Drake and Marek quietly entered the pen to find Tir still asleep with Ebony’s head resting on the ledge of the platform, her mate curled up next to her. Both dragons looked over at the two riders approaching the platform. Drake motioned over to the four chairs and table that sat on the other end of the platform, and Marek touched the mage light suspended above the platform to create a soft, pale blue light illuminating the now darkening pen. Soon both men were sitting down looking over at the sleeping boy.

"See, I told you we had time to take care of that fat pig," Marek complained. "After all, the dragons were here if the boy woke up."

"Don’t you think he is going to be more than a little confused? Ebony and Feras are intelligent, caring creatures, but unfortunately they can’t talk," Drake replied. "Besides don’t you think Tir should be able to watch us beating the man?"

"I guess you are right," grumbled Marek. "Well, now what?"

"I don’t know. It’s not like I have all the answers. I really think we should let Tristan know about him. After all, Tristan does visit Terma every so often, it will be hard to hide the boy considering all of the gossip that this little fiasco is going to cause, " Drake said with a sigh.

"You have only yourself to blame for that., Tir is a bastard, and I know Recura doesn’t look at bastards like we do, so why is Tir so worried?" Marek asked.

"Because his step-father sold him and he is concerned about what will happen to his half brothers. Slavery isn’t that popular in Recura, if I remember right. It’s only allowed in the port cities I think. Tir’s father would be in serious trouble if it were found out he sold his son, let alone the prince’s bastard. I think he is also afraid he would have to leave Terma," Drake answered.

"Why not do a state visit to Recura then? As crown prince you could go after the eggs have hatched and take Tir. That way the boy could talk to Tristan and convince him of what he wanted. It’s not like Tristan is going to want the boy in court anyway, considering he is a bastard and he can’t go back to his father. As for his brothers, just bring them to Terma," Marek said with a shrug.

"As what?" Drake asked.

"Who cares what they want to be. It’s not like your father couldn’t foster two boys. Let them chose."

"It has possibilities, but I have to wonder if that is what Tir’s brothers would want. They must love their father after all. To see him punished and forced to come to a foreign country might not sit well with them," Drake mused.

"Well it’s just one possibility. After all you don’t know what Tristan will do, but it’s not like Tir has to be afraid of his heritage either," Marek said leaning back in his chair.

"What about the boy? He isn’t a slave anymore Marek," Drake warned.

"Obviously," Marek said rolling his eyes.

"What I am getting at is he isn’t a harem boy to be used," Drake said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yes, but he isn’t your lover either Drake," Marek said is a lazily, tone not looking at Drake.

"Marek, I am not going to let you . . ." Drake started but was interupted by a scream coming from the boy.

He felt Ebony’s anxious yellow tones enter his mind as both he and Marek rushed to Tir’s side. Drake looked at the incredibly wide violet eyes that held fear and confusion as he looked at the two riders on each side of his bed.

"Was it a dream or is this a dream?," Tir asked, confused when he saw Ebony push Drake aside and move her head near Tir’s, her huge body partly on the platform.

Tir reached out and stroked Ebony’s eye ridges as he felt her long tongue lick his face. Suddenly he felt a mix of blues and greens enter his mind, soothing away some of his confusion. Then a gruff pebble voice echoed in his mind.

"Don’t be afraid boy. Ebony and I helped to heal you, so now we are connected. Don’t tell Drake and Marek right now, this is just between us. We will talk later when they aren’t around. Just know that Ebony and I will protect you and there is nothing to fear."

Tir felt the two very distinct presences withdraw from his mind as he looked at Ebony with wonder. He watched as her head withdrew from the platform letting Drake back next to the boy’s side.

"Tir are you ok? You suddenly lost all of your color," Drake asked as he perched on one side of the bed while Marek sat on the other.

With those words Tir came back to himself, still amazed that he had felt Ebony’s presence in his mind and heard Feras’s words so very clearly. He didn’t know what was going on but he was beginning to wonder if he was still dreaming. Knowing that Drake needed an answer he tried to put the experience in the back of his mind and focus on the conversation with the dragon rider.

"I just don’t understand. The last thing I remember was Esper gloating a crossed from me and the guard whipped me," Tir said, trembling a little with the memory..

"Don’t worry about the little pig. Drake knocked him against the wall and Drake, the dragons and I healed you up. You don’t have to go back to the harem again," Marek said almost cheerfully.

"What, you mean you are going to sell me?" Tir said softly, tears filling his eyes as his still confused mind jumped to the wrong conclusion..

Drake wrapped his arms around the boy, smoothing his tangled hair. "No, of course not. You are going to stay here with Ebony and Feras," Drake said looking over at Marek.

"Yeah, the King has already agreed and Ebony and Feras aren’t going to let you out of their sight," Marek said, trying to sooth the boy.

"I don’t understand," Tir said softly, unable to believe that he had been whipped to death only hours before and now everything he had ever wanted was coming true.

"It’s simple little harem boy, you’re a bastard son of a neighboring kingdom. The king isn’t going to risk having Tristan find out about us keeping you as a sex slave, of all things. Ebony adores you and since she is large with lots of teeth and enormous mood swings, being pregnant, the King isn’t about to mess with what she wants. And finally, he isn’t about to let his only son and heir come unglued because he put you back into a harem the idiot doesn’t approve of anyway," Marek explained with his sarcastic voice.

"His son, what does his son have to do with me?" Tir asked, snuggled in Drake’s warm chest, unwilling to let go of the comforting arms around him even for his curiosity.

Marek threw back his head and laughed as Drake looked over at him in disapproval. Pulling Tir away from his chest Drake looked down at the boy, brushing the tears from his eyes with a gentle hand.

"I am the King’s son, but I don’t really think about it much. The old man and me don’t get along the best anyway and most of the time avoid each other," Drake said.

"You mean you don’t like him?" Tir said looking up into the black eyes.

"I don’t like his policies and tastes. I don’t hate him or anything, he is my father and I do love him. He’s just infuriating sometimes. When mother was alive it was better, she would often bridge the gap between us, but she died a long time ago," Drake replied softly.

"Yeah she was an incredible woman," Marek said in a surprisingly serious voice. Both Tir and Drake looked over at the blonde man, who blushed a little realizing what he had said.

"How do you know her? She died eight years ago," Drake asked curiously.

"Well I was in court when I was ten. I remember seeing her fly in on the sapphire dragon, ; that almost blinded me with his beauty. I got loose of my nanny and ran all the way to the dragon hallways looking for where the blue dragon had landed. When I saw your mother stride out of the pen I just knew that she was the rider of the giant beast. I couldn’t even move when I saw her, I was so surprised by her own unique beauty and aura of strength. She walked up to me smiling and before I knew it I was in the pen with her dragon as she told me about him. I will always remember her telling me that one day I would make a fine dragon rider. That brief encounter is what made me come to Feras’s hatching and try to bond with a dragon." Marek explained, losing himself in his memories of his encounter with Drake’s mother. His emerald eyes very far away from both Tir and Drake.

"Your mother was a dragon rider?" Tir asked in surprise, forgetting for the moment all the shocking events of the day as his curiosity got the better of him.

"Yes, it is rather rare for women to be riders, but there are a few. It is even more rarer for the King’s dragon to mate with a dragon with a woman rider. I think it has only happened once since dragons became part of the fabric of the kingdom’s history.

“It was a love match and both the dragons and my parents remained together until Shokar, mother’s dragon, was shot out of the sky in a border skirmish. It was a complete fluke that the arrow hit in the vulnerable throat area. Mother plunged her sword into her body as Shokar died. It is the way of dragon riders and dragons; very rarely do we live when the other half of us died," Drake said quietly.

"I am sorry, it must have been hard to lose her," Tir said thinking of his own mother when she died. "So the King has a dragon too? I wouldn’t have guessed that he was a rider."

"Yeah, she is older and doesn’t mate anymore. Once her mate Shokar died, she didn’t want to mate again. Ebony was still a little young to mate so there were about four years where no dragon’s were born," Drake replied.

"Doesn’t that mean Feras wasn’t always Ebony’s mate then?" Tir asked looking over at Feras, who winked at the boy. Ebony snorted and lashed her tail lightly at her mate.

"No, she was mated to a large brown dragon called Telas two years, and another smaller green dragon named Eragon for the next two. Unlike father’s dragon Ebony has never settled for one mate. Feras is the first mate that I have ever felt her have strong feelings for." Drake said affectionately.

Tir’s face screwed up in concentration, thinking about the dragon’s and their mating. After a while he couldn’t help but ask his question, hoping not to offend the dragons. "Umm aren’t they interbreeding then?"

Marek started to laugh, looking at Drake and then at Tir. "You’re the strangest boy I have ever meet, little harem boy. You almost die, and your life has been completely altered and you are asking about interbreeding amongst dragons?" Marek continued to laugh as Tir blushed bright red, and Drake couldn’t help but smiled down at the curious boy still next to him.

"Marek, quiet. No Tir because each time a new heir turns sixteen they go out into the dessert and don’t come back until they have bonded with a wild female dragon. All the females born to Ebony will refuse to bond with anyone and by the time they turn three months will fly away," Drake explained.

"So you went out alone into the dessert, but what happens if you hadn’t bonded with Ebony or if you had gotten killed?" Tir asked, finding it crazy to send the heir to a country out by himself into a desert.

"Then I wouldn’t have come back and Father would have had to have another child with mother or stop the contraceptives with his harem girls," Drake replied.

Tir’s eyes widened at that, very much glad that Ebony had chosen Drake. Tir’s mind was filled with questions but it was also still trying to come to terms with all of the events of the day. Without meaning to he yawned, and heard Drake laugh for the first time since he had awakened.

"Maybe it’s time for us all to go to bed, it has been a long day. Marek and I will go back to our rooms and you can sleep here with the dragons," Drake said as Marek arched his eyebrow at Drake’s sleeping arrangements.

Tir looked at Drake for a moment before putting a hesitant hand on the man’s arm, as he looked over at Marek.

"Would you both stay with me?" Tir asked hesitantly, a blush creeping up his face.

Drake looked down at the little harem boy in surprise before looking up at the smirking face of the Baron. Shaking his head he wondered what the boy could be thinking of.

"Tir, the dragons will protect you. Nothing can touch you here," Drake said patiently.

Drake was startled by the intense violet eyes that looked up at him. He could see that the boy wasn’t thinking of sleep, or of someone harming him.

"Tir you have to be kidding," Drake said quietly.

"I like his idea," Marek said, crawling across the bed to the two men on the opposite side.

"But Tir you don’t have to . . ." Drake started but was cut off by a firm kiss from Tir as the boy entangled himself around the man.

Drake sat unresponsive for a moment then tried to push Tir away. Suddenly he felt soft pink and rose colors enter his head. Turning in shock he saw Ebony curled up with Feras. He felt Ebony’s mind pushing him to the boy, encouraging him to take what was offered. By the time his astonished mind had disconnected from his dragon he found himself half undressed as Marek was busily undoing his pants and Tir’s mouth was eagerly exploring his erect nipple..

"Hey wait. What are you doing Marek?" Drake asked, surprised to find the Baron undressing him.

Marek looked up at Drake, a wicked grin spread across his face before his burying his blonde head into Drakes groin, licking the confused rider into hardness as Tir continued his work on his now sensitive nipples. Unable to protest anymore at the sensations flooding him he leaned back on his hands, giving the two men access to his body as he vaguely heard his dragon purr in pleasure.

"Yes Marek go ahead, suck me," Drake hissed, now totally lost in the sensual pleasures of his body.

Tir moved up to kiss Drake, exploring his mouth anxiously as tangled chestnut curls surrounding Drake’s face. He felt Tir gasp against his lips. Drake let go of the kiss to see that the Baron had inserted a saliva covered finger into the boy’s small ass and he continued to suck on Drake’s now totally engorged organ. Drake lowered himself to catch Tir’s leaking organ into his own mouth as the Baron continued to work Tir’s back passage with long slim fingers.

Tir cried out in pleasure as both riders began to work on his most sensitive regions. He looked up in pleasure to see not only Ebony watching but Feras as well. A tremble ran through his small body as he felt himself burst for with a large offering of cream into Drake’s waiting mouth.

"That was quick," Drake whispered as he let go of the somewhat deflated organ and moved up to kiss Tir passionately, enjoying the panting boy’s soft lips.

"They’re watching," Tir said against Drake’s lips.

"Yes, and they can feel what we feel," Drake replied as Tir moaned softly.

Drake felt his own organ twitching, aching for release as the Baron increased the suction on his overwrought member. Drake pulled the blonde head off of him and surprised the Baron by kissing him roughly, demanding possession of the man’s lips.

Tir watched the two gorgeous men kiss, very turned on by the sight. Tir moved between the two men, grabbing the Baron’s very large member with two hands as his tongue circled the head. He felt the man’s hips twitch and thrust slightly into his mouth as Drake’s hand pinched the man’s pink nipples into hardness.

Drake moved around behind Marek to push the willowy man to his knees. Marek looked back at the lust filled animalistic eyes before getting on to his knees, lowering himself to offer Drake open access to his vulnerable back passage. Drake buried his face into the tight portal open before him. He licked around the opening teasingly before wriggling his tongue into it. Marek gasped in pleasure as he felt the wet tongue work his tight opening, and Tir continued to swallow him, taking more and more of his long length down his throat. Marek growled in pleasure, trying to force more of Drake’s wiggling tongue into himself.

Marek felt the absence of Drake’s wet tongue and groaned in protest only to feel a hard organ prod his back passage. Wanting to feel it deep inside, Marek backed up, impaling himself totally on Drake’s invading member with one thrust. The pain and pleasure hit Marek at once and caused him to lose control of himself, crying out his release into Tir’s surprised mouth.

Tir drank all of the Baron’s hot offering before moving out from underneath the man to watch in amazement as Drake grabbed the Baron’s lean hips and proceeded to take him with hard, powerful thrusts, his long braid swinging wildly. Tir’s hand moved down to his own now pulsing organ at the incredibly sexy sight of Drake pounding into the panting Baron. His hands quickly stroked the amazingly hard shaft as the other hand fondled his own ass.

It wasn’t long before Marek felt Drake’s whole body tensed in pleasure of the raven haired rider’s violent conquest of his body. He felt his own organ that had already come once rise again from the hard pounding Drake had given him. Moving out from under Drake’s panting body he crawled over to the little harem boy stoking himself at the show the two rider’s had put on for him.

Pushing the boy back he seized his lips with his own as he slide his aching member into the boy, narrow hips bucking up against the baron. Marek thrust gently into the boy at first, but soon couldn’t help but increase the pace.

"This is what you wanted, wasn’t it?" Marek growled.

"Yes, I wanted to be fucked. I wanted to be with you," gasped Tir, looking up at the baron, a sexy little smile on his face remembering the Baron on all fours for Drake.

Marek gasped in pleasure as he reached his climax and Tir also spilled himself at the look ion the Baron’s face.

All three men moved to the head of the bed to lie down. Tir snuggled between the two very satisfied dragon riders.