We fell asleep that night on my narrow bed, still fully dressed and in each others arms. I woke at some point during the night and pulled a blanket over us, as the spring nights were still rather chilly. Then I fell back asleep with her body pressed against mine.

When I awoke the next morning, Avani was gone. She had left a note propped up on my bedside table informing me that she had returned home to tend to her gardens and beasts and inviting me to join her for breakfast.

I arrived in her gardens just as she emerged from her barn, carrying a crate full of milk cans with a basket of eggs balanced on top. She gently set the eggs on top of her shipping container just as Vishnal came down the steps behind me to take her day’s produce to the waiting airship. I followed her into the kitchen, where she deposited the milk in her refrigerator and began pulling out ingredients to make breakfast. “I hope you won’t mind, but I invited Dylas to breakfast, too. He should be here any minute.”

I was a little taken aback at first, but after reflecting for a moment, it wasn’t really all that surprising. Avani likely felt somewhat guilty for turning Dylas down, and was doubtless eager to try to restore some normalcy to our recently disrupted accord. So carrying on as if nothing had happened really seemed pretty characteristic for her… but I wasn’t at all sure that things could go back to normal. It mostly depended on Dylas, I supposed, and whether he was willing and able to resume the relationship they’d previously enjoyed.

Avani started some porridge simmering, then began chopping vegetables to make a filling for omelets. Meanwhile, I started the coffee, then grabbed a basket of oranges on her counter to start halving them for juicing. I was just slicing the first orange when there was a knock on the door. When I opened the door, Dylas stepped in, looking painfully awkward. He stopped just inside the door and looked questioningly at me. I nodded, saying, “She told me.”

He looked away again, his eyes both relieved and dismayed, saying, “I… you know, I really didn’t think I had a chance. But… I had to at least try. I couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d never even made the attempt. But… she said no, so that’s that. I guess I’ll just take whatever she’s willing to give, as long as she’s willing to give it.”

I raised an eyebrow as I said, “Even if all she wants is to continue as we are indefinitely? Can you… bear that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t honestly know. But for now… I’d rather that than lose her completely.”

I nodded in sympathy. I understood how he felt, as I felt much the same way. Though in my case, our state of limbo was entirely my fault, tied as I was by an old promise to one who was no longer able to release me from those bonds.

As we ate, Avani said that she was ready to go tackle the western island on the floating fortress as planned, if we were ready to join her. Dylas and I agreed, so we finished our meal, donned our gear, and headed for the airship.

This trip was as quiet as the previous one, despite the two-day delay. Landing on the floating quay, we again headed to the central island on to the bridge leading west. This island was… well, nothing short of a royal pain in the ass. Instead of platforms connected by bridges, it was instead comprised of small clusters of two or three platforms each, which were connected by warp points. The guards of this island were mostly dark and undead monsters: fausts, dark slimes, dark fairies, and hell spiders, though later we also encountered some fairly tough golems. However, the monsters themselves weren’t so much the difficulty—it was trying to figure out our way through all the warp points. We soon lost count how many times we ended up back at the start, backtracking yet again as we tried to map out a way through the tangled confusion of platforms.

While the other islands had taken roughly eight or nine hours to complete, this one took us two days of hard work, slogging through dismal, swampy, steamy platforms. At the end of the first day, after fighting for a good twelve hours straight, we were thoroughly exhausted. If we hadn’t been so muddy and sweaty, I think we would have collapsed in a heap on the floor until dawn. But instead we dragged ourselves to the baths, eating whatever Lin had on hand to feed us and trying to keep from falling asleep in the water. When we returned to Avani’s room, we barely could keep awake long enough to clean our equipment before we fell into her bed all together. I can’t speak for the others, but I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit a pillow—or whatever soft surface it landed on.

The next day was much the same as the first, though at least we had charted a large portion of the island by that time. Using our maps, we headed straight to where we had left off the night before and proceeded from there. Even so, it was another eight hours before we finally reached the gateway that indicated we had, at long last, reached the guardian of the third and final key. We paused to rest, drained and exhausted, and ate a quick meal before we continued on.

This time, instead of a tank of some sort waiting for us, we found a huge stone golem. It stood at least twice as tall as Dylas and looked like a miniature, mobile fortress. It charged us, surprisingly quick and agile for something so massive. Dylas ducked underneath its fist, aiming kicks at its legs as he dodged the blow. I leaped back and immediately cast a water column wheel, the spiraling jets of high-pressure water blasting into the crevices of its rockwork.

It spun around and then, sighting Avani as she retreated to cast a spell, lowered its head and charged at her, like a high-speed battering ram. She saw it coming and leaped up and over, landing on its back. She wedged her longsword into a crevice at its neck as it straightened up, and using it like a climber’s piton, she held on as the golem spun around, trying to dislodge her. Unable to rid itself of her, it instead zipped over the platform towards me, swinging its fists like heavy pendulums. I ducked and rolled out of the way, then dove between its legs to cast another water column wheel from behind it. As it tried to follow me, Dylas charged at it, dodging the jets of water and landing a firm kick on its leg that stunned it into immobility for a moment.

That brief moment was all that Avani needed—she released her hold on the sword, and with a shout, she cast that arcane spell, Darkness, straight into the golem’s head. She wrenched her sword free and leaped clear as a small, black hole appeared where its head had been, devouring the construct as it slowly grew. The golem careened wildly, trying to escape the ravening blackness, but to no avail. Soon nothing remained of it, and the hole—deprived of sustenance—collapsed in on itself and vanished.

We dashed on ahead to the adjacent platform, and Avani pulled the lever we found there. Again the entire fortress shuddered as a loud grinding sound filled the air, even from such a distance. We backtracked to the nearest warp point and returned to the central island.

The final barrier was gone; the bridge to Ethelberd’s citadel lay wide open before us.

 We returned to town and dropped off our equipment before heading to the baths. After our baths, we went to Porcoline’s restaurant, where Avani placed an order for takeout. While we waited, we stepped into Arthur’s office next door and caught him up to date. He was surprised and thrilled to hear that we had already all but cornered Ethelberd in his well-guarded lair.

After we had finished our meal and changed into our pyjamas, Dylas and I again looked at each other and then Avani. She looked back and forth between the two of us and sighed. “Listen,” she said, blushing a little and looking down, “we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. It… it’s entirely possible that one of us—or even all of us—will die fighting Ethelberd, because I have the feeling that this is it—that he’s finished running at last. So tonight, I… I….” She stopped, unable to finish her sentence.

“So you find yourself unable to choose between us for a partner for the night? Is that what you’re trying to say, My Lady?” I asked, in a gentle voice.

She turned a little more red and nodded. “To be honest… I want to be with both of you. Not at the same time!” she added hastily as Dylas began to protest vociferously. “I… what I mean is, I’d like to spend some time with each of you, because… because….”

I put my hand on her shoulder. “We understand, My Lady—or at least, I believe I do. So if Dylas is willing to accommodate your wish, it only remains to determine the… uh, the sequence.” I looked at Dylas, who blushed and looked away, but gave a curt nod of agreement.

“Then you two decide who… what order. It probably matters more to you than to me, anyway,” she added with a wry smile. She turned and sat on the edge of her large bed. “Whoever is second can rest on my daybed in my study, then, if that is acceptable?” We both nodded, then turned to face each other.

“I suppose a fight is the usual way of settling such a dispute. However, I’m much too tired to fight you—I’d far rather conserve my energy for other uses. So how about we play morra to decide? Best two out of three?”

“Fine, okay,” Dylas said, holding his hand to the ready. “Avani, can you call out the countdown?”

“Sure. Ready? On the count of three. One… two… three!” she called, watching our hands.

I held up two fingers and called out five, while Dylas held up two and called out four, so Dylas won the first round. Again Avani counted to three, and this time I held up four fingers and called seven, while Dylas held up three and called five—I’d won the second round.

Once again Avani counted to three, and this time I held up one finger and called five, hoping his simple pattern would hold true. He called three… and held up one. I’d lost the final round, meaning Dylas would be the first in Avani’s bed that night. I didn’t mind so very much, although naturally I was disappointed. But to be honest, it probably mattered most to Dylas to be first, and so I accepted the armload of blankets and went up to her study. She said Dylas would wake me when it was time to trade places, and I waved an acknowledgement before closing the door firmly behind me.

I took the opportunity to take a nap, resting and restoring my energy, as well as enjoying the oblivion sleep offered. While I understood Avani’s desire to spend the night with both of her lovers, and I didn’t begrudge Dylas his opportunity to be with her, at the same time, I didn’t care to think about—let alone be sensible of—their activities.

Some time later, I was awakened by a knock on the door. I sat up and stretched, noting that it was now fully dark outside, and Dylas opened the door and stepped in. I was immediately assailed by the strong scent of their lovemaking and instinctively wrinkled my nose. Dylas grinned at my reaction, knowing full well that the odor would be powerful indeed to my keen sense of smell. “I’d say sorry,” he said, smugly, “but I’m not. Your turn.”

I climbed out of bed and stretched again. “Hey, no worries,” I said, with a slightly malicious grin. “I’m just surprised at how quick you were. I thought I’d at least get a little bit of a nap, but I’d only barely fallen asleep. I thought for sure it would take you longer than that!” Then leaving him fuming and sputtering behind me, I quickly stepped past him and shut the door.

Avani was in the kitchen when I came down the stairs to her room, so I followed her in there. She was standing at the sink in nothing but her robe, a washcloth in her hand, and she looked up and blushed bright red when I stepped in. “Oh! Umm, just give me a minute, would you, Leo? I—it’s too late to go to the baths, but I wanted to try to clean up as much as I could. I… I know how sensitive your sense of smell is, and….”

I walked up behind her and gave her a kiss. “Thank you, My Lady. That’s exceptionally considerate of you. But don’t worry yourself over it—I’m already adjusting to the scent, though I confess it’s not my favorite.”

She took a last few swipes of the cloth along her thighs, then grabbed a towel and dried herself. I turned her around and looked at her in the dim light of the single lamp she had lighted near the sink. I could feel her trembling, and she looked away, reluctant to meet my gaze. “Are you afraid?” I asked her in a sympathetic voice. She looked down at the floor and nodded, a little reluctantly. “It’s all right, My Lady. You’re about to face a powerful foe who has made up his mind—for reasons unknown to us—to do his best to destroy you and others like you. It’s perfectly reasonable to be afraid, and no one will think the less of you for your fear.”

She shook her head vigorously. “It… it’s not that. I’m not afraid of dying, as long as I’m able to keep my promise and save Venti. I mean, I don’t want to die, but I’m not afraid of it, either. It… it’s….” she trailed off as she hesitated.

“What is it, My Lady? What do you fear?” I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.

She looked back at me for a long moment, then threw her arms around me. “I-I’m afraid of failing, of being too weak to save Venti after all. And I’m afraid of not being able to stop Ethelberd from slaughtering the Earthmates. And I’m afraid of losing everyone and everything I’ve come to love since I came to this town. I’m afraid of losing Dylas… and I’m afraid of losing you.” She gave a ragged sob into my chest, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her, holding her closely.

After a minute, I pulled back and looked down at her tear-stained face. Lifting her in my arms, I carried her to her bed, giving her little kisses on her lips, her nose, her cheeks, her eyelids. I set her on the bed and sat next to her, then leaning down to her, I whispered, “My Lady—Avani, my lover—I can’t remove your fears from you. But I can at least offer you a distraction from them for a time.”

She reached her arms up to me to draw me down in an urgent kiss. Her caresses were unfocused and desperate, as if wanting or needing everything all at once. She kissed me all over, brushing her lips against my cheeks and forehead, tickling my ears with her hot breath, nibbling down my neck and chest as she tugged at my robe. I pulled back and smiled at her as I slipped my robe off, then helped her out of hers. As she lay naked on the bed in the amber glow of the lantern, I could see a glimmer of tears in her eyes. Gently, I wiped them away, then kissed her tenderly, whispering, “Forget about tomorrow, My Lady—the future is unknowable. But what is certain is that tonight we have each other. And another thing that is certain is that I will stay with you as long as you are willing and I am able.”

I stood and removed my boxers, then stretched out alongside her on the bed, caressing her cheek. She looked up at me, her eyes large and liquid in the dim light. “Leo… I-I want you to promise me something. Please?”

“What is it, My Lady? If I can do it, I will.”

“I… Promise me that if things get bad—really bad, I mean—that you’ll grab Dylas and get out of there. Run, teleport, do whatever you have to do… but go, and… and don’t look back.”

I sat up, startled by her request. “My Lady, how can I promise to abandon you in your time of need? Am I less than a man?”

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. “No, Leo, you are unquestionably a man, and a fine one at that. But tell me honestly—which of the three of us is the most powerful warrior? You know the answer as well as I do. So if things are going badly, it just makes sense for you and Dylas to get away while you can to warn the town. If it’s bad enough, the people here may even need to evacuate, and they’ll need all the help the two of you can give them.” She looked back up at me, and reached up to caress my cheek. “I already made the same request of Dylas, but he’s too stubborn to see sense. So… I’m counting on you—you’re the only one I can depend on. Please, Leo—if it seems hopeless, or if I say to go, just… just go. Please? If not for you or for me, then for the town.”

I had no words with which to answer her plea, so instead I leaned over and kissed her, a long kiss full of all the emotion I was unable to vocalize. She hesitated a moment, then I could feel her letting go—losing herself in the moment as she responded to my touch. She was the loveliest, most delightful woman I’d ever known, and I kissed every inch of her creamy, soft skin, memorizing each curve and angle, tracing the myriad faint scars that decorated her limbs. My senses were filled with the mélange of scents that was her own particular perfume, the delightful fusion of salty and sweet and earthy scents and flavors, highlighted with the faint traces of floral soaps and bath oils.

Watching me with eyes dark with emotion and twining sensitive fingers through my hair, she moaned and whimpered tiny cries of pleasure at my caresses—a delightful composition for my ears alone. Taking my time, I slowly kissed down her neck to her jugular notch, pausing to suck gently at the sensitive skin there before moving across her shoulder, leaving a trail of kisses across her collarbone and down the soft skin of her arm, the inside of her elbow, and down to the palm of her hand. I kissed each finger of first one hand, then the other, before moving slowly back up her other arm and back to her jugular notch. From there I kissed down one side of her chest to her breast, stopping to nip and suck on the hard, pink tip of her nipple as she groaned and squirmed beneath my touch.

After a few moments, I continued on my path down her side and over to her belly, trailing kisses all around her navel and on down. At the green softness of her hair, I moved again to the side, leaving kisses down her thigh, along the back of her knee, and finally nibbling the arch of her foot before moving to her other foot. I moved back up the other leg until I again felt the tickle of her fine hair, then I stopped to lap the sour-sweet juices that were trickling down, tasting my way up to the small, hard nub. She cried out as I flicked my tongue over it, gently sucking and caressing her. I held her by her hips as she moaned and writhed, eagerly pressing against me as I explored her moistness until at last she arched her back and cried out my name, her breathing ragged as she shuddered and trembled in my hands.

I slowed down and gently caressed her a few more times with my tongue as her breathing slowed and she relaxed, still trembling. Then I gently kissed my way up her belly, again teasing around her navel, until I reached her breasts. Caressing one breast with my free hand, I cupped the other as I nipped gently at the nipple, feeling it harden as I sucked and swirled my tongue over and around it. Soon she began to moan and squirm again, and I kissed back up along her neck to her lips. Pressing my mouth firmly to hers, I kissed her ardently while caressing her soft skin, brushing the tips of my fingers over her body, feeling the muscles of her abdomen tauten as I sensed the pressure again building deep within her as it was within me.

Sliding over so that I covered her body with my own, I kissed and nibbled at her neck, twining her fingers with mine as I slowly but firmly thrust deep within her. She gasped, arching herself against me, wrapping her legs around me to pull us closer together as I slowly drew out and plunged back in, picking up the pace as we mounted to the peak of our release, gasping each others names and clinging to one another as our combined climaxes overwhelmed our senses.

Afterwards, she pulled back and looked me in the eyes searchingly as she reached up to caress the soft fur of my ears. “I love you, Leo. I… know you can’t, or won’t, reciprocate. But nevertheless, I do love you. I wanted you to know that, in case you doubted it.” I leaned down and brushed my lips lightly across hers, then whispered, “Some feelings, My Lady, are no less true for not having been named out loud.” She smiled contentedly and sleepily, and nestling into my arms, her eyelids fluttered and drooped. Soon she was sound asleep.

Once I was certain she was deep in slumber, I carefully slid out from the sheets. Pulling my boxers back on, I quietly climbed the stairs to the study and opened the door. I slipped into the darkened room and closed the door behind me. As my improved eyesight quickly adjusted to darkness since my reawakening, I had no trouble discerning Dylas’s sleeping form on the daybed. I gently shook him awake, then in a low voice, I said, “We’re through. Do you want to join us, so you can spend the night asleep with her? I think she’d like that, or would if she was awake. Anyway, I think she’ll be glad to have both of us there with her when she wakes in the morning.”

Dylas sat up, sleepy and dazed as he shook the cobwebs from his head. He grunted, then looked up at me, bleary-eyed, and nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I don’t think tomorrow’s going to be as bad as she makes it out to be, but if it’ll make her feel better to have us there with her….” Then he rose and followed me back downstairs, and we climbed into bed on either side of our lover, enfolding her in our embrace as she slept.