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“Well, you look better than the last time you knocked at my door," Melbin said standing on the porch of his manor. Karniel had recognized, among Basphemen's list of Sebodal coordinates, were phase glyphs to the Honeyed-Tongue Estate. Apparently, Karniel had not been the only dubious character the poet Gerordan kept correspondence with.

They had sent word ahead they would be arriving tonight, though Karniel did not mention the details of their escape. Best if Melbin didn't know he housed fugitives to the Church of Mortel. Karniel just hoped Cathka's anti-divination wards would continue to keep the Order off their backs.

Karniel waved and said, “And I owe you once again for your infallible generosity, my friend." He stepped onto the porch with Cathka and gestured out to the field. “We have one more guest than we expected. We hope you don't mind putting her up."

“Karniel…" Melbin gawked as Mathus and Korlyon approached with Selvanna's awkwardly in tow. “Is that a dragon?"

“Never met one before?" Karniel asked before wrapping a hand around Cathka's waist, “Ever had the pleasure to meet this fine woman?"

“I believe I have seen you when on holiday at the Straight."

Cathka offered a short curtsy. “Cathka Emberplume, previous Court Mage of our fine Sebodal. I admit, I know nothing about your family's poetry, but I will say you make a very fine mead."

Melbin chuckled, “Pleased to leave a good impression. You two are together, then?"

“It's complicated," Cathka said for both their benefit.

But Karniel couldn't help but say, “Friends, lovers, consorts, what have you. Mathus is my husband."

“Ah, I remember him. And Korlyon!" Melbin waved at the two. “It is good to see you succeeded, my friend."

“Only with your help, no doubt," Korlyon said as they reached the porch.

“Thank you for giving us a place to rest and recover," Mathus said. He stepped aside and gestured to the dragoness. “This is Selvanna."

Melbin gawked. “Mortel's Fell Axe?"

Selvanna grimaced at the sound of that title. “No longer. I was forced to become an enemy of the church I served."

Karniel and Cathka both flinched.

“Ah, I see there have been some developments in the Emerald Cities," Melbin said, very diplomatically.

“Which we will happily tell you all about," Cathka quickly offered. “How about we go inside and we can go over the tale with food and drink?"

Selvanna pointed a finger at Cathka. “She is lying."

Melbin frowned, looking from dragoness to hippogryph before he asked, “That thing about dragons knowing the truth is true?"

“We sense lies," Selvanna said before mounting the porch steps. The once sturdy planks strained under her weight. “If you are going to abuse this man's courtesy you can at least let him know what he risks keeping you here."

“Ugh, of course you are going to be like this," Karniel complained before he stepped to Melbin's side. “Come, my friend,"

“Another lie."

Karniel bristled, but ignored Selvanna and led Melbin to the door, “Let's head inside and get this sorted out. Then we will happily discuss terms of compensation if you wish."

***

Melbin had a meal waiting in his dining room. While the set table could normally handle seating for ten, the addition of Karniel and Selvanna filled much of the space in the room. Selvanna had to settle for a cushion on the floor, and contributed nothing more than answers to direct questions and the occasional qualifier for when someone said so much as a little white lie.

Mathus got the sense she did it to spite them, but no one called her out for it. Afterwards, Melbin offered them the two guest rooms that were adjacent each other on the second floor. Karniel and Mathus in one room, Korlyon and Cathka reluctantly sharing the other. Selvanna, too large to fit comfortably in most rooms in the manor, volunteered to sleep in the barn.

Mathus watched said barn from the window of his room. A light on in the loft told Mathus Selvanna remained awake.

“You're worried about her," Karniel said. Mathus saw him in the reflection of the window, toppless. He wrapped his hands around Mathus' waist and pulled him close.

“I am."

“Mmm," Karniel hummed. “I… honestly feel some sympathy for her myself. What she's going through with Dialdon isn't far from the falling out I had with Mortel. Father and son, both chose power over the love they devoted centuries to."

“Think we should talk to her?" Mathus asked.

“Us? Gods no. Well, maybe you can, but I think anything I had to say would be rightly unwelcome. I certainly did not make life easy for her or Dialdon in the century after Mortel's death."

Mathus glanced up at him. “Tell me about it."

“To tell would take far more than a single night. Suffice it to say, that was the century I embraced and cemented my title as Scourge of the South," Karniel said with a little, sad exhalation. “I was in unspeakable pain, Mathus, and I projected it out into the world."

“I felt some of that with Selvanna tonight."

“We all did."

“I'm really worried about her, Karniel."

“I know, and I know you want to go to her."

Mathus chewed on his lip a moment. “I feel bad. We've barely been reunited, I've barely had a second alone with Korlyon—"

“You are a healer, Mathus." Karniel gently turned him around and knelt before him, placing both hands on Mathus' shoulders. “From the first moment I met you, I understood that about you. You see someone in pain and want to help them."

Mathus offered him a warm smile. “I suppose that is true."

“I will let you go in a moment, and I expect you to work your magic, but I must ask you something first," Karniel said, voice gentle even as he asked, “Do you expect things between you and her to remain platonic?"

Mathus blushed. “I mean… uh, isn't that for her to decide?"

“Heh, it's for you both to decide, darling, but I can see my judgment wasn't wrong. I saw the way your eyes lingered on her tonight."

“I'm bad at hiding it, huh?"

“You do seem to like those of us who are noble and dashing. Between Korlyon, me, and Selvanna, I'm still surprised you and Cathka get along so well."

“She did not make it easy," Mathus said with a little smile. “But she cares in her way, and her wit and intellect were something I was drawn to even before I saw that side of her."

“What about my wit and intellect?" Karniel pouted.

“Hehe, you know you are the smartest bat I know. I just meant, when she was teaching me, and we were puzzling out Basphemen's books together, it felt so rewarding to share in that pursuit, in ways I never did in Morgen's Rest."

“There's a lot we've exposed you to, haven't we?" Karniel leaned forward and rested his head against his husband's chest, hearing the Heart, Mathus' heart, beating. “I love and adore you, darling, and you've helped me realize that not only could I fall in love again, but that I could fall in love with more than one person at a time."

Mathus held Karniel's head to him and scratched behind his ear. “I heard you call Cathka darling tonight, and Korlyon told me you two had quite the reunion on the road."

Karniel hummed acknowledgement, just enjoying his partner's touch. Eventually he sat back and said, “Despite this, I have a caveat for you tonight. Go to Selvanna, fall for her if you must, but remember, our time in this world is limited. We can only split our attention between so many people. And I certainly am going to demand a lot of your attention when this whole matter is finally resolved and we have a moment of peace."

“I, uh, have fallen for most of the people I've gotten to know since leaving Morgen's Rest, haven't I? But I don't ever want to make you feel replaced."

“You are too good for your own good." Karniel leaned forward and stole a kiss from him. “Don't worry about me if you choose to spend the night in the barn, but if you do come back up tonight, I will likely be in the room next door."

Mathus smirked. “Doing what, I wonder?"

“Teaching those two to get along, of course. They don't know it, but they have a lot they can bond over."

“Like stuffing you from both ends?"

Karniel huffed. “Why I never! I just planned on stealing one of Melbin's nicer meads from the cellar and sharing it with them."

“Uh-huh," Mathus said, and laughed as Karniel protested further.

***

The barn door hung half open with the light from before now snuffed. The inside smelled of hay and horses. Cleaned by a stablehand who lived elsewhere on the property, so it did not stink, at least.

“Selvanna?" Mathus called into the darkness. He did not get a response right away, so waited at the door, listening. A stabled horse snorted, and Mathus decided to try again, “Selvanna, I just thought maybe you could use some company, maybe talk to someone about what happened?"

“I don't need your pity," Selvanna answered from the back of the barn, on the second floor.

Mathus sighed. “I wasn't driven here by some sense of guilt. Please Selvanna, I genuinely want to help you."

Selvanna said, almost too quietly for Mathus to hear, “That's even worse."

“I won't come up. I'm happy to stay here. Watch over you like you did me."

“And not sleep?" Selvanna growled. “You're not a dragon, stop trying to be one."

“Then let me come up and talk to you. Just a conversation, then I'll go."

“Why do you have to be so pushy?"

“Back when I used to run an apothecary in Morgen's Rest, there were some men in the village who would grit and suffer through ailments until they either went away or they were on the ground dying. Sometimes you have to push when you know someone is just hurting themselves needlessly."

Silence. Mathus' mind ran wild with possibilities of what Selvanna would do. What if she decided she couldn't stand him and ran? What if she attacked him? What if she just stayed silent—

The lantern flicked on. “Very well, come up," Selvanna said. It was not much light, but provided enough for Mathus to navigate around the plow and wagons stored inside. He climbed the ladder up to the loft and found her sitting on a swath of hay. In the lantern light, it looked golden enough she could have been mistaken for dragons of legend sleeping on their hoard of gold. She had made the approximation of a bed by lining several bales of hay around her, and stripping a few more to spread across the floor as bedding.

She flicked her tail at the bale closest to her and said, “Have a seat."

Mathus did, struggling to show how relieved he was to have this chance.

“We've not spoken alone in a while," he said as he sat down. Hay pricked his legs a little through the linen trousers the church had clothed him with.

“We haven't," Selvanna said. “Tell me, Mathus, why has every day since meeting you felt more like the passage of a month?"

Mathus, who had been adjusting on top of the hay, trying to get comfortable, asked, “Excuse me?"

Selvanna sighed and patted her lap. “Come here."

“That's really not—"

“My scales feel better to sit on, trust me."

“I just mean, I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

“What if I said someone resting against me would make me feel better?"

“I… I guess I'd have to then?"

Selvanna held out her hand. “After that whole speech about the stubborn men in your village, it'd be silly if you didn't."

Blushing, wishing he had some way to hide said blush, Mathus took her hand and let himself be pulled into her lap. Selvanna settled back against several stacked up bales, wings fanned around them. She guided Mathus to rest his head on her arm, almost cradling him. If he looked forward, all he'd have to look at were her breasts, which, given Selvanna's size, were easily one of the largest busts he'd ever seen, and he knew better than to stare at a woman's chest, but when he looked up her face was just so close and her eyes were so pretty to look at, and—

“Cozy?"

“Yes," Mathus wheezed, ears and face red.

“Let's get this out of the way," Selvanna sighed. “I know you are attracted to me. I don't really understand why, but can you please stop trying to hide it? Cause you're failing, miserably."

“I just… I've…" Mathus felt like he needed to explain himself, like he'd been accused of a crime. And it occurred to him to ask her: “Why wouldn't I find you attractive?"

“Let's see," Selvanna held up the hand not supporting him and listed out, “I tried and would have killed your husband if you didn't stop me. Until tonight, I was helping people who planned to kill you. I'm almost twice your height and more than three times your weight and could crush you. My scales, while nicer than hay, are still not that pleasant to touch."

“I like your scales," Mathus protested, then blushed again. “I'm just… I've never been with a dragon, but I've been with kobolds… and they weren't so different from you."

“Fine," Selvanna grumbled. A silence stretched out between them where Selvanna looked out a window across the loft.

“Do, um, most people not like dragons?"

“It's rare we find real companionship outside our own kind. Most think of us as monstrous or a fetish object, not to mention they can't stand the way we see the world."

“How you see the world?"

“When lies make your whole being unpleasant, and you are guided by deep personal intuitions and emotions, it tends to make for a worldview most people find irritating rather than righteous."

“I see…" Mathus chewed his bottom lip and tried to turn the conversation back to why he came up here. “And Dialdon, he was different?"

“He was, and so are you. Which is why I feel so conflicted and comforted right now."

Mathus felt warmth spread through him at that. A part of him wanted to get her to say more about how he comforted her, but Mathus did not think that's what she needed right now. He relaxed a little more against her, finally enjoying her scent of rose hips as it overtook the smells of the barn.

Mathus considered what he wanted to say, and offered, “If we can convince Dialdon not to pursue the Heart, I would rather do that than hurt him."

“I'm afraid hurting him is the only way," Selvanna said sadly. “He was so certain this was the only way. That he needed to be the steward of all that power, but to kill so many just to do it?" Selvanna shook her head. “I wish I could turn a blind eye to this, but Sepulcher of Dawn is my home, Mathus."

“Hey hey," Mathus reached up and touched her cheek, getting her to look down at him. “We'll stop him. Together." Selvanna started, then stared at him. Mathus found himself unable to look away. “You have really captivating eyes," he whispered.

“You… you really are pushing it, aren't you?" He made to roll off her lap, sputtering an apology, but Selvanna squeezed him to her, not allowing him to escape. She shushed him with a finger and whispered, “Keep pushing, please."

Mathus' blush returned with full force. “I… I will, but um, I didn't expect you to be interested in me."

She giggled. “Why? Because you are too small? Your skin is more delicate than a tomato? We were enemies until tonight? And you have an annoying habit of always speaking what you feel is true?"

Mathus shrugged. “At least I didn't gore your lover at the end of a polearm. That tends to leave a bad impression with most people."

“But not you," Selvanna said, tilting her head. “I wonder why?" She asked in a husky whisper, leaning down. Mathus knew she meant to kiss him, which made it hard for him to breathe, but still he put his hands up and stopped her.

“Wait! I'm sorry, b-but, is this what you need?" Mathus asked, trembling.

Selvanna glared at him. “Don't tell me you came to the barn alone, intent on spending the night here, and act like this isn't what you wanted."

“It's not—I mean, who wouldn't want you? But… I-I just—" Mathus took a deep breath, trying his best not to have an anxiety attack. “I want you, but I want you to be taken care of, and if this isn't what you need, if you just need someone to listen and hold you I am happy to do just that. You don't owe me anything, Selvanna, and I would never want to do something that just caused you pain later."

“Oh, you sweet, stupid man," Selvanna whispered.

“Um…"

“I'm sad and angry and grieving and depressed and want to die, Mathus, but I've also said all there is to say about this. All I want to say. Maybe we can talk another time about Dia, but right now…" she stroked his cheek, “right now the only time I feel an ounce of good in me is when I'm around you. I was so mad when you called out my name, mad because it made me happy to know you came out here for me. And I don't feel like I deserve to feel happy."

“You do deserve it, Selvanna," Mathus insisted, taking the hand that caressed him. “This isn't your fault."

“I know…" she said with a massive sigh. “Or at least, the part of me that is rational understands that, but that doesn't change that Dialdon somehow kept that secret from me for Sage knows how long. Then there is the hurt from being lied to, the fact I couldn't be reason enough for him not to do this, or that I wasn't strong enough to kill him when I had the chance and could stop this madness."

Now Mathus placed a finger on her snout. “Stop. You're just going to keep spiraling at this rate."

Selvanna shook off his finger and leaned in again. This time he did not stop her. Her lips brushed against his. The scales there were supple and smooth. “Then give me something else to feel," she whispered. “Please, Mathus."

Hearing her use his name in that voice made him melt so thoroughly he was sure she could have seduced him even when he was her prisoner in Sepulcher of Dawn.

It didn't help how enticing her lips were. How her scent, her warmth, the touch of her scales, clouded over every other thought he could possibly have. Even Karniel might have underestimated how quickly Mathus wanted to yield to her. He reached up and grabbed her horn to keep her against him.

When his hand closed around her horn, that longing swelled, a flame lighting in her chest. It did not replace her grief, but that flame beat back the darkness that had been threatening to consume her. Before Mathus arrived she expected to spend the night playing over her last words to Dialdon again and again, letting the pain in her chest pin her to the floor. But he actually returned to her.

Her first impulse to protect him, that sense of kinship she felt, Mathus reminded her so much of a dragon. A youthful one, which was perhaps why she did not recognize her attraction right away. It did not resemble how she felt when she and Dialdon first met. A maternal desire mingled with that attraction, to protect and nurture him. And he wanted her. Selvanna could count on one hand the number of people over the centuries who made her feel that. Not just wanting a dragoness, her power or position, but who Selvanna actually was.

Mathus seemed to know how to kiss her. He tilted his head, and their lips came together more flush. He nipped her bottom lip, tongue flicking across it before another kiss. One hand held her horn while the other stroked her cheekbone, across her face to her earfrill. Finger and thumb teased along the membrane, making her shudder. He noticed it, and those fingers teased elsewhere along the frill, exploring, testing, touching her. Even as he bit her lip again, sucking a little roughly. Her tail curled up on itself as she couldn't hold back her tongue any longer.

She had worried about overwhelming him, but his obvious hunger encouraged her. Purple-fleshed, thick and forked, her tongue slid inside Mathus' mouth. He let out a happy little sigh, the hand on her earfrill grabbing her other horn as if to say keep going. She did, her tongue exploring his mouth, tasting the mead he drank over the late dinner they shared. She had never kissed a human before, and found his maw very small. Her tastebuds ran up and down his, along the grooves of the roof of his mouth, and teased at the back of his throat. He did not gag or react poorly like she expected, but moaned, sucking on her tongue.

She knew what he wanted. That forked tip teased under his uvula and down his throat. Dragons mated around their tongues; it was an erogenous zone and exchange of saliva. A compatible mate's saliva could be powerful enough to drive them into heat. While it did not act that powerfully on non-draconics, it still acted as an aphrodisiac. She wondered if Mathus knew, for his thirst for this kiss seemed insatiable.

Soon enough, Mathus' lips completely opened around the oral organ sliding inside him. Selvanna's tongue wriggled with pleasure as it slipped and ground around Mathus' throat, the human sucking hungrily. Occasionally Selvanna would haul her tongue out of his mouth, breaking the kiss in letting him gasp for breath. She'd coat her tongue in fresh spit then shove it back into Mathus' maw. The taste of mead faded from his mouth for the floral flavor of her drool. He swallowed, obediently nursing on what she fed him, something to heighten his pleasure and ensure he could match her stamina through the night.

By the fourth time she broke the kiss Mathus whined, “Oh Vanna…"

“Hehe, yes, dear?"

Mathus blinked tears out of his eyes. “H-huh?"

“You said my name."

“Gods," he swallowed. “I guess I did." He brushed some drool off his chin and said, “That was incredible. I've, ah, never had a kiss like that."

“Mmmm." She nuzzled him, whispering, “I didn't expect you to be so receptive."

“Um," he swallowed again, her drool a little more viscous than his own saliva. “I've had a lot of practice with my throat."

Selvanna laughed. “Haha, so you have! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you're experienced with this sort of thing, given Karniel's reputation."

Blushing, Mathus asked, “Is that a good thing?"

“We'll just have to find out." She nudged him out of her lap. He stumbled to his feet, an obvious tent to his trousers that Selvanna planned to relieve. “Get those clothes off."

“Mhmm," Mathus said. His head still spun from her kiss, body thrumming with a pleasant heat. It reminded him of when Srek worked that spell on him in Pterodea, just less intense. He stripped his shirt off, too dazed to notice Selvanna slipping out of her blouse until he was kicking off his trousers. Pants around his knees, he stared as she untied her bustier.

Powerful, wide shoulders down to a slimmer waist, arms lined with muscle, all tightly packed under a coat of sleek, dark scales, and her cleavage propped up in her top, exposed milky white bands that ran down her front looking so enticing to touch—

“See something you like, Mathus?" He looked down, getting more flustered when she laughed at him. “Hehehe, you know I want you to look, right?" He forced himself to watch her take off bustier, each tie loosened behind her back made her bust hang a little more from her front. Each breast was easily bigger than a melon, lined with the cream colored bands that went up her front, the outer edges of her breasts darkening back to black scales. “You're trembling you know," Selvanna whispered, voice sultry smoke again. “It's adorable how shy you still are."

“I'm just…" Why did Mathus feel the need to excuse himself? “I don't want to mess this up."

She cocked her head.

“I just mean, it's important I make you feel good, and I've never been with a dragon before, much less a dragoness and—"

“Mathus." He froze. She held out her hand. He touched her palm. Her scales were smooth, yet not soft like his own flesh. A toughness there, like a callous. Her palm shifted, lining them palm to palm. Her fingers twined with his, her digits so big it was a little difficult to accommodate. She whispered, “You came out here and you didn't let me push you away. Whatever else happens tonight, I trust you."

Mathus couldn't help the smile spreading across his lips. “I trust you, too. I… I think you're really beautiful."

She yanked him close, getting a surprised gasp as he fell against her chest. The bands of her chest were smooth like polished stone, firm where it met her ribs, soft along the breast. Her palm slid down his back, squeezing his rump. Her hand big enough it could easily wrap around his waist. “You really do want me to fall for you, don't you?" Selvanna whispered

He quivered. “W-would that be so bad?" Her torso radiated heat. Naked in the barn on the autumn night, he had felt the chill, but now her warmth surrounded him. His erection slipped against her belly, those bands softening a little on her more firm abdomen. And her scent, the rose hips a little more pungent, laced with the spice of something. Her arousal?

The thought made Mathus' heart skip.

“I'm not ready to think about tomorrow, yet. Let's just take tonight to be with each other, know each other," Selvanna said.

“I… I would like that."

***

Karniel poured mead into the three glasses he brought inno Cathka and Korlyon's room. Their guest bedroom included a small table arrayed with a grid for chess, a set of pieces in a small wooden box on a shelf in the room. Cathka sat opposite the table with Karniel, while Korlyon paced around. He no longer wore his armor, just his riding pants, his shirt already shed to sleep.

Cathka took her glass, tilting it to her beak, nares widening as she scented the vintage. “Is that peaches I smell?"

“One way to find out." Karniel held out his glass and they toasted. “To abusing our host's generosity."

They each took a drink, the mead indeed peach flavored and smooth. As they set the glasses down, Korlyon said, “I should go out there."

He still paced near a window with a view of the barn wherein the lantern had flickered back on. Karniel told him, “It will be okay, pup."

Korlyon growled. “I traveled halfway around the world to be with him, and I can't even get a single night alone to catch up."

“We all miss Mathus," Cathka said, “but we'll have time enough to catch up."

Karniel got up and crossed the room with Korlyon's glass of mead in hand. He stopped the youth's pacing, and forced the glass in his paw. “Come on, pup," Karniel whispered. “Have a drink with us. You will have so much time with Mathus. I promise."

Korlyon glanced at the glass then back up at Karniel. He leaned against the bigger bat and whined, “Nothing about this night went like I hoped it would."

Karniel held him close and rubbed behind an ear. “There, there, pup. Frankly, I don't think anything of the last year is what we expected.

“For better or worse, Mathus seems to have that effect on the people he meets," Cathka commiserated. She took a long drink of her mead, tossing back the rest of her glass. She clapped it down on the table and sighed. “I bet he'll have Selvanna wrapped around his finger by tomorrow."

Karniel kissed Korlyon's brow. “Come on, let's get drunk and celebrate the best we can tonight. I'll be sure you get plenty of time with Mathus tomorrow."

Korlyon lifted the glass in his paw and sniffed it, then took a sip. He took a longer drink and then asked, “What about you? You're not jealous?"

“Goodness, no. Mathus and I are stuck together whether we like it or not. I know he and I will get our time."

Karniel felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist, a beak nipped between his shoulder blades. Cathka said, “In the meantime, how about we keep each other company?"

Karniel rocked back into her touch, smirking at Korlyon. “What do you say, pup?"

He'd never been with Cathka before. His ears folded back and he took another drink. “I think I am going to need more mead."

***

“We're going to end up with hay everywhere, hold on a second," Selvanna had said. She poked around the barn and found a large canvas tarp for a tent and tossed it over their bed. Its texture was coarse, but it kept pieces of hay from poking Mathus. Selvanna had stripped off her skirt and undergarments, and now, naked sat down with Mathus. He nuzzled up to her side, taking in her warmth, fluttery with nerves but relaxed at the same time. A part of him simply just wanted to slip into sleep beside her, which felt easier in the moment than the daunting task of pleasuring a dragoness.

Mathus cleared his throat and just admitted, “I, uh, have barely any experience with…"

Selvanna snickered, which came out in a hiss, the prongs of her forked tongue peeking from her lips. “Have you never seen a vagina before?"

“Not at all!" Mathus protested. “I've midwifed plenty of times in Morgen's Rest. It's just... the actual pleasure part of it… I've only been there once, and I'm not sure I learned anything other than that my tastes were broader than I expected."

Selvanna's tail wrapped around and rested in his lap, teasing across his length. “Worried about disappointing me again?"

“You wanted me to take your mind off things, but what if I just leave you frustrated?"

“Sage save me, where is all this anxiety from?" Selvanna said. “You had no problem standing up to me before."

“Yeah, well, doing what you feel is right is easy when you think you know what's right."

Her tail snaked up and nudged his chin, getting him to look up. “That so?" She leaned down and kissed him, then said, “For a tiny human, you really are so much like a dragon."

Mathus caressed her cheek. “Are you going to show me what's right?"

“Yes, but if I hurt you, just tell me, okay?"

“I can't imagine you hurting me," Mathus said. “Even in Sepulcher of Dawn I didn't think you would."

She leaned back, her turn to be flustered, because she knew he spoke the truth. “Dammit, Mathus," she growled.

Mathus' confidence rose, and he got to his feet, leaning on his tiptoes so he could touch her chin, turning her face back to his. “Hey," he whispered, “you told me to push, remember?"

“I did," she said, eyes shining in the firelight, something there he couldn't quite catch. Affection, admiration, but more, her thoughts must've been racing, so Mathus decided to keep talking.

“I've seen you struggle with your feelings before, so I'm gonna guess sometimes you can get a little ahead of yourself. So if you cause me any discomfort I'll let you know, alright?" When she nodded, he grinned. “I'll throw up my hands and shout, 'Sage save me!'"

Her smile returned with a small giggle. “Not even the Sage can save you from a horny dragoness."

“That so?"

“It's a saying among our kind, a warning about getting us worked up without satisfaction."

Mathus chuckled. “I'm really putting myself in danger, then, huh?"

She kissed him again and said, “You absolutely are, and you're not leaving this barn till I'm satisfied." Selvanna kissed again, forcefully, hand on Mathus' back, gently shoving the human down onto the canvas. The coarse fabric on his skin carried a slight chill compared to the heat radiating from Selvanna like a fireplace, her breasts pressing into his chest. The large, black areola and nipples matched her sex, things Mathus only glanced at so far, too embarrassed to stare like he wanted.

Her tongue entered his mouth again, thick with drool she fed him. She had told Mathus what such a deep kiss meant, how she took such pleasures from it and what it did to her partners. He moaned, grabbing her horns again. She let him steer the kiss, tilting her muzzle at the slightest tug from Mathus, her tongue working in and out his mouth, back into her maw before forcing another exchange of saliva. The thought she was forcing arousal into him did something to Mathus. Lust simmered through him, his erection leaking precum across his belly after a few minutes of breathless kissing.

Every time her tongue retreated he'd gasp, whine, “Vanna," or “Gods," or just whimper for her touch again. His need, so ample and obvious, amplified Selvanna's own. Unless a dragoness' pheromones proved particularly powerful to humans, it shouldn't have had him this lustful. All of this passion was his. This desire for her his. She could not manufacture it.

When she had found Dialdon's study, before he returned, before she made up her mind, she had wept, thinking if she lost Dialdon she would spend the latter half of her life alone. And Mathus paved over that fear, each moment with him this balm to the great grief that threatened to overtake her if she allowed her thoughts to run away for even a moment.

And how could she not stay in the present with her tongue maneuvering into Mathus' throat? Sharp shocks of pleasure, fine as teasing an earlobe, shot down her tongue. The muscle juddered inside Mathus as he swallowed around her, neck tightening, massaging. His tongue glided against the bottom of her organ, lapping up more saliva and swallowing it. Her saliva like a sweet, herbal tea was now all he could taste. He kept one hand on her horn while the other explored, brushing down the alabaster bands of her neck where the tendons and muscles were easily defined around her clavicle. His unsure fingers stopped drifting as they reached the valley of her breasts.

She broke the kiss, Mathus sucking in a deep breath while she told him, “Touch them. Go ahead." Trembling, he caressed up the curve of her chest. Those bands almost turned supple against his skin, her areola soft and fine, bumpy and places. The flesh of her nipple firm and hard in his fingers, the bud big enough to be thick as the handle of a kitchen knife. She was just so much bigger than him. Gently, he kneaded her flesh. Selvanna sucked in a breath, whispered, “Rougher." Shivering despite the heat sweeping off her body, Mathus listened, squeezing her teat between finger and thumb. He pinched the flesh, and Selvanna hissed, thrusting her bust into his hand. “That's it, Mathus," she growled. “Make me feel it."

Thrilled and worried about disappointing her, he did. He grabbed a palmful of her breast, finding it pliant and yielding. He dug his nails into her, what little he had, and she tossed her head back, groaning. Selvanna shifted, and Mathus hesitated as he suddenly found himself face to face with one of those nipples. The one he'd not touched, hard and swaying a little as she continued to move. Something fine and dextrous wrapped around the base of his cock. Mathus gasped, feeling the tip of Selvanna's tail hold his shaft straight up.

Wet heat engulfed him and smeared across his hips as he suddenly became sheathed inside Selvanna. He arched his back, rolling his hips blindly into her weight, her sex squeezing around his shaft. “Mmmph!" Selvanna bit back a moan as she ground against him, her weight keeping him pinned in place. “Sage save me… Mathus…" she huffed, panting, before she began to rock her hips.

Selvanna had been happy to see that, for a human, Mathus had a decent endowment. Given their difference in size, it certainly wouldn't fill her, but she could feel that rigid flesh stroke and rub sloppily through her snatch. With her tail aligning him just right, she found just the angle needed to have the head of his cock hit her g-spot. The first time his glans ground against that tight bundle of nerves, her wings fanned out, juddering and almost banging against the rafters. A loud snarl erupted from her maw, and Mathus, desperate, started shaking his hips.

That wouldn't do. One hand planted to keep her balance, Selvanna cupped the back of his head with the other and pressed him against her tit. “Focus on this," she growled. “Let me take care of you."

She was grateful Mathus could just listen to her. There would be time for him to explore later, for them to figure out a duet together... Sage save her, did she really want him like that? Did she deserve someone after betraying Dialdon?

Just as anguish was about to sweep her out of the moment, Mathus' teeth nipped her nipple. The shock of sensation brought her back to him, to this. “That's it!" she cried, resuming her motions with vigor. He sucked hard on her breast, not like a hungry babe but a lover who wanted her to feel every once of his hunger. It hurt almost, but the pain made her hold him tighter. That sharpness became its own delight, grounded her and added to the pleasure and tension building in her stomach.

Mathus felt himself practically wanting to melt into her. His balls, coated in a sloppy mixture of her juices, ached for their release, and Mathus clenched his toes. He wanted to hold back for her. One of his hands grabbed and squeezed the breast he sucked on, popping that nipple more readily into his mouth. His tongue flicked quick across it, stopping only to tease his teeth across every now and then, gnawing along her areola. His free hand played with her other tit, pinching and pulling her nipple, practically abusing it, but when he twisted it her snarl was one of pleasure. He could tell by the way her walls rippled around him. Each time he hilted her he felt her tail twitch a little, tugging on the base of his shaft. There was just enough space in that tight snatch that, when tugged, he could feel himself dragged from one side of her velvety walls to the other. Not even a finger's breadth of movement, but enough to add an extra level of pleasure.

It ended up being too much. That little glide of his glans against her walls, wet and hot, sharp sensation that made Mathus moan, muffled by the breast still mashed to his mouth. He felt his cock twitch and pulse inside her, squirming on the canvas while she continued to grind on top of him. “G-good boy," she huffed. “Cum for me, hah… Sage, I can feel you pulsing."

A few days of not getting off had left him more backed up than usual. The one time he tried to masturbate in Sepulcher of Dawn his thoughts had kept wandering back to Selvanna in an evening gown, the way the fabric hugged her curves, the back open showing off sleek scales and strong muscle underneath. It had alarmed him too much at the time.

Now his balls pumped and squeezed as much as he could into her cunny. However, to his surprise, as she continued to grind back into him, he did not feel his cockhead sting with overstimulation. She planted herself on top of him, panting while he still moaned and sucked hard on her teat, practically clutching it. Her walls contracted and rippled, milking his seed from him.

Selvanna arched her back, neck craning up and sighing to the ceiling. When she looked down, Mathus had finally released her breast, panting and flushed. She stroked his cheek and whispered, “Still want more?"

“Yes," he whined. He humped up into her. “Gods, Vanna, i-it doesn't even feel like I came."

“Hehe, I told you we'd be at this for a while."

He grabbed her wrist, looking up. “I want to get you off, too. Tell me what I need to do."

A rumble almost nearing a purr passed through her. She sat up, leaning back. Her breast shining with spit and bite marks along an areola. They rose and fell with her breath, but his eyes got led down as she grabbed his hand, guiding it to where they were connected. Her mound, swollen from arousal, was flush against his crotch. His pubes glistened with her juices. The white bands on her front ended in favor of more scales at her crotch, blushing red underneath around her mound. The shining black lips of her sex pinched down on his shaft, and rising from the crest of those exquisite folds was a small nub.

Small on the backdrop of her body. Selvanna's clit was thick as Mathus' thumb. She rested his fingers against her sex. “Touch me right here."

Her labia, so soft, yielded easily against his touch. He couldn't take his eyes off where his fingers teased up, against, then under her folds, coming away slick with her arousal. Her walls fluttered, and he watched her abdominals clench, showing off the layer of muscle beneath.

“Gods, you're stunning, you know that?"

Selvanna's earfrills folded against her face, wings pulling back in a bit. “Stop saying stuff like that."

“Hehehe, and you say I'm adorable when I'm shy."

“Ju-just get to work," she growled while lifting herself up. She started to ride his shaft again, and Mathus found it easy to follow her movements. When she came down now, the wooden planks of the loft creaked a little under her weight, but she was careful not to smash him. That mindfulness slowed her pace somewhat, but it allowed Mathus all the time he needed to explore her sex with his hands. He reached down with both, fingers sliding against her mound, noting how he could press down into it easily. The scales almost plump. Then her sex itself, lips slick and even warmer than the rest of her body. She liked the touch there, growling as his fingers teased around, down, but not inside her.

He couldn't help but bring one hand back to his face. He stared at stringy webs of arousal stretching between his digits. The smell of her need a sharp contrast to her scent of rosehips: spiced and pungent. He found himself sticking his fingers in his mouth, and the taste of her arousal made his gut tighten as he clenched to hold back another orgasm. So different from the seed of his other partners. Warm and fiery and bitter and sweet. He almost wanted her to stop riding him so he could bury his face into her muff.

Selvanna had complete control, though, and Mathus couldn't help but marvel at her. The way her bust bounced and fell until she wrapped her palms around her breasts, squeezing and teasing those nipples. The jet black scales tensing under her defined bicep, pressed to the white bands on her chest. The cords of muscle along her thigh flexing when she rocked up and down on his shaft. Her core tightening every time his cock struck her g-spot, a tiny shiver working through the muscular dragoness.

He couldn't not touch her. Couldn't look away.

Even only connected at the waist, the heat of her had his forehead dripping sweat, and she somehow managed to climb in temperature the longer she rode him. Her cunny a boiling vat of heat and lust, juices clinging to him, sloshing down each time she spanked down on top of him. She had lost some of that control, but even the slight discomfort she caused Mathus didn't compare to the pleasure. He felt his crotch and hips going numb with the height of another orgasm, but his focus remained on her. His fingers slipped through her folds, slick with her wet and stroking against her clit.

Once Mathus' attention began to stay there, Selvanna felt the heat in her begin to build inexorably. She pinched her tits and started to work herself more against him. She just needed him a little deeper, rubbing right against that spot in snatch that caused her core to tighten. His fingers went from stroking to masturbating her clit, and it made Selvanna's tail release his shaft. It whipped backwards and struck a hay bale, knocking it over while she grit her teeth. She felt it. His fingers worked faster, twisting, working her sensitive nerves. So much sensation she doubled over against him. He hesitated till she snarled, “Keep going!"

He did, tugging up and down on her clit while her walls pulsed around his dick. She felt him twitch and start cumming inside her again, but this Mathus immediately overrode by sitting up, grabbing her breast and clamping down on her tit. Her back arched into him, neck craning as she roared. She felt the vibrations of Mathus' own moan, but did not hear it over her own rafter rattling exclamations. Pulse after pulse of pleasure ripped through her body, making her quake, tail curled around itself. Clench. Clench. Clench. Her femme cum flooded out around him, soaking his hips, her inner thighs. Her head dumped all thought, replaced by a warm, tingling haze of bliss as their bodies twitched and ground together.

Mathus finally stopped tormenting her clit. Right before Selvanna forced him to. He released her, thwumping back on the canvas and panting. Both of them stared, bodies sore and trembling. Still, when she looked at him, all those needs surged through her chest and caught in her throat.

She cupped his head in her hand and kissed him, gently, searching the glazed over expression on his face. “Can… huff, can you keep going?"

Mathus licked his lips and nodded. “I, uh, don't know if you can be on top again. My legs are kinda numb."

“Mathus!" she hissed, swinging off him and onto her knees next to him. His hips sat in a puddle of her arousal, it coated him, and she could feel his more viscous seed slowly start to drip down her vent. He looked undamaged, but still she touched his hips, checking for a fracture. “You were supposed to warn me if I hurt you."

“Hehe, I'm fine. Legs are just asleep." He sat up and onto his knees, leaning into her. Her scales were warm but no longer hot. He whispered, “Just give me a minute and we can start again."

She wrapped her tail around him, fingers rubbing circles into the small of his back. “We really don't have to, if you're tired."

“I want to," he said, a little breathless. “I want to explore every part of you and make you feel good all over."

“You really are trying to make me swoon, aren't you?"

“If it can keep you from hurting for a night, then yes."

That hurt. She clutched him close, blinking back tears. “I'm not sure I deserve that. But… thank you, Mathus."

***

“Are you certain you are up for this, Dialdon?" Vestrid asked as the two waited in a small office in the back of the Grand Temple. A portrait of Dialdon's father dominated the wall behind him, the black-faced red fox looking sanguine at all who entered the room. The cardinal sat with him on one side of the table, both in their robes. After this meeting they would begin preparations for a service to those Selvanna killed.

Dialdon had been massaging his brow, a pain behind the eyes that even magic hadn't been able to shake from him since Selvanna struck him over the head last night. He told the skink, “Selvanna was my right hand, Korlyon a member of my Order, I have a responsibility."

She touched her conduit, other hand hovering in the air between them. “If you'd like I could try—"

One of his tails brushed the hand aside. “I will be fine, Vestrid."

Really he'd prefer her not to be here at all. Though Dialdon knew she only worried about his health, after last night's disaster he knew he'd damaged his trust with the other cardinals. Even if stirrings of dissent were afoot, they had already put their plans in motion. Dialdon would ascend, then he wouldn't need to worry about being beholden to petty politics. He could focus on stewarding the people of the Emerald Cities, then the world to a bright, glorious future.

The door to the office opened, and in hobbled Noladush and Fawn, the lioness helping the rat stay upright. They managed a combined bow, and Fawn whispered, “Prophet."

“Thank you both for coming here," Vestrid said.

“How are your wounds, Nola?" Dialdon asked. “Please, both of you sit."

The pair took the seats at the table across from them. Noladush grimaced, holding his side as he said, “In pain, Prophet. The priests were able to reset my bones, but magic can only numb so much." Magic could numb all of that pain, but such deep pain relief would also leave Noladush inert until the spell wore off. No one in the Faceless Order had the luxury of rest.

Not his warriors and certainly not Dialdon. He had not slept at all that night, and with dawn on the horizon, had called the pair to his office to interview them. “I appreciate you making it here. If things were not so dire I would not ask so much of you."

“Your kindness knows no bounds, Prophet, but I am yours. Here to serve no matter what."

“Very well." Dialdon cleared his throat. “Last night Selvanna ambushed me when I returned to my suite. She captured me, forced me to reveal my personal study and incinerated all my notes and research. Fortunately, nothing needed to revive Mortel was lost. She then proceeded to go on a rampage, killing Cardinal Gaulantine, three guards, and taking Mathus and fleeing with him. At the same time, Korlyon led Karniel and the mage Cathka into the temple, ambushed you, Nola, and met Selvanna outside. All of them then teleported outside of this hemisphere using the Heart."

Fawn nodded. “I'm sorry I could not stop her, Prophet."

Noladush added, “And I'm sorry—"

“Apologies mean nothing," Dialdon said. “We must accept what happened and move on. I called you here today to understand why Selvanna and Korlyon both betrayed us, and how no one noticed anything amiss. You two were Korlyon's mentors, and traveled with Selvanna as she returned to the city with Mathus in tow."

Noladush said quietly, “I had noticed something wrong with Vanna. Mathus seemed to easily get under her scales, and she privately asked me if Mortel should be allowed back to this world. She doubted our Father's worth after a single private conversation with the human. I should have said something sooner."

“Why didn't you?" Vestrid demanded.

Dialdon placed a hand on Vestrid's knee under the table, fixing her with a look. He had not shared his conversation with Selvanna to anyone. He knew why his love betrayed them, what he wanted to understand was why she chose to save Mathus rather than killing him. Caving in the human's chest and shattering the Heart would have ensured no one would be able to steal it away or reverse engineer it like Dialdon had.

Those notes had been kept in the journal he kept in his purse. While destroying his study did mean the loss of many years of research, planning, and spells not memorized, the formula for crafting the Heart, and the ritual for sacrifice he still had.

Noladush admitted, “She made me swear to keep what was said between us, and I… foolishly believed she could be trusted."

“That's not the only reason you kept her secret," Dialdon whispered, meeting the rat's large green eyes under that mask. “Is it, Nola?"

“V-Vanna told you?"

“No, but it is interesting to know Selvanna kept that secret for you both," Dialdon said coldly. “Merrin outed herself," Noladush cursed as Dialdon continued, “When she heard you were severely wounded, she insisted she should see you. That your children needed to know you lived."

Fawn stared at Noladush, leaning back in her chair as if the rat carried some contagion. “You have children?"

“And a wife, yes," Noladush whispered. “I'll accept any punishment you see acceptable, Prophet." He placed both hands on the table, as if he waited for manacles to be placed around his wrist. “Just don't punish them."

Dialdon reached across the table and squeezed the rat's hands. “You have been a loyal servant and friend, Nola. When this matter is resolved, you will be asked to leave the Order, but I will find you work here in the temple. There is no reason to punish you for loving another."

Noladush gawked.

“He still kept Selvanna's secret—"

“Vestrid," Dialdon snapped. “You are here as an observer. The Faceless are my responsibility and I will dole out punishment as I see fit. A dozen died last night, do you think Noladush feels no responsibility for those deaths?"

Noladush, for his part, cringed, but Dialdon barely noticed, for he bore his glare on his peer. That was the problem with many of the cardinals: they rose to rank through skill as mages and unquestioned faith, but they lacked the leadership to know how loyalty was cultivated. Not that Dialdon felt he had much left in this world to trust. He lost the one person he loved and trusted more than any other last night, but he knew if he closed himself off, if he allowed himself to become paranoid, it would only make it more difficult to convince others to continue following him.

He had to remain strong, stronger than ever now that Selvanna no longer stood with him.

“My apologies, Prophet, I overstepped my bounds."

“We are all on edge," Dialdon said with a sigh, even offering kindness to the thorn to his side. His expression softened, and told Vestrid, “Trust in your Prophet. We have faced a setback, and Mortel's guidance will see us through it." Vestrid nodded, and Dialdon grimaced as pain lanced through his skull. He shook it off and said to Noladush and Fawn, “Tell me of your journey. Your impressions of the Vessel, and what we know of Korlyon's relationship to him."

What they learned amounted to little. Bale, an older Master of the Order who helped coordinate their agents in the north, had been killed in a confrontation with the Scourge. Korlyon had brought his remains to a temple, performed Bale's rites, and reported what happened before returning to his hunt for the Scourge. At which point, Korlyon disappeared. Previously, the wolf had checked in at temples as he tracked Karniel, so he had been presumed dead, especially with Karniel's curse reportedly broken. They had tried to scry Korlyon, but could not, and assumed this was because the wolf had been killed. In hindsight, they knew Korlyon's proximity to the Scourge and overall distance had muddled their ability to find him.

Korlyon returned, reporting he had tracked Karniel to a lich's tower, but it teleported with Karniel inside it. Korlyon, in his own words, had vowed to find Karniel, having a fang taken from a confrontation with the bat, which he used as a component for scrying, bones and teeth being the most powerful ways to find someone. It could only give Korlyon his location, and he had tracked Karniel onto the Golden Highway when he had heard of Selvanna's hunting party, and rushed to meet them in case they too hunted the Scourge.

Now they had no idea how long Korlyon traveled with the Scourge and Mathus, but they did know Korlyon and Selvanna spoke for several hours, privately, upon his return. Dialdon now knew Selvanna had known about Korlyon even then, and chose to keep it from him. That had stung. She had kept secrets for the sake of that human, long before she knew Dialdon's secrets.

After the meeting, Dialdon had ushered out his three guests. He took a piece of vellum on his desk, and began to compose a note, trying to sort out what to say, what he wanted to say to her. Dialdon was furious with Selvanna. Utterly betrayed, yet he knew he betrayed her, too. He needed to try and reach her in some way, however. Perhaps she had come to her senses in the night.

He wrote his letter, read over it twice more before drying the ink with a spell. He rolled it up, sealed it, and signed a spell to send it to her. Dialdon might not have the ability to find her, but their conduits had been linked, so they would always be able to send word to the other.

He prayed his love listened to what he had to say.

***

Mathus did not know how late he slept, wrapped in Selvanna's arms and tucked to her chest. His cheek rested on her bicep. Both of them on their side with the bed of hay making for a better mattress than Mathus expected. He woke a little stiff on his shoulder, skin coated in a gentle sweat from the heat that radiated off the dragoness. Her good wing had been folded over him, trapping in all that heat.

Mathus didn't mind the warmth. His head swam with the events of last night, and the effects of Selvanna's pheromones which left him shaky even then. They had gone three more times that night. After the second, they had tried to settle down, but roving fingers and coiling tail stoked their need all over again. By the fourth time, they had run purely on inertia, not having the energy to really bring each other to another climax. They'd ground against each other, kissing, teasing, and groping till they were so breathless they could do nothing but collapse, asleep in each other's arms.

He watched her sleep for a moment. The nostrils on her snout lifted and fell in tiny motions with each breath she took. Each breath, seeming so slight for her massive body. He expected her breathing to be loud and rumbling, but it was soft as a feral cat's.

He did not want to wake her, but knew if they did not get up soon, someone would come looking for the pair. While Mathus felt no shame being found like this, he could not be sure about her. Especially when both lay nude in this barn. Who knew when a stablehand might come in—perhaps one already tended to the livestock and the pair simply slept through it.

Mathus propped himself up on his elbow. She had slept with her face next to his, so he had no trouble kissing her on the snout, between her nostrils. He nuzzled the spot and whispered, “Good morning, Vanna."

“Mmff," Selvanna stirred, eyes blinking open then softening. They exchanged a kiss and she whispered, “Morning Mathus… last night wasn't a dream, was it?"

“Hehe, I hope not. It's been a while since I spent myself like that." Their lovemaking had been timed to her climaxes, and Mathus truly stopped keeping track after his fifth.

She made a pleased rumble, eyeing him up and down. “It's been some time since I let myself go like that, too."

“How are you feeling this morning?"

She sighed and lifted her wing off him, and they both sat up. She scooped up her bustier with her tail, bringing it to her, and began to dress.

Sensing her hesitation, Mathus got up to grab his clothes, saying as he crossed the loft, “If you'd rather not answer, that's fine."

“Thank you," Selvanna said. He grabbed his trousers, pulling them on with his back to her. Not for any sense of modesty, but because he understood sometimes someone needed you to look away. Selvanna admitted, “Being a dragon, it can be annoying getting asked questions like 'How are you?' People expect pithy answers but rarely is the truth pithy, and lying can hurt us as much as telling the truth."

Mathus had tied his trousers, and just pulled on his shirt, facing her to find Selvanna still worked the ties of her bustier. He went behind her, asking, “Alright if I help?"

“By all means," Selvanna grumbled, “Just don't be afraid to make it tight as you can." Mathus got to work, finding the cords of the garment to be coarse and tough to his fingers, but perhaps bearable on the harder scales of Selvanna's back. As he tied, Selvanna whispered, “To answer your question, I wish I could take it all back. Try to talk to Dia again and find some way to say the right thing."

“If I could somehow give you that chance, I would."

“You would," she echoed quietly, sensing his truth. “I… do not believe anything I could say would work. He meant to kill me last night, Mathus. He had been ready to do that, so I have to be ready to do the same."

“Selvanna if we can find some way to spare him…" Mathus trailed off. Given his interactions with Dialdon, he knew better than to expect Dialdon would accept Mathus as the Heart's inheritor any more than Mortel.

Selvanna seemed to read his thoughts, and turned the subject. “You've helped a lot. Having you around helps keep my mind off things…"

She trailed off, and Mathus prompted as he tied the last knot: “But?"

“I'm not sure it's good for either of us to ask for much more."

Frowning, he stepped around to look at her. “Are you planning on leaving us?"

She reached for her blouse and started putting it on, using it as an excuse to not look at him. “We will stop Dia together, but after…" She shook her head. “I need time to grieve what I've lost. I'm not sure you could understand."

“I don't understand why you need to grieve alone, without anyone to support you."

“That's not what I mean." She grit her teeth, tail swishing back and forth across the canvas behind her. “You can't just replace him. You know that right?"

“Vanna I am not interested in replacing anyone—"

“Then what is this?" she snapped. “Why are you trying so hard?"

Before Mathus could ask what she meant by that, the door to the barn swung open. He started and spun, able to see from the loft that Karniel stood in the doorway. “Ah, you're finally awake," the bat said, “I was worried you two expected us to deliver you breakfast."

Behind him, he heard Selvanna shuffling into her undergarments and skirt. He knew he would not get to ask what she meant or answer his question. It would just hang in the air between them, stinging.

“I'll be down, just let me get shoes on first."

Shoes. Not that Selvanna's tough hide really needed protection. Still, it made her aware how little she took with her when she fled. Just Mathus and her conduit. She had some things in her purse, but she used it so rarely she wondered how useful any of those supplies might be. She should go and retrieve her poleaxe. Leaving it alone in a field was a needless risk.

Mathus climbed down, chatting amiably with Karniel at the door when she simply hopped down from the loft. They met her gaze, and she asked the Scourge, “Has anyone touched my conduit?"

“Still in the field where you left it," Karniel said.

“Good," she marched past them and outside, finding the sun already climbing towards noon.

Karniel waited until she had made some distance before quietly asking Mathus, “Are you alright, darling? Not that I ever mean to, but it was hard not to hear you two talking when I came out here."

Mathus watched Selvanna move across the field. “I think she wants someone to punish her for what she did, and if no one else does she's going to do it herself."

“Yes, dragons tend to be a flagellant lot. The few I counted as friends before Mortel also longed to be martyrs."

“Before Mortel?"

Karniel shrugged. “Their kind are the only ones who universally know and understand what magic is, where it comes from. They might not know how we made the Heart, but they've always considered Mortel's actions an abomination."

Mathus' brow furrowed. “Then why did Selvanna join Mortel's Church in the first place?"

Karniel folded his arms over his chest, both studying the dragoness now. “I imagine, originally, she had no intention of doing so. When I was trying to purge the Church from the Emerald Cities, she kept Dialdon and different sects alive and protected. That was all she wanted to do. She's a Razorscale, isn't she?"

Mathus remembered Selvanna naming her clan as such. “Is there some tell?"

“Swept back horns, spikes on the tip of her wings, but mostly it's the conduit she wields. It is a particular style of fighting, to imbue the core of a weapon with a conduit and use it in tandem with their martial prowess. Her clan are the protectors of the various Draconic settlements spread across the Cities," Karniel said. He started walking. “Come, let's not leave her unsupervised, shall we?"

“I'm not sure she wants company."

Karniel dismissed him with a wave. “Nonsense. You don't want her to wallow, do you? Honestly, dragons can be so pitiful."

Mathus had to quicken his stride to keep pace with Karniel, who tried to keep pace with Selvanna. He asked, “Do you think Selvanna at least has friends or family among her own to go back to?"

“Oh, I imagine not," Karniel said. “Certainly no dragons. Clans exile anyone who joins some sort of religion with an afterlife. They see letting gods harvest souls as an affront to the renewal and replenishment of the magic that exists on this plane."

“Meaning they want to be able to harvest the souls here themselves."

“Essentially, though a dragon will string you along with some story about duty and ensuring the future," Karniel said. “As for Selvanna, I've no doubt she's as alone as I was after I lost Mortel."

Mathus stopped in his tracks. “You feel sorry for her."

Karniel snatched his wrist and tugged him along. “I told you as much last night, didn't I? Don't sound so surprised."

By the time Selvanna reached her conduit, the ache from the night before had firmly socketed itself back beneath her ribs. That grief she understood and had felt to lesser degrees in her life: losing touch with her sisters, losing her flight, all the friends she either put to rest or watched grow old and die. The depth of this ache felt insurmountable, though, like someone drove her own axe between her breast, cleaving into her ribcage but not killing her. Her scales would grow back around the axe, and it would remain locked inside her. She couldn't imagine this pain leaving her, could barely think or feel around it unless she tempered it into rage.

She paused when she saw the scroll on the ground next to her poleaxe, standing up in the sweetgrass with Dialdon's seal. It took anger to break her from paralysis and take the note, opening it up and scanning its contents twice over:

Dear Selvanna,

I know not where this letter is being sent, but I hope it finds you healthy and whole. Despite everything, my love for you remains. If you would but return to me all would be forgiven. No need to bring that human or the Heart with you. I miss you, Vanna, more than words can say.

_However, deep in my heart I fear that your resolve has not changed anymore than mine, and I must accept that to be the case. _

It hurt to know you saved the human, Mathus. What I told you last night still holds true. He is still a danger to the world. If you truly believe no one worthy of the Heart, then you should kill him and the Scourge both. Mathus' conduit provides other's the schematics to craft their own, and Karniel carries that knowledge, ready to be plucked from his mind now that he's no longer shielded by his kind's magic.

Then, of course, there is me. I still have everything needed to make another Heart and will, unless you kill me. Will you, Vanna? Will you spare Mathus' life and take mine?

I know I am coming across as cruel and cold, but these are the truths before you. You and I both know you cannot stand lies, but what will you do with the truth, love?

In place of these options, I can offer you this: bring Mathus back to Sepulcher of Dawn for me. With him, the sacrifice needed for our plans will be as minimal as possible. Without Mathus, then I'm afraid the souls we will need to harvest will number far greater. Sepulcher of Dawn might never recover, nor the Emerald Cities, but the world will be reborn under a just, new leadership, heralded by a power great as the Emerald Sage himself was.

We are on the cusp of a new era whatever you do, so I beg you, Vanna, do the right thing and bring the Heart back to me so the Emerald Cities might be a part of that future.

All my love,

Dialdon

“Van—" Mathus hesitated, then called out, “Selvanna?" He worried she might turn and snap, “You aren't allowed to call me that."

They had caught up with her while she read whatever letter she found. When the hand holding it dropped to her side, only then had Mathus spoke.

She glanced over her shoulder. “You two," she growled. Selvanna grabbed her poleaxe, and ripped it from the earth, swinging around. Karniel shoved himself in front of Mathus, that spearpoint hovering before Karniel's chest. “Tell me," she snarled, in a fighting stance, “Scourge, do you plan to use Mathus or make another Heart?"

“No," Karniel said flatly. The question was one Mathus did not like to even entertain.

“And you, Mathus. Tell me again that you want to protect the souls you carry. That their lives are just as valuable as any living one."

“I-I swear," Mathus answered, a little more shaken than Karniel.

“This really is a nightmare," she growled, relaxing her stance. She said, “Dialdon thinks I should kill you both, and it is true his suggestion holds some merit. The best way to keep people from using the Heart is to destroy it and those that know how to make it."

Karniel relaxed, sliding out of Mathus' way as he said, “You won't, though. Kill us, I mean."

“Your lives are bound, are they not?" Selvanna asked but did not wait on an answer. “I do not get to pick or choose to preserve one without the other. Dialdon must be stopped, and the two of you must be protected." To Mathus' shock, she knelt before them, wings sweeping out into the grass, head bowed. “I offer up my life for yours, and swear to be your guardian."

“What?" Mathus got in front of her and crouched, touching her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. The shock of grief there almost stopped him, but he was too upset already. “No, Vanna. Don't be ridiculous."

“You need protecting," she snarled.

“Maybe, but that doesn't mean it has to be you," Mathus whispered, taking her head in his hands. She was tearing up, and his throat stung as tears welled up for him. “You sweet, stupid dragoness. How is this any better than spending your days alone? Live for yourself."

“Why can't I want to protect you?"

“Because I know you want more than that!" Mathus snapped. “I know you don't like violence or magic, so why choose that?"

Karniel knelt beside Mathus, hand on his shoulder. “Much as I would appreciate a dragon at our beck and call, Mathus is right. We refuse your offer, but not necessarily your company."

“Sage save me I—" Selvanna cursed before a sob stopped her. She swallowed a second and whined, “I don't know what to do, Mathus. I have nothing. No one."

“You have us," Mathus insisted. He pulled her head into his chest and she dropped her poleaxe, hugging him and weeping openly. Mathus quaked, a little overwhelmed himself, but managed to stroke her neck, whispering, “I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry you had to choose me."

“It's not your fault," Selvanna cried. She shook her head against his chest, horns almost knocking his chin. “It's Dialdon. I know it's him, but…"

“It's okay to not want to blame him yet," Mathus said.

Karniel placed his free hand on Selvanna's shoulder. “Selvanna, I did not want to say it before because I know you did not want to hear from me. You have every right to hate me until the end of your days, but listen: when Mortel turned on me, turned on the future we planned to have together for his own, it sent me to a deep, dark place. I spent a century drowning in my grief, only able to feel scorn and rage for what he left behind. I was alone, and spent it without anyone to comfort me, and the only reason I stopped drowning was eventually I swallowed that great lake of loss. If I was mortal, I'm certain it would have killed me without someone there to drag me out."

“We don't want you to be alone," Mathus said.

“Yes, well, that's what I was getting to, but—"

Mathus cut him off again. “We know we can't fill that gulf inside you, but please let us help you through it once all this is said and done. We want to care for you."

“Hmm, mostly Mathus can care for you."

Selvanna's wing knocked off Karniel's hand. She had stopped crying, and now looked up, glaring at him. “You know he's too good for you, right?"

Karniel gave her a wry grin. “Isn't that common knowledge by now?"

She sat back on her rump, Mathus letting her go so she could rub the tears out of her eyes. “So, that's it, then? We stop Dialdon, then what?"

“Mmm, winter in Sepulcher of Midnight?" Karniel suggested. “Really, we would love to just have a vacation. Contrary to what historians think, I was never interested in world domination."

“Neither am I," Mathus said. “We can take time figuring things out together, but if you come with us, Selvanna, it won't be as some sworn protector, but as our companion."

Selvanna sniffled, glancing between the pair. “Alright," she whispered, voice a little hoarse from tears. “I'll try, for you, Mathus."

Karniel grumbled, “No one ever wants to try for me, do they?"

Shakily, they got up together, and headed back to the manor. Korlyon waited on the porch with Cathka at his side. The five of them, together, to face the Church of Mortel and all the power it could throw in their way.

Karniel had faced steeper odds and won. After all, he never expected to kill a God when he confronted Mortel. If they all came away alive, he could brag that he both destroyed and saved an Emerald City.

Of course, do-gooding needed done, but such a deed was too grand to pass up. The bards could finally have something else to say about Karniel the Great.