I sat at the table across from Anton and watched him. There was no malice in his even stare. Just acceptance of his fate. Of knowing exactly his place in the universe.   

“Anton,” I said, “perhaps someday I will find a way you can repay me. Though I cannot think of anything I have done that needs to be repaid.”  

“You are too humble, my Lord,” Anton said with a bow. “Raising me to the rank of Knight is a great honor. One I never thought would happen.”  

I frowned. “But I did not pick that for you.”  

Anton’s brows furrowed. “Am I the first member of your court?”  

I nodded. “Yes.”  

“When you accepted me, what were you thinking?”  

“I was in that place, in my head, where I saw all the stones. A great field. I hugged the rock I knew was you and gave it a place to stay.”  

Anton rubbed his chin, musing, “Perhaps it is not the Lord who does the choosing. Perhaps it is the land?”  

I peered at him. “The land?”  

Anton shrugged. “Not many Dragon Lords are so open with their thoughts and processes. Perhaps because you are so young. Every Lord I have spoken to has stated the position they would accept someone at. And that was how it was.”  

“I simply accepted you. I had no grand design. No desire to ‘place’ you.”  

Anton nodded. “And perhaps that is the difference. Regardless. It is a great honor, my Lord,” Anton bowed again.   

Akasha snuggled into my lap, pulling my arms tighter around her stomach. I could feel just how delighted she was. Her skin was thrumming with it. Her heart thumped hard in her body against my chest. Anton looked at us and smiled. I cocked an eyebrow at him.  

Anton sighed. “I have visited many courts. Lord Abel sent me as an emissary many times. I have had the pleasure of observing many Lords and Ladies. I cannot say that I have ever seen a couple so...” He waved his hand at us. Shrugged. Smiled. “So enamored of each other. Truly happy with each other.”  

I furrowed my brow at him, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying. “Can you explain that better?”  

Anton sighed. “How do you explain water is wet to a fish, my Lord?”  

“Are you calling me a fish?” I frowned at him.  

“What!? No!? I. My Lord?” Anton looked stricken. I laughed. His expression softened. “You joke with me?”  

“Yes, Anton.” Akasha giggled in my lap, covering her mouth. “I am sorry. Forgive me. That was cruel. But the look on your face was priceless.”  

Anton smiled and shook his head. “Let me try this another way. How did you become Lord and Lady?”  

I felt Akasha’s skin warm under my touch. She turned and looked at me, her smile broad and deep. She kissed me on the cheek, then put a finger to my lips and shook her head. Her eyes sparkled and glowed softly, “I wish to talk, lover.”  

I nodded to her, smiling against her finger. She turned to Anton. “When my first son tore his surrogate apart, it broke me. I loved her. Caine, my Lord, was also in love with her. Something died in him that night. He left, and I have never seen him since. I had no desire to sire another child. I raised Jonathan as best I could, but I could never get the image of him ripping my poor Alice to pieces out of my mind. When Caine left, our court fell apart. I was left to raise Jonathan alone. I’m afraid I wasn’t a good mother to him. I woke up one morning, and he was gone too. He was sixteen at the time. I’ve been alone ever since.  

“I managed my realm as best I could, but I grew restless. I traveled the world briefly. That was so long ago. I always came back. Watched over my lands. I had no desire to find another Lord. Or even try to sire more children. I wanted to be left alone with my sadness. 

“When Marcus and my sister came to this continent, I met them. We visited from time to time. Sometimes they came here. Other times I went there. I was overjoyed when they had their first son. It was then that Marcus vowed that he would see to it that no Dragon would ever lose a surrogate again.   

“I thought little of Edgar at the time. I sensed nothing special about him. I visited them often. He was nothing to me then. Nothing more than a curious nephew born of Jessica and her Lord. When they died, I adopted him—brought him—taught him the history that I had. Taught him about what he was.  

“It was Sydney who changed everything. She stormed into this house, like a ghost, entrapping me in the basement. I never expected a human to wield our magics. To use them against me. I was unprepared. I underestimated her.  

“Then Edgar showed up and saved me. I watched him turn the ritual against her. Watched him become something more. As I watched him flip Sydney’s magics on her, I wondered what else he might be capable of. When I learned about the magics on her body and how tied she was to Edgar already, I realized just how badly I wanted to try again. The possibility that I could sire another child and not lose the surrogate. It was a temptation I could not pass up.  

“Although I was not sure Edgar would be Dragon enough to mate with me, I had to try. It had been so long since I had tried. So many centuries. I forgot how good it felt.” Akasha snuggled tighter against me. She pulled my arms tighter around her waist. Her breath hitched. Her heart hammered against me. I kissed the back of her head. “He didn’t just fuck me. He made love to me. And when my body climaxed with his. When he poured his soul into mine, I knew I had found someone special. Someone who could complete me. I fell in love with him in that moment.”  

Akasha turned to Sydney. She reached out and took the other woman’s hand. Tears leaked from Sydney’s eyes as she watched Akasha. Sydney turned back to Anton, still holding Sydney’s hand. “Then I watched him love Sydney. I watched him deposit that seed into her womb. Watched him lovingly care for her. And I knew. I knew in that moment, he was the Lord I had been looking for without realizing it. The Lord this land needed. I asked him if he would take that role, if he would be my Lord.”  

Akasha inhaled deeply. Let it out slowly. She turned and kissed my cheek. “He said yes.”  

Anton's eyes were wide. He shook his head as if he was having a hard time believing the tale she had just told. A tear trickled down his cheek. He looked at Sydney. Gazed at her. Studied her. Then his eyes shifted to Akasha. I saw his eyes soften. For a moment, I saw a twinge of jealousy and desire. Then his eyes met mine, and he smiled.   

“That is not how most Lords and Ladies are paired,” Anton said with a soft sigh. “When a Dragon female is of the proper age, potential mates from miles around come to seek her hand. To see if they are compatible. When a male dragon brings a female dragon to climax together, they are mated. Lord and Lady. Lands are given. Courts are set up, not for love, but for the propagation of our species. Dragons are dying out. If your child is born a dragon, and not a human, it will be the first new Dragon in the last five hundred years. Aside from yourself, Lord Edgar.”  

“Five hundred years?” I asked, a bit surprised.  

Anton nodded. “Give or take a few. There was a female Dragon born in Japan about five hundred years ago. I visited their court shortly before she was born. They were so hopeful. I have heard nothing from them since.”  

Anton turned back to me. “What is the name of your Court, my Lord?”  

I raised an eyebrow. “Name?”  

“All courts have names.”  

Akasha giggled. She released Sydney’s hand and snuggled into my arms. She turned to me. “Our court was the Court of the Golden Sun. Named after the way the land turned gold in the fall. Not far from here. Caine chose the name. He claimed the name gave our name a noble purpose. He no longer rules here. What would you name it?”  

I shrugged. “I had not given it much thought. Do you want to keep the name Caine used?”  

Akasha shook her head. “No. He does not rule here now. We do.”  

I smiled at Akasha. “Then what do you think of the Court of the Amber Stars?”  

Akasha frowned. “Amber Stars?”  

I squeezed Akasha to me more tightly. I felt her pulse speed up. “Named after the way your eyes glow. Like stars made of Amber in the night.”  

Akasha blinked. She blushed. Her eyes glowed amber as she stared at me. Then tears glistened at the corners. She kissed me. Her lips were soft and tender against mine. She tasted of apples and orchards. Life and Happiness. Home.  

As she pulled back from me, tears spilled down her cheeks. She nodded vigorously.  

Sydney spoke softly. “I like it.”  

I heard Anton clear his throat. “A just name. Poetic. Romantic.”  

Akasha lay her head on my chest. She sighed. Content. Happy.  

I turned to Anton. “You mentioned Caine and Abel being brothers. Any relation to the characters in the Bible?”  

Anton laughed. “Oh yes. They found that very amusing.”  

“Amusing?” I asked. “Why?”  

“Because they never killed each other. Humans invented those stories. Caine and Abel are the last two shell-born Dragons alive today. They were the most powerful Lords since before the time of Humans. They often disagreed. Even fought. But the stories in the Bible are just stories. Some of the names are real, but not the events.”  

“You said ‘were’?”  

“Caine,” Anton paused. He looked at Akasha, “I’m sorry, my Lady. Caine is still alive. Though only a shattered remnant of what he was once. He wanders the deserts of Death Valley, searching for his lost Alice. Insists she is still alive and that he will find her...”  

Akasha froze. I would have thought her body a statue if not for the warmth of her against me. Then she turned and buried her face in my chest. I felt the warmth of her tears against my shirt. I wrapped my arms around her and held her while she cried softly against me. She made no sound. Only the soft shaking of her body belied her—the dampness of her tears against my chest.  

“Anyone else I need to know about? Is Eve real?”  

Anton blinked. Then nodded. “Oh yes. Eve is very real—the mother of all Dragons. No one has seen her in thousands of years. Many fear she is dead. I refuse to believe it. One legend says she dug her way to the center of the earth and slumbers until the Age of Dragons returns, that her awakening would herald the end of this world. That she will remake it as a paradise for Dragons again.  

“A silly legend to be sure. I believe Eve is out there. Somewhere. Waiting. What will happen when she awakens? I have no idea.”  

“Adam?” I asked.  

Anton shrugged. “There are legends about the first consort to the Mother of Dragons. No one knows his true name. Humans called him Adam. He has faded from all legends. Nobody knows what his true name was. Or if he even existed in the first place. Some say that Eve laid her eggs without being fertilized. That she laid them ready to hatch. Nobody knows for sure.”  

I frowned thoughtfully. “Not sure I want to meet Eve. She sounds a bit scary.”  

Anton nodded. “I do not blame you, my Lord.”  

I raised an eyebrow at Anton, observing him. “Are there any other boogeymen from the past I need to know about?”  

Anton chuckled. “Dragons are a race older than time. There are more mysterious ancient creatures that still roam this earth than have been written about in all the books of men. Every folk tale told by men has some basis in reality. Some are no more than mundane things misunderstood. Some so terribly real and to speak them aloud would be to summon them.”  

Anton shook his head. “Nothing we need to worry about today, my Lord.”  

“That’s fair,” I answered, though my curiosity was piqued. “Another time, perhaps?”  

Anton smiled and nodded. “As you wish, my Lord.”  

Akasha squirmed in my lap, pressing herself closer against me. She nuzzled my throat, her lips lingering against my skin. I looked down at her and smiled. How could I not? She smiled up at me, her amber eyes glowing softly in the half-light.   

“Yes, dear?” I asked, as my heart skipped a beat.  I felt myself stirring my pants. The press of her body against mine made my pulse start to race.  

“Are you hungry, love?” she asked quietly. She looked down and giggled. “For food. Not me.”  

I laughed then nodded. “Yeah, I could use some food.”  

Akasha’s smile lit up the room. She pulled herself out of my lap. I had to suppress a soft moan. I would have preferred she stay in my lap, but in exchange for a hot meal, I supposed that was fair. Akasha waved to Sydney, who stood and joined her in the kitchen.   

I glanced over, and Anton was watching Akasha just as intently as I was.  

“You knew her,” I asked Anton softly. He nodded. “Care to elaborate? She never told me much about her time before coming here.”  

Anton turned back to me and nodded. “I met her when she first came to the Court of the Eternal Morning.”  

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”  

Anton cleared his throat. “Every Dragon was smitten with her.” He coughed softly, cleared his throat.  

“Go on,” I prompted.  

Anton looked embarrassed. “I was one of her suitors.”  

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”  

Anton sighed. “We tried. I couldn’t satisfy her. She,” Anton coughed, blushed, “said I was a very gentle lover, and that she was disappointed that I could not bring her.”  

I felt both of my eyebrows climbing up my forehead.  

“She was very kind about it,” Anton said, his voice low. I turned and looked at Akasha. She caught my gaze, smiled, and blew me a kiss. I found myself smiling when I turned back to Anton. His voice was low and a little sad. “It was the kindest let down I ever received. I would have done anything for her.”  

“And now you get to serve her here. Now.” I smiled at Anton. “Are you jealous, Anton?”  

“Jealous, my lord?” Anton asked. “Maybe a little, but I know my place. I will serve you both to the best of my ability.”  

I reached over and patted Anton’s hand. He stared at me in shock for a moment. Then he smiled.  

“I know you will, Anton. We are glad to have you,” I said softly.   

Akasha came prancing out of the kitchen, a wild smile on her face. She winked at me as she stepped over to Anton. She bent over and pressed her lips to his cheek. Anton sat in shock as Akasha stepped back from him and over to me. I slid an arm around her waist as she leaned against me.  

“We are so proud to have you in our court, Anton. We could not have asked for a better knight,” Akasha said softly. She kissed my cheek, then went back into the kitchen.  

Anton sat in shock, one hand on the cheek she had just kissed.  

“Are you alright, Anton?” I asked.   

He turned to me, his cheeks still flushed. His eyes were wide. “I... Yeah, sorry. I’m no knight. I mean, I am. You made me one. But, this is...”  

I laughed as he stammered. “Relax, Anton. You’ll do fine.”  

“How can you be so sure?” he asked in a quiet voice.  

I raised an eyebrow. “Call it a hunch.”  

Just then, Akasha and Sydney came to the table carrying steaming plates laden with food. I stumbled to my feet, pulling out a chair for Akasha, then moving to do the same for Sydney. They set the plates down and pulled up their seats.  

“This looks amazing,” I said as I sat down, not sure which of the two beautiful women to thank. Sydney blushed and giggled while Akasha patted me on the knee.  

“Sit and eat, you big doofus,” Akasha said softly as she pulled my hand towards her, urging me to take my seat. I dropped down into it. Akasha squeezed my thigh affectionately.  

We ate. We were too busy enjoying the delicious food to have a conversation. Second servings were handed out. Afterwards, we all helped clean up the kitchen. I washed dishes. Anton dried. Akasha showed Sydney where things were put away. We felt like a family.   

Afterwards, Akasha took Anton’s arm in hers and led him towards the basement.  

“I’ll show you to your quarters.”  

“Quarters?” I asked, quite confused. I’d been over every inch of this house, and aside from the two bedrooms upstairs, there was nowhere else to sleep. The couch, in a pinch, but it wouldn’t be my first pick. Akasha turned and winked at me, then inclined her head towards the basement door. “Come on, lover. This old house still has a few tricks to show you.”  

Sydney slipped her hand into mine as she followed behind me....