She’d already known from Rami’s fine clothes that he came from a city and wasn’t lacking in money, so it didn’t surprise her when he took out a beautiful container of polished wood with dragonflies painted on it. He twisted off the lid and set down the box before the stranger.
Curious, Mira glanced inside. It was full of a delectable-looking assortment of food, each in its own little container, cleverly shaped to fit into the larger one without rattling around inside. She recognized some of the ingredients by appearance and some by smell, but others were completely unknown to her, and none of dishes themselves were anything she’d ever eaten before.
“I can’t eat all your food,” the stranger protested, sliding it back.
“We’ll all share it,” said Rami. He moved the food into the center, equidistant between them. “I’m Rami.”
“I’m Mirel.”
“My name is Kes,” said the stranger. “It’s a pleasure to break bread with you.”
Ignoring the raised eyebrows of some of the other candidates, Kes broke off a piece of the barley wrap and took a bite. She watched him desperately search for something both polite and honest to say, and finally settled on, “It’s very… filling.”
Mirel couldn’t help laughing. “Don’t worry about it, Kes. I hate barley too. You don’t have to eat it. I’m sure Rami’s food is better. We can all just share that.”
Kes put down the barley wrap. Rami picked it up, his long fingers wrapping around it gracefully, and took a bite. Thoughtfully, he chewed, swallowed, then said, “Maybe it’s just the novelty, but I actually like it. You two take my lunch. I’ll have Mirel’s.”
They moved Rami’s lunch between Mirel and Kes, and the two of them shared it, with Rami occasionally reaching out to pluck up a morsel to flavor his barley. His lunch tasted as good as it smelled, flavored with exotic spices and rich with expensive ingredients like smoked fish and preserved tropical fruit.
But what Mirel liked even more than the food was the company. Kes said nothing about his background, making her wonder if it was a painful topic. Neither did he say why he had come to try his luck as a dragon’s mate. Instead, he drew her and Rami out, asking them about themselves with genuine interest. The three of them had only just met, but they fell into conversation as easily as if they had known each other their entire lives.
Every now and then, as they reached into the container, their hands brushed against each other. And every time, whether it was Kes’s strong touch or Rami’s gentler
one, Mirel felt a flutter of hot desire grow in her belly. And the one time when all three of them touched at once and she felt both men’s skin against her own, she actually started to get wet.
What would it be like to have both of them touching her—all over, warm skin against warm skin? What would it be like to feel Rami’s angular bones and Kes’s strong muscles sliding against her body? What would it be like to have one of them caress her breasts while the other slipped his fingers inside her…?
Mirel gritted her teeth, ordering her hot flush and overactive imagination to subside. It would never happen, so there was no point in daydreaming. True, two of the candidates would be paired with one dragon and so also each other… Two candidates. She could have Rami or Kes, but not both. And she wasn’t likely to have either, under any circumstances. Mirel had no chance of being chosen. Rami didn’t either, not once he told the dragons how long he had to live. Kes probably would be selected, and then he’d be taken from them both forever.
If she and Rami were left behind, maybe they could… but he was dying. Even now, the knowledge broke her heart. Any relationship they created together would be doomed. And incomplete, too, for it was the three of them together than felt right, not any combination of just two.
Rami caught her hand and Kes’s too. “Look!”
There was a stir in the crowd. Everyone was exclaiming and looking up at the sky. Mirel followed their gaze, and saw four hawks—no—four dragons! They were so high up that all she could see was their silhouettes, but the lashing tails and webbed wings were unmistakable.
She scrabbled for her crutches. Rami passed them to her, and Kes offered his body for her to lean against as she got to her feet. Close together, the three of them watched as the dragons descended.
Mirel felt Rami draw in his breath. She hoped the dragons were everything he’d imagined them to be. They were even more extraordinary than she’d expected. Their wings were broad and batlike with translucent webbing, and their graceful bodies shone like gems. They were all different colors—one amethyst, one amber, one ruby, one emerald. She had never seen anything as lovely as the dragons soaring in the sky, almost dancing in the air like leaves in the wind.
The dragons landed on the field, so delicately that they made not a sound. They barely seemed to stir the grass, but the scent of wildflowers rose up from around their taloned feet.
A ripple passed over them, and four people stood in their place. Four extraordinary people. Two were women, and two were men. They were all different—one voluptuous, one slim, one lean, one muscular—and yet all incredibly attractive in their own ways.
Attractive. But not irresistible. Though Mirel heard the crowd of candidates gasp and saw the longing in their eyes, she was less moved. Strange. She’d expected to want the dragons desperately, or at least to want one favorite desperately. But she only admired them and enjoyed looking at them. The people she wanted desperately were Rami and Kes.
Just as well, since the dragons were hardly going to choose her anyway.
Ironic, since she couldn’t have the men she did want either.
She stole a glance at Rami and Kes, the bitter burn of jealousy already licking at her heart even as she turned her head. But it fell into ash and blew away when she actually saw them. Rami was smiling as he looked at the dragon shifters, but the way a man smiles to see an especially beautiful sunset, not a person he desires. Kes looked interested, but no more.
“Thank you for coming to meet us,” said the woman who had been the amber dragon, giving the entire crowd a sweet smile. She was so deliciously voluptuous that even Mirel, who had never before been particularly interested in women’s bodies, suddenly understood their appeal. Her breasts nearly spilled out of her corseted blouse, and her arms and legs looked pillow-soft. Her long wavy hair was the same amber as her dragon’s hide, and her eyes were like molten gold.
“It is our honor to select our mates from amongst you,” said the man who had been the emerald dragon. His eyes were a brilliant green, and his black hair had a subtle emerald sheen. “As each of us seeks different qualities in our mates, we will hold different tests to find the most suitable.”
“I, for instance, am looking for hot… raw… wild… sex,” said the man who had been the ruby dragon. His hair was the color of flame, his eyes black with crimson flickers in their depths, his features chiseled as a marble sculpture, and his body long and lean. He licked his lips. “What’s more important than a burning desire that will never go cold? So, any of you who wish to have me… and have me, and have me, and have me… Strip!”
The crowd gasped, some in shock but others in excitement.