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.”"Why am I now?" Open curiosity.Green let out a breath and decided to be brutally honest with the young vampire.They did, after all, have a few things in common."Because I can be an autocratic bastard sometimes—if you want Cory's answer to it.But mostly because she came home today covered in blood and freezing cold and soaked in guilt.And you and I both know it wasn't her fault.Sometimes we do for our beloved what we can't do for ourselves." He looked at Kyle meaningfully, and finally, finally, he made eye contact."I hear you,” he murmured, "I'll tell Davy, at the very least.I promise.”"See that you do." Green gestured towards the trap door inside."And now I think it's time that you sent my people home and got on the road.Agreed?”"Absolutely.”Cory emerged from her room about an hour later, yawning and with Bracken at her back, holding a physics text and what Cory called her 'back up' knitting bag.Study time."Why didn't anybody wake me?” she asked through her yawn."I'm expecting Kyle any minute.”"He's actually come and gone," said Green casually, waiting.Her eyes snapped open, and she spoke with careful emphasis."Where, exactly, is he going?”"To the hotel in the city." He looked up from his computer, and saw that Bracken was edging away skittishly, as though from a rabid dog.Her eyes narrowed."Dammit Green…”"Corinne Carol-Anne!" He said abruptly, stilling her with her full name which he knew she missed the sound of since they had decided to use it sparingly."Three days ago, I was asleep and Bracken knocked on the door…do you remember that?”She blinked, surprised."Y…yes…”"What did you say to him when he was there?”She shrugged."I don't know…to take Max to school to keep an eye on Nicky since Renny wasn't going…”"Mmm-hmmm…why didn't you wake me up?”She shrugged."You were sleeping, Green…it was just standard stuff—I thought I'd spare you.You were so tired…”He waited.She was stubborn, but by no means stupid.Comprehension dawned."But Green, this wasn't the same thing at all…I'm supposed to be the Queen of the vampires…what I did the other day was minor shit…this was big deal Queenship stuff…”"And you are still learning to be queen,” he said gently."Nobody expected you to suddenly take over the reins overnight, luv.Let me do for you when I can.Please?" he added when she would have protested."I will be gone enough, and it will be hard enough to just desert you and go—let me do these things for you when I can." He heard the note of pleading in his own voice and tried not to cringe.Abruptly she closed the distance to the couch and threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck."No problem,” she murmured."No problem at all.”Bracken sat down in the overstuffed chair and opened the physics text, but she stayed buried in Green's arms for many more minutes before they got to studying.Later that night, Cory stretched, yawned, and moved herself off to bed, turning at the doorway expectantly.Bracken looked at Green, and Green smiled and nodded."Of course, beloved," he said gently, "Go get ready and I'll be there in a moment.”She nodded in a sleepy, contented way that said their time together would be more snuggling than sex, and then wandered off to his bedroom.Bracken picked up the physics book and turned towards the hallway when Green caught his attention."The sylph's mating cycle is coming round again,” he said softly, not wanting Cory to hear."I figured," Bracken frowned, "I didn't think you needed to be there for all of them.”"I don't—maybe one out of four, if they're as tight together as I think they are.But…" Green took a breath.He hadn't let anyone in on his plan to protect his people, but Bracken was crucial to what needed to be done, and to keeping Cory balanced enough to do what needed to be done."I want to try something, with this cycle.This is going to be a trial run, but when the real thing comes around, I'm going to need you and Nicky to know what's coming.”"Have you told Cory yet?" Bracken was obviously non-plussed.Of the two of them, Green was the one she talked to easiest."No…She's having such a hard time finding balance…with all of us…what I'm thinking about doing will involve the four of us, and unless it works with the sylphs I don't want her to know the specifics…" Oh, Goddess, was he actually blushing? 1800 years old, and he couldn't discuss how to cast a spell in sex without blushing? God, Goddess and other, what was the use of living so long!A slow grin had bloomed on Bracken's unrepentantly beautiful cheeks."We're going to try to do that thing again…the one we did when you healed Twilight and we blew each other's minds.”"Among other things getting blown, yes," Green said dryly, pulling his composure back around him like a cobweb cloak."But this is only a test run…I was just thinking that…”Now Bracken looked positively eager, and Green had to laugh.He was sure to his bones that Bracken would be happy to bed Cory and Cory alone until his dying day.But he'd also been raised a sidhe, with all of the freedom that entailed—a little adventure wouldn't bother him at all."You were thinking that if it was powerful when we were all apart, it would be absolutely nuclear if we were all in the same bed." His voice was practically throbbing with excitement."I think it could be protection against what the Hollow Man does against our blood, yes," Green affirmed.He outlined it, discussing the sexual logistics and the magic, and Bracken followed, his grin growing wider by the moment."That would be soooooo awesome,” he said when Green was done, using some of Cory's own language.Then, as though remembering who they were talking about, he added, "She'll never agree to it.”"She might, when she sees how this one works." Goddess he hoped so, he thought wretchedly.The only way to go through with this plan was to go through with it consensually.If she wouldn't agree—and wholeheartedly, without being dragged into it kicking and screaming—then it couldn't be done.Bracken nodded, and Green could see he was hopeful."Well, the least we can do is try,” he murmured, and Green nodded in agreement.Bracken moved off to his bedroom again, because Cory was either getting impatient for Green or fast asleep.He turned at the doorway."Green—that other thing aside, when the mating cycle kicks in, even if you're only going to be gone for one or two nights…leader, you have to tell her you're going before you leave.She's not ready for you to be gone yet—not so soon
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