My mother looked over at Callum like she understood as well.
“With all of us,” he said. “Callum included.” He looked at my mother and gave a slight nod before he walked toward the castle.
She went with him, and after my brother exchanged a nod with Callum, he walked away too.
Now it was just Callum, Viper, and me.
The three of us.
Alone.
Callum silently dismissed himself and headed to my old villa, correctly assuming that was where we’d make our home. He passed the potted olive trees and the garden and then disappeared behind the edge of the building.
I moved to Viper, completely unsure of what I should say in light of our circumstances. “I’m not sure how you got mixed up in this…”
“Your father needed someone to distract Leviathan, and he feared if it were someone Leviathan were more acquainted with, it would raise suspicion. So I told Leviathan I wanted to free you for a price, engaging with him long enough for Callum to get you out of there. The other option was to open the portal, but Callum said this was the better idea.”
“Yeah, it was.” There had been no casualties, and I’d slipped out of there before Leviathan even knew I was gone. “They flew all the way to your kingdom?”
He nodded. “Asked for my help—and of course, I agreed.” Now that it was just him and me together, he was more himself. A slight smile in his eyes, a comforting aura in his presence. “I was disturbed when they told me you were down there. I can’t even imagine what it was like.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t a picnic on a beach.” I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling the tinge of cold wind blow over the cliffs now that the sun was gone. “I appreciate what you did. Truly.”
He nodded. “I’d do anything for you…but you already know that.”
“I’m not sure what I’ve done to earn such loyalty from you.”
He smirked slightly. “It’s definitely not loyalty that you’ve earned from me.” He stared at me with a slight playfulness in his eyes, but it slowly faded. “I still think I’m the right choice. And I think you should reconsider. I saved you out of love—and he did so out of obligation.”
“I think he did it out of both, Viper.”
“You shouldn’t have traded places with him. You didn’t deserve that?—”
“It’s him, Viper.” I was gentle and kind in my rejection because Viper had been a great ally and a great friend. He’d risked himself to save me more than once now. He deserved my respect and gratitude for the rest of time. “You’re a great man and a great lover and I’d be lucky to have you, but he has my heart.”
With a stony expression, he accepted my words without a hint of disappointment. “I understand.”
“I’m forever grateful to you.”
“You owe me for sending three hundred ships to your aid because it came at a great personal cost.” He shook his head slightly. “But you don’t owe me for this.”
“Viper…” I didn’t know what else to say. I’d had men come and go in my life, but I’d never had two perfect men at the same time. “Any other time, I would have been so excited to have two sexy men fighting for my attention, but I think those days are behind me.”
He smirked at my words, pulled out of the seriousness of the moment by my little joke. “I don’t think those days are behind me. Not by a long shot.”
Now I smiled and I meant it, because when he felt better, I felt better.
“You know where to find me if you need me…or if anything changes.”
“I know.”
He seemed like he was going to move in and hug me but quickly changed his mind. “I’ll leave in the morning. Been traveling a lot the last few days.” He turned around and began to head back to the castle. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” I watched him go, watched his cape shift behind him as his muscular shoulders moved.
When he was almost at the castle, I turned around and headed home.
2
