His voice was steady, but he didn’t quite look at me. He didn’t talk about it. Not to us, anyway.
And he’s doing unconscious magic, Elio added. Like… warming the room when your name comes up. Fire turning blue out of nowhere.
He hesitated. He acts like it doesn’t mean anything. But we both saw it.
My stomach flipped. Hard.
We’d never talked about what happened between us. One time. And I’d been trying to figure out what that meant with Keane and Elio right here. Choosing all three didn’t mean knowing how.
Is that… I swallowed. Is that a problem? For you two, I mean?
Keane’s jaw shifted, like he was weighing words. We’ve talked. About all of it. We want you to be happy. If Cyrus is part of that, we’ll figure it out.
And have you seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one’s watching? Elio said grinning, but it flickered. It’s kind of sweet… in a brooding, emotionally constipated sort of way.
A portal shimmered to life beside us, perfectly sized for the three of us and the weight we were carrying.
Ready to go home? Keane asked, offering me his hand.
Home. Yes.
Home to three men—heirs to a council that had tried to kill us once. Men I was choosing, even with every instinct screaming that depending on anyone was dangerous.
I’d chosen this. That didn’t mean I knew how to stay or how to trust it would hold.
I took Keane’s hand as Elio’s palm settled against my back.
The portal shimmered, silver and clean—no corruption, no darkness threading through the edges.
So why did stepping through feel like walking toward something waiting with teeth?
2
Cyrus
I’D BEEN PACING THE ROYAL dorm common room for over an hour, and the Persian rug was starting to show scorch marks where my feet had touched.
A month ago, I’d thought I could manage this. Control it. Make it work.
In Elio’s sanctuary—after we saved the wellspring, after Marigold rested her head on my shoulder—I’d believed I could be reasonable about it. Share her attention. Take my place beside Keane and Elio without wanting to tear the whole arrangement apart.
For maybe thirty seconds, it felt possible.
My fists clenched as heat crawled under my skin like it was looking for a way out.
Then she’d left for Albany. And I’d spent the month learning exactly how wrong I’d been.
Fire erupted along the back of the leather sofa without permission.
Shit. I smothered it with a sharp breath and sheer will, my jaw locked hard enough to ache. That was the problem. I couldn’t think about her without my magic answering, without something in me reaching for mine.
Ember lifted his head, fixing me with one amber eye. My phoenix familiar had been watching my internal meltdown with what I could only describe as avian judgment for the past month.
Don’t look at me like that, I muttered. You’re supposed to be on my side.
He ruffled his feathers—his opinion of my current behavior clear.
And because sleep was useless, and restraint was a joke, my mind dragged me right back to it—Marigold’s eyes in the common room when I finally stopped pretending I didn’t want her, the way she kissed me like she’d chosen me on purpose, like she needed me as much as I needed her.
