“You are all a part of me.” I walked over to the bed, and waited. “I want you, all . . . now . . . together, touching me, filling me full, reminding me of what it means to be your beloved.”

Morio moved first, lying down on his back, his lips full and promising the darkest delights. I swung over him, straddling him on my hands and knees so that I was facing his legs. He slipped his fingers inside me, making me wetter still, then reached down and slowly lubricated his cock and slid it between my breasts. As they cushioned him, he reached up and began to bathe me, gently sucking on my clit. The steady stroke set me on fire and I moaned.

“Smoky,” I whispered, letting out a little gasp as Morio seriously set to tongue-bathing me.

Silently, Smoky crawled on the bed behind me, his cock slowly teasing my lower lips, setting off every nerve that surrounded the entrance to my pussy. I squirmed, wanting him in me, deep and hard and furious.

“Please, fuck me, just fuck me.” I moaned.

“Oh, have no fear, my love, I plan on it,” he said, driving himself in with one strong thrust. I opened up, widening to accept his presence, thrilling to the feel of him inside me. As his hair tendriled up to clasp my waist and help me balance, a wave of dizziness rushed over me and I echoed a sharp cry.

And then Trillian was kneeling in front of me, leaning in to kiss me. His tongue tripped over mine, his gaze locking with my own. He gently ran his fingers through my hair, eyes glittering.

And then he pulled back. “Are you happy, love? Is this what you truly want? The three of us, with you, always? Fox Boy, the lizard, and me?”

The scent of their musk was thick in the room, mingling with the fragrance of my own passion. Smoky paused, deep inside of me. Morio’s lips went still, hovering as his breath lightly tickled my clit. I realized they were all waiting for my answer.

I sought Trillian’s face, searching for any sign that he was angry, but in the depths of his gaze I could find only understanding . . . and love.

“Yes, I’m happy,” I whispered, tears choking my throat.

The world held so much hatred, so much fear and anger. And here—love ruled. Love and creation, for what was sex if not the opposite of destruction? Sex embodied the energies of creation and movement and life. Yet so many people feared its power, or used it as a weapon, or tried to contain it within rigid rules instead of setting it free to touch the people in their hearts.

“I’m happy,” I said again, the tears starting to flow. “More than anything, this is what I want—the three of you, all of you, with me till the end of time. You are part of my family, you are my lovers, my husbands. You are my warriors, my comrades. I want you here, by my side in the daylight when we are fighting the demons of the world, and inside of me at night, helping me to forget the blood and the pain. You complete me, all of you, and I complete you.”

“Then that’s what you’ll have, my love,” Trillian said. “Until the end of time, we are with you, arguments, faults, insults, and all—we are yours. We’ll try not to fight. Too much.”

“Speak for yourself,” Smoky said, beginning to thrust within me, setting up a delicious friction, but I heard the smile in his voice and his words drifted away in the haze of sex. Morio remained silent, simply setting off a riff of explosions within me with his fluttering tongue, as his cock slowly glided between my breasts.

I glanced at Trillian. He rose before me. Eagerly, I fastened my lips around him, tasting the sweet wine of his body, the salt of his skin, the essence of his being.

And then, there was no more to be said. I was complete, we were together, all of us, and for this night, the worry and fear vanished as everything except the four of us fell away in the flickering light of the candles. Under the sacred Moon Mother’s light, we cemented our union in a rite as old as the human race.

Later, late in the night, Menolly, Delilah, and I sat outside, on my balcony. The rain was pounding down but the awning protected us, and we had bundled up. Feeling deliciously satisfied, I leaned back in my chair and told them what Derisa had said. They stared at me.

“You’ve had a lot of changes the past week,” Menolly said. “How are you feeling?”

“It’s going to be a long time before I sort them out. I have no idea what I’m going to tell Father—if anything. Apparently the magic I’m doing with Morio has shifted me over to the Moon Mother’s shadow side. Where this all will lead . . . I don’t know, although I have the feeling that Morgaine and Raven Mother are connected somehow. I’m not done with my dealings with Raven Mother, or the Black Unicorn. My gut’s registering ten-point-oh on the Richter scale right now. At least the guys aren’t arguing. Yet.”

I let out a long sigh and then turned to Delilah. “What’s Sharah say about Chase?”

She smiled, but it was strained. “He’s healing remarkably fast. But now we have to cope with him drinking the nectar of life without any preparation. Who knows what it will do to him? He has some spark of psychic ability—we figured that out long ago. This might set it off . . . for good or ill.” She wiped away a tear that slid out of the corner of her eye. “But at least he’ll survive.”

“Are you afraid it will change your relationship?” I asked.

“We were planning on doing this, but now . . . it was so sudden. There’s no way it can’t change our relationship. I don’t know what to expect. I’m afraid, to be honest. I have a nasty feeling nothing’s going to work out the way we wanted it to. What if something goes wrong? What if . . . what if he regrets this? So many things to think about.” Her expression darkened. “And what about the Autumn Lord? I have so many years left—he might not want me to bear his child for many years to come . . . but when he does . . .”

“Don’t borrow trouble,” Menolly said. “Leave it for tomorrow. There’s nothing we can do tonight about Chase, and Sharah’s looking after him. And the Autumn Lord will move on his own time.” She crossed to the railing and stared out into the night. “So where do we go from here?”

“We find the Bonecrusher again and we take her down. I pledge myself to Aeval’s court. We find the next spirit seal and you two give it to Queen Asteria because once they find out I’m switching sides . . .” I bit my lip, not wanting to think of the daunting tasks that lay in wait for us.

Just then, a tap on the French doors caught our attention. It was Trillian, along with Smoky and Morio. They were dressed, looking quite dapper, actually—more so than usual. Morio and Smoky stood to the side while Trillian walked over to my chair and knelt in front of me on one knee.

“Call me old-fashioned,” he said, “but I still think the man should be the one to propose. So, Camille, will you marry me and let me join with you, Morio, and Smoky in the Soul Symbiont ritual?”

I stared at him. In the midst of chaos came a glimmer of hope. In the midst of sorrow a glimmer of joy. I clasped his hands and nodded. “Of course, Trillian. You’re my first love, my alpha love. I can’t imagine life without you.”

“You deserve a wedding fit for a queen. And we’ll have one—with all of your family and friends. I’m only getting married this once—I want it to be special.” He pulled me to my feet.

I glanced back at my sisters. “I’m going back to bed.” They nodded, Menolly grinning like a banshee.

As the four of us headed back to my bedroom—to our bedroom—this time to sleep and dream, I shivered as I remembered their hands on my skin, their lips against my lips, their bodies pressed against mine. And I realized that I wanted to make them as happy as they made me. Because that’s really what made life worthwhile—the giving of pleasure and joy and happiness to those we called our loves.

For whether we pledged ourselves to one person or to four, whether we were drawn to men or women or both, whether we walked the path of the priestess or the path of a witch or a bookstore owner, life without passion was no life at all.