Oberon’s voice drops, and I glance out of my blankets to study him. “We’ve had what we wanted before. It never meant anything.” He pauses a beat. “You do.”
Sylvian continues, more serious than I’ve ever seen him before. “You make things… interesting. Real.”
I try to push myself up, but Cassius’s arm is iron. “Stop it,” I say, hot and embarrassed. “Don’t do this. I’m just a human. I’m not pretty, or anything. I’m here because your goddess made me, not because?—”
Cassius interrupts, “We don’t care what the goddess wants. We care what we want.”
There’s a pause, and then, in a rush, Sylvian continues, “You think I’d risk my skin for just anyone? You think Ashton would? Or Oberon? Or Cassius?”
Ashton laughs, but it’s raw. “She thinks we’re lying.” His voice softens, just a little. “I don’t pretend, little human. Not like this.”
I shake my head. “No. I just… I don’t believe you.”
“Why?” Oberon asks.
I open my mouth, but the words catch. I want to say, “Because you’re all beautiful and ancient and I'm nothing. Because you’re fae, and fae don’t care about humans. BecauseI’m a human girl with calluses on her hands and scars on her body, who can’t begin to compare to the fancy fae women they’re accustomed to.”
I settle for, “It doesn’t make sense.”
Cassius shifts behind me, his voice a little softer now. “You’re the only thing in the world that makes sense to me.”
For a second, I almost cry.
Instead, I decide to be honest and say what I’m really thinking. “Fine. Let’s say you’re all telling the truth. That I just accept this crazy idea. What then? You’re going to, what, take turns being with me? Fight it out? Marry the human girl you’ve known for a short time? Yeah, because that makes sense in the real world.”
None of them answer, but the silence is thicker than ever.
Sylvian, almost sheepish, suggests, “We could share.”
Oberon responds without hesitation, “Not a chance. I’d kill the lot of you first.”
“Not if I get to her first.” And there’s an edge of competition in Ashton’s voice.
Cassius, right in my ear, says, “She decides. It’s her choice.”
I can’t stand it. I roll over, face to face with Cassius. “This is insane,” I hiss, so low only he can hear.
He smiles. “Is it?”
“You’re all mad.”
He doesn’t argue.
I release a slow breath, my thoughts racing as I try to make sense of this. “You’ll use me and throw me away.”
Oberon’s gaze locks on mine, fierce and unyielding. “We don’t use what matters.”
The words hit harder than anything else they’ve said.
Cassius’s voice is quieter, but it threads through me just the same. “And we wouldn’t touch you unless we intended to keep you.”
Silence falls again, thick and heavy, but it’s different now, not uncertain. It’s certain in a way that makes my chest feel too tight.
After a while, Oberon says, “Go to sleep. We’ll need sleep to face whatever the labyrinth will bring tomorrow.”
Sylvian hums again, something slow and sad this time.
Cassius’s hand never leaves my ribs, but he doesn’t try anything. He’s just there, holding in the warmth, like he promised.
