Dragon Conjurer 10 -- Chapter 5 (OG 3-way sex scene) (Patreon)

“Good,” Steffi mewled, and her golden eyes rolled back in her head as she tweaked one of Nala’s dark nipples. “Because I don’t think I could have made it another day without your hands all over me.”

“Yeah, me too,” Nala gasped. She reached up to cup Steffi’s perfect breast in her hand and rubbed her thumb over the tip until it hardened into a tight point. “I feel like my whole body has been buzzing all day.”

“I had to change my panties when we got back,” Steffi confessed as her face turned the same shade of pink as her wavy locks. “They were totally soaked.”

“Well, I can’t let two of my best ladies go unsatisfied, now can I?” I asked, and I let the arousal pumping through my veins add a bit of rasp to my voice.

Then I walked over and wrapped each of my hands around my lovers’ slender waists. I was right in the middle of my favorite ice cream sundae threesome with Steffi on my left and Nala on my right.

I leaned in and captured Nala’s mouth with mine, and she instantly melted against my side. I caressed up to her ribcage and cupped her full breast in the palm of my hand as I explored her mouth with my tongue.

Steffi dragged her nails lightly along my skin as she sank down to her knees at my side. She grabbed hold on the waistband of my boxers and carefully pulled them over my raging erection. Then she wrapped her fingers around my length and pressed the most gentle kiss on the tip.

“Mmm,” I hummed as my lips danced with Nala’s, and I felt Steffi smile against my head.

My fairy-girl wrapped her lips around my throbbing cock and pressed herself forward until she gagged softly on my length.

I lowered my left hand and carded my fingers through Steffi’s pink hair as I massaged Nala’s tits with my right.

“Ooooh,” Nala gasped against my mouth, and her head fell back as she sank harder against me. “That feels so good.”

Pleasure flowed through my body slowly and persistently as Steffi sucked my cock like the most expensive ice cream cone in the world. She flicked her tongue teasingly against my swollen tip and then swallowed as much of my length as she could manage.

Nala’s knees started to grow weak, and I could feel her trembling against me as she clung to my shoulders to keep from falling to the thick carpet beneath us.

“I love the way you suck my cock,” I growled to Steffi. “And I want you to keep doing it while I eat Nala’s pussy.”

“Mmmm,” Steffi hummed as she popped my dick out of her mouth. She looked up at me with heavy-lidded eyes as she licked her lips. “I’d like that.”

“So would I,” Nala gasped.

“Good.” I made sure my curly-haired girlfriend was steady on her feet before I laid right down on the thick carpet. Then I looked up at my sexy lovers and curled my index fingers at them in invitation. “Get back here, both of you.”

“Yes, sir,” Steffi giggled, and she scooted right over and bobbed her head back onto my dick.

Nala’s chocolate-colored skin blushed as she braced her feet on either side of my head and sank down facing toward Steffi. She braced her palms on Beyblade’s tattoo as I wrapped my hands around her thighs to hold her in place, and heat flashed out from my fire dragon as I flicked my tongue across Nala’s dripping pussy lips.

I forced my hips to remain still on the floor even though I ached to thrust up into Steffi’s hot mouth. Instead, I focused all my raging desire on Nala’s clit, and I massaged my fingers gently into the muscles of her inner thighs.

“Ooooh, Dylaaaan!” Nala moaned.

“Mmmm,” Steffi hummed with appreciation, and the vibration tingled through my length and fueled the fire deep in my gut.

I worked my tongue over Nala’s engorged bundle of nerves and lapped up her juices as they soaked my chin.

Nala gasped and braced her palms on my thighs when I wrapped my lips around her clit and sucked. She dug her fingernails into my quads, and Griff and Zofia immediately let out a surge of dragon energy that would have brought me to my knees if I wasn’t already laying on the floor.

“Uhh,” I groaned, and I gripped Nala’s hips hard to hold her in place. Then I thrust my tongue as deep into her pussy as I could.

“Aaahhh,” Nala moaned with intense pleasure, and her thighs started to tremble on either side of my head. “Yes, please! Right there!”

I pushed the rising pleasure of Steffi’s mouth to the back of my mind, and I urged Nala closer to the edge. I released my right hand from around her shapely hip and reached down between her thighs until I found her clit with my middle finger.

Then I kept tongue-fucking Nala as I played over her clit in tight little teasing circles.

“Oh! Yes!” Nala gasped and arched her back to press her hot flesh harder against my finger. “Yes, Dylan! I’m gonna cuuuum!”

Steffi’s hot mouth disappeared from my dick, and I felt her shift over my hips. A second later, the heat of her pussy hovered over the tip of my dick, and I thrust up before she could move away. I slid my throbbing cock into Steffi’s dripping tunnel with one long thrust, and she sank down hard onto my hips.

“Goddamn, yes. Nal, cum for him,” Steffi purred, and then I heard the smacking of their lips as my delicious lovers kissed.

I nudged my finger teasingly over Nala’s clit right in that spot that always drove her totally crazy as I slid my tongue up her slick heat in one long lick.

“Fuuuuuuuck,” Nala groaned, and she ground her hips down onto my face as her whole body shuddered with release.

“Fuck, you’re so hot,” Steffi breathed. She gyrated in a slow hard circle on my cock and made it hard to focus.

I forced my tongue to ease Nala through her shuddering release until her legs finally stopped twitching. Then Nala sighed with immense satisfaction and lifted herself from my face, and I turned my attention to fucking Steffi.

But it was immediately obvious that Steffi had every intention of fucking me instead.

“Relax, cutie,” my fairy-girl lover purred as she braced her palms on my chest and lifted herself off my cock only to sink slowly back down again. “Let me have my way with you.”

“Mmm, okay,” I sighed, and I propped my hands behind my head.

Nala lounged back on her forearms beside me and watched with hazy eyes as Steffi started to ride my dick with slow determination.

“Aaaah, I’ve wanted your cock inside me all day,” Steffi moaned as her eyes slid closed. “Just like this.”

Steffi arched her lower back and leaned forward until just the very tip of my dick remained inside her hot pussy, and she sank purposefully back down and ground her clit against my pelvis. Then she did it again with the same slow, teasing rhythm.

Pleasure flooded over my nerves and buzzed under my skin as Steffi’s inner walls started to flutter ever so slightly.

“Mmmm, do you want more, baby?” I asked, but I didn’t move a muscle. I was really enjoying letting my pink-haired girlfriend use me like her own personal dildo.

“Yes,” Steffi gasped a moment later as she pressed my shaft deep inside her pussy.

“Nala, play with Steffi’s clit,” I said in a softly commanding voice. “And if you make her cum for us, I’ll fuck you just how you want it.”

“I can do that.” Nala smirked, and she shifted forward.

My earth bending lover reached between my fairy-girl and me, and I could tell by the catch in Steffi’s breathing the exact moment Nala touched her clit.

My mouth started to water as I watched Nala’s wrist work between Steffi’s thighs, and I started to thrust up into Steffi’s tight tunnel just the tiniest bit. Between Nala’s teasing fingers and my subtle thrusting, Steffi quickly started to lose control over her steady movements. My pink-haired lover began to bounce on my cock faster and with a more erratic rhythm.

Pleasure burned in the back of my mind, and I put a tight clamp on my desire. The tension was delicious as it built up in the base of my spine, but I knew the longer I held it off, the better it would be. I also knew exactly what my ladies wanted, and I was going to give them all of that and more.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Nala cooed, and she leaned forward and took Steffi’s tight nipple between her lips.

“Oooh, yes! I like that!” Steffi moaned and started to bounce even faster.

I could tell my fairy-girl was close as her inner walls started to tighten around my shaft.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled my hands from behind my head and gripped Steffi’s hips hard in both my hands. Then I held her firmly in place just above me and thrust up hard and slow into her hungry pussy.

“Oh fuck!” Steffi groaned low in her throat like an animal, and she grabbed hold of Nala’s shoulder for dear life. “Yes! Fuck me just like that!”

I grinned with smug satisfaction and picked up the pace just a bit. I pounded up hard into Steffi’s dripping tunnel as Nala continued to play with her engorged clit. Every few thrusts, Nala’s fingertip would slip lower and brush against the base of my cock in an exciting bit of extra sensation that sent my blood thundering through my veins.

Then Steffi’s perfect mouth fell open in a silent gasp as her entire body began to shudder with the crashing pleasure of her orgasm.

“Yeeees!” Steffi gasped, and she ground herself down onto my hips until I couldn’t possibly get any deeper inside her. “Oooooohh.”

I pressed my hips into the air and lifted Steffi slightly off the carpeted floor with my cock, and I nudged her gently through the aggressive waves of her climactic bliss.

“Mmmm,” Nala hummed and pressed a sweet kiss to the corner of Steffi’s open mouth. “Did that feel as good as it looked?”

“Yes,” Steffi gasped, and then she giggled. “Oh god, I really needed that.”

“I could tell.” I smirked. Then I sat up, and I lifted Steffi gently off my rock-hard cock and set her softly on the floor beside me.

“Is it my turn now?” Nala asked with a coy smile. “I really need your cock so deep inside me.”

“You know it is, babe.” I grinned. “Get that ass in the air for me.”

Nala’s whole face lit up in a bright and eager smile, and she rushed to obey. My chocolate-skinned lover turned around, leaned down on her forearms, and put her perfect ass in the air for me. Then she peeked back at me from the carpet and shook her ass in an open invitation.

“Oh, you little minx,” I teased. I gave her right cheek a good firm spank and gripped her hips in both my hands. “You’re gonna get it.”

“Mmmm, yes, please,” Nala whined, and she leaned back until her ass fit perfectly against my pelvis with my cock tucked gently between her cheeks.

I used my hand and nudged against the wetness of her tight tunnel, and I thrust into her eager pussy in one hard movement.

Nala’s head rolled back as she sank back against me as far as she could go.

“You like that?” I growled.

“Oh, fuuuuuck, yeeeeassss,” my curly-haired lover moaned low and long.

Steffi watched us with still-hungry eyes, and I could tell she needed another good orgasm to truly satisfy her. I gave Nala’s hips a squeeze and paused my thrusts with the head of my dick just inside her inner walls.

“Oooh, Dylan,” Nala begged. “Please don’t stop.”

“Don’t you worry,” I purred as I leaned over her to nip at her ear. “I’m going to fuck you until you can’t take it any more, but I need you to do something for Steffi, too.”

“Oh, anything,” Nala whined.

I gazed up at my pink-haired girl and gave her a devilish grin.

“You’re going to eat Steffi’s pussy and make her cum again while I fuck you,” I ordered my curly-haired lover. “And you don’t get to cum until she does.”

“Ooooh,” Nala gasped. “Okay.”

Steffi bit down hard on her bottom lip as a deep pink flush spread over her cheeks. Then she spread her legs wide and scooted her ass in front of Nala’s face.

Nala shifted her arms around Steffi’s hips and pulled her in closer.

I enjoyed the sudden wash of intense sensation that flooded over Steffi’s face when Nala’s tongue slid teasingly over her clit for a long moment before I sank back in my curly-haired girl’s pussy.

“Mmmmmm,” Nala moaned into my fairy-girl’s wet pussy.

I gripped Nala’s hips and massaged my thumbs into the lowest part of her back as I set a steady and demanding pace. Liquid lightning trickled down my spine and settled low in my gut, but I kept a short leash on my passion and a close eye on Steffi’s face.

My fairy-girl laid back comfortably on the plush carpet and sighed with soft pleasure as my curly-haired lover went to town, and I matched the pace of Nala’s movements.

Then Nala moved her hand up underneath her, and I could tell by the movements of her arm that she’d started to finger-fuck Steffi. I groaned low in my throat and gave Nala a little more as a reward for the pleasure she was giving Steffi.

My pink-haired lover’s entire body started to flush the same shade as her hair again, and she bit down on the knuckle of her right index finger.

“Fuck, Nal,” Steffi gasped. “You’re so good at eating my pussy.”

“Christ,” I grunted low in my throat, and I picked the pace up another notch.

Nala’s legs started to tremble as her arm started moving faster, and Steffi’s breathing grew rapidly shallow.

I knew they were both on the verge of another breath-taking climax. I reached between Nala’s thighs and rubbed the pad of my middle finger so gently over the very tip of her clit.

“Oh, yes!” Steffi moaned, and her mouth fell open. “Right there! Don’t stop!”

Nala’s arm worked fast between Steffi’s flushed and trembling thighs, and a second later she pushed my fairy-girl right over the edge into blissful oblivion.

“Fuuuuck!” Steffi groaned, and her thighs tensed and shuddered around Nala’s dark curls.

I leaned forward over Nala as I gripped her hip with my left hand while I kept teasing her clit with my right.

“Good girl,” I growled. “Now, cum for me.”

“Fuu--” Nala gasped, and her head collapsed on Steffi’s inner thigh as her inner walls clamped down around me. “Uuuuuhhhh!”

The tight rippling waves of Nala’s crashing orgasm broke the very last bits of my restraint, and I tumbled right into the abyss with her. My eyes slammed shut, and I groaned deep in my chest as I pumped Nala full of my hot seed.

Fire exploded behind my eyes and electricity blasted along all of my nerves as my brain misfired for a full ten seconds from the intense pleasure that radiated through every cell. I filled Nala with my cum and my cock as I nudged deep inside her walls, and we rode out the rocking waves of climax together for what felt like hours.

“Fuck, that was fucking incredible,” Steffi sighed, and she scratced her fingers gently through Nala’s dark curls.

“Mmmmhmmm,” Nala hummed and mumbled a few nonsense sounds before her brain started working properly again.

“Holy fuck,” I agreed. “I needed that as much as you did.”

I pulled my sated dick slowly out of Nala’s sloppy pussy and gave her ass a gentle pat.

“Now all I need is sleep,” Nala murmured, and her words were a bit slurred like she was totally drunk from my dick.

“Oooh, that sounds so good,” Steffi hummed. “Can we stay the night, Dyl?”

“Of course you can.” I smiled at my blissed-out ladies, stood up from the carpet, and reached down to help them both up.

“Woah…” Nala breathed as she wobbled on her feet for a split second. “Head rush.”

“Me, too,” Steffi giggled.

“Come here my sleepyheads,” I chuckled, and I wrapped a supportive arm around each of their waists. Then I led my ladies to the bed, and they climbed under the blankets with satisfied sighs.

“Come snuggle,” Steffi pleaded with a sleepy smile.

I grinned at my lovers and climbed in between them. Steffi draped herself over my right side, and Nala curled up on my left. The bed was so luxurious that we all fell asleep within minutes, and I didn’t have another thought until the soft sunlight woke me in the morning.

Both of my ladies were still sound asleep curled up against me, and I pressed gentle kisses on the tops of their heads to rouse them.

“Good morning,” I murmured.

“Mmm,” Nala hummed, and then her whole body tightened in one of those intense first-thing-in-the-morning stretches. “Oooooh.”

“Big stretch,” Steffi giggled, and then she enjoyed a more intentional rousing of her limbs.

“I love those stretches first thing in the morning.” I grinned. “The kind where it just takes over your entire body. Ugh, so good.”

“They really are,” Nala sighed, and then her stomach growled loudly. “Mmm, breakfast next, I think.”

“That sounds so perfect,” Steffi agreed.

“It does,” I said. “And I have news for the whole team.”

“News?” Nala asked, and she sat up in bed. “What kind of news?”

“Burkhard called to talk to me last night,” I explained. “I’ve got updates, but we should find the rest of the team first. It’s news for everyone.”

“Well then,” Steffi said as she flung the covers aside and hopped out of bed. “What are we waiting for?”

“Yeah,” Nala agreed. “You’ve got me all kinds of curious now, let’s get going.”

“Alright,” I chuckled at my ladies.

“Shit…” Steffi stopped in her tracks as she looked around my room.

“What?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah, shit,” Nala agreed as she looked around.

“All our stuff is in our rooms,” Steffi explained.

“Thank god we brought our robes last night,” Nala laughed.

“That’s so true!” Steffi burst into a fit of giggles. “We’ll get dressed and meet you in the hallway, cutie. Come on, Nal.”

“Sounds good to me.” I shook my head lovingly at my ladies and watched them throw on their robes and disappear into the hallway.

I took a moment to stretch the sleep from my limbs, and then I got out of bed a bit more slowly. I walked over to where my clothes were half pulled out of my duffel bag and threw on a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Then I went into the bathroom, quickly scrubbed a comb through my hair, and brushed my teeth before I walked out into the hallway to wait for my ladies.

I quickly went over all the information Burkhard had given me last night in my head, and I decided I would start with the news about Brandon. I knew that Nick was worried about his new friend, and my whole team was concerned about SEEKR’s status. They would all be relieved to hear the system was back up and running.

A few moments later, Steffi and Nala came out into the hallway. They looked well rested, and I knew they were still enjoying the satisfaction of our adventures from the night before.

Nala had pulled on a pair of skin-tight, dark-wash jeggings and a fashionably baggy wool sweater in a cheery shade of yellow. There was a fun geometric sunshine design stitched around the collar, and bright lines of yellow spread out across her chest.

Steffi wore bright pink yoga pants that hugged every curve from her narrow waist to her adorably bare feet. My fairy-girl had pulled on a long-sleeved, scoop-neck shirt in a muted shade of lavender that somehow perfectly matched her wavy pink hair.

“Let’s get everybody,” Nala said. “I’m practically dying of curiosity about the news from Burkhard.”

We each picked one of the other four rooms of our teammates and knocked politely on the wooden doors.

Elisabeth was first to answer, and she smiled at Steffi in her blue polka dot pajamas.

“Bonjour, amie,” Elisabeth murmured. She poked her head into the hallway and, and her coppery eyebrows rose up when she saw Nala and me waiting at the other doors. “Is something happening? Is there a mission?”

“No, no mission this morning,” Steffi said. “But Dylan has news from Burkhard, and he wants to tell us all at the same time.”

“Oh, very good.” Elisabeth smiled as her fierce features relaxed. “Allow me a moment to get dressed, and then I will join you in the hall.”

Ronin pulled open the door in front of me just as Elisabeth closed hers.

“Did I hear that there is news?” My Japanese lover stood before me in just one of the fluffy white robes that AMIE had left in our rooms. Her long black hair was a bit mussed still, and it looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. “Is it good news?”

“Mostly.” I grinned at Ronin. “Get dressed and come meet us in the sitting room. I want to tell everybody together.”

“Alright,” Ronin hummed. Then she smiled as she slowly closed the door between us. “I will be right out.”

“Lia isn’t answering,” Nala grumbled as she knocked on the Russian beauty’s door once more with more insistence. “Lia!”

“She doesn’t strike me as a very morning-y morning person,” Steffi said with a casually dry tone. “I bet she’s still sleeping.”

“Maybe.” Nala shrugged and knocked again.

I walked over to Lia’s door and turned the knob slowly to stick my head inside.

The room was dark, and my heart leapt up into my throat as I saw that the bed was empty. I pushed the door the rest of the way open and searched around the dimly lit room.

“Lia?” I called, and I was about to walk into the room when the bathroom door opened.

The beautiful blonde walked out of the bathroom in a thick cloud of steam. She was towel-drying her dripping hair as she walked out totally naked, but then she gasped loudly and instinctively tried to cover her gorgeous curve with the towel when she saw me halfway into her room.

“Oh! Dylan!” she grumbled at me, and her mouth spread in a relieved smile. “You scared the devil right out of me. What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I chuckled. “I’ve got news from AIMM’s headmaster to share with everyone. We tried knocking, but you didn’t answer, and I got worried.”

“I was in the shower.” Lia smirked and lowered the towel so her nakedness was on full display for me.

I heard Nala gasp softly behind me, and I knew that my earth-bending girlfriend had gotten an eyeful of the Dragon Conjurer’s full breasts. I smirked to myself and turned my focus to Lia’s face.

“I can see that,” I murmured playfully. “Get dressed and meet us in the sitting room, please.”

“Da,” Lia said. “Just a moment.”

“Take your time,” I said, and I couldn’t keep my eyes from raking down every inch of her glorious, dragon tattoo-covered skin.

Then I turned back around as I closed the door and caught Nala blushing just behind me. She chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged like a kid who wasn’t the least bit sorry about being caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“Come on,” I chuckled. “Let’s get Nick.”

“I’m on it!” Steffi said in a sing-song voice as she bounded across the hall to Nick’s room. She pounded hard on the door for a solid five seconds.

“What?!” Nick screamed from inside the room. “I’m busy!”

“Dylan has news from Burkhard!” Steffi called back with a big grin on her face.

I heard Nick’s muffled voice and then his footsteps as he approached the door. He pulled it open and stood in a ragged Attack on Titan t-shirt and black gym shorts.

“News?” the blond nymph asked. “What kind of news?”

“Come meet us in the sitting room,” I chuckled. I spotted Nick’s computer open on his bed and saw Zahra’s face on the screen. I waved to her and raised my voice so she could hear me. “Hey, Z!”

“Hi, Dylan,” Zahra said from the video chat. “How’s London?”

“It’s pretty awesome,” I said, and I turned to Nick. “Bring her with you if you want, I don’t see any reason Zahra can’t hear the news, too.”

“Alright,” Nick said. He dashed over and carefully scooped up his laptop. “Come on, babe, Dylan’s got news.”

“Oooh,” Zahra chuckled. “Sounds exciting.”

Steffi and Nala had walked into the fancy sitting room that was the only other room in our wing of the old English estate. I strode across the hall and walked in to find them seated beside each other on one of the wood-framed couches.

We’d spent most of the day after our battle with the Hecatonchires just lounging around doing a lot of nothing in here. The space was large and filled with comfortable leather arm chairs and plush couches. There was a full bar beside the wide bay window, complete with plenty of drinks and snacks to satisfy even Nick’s voracious appetite. The room was as comfortable as it was English, with a wide open fireplace and a huge oil painting of a fruit bowl above the wooden mantel. The only modern amenity of the sitting room was the addition of a sixty-inch flat screen television across the room from the fireplace.

I sat down in one of the leather armchairs and smiled at Steffi and Nala. Nick settled his laptop on the end table beside his seat and carefully adjusted the screen until Zahra could see us all.

A second later, Elisabeth, Ronin, and Lia walked into the sitting room together, and they all looked just as gorgeous as always.

Elisabeth had traded her blue pajamas for a pair of jogger-style sweatpants in a dark shade of gray. She wore a comfy-looking thermal shirt in a shade of green that perfectly complimented her pale green eyes, and she tied off her hair in a long fishtail braid as she sat down across from me.

Ronin had chosen black jeans that hugged perfectly at the narrowest part of her waist. She wore a bright blue shirt that cinched in just above the waistband of her pants, and her glossy black hair was braided up around her head like a crown.

Lia’s straight-leg jeans were tight over her perfect ass and cuffed twice around her ankles. She wore a black sweater that looked super soft and had a small keyhole below her neck that showed off a portion of her black Chinese dragon and the very top of her cleavage. She’d pulled her golden blonde hair into a loose ponytail at the back of her head.

Everybody settled into the comfortable seats around me and watched me with expectant gazes.

“So, there’s a fair amount of good news,” I started. “And some news that sounds like it’s probably going to lead to bad news.”

“I’m totally shocked by that,” Nick said with a completely straight face and a dryness in his voice that made it clear he wasn’t at all surprised.

“SEEKR is back up and running,” I announced.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Steffi said.

“Yeah, apparently Brandon was able to fix the corrupted code,” I explained. “Burkhard didn’t get into the specifics, but he said SEEKR is up, running and more secure than ever.”

“Yes,” Zahra chimed in. “Brandon was able to create a bunch of new security protocols and firewalls or something to keep unwanted intruders out of the system.”

“That’s so awesome,” Nick said, and he smiled at his girlfriend. “How’s he doing?”

“Better,” Zahra said. “I think being able to do something productive and helpful really made him feel good. He was really bummed out that he couldn’t help during the attack in Seattle.”

“Oh, yeah,” Steffi breathed. “Dylan mentioned there was an attack the same night we were saving London.”

“I almost forgot about that,” Nala sighed. “Man, I was so tired the next day, I hardly remember everything we talked about.”

“I didn’t get any details about the Seattle atack,” I said, and I looked at Zahra’s face on Nick’s computer screen. “What happened? What kind of monsters were you all dealing with?”

“Oh, it was totally insane,” Zahra exclaimed. “There was a whole army of this thing called a Colossal Claude. Apparently, it’s some monster that’s native to Oregon, and it’s like a common local legend.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of that legend.” I nodded. “The Colossal Claude is supposed to be some kind of camel-headed sea creature.”

“That’s right.” Zahra nodded back. “They looked kind of like the drawings I’ve seen of the Lochness Monster. Or that ocean-dwelling dinosaur, what is it, babe?”

“The plesiosaurs?” Nick offered.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Zahra said. “It was insane, there were so many of them, and they were freaking huge.”

“The legends say they’re about forty feet long,” I said.

“Oh, they were way bigger than that,” Zahra said with an emphatic nod. “I’d say almost twice that size. It took every team to deal with them all, and we only just managed to win.”

“I am very glad you are alright,” Ronin said. “It sounds like the AIMM cadets were nearly overwhelmed.”

“Yeah, we really could have used the Dragon Conjurer,” Zahra said, and she yawned like a snake trying to eat a moose. “Oh, sorry, it’s really late here.”

“You should get to bed, baby,” Nick said. He picked his computer up and held it close to his face, and he made a bunch of kissy faces at the screen. “I love you, and I can’t wait to see you.”

“I love you, too, babe,” Zahra’s voice sounded tired and raw with emotion. “Stay safe, and we’ll be together again soon.”

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Nick cooed at the screen.

“Ugh,” Nala muttered quietly and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling at my best friend. “Gross.”

Steffi playfully nudged her and gave her a gentle shushing.

“Get some sleep, baby,” Nick said, and he finally blew a last kiss at the screen and closed the top.

“Are you finished?” Nala teased.

“Yes, thank you very much,” Nick said, and he stuck his tongue out at us.

“I suspect there is more news to share,” Elisabeth said as she gazed at me. “Oui, Dylan?”

“You’re right, there’s more.” I grinned. “Not only is SEEKR up and running, but Burkhard told me that all the Academies have agreed to connect with each other over a massive network.”

“Woah,” Nick breathed.

“That is incredible,” Ronin gasped.

“All of them?” Ronin asked, and she raised one eyebrow with skepticism. “I do not see Headmistress Volkov agreeing to such open access to RMA’s records very easily.”

“Burkhard said even Volkov agreed.” I shrugged and looked at my team. “He said our diplomatic work at all the Academies has really paid off.”

“You did seem to make quite an impression on Headmistress Volkov,” Lia pointed out. “I also think she would not want to be the only Academy left out from such a network. I believe she might interpret such isolation as the other Academies joining together against her, as foolish a notion as that may be.”

“She’s what my grandma would have called an odd bird,” I chuckled. “But her motives don’t really matter, what matters is that communication is going to be faster and more open between the Academies than ever before in their history.”

“This is true,” Elisabeth agreed.

“And it’s a very good thing, too,” Nick added.

“I think so, too, Burkhard and I agree that things are going to be coming to a head really soon.” I frowned at them all as the looming shadow of the immediate future crept back up my spine. “And speaking of the GSO. Burkhard said he’s going to be sending one of his top scientific advisors all the way here to hand deliver some important new data to us.”

“Top scientific advisor, huh?” Nick tossed me a sly look from the corner of his eyes.

“Yes.” I eyed him back. “Burkhard didn’t say who it would be, but he did say they’d be bringing ‘good news’ with them.”

“Oh, fuck yes! Oh, you know that’s going to be new ranks!” Nick cheered suddenly, and he put on a terrible English accent. “There’s no fucking way we didn’t rank up after saving the bloody Queen o’ England.”

“That would be so cool!” Steffi gasped.

“I’m finally going to get my orange rank!” Nick slid down in his seat with pure delight. “Oh, I can’t wait to rub it in Johnny’s face!”

“Who do you think it will be?” Steffi asked.

“I don’t know,” Nala replied. “Ugh, I hope it’s not that fat little guy. He’s always got gunk in the corners of his eyes.”

“Maybe it will be Professor Romine,” Nick suggested.

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough,” I said as I shoved away the thought of Dr. Hastings in Mr. Thomas’s office. “Burkhard made it sound like they’d be coming in the next day or two.”

“May I ask something?” Lia spoke up.

“Yeah, what’s up?” I asked.

“What is this orange rank Nick spoke about?” Lia asked, and her golden eyebrows knitted together.

“At AIMM, cadets are given a rank based on their skill level,” Steffi explained.

“It goes, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and then Red,” Nala added. “And each color has five levels.”

“Right, so I’m a Yellow Five right now,” Nick said. “And the next time I rank up, I’ll be an Orange One.”

“Dylan was the first Red Rank at AIMM,” Steffi boasted. “It made some waves because he came in and was immediately given a Red One rank.”

“Oh, I see.” Lia nodded. “At RMA we are divided into tiers. There are six tiers in total, and they go up from tier six to tier one.”

“What tier are you?” Elisabeth asked.

“I am tier two.” Lia frowned. “Yelena is also a tier two, Oksana and Inessa are both tier three.”

“Are there any tier ones at RMA?” Ronin asked.

“Net.” Lia shook her head. “Volkov has made it clear to me that no one will be awarded a tier one until I have earned it myself.”

“Oooh,” Nick hissed through his teeth. “That sounds like a good way to stir up trouble among the cadets.”

“Trouble and resentment,” Ronin agreed.

“Yes,” Lia said, and she knotted her fingers together in her lap.

She didn’t say anything more than that, and I searched for a way to move the conversation away from the troubling topic. A second later, Ms. Young appeared in the open doorway and politely cleared her throat.

“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt,” the pretty brunette said. “But there is a monster situation. Mr. Thomas requires you in his office straight away.”