Chapter Forty-four

 

Stern woke slowly, his head lightly throbbing. He tried to rub at his face, but both of his arms were trapped. Blinking slowly, he found his lovers on either side of him. Cyra was higher up than normal, her ears over the top of his head. Trish was in her usual place, snoring as she snuggled closer.

 

The party had continued well into the evening. Everyone had gotten to dance with the bride or groom at least once, and Stern had danced with both Cyra and Trish multiple times. He also recalled dancing with Urika and Emma’s mother, Mary. As the party wound to a close, Emma had asked him for a second dance. She thanked him again for helping Vulk talk to her, saving him, and arranging for Urika to be reborn. It’d made Stern feel awkward, but that was broken a minute later when Cammie demanded another dance.

 

The memory of that dance made Stern’s face burn. Cammie hadn’t stayed at arm’s length— she’d pressed against him, putting her precariously close to parts of him that he was unsure she should be close to. The reason why became obvious fairly quickly— Cammie had had more to drink than she should have.

 

When that dance had ended, Stern excused himself to the new couple and, with Trish and Cyra’s help, they got Cammie back to the manor. The carriage ride home had been another thing Stern was sure Cammie would regret in the morning. She leaned into Trish, telling the redhead how beautiful she was. Trish fended Cammie off easily, speaking softly with her to keep her awake.

 

Trish and Cyra had taken Cammie to her room while Stern went to their suite. He was nearly asleep when the pair came into the room. They quickly stripped down and climbed in with him and, after a few mumbled goodnights, they were all unconscious.

 

“Should have had more water...” Stern murmured.

 

“Hmm?” Cyra muttered as she woke.

 

“I have the slightest edge of a hangover,” Stern said.

 

“I can heal that,” Cyra told him.

 

“One will need to be used on Cammie... possibly two,” Stern said.

 

“Right,” Cyra whispered. “She was very drunk last night.”

 

“And her emotions were all over the place,” Stern said.

 

“That would have been the alcohol,” Trish said as she peeled her eyes open. “Good morning.”

 

“Agreed,” Stern said. “Surprised by the lust she felt when she was clinging to you.”

 

“I’m not,” Cyra said. “Trish is sexy.”

 

“I agree, but Cammie never hinted she liked women,” Stern countered.

 

“She has, just not to you,” Trish said. “I’ll say she never said she found Cyra and I attractive, though… but now that I think about it, she might have hinted at it and I just failed to see it.”

 

“I never saw the hints,” Cyra said.

 

“They were subtle, but I did catch her eyes roving more than normal when we were trying on Garton’s clothing.”

 

Stern just blinked as his brain tried to keep up with the conversation. “Huh...”

 

“What?” Cyra asked.

 

“I think I understand the spike of emotion as you were leading her away, now.”

 

“Oh?” Trish asked.

 

“Hope, lust, excitement, worry,” Stern told her. “The only one I don’t understand is regret.”

 

“I know why that one,” Cyra said softly, kissing Stern’s chest.

 

“You do?” Stern asked.

 

“She danced very close with you, just before we headed home,” Cyra said.

 

“Oh, yeah, she regretted doing that,” Stern said.

 

“No,” Cyra said. “Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen other small hints. I think she likes you, too.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Oh… yeah,” Trish said, pausing as things started becoming more clear to her. “I see it now.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Can you think back to how she felt when we first met her?” Cyra asked him.

 

Brow furrowing, Stern tried to do that as his head continued to lightly throb. “Not easily. My headache…” He trailed off when Cyra healed him. He thought about it again now that his head didn’t hurt. “She was curious more than anything.”

 

“And over the last few days?” Trish prompted.

 

It took him a minute, but he inhaled slowly. “Oh... You think it’s because of her mom?”

 

“Saving her brother, helping Vulk meet Emma, Urika being reborn,” Cyra said, making a small list. “You’ve been doing more and more for her family.”

 

“But I already have you two,” Stern said.

 

“And that’s all you might ever have,” Trish said gently. “We should leave it alone for now. She’s probably going to be embarrassed over what she did last night.”

 

“Leave tomorrow?” Stern asked.

 

“As planned. Can you get the travel foods in order for us? Cyra and I will stay here with Cammie today and make sure she’s okay.”

 

“Okay. I’ll also pick up a quest or two.”

 

“Good.”

 

“We should get up and get breakfast ready,” Cyra said. “Trish, can you start? I’ll go heal Cammie’s hangover.”

 

“Yeah,” Trish said, kissing Stern’s chest before getting out of bed.

 

“Thanks,” Cyra said. She also kissed Stern’s chest and got out on the other side.

 

Stern exhaled slowly. Life is complicated, isn’t it, Dad? With that thought, he pushed himself out of bed and got dressed with his two lovers. That would make me even more like my parents... Three women and one man? Goddess, he’d have a field day. Shaking his head, he focused on dressing and not that outlandish idea.

 

~*~*~

 

Stern wondered about Cammie as he walked toward the Walkers’ hall. Cammie hadn’t come to breakfast, asking to sleep in. Stern felt that she was just too mortified to see them all, so he hadn’t stopped to check on her.

 

Urika had joined them for breakfast and thanked them again. After another round of promises to do their best to keep Cammie alive, Urika went to see her daughter once breakfast was over.

 

The hall was mostly empty, as it was early morning. A bronze-badged Walker gave Stern a nod in passing. Stern returned the greeting, feeling good about how he’d been so accepted in the city— especially by the Walkers— over the last month.

 

It’s going to suck going back to the fear and hate, but I’ll have Trish and Cyra with me, so I’ll handle it. When he made it to the quest board, he checked the tin and nickel-ranked quests.

 

Mistwood is the next city directly north of here, Stern thought. Hmm, mistweavers…? I don’t care for spiders, but it’s a good quest. We’ll take it, but we’re going to need more anti-toxins. And another for dark willow shoots? It’s normally an easy quest, so I’ll snag that, too. With his quests chosen, Stern was almost out of the hall when Sarah Kalma walked into the building.

 

“Stern, it’s good to see you,” Sarah smiled. “Getting quests?”

 

“Yeah. Heading north tomorrow.”

 

“You probably snagged the good ones, then.”

 

“Mistweavers and dark willow shoots.”

 

“Pass on the bugs,” Sarah shuddered. “I’ll hang around and pick up the dark willow shoots when it respawns. We’ll take the east side of the road.”

 

“We’ll stay more west, then,” Stern grinned.

 

“Glad we worked it out ahead of time,” Sarah replied. “Safe runs.”

 

“Safe runs,” Stern returned.

 

~*~*~

 

It took Stern most of the afternoon to finish gathering the supplies and getting them delivered to the manor so he wouldn’t have to try carrying them. He rode back with the general store wagon, wondering what Cyra was going to make for dinner.

 

Trish saw him ride up. With the two of them, they had the general goods offloaded in short order. Chatting as they carried things inside, Trish told him that the alchemist had dropped off those supplies already.

 

The pair were just finishing up stocking the bags for the next day when Cyra came to find them. “Dinner shortly.”

 

“How was your day?” Stern asked. He’d been discussing supplies with Trish and had spaced on asking about their day.

 

“Good. Urika left the manor with Vulk this afternoon. Emma’s home has a spare room that she’ll be using until she can find her feet here,” Cyra said.

 

“That’s reassuring,” Stern exhaled. “I figured Vulk would take care of her.”

 

“Cammie… is making dinner,” Cyra said, moving over to sit beside him. “We talked, Cammie, Trish, and I. She was very apologetic and asked if she should leave.”

 

Stern felt a small pang of sadness in his chest, his brow contracting slightly. “Really?”

 

“We told her ‘no,’ of course,” Trish said.

 

“That’s good.”

 

“She didn’t want to approach the topic again, so we left her alone for now,” Cyra said. “I think she’s harboring feelings, though.”

 

“Agreed,” Trish nodded. “She asked to make dinner, saying she hasn’t made one for us before while we’ve all cooked at least once. I’m thinking she’s going to slowly try to show that she’s one of us.”

 

Stern exhaled slowly. “Oh, okay. What do we do about it?”

 

“That depends on how things go, and if you’re willing,” Cyra whispered as she leaned into his side. “Trish and I aren’t necessarily opposed to the idea. She’s cute, funny, and has a good sense of humor.”

 

“I’d tumble her,” Trish said, “but I’m not sure that’s all I want. Like Cyra said, she has many good qualities. We’ve all seen each other naked when trying on different clothes, or very near naked. I do find her attractive.”

 

“She is,” Cyra said and stroked one of her ears, which had flopped down over one of her eyes.

 

“What do you think of her?” Trish asked Stern.

 

He took a few moments to try gathering his thoughts. “She’s attractive,” he admitted. “Different than either of you. I have found her to be steadfast, loyal, and a good companion. If you’re both interested, I wouldn’t be opposed, but she’d have to follow the same guidelines we already have. But… we shouldn’t make the first move. She’ll need to tell us that she wants that.”

 

Cyra nodded, brushing her ear aside. “Okay. I don’t think that’ll be soon, but I think she will.”

 

“She will, but yeah, not soon. She’s going to be pushing hard to show her good qualities,” Trish said. “She wants to be seen as worthy and our equal.”

 

“Okay,” Stern exhaled slowly. “This is going to be awkward.”

 

Both of his lovers took his hands, then kissed his cheeks.

 

“Yeah, but we have each other,” Cyra said.

 

“Many pillars make the relationship stable,” Trish smiled.

 

“Oh, dinner,” Cyra said, quickly getting up. “I said I’d get you.”

 

“Let’s not keep her waiting,” Stern said.

 

~*~*~

 

Cammie felt nervous, anxious, and yet hopeful as she brought dinner to the table. “I hope you enjoy it.”

 

Stern looked at the dish, smiling. His father had called them “Swedish Meatballs,” but no one else outside his family did besides Gerald and Marysue. The world knew them as “svergovids.” “I love this,” Stern said. “I’m sure it’ll be fantastic.”

 

Cammie’s cheeks dusted pink and her embarrassment spiked for a moment. “Please, don’t get your hopes up. I haven’t cooked them in years.”

 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Cyra said. “If you want, we can compare recipes later. Maybe we can make a version known only to us.”

 

Cammie smiled. “If they’re not terrible, maybe.”

 

Trish didn’t say anything— she just took a bite. Chewing slowly, she met Cammie’s worried gaze. “What were you worried about?” Trish asked after she swallowed. “They taste good.”

 

Stern nodded. He took a bite, but didn’t add more, as he was still chewing.

 

The relief Cammie felt was obvious to everyone and flooded Stern’s empathic channels for a moment. She began to eat, as well, happy that her cooking hadn’t been a disaster. Pawly chuffed as she snagged one of the meatballs in front of her and ate it.

 

Dinner was mostly silent. They agreed that it was good, and Cyra asked a question or two about certain aspects of the preparation. Once they’d finished eating, Stern wanted to tell them what he’d done during the day.

 

The recap didn’t take long, but he finished with a summary, “We have the anti-toxins and salves to easily make it to Mistwood. Mistweavers and dark willow shoots for the quests. And, as I said, I did stock up on some sparktwigs to help us get fires going faster.”

 

“A good investment if we have to deal with a dark willow shrub again,” Trish nodded.

 

Cammie was quiet for a moment, her emotions tangling.

 

Stern touched her hand. “You okay?”

 

Swallowing hard, Cammie met his eyes briefly before looking away, her cheeks heating. “Yes. This is just leaving behind all my past goals... and now, Vulk, too. I’m a little lost.”

 

“Not lost,” Trish said, shifting over to touch her arm. “You’re with us, so you’ll never be lost, not as long as we draw breath.”

 

Cammie’s emotions blazed brightly before tangling up again. “Thanks.”

 

Cyra gave her a soft smile. “Cammie, we’re here for you. Friends and crewmates at the very least, but I think of you as family. We’re ecstatic that you want to keep running with us.”

 

The other two agreed, and Cammie’s emotions calmed slightly.

 

“Thank you. I’ll always do my best,” she whispered.

 

“As will we. Now I have dishes to do,” Stern said, getting up. “Tomorrow morning, we set out for Mistwood and our first dungeon at the nickel tier.”

 

“We’ll check for a caster. Not a Michael, hopefully,” Trish said. “Maybe another, as well. We’ll test out some others and see if they will mesh with us.”

 

“Yes, we need at least one more,” Cyra nodded.

 

“A caster who is useful would be good,” Cammie agreed.

 

Stern smiled as he collected the dishes. “Sounds like a plan.”