Niles

  “What is your brother going to think?” Niles asked.

  To be honest, he wasn’t terribly surprised that Vedika had asked to sleep next to him. She was really intent on tapping his magic at every opportunity, and he could certainly understand why. By rights, she and Birgit should be the most powerful mages in their class, but they were obviously being held back by their limited magic potential, and he was the only way they could increase it. He wondered what the repercussions would be, though. Birgit was just the daughter of a minor noble, but Vedika was a princess. Actually, he was more surprised that Birgit wanted to sleep next to him, too. He’d half expected her not to want to be seen sleeping close to him, with the prince sharing the tent with them. Advick was taking the first watch now, though, so they had the tent to themselves.

  “I have already spoken with him,” Vedika answered. “He knows we are just doing this to increase our magic potential. You do not mind, do you?”

  Niles took a deep breath and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “You mean sleeping between two beautiful women? It will be a struggle, but to make our team stronger, I guess I can endure it.”

  “Good, now go outside and change, so we can change in here,” Birgit ordered.

  Niles stepped out of the tent and quickly changed into the light, sleeveless shirt and loose pants he’d brought to sleep in. He was trying to make light of the situation, but actually, it was really going to be a struggle. He liked both women, but he really wished he knew if either of them really had any feelings for him, or if both just saw him as a useful tool. No, he didn’t think either of them were that callous. He was pretty sure they both saw him as a friend, but was that all? His current contract with Birgit would expire next week. He really wished he knew what the two were thinking so he could better negotiate. He’d really started thinking about trying to arrange some sort of long-term contract here, but that state dinner had reminded him of how almost everyone here saw him as a thing, not a person.

  “Did the girls kick you out?” Advick asked.

  Niles started, having been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed his approach. “What…Oh, Advick, yes, they’re getting changed.”

  “Did you agree to their idea about the sleeping arrangements?” Advick asked, carefully keeping his face neutral.

  “Purely to help them increase their magic potential, yes,” Niles said carefully, not sure what Advick thought about it. Was he jealous of Niles for sleeping next to Birgit, feeling protective of his sister, or something else? He was probably feeling a combination of things.

  Advick looked him in the eye. “Well, I trust you will be a perfect gentleman.”

  “Of course,” Niles quickly agreed.

  “Good, and I trust I do not have to tell you not to spread word of this,” the prince continued.

  “Of course,” Niles agreed again.

  “Niles,” Vedika’s voice called from inside the tent. “You can come back in now.”

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  “Well, duty calls,” Niles said, and Advick just nodded.

  Returning to the tent, Niles found both girls lying on sleeping mats set up on both sides of his. Since both had blankets over them, he could not tell what they were wearing.

  “Come lie down so we can cover the light,” Birgit directed.

  “And it would probably be best if you took off your shirt to make it easier for us to keep in contact,” Vedika added. “If you do not mind.”

  Niles shrugged and took off his shirt.

  “Maybe next time you should wait to do that until after we cover the light,” Birgit suggested, looking at Vedika, who was staring at Niles.

  Niles realized the princess had seen him in torn clothing a few times, but never this exposed. “Sorry.”

  He climbed into his bedroll, not sure what to expect from the two. Birgit had been all over him at first when they’d started sharing a bed, but then she’d backed off, only to get close again last night after the state dinner. Maybe she was just trying to find a good distance to stay in contact, but not get caught up, if Niles had a dream again. That thought made Niles a little worried. What would the princess do if he grabbed her in the middle of a dream?

  Once Niles was in his bedroll, the princess covered the enchanted crystal they’d been using to light the tent. However, to Niles' senses, the tent was not plunged into darkness. Each girl wore some enchanted items and had others close at hand. Even the tent itself had some sort of enchantment on it, and all the enchantments glowed. It was not bright, but it was enough for Niles to see both women slowly sliding toward him with nervous expressions. Both felt around, unable to see him. Watching, he lay on his back and let each find an arm. Vedika warped one arm around his and clasped his hand while lying on her back next to him, but Birgit rolled onto her side and wrapped both of her arms around his, hugging it to her.

  He could tell both women had bare arms. Likely Birgit was wearing the sleeveless slip she normally wore, and Vedika something similar. Niles couldn’t help but wonder what Vedika looked like in just the light garment she was probably wearing. Aside from her tiger-striped coloration and some cat-like features, she was near enough to human to be very attractive. Not that Birgit was ugly. She was just a little further from human, but now that he was used to her, she was actually quite cute.

  Niles forced himself to stop that train of thought. It would be a bad idea to go to sleep thinking about how pretty his two bedmates were. That would be just asking to have dreams that could get him into trouble. It was going to be hard enough just feeling the two warm bodies next to him. Vedika wasn’t too bad just lying next to him, but Birgit using his arm like a cuddle pillow was really distracting.

  Did their different positions tell him something? Was Brigit so close because she really had feelings for him? Did Vedika’s distance mean she did not? No, it was more likely that Birgit had just done this before and was more comfortable with it. He was reading too much into things. Maybe he should just talk to them. But what would he say? He liked both of them, but he wasn’t in love with either of them, was he? And if he asked them if they had feelings for him, would they feel he was pressuring them? Would they lie to make sure he kept letting them have his magic? And what about the long term? Would either of them be desperate enough to make a marriage contract with him just to keep access to his magic?

  He had to bite back a growl of frustration. This was just maddening. The last thing he wanted was to get stuck in some loveless marriage, bound to a contract, and completely dependent on some mage. No, it was best to just play it cool for now and observe. He would let anyone who wanted his magic have it with no strings attached, so he didn’t give anyone the idea that they needed to seduce him to get it. Hopefully, he’d be able to tell if someone really wanted him for more than his magic before he had to find some long-term solution. Or maybe he’d find a way home, though there was a definite possibility he might want to stay here anyway if he found a good long-term option, but he needed more information to make an informed choice.

  Yes, that was it. He would remain calm, be helpful, and observe. Once he found out if he could get home or discovered some evidence Birgit, Vedika, or someone else really had feelings for him beyond a hunger for his magic, then he could make an informed decision. Until then, he would just continue to play it safe and not make any long-term commitments.