I opened my eyes to find all of my warriors standing in my bedroom. I sat up and eased to the edge of my bed.
“It sounded good at the time.” I shrugged. “You know, battle banter. Like Kadmus saying that he was going to kill me when he knew damn well that he couldn't.”
“It did not sound good to us,” Drakon growled.
“Do not scare us like that again, Pan,” Praxis was serious, an odd look on him.
“We do not know for certain that you can't be killed,” Straton snapped.
The men eased forward grudgingly and gathered around me.
“I'm a goddess, remember? Dionysus said that none of us would grow old here and Death was not one of the evils the pirates brought with them. We are immortals.”
“We don't know that for sure.” Straton's jaw clenched. “Watching that sword streak toward you was the worst moment of my life.”
“I'm sorry,” I whispered and hugged him.
“We want you to make us a promise, Pan,” Drakon said gravely. “That you will think of us before you risk yourself again.”
“That you will value our love first, before adventure,” Akylas added.
“That you will allow us to take care of you,” Erastus added, “and maybe, take care of us.”
“That you will be with only the five of us,” Straton growled, “and no others. Especially not mermen.”
“And that you will love us for the eternity we spend in Neverland,” Praxis finished.
“Those sound very similar to marriage vows,” I noted.
They nodded.
“Does that mean that you're proposing?” I lifted a brow.
Straton dropped to one knee and took my hand. “You've had my heart for far longer than you know. I'm sorry that I took so long to admit it, but I love you, Pandora. Will you marry me?”
“And I knew no peace until I felt your touch,” Drakon knelt beside Straton, taking my other hand. “Save me from the storm that would consume me. Marry me, Pandora.”
“You washed away my shame and made me feel like a new man.” Erastos knelt beside Straton and took my hand from him. “I can't go back to feeling filth upon my heart again. Please marry me.”
“I didn't laugh until you freed me from my chains,” Praxis said as he bent his knee and took my hand from Drakon. “Your light showed me the path to happiness. Let me make you happy too, Pan. Marry me.”
Finally, Akylas just walked up to me and kissed me–hard. When he pulled away, his eyes glistened with tears.
“You are Heaven, and Earth, and all that is between,” Akylas said. “You are the winking stars and the endless sea. You are the Pan, our everything, and we cannot exist without you.”
“It's time for me to make a promise that I can keep,” I said, glancing back at the jar of Hope. “I vow to love you, all of you, my lost boys, until breath fails me and the gods abandon Olympus. No one will ever come between us, and nothing will ever take me away from you. I swear it.”
“I think we can accept that promise,” Straton said as he stood.
The other men began to smile.
“To live shall be the greatest adventure,” I whispered as I went into their arms.
