12: KEIRA

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“There’s too many darn people in here,” Luke spumes.

“Well, if you’re expecting me to apologize like this is my fault, don’t hold your breath,” Ainsley slamfires. “I didn’t ask to be here, I don’t want to be here, and I sure as heck didn’t ask to be saddled with all four freaking sparks and the lot of you squibs to babysit those slugs.”

Luke glares at her like she’s said something unforgivably offensive. To him it is. It doesn’t hurt my feelings though. She’s absolutely right. We bloody well forced ourselves on her.

Typically, roommate selection is done in the Choosing Chamber. The available wielders are placed in a large circle according to their element. The charge is blindfolded and guided to move around the circle with their hand extended, briefly connecting with each wielder they pass. When their hand meets the right wielder, their spark spazzes out, magnetizing their hands. Our sparks are supposed to choose our roommates, but this year we’ve done it administratively for increased security.

I understand why. Ainsley’s fire spark seared through me for hours after she nearly went supernova, and it needs to be strictly managed. It’s the same with all her sparks, so she needs one of each of us to keep her from imploding, but it wasn’t her choosing. We managed to piss her choice away.

I’m definitely not complaining about the arrangement. It’s convenient for me on a personal level. The only bad bit is having to be in such close proximity to Captain GrumpPants. Even that isn’t overly terrible. Maybe I’ll finally coax him out of his funk. His brooding mare routine is on my last nerve.

I want my friend back, the one who actually cares about more than his duty to S.W.O.R.D. Esha hurt him deeply, and I loathe her for it, but he can’t possibly still be that pissed off at her unless he still cares about her. While he might be able to scud off on the regular every time I try to talk to him about it, being locked in a room with me will make it harder for him to keep running away like a little ripplet.

Aspen swooshes a laugh. “I can hold his breath for him if you want.”

Aspen’s a Dark Air Wielder. He really can still Luke’s lungs if he wants to. He can also do about a million other great party tricks like creating a silencing bubble around us when we’re erupting. Maverick’s a Dark Earth Wielder. He can use his spark to shield the vibrations of the bed and floor however extreme they end up being. Luke might appreciate those combined suppression efforts later on since we’ll be wetlining the sheets well into the night to mark this great joining. Like I said, convenient on a personal level.

When we were assigned this room, the first thing I did was tear down the bunks and rebuild them into a single unit on the left side, big enough to sleep me, Aspen, and Maverick. Luke knows about our relationship but still whirlpooled the idea. Then Ainsley did some weird voting manoeuvre that ended up with Luke being the only nay. Neither Aspen nor Maverick lodged a single complaint about the joining prospect. A big relief for me. They could’ve easily said no. I’ve been intimate with both of them, separately, for over a year, alternating my sleeping between their beds during that time. My fire spark has specific needs. Meeting those needs is a duty I fulfill with absolute fervour.

Luke splutters under his breath before scudding out of the room.

“I wonder where he scuds off to,” Aspen outgasses.

“Hopefully to chill out,” Ainsley dryfires.

“Definitely a cold shower,” I crackle. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

“Freaking gross.” She recoils her nose as if the idea of erupting disgusts her. Pity.

I hiss a laugh. “Don’t worry. The shields will hold.”

“They’d better,” she snicks. “I doubt I’m gunna sleep for crap, and while I don’t rightly give a horse’s backside about your erupting, I’d really rather not feel like a creepy peeper.”

So, erupting is fine. It’s just the idea of erupting with Luke that disgusts her. Noted.

“You could always join us,” I smoulder, reaching forward to slide my hand across her cheek. Maverick and Aspen nod their agreement.

She doesn’t draw back, but she isn’t biting on my offer either. It takes everything in me not to grab for a bit of her fire spark when I touch her. It’s flickering just under the surface begging to be let out. I want to accept it very, very badly. I won’t though. Not without her consent.

Luke, of course, started things off swimmingly by catching her off guard while she was changing into her sleepwear. That was a poor choice on his part. He doubled down on that poor choice by approaching from behind. His intentions weren’t indecent. He’d just been draining some of her water spark to relieve the swell causing her wristband to blare an overflow warning. I might’ve intervened, but I hadn’t needed to, and it really isn’t wise to. Our job is to keep her and the rest of the charges from imploding. That means draining the excess until they learn to control the creation on their own.

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In the end, intervening or not was irrelevant. Luke put his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. Not a wise move. Lucky for him, she sunk her teeth into his palm instead of biting off a finger. When he lurched back in pain, blood shooting from the wound, she proceeded to kick him so hard in the propellers he toppled to the floor. Then she kicked him hard once more in the kidney for good measure. He’s probably in the bathroom pissing blood right now.

Ainsley looks at her wristband and frowns.

“How about we help you sleep instead?” I suggest.

Her scopes magnify hopefully. “Can you do that?”

A spark of warmth blows through me. I embrace the feeling I’ve been missing for too long. Passion is my go-to and all I’ve experienced since Luke shut me out emotionally. Oh, how I’ve missed this subtle, slow-burning heat. The fire of friendship strikes my heart and cascades that flame right through my bones.

“Lay down,” I direct her.

I can’t help feeling smug when Ainsley does as I say with no resistance. It’s definitely better than the kick to the face she gave me at the Ward.

“We have to touch you, but if you’re uncomfortable at any point, just tell us to stop,” I warn.

“Do I need a safe word?” she clips.

“Stop will work fine,” Maverick slags.

“When you feel your body starting to resist the pull of your spark, try not to,” I continue. “It only hurts when you resist it.”

She nods, and I move to the head of the bed, sliding my hands into her hair to ease out the ponytail. It pours across her shoulders in an endless river.

“Where does your joy live, Ainsley Coterie?” I ash.

She tenses.

“Talking will help you focus while we’re opening you up.” I work my fingers gently along her scalp until I sense her body starting to relax. “Tell me where your joy lives.”

“With my family.” She clicks a soft sigh. “All my joy lives with them.”

“Focus on them,” I encourage her. “Think about the comfort of their embrace, their laughter, their love. Find a special moment with all of you together to hold onto.”

Maverick and Aspen stand beside her, holding her hands. Their eyes are on me and waiting for my mark to direct them into action.

“And where does their joy live?” I redirect.

She tenses again, and I continue gently stroking her hair. Her hands flex, but she doesn’t pull them away. “I thought it was with me,” she reports, her voice smaller than before. “They seem so…happy about this.”

I give Maverick and Aspen a nod to move forward. Very slowly, we begin accepting the spark that calls so desperately to each of us. My self-control in holding it back was the sweetest kind of torture.

“You’re not being replaced.” I fight to keep the desire out of my tone as her flames lick their way through me. “You’re irreplaceable.” To them. To us.

That’s a source of contention. If they’re happy with their changed circumstances, it makes her doubt her place with them. There’s so much bad for her to focus on, but there’s also good. She needs to be able to feel those bits, to hold onto the positives when she starts to lose control of her sparks. If she can find an anchor point, she won’t feel so helpless in all the changes being forced on her.

“Where does your joy live?” I repeat the question, drawing her fire spark to me in a slow and steady pull to relieve her tension.

“With my family…” she hangfires.

Our connection is affecting her. Her breaths are more shallow, her limbs less taught. Each spark carries her worries out with them in their release. Aspen’s air is a gentle caress while Maverick’s earth sinks her into the bed like a weighted blanket. This release is the hug she so desperately needs from her family. Before long, she falls asleep in our embrace.

“What now?” Aspen vents.

“We could cuddle?” Maverick tremors.

I smirk and move under the blanket I’ve hung to tent our bed. “Now you’re going to make every fantasy I’ve had over the last year come true.”

They look at each other briefly as they consider my words. A flicker of doubt makes its way into my heart. Sharing me separately is something entirely different than sharing me together. I might have to coerce them into this.

I strip and toss out my clothes through the tent opening. Yep, that’ll do. Their anxiety is replaced by a desire so strong it bubbles my magma chamber. They quickly shed their clothes and slide in with me, waiting for direction about how I’ll handle them both.

I move between them with Maverick at my back and Aspen at my front. Maverick wraps his strong hands around my waist. I lean forward at the same time, pressing my lips to Aspen’s. He kisses me back passionately, the powerful air he took from Ainsley sweeping through my mouth as his tongue dances around mine.

Maverick pushes us forward so Aspen hits the bed below us. My mouth stays on Aspen, but my kisses move to his cheek, then his neck, then his chest. He knows where this trail is leading and shifts up on the bed to give me better access.

As my kisses meet the hair leading to Aspen’s greatest treasure, Maverick rumbles against my neck when he finds how ready I already am. I grab hold of Aspen’s tephra in my hand, circling the tip with my tongue while Maverick uses his free hand to line himself up with my crater from behind. When I take Aspen in my mouth, Maverick pushes into me, shoving Aspen deep in my throat. Both of them groan simultaneously.

“Put the swashing shields up!” Luke billows from across the room.

I giggle with Aspen still in my throat. He groans loudly again from the vibration of it, grabbing my head in his hands. All my mirth fizzles out when they comply with Luke’s request, and Maverick starts moving behind me. That giggle is reborn as heavy pants of need, pure passion gushing through me with the ferocity of molten lava.

With each thrust, the magma inside me builds and builds until it erupts into a massive release tightening every muscle in my body at once. My conduit clamps around Maverick’s tephra. He loses control at the same moment, spewing into me. I press my lips tighter around Aspen. He whooshes as he spews into my mouth. I swallow every last drop and lick my lips before out from between them to settle myself in the middle of the bed.

I open my arms for each of them to take a place on either side of me. “Now we can cuddle.”

They deposit themselves with me between them, our breaths still ragged and hearts beating furiously. “Just a little repose,” I pop.

“You’re insatiable,” Maverick rumbles.

“I’m an active volcano,” I bubble.

“Good thing there’s two of us,” Aspen vogs.

“Good thing,” I agree.