Magi's Path (Aether's Revival Book 3) by Daniel Schinhofen (best black authors .TXT) 📗

shook her head. “Not this time. I barely had the answers for Greg.”

“I thought I had another turn,” Greg shrugged. “The combo of attentive scouts and rapid deployment was not something I’d considered.”

“Still wasn’t enough,” Yukiko said. “Jenn took the field this time. That’s two for her now.”

“I enjoy how Krogga plays,” Jenn said. “They’re better at aggressive offense. It also helped that you went for Greg like you did and sapped his strength. It gave me a chance to deal with his better-equipped army and to mop up yours.”

“I’m going to win next time,” Gregory said. “Can’t fall too far behind you both.”

“I’m going for a repeat,” Jenn said.

“And I must keep pace with her,” Yukiko added.

They shared a laugh as they paused outside their doors.

“I hope Brown can come up with something,” Jenn said, bringing their attention back to the earlier conversation at dinner.

“So do I,” Gregory nodded. “We’ll find out when he tells us. Good night, Jenn. To the victor,” he said, stepping forward and lowering his head to kiss her an inch to the side of her lips, “go the spoils.”

Jenn beamed as her face reddened slightly. “More incentive to win,” Jenn said.

“To the victor,” Yukiko said, moving forward when Gregory stepped back. She cupped Jenn’s face as she bent her neck and kissed Jenn full on the lips.

Gregory blinked in shock, his face flushing slightly. Jenn’s eyes went wide and she became the color of a beet. Yukiko stepped back, taking Gregory’s hand and pulling him into their room, while Jenn just stood there, her hand going up to lightly touch her lips.

The door clicking shut got Gregory’s attention, and he found Yukiko watching him. She chewed her bottom lip gently, and her brow contracted. Seeing her looking worried and uncertain, Gregory swept her into his arms and held her.

“Did I go too far, dear one?” Yukiko whispered.

“I don’t know,” Gregory replied softly. “She didn’t seem offended.”

“Did I go too far for you?” Yukiko clarified.

Gregory held her as the memory of Yukiko kissing Jenn replayed in his mind. “I… don’t know,” he finished lamely. “If we do move forward, then no, but if we don’t…”

Yukiko swallowed and leaned into him. “I know it was a terrible risk, but I wanted to see if she was really okay with it being all of us together.”

“I think she was smiling,” Gregory said. His brow furrowed as he tried to recall Jenn before the door shut, but all he kept seeing was the kiss.

“Oh,” Yukiko whispered. “I guess you didn’t mind at all.”

Gregory flushed when her hand brushed his crotch. “It was... intriguing,” he coughed at the end.

“It wouldn’t be fair of me to ignore the problem that I’ve caused,” Yukiko murmured as she caressed him through his kimono.

“That would be horrible,” Gregory swallowed as he tilted his head to the side and nibbled Yukiko’s neck. “Maybe we should retire to bed and make sure we’re both ready for sleep?”

“As my heart wishes,” Yukiko shivered as his teeth grazed her neck.

Chapter Thirteen

 

The next few days were a little more awkward than even their first bath had been. Jenn would blush when Yukiko touched her, but she never shied away. Their awkwardness didn’t stop them from doing what they had been— training in the morning with Dia at the park before going off to work.

Yukiko finished her first full set of leather armor, and like Jenn’s sword, it wasn’t good, but it was the first thing she’d made start to finish all on her own. She paid to have it shipped to her family, along with a letter explaining it.

Jenn continued to help Kassidy with her work while also listening to her explain how to tell when a smith cut corners, which would result in poor steel. The two of them doubled or tripled Kassidy’s production, and the taciturn smith went so far as to tell Jenn that she would miss the much smaller woman.

Gregory was learning quickly how to tell good arrows from poor ones, as well as spotting the more common mistakes with bows. The majority of his time was spent making arrows, which Bryn said there could never be enough of. Gregory thought he’d be able to make arrows in his sleep with as many as he’d made.

Brown didn’t serve them personally over those days, and they featured dishes they’d had before. Dia explained that when Brown went on an experimental endeavor, his normal meals ended up being things that he was confident in making without too much thought. The apprentices couldn’t complain, as their food was still delicious and aether-filling, but each meal dimmed their hope that he would have a breakthrough.

Their fourth game of Empire’s Gambit was in full swing, with all three of them having returned to playing magi of the empire. Gregory opted for a magi with spatial magic, Jenn went for a wind magi, and Yukiko was playing a water magi.

~*~*~

Bryn had Gregory finish the final two steps of making a composite bow on his own. Smiling as he set the bow down, Gregory felt elated. “Sir, it’s done!” Gregory called out.

“Bring it up here,” Bryn called back.

Gregory picked up the completed creation and took it to the front of the shop. “Here it is, sir,” he said, laying the horn-backed bow in front of Bryn.

Bryn looked over the bow, taking his time to examine it. As Gregory waited, he watched Bryn for any hint that he had made a mistake.

“String it,” Bryn said.

Gregory fetched a bowstring and, after a moment, recalled how to properly hold a composite bow to string it. Taking a deep breath, he put action to his memories and got the bow strung.

“That is the easiest and most well-known way,” Bryn nodded. “Remember to unstring it if