"Okay,whatcould work?" I snap, frustrated. "Please stop vague-plotting in front of me."
Kayden turns toward me, his gaze dragging over me with something unreadable. "I didn't expect to say this today," he begins dramatically. "Or ever, really. This wasn't exactly on my bucket list."
I narrow my eyes. "Kayden…"
He smirks. "Will you marry me, sunshine?"
My mouth drops. No sound comes out. I open it again. Still nothing.
"Or marry him," he adds, gesturing at Asher with a casual flick. "If brooding and emotionally constipated is more your thing."
"Whichever you choose, it should work," Asher says, his voice cool but steady. "If you're already bound, Darius can't claim you."
Kayden shrugs. "Hey, and if nature demands it be all about love and fertility or whatever, maybe you can marry both of us. Pretty sure polygamy isn't frowned upon in the woods. Probably encouraged. Procreate, pollinate, spread joy."
I blink. Once. Twice. "What?"
"I'm proposing the idea of us getting hitched before your ex-fiancé tries to force you into a dark and twisted fairytale ending. It's a desperate time, and desperate times call for... unconventional solutions." Kayden beams. "You wanted out of the box. Here we are. Off the cliff and into the stratosphere."
"This is so far out of the box it's in another ecosystem. I didn't expect… fighting marriagewithmarriage."
"It's not traditional and probably not what you imagined for yourself," Asher admits, his voice gentle. "But it's a strategic move. Unless you're firmly against marrying one of us."
"Or both," Kayden chimes in.
I exhale hard. "It's not the romance part that worries me. It's that marrying me would paint an even bigger target on your backs. What's to stop Darius from killing you both and dragging me to the altar?"
"The fact that killing either of us isn't easy," Asher says. "And killing both? Not by the Equinox."
"How can you be so calm about this?" I ask Asher. "And you." I whirl toward Kayden. "How are you so smug? We're talking aboutmarriage. Not just an 'I do.' This nature-bound link is more than paperwork. It's magic. It's permanent."
Asher steps closer, his hand covering mine with that deliberate steadiness of his. "I know we haven't known each other long," he says softly.
"Longer in my case," Kayden chimes in, his voice light, but his eyes anything but. "Even if it started with an attempted vampirecide."
I glance at him and see the seriousness behind the sarcasm. He's not joking around.
Asher continues, "No matter how it started, this isn't just about protecting you. We want you.Iwant you. And this bond, rushed or not, doesn't scare me."
Kayden takes my other hand. "Same here. I'm not scared. Hell, if I get to call you my wifeandpiss off the satyr overlord in one go? That's a damn poetic outcome. Plus, there's the whole consummation clause." He smirks. "From what I hear, nymph–vampire bonds have to be, you know, sustained. Regularly. Or they expire."
I let out a shaky breath. "I don't think there is a standard protocol for nymph–vampire marriages."
"Then we'll be the first," Asher says without missing a beat. The certainty in his voice lodges somewhere deep in my chest.
I try to breathe. We went from trying to kill each other, to having sex that nearly shattered me, to detonation-level emotional fallout over my secret engagement, and more sex after that… and now marriage?
It sounds insane. So insane that it feels like the natural next step in this chaos spiral.
I glance at Kayden—confident, feral, ready to bite the world for me. Then at Asher—controlled, unwavering, the still point in this storm.
They're serious. Not pushing, just present. My heart clenches.
Married.
I ran from one engagement only to fall headfirst into another. Anothertwo. But this time, I'm choosing it. And it might be the only way Darius will finally understand that I'm not confused. I want out. If marrying a vampire, or two, makes that point clear, so be it.
Yes, it puts Kayden and Asher in more danger. But they're already in it. And going back to Darius won't guarantee anyone's safety, not truly. I'd never know what he'd do behind my back. At least this way, I'm choosing my side.
