Heirot

Knight smiled unsteadily. "I can reach you any time, if they're both at their full strength and neither one resists. But it will be difficult to maintain this form for long. And, as you've seen, I may not serve any use to you. Either of them could protect you better than I could at the moment." He frowned at his palm.

Tenele frowned. She wasn't sure it was the right time to ask him what Vlad had suggested. She wondered if he already knew? Since he always seemed to know what both Vlad and Atul had been thinking or experienced. She figured that something like that would be too much exertion for him anyway. So, Tenele decided to just keep quiet about it, for now. "I don't care if you can't protect me as you did. I enjoy your company. It would make me sad if you were gone. But, I don't want to punish you by calling you if it makes you tired."

His gaze caught hers, its unsteady brightness locked in attention. "I wish to be called upon. I have no other plans to occupy my time," he winked. "It is said Attara is weakest at the full moon. You may find I am most myself then, when her mark on Vlad is the faintest."

He leaned in close to her, so that his lips just brushed the soft skin of her neck. "Then, if your heart has not changed," his words were a midnight caress, "I would be honored to come to your bed."

Tenele's stomach did a flip as his breath fanned across her skin. "I will call you then. My heart will not change, I promise." Nervous excitement filled her, like a young girl being approached the first time by a handsome suitor. "If you come to my bed... would I... Could I have a child from being with you? Would you mind that, if that happened, if it could happen?"

"I don't know for sure. I'm not sure anyone could know. Our case is unique, but I believe there is a chance. Nothing would make me happier than to bring a permanent flame into this world with you. I hope you don't mind if I think of it that way."

Tenele chuckled softly. "I don't mind. I am not opposed to trying... it could take several times," Tenele admitted. She wasn't meaning to be funny, even if it sounded like it. She thought it really could take several times.

"Tenele, if I told you there was no hope of a child," Knight said thoughtfully, "would you still accept me as a lover?"

Tenele blinked. "Of course," she breathed. She cupped his face gently in her hands. "I didn't mean it to sound that way." She wasn't sure how Vlad would feel... What if he only entertained the idea because of a child? Tenele viewed Knight as both her husband and her protector and her friend. He was both Vlad and Atul... but she didn't feel any differently towards him than she felt towards the two separately.

Knight smiled at her, bright and wild. "I love you, Tenele," he said, strain beginning to show at the corners of his eyes. He looked at her with eyes that wanted to spend more time with her, to talk to her about all kinds of things, about all she'd just been through, but this body was failing. "I'm afraid...you may have to dismiss me," he strained.

Tenele swallowed hard, feeling saddened by those words. "And I love you," she told him softly, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "Sagra ne ero."

His eyes grew wide and vibrant at the gentle words that she shared with him for the first time. His lips pulled up in satisfaction, even as a pained gasp bent him over. Almost instantly, the incantation dissolved him and left the bed empty again. For several seconds, no one was there at all. Much longer than normal. Then, and a flicker of magical static, Vlad was returned to the bed, sweating and unsteady. A yelp and a loud thunk proved that Atul had not been much better off when he materialized on the stairs.

"I should go make sure he's not dead," Vlad muttered breathlessly.

Tenele nodded. "Go, he might have broken something," she snickered, pushing on Vlad's arm to get him to the door faster. She fell back into the sheets, drawing the covers up to her chin. She felt warm and fuzzy at the prospect of being with Knight, whether it made a child or not. It also made her extremely nervous, even if it shouldn't. In Knights mind he had the memories of all the times she'd been with Vlad and Atul, but she had nothing concerning him.

Atul collected himself off the floor, rubbing his elbow before dusting off his pants. "You better have been in serious danger!" he growled.

Vlad arrived at the doorway just as the king was storming up the last steps. "There was an existential crisis, of sorts. Also, we felt like experimenting," he teased the man.

Atul glared at Vlad. "Experimenting? Well, next time we experiment let's worn the other half of the equation." he muttered, poking his own chest. He glanced over Vlad's shoulder to Tenele curled up on the bed with her eyes closed. "How is she?" he murmured low, knowing Vlad could hear him.

"Just fine," Vlad sneered. "You'll find she's so deeply asleep, she can't even be tickled."