Tisha spent the rest of the afternoon working in silence. It seemed to be her go-to move. I’d almost thought that she’d just get in her truck and drive off, but she was committed to the job. Even through her silent anger, I could tell she was enjoying the work.

Still, I felt like absolute shit.

We’d almost driven past my place. I had to call out and get Tisha to stop. Only the form of Jade seemingly hovering in mid-air had caught my attention. She’d been hard at work slathering the chameleon paint onto the ship. Looking at it from the road was like looking at the landscape behind through one of her shimmering illusions. Not perfect at point-blank range.

Damn close though.

In the sky it would be nearly impossible to spot from a distance.

That might’ve posed some problems for us—potential collisions and such—but it was a lot more appealing than being spotted the second we took off.

I left Tisha to install a particularly tricky coolant pipe after heat-welding it into the floor with magic borrowed from Evelyn. I could feel the power of my fire magic waning, as if the time from our last coupling had weakened it. Still, there was a baseline level that didn’t seem to be fading away. As if some of our power exchange was permanent. It blew my fucking mind.

I spotted Jade painting the last quarter of the ship. She’d stripped down to that strappy leather top that I’d seen her in when we’d first met in her library. Bits of her lean body were splashed with the invisibility paint, making her look half-ethereal. Her little pink tongue stuck out as she worked, flapping in place to get the odd spot she’d missed. She wore a pair of green booty shorts that really had her ass popping.

“Stop staring, Luis,” she said. “You’re going to ruin my concentration.”

“Aw dang. That’d be awful,” I said, chuckling. “Hop down here a minute.”

She made a few more splashes with her brush, then flapped down. Pushing her straight green hair out of her face. Smearing more of the magical paint through it. “What’s up, hunk?” she asked, winking.

I beckoned her over. Taking her further from the area that Tisha was working in. “So, formalities and all…” I said, trailing off, leaning toward the ship where the blonde mechanic was at work.

“Oh my god. You’re not doing this right now are you?” Jade asked, incredulous.

“Hey. It’s what I said I’d do at the start. I’m not changing the rules on you mid-fucking harem,” I said.

“Okay, right. That’s a good idea,” Jade said, waving her hands frantically to push me along.

“So. Tisha. I’m bringing her in. She tried to kiss me just now and I had to shut her down and—”

“Yes. A thousand times yes, Luis. You’ve got my enthusiastic approval. Believe me,” Jade said. I leaned down and scooped her up, giving her a long and passionate kiss. “I’ve gotta get back to work. I’ve only done one coat of sealer and I want two at least.” She hit me with a sly wink and flapped off.

I jogged past the side entrance to the ship and saw that Tisha was still hard at work installing the cables that manipulated the coolant pipe controls. So I kept running and made my way past the house, summoning up a raw metal sheet and cutting it into a skateboard-like shape. Hopping onto it and skimming above the ground. Just for the hell of it I pumped my foot on the dirt, breaking out into a childish laugh.

I made it to the RV and zoomed around the back. Then sent a pulse through it. Trying to see if Evelyn was inside sleeping. It was around noon. Still early for her, but maybe she was up. I couldn’t feel anything but the warmth of the idling cyclicite furnace engine. So I laid my hand on the metal panel. Sending heat through it until the metal almost bubbled. Then I sent force into it so that it would stay quiet and pressed my hand through it to create a little hole.

I wasn’t peeping, I swear.

I just couldn’t bear to wake her up again.

To my surprise, the furnace was empty except for the glow of the cyclicite.

Had she gone back to her smithy?

I forged the metal back together. Smoothing it out until it looked brand new. Then I pumped off and shot down the street. Scaring the hell out of a man selling cabbages. Nearly tipping them all over the road. He looked ready to scream something, but caught them just in time.

I decided to go out wide and head back to Evelyn’s place through the service road instead of scaring the shit out of everyone as I blasted forward on my metal hoverboard. So I zipped up over a set of houses and banked outward. Skipping over long grass and a herd of cows. Then turned a corner and slowed down as I approached Evelyn’s smithy. To my surprise I saw her walking down the road toward her own house.

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Wide awake, and with a small package in her hand.

“Hey gorgeous,” I said, throwing her a wave. Kicking the board up and snapping it onto my back.

“Hi,” she said, taking the package and sliding it behind her. She had a plain brown leather tunic on, and some blue cotton pants. Her tail swished out of sight behind her too as we closed in. “What’s up?” she asked.

Weird energy.

Is she still pissed at me for waking her up?

I walked right up to her and gave her a long hug. Squeezing her until she relaxed.

Also, maybe trying to get a peek at the package she was hiding. Evelyn deftly curled it into her bushy tail and kept it out of sight.

“What’s that?” I asked, not letting her answer before I kissed her deep and long enough for Evelyn to growl and lean back into me.

“A surprise,” she said, gasping for air after we broke apart. Looking at me with more warmth. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked, adopting an overly formal voice as if I was a visiting duke. There was a small edge in her voice as if she was irritated but she was hiding it pretty well.

“I think I crushed Tisha back there,” I said, thumbing over my shoulder. “This is kind of sudden, but I’m bringing her into the harem.”

“Oh?” Evelyn said, crossing her arms.

“Yeah. I wanted to run it past you,” I said. “Like I said I would when we started this.”

She took in a quick inhale, then blew her orange hair out of her face in a huff. Tapping her foot then looking me in the face with her glowing eyes. “Why do you even care what I think?”

“Because you’re my girlfriend?” I asked, trying to keep my tone gentle. “And I want your opinion?”

“If I said no, would you bring her in anyway?” Evelyn asked. Her tone was uneven.

“Are you saying no?” I replied. “What’s going on, foxy? Is this because I woke you up?” Her face faltered momentarily. Then showed genuine anguish. My heart twisted seeing her like this.

“No, Luis. It’s not that. I think I’m just really tired is all. Getting up in the middle of my sleep to fight that huge battle was a big drain on me. I’ll get over it,” she said as she released me and started walking toward her home. She transferred the small brown bag from her tail to her left hand and for a moment it looked like she was going to pitch it over the fence into the pasture.

At the last moment she stopped and held onto it.

What the fuck was in there?

I almost sent out a pulse of magic, but wondered if she’d be able to sense it. She seemed fragile at the moment and I didn’t want to do anything more to piss her off. A gnawing sensation in the back of my mind grew. It took hold of my brain until the thought that sent it chewing was completely obvious.

She’s having a hard time with the harem, dummy.

Of course that was it. The sleep hadn’t helped probably, but she’d taken a lot more convincing than Jade to get into my group of lovers. Seeing me trying to seduce another brand-new woman less than a week after we’d first met wasn’t going to be the highlight of her day.

That said, it was what she’d signed up for when we’d gotten together. I sure as hell wasn’t going back on that.

I paced after her, moving quickly to catch up. “Evelyn. If this is about Tisha, can we at least talk about it? I don’t want us ignoring this and having it blow up in our faces.” She looked at the ground as we strode through her property. Then she tossed the package through an open window in her house and took a deep breath. Finally facing me. The furnace behind her crackled as if it’d been lit for a while. “It might not feel like it, but I do care about what you think of her. We’re going to be around each other for a long time. I don’t want to bring someone in that you hate.”

“She’s fine, Luis. I’m not going to stand in your way…” she trailed off, taking deep breaths. “I know I agreed to this—and don’t get me wrong,” she said, waving her hands slowly. “I love what we have. It’s just… a lot. Especially so fast. I thought I’d be able to push right through it, but it’s hitting me a little hard. I don’t hate her. In fact, I think she’s great.”

“I get it,” I said.

“I don’t think you do,” she said.

“Well then tell me, please.”

“I’m jealous, okay?” The tension in her body seemed to melt as she said it, and the flames in the furnace behind her died down.

“Oh,” I said, stepping a bit closer. “I see.”

“Jade’s clearly into this courting stuff, but for me it’s a bit of a drain. I think I’ll get used to it, but it’s going to take me some time.”

“Okay,” I said. “I get it.” A tiny sprout of an idea sprung up in my mind. A little bit of a misdirection that could ease her feelings a bit. I let the silence linger for a while. “Do you want to chill here for the day? Feel it out?” She nodded. “This is the last time I want to ask for a favor, but I need something else. You were asleep, but I’m building something with Jade and Tisha. We need some raw materials. Can I buy them off of you?”

Evelyn had all the best metal in town. It was the stuff Jade and I had recovered from the orc encampment in the battle for Clontikus. The stuff Ajax Baylor had stolen from her.

“You’re right. This isn’t a great time to ask. But I’m not going to let my feelings get in the way of us killing the duke. Take whatever you need, and don’t give me any money. You’re my boyfriend, and we should be sharing things like this.” She gestured toward the shed to my right. Then came over and gave me a halfhearted hug. “Take whatever you want. It’s yours.” I accepted the limp hug and then watched her go and crawl into the furnace. The flames licking higher as she went.

I let the emotions wash over me and went into the shed. Picking through the pure bars she had lying around and grabbing up a dozen of them. One of each material. Rendering them weightless with a quick intention, then binding them into a clutch of metal. Then I stepped out of the shed and took off on my hoverboard, flying over the smithy and heading toward the RV.

Halfway there I stopped. Plopping down and sitting on my board, hanging a hundred feet in the air as the sun warmed my chest. I arranged the bars in front of me and started pulling them into elegant shapes. Long stems and graceful curves. Using Evelyn’s heat magic to turn the metal softly instead of with jagged lines like I had before I met her. Making that heat part of the arrangement, and cooling each individual piece so it would stand on its own. With everything in place, I took the bar of gold I’d set aside and wrapped the rest of it in a layer that I’d stretched so hot and thin that it almost looked like paper.

Reveling in the gentle ringing that the metals made as I touched them.

Then I stood up and shot off toward the RV, popped it open and went into the furnace room. Then left the bundle hovering in mid-air far enough from the heat that it wouldn’t melt—but close enough that the sparkle of the cyclicite flame would wash over the display.

I closed the door, grinning at the thought of her stumbling into it.

Then I took off to find Tisha.

Hopefully before she drove home and left for good.