“Whose side are you on anyway?” asks Kaelun. “Oh, right. The other side. Yalina, give up on him. He is clearly our enemy.”
“There does not need to be sides. Aurelion is right. If we destroy the dam, we risk starting a war.”
“You think they haven’t already by building it there?” Kaelun says, astonished.
I chew my lip. “To go to war is not a simple choice. Many will die. If there is another choice, we should consider it.” I turn to Aurelion. “What do you say? Would your brother listen to reason?”
He sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I wish I could say with certainty that he would, but…”
At that moment the wind outside the cave picks up to a howl and the torch gutters. Jah’ruud sweeps in, pausing abruptly as we all look at each other. Then his brow knots into a frown. “You brought the dragon.”
It is not a question, but I know he wants to ask me why.
Aurelion bristles.
Kaelun folds his arms across his chest. “She did. Gods only know why.” He turns to me. “We came on this journey becauseyou said you needed answers, Yalina. Well now I think we have them. Surely you cannot marry him now.”
They all turn to me, Kaelun’s expression skeptical, Aurelion’s distraught, and Jah’ruud’s unreadable.
“I—” My palms sweat and my hands shake as I lift my heavy hair from the back of my neck while I try to find the words. But they won’t come. I do not have an answer now any more than I did every other time I tried to find one for this question. “I—”
“She does not wish to choose,” says Jah’ruud eventually.
The air comes out of me in a burst as all the tension I was holding in escapes. He has said it exactly. And that is my problem.
“...and she should not have to,” he finishes, looking around at the others.
I blink. “I should not?”
“How would that work?” asks Kaelun.
“You’re asking me to share?” Aurelion says at the same time.
Suddenly a certainty wells up inside me, firm and strong and absolutely unshakable.
I stand straighter. I look at each one of them in turn—Kaelun with his quick and clever eyes and inhuman grace; Jah’ruud with his power and his poise; and Aurelion, all fire and arrogance though beneath the surface there’s something small and vulnerable. “Yes. I am. I will not give them up. Do not ask it of me. You say you will die if I am not your mate, then have me, but have them too.”
It has never been done before, but why should I not? Perhaps Kaelun is right. There must be some advantage to being solhara after all. My people want me to choose a husband who will be a powerful leader to our people and bring a strong political alliance. Well, I’ve chosen three. I only hope they choose me back.
I look around the circle of astonished faces. Jah’ruud is the first to recover. “You know my choice,” he says immediately.
I smile at him gratefully. Thank the gods for him always knowing my heart and how to help me find the words to ask for what I want.
“And mine too,” says Kaelun quickly. “Even if it ties us to this jerk.”
My heart skips a beat, and I smile at him as well. Though I wish he would not antagonize Aurelion so.
We all turn to Aurelion. His wings flit out and in and he lets out a long sigh. “My choice can only ever be you, rhkash. I do not like it, but you force my hand. I suppose that is only fair since it is what I would have done in order to keep you.”
I squash down the guilt trying to creep into my heart. Why should I not insist on what I want for once? And if they do not like it, they are each free to make a different choice, to pay the price.
Aurelion
I toss the last of the bodies of my countrymen into the large ditch we dug for the purpose. It is a courtesy we can hardly afford time for, since I am not certain none of them escaped and am anxious about how this story will be presented to my brother if it reaches his ears before we arrive.
Kaelun—which Noreth tells me is his true name—helps me shovel dirt over the bodies and we wipe our hands on our trousers. This is a far cry from palace luxuries, but my regular hunting trips have prepared me to rough it. Kaelun must be feeling right at home, since he was never a prince to begin with.
I cannot believe Yalina would choose a filthy street rat dressed up in stolen clothing as a lover, but she is insistent. I am still wary, waiting to see what he—and Jah’ruud—will do and whether they truly mean to share Yalina with me.
