Niles

  Niles woke and panicked, feeling his arms and legs trapped. He quickly realized the problem, though. Birgit was on one side of him, trapping one arm and leg, while Vedika did the same on his other side. Of the two, surprisingly, Vedika was the more invasive, having rolled almost on top of him. That was twice in one night now. Every other time they’d shared a sleeping mat, she’d done little more than sleep next to him. What could have caused this sudden change? Had her dreams been wild enough to make her move around more than usual? It had been colder than normal last night. Could she have just been trying to get warm? He was certainly plenty warm buried under the two women, and it definitely wasn’t the worst way to wake up, but now what was he going to do? He didn’t want to wake them, but he really didn’t want Prince Advick to find them in this position.

  Slowly, Niles began slithering up off the top of the sleeping mat, trying to disturb the women as little as he could. His efforts were futile, though, and both of them began stirring.

  “Mmm, good morning,” Vedika groaned softly.

  Niles noted she seemed surprisingly unsurprised by her position. She couldn’t have possibly gotten into that position on purpose, could she?

  “Good morning,” Niles whispered back, as the princess sat up and stretched languidly. The move made her shift tighten across her figure quite provocatively, and Niles tried hard not to stare.

  Birgit sat up as well, though without the show. “Good morning.”

  “We should probably go see about breakfast,” Niles said, deciding it was probably better to just ignore the position they’d been in than to risk making it even more weird by talking about it.

  When they emerged from their tent, Niles immediately smelled bacon. That was one of the biggest advantages of crystal hunting with the royals. It wasn’t quite glamping, but they did have some very convenient enchanted items, such as a small chest that was refrigerated with ice magic, so they weren’t limited to just dried fruit and jerky.

  “Good morning, Niles,” Azrielle said, floating over to him. “I had the last watch, so I made breakfast for you… and everyone else, of course.”

  “You really are an angel,” Niles said, letting her take his hand to lead him over to the fire.

  The breakfast consisted of bacon and oat porridge with raisins, and it all tasted quite good.

  “It is a good thing Azrielle just tried to crawl in bed with Niles, instead of cooking for him, or she might just have won him over,” Vedika commented as Niles filled his bowl with porridge a third time.

  “That is entirely possible,” Niles conceded, through a mouthful of porridge.

  They only had a few hours to hunt before they had to head back to the academy, but they still found several more good crystals. As the day progressed, Azrielle was friendly, but not flirty or pushy, and Niles found he rather liked the seraph, now that she was not being so aggressive. Vedika and Birgit, on the other hand, were acting a little funny. Vedika seemed to always be just a little closer than she’d been before and suddenly seemed to have become a hugger, while every time he looked at Birgit, she seemed to be staring at him. But maybe it was just his imagination.

  The following day, it was back to classes, and Jabari suggested that Azrielle and Niles do some sparring instead of sitting through a class they would get little out of. Niles could tell Birgit and Vedika were not happy with the idea, but they didn’t object directly, so Niles jumped at the chance. The session went well. Azrielle’s fighting style, which required a sword and the ability to fly, would not work for Niles, but it was good to have a decidedly different fighting style to practice against. It was definitely more productive and fun than sitting through a boring class. He would have to look Mona up and see if the gorgon would join them for some practices like this.

  To Niles’ surprise. Sinja showed up to watch them practice. He was pretty sure the class was not over, so he was not sure why she was there, but when they took a short break, she walked out toward them.

  “Niles, it is good to see you,” the elf said, smiling brightly at him.

  Niles shrugged. “Good to see you, too. How come you’re not in class today?”

  It seemed rather suspicious that she would sneak out to talk with him while Birgit and Vedika weren’t around. But they were out on one of the practice fields with plenty of people around, so it wasn’t like she could do anything. He was probably just being paranoid because of all the warnings he’d gotten about elves.

  “I had a little bit of a headache this morning,” Sinja explained. “So, I decided some fresh air would do me more good than a stuffy lecture. Jabari said he would take notes for me. I was just taking a little stroll when I saw you and Azrielle and decided to come and watch. You have become very skilled, and I am certainly glad to have you on my team. You must be just as formidable as that other human from that journal I found. By the way, have you had time to look over those pages I brought back from Solaria for you?”

  “I have,” Niles answered. “Thank you for bringing them. They were quite interesting.”

  Sinja took a step closer and lowered her voice. “That was just a small part of the journal. I wish I would have had time to copy more of it for you. Of course, if you are interested, I would be more than happy to show you the whole journal if you came out to visit sometime. In fact, I would be happy to help you find more records of your people as well, though it could take some time to find them. Our library is quite vast. Perhaps once the semester is over, you could come out for an extended stay. Do you have plans for after the semester yet?”

  “No, not really,” Niles answered.

  “So, Birgit has not contracted you beyond the end of the semester?”

  “Not officially, but we’ve been talking about it.”

  “Hmm, do you think she will keep you on, then? I half-expected her to pass your contract off to the princess. She seems quite interested in you.”

  “She hasn’t said anything about that.”

  “Oh, that is good,” Sinja said, taking another step closer and lowering her voice just a little more. “I probably should not say this, since we are on the same team, but I would be wary of getting too involved with the royals if I were you. The prince and princess seem quite nice, but their family is rife with ruthless politics. I am sure you have heard that five of their half-brothers have already died, either in duels or in unfortunate accidents. The Deca system of succession sounds very civilized on paper, but in practice, it can be very brutal. I would advise you against getting involved with it. That is up to you and your mage, of course. I just felt it was only fair to warn you. Birgit seems like such a nice girl, but I fear she is a bit naive and seems to be quite thoroughly under the influence of the prince and princess now. As her guardian, you should be careful. Not only could she get caught up in the succession intrigue if she becomes too strongly tied to them, but she would be in danger herself from those who would see the prince pick a different kappa to become his consort. Know that you will always be welcome in Solaria though, Birgit too, if things get too dangerous for you here, or if you just want to come for a visit, of course. But I do not want to keep you from your training. I will talk to you later.”

  She was obviously making a play for him to go to Solaria, Niles thought as he watched Sinja walk away. But that did not necessarily make everything she said a lie. He remembered Prince Advick saying his father had far more daughters than sons. Could that be because several of his sons were dead? That would have been a stupid thing for Sinja to lie about, because it should be easy to verify. Maybe he should go to the twins and ask them about what Sinja told him. But did he want to throw her under the bus like that, especially with the field study mission coming right up? He didn’t want to sow discord, and he couldn’t deny the twins had a lot of sway over Birgit. If they knew he was suspicious of them, they might start getting sneaky. For now, it was probably better to stay quiet and observe both the royals and the elves.

  Birgit and Vedika came out to the practice field not long after Sinja left, their class having just let out. Stopping just short of hugging Niles, when she realized he was rather sweaty, Vedika took his hand instead.

  “You certainly have been working hard,” the princess noted.

  Niles shrugged. “The field study is only a few weeks away. I want to be at my peak for it.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Be careful you do not overdo it,” Birgit cautioned, taking Niles’ other hand.

  Niles cocked his head. “I don’t know if I can overdo it anymore. As fast as I heal from things, I could probably work myself to exhaustion repeatedly and not have to worry about it. I never have sore muscles or joint pain anymore, no matter how hard I work. I just keep getting stronger.”

  “Still, you should relax sometimes,” Birgit countered. “It cannot be good to work too hard. Even if your body can recover from it, your mind may not.”

  “I know what we should do. We should go to the Tune and Tun,” Vedika proposed. “I still have not heard you sing, Niles, and I would very much like to.”

  “Niles sings?” Azrielle asked excitedly. “I want to hear that. Please let me come, too.”

  “Why don’t we bring the entire team?” Niles suggested. “It might be good for us all to have a fun night out together. But I think everyone should have to sing.”

  Azrielle’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that would be amazing. I know some wonderful songs from my plane.”

  “I am willing to give it a try,” Vedika agreed. “But I have heard my brother attempt to sing. I do not know if we should subject the good people of Deca to that, or they might revolt when he becomes king.”

  The suggestion was well received when they rejoined the rest of the team, with the caveat that not everyone had to sing. Thursday, or Fourthday as they called it here, was open mic night at the Tune and Tun, so they made plans to make a night of it just before their next hunt. Niles began thinking about his song choices. The Sound of Silence was always his go-to karaoke song back home, but there were a couple of others he thought he could do a cappella with a little practice. But when they got back to Birgit’s suite that evening, she had a different idea.

  “We should sing together,” the kappa proposed. “I know a lovely song, but it is meant to be sung as a duet. Would you be willing to sing it with me? I can teach it to you.”

  “Sure, that would be great,” Niles agreed.

  Birgit wanted to begin work at once, and they ended up staying up late working out the harmony. It was a very touching love song, with verses alternating between two lovers with their voices merging in the chorus. The tune was fairly simple but engaging, and Niles was able to pick it up quickly. Susi was effusive with her praise after listening to them practice, and Birgit seemed especially happy as they got ready for bed, a fact made clear as she cuddled closer and more enthusiastically than usual. Niles was a little worried that she had gotten so caught up in the music was going to push things between them to the next level, but she stopped just shy of crossing any boundaries, which both relieved and disappointed him.

  Once Birgit had finally made herself comfortable and relaxed her hold on him, Niles took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He wasn’t sure which was worse, sleeping with both Birgit and Vedika, or just Birgit. Not that both weren’t quite pleasant in a way, but sharing Birgit’s bed was growing increasingly difficult. She must not realize the effect her cuddling had on him. He had to keep reminding himself that she was planning to become the prince’s consort. Or maybe she did realize what she was doing, and she was hoping to have a fling before she got married. No, he knew her well enough to know she wasn’t like that. Or, at least, he hoped he knew her, but then he’d thought he knew Cynthia. On the other hand, sharing sleeping mats with both of them was more confusing than tempting. He obviously wasn’t going to do anything with both girls and the prince all there, but he was getting mixed signals from the girls, especially the last few days. They said they were just doing it to increase their magic potential, and Vedika had clearly been interested in his magic before this weekend, touching him whenever she could. She’d flirted a little too, but it had been more in the nature of friendly banter. Over the weekend, the flirting had ramped up, and her touching had become a little more than friendly. Birgit was getting a bit more flirty, too, but only when they were in private. When the rest of the team was around, she seemed more on edge than usual, or maybe it was just when Vedika was around. Had something happened between the two of them? At least, things with Azrielle were going much better. Niles finally fell asleep, no closer to figuring out what the women around him wanted.

  When Fourthday came around, Azrielle was the most obviously excited of the group as they found a table at the Tune and Tun, practically vibrating in her seat. Birgit was doing her best to remain calm, but Niles could tell by how hard she was squeezing his hand that she was excited, too.

  “So, who should go first?” Vedika asked once they were all settled.

  “Me, me, I want to go first,” Azrielle volunteered, bouncing in her chair.

  “And after that?” Vedika continued surveying the group.

  “Perhaps I should follow my familiar,” Jabari suggested.

  Niles was a little surprised he was planning to sing, though his speaking voice was pleasant enough.

  Sinja offered to go after him, and then Vedika’s gaze narrowed in on Birgit. “Would you like to go after Sinja?”

  “Alright,” Birgit agreed. “But Niles and I are going to sing a duet.”

  Niles enjoyed the looks of surprise on everyone’s faces, since they had been keeping this secret from them all. Vedika’s was the most interesting expression, but not one Niles expected. He had expected her to be surprised, but excited or happy, but she almost looked suspicious, or maybe even angry, before she quickly put on a neutral expression.

  Vedika got their names added to the list, and soon Azrielle was introduced. Niles expected some sort of battle hymn from the angelic battle maiden, but he should have known better. What she sang was a bawdy drinking song that was quite funny and filled with innuendo. The seraph sang it with great enthusiasm, if nothing else. She was mostly on pitch, but she definitely was better with her sword. She worked the crowd well, though, and even got them to join in on the repeated chorus by the end.

  Jabari proved to be quite talented, singing a heroic ballad that got a good reception from the crowd. He probably would have gotten a better reception if the song hadn’t been about an elven hero. The people of Deca still remembered their ages of oppression by the elves and the several wars they’d fought against them to keep their freedom.

  Sinja also had a good bit of talent, and the love song she picked was more universal and went over even better than Jabari’s. They weren’t the only performers of the night, but so far, their group was doing a good job of raising the bar for everyone else.

  Finally, the waitress/MC introduced Niles and Birgit. It had been several weeks since they’d performed here, but Niles thought there were some murmurs of recognition as they were called up. All their practice had been a cappella, but Birgit had suggested they take advantage of the supplied lute player if he knew the song. He did, and after finding the right key for them, he started playing. The first verse was all Birgit. Her voice was a little quavery at first, but Niles took her hand, and she turned to look at him rather than the audience. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, and she began to relax, her voice gaining confidence. She really had an excellent voice. Niles joined her on the chorus and then took the next verse. Another chorus followed, and Birgit took the lead in another verse, her voice smooth now and filled with passion. The bridge came next, their volume building, and then it was Niles’ turn before they once again joined their voices in the touching conclusion to the song. Caught up in the music, Birgit moved closer and closer, and when the music ended, she stepped in with a tender embrace that Niles was happy to return.

  The crowd was silent for a moment as the last note faded away, and then erupted into applause and cheers. The reaction went far beyond what the other acts had received and continued as Niles and Birgit returned to their seats.

  “That was so beautiful,” Azrielle sobbed, wiping away tears. “You could just tell how much you two love each other.” Everyone turned to look at the seraph. “What, could you not all feel it?”

  “It was very well sung,” Vedika said, and then stood. “I will go see about another round of drinks.”

  Her reaction puzzled Niles. He thought she’d be happy for Birgit. Something must have happened between the two. He hoped they’d work through whatever it was soon. It was going to be even more awkward sharing sleeping mats with both of them otherwise.

  The prince gave a slightly strained laugh as his sister left. “That was a very convincing performance. I could almost believe you were more than just mage and familiar.”

  “That is the sign of a true artist,” Jabari added, raising his glass in a salute, “that they can make you believe anything is real.”

  The prince ended up not singing, which came as no surprise, but Vedika didn’t either, and that was surprising. Niles suspected she’d had her name taken off the list when she went up for that round of drinks. Was she just jealous of Birgit and afraid of being shown up? She certainly did not look like she was having a good time. She even pulled back from Niles a little, though she still held his hand and absorbed his magic.

  Birgit was in especially high spirits after their number, though, and was positively glowing from all the praise, attention, and alcohol. Several other patrons bought drinks for Niles and Birgit, though, as usual, Niles was only drinking tea. Birgit was having wine, though, quite a bit of it. When they finally decided to call it a night, Niles had to put an arm around her waist to support her, and she clung to him as they walked home. When they got back to her suite, Niles made sure she drank plenty of water, hoping that would keep her from feeling too bad the following day.

  “Thank you so much for tonight,” Birgit said once they finally got into bed. “I had such a wonderful time, and it was all because of you. You are such a wonderful man.” She began snuggling in close, resting her head on Niles’ shoulder and sliding her hand across his bare chest. “Have you thought any more about what you want from me for our long-term contract? Because I am ready to give you anything you want after tonight.”

  Just how drunk was she? With her body pressed so close to him, Niles had a very clear idea of what he wanted. Was that intentional on her part, or was she not aware of how much like a proposition that sounded? The alcohol was probably just clouding her judgment.

  “I’ve been too busy getting ready for the field study to really think about it,” Niles lied.

  Actually, he’d been thinking about it quite a bit, but he was no closer to coming to any decision, especially with the mixed signals he’d been getting from Birgit and Vedika. Did one or both of them have actual feelings for him? Did the elves really have information that could help him get home, and could he trust them? What sort of options could he even put in a long-term contract? There were just too many unknowns.

  “You should think about it.” Birgit said, her voice very drowsy. “I really want to make you happy. Just say the word and…” She trailed off, her breathing slow and regular.

  She must have been pretty drunk. Niles wondered how much of this she would remember in the morning.