"Queen...?" Dramin winced as all the air left his lungs. "You're the-"

His words ended abruptly as he stared at his lover. There was no mistaking that the guard he slew clearly called her the Queen. The one sliver of hope in him was the way she paled and recoiled in fear at the question.

"No, no!" She wept softly as she wrapped her arms over her core. "This isn't what it looks like. Gods...this isn't how I wanted you to find out."

The words struck him and shattered his world. It'd been a nine month journey since he had been dispatched by the King, and six months since he had met Trisaria. The timeline of events since their first night together spun around him. How much of it was true? What was a lie?

An overwhelming presence snapped him out of his spiral. He spun about with his hand still on his blade, expecting another guard. Instead, shock hit him like a brick, much like how his sword hit the floor.

Dressed more regally was another Tresaria, though not with child. Her reserved expression and condescending glare screamed that she was...different. What was concerning was that she wore her presence with the confidence of a goddess...or a demon.

"Are you done playing games, Tres?" The woman asked in a low and sultry tone. "Or do you plan on toying with the man's emotions some more?"

Dramin flinched as he felt Tresia's touch on his arm, but stood in fear as she held with such warmth. The tears that stained her cheeks made rationalizing the situation all the more challenging.

"My queen..." Tresaria shook as she bowed her head. "Please do not see the way I am as a betrayal. I-"

She was cut off by the queen's gently raised hand. "My guards being dead on the floor is more to answer for than you being with child, dear sister."

Sister?

The queen continued, turning her attention to Dramin as if she could hear his thoughts. "Yes, sister. Now if you'll hear me out, we might yet move past this misunderstanding."

Dramin felt Tresaria press into him encouragingly, though it didn't clear his mind a bit. Rather than face the queen, he turned to his beloved, whom he pledged a life of happiness to. "I need you to explain." He whispered, his hands now resting on her shoulders. "It needs to be you. I...I can't..."

Her finger pressed his lips as she leaned into him for comfort. He obliged.

"We are triplets. The queen, myself, and our sister. Desia, the one not in this room, is the one your king recognizes as the demon." She explained slowly. "All of us are identical, so she abuses her face and figure by raiding the border, sowing distrust by targeting nobles and diplomats that would know us at a glance. She wants war after her lover was killed in a border dispute."

Dramin looked back and forth between the woman he held and the queen, slowly unwinding the tale. "Then why were you..."

"We each share the burden of ruling." The queen interjected. "Tresaria is a woman of the people and travels throughout to see their plights and offer them aid. I manage our military and our coffers, though I hold the official title."

Gods, this sounded like a special kind of hell. A sister trapped in the past, another managing the present, and the third sowing a future.

Dramin found himself holding Tresaria closer as he listened. He lifted his head and looked to the queen, who remained unnamed to him. He only knew her by reputation alone. "Then what next?" He asked, almost sheepishly.

"A simple suggestion might be to appease your contract." The queen said without a shift in expression. "Your king wants the demon that is attacking his borders. Give her to him. Offer to return here to insure there isn't an evil heir upon the throne. Live out your life happily with your child and beloved."

"And the recompense for killing your guards?" It all felt too simple.

The queen grinned, displaying an expression far different from Tresaria's gentle smile. "A formal apology to their kin, and then serving in their stead. You might even be on detail to protect the queen as she roams the land amongst her people."

"And you have no qualms with your flesh and blood dying at my hand?"

"That's not quite what I said." Another grin. "Your king might be more pleased if you turned her in alive."