Page 30

“And that makes me happy. I don’t blame the dragons who want a mage and find love through that relationship, but it’s not for me. It’s one of the reasons I left the clan. I wasn’t going to let Winter come here alone, but it also meant that I didn’t have my mother’s expectations on my shoulders.” He scowled. “Of course, she ruined that by coming here.”

Matthias’s heart was racing. He was still afraid to hope, but his entire being was pushing him to. Samuel had said all the right things. He knew what he was walking into, probably more than Matthias and Thorne. He was ready for it. In fact, he seemed pretty eager and happy about the fact that Thorne and Matthias weren’t mages.

Matthias swallowed. Could it really be that easy? It felt like it. It felt like the only thing he needed to do was give in and give these two men a chance. He knew he might get his heart broken, but that was true of every relationship. It wasn’t any more dangerous for him to say yes to these two men than it would be to say yes to a human.

Or two, in this case.

“We need rules,” Thorne declared.

Samuel snorted. “Of course you think that. Fine. What rules do you think we need?”

“We need to communicate. We already know you and I can clash if we don’t. I don’t want that to happen, especially not in this situation. It wouldn’t be fair to Matthias or even to us.”

“Yeah, that was a given.”

“Was it?”

“We didn’t communicate before because we didn’t know each other. It’s different now. Of course we’ll communicate. Hell, you’re both going to want me to shut up.”

Matthias laughed. This was a heavy conversation, but it didn’t have to be. After all, they were having it because they wanted to be happy. They were having it because they wanted each other and wanted to give this a chance. There was little that would make him happier than having a chance at a relationship with these two men.

Samuel and Thorne both looked at him. He grinned, mostly because he couldn’t seem to stop.

“We’ll talk,” he said. “That’s the only way to make this work. I think that we should also agree to give each other space when we need it. Thorne especially is going to need that.”

Thorne glared a little. “I feel called out.”

“It’s not meant to call you out, just me acknowledging reality. We all know that, of the three of us, you’re the one who’s going to need his own space the most. We need to give you that when you do.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“We have to respect each other and what we want and don’t want. It’s the only way this can work.” Matthias cleared his throat. “Look, I’ve had relationships before. They never ended well, and I want this one to work. It’s not only because it would be a mess if it didn’t, but also because I really want this. I’m finally at a place in my life where I know I can be happy. I have my best friend. I don’t have to worry about bills or rent or anything like that. That’s not something that happens to a lot of people, but I have it, and I want to enjoy it. I want to enjoy my life, and I think it will be better if the two of you are in it. I don’t want to do anything that could ruin that.”

“You couldn’t do anything that would ruin this,” Samuel said.

Matthias shook his head. “I might, and that’s where communication comes in. The two of you will have to tell me if I do something you disagree with or that you don’t like. I’ll do the same with you.” He looked at them in turn. “I know this is going to be complicated. It’s not going to look like any relationship I’ve had before. But the two of you are nothing like the men I’ve been with before, and that’s a good thing. It’s one of the reasons I want to give this a try. I have a good feeling about it, and I know it will be different. You’ll be different. So this is what I want. I want a relationship with both of you. I don’t want to have to choose. I don’t know what the others will think about it, but I also don’t care.” Except for Parker. Matthias already knew what Parker would say, and it scared him, but at the same time, Parker had his own life. He was focused on Ansley, as he should be. Maybe he would be happy for Matthias. Maybe he wouldn’t be. Either way, Matthias wasn’t giving this up.

Why should he have to? All three of them agreed that they wanted this.

* * * *

THORNE WAS NERVOUS. He’d never done anything like this before. In fact, he could barely remember the last time he’d had a relationship.

It had always been hard for him. Working for the mages meant that people were always curious about him. They saw him in town, but he lived at the castle, and the mages barely left the place. When they did, they used portals, which of course the townspeople didn’t know about. As far as they were concerned, the mages were recluses who never left the castle and sent Thorne out to do their bidding and buy them food.

There was also the fact that he’d been working for the mages for decades and didn’t look any older than his forties. They’d offered to use magic on him to keep him young, and he’d agreed at the time. He didn’t regret it. He didn’t think he ever would, especially considering what was happening right now. Still, it meant that people looked at him with suspicion, and those who didn’t were usually only interested because they were curious about the mages. It wasn’t conducive to relationships, especially ones that would already be complicated enough considering where Thorne lived and worked.

So he didn’t really do relationships. To go from that to being in a relationship with two different men wasn’t going to be easy, although at least he wouldn’t have to hide anything about his work or the magic. Samuel and Matthias already knew about all of that. They lived in it.

Thorne knew it would become complicated, but he found that he didn’t care. The rest of his life was easy. As Matthias had said, he didn’t have to worry about bills. He didn’t have to worry about rent or having food on the table. He did his job, probably cared about it too much, and that was it. Introducing Matthias and Samuel into the mix wouldn’t hurt. If anything, it would probably do him good. He needed something in his life that wasn’t work, and that was what they were offering, amongst everything else.

Thorne knew that if he gave these two men a chance, he would get a lot more than a distraction. He would get love and affection, people he could rely on when he needed them, someone who would be there for him when he came home after a long day of work. Of course, he wouldn’t have to commute very far since he lived in the castle, but he would have the companionship he’d seen the mages yearn for all these years and finally obtain when they got their dragons back.

Thorne wouldn’t get a dragon back, but he could get a dragon. Samuel was standing right there, clearly eager for both Thorne and Matthias to say yes.

Thorne was glad that Samuel had brought it up. He wasn’t sure they would’ve had the guts to. Guts had never been Samuel’s problem, though, and Thorne wondered how much they would fight over misplaced shoes and dirty socks.

A few weeks ago, the thought would have been daunting. Now, it made him smile. He wanted to fight about dirty socks, at least with Samuel. It wouldn’t be a real fight, not every time, anyway.