Akasha sat up, straddling my waist again. Her hands lingered on my chest. I ached to pull her down against me, to feel her body pressed against mine. The look on her face told me she felt the same. Akasha bit her lip as she gently ground her hips against me. I could feel my seed leaking from between her legs onto me. Sydney pressed herself against my side, her gaze turned up to Akasha as well. I felt the stirrings of things low in my body, but it was lazy, exhausted, and unable to rise fully. There must have been something on my face because Akasha giggled. Then she stood. I took her hands in mind as she did, sitting up to follow her. Sydney’s arms wrapped around my waist.  

"Would you be a dear, and clean up the mess on the floor while I shower?” Akasha asked as she stood gazing down at me.  

I nodded. “Sure.”  

Akasha took a step back, my fingers slipping from hers. She turned and walked to the hall. She glanced once over her shoulder and licked her lips as she rounded the corner. My heart thumped in my chest. I ached to follow her. To sweep her up in my arms and hold her body against mine. My skin tingled with the need to touch her. I felt Sydney pressed against my side, her lips brushing my arm. I turned and looked at her. She blushed, turning into my arm. I could see the smile playing across her face.   

I stood, pulling Sydney to her feet. She pressed herself against me. I could feel the soft swell of her breasts through her shirt pressed against me. I hugged her. She pulled back slightly, not letting her lower body touch mine. I looked down and saw that I was covered in the mess from our sex. There was a pool of fluid on the floor that I had been sitting in without even realizing it.   

“Guess we better clean that up,” I said.   

Sydney looked down and laughed. “Yup. I’ll get some paper towels.”  

“Thanks.”  

As Sydney walked from the room, I got the strangest sensation of something coming. A weight in the distance. Like a storm approaching. I went to the window and looked outside. The sky was clear, blue, and spectacular. I could not explain it. I knew something was coming, moving closer to us, even though I saw nothing. I heard Sydney walk back into the room—the soft footfalls of her bare feet on the hard floors.  

“What is it, Ed?” She asked. I turned and saw her standing there, paper towels in hand. My breath caught for a moment.  Her beauty transfixed me. The light glinted off her eyes, making them glow. The swell of her ample chest pushed against her shirt. The way her shorts hugged her slender, shapely hips. The radiant beauty of her skin in the half-light. Her lips parted, and her tongue moistened them as she watched me.   

“Is there something on my face?” she asked, her voice a whisper. I blinked. Her green eyes watched my every move. I felt her gaze slip down along my body, to the mess between my legs. I felt that stirring in my loins again as she looked at me. I glanced down and watched a drip of that mess fall to the floor. I closed my eyes and shook my head.  

“No, sorry. I was just distracted by your beauty.”  

Sydney blushed and looked at the floor. She giggled as she dropped to her knees and wiped up the mess with the paper towels in her hand. She looked up at me and cocked an eyebrow.  

“You are making a mess.”  

“Shit. Sorry.”  

I walked over, took a paper towel from her, and started wiping it up. In the back of my head, I could feel whatever it was drawing nearer. I glanced back towards the window.   

“Why do you keep looking out the window?” Sydney asked.  

“I feel something coming.”  

“Something?”  

“I don’t know how to explain it. I get this sense that something is coming.”  

“Something bad?”  

“I don’t know.” I closed my eyes. Upstairs, I could hear Akasha humming to herself in the shower as she rinsed herself clean. I could hear the birds singing outside. The wind in the trees as the branches swayed. Footsteps in the yard. I opened my eyes.   

“Someone is outside.”  

“How do you know?”  

“I can hear them.”  

Sydney furrowed her brows and started to scoff. Then there was a knock on the door. Sydney stared at me in surprise. I shrugged, stood, and walked to the door. Sydney stared at me with wide eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it as I opened the door.   

“Ed!” She hissed. I ignored her.  

A man was standing on the doorstep. He wore black leather boots, dark jeans with a leather belt threaded through the belt loops. A large knife hung at his waist. His shirt was a button-down, open loosely at his throat to show his darkly tanned skin. He was clean-shaven. His jaw squared, and his cheekbones were high and chiseled. I got the impression of a European background. The look in his eyes was measured. His hair was short with streaks of bronze coloring where the sun caught it.    

The man turned his head slightly to the side and nodded. “Good afternoon.”  

“Good afternoon,” I responded. “Can I help you?”  

There was a weight in the back of my head. It felt old. Almost like a boulder had been placed somewhere in the back of my head. Ancient and strong. Not immovable, but heavy. I furrowed my brows at him. He met my gaze. A faint smile touched his lips. The breeze caught the leaves, and the sun briefly reflected off the windows, the light playing across his face. His eyes glowed briefly bronze for a moment, then it was gone.   

“Yes,” he said slowly. “Pardon my forwardness, but I seek the lord of the house.”  

I raised one eyebrow in response. “I am the only man who lives here.”  

“Truly?” The man furrowed his brows as he investigated my face. I could feel him looking for something. Some sign. His gaze went up to my hair, then back to my face. “How old am I?”  

I started to open my mouth to say thirty-something, but there was a weight to his eyes. Experience. Knowledge. He had seen things I had never seen. I felt that weight in the back of my head. It felt like him, this stranger before me. I closed my eyes and could feel the waves of power coming off his body. It crept over my skin like a thousand marching ants. I resisted the urge to rub my arms. A number popped into my head.   

“Fifteen hundred, give or take a decade.” I opened my eyes. There was a look of shock on his face. His eyes were wide. He dropped to one knee, an arm across it, his head bowed.  

“Forgive me, lord,” he said with his head pressed to his knee. His eyes locked on the floor at my feet. “I assumed...”  

“You are forgiven,” I said without a second thought. “Rise and name yourself.”  

He glanced up at me, a look of relief on his face. He stood with a movement of elegant fluid grace.  

“I am Anton, my Lord. Forgive me, but do you always greet your guests unclothed?”  

I glanced down and fought to keep my face neutral. I could see a tightness around Anton's eyes as he fought to keep the humor from creeping into his face. I appreciated the sentiment. Just then, I heard a flurry of movement on the stairs. I could smell Akasha as she moved up behind me, throwing a robe about my shoulders. I shrugged my arms into it as she reached around me and closed it. Anton bowed his head to the side, averting his gaze. Akasha stepped around me, beaming.  

“Anton!” She exclaimed, “How long has it been?”  

Anton took Akasha’s outstretched hand, bent, and kissed her knuckles. As he stood, a broad smile filled his face. The joy there made him seem ten years younger.   

“Eleven hundred years, my lady.”  

Akasha whistled. “You haven’t aged a day, my friend.”  

Anton laughed. “And you are looking even younger and more radiant than ever.”  

Akasha blushed as she wrapped an arm around my waist, hugging me. I put one arm around her shoulders. Just having her that close brought a smile to my face. I looked down into her beautiful face and felt my heart beating a little faster. It felt so good and right to have her by my side. I looked at Anton, and there was a wistful look on his face.   

“My lord, might I have the pleasure of your name?” Anton said as he stretched out a hand to me.  

“Edgar,” I said as I pulled my arm out from behind Akasha and clasped his hand in mine. There was a slight tingle to my skin as our hands touched. His grip was firm but not overpowering. We shook, then he released my hand.  

“It is an honor and a pleasure to meet you, my lord.”  

“The honor is mine, Anton,” I said as I took a step back. My right arm slipped around Akasha’s shoulder as I turned from the door. “Would you like to come in?”  

“Thank you,” Anton said as he stepped into the foyer. He looked into the living room and saw Sydney. She stood as he looked at her and bowed to him.  

“This is our surrogate, Sydney,” Akasha said with a wide smile. Anton turned and gave Akasha a surprised smile.  

“Truly?” He asked. Anton turned back to Sydney, and I felt a rush of power bristle across my skin. The runes on Sydney’s chest glowed brightly. Her eyes slipped shut for a moment. The glow spread down her chest and groin, then faded. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, then smiled at Anton.  

Anton turned wide eyes back to Akasha and me. “She is pregnant. And Rune-marked. Why?”   

“That is her story to tell. Not mine.” Akasha said with a sly smile.  

Sydney walked across the room and took my left hand. She rested her head against my arm and watched Anton.  

“Truly?” Anton peered at Sydney with a look of curiosity.  

Akasha beamed. “What brings you so far from home?”  

Anton dropped to one knee, his head bowed again. “My Lady. Please permit me to serve your court once more. I felt the call of your power. I beg of you, permit me this chance to right the wrongs of the past.”  

“You no longer serve the Court of the Eternal Morning?” Akasha asked.  

Still kneeling, Anton shook his head. “No.”  

Akasha turned to me. Her eyes filled with a soft pleading. I started to shrug, then stopped. I closed my eyes. I could feel Anton before us. His sadness. His grief. He thought he had done something wrong and had to atone for it. I opened my eyes and met Akasha’s pleading gaze. I smiled at her. I felt her desire to accept this stranger. She tilted her head to me.  

“Rise, Anton,” I said. “Rise and join our court. May your deeds in the future reclaim your honor.”  

I blinked for a moment, wondering where the phrasing had come from. It felt right. It just was not what I had thought I was going to say. Akasha was smiling. Anton lifted his gaze to mine, surprise on his face.  

“My lord,” Anton said, his face turned back to the floor, “I pledge my honor, and my life, to your court.”  

I put my hand on his head. “Rise, Anton, and be welcome in our house and home.”  

I felt a soft rustling of power surge between us. That boulder in the back of my head shifted, becoming something more. I felt a kinship with it. It needed a sense of belonging, a place to call home. In my mind’s eye, I welcomed it. Hugged my arms around it and accepted it into my heart. I gave it a place to belong.   

Akasha gasped softly, her body pressed against my side. I felt her shudder and shake her head. I pulled my hand back from Anton, and his hair glowed softly, then turned the color of spun gold. He raised his gaze to me, a clear look of surprise on his face. His eyes blazed gold. He blinked twice, and the glow softened, but his eyes kept their gold color. He stood with that fluid grace and took a step back in surprise. He raised his hands and looked at them in shock.  

“You... You made me a Knight?” Anton turned those golden eyes on me. He took a step forward and clasped my hand in his. “I never dreamed... I mean. I always thought I could be worthy one day, but I never thought. I... Thank you!”  

With his hand in mine, I felt a sudden surge of memories. A massive battle in a dark forest. Bodies strewn everywhere. The moans and cries of the dead and dying all around us. My hands. Our hands were covered in blood. A man lay dead at our feet. His hair was the color of bronze. His eyes were dead and staring up at us. Grief filled us. Flooded us. Consumed us.  

Anton released my hand and staggered backwards. He reached out and grabbed the wall to steady himself. I blinked several times. The room around me felt insubstantial. The memory lingered, like an afterimage over the room around me. If Akasha and Sydney had not been at my sides, I might have stumbled and fallen. Akasha’s gaze softened, and a tear slipped from one eye to trail down her beautiful cheek. Sydney blinked at me in confusion.   

“My lord,” Anton gasped. Tears leaked from his eyes. “Forgive me.”  

I shook my head. “There is nothing to forgive, Anton. The past is the past. We live in the now. Let us focus on what is to come, not what has been done.”  

Anton bowed his head. “Yes, Lord. Wise words from one so young.”  

I shrugged again, wondering where the phrasing had come from. I turned to Akasha. She looked up at me, smiling so widely her teeth sparkled in the light. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled her body against mine. My heart thundered in my chest, and my whole body tingled with longing to hold her as we parted. She licked her lips and winked at me.   

“Go take a shower, lover,” she said with a giggle as she tapped my nose. I smiled back at her and nodded.  

I turned back to Anton. “Please, make yourself at home. I need a shower.”  

Anton nodded. Sydney released herself from my side and walked back into the living room. She picked up another paper towel and started scrubbing the floor with it. As I walked up the stairs, I heard Akasha talking with Anton.  

“Come, Anton, can I get you something to drink?”  

She took his hand and led him towards the kitchen.  

“That would be wondrous. Do you have tea?”  

Akasha giggled, “Of course. Do you still take it with no sweetener? Or have the new ways grown on you, finally?”  

“No. As dark as nature made it, please.”  

Akasha laughed as they walked into the kitchen. I crossed into the bedroom, untying the robe as I did. I hung it on the peg in the bathroom and turned on the water as hot as it would go. While waiting for it to heat up, I stretched my sore muscles.  

I lathered myself up, using copious amounts of soap. Sweat, salt, and other things were stuck to my body. It took a minute to scrub it all free. I wanted to hear Anton’s story. I wanted to know this man whom I had welcomed into our home. It had felt like the right thing to do, but I was curious about him. However, man was not the right word. Dragon.   

I toweled off and dressed quickly—fresh sweat shorts, a loose-fitting t-shirt. I could hear laughter and the clinking of glasses in the kitchen. I padded softly down the stairs, straining to listen to the conversation.   

“And here he comes now!” I heard Akasha say as I rounded the corner. She dashed down the hall and threw her arms around my neck. Her body pressed against mine as she kissed me passionately. My heart thundered in my chest. My loins ached for her. I could feel myself stirring in my pants as I hugged her against me. She tilted her head back, and her glowing amber eyes met mine. She smiled, and my heart skipped a beat. Warmth flooded through my body, from my head to my toes.   

“Join us,” She whispered. I smiled down into that beautiful face. How could I not? Akasha took a step back from me, taking my hand in hers and leading me into the kitchen. Anton was sitting at the small table, with Sydney sitting across from him. He was studying her with intense scrutiny. As I walked in, he turned to me and stood. He bowed.  

“My lord,” he said with a smile. “It is good to see you clothed again.”  

I nodded to Anton. “Sorry about that. I’m not entirely sure what came over me. It’s not how I generally answer the door.”  

Anton shrugged. “Your house. Your court. Your rules.” He sat. “Speaking of, is this your entire court?”  

I cocked an eyebrow at him in question. Akasha giggled. I pulled out a chair and sat down. Akasha put a hand on my shoulder, then sat across my lap, facing Anton....