Chương 71: Chapter 25: A Wake-Up Call

A distant, heavy pounding roused me from my slumber. It was insistent and annoying, and just loud enough that I couldn't ignore it. I blinked one eye open. The dim pre-dawn light illuminated the bedroom in a faint, colorless glow. Curled up on either side of me were Wynnie and Shivai. We'd all changed positions from the night before, but somehow we'd stayed entangled. I was in a knot of limbs and hair. And tail. Extricating myself wouldn't be easy. The pounding came again, still louder.

A faint sense of alarm went off in the back of my head. Something was not right. Somebody was in trouble. Both eyes flew open, and I tried to gingerly worm myself out of the cuddle puddle. Where was that noise coming from? Was it one of our guests? I heard a door slam open, and the footfalls of long, confident strides approached. Another door opened, and the footfalls were in our hallway, approaching fast. Whatever was going on, it was coming straight for our door.

I jostled both girls awake, hissing their names and trying to prepare them for whatever was coming. Pushing myself up in bed, I prepared to meet whoever had made their way in. Wynnie pressed herself up as well, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her night shirt hung loosely off of one shoulder, partially exposing her. Shivai wrapped her tail around my neck twice, gently pulling me back down. Her arms wrapped around my chest, and she whined cutely, begging me for a few more minutes of snuggles.

"Ggaack! I—Shivai, your tail."

"Come back to sleepy." Apparently, the pounding and approach of a stranger didn't register to her the same way it did to me. I tried to loosen her grip by sticking a couple of fingers between her tail and my neck. It felt like wearing a too-tight turtleneck. I glanced down at the purple-skinned beauty and realized she was still completely nude. One bare leg was slung over my crotch, and the bedsheets barely covered her modesty. Three firm knocks came from the door, and I cried out, "Just a second!"

But I was too late. The door swung inward. In the shadow of the frame, someone imposing stood, one hand on a stern hip, the other reaching for a sword. To my relief, it wasn't one of our guests. Even better, it wasn't one of the pirates come back to take revenge. Yet what little relief I felt was short-lived. I recognized those imperious shoulders. That statuesque pose. The amber eyes that flashed over the scene, taking in every detail.

"Lady Talia? Is everything okay?" Wynnie looked concerned. Shivai shot bolt upright in bed. The slip of sheet covering her top fell around her waist. The dragonkin's gaze flashed from concern to surprise to disgust to... something else. It looked almost like hurt. Her intimidating posture immediately softened into something awkward and uncertain. She took a half step back.

"Drew! I, um. I can come back." She looked around frantically as if searching for an exit.

"Yes. I—I should come back later. Much, much later." She turned slowly, posture broken, head hanging a few degrees lower she'd ever normally allow. Her footsteps shuffled against the wooden floors as she made a slow exit. I cursed under my breath. Lady Talia had left with very different energy than that which she'd come in with. Both moods seemed important to me, and I needed to check on her as soon as possible. With an utter lack of dexterity and several apologies, I finished withdrawing from the girls.

I snatched my underwear from the pile on the floor and stumbled into them, almost tripping in the process.

"Lady Talia! Wait!" Her heavy, dragging footsteps paused at the door to the main room. She let out a long breath. Without turning, she asked, "Are you decent?" I looked down. The outline of my manhood left very little to the imagination, but it wasn't exactly flopping about freely. I shrugged to myself.

"Mostly." She turned around. Briefly, she glanced down and blinked back surprise. Then she shook her head and collected herself.

"You weren't at the beach this morning." For a fraction of a second, I didn't know what she was talking about. Then I smacked myself in the forehead.

"Sword training! That's today."

"I waited. At first, when you were late, I got angry with you. I thought you were blowing me off. Or worse, giving up." Her jaw worked, flexing and clenching as she measured her next words.

"But when I began putting away the training blades to come back into town, my mind... it went to a different place." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought—I don't know. It wasn't logical. I thought perhaps the Black Ship Raiders had come back. That they'd found you. I made my way here as fast as I could. I needed to make sure you were okay." I felt like an asshole. Sure, her brain had picked up an irrational fear and ran with it. That wasn't exactly my fault. But it wasn't not my fault, either. None of this would have happened if I'd been where I was supposed to be. And seeing that curious look deep in the dragonkin's eyes told me something meaningful.

She wasn't scared I'd been hurt—she cared about me. Admitting as much, even indirectly, was a step toward vulnerability that she probably didn't usually take. So, like an idiot who didn't know what to say, I said, "I'm okay. All in one piece. No pirates." And then came her withering glare. Now that she'd confirmed I was unharmed, her fury came back. Fury, and something else.

"I almost wish the pirates had come," she murmured darkly.

"I was not, um, anticipating finding you like that." She spat the word like it were an insect that had snuck into her meat pie.

"I didn't think I'd see you like that. With… with her." I knew what she meant. She wasn't talking about Wynnie. And I didn't know why, but suddenly, I felt like I'd betrayed Lady Talia. If she ever forgave me, or wanted to talk to me again for that matter, we'd have to figure out what that meant.

"It's, uh, complicated. With the heat wave, you see—" That wasn't exactly how I meant to start it, so I tried a different angle.

"Shivai is practicing to be a runescribe. Actually, I think she's pretty good. And with Wynnie's ice magic, we tried something. For the heatwave." Shit. This still wasn't getting to the heart of the matter at all! Why couldn't I just say that I'd seen something in the demonkin that made me believe in her? That I liked her? That she'd been insistent to the point of being relentless, and that a part of me responded well to it? Instead, I was babbling about the lead-in.

Lady Talia rolled her eyes, and her expression hardened back to her usual steely stoicism.

"Yeah, I get it. Whatever you tried, I hope it all works out for you. I'm gonna go."

"You don't want to practice swords?" I threw the question out there as a Hail Mary. She didn't play football. Nobody in this world did. So, of course she didn't catch it.

"No. Not now. I think I need time to, uh, think. About this. It's all kind of a lot. I know it shouldn't be, but... um." her jaw flexed, and she balled her hands up tightly.

"This is stupid. I feel stupid. Goodbye." She darted through the door and then fled out the front. I waited for several long seconds, still wondering what had just happened. Deep down, I knew. And the worst part was, it wasn't wholly unexpected, either. Yet now I had the sinking sensation that I'd just messed everything up somehow.

"Fuck!" One didn't seem like enough.

"Fuck. Fuck!" Three seemed like plenty. Indulgent, even. Especially considering that I didn't know if this situation was salvageable or not. I could only hope that she just needed a bit of time to think things through and deal with it. Wynnie's voice came from the bedroom behind me.

"Drew? Is Lady Talia okay?"

"Not exactly, but I'm sure we'll figure it out." Shivai's voice came through after, syrupy sweet and languid.

"Good! Let that uptight lady roast in the sun. Come back to bed with us where it's cool. We'll all snuggle together for a few hours until we have to get up for real." She made a compelling offer. Somehow, I doubted I'd want to get frisky this morning—not after the talk I'd just had—but a little cuddling was always good for the soul. My feet dragged as I trudged back down the hallway to our shared bedroom. All the warm fuzzies I'd felt going to sleep were replaced by cold pointies.

Connecting with Shivai had been phenomenal. Chaotic, barely restrained, and a complete whirlwind, yet so rewarding. Somehow, it felt like all my past short-term relationships that failed, except this time done right. There was a real foundation this time, thanks in no small part to Wynnie's grounding presence. Nevertheless, the consummation of our growing relationship suddenly felt hollow. Like it had come at a cost. I paused at the door, hand pressed against the wood.

Going back in meant returning to the oddly familial comfort of the women in bed, but turning my back on someone I'd started to think of as an important—and somewhat confusing—part of my life. Turning my back on Lady Talia now just felt wrong.

"Drew? Are you out there?" Wynnie called out from inside.

"Yeah."

"Are you coming in?" I sighed.

"Yeah." The wooden door swung in slowly from a little shove. Light from the hallway lantern brightened the inside, showing me nearly the same scene as the dragonkin had walked in on. Two beautiful women sat up in the bed in varying states of undress, clearly waiting for me. They leaned against each other for support. Wynnie wrapped a protective arm around the demonkin's shoulder, holding her close.

"Is everything okay with Lady Talia?" Wynnie asked.

"Not really," I admitted.

"I was supposed to train with her this morning. She thought the pirates came back and got me." Shivai scoffed.

"Well, that's just silly. No wonder she's so uptight. Constantly inventing dangers where there are none. I hope tyou told her off."

"I didn't. She kinda, um, left of her own accord."

"I bet she was scandalized!" Shivai grinned. Compared to Shivai's haughty indifference, Wynnie appeared less enthused about the constable's exit. She considered me thoughtfully.

"I don't think she was scandalized. She's a grown woman. Drew, how bad do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure," I said.

"I'm starting to get to know her pretty well, but I'm not sure how she'll handle this."

"What are you two even talking about?" Shivai asked.

"Handle what?"

"Jealousy," said Wynnie.

"I think she likes Drew."

"Ohhhh." Shivai beckoned me back to bed with them. Numbly, I complied.

"She'll get over it soon. You have better taste than that. It's good you shut her down early." Wynnie arched a brow as I settled back in between them.

"Did you shut her down?"

"I just need to talk to her," I mumbled. The weight and warmth of the girls pressed up against me, making me feel sleepy once more.

"Try to explain."

"I'm sure she'll understand," Wynnie assured me.

"If you're worried that this ruined things, don't be. She might need some time, but she'll come around. If that's what you want?" Shivai blinked away confusion.

"Is that what you want!?" I rubbed my eyes as I felt sleep return with a vengeance. I had another hour in me, easy. Maybe my head would be clear after I finished getting my full night of rest. All I needed to do was figure out how to salvage things. Because, even as I nodded off, one thing was becoming clear to me. I never meant to disappoint Lady Talia the way I had. It made me feel terrible. And all I wanted now was to make it up to her. If she wanted to see me again, that was.

I wondered how long she'd need to go think about things, as she put it.