Three Brothers Fair

By Emily Carrington

According to prophecy, three brothers must find their mates. But prophecies are often both right and misunderstood.

Prince of Seas (Three Brothers Fair 1): What’s the worst thing about being a water demon? You can’t tell your husbands apart. Of course, it doesn’t help when your newest mate-to-be disguises himself as his brother to win your hand.

Prince of Land and Fire (Three Brothers Fair 2): Against his will, Lord Tian has fallen for a magical land creature -- a gnome. Prophecy says he must wed a land creature and become a destroyer and spy. When Tian and Alastair play at BDSM and love they set in motion the destruction of the status quo.

The Zephyr Prince (Three Brothers Fair 3): Andy is the eldest son of the ruling kelpie family. His two brothers have found their lovers, in accordance with an often-misunderstood prophecy. Now it’s Andy’s turn…

Publisher’s Note: Three Brothers Fair Box Set contains the previously published novellas Prince of Seas, Prince of Land and Fire, and The Zephyr Prince.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changeling Press
• Release date: Dec 31, 2021

Book preview

Three Brothers Fair

Emily Carrington

All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2021 Emily Carrington

BIN: 010123-03286

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Publisher:

Changeling Press LLC

315 N. Centre St.

Martinsburg, WV 25404

www.ChangelingPress.com

Editor: Crystal Esau

Cover Artist: Angela Knight

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Table of Contents

Three Brothers Fair

Prince of Seas (Three Brothers Fair 1)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Prince of Land and Fire (Three Brothers Fair 2)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

The Zephyr Prince (Three Brothers Fair 3)

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Epilogue

Emily Carrington

Three Brothers Fair

Emily Carrington

Prince of Seas (Three Brothers Fair 1): What’s the worst thing about being a water demon? You can’t tell your husbands apart. Of course, it doesn’t help when your newest mate-to-be disguises himself as his brother to win your hand.

Prince of Land and Fire (Three Brothers Fair 2): Against his will, Lord Tian has fallen for a magical land creature -- a gnome. Prophecy says he must wed a land creature and become a destroyer and spy. When Tian and Alastair play at BDSM and love they set in motion the destruction of the status quo.

The Zephyr Prince (Three Brothers Fair 3): Andy is the eldest son of the ruling kelpie family. His two brothers have found their lovers, in accordance with an often-misunderstood prophecy. Now it’s Andy’s turn…

Prince of Seas (Three Brothers Fair 1)

Emily Carrington

What’s the worst thing about being a water demon? You can’t tell your husbands apart. Of course, it doesn’t help when your newest mate-to-be disguises himself as his brother to win your hand.

Prince Felimid wants nothing more than to have a kelpie in his family so that his own race will have some stronger blood to mix in and have a hope of keeping water demons from dying out altogether.

What he gets is a shy, sneaky, and virginal kelpie whose seed has yet to be proven. Initially furious that he’s been tricked, Felimid can’t deny the courageous and lusty husband he’s accidentally won.

Chapter One

Three brothers fair:

One for the land, one for the sea,

And one for the air.

Golden, chestnut, and jet of hair,

Three brothers to unite the kingdoms:

Land, sea, and air.

Innocent one, quiet and wise,

Foolish one in another’s guise,

And third, the Destroyer and Spy.

Happiness for three,

But greater the Lady’s Power will be.

-- from The Lady’s Words, translated by Lord Andrew Cuirm Weinberg

Comfortable in the high-backed armchair, Hans watched his brothers.

The hair dye won’t stay for more than a few hours. Tian grimaced at his reflection. Andy, what the hell’m I supposed to do?

Andy didn’t look away from the book on his desk. You could start by not croaking like a new-hatched chick.

The armchair was positioned in a corner, well out of the way of the teasing and annoyance that always flew between Tian and Andrew Weinberg. With a mug to warm his hands, Hans smirked. He loved listening to his brothers bicker without true heat.

Tian stalked over to the desk and gave one of its legs a hard kick.

The book jumped, but Andy didn’t react.

What’m I gonna do? Tian’s voice rose. He’s a hideous, self-centered water demon.

Is there any other kind? Hans asked, his voice barely audible to his own ears. Although he thought Prince Felimid mac Lugh rather attractive for a water demon. Yes, his skin tended to resemble that of an eczema sufferer when he walked in air-breather form, but his grace when he swam… Hans drank deeply of his tea in an effort to hide the flush of his cheeks with the liquid’s heat. In an effort to distract himself, he considered the archaic form of the prince’s last name. Mac meant son of. And lugh was some sort of sea god. The space between both names wasn’t common anymore, but from what Hans knew, the mac Lughs were a highly traditional people.

Tian stomped back to the mirror and whined, Andrew, help me.

You’re pathetic. But Andy got up from his desk at last and crossed to Tian. You know our bodies don’t hold human chemicals well. Why did you waste time trying?

Hans watched as Andy flicked a hand through Tian’s hair. Gray dye flaked off into the air and dropped to the carpet.

Were you thinking to pretend you’re an ancient mortal? Andy raked his fingers over the part in Tian’s chestnut mass. The prince -- or at least his parents -- know we’re triplets. The moment Hans and I walk into the room, your secret will be out.

Color blazed high in Tian’s cheeks, but his voice carried less prissy outrage and more fear. I wanted to make myself unattractive to him. I’m too young to be married off this way.

Too young by whose standards? We’ve been eighteen for almost six months. Most of our cousins were married within a moon cycle once they reached their eighteenth year. In spite of his pitiless words, Andy put an arm around Tian’s shoulders. You’re attracted to males in general, if not this specific prince, and that’s more than many an intended bride or groom can claim. He lowered his voice. And you’re no stranger to sex.

Assured that he was still being ignored, Hans grinned. Tian was the second of their trio to be born. He’d always played the part of middle child even though he’d broken shell a scant three minutes after Andy. Tian went on the adventures, got into more trouble than Andy and Hans together, and was able to maintain an erection many months before his nest siblings. Of course he’d gotten laid first. Andy often played the role of older brother. He had also enjoyed a coupling or two, although he’d waited until he turned eighteen.

Hans pressed his lips together when Tian spun to bury his head against Andy’s shoulder. That leaves me to play the virginal shadow. It was either that or act the part of the weak but intensely intelligent youngest one. He wasn’t quite fit for that. Not when he enjoyed swimming and diving so much but couldn’t manage to learn more than one language besides his own.

"Shh, shh, it will be all right. Andy rubbed Tian’s back. He’s a good match for you: brave, strong, and playful. I’ve heard --"

Tian shoved his way out of Andy’s arms. You go marry him if you’re so convinced he’s wonderful. He went to the desk and kicked its leg again. I want a chance to pick my own ball and chain. We’re immortal, Andy. Hasn’t it occurred to you that I’ll be trapped in this marriage for the rest of my life? A thousand years from now, I’ll be stuck with someone I’ve never -- could never -- want.

I’ll take your place. Tian and Andy whirled toward him, and only then did Hans realize he’d spoken loud enough for them to hear. Blushing under their regard, he refused to back down. He’d always been told the sons of Lord Cuirm and Lady Weinberg must say what they meant and mean what they said. So he raised his chin and balanced his mug on one knee. I find Prince Felimid attractive.

Tian’s expression, startled at first, morphed into one of amusement. Hans, I love you. You’re a selfless li’l thing with a tragic heroine’s heart.

Don’t call me li’l thing. But he couldn’t put any heat behind his voice. Andy and Tian were the warriors; he was only the shadow.

Andy sighed and returned to his desk. It’s a kind gesture, Hans-a-la, but Tian can’t accept.

Why not? Now Tian’s attention was back on Andy. Not that I would put our li’l thing -- he smirked over his shoulder at Hans --in such a position, but I’d like to know why you think you can speak for me.

I speak for you because Father and Mother aren’t here. And because, after them, I’m the keeper of our family’s traditions.

You mean you’re the only one self-important enough to want to keep them.

Hans got up, setting his mug silently under the armchair. While Tian and Andy glared at each other, he escaped the room. Neither of his brothers said anything to him. Soon he was halfway to his favorite balcony.

Loch Erie -- what the humans called Lake Erie in their newspapers -- was considered to have mostly deserted shores where it bordered with New York State. But the glamour that kept kelpies like Hans and his family disguised from the nonmagical world also made their home invisible. It wasn’t a castle, but Hans had never cared for his cousins’ grand, impersonal homes. He liked the relatively small dwelling that allowed him to jump from the second-story balcony into the water below. There was just enough time between leap and splash for him to change from his mostly human aspect to his true shape.

He opened the balcony door, prepared to sprint to the railing and vault it. But he froze with his hand still on the doorknob. Someone sat on the low stone railing Hans often thought of as his. It’s him. Prince Felimid. The auburn-haired man in the leather kilt sat with his back to the loch. His face was broad and a little homely by popular standards, and the reddish, almost pebbly look of his skin in human form would be taken as unattractive by most. But his hair and eyes were beautiful, and his posture bespoke royalty.

Hello? Hans asked in clumsy, memorized Gaelic. He gave up and switched to English. Are you Prince Felimid mac Lugh? Gaelic was not his second language. He’d chosen to study Scots, best known as English’s second cousin once removed. It was his people’s tongue.

He was rewarded with English. I am. The prince smiled a little. Gestured for Hans to join him. Sit for a moment. I’m sure the master won’t mind.

You consider me a slave? It followed that Felimid didn’t know what Hans and his brothers looked like. Repressing a grin, Hans approached and bowed. Thank you, Majesty.

You burst out here like you were going somewhere. Felimid nodded toward the lake. Were you going for a swim?

Yes, Majesty. Hans wondered if the shape of his thickening cock could be seen through the tights he often wore when in human guise. The prince’s voice was as silky as gently flowing water.

Felimid stood and pushed his kilt off his waist. It dropped in a little puddle around his beautifully fashioned, human-seeming feet.

Hans blushed when he looked at those perfectly made toes so unlike the horse hooves he wore while on land. Whether he disguised himself as a human or as the water horse, he couldn’t get rid of those hooves.

Felimid chuckled. Have you never seen a naked water demon before?

Hans shifted his weight. His hooves, hidden in their doeskin wrappings, made no noise on the balcony’s stone floor. It’s not that. I suddenly remembered… But he didn’t have the courage to admit his embarrassment.

Felimid took both of Hans’s hands. Will you listen to a piece of advice?

Swallowing, Hans lifted his gaze. Of course, Majesty.

The prince shook his head. Don’t call me that, please. We’re alone out here. There’s no need for protocol. He smiled. His broad face was just right for big expressions. Here’s the advice. We’re all born the same way, more or less, and we all die.

Hans felt his lips stretch in a tentative approximation of amusement. More or less. It was the immortals among his community who came to mind.

Yes, more or less. Felimid tugged Hans toward the railing. So since we’re all basically the same, we should have the courage to look each other in the face and say hello.

That’s easy for you to do, Hans blurted. You’re not the youngest of three… He stilled his traitorous tongue.

Felimid raised one reddish-brown eyebrow. Come. Swim with me.

Aware of the heat that still remained in his face, Hans stripped and kicked off his shoes. Then he vaulted the waist-high railing and dove into the blissful, chilly water. His transformation from human guise to kelpie was over before he’d completely submerged.

* * *

Kelpies aren’t so different from my people. Although the ones I’ve seen are all but identical in form and face. Only their hair color and reactions appear to be different. Felimid chased the young servant down into the depths. The kelpie’s legs had fused together into a fish’s graceful tail, his hooves becoming an elegant fin.

The golden-haired servant skimmed along the bottom with his fingertips trailing in the sand. Except for webs that had appeared between his long fingers and gills that fluttered at his throat, he looked just the way he had on the balcony. Which is to say skittish and shy. And the fluttering of his gills is like the nervous twitch of his hands when he spoke to me.

The servant twisted, a quick movement that Felimid knew was difficult to make in water. The twist became a slow somersault, and then the servant winked before shooting off less than half a meter above the lake’s bottom.

Instantly erect, Felimid longed to see it all once more. He’d been under the impression that kelpies spent as much time on land as off, but this one obviously gloried in the water. Perhaps there would be a way to take this servant with him when he returned home. As a gift from Lord Cuirm and his lady? Yes, that might work. Or as someone familiar to help Lord Tian adjust to the new settings and people.

Flicking his tail hard, Felimid caught up with the servant and grasped his webbed fingers.

The blond kelpie’s eyes shone under the water with a strange mix of flirtation and embarrassment. He pulled his hand away and began making strange signs with his fingers.

Felimid shook his head. I can’t understand you. His voice sounded loud in his ears, but he’d long ago become accustomed to the difference the carrying medium -- be it water or air -- caused.

The servant’s jaw seemed to unhinge, and out shot a long stream of bubbles. His gills flapped quickly enough to make a low humming. He gestured at himself before covering his mouth with both hands.

You can’t talk underwater? That wasn’t something Felimid had been prepared for. Will my husband be the same? How is it that you open your mouth without choking but can’t talk? When the servant began gesticulating again, Felimid held up a hand. Never mind. When we’re on land, you can tell me all about it. He nodded in the direction they’d been going. I’ll race you to the far shore.

The servant raised three fingers. Then two.

Felimid got ready. And they were off.

* * *

Three hours later, Felimid shifted back to his human guise and walked out of the water. The servant had won both races, the one across the water and the one back here. His narrow, muscular body and powerful tail seemed made for such challenges. Felimid didn’t begrudge him the speed; it had been wonderful to come in second. None of the water demons, merpeople, or undines who usually swam with him could keep up. Maybe if we keep racing like this, if I can find a way for him to come home with me, then I’ll be able to win eventually. He longed for another race now, even though he barely had the energy to drag himself back onto the land.

The servant -- I need to learn his name -- was covering his naked flesh with both hands. His face was as red as it had been before they swam, and he shuffled his ebony hooves like a horse shying at a snake.

Felimid smiled in what he hoped was an understanding manner. We should have brought our clothes down with us.

Chapter Two

It’s not a problem most of the time, was the kelpie’s reply. I’m the only member of my family who likes to swim more than change into a horse and gallop around the countryside. It’s only… I mostly swim alone. He started up the beach but then whipped one hand around to cover his no-cheeks pale ass.

He’s one long muscle from bottom to top. Felimid dropped to his haunches in an effort to disguise the thickening of his cock. Hopefully his heavy bush would hide it a little. Go on. I’m sure you’ll be expected to help with the wedding feast tonight. I’ll stay a while and enjoy the sunshine.

Still blushing -- the servant’s neck and even his ass had picked up a ruddy cast -- he answered, Thank you. Then he was off, running up the beach with one hand tightly closed in a fist. As if to keep it from trembling. Head lowered and looking up through his eyelashes, Felimid watched him. If only Lord Tian is half as attractive as this one. Although kelpies all look basically the same to me. I may not even know the one who bested me if we meet again. Which meant Lord Tian would resemble the talented swimmer. Maybe that would be enough to make Felimid’s blood rush when they lay together.

Straightening, he winced at the unaccustomed ache all down his back and in his tail-become-legs. He hadn’t bothered changing into his truest form, the one he’d been born in, because that form wasn’t meant for pleasure swimming. Big and strong, but none too swift, that guise was meant for battle -- when his six-inch claws and plated scale armor would compensate for lack of speed.

Those truths aside, Felimid didn’t consider his warrior self attractive or even mildly handsome. And he had wanted to flirt with the narrow-hipped, lean-muscled kelpie who’d rushed out onto the balcony. And so effectively interrupted my worries about Lord Tian. If only Tian will be…

He forced that thought away, chiding himself for caring about anything beyond his future husband’s ability to father children. Yes, Tian, son of Lord Cuirm and Lady Weinberg, be not cursed with a deficiency that both is and isn’t sterility. Although it wasn’t true sterility but an unnamed misfortune that caused all his heirs to be born small and die young. What could he call it when he had no name for the plague? Sterility was the closest, so let it serve.

Felimid faced the lake’s peaceful waters. Let this alliance by marriage benefit both our people. He bowed to the water, which was the source of all life and the mother of peaceful death. Then he started toward the all-stone dwelling where Tian had grown up.

* * *

After establishing that he was alone, Hans locked the suite door behind him. Then he strode to Andy’s desk and sat down. He wasn’t supposed to lock the door to their shared bedroom/sitting room suite. Nor was he allowed to peruse Andy’s magic books without permission and supervision. But Andy was with Tian in the grand baths. Likely the two of them were conspiring on how to make Tian’s marriage as painless and enjoyable as possible, even if that meant planning for Tian to sleep around with Prince Felimid’s courtiers.

Hans grimaced. That’s uncharitable. Tian isn’t unfaithful, just playful. And I’m only thinking of him betraying Felimid because… He glanced over his shoulder at the empty room. Even though he was still alone, he lowered his voice. Because I want Prince Felimid for my own.

Hans flipped through the first few pages of the spell book until he discovered the table of contents. He frowned when he saw it was in Latin. The rest is in English. Why must the authors of such books make finding the proper spell difficult? He could speak English and Scots fluently; neither language would help him here. Praying Andy and Tian would take hours in the bath, Hans began turning pages, scanning spell effects and forgoing the Latin titles.

Pages five to twenty were full of basic magic, the spells any kelpie could do almost from the nest: tailed guise to horse to human and back. The spells took each of these simple transformations, the ones Hans hadn’t struggled with since earliest childhood, and broke them down into their constituent components. Then each piece was dissected and explained.

Why would anyone bother reading these? They’re almost instinct! He flipped to the next section. This score of spells proved to be all about bewitching a kelpie’s prey. From fish to seal and goat to human, these instructions were as detailed as the first.

Hans darted a glance over one shoulder. Someone had just walked by in the hall. But when no one knocked at the door, he went back to the ancestral book.

The title of the next section was, of course, in Latin, but something in the way it looked scrawled across the old vellum made Hans grin. This has to be it. I’ve seen the spell before; it was just a matter of tickling my memory into wakefulness. He bent closer over the desk.

And sat back less than two minutes later. He could feel the grin widening on his lips, and he snickered. I’m giddy. Like every time I sneak a spell. He cackled, startling himself at how dangerous he sounded.

Sitting back and folding his hands in his lap, Hans focused on his breathing until the feeling of diabolical elation began to ebb. This too happened when he peeked into the spell book. The power emanating from each word could easily overwhelm the untrained and those who weren’t destined to wield the magic. It doesn’t mean I can’t use it. Hans smiled a little at the oft-repeated mantra. But I must be careful. Tales of whole families being slaughtered by an erstwhile magician might be nothing more than stories designed to scare children into behaving. But Hans respected the eerie feelings created by the book too much to be incautious.

Or at least I hope I practice safe spelling. Opening his eyes and leaning forward once more, Hans read the right-hand page.

Taking on another’s physical aspect is difficult. The ingredients which must be gathered are nearly impossible to obtain without attracting the attention of the one the magician wishes to imitate. Furthermore, the effects of this spell will last only from one sun to the next…

Hans finished reading the spell and nodded. If I were going to stop, now would be the time. But the difficult portion of the magic was the incantation rather than the gathering of ingredients. I can do this, he whispered. I can do this if I practice. He looked toward the west.