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One of them reaches out and frees one arm, and then the other, and I collapse and roll onto the bed with Zaroun. He immediately slides his arms around me, turning on his side and pillowing his head on my face. I touch his cheek, mindful of the blindfold, and I’m pleased when Ossev moves to my other side, spooning against me. Neska moves onto the bed too, lying near our heads and stroking my hair as he does. We’ll have to get up in a moment to clean up, but for now, I’m surrounded by the press of bodies and webbing and I couldn’t be more content.
Gazing up at the ceiling, I notice the ever-present webbing there, too. A new thought occurs to me and I giggle to myself. Is that why there’s spiderwebbing all over the tower? I have a sudden, wild mental image of each of the Spidae clutching their cocks in hand, spraying the walls with their seed.
“Naughty thing,” Ossev murmurs, pressing a kiss to my shoulder. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Only if she gets to watch,” Neska adds, and even as I chuckle, my mind floods with more lewd, spiderweb-covered ideas.
Perhaps I’m a naughty thing after all. But I’mtheirnaughty thing, and that’s the best part.
Epilogue
My garden is beautiful.
Well…it’s not trulymygarden. Mine died on the first bitter day of weather and nothing grew bigger than a seedling no matter how hard I tried. I fretted about it for what felt like months, but then my sweet Spidae lords called in a favor for me. Lord Kassam, God of the Wild, went to work upon the sad remains of my garden and created a wonderland. Now, it is lush and beautiful and immune to any rogue weather, with fruit hanging from every vine and bough.
I wander through the greenery, caressing huge leaves as I do. I breathe in the scent of a flower, in full bloom despite the grayness of the day, and feel very loved indeed. I touch several of the flowers before I select one to cut for my table, and then move down to the large cucumbers growing on vines on the ground. I choose a small one for my snack, and then head inside with my treats. My magical, god-touched garden grows so very quickly and plentifully that I have to prune regularly, but I don’t mind. Apple helps me, and when it’s too much food even for me, I bind it in a cocoon and send it to the other anchors, Faith and Max.
Carly—the wild god’s anchor—doesn’t need gifts of fruit, I imagine. I send her pretty dresses instead.
Ossev is waiting for me in the doorway that leads to the tower, and I smile up at him. “Cucumber tonight.”
He wrinkles his nose, considering, as I move past him in a sweep of bright red skirts. “Have I had this kind yet?”
“You had it pickled,” I point out. “This is fresh. I’ll add a bit of salt to bring the flavor out and it’ll taste different, you’ll see.”
“Then I will taste it again.”
I beam at him, amused. A cucumber isn’t a meal, of course, but the things I add to my plate—dried meat, nuts, and bread—don’t appeal to him. He’s my nibbler, Ossev. He likes to try everything in the garden just because he sees me eating it and doesn’t want to miss out on a bit of pleasure. Zaroun is easy to please, and Neska likes things he’s familiar with, but Ossev has the most adventurous palate out of the three. I do my best to change up things so he can try new treats regularly.
We’ve settled into a routine that is both comfortable and enjoyable. I think some anchors might want a life of excitement and thrills, but I love that the tower is mine and that I have everything I should want. I have no desire to leave or abandon my three lords. If I find myself on the rare occasion bored or restless, there’s always a mirror to gaze into…or I can use it to contact my friends. Faith and I talk regularly, Max and Carly less so. It’s nice to have a circle of companions that understand what it’s like to serve a god, though. It’s even nicer to be able to talk to those friends from the comforts of my tower room.
Ossev plants a kiss on my cheek and caresses my backside through my skirts. “Neska is looking for you.”
“I haven’t gone anywhere.” I’m amused that Ossev is here to relay the message and not Neska himself. The Fate of the Present is the most prickly of the three, quick to sulk if he feels he doesn’t get his share of my time. It’s a constant push-pull between us for control of the relationship, but I always win. Neska wouldn’t share me at all if he had his choice, but I’ve made it clear that I’m here for all three of them, not just him.
And because the three of them make me happy, he goes along with it. We don’t all three get into bed together often—they’re still happiest having me to themselves—but when we do, it’s explosive and exciting.
“Yes, but Neska says he has something important to speak with you about.” His arms go around me from behind and then Ossev is hugging me. “You should talk to him.”
This isn’t like Ossev. He’s not clingy like Zaroun. If anything, he’s the most playful out of the three. His mood seems to be off and that worries me. Has he seen something bad in his threads? Another war? Now that Aron of the Cleaver has returned to his plane, he’s been quick to start more conflicts, and sometimes I feel the reverberations of those in my Spidae’s moods.
“What is it?” I ask Ossev, curious.
“Just…speak to Neska.”
I nod, putting aside my cucumber to eat later. I’m hungry, but I’m always hungry as the anchor to three gods. Food can wait for a little while. Ossev’s insistence and his strange mood is worrying me. “Let me tell Zaroun I’ll be late. I’m supposed to spend this afternoon with him.”
We kiss and I study his face, trying to determine what’s wrong. It can’t be war. They get agitated when there’s war, but not worried like this. Ossev’s touch lingers as I step away, as if he can’t bear to let me go, and I think about that even as I climb the ramp up the tower towards Zaroun’s web chamber.
The Aspect of the Future is there, waiting for me as always. His back is to me, his hands buried in the glowing strands as he sorts through them, pulling them from the weave and pinching them free when necessary.
“Zaroun?” I call out, waiting by the doorway. “I am here.”
He turns, his eyes closed, and a smile curves his face as he steps in my direction. “Yulenna?”
“It’s me.” I move toward him, touching his arms when I’m close enough. “I must visit Neska before I return. Do you know what that’s about?”
“All will be well…?” He tilts his head in that spiderlike way they do sometimes.
