased him.
I cleared my throat.
“Will you be wanting me to—” Ilis started to ask Odin.
“Elaria?” A startled male voice interrupted us.
I turned to see a male Drachen; auburn hair, green eyes, and a smokin' hot body. He walked into our group with a bright, surprised smile; his stare set on mine. I didn't recognize him in all of his finery and with his long hair, but then I got a good look at his face, and I inhaled sharply. I haven't had a lot of romances—mostly, I just had sexual partners—but one of my few affairs had been with a Drachen; this Drachen.
“Oh, damn!” Cerberus exclaimed in a giddy tone. “Shit just got interesting.”
Cerberus knew all of my exes; not the meaningless sex partners, but the ones who I had allowed to stick around for awhile. So, he knew this guy, and he knew how things had ended; with me giving the dragon the boot.
“Hi, Cal,” I whispered. “How are you?”
My consorts turned to me with wide eyes.
“You know Elaria?” Ilis asked Cal—short for Calex—her expression just as surprised as my consorts'.
That's when I saw how similar they looked. Calex's hair was a bit darker, and his eyes a little lighter, but his features were close enough to Ilis' to mark them as relatives.
“Yes.” Calex gave Ilis a weighted look. “This is Elaria—the woman I was with in the Human Realm.”
“You're that Elaria?” Ilis asked me in surprise. She looked back at Calex before I answered. “You never told me she was a Spellsinger.”
“I didn't want you to think poorly of her,” he said.
“Hey!” I scowled. “What the hell is wrong with being a Spellsinger?”
“Brother, Elaria saved the realms recently,” Ilis said gently. “I can hardly think poorly of her, despite the fact that she isn't a Drachen.”
“You did what?” Calex looked back at me.
“Funny; that's exactly what I was about to ask.” Torin looked at me as well.
In fact, everyone was staring at me. I swallowed past my dry throat nervously.
“Cal, you already know Cerberus. This is Odin Earthshaker.” I waved at Cer and then Odin. “And these are my consorts: Torin, Declan, Banning, and Gage. Everyone, this is Calex, my ex-boyfriend.”
“Your what?” Calex and my consorts all asked at once.
“I'm over two-hundred years old, guys,” I said to my lovers. “I've had boyfriends before.”
“I didn't think you had anyone serious enough to label,” Torin growled.
“I'm not a nun,” I huffed.
“You have multiple consorts?” Calex asked me. “How did that happen? You couldn't even commit to a single relationship with me.”
“Oh, this is the most awesome day ever,” Cerberus murmured to Odin.
Odin rolled his eye.
“I wasn't able to commit back then,” I said as gently as I could to Calex. “I'm sorry about that. You know that I cared for you.”
“But not enough to marry me,” Calex growled. “It looks as if you simply didn't want to settle for one man.”
“That's not how it was,” I said firmly.
“Really?” Calex's eyes started to glow. “Because from where I stand, it looks as if you have yourself four boyfriends without any commitment at all.”
“Watch it,” Gage snarled as he stood. “That's my mate you're talking to. For your information, we're all committed to Elaria, and she is to us.”
“Wow.” Calex whistled. “And you have them trained too.”
I closed my eyes and sighed as Gage punched my Drachen ex-boyfriend in his handsome face. The next thing I knew, all of my lovers were piled on my ex while Cerberus cheered them on (I'm not sure who he was cheering for), Odin groaned, and Ilis gaped. The other Drachen who were strolling through the cavern stopped to stare as well, and some of the men began to break away from their families to approach us.
“Eno
ugh!” I shouted. “We are guests here. Get off of Calex and act like mature adults.”
My consorts eased off Calex—who had fared pretty well for having been on the bottom of a shining one/Blooder/griffin pile. Ilis ran over to her brother and fussed over him, while I just shook my head at my men.
“What the fuck is wrong with you guys?” I asked them.
“We were defending your honor,” Torin huffed.
“You were defending your pride,” I corrected. I turned to Calex. “Calex, I have multiple lovers because I was the victim of a spell which requires me to be connected sexually and emotionally to numerous men. Okay? It's nothing personal about you, and I am committed to them. So, please don't insult my consorts any further.”
“Her consorts and our guests,” Ilis added in a chiding tone.
“Ilis,” Calex looked at his sister as if she'd just betrayed him.
“You know the laws of hospitality,” she growled. “You offered the first insult. You must make amends.”
Calex huffed and opened his mouth, but I rushed over and took his hand.
“That's not necessary,” I said gently as I waved Ilis down. “Things didn't end well between us, and I regret that. You were important to me, Calex; I swear that you were. If I hadn't been such an idiot, I would have made a life with you, but I wanted to be my own woman. I wanted to sing and support myself. I didn't want to be someone's wife. I'm sorry.”
Calex took a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodding. “I'm sorry too, Elaria,” he said. “I shouldn't have said those things. Not now, and not back then when you left me.”
“Let's call it even,” I offered.
“Even,” he whispered and then pulled me into a hug. “I have missed you, Ellie.”
“I've missed you too,” I said as I eased away. “I'm glad to have run into you.”
“Yeah.” Cal frowned and looked around the gathering. His gaze stopped on Cerberus. “Why are you here, Cerberus?”
“That's a long story,” I answered for Cer. “But I'm sure no one would mind if you wanted to hang around and listen.” I glared at my men. “Right?”
They all grudgingly nodded.
“Oh, this has got to be good,” Calex said as he escorted his sister back to her seat. Then he sat beside her. “Go on then; proceed as if I'm not even here.”
“Yeah; like that's going to happen,” Cerberus muttered gleefully.
Chapter Forty-Five
After we finished explaining things to Ilis—while her brother listened with wide eyes—Ilis took us to her private quarters. We passed through polished stone hallways; walking by the entrances of rougher-looking tunnels which, Ilis said, led to the hibernation caves. When the weather turned cold, the Drachen hibernated or left for warmer worlds. This was what had prompted their visits to Earth.
Finally, Ilis opened the door to an expansive chamber filled with beautiful pieces of artwork, plush carpets, and silk-covered furniture. When Drachen weren't in hibernation, they liked living it up. What immediately caught my eye wasn't the art, though; it was the glass apothecary jars full of gemstones. They weren't cut into sparkling pieces yet, but they had to be the famous Drachen diamonds. When I saw Odin's eye twitch over to the display, I knew I had assumed correctly.
“Why didn't you have the diamond locked away?” Calex asked Odin as we all settled onto some couches.
Ilis went to a nearby fireplace and blew a stream of fire over the waiting logs. The wood caught, and the fire started to spread its warmth through the room. Ilis sighed and stretched her shoulders while Odin watched her with a half-lidded eye.
“Odin.” Cerberus elbowed the Witch.
“Huh?” Odin blinked rapidly as he looked away from Ilis. “What's happened?”
“Cal asked you why the diamond wasn't locked up,” I repeated and then pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.
“Oh.” Odin cleared his throat. “As far as I was concerned, it was. No one got into my private rooms without an invite, and the door down to my workspace was warded.”
“The problem was; we put the thief into one of Odin's cells, which are within his workspace.” I grimaced. “It wouldn't have been an issue if Mimir hadn't also rigged Odin's cells to open for a Copper Shining One.”
“This God is cunning,” Calex murmured. “Perhaps I should lend my strength to this endeavor.”
My lovers tensed.
“Ah; we're okay, really,” I hurried to say. “I wouldn't want to put you out, especially when we're already imposing on your sister.”
“It's no imposition at all,” Ilis said sweetly. “We dragons love a good hunt. This is exciting. In fact; instead of trying to track the diamond from here and then simply giving you the coordinates, I'll go with you, and we can hunt this thief together.”
“Ilis, I couldn't possibly draw you into this,” Odin said gently. “It's bad enough that I've allowed your diamond to be stolen.”
“Nonsense,” Ilis huffed. “As I said; this is exciting. Let me just change into something more appropriate.”
She got up and headed to another room.
“I shall change as well,” Calex said as he strode to the door. “Do not leave without me.”
“Cal, you really don't need to do this,” I protested.
“Elaria,” Calex said gently. “I never got a chance to see you work. I'd really like that.”
“All right.” I sighed.
Calex left smiling, but my men glowered at me.
“What was I supposed to do?” I asked them.
“Warn us that we might run into one of your ex-lovers when we came to Drach, for one thing,” Torin said.
“Torin, we are currently chasing one of your ex-lovers, so you don't have room to talk,” I growled. “Anyone else?” I looked around at the other men, and they shook their heads. “Good; because the only one here who hasn't had old girlfriends pop up is Gage. We're immortal, gentlemen; it happens. Now, deal with it.”
“Fuck; she told you.” Cerberus chuckled.
“Cer, do you want to talk about Thor?” I asked him.
Cerberus stopped laughing, and Torin started.
“That's right,” I said. “You're just like them, so maybe you should practice the better part of valor and shut the fuck up.”
Odin burst out laughing. “Now,” he said, “she told you.”
“Yeah, yeah, we've all been told,” Cerberus grumbled. “When do we get to hunt?”
“Right now, Hound of Hades,” Ilis proclaimed as she came striding into the room.
We all gaped at her.
Ilis was dressed in red leather; a bustier that looked more like a breastplate, pants that clung like a second skin, and bracers that laced over her lower arms. She had a sword strapped to her waist on a belt, and her hair was braided away from her face; enhancing his sharp beauty. She looked amazing.
“I think I may need to have a leather outfit commissioned for you, my love,” Declan murmured to me. “In red.”
“Shit,” I huffed. “I think I may let you.”
Ilis smiled smugly as she sauntered over to the open-mouthed Odin. She pushed his chin up with one finger and then laid a chaste kiss on his cheek. Ilis murmured something in Odin's ear that had him swallowing convulsively, and then she sashayed away.
“Well?” Ilis asked from the doorway. “Are you coming?”
“Oh; that's the wrong thing to ask this crowd,” I muttered as we headed after her.
We were halfway down the hallway when Calex caught up with us. He was in a male version of Ilis' outfit, except his was black. His bare arms looked immense without his silk tunic covering them, and his chest strained at the leather he wore. I'd forgotten how fit he was.
“What did I say about not leaving without me?” Calex growled.
“We were going to wait for you outside.” Ilis rolled her eyes.
Even Drachen siblings messed with each other.
“Yeah, right,” Calex muttered.
“Now, maybe yo
u can stop giving me hell over my clothing,” Gage said to Banning with a pointed glance at the Drachen.
“No; now, I've got another man to make fun of.” Banning smirked.
“Only if you have a death wish,” Calex said calmly.
“Best not to poke at hibernating Drachen,” I said to Banning.
