Glorina closed her eyes, shaking her head. “No… but… we never get the same chance as the others.”
“What chance? To spar with me? I can make it a point to come to the afternoon sessions.”
Lona and Mona exchanged glances, then both looked at Glorina, wondering if they should say it, instead.
Glorina sniffled, clearly trying to bring the words out.
“Sir, we’ve only seen you in the bath once. They bathe with you every day, even Prita, because she isn’t cooking,” Mona blurted out.
“We feel like we aren’t equal to them,” Lona added in a rush.
Glorina nodded her head. “We want to be as equal as they are... We’re so happy when you praise our cooking, but they get more.”
Sean blinked for a few moments, then exhaled as he tried to find the words himself. “I’m just me, ladies. Nothing special. I—”
“No!” all three of them said, cutting him off.
Glorina took a step forward. “You are special. We pray, as your wives do. I’ve been around the powerful, and I know how different you are. How humble, how wonderful.”
Lona and Mona nodded vehemently. “She’s right,” Mona said. “Dame Mageeyes was a good Holder, but you’re better.”
“You gave us so much more and asked for nothing from us but to do our jobs. No Holder does what you do. You never asked for or even hinted at anything,” Lona added.
Sean swallowed at their sheer intensity. “You pray to me?”
“Of course! You bring back the dead. You give us enough that we could be ladies if we weren’t Moonbound. You treat us like family— not favored pets, even, but blood family,” Glorina replied. “Who else, even among your allies, would do a hundredth as much?”
“There’s a reason we Life Bonded,” Mona said. She slapped a hand over her mouth, going wide-eyed as the other two turned to face her.
“Shit…” Sean whispered. “Don’t yell at her,” he sighed. “I’m not looking for more wives.”
“We know,” Lona said, but in the tone of a child hoping their parent might change their mind.
“But there’s nothing wrong with hoping and waiting,” Glorina said, meeting his gaze. “We will hope regardless, even if you tell us not to, especially because we aren’t equal to the others. We don’t blame them— we just lament our positions at times.”
Sean felt out of his depth, but he’d put himself on this path and had told himself time and again that he wouldn’t be that guy anymore. “Hang on...” Sean said softly. “Please? Ven?”
“Yes, sir?” Ven asked from the ceiling, not wanting to get any closer.
“Get Myna, please?”
“Yes, sir,” Ven said before leaving the room.
All three cooks felt their hearts clench. They felt that he was going to have Myna rebuke them for speaking up.
Myna was there in just over a minute, but the uncomfortable silence felt like an age to the cooks. “Master?”
“Did you know?” Sean asked her.
Myna looked at them, then nodded. “Yes.”
“You know how I feel.”
“Yes, Master. Until we all agree, they will be cooks only. They know this. Did they push you?” Her voice had been calm, but when she asked, it took on an angry edge.
“No,” Sean said quickly. “Don’t get angry with them, Myna. This is my fault. I was trying to help, and... well…”
Myna giggled. “Oh? You stumbled and they admitted?”
Sean rubbed the back of his head. “You know me and my feet.”
“Always sticking them in your mouth,” Myna nodded. “What’s the problem, then, Sean? They’ll wait until we agree— they know that might be years or decades from now. Ladies, do you no longer wish to wait?”
“No,” all three blurted out together.
Sean rubbed at his face. “Fuck me...”
“Now, Master?” Myna asked playfully, trying to help.
Dropping his hand, he gave her a put-upon look. “Is it the same for the others?”
Myna thought about evading his question, then sighed. “Probably. The twins, yes. They’ve been hopeful since the first day you bested them with superior strength.” She paused as Sean covered his face again. “Rumia was besotted with you the moment you showed her how much you would give without asking for more. She might be the most eager, besides Glorina.”
“Hell...” Sean whispered into his hand.
“Rosa… I’m uncertain about,” Myna admitted. “Arliat started praying the day you saved her. She believes more than the others now, but only a little more than some.”
“Okay,” Sean sighed, then lowered his hand and looked at the cooks. “If you really want to wait, I’ll do my best to be ready if they agree. It might never happen, though.”
Glorina shook her head. “Sir, we believe it will. All three of us have felt… more… since the Life Bond.”
“Because I do care for you in my own way,” Sean said softly. “I won’t deny that. I mean it when I call you family. I just hadn’t meant it as wives.”
“We’ll wait, sir,” the sisters said, looking hopeful.
“Myna,” Sean said, “I’ll be attending afternoon training more often now.” He paused, then snorted. “And bathing, as well.”
The three cooks lit up as if the heavens had opened up and answered their prayers. Sean looked away from them, unable to accept that it meant that much to them.
“I understand, Master,” Myna said. “You could just come to bathe, but I’ll make sure that Helga knows you might join training more often.”
“I don’t know how this happened,” Sean exhaled, “but I won’t do to them what I’ve done to all of you. I am trying.”
Myna went over to him. She pulled him into a hug, purring as she held him. “Yes. I’m very happy and proud of you, Master.”
Sean snorted and kissed her head. “You fucking cat. I love you.”
“I know, and I love you, too,” Myna said. “Master… maybe a small cuddle for everyone?”
Sean inhaled slowly, then looked at Glorina. “If they want.”
He blinked— all three cooks were around them in a flash, holding him and Myna. They wore happy smiles as they hugged them.
“I need to talk to the others, too,” Sean said.
“I’ll get them in a moment,” Myna replied. “Let them enjoy this small thing. They’ll be able to crow that they held you first.”
“No games,” Sean said lightly. “Don’t hold it over them, just be happy that it happened.”
“As you command, sir,” Glorina said, meeting his eyes over Myna’s shoulder.
Sean was a little surprised that she’d hugged Myna from behind and hadn’t taken one of his sides like the sisters had. He just let the moment happen and tried to wrap his mind around the craziness this day had turned into.
Chapter Five
Sword in hand, Sean stared at Prita and Rumia with a serious gaze. Everyone was in the yard to watch the fight, including the cooks who had paused in dinner preparation.
Helga looked between the two women and Sean. “The rules are anything goes. All Talents except flying can be used. If you are hit in a limb hard enough that it would have been lost with a real weapon, act accordingly. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Sean said, getting ready to win as quickly as he could.
“Might we separate a little first?” Prita asked.
“Yes,” Helga replied.
The two women exchanged a nod, then moved apart by several yards, making it harder for Sean to get them both in one attack. Once they had, they signaled that they were ready.
“Good luck, warriors,” Helga said as her wings snapped into existence. She took to the air. “Fight!”
All three fighters vanished, but the crowd had been expecting it, so they’d had Mage Sight ready. When all three vanished from Mage Sight, eyebrows went up, as Prita and Rumia hadn’t practiced holding three Talents all at once as often as Sean had. No one expected what happened next— a
burst of green haze appeared over where Sean had been, and Helga’s lightly flapping wings blew it into a wider area.
Sean cursed as the leaf cuttings began sticking to him. He moved erratically, hoping the other two would give themselves away before they could take advantage of his visibility. When a shimmer came to his left, Sean spun, throwing one of the wooden knives at it. The knife passed through the area and hit Quinna instead. Another shimmer from his other side had him throw his second knife, but it thunked into the house.
Prita and Rumia threw their own knives in rapid succession. Sean twisted and bent, as both women had become solid shimmers, their eagerness ruining their control. Two of the knives missed him, but the third hit him in the ass and the last struck his left shoulder.
Sean became visible, certain that he would have lost control for a moment if the weapons had been real. He let his left arm dangle and limped forward a step. “Arm and rear. I’m not done yet, and I’m healing.”
The shimmers had vanished again as both women forced themselves to calm down. Neither came for him right away, and Sean was impressed that they had the self-control to make sure he wasn’t baiting them. He was, but in a different way than they were expecting.
Certain that they were moving on him, Sean pushed energy into the ground, pulsing it like sonar. Prita and Rumia felt the pulse of energy and knew they’d been found out. Without speaking, they launched themselves at him.
Caught with one of them on either side of him, Sean separated his training blade into two smaller blades. Both women became visible as they gave up stealth, each needing to reduce the tax on their energy.
The clack-clack of the wooden training weapons striking each other filled the air for a few seconds as Sean managed to hold both of them back. He smiled, feeling he could take them, when Rumia flung her left hand at him and then exhaled hard.
The pollen hit Sean full in the face and he blinked as his nose itched. Eyes watering, he tried to gain distance from them, but Prita was there to press him. A blast of sound came from her, disorienting Sean for a moment, and that was enough for her to slam into him.
Sean grunted, spinning his weapon in his hand so he could stab down and finish her. He never got the chance, as Rumia grabbed his arm with hers. Sean dropped his second weapon to grab her wrist when she tried to gut him. Locked with Rumia, he felt the point of a blade touch him and he went to his toes.
“Yield!” Sean said in a rush.
Laughter came from all around as he conceded.
Helga landed with a smirk on her lips. “Every man is anxious when threatened like that.”
Prita withdrew the wooden dagger from Sean’s groin, wearing a wide smile on her face. “We won!”
“Yes,” Rumia cheered, grabbing the Moonbound, spinning them in a circle.
Sean’s innate healing purged the irritant from his sinuses and he smiled as he watched the two women celebrate. Looking over at his wives and the other staff, he shrugged. “If that’d been a real blade, I’d be a eunuch.”
“We’re happy it wasn’t real, then,” Felora snickered.
“Me, especially,” Aria said with a soft smile. “It would dampen what tonight is going to be.”
Sean felt his face flush. Aria had told him before sparring that she wanted him tonight so she could join his other wives. He gave her a soft smile, rubbing the back of his neck. As he looked away, he caught wistful looks on the faces of some of the others and his face heated more.
“Come now, ladies, it’s time to bathe,” Fiona said.
All three cooks looked sad as they went inside. Seeing their expressions, Sean blinked as his heart clenched slightly. Hell... the Life Bonds really do work fast when I’m involved. Not even a tenday and I feel bad for making them sad...
“Sean?” Rumia called to him, shifting in place.
“Huh?”
“Are you ready?” Rumia asked.
Memory of what Fiona had promised besides the sparring came back to him and he blushed again briefly. He looked from Rumia to Prita and saw their hopeful, yet uncertain, gazes. “Ladies, shall we?”
Both lit up with bright smiles and went to his sides.
He hadn’t meant for them to walk with him, but he led them into the house. He excused himself to make a stop, motioning them onto the bath.
When he got to the bathroom a few minutes later, he had to step aside as Felora and Andrea came out. “Something wrong?”
“Nothing,” Andrea grinned. “Go on. They’re both waiting and are starting to think you’re avoiding them.”
Sean kissed them both before he stepped into the bathroom. Prita and Rumia were at the wash tub, washing their clothing. Sean slowed, as both women were facing him as he entered, looking at him with worried eyes. “Sorry. I had to stop, was all. Let me get out of these and I’ll wash your backs. Go ahead and get started on the showers.”
Prita was on her feet in an instant. “Yes, sir.”
“Wait for me!” Rumia laughed, going after her.
Sean swallowed and took a seat to get his boots off. Prita and Rumia had to be the youngest two in the home, but Fiona had assured him they were both over their majority and were adults. It’s okay, Sean... you’ve washed the others before... Then why does this feel different? Maybe because it was clear that it would happen and isn’t just happenstance?
Standing up, he looked toward the tub, where his wives were watching him with amusement. He gave them a put-upon expression, then stripped down. As he was taking off the last of his clothes, the door opened behind him. Tossing his underwear into the tub, he looked and saw the cooks coming into the room.
That explains where Andrea and Felora were going, Sean thought. He gave them a smile before he went to join Prita and Rumia.
The two women stepped out from under the water and smiled as he drew closer. He fought to not look away, even letting his gaze follow a few drops down their bodies. That had both of them blushing furiously as they avoided meeting his eyes.
“Backs, please,” Sean said softly.
In tandem, they spun on their heels, presenting their backs to him. Sean exhaled slowly as he took the bar of soap and lathered his hands. He started with Prita— he didn’t go slow, nor did he skim, but he did make sure he massaged her as he went. When he finished, he switched to Rumia, doing the exact same thing.
“You’re done,” Sean said softly before stepping under another shower.
When he stopped the water, two sets of hands worked on the muscles in his back. Sean took a slow, deep breath, doing his best to keep his mind clear of the images it tried to give him.
Exhaling when the hands slipped away from his back, Sean smiled. “Thank you, ladies. Good work today.”
“Thank you, sir,” Rumia and Prita said in echo.
Sean stepped back into the water to finish the rest of his washing. As he did, he only caught snippets from the tub as Prita and Rumia joined the others.
“He’s so solid,” Prita said.
“It’s all muscle, isn’t it?” Rumia asked.
“He was crafted by the gods,” Myna replied.
Keeping his head under the running water for a while, he hoped they’d finish by the time he stepped out to soap up. It was quiet when he started to scrub. Glad for the lull, he rinsed off and went to turn away, but then stopped. Glorina, Lona, and Mona were just finishing their own scrubbing and were about to rinse.
Grabbing his courage, Sean spoke up, “Do you need your backs scrubbed?”
All three looked at him with wide eyes. Glorina’s cheeks were burning as she nodded. “Please?”
“Okay,” Sean said.
He was just finishing Mona’s back when he heard splashing behind him. Setting the soap down and washing off his hands, he looked back to find everyone else leaving the tub except Myna.
Taking a deep breath, he knew now that Myna had arranged for the cooks to be allowed to have this moment.
Fiona gave him a smile as she went past with the other staff. “Take y
our time, dear.”
Sean kissed her cheek. “As you wish.”
Getting into the tub, he gave Myna a knowing look. Myna grinned back and shifted to sit beside him. He grabbed her and pulled her to his lap. “I think we’ve been here before.”
Myna purred as she leaned into him. “Yes, the only other time you’ve bathed with the cooks. The day I conceived.” She shifted and smirked. “It was just like this.”
Sean looked over to where the others were drying off. “Not exactly.”
Noble Solutions Page 4
