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“Well, I probably owe you more than one, but specifically, I fucked up when I missed your performance. I wasn't there when you walked onto that stage, and I will regret that for the rest of my life. I was so focused on fixing everything around you that I forgot the one thing that mattered most was being there for you.”
My eyes burn.
“Because that is what you taught us: that family is important. That fighting for other people is worth it. You opened up my world, and I want you in it. I want this life. I don’t just want Damon and Hunter as my brothers in leadership; I want all of us to build a life together.”
“I have one more thing.” He reaches beneath his cloak and pulls something from his pocket. I stare at him as he approaches. “The Black Wedding still holds,” he says quietly. “The vows we made were never dependent on a crown, a title, or a throne. They are about a man and woman who give themselves to one another. But I want you to know that it’s not about obligation or getting something. It hasn’t been for a long time.”
He drops to one knee and pulls out a small metal box.
“Timothy…”
He opens the lid, and inside, a ring rests. No. Three rings.
He dumps them in his palm and I stare at them, unable to breathe for a second.
They are delicate, but unmistakably beautiful, each shaped like a peacock feather curling around itself. Blue, purple, and green stones are set into the design, catching the firelight with every tiny movement until the colors seem almost alive.
“You’re not mine to have as my own, but I want forever,” Timothy says. “If you'll still have me.”
“Yes, I’ll have you.” I glance at Damon and Hunter. “All of you.”
His mouth curves into a sexy, happy smile. I bend toward him, taking his face between my hands and kiss him.
“I love you,” I whisper against his mouth.
He slides one ring on my finger and then holds the others out to Damon and Hunter, and I try not to laugh when Damon almost drops his, catching it before it hits the ground. “Fuck,” he mutters, shoving it on my finger and grabbing my face to kiss me hard.
When we pull apart, Hunter comes to stand beside me, and he works his ring on last. “Love you, Nettie.”
“Love you, too.” For once there is no question about where any of us belong. Not beneath a King or hidden behind a mask.
Together.
I look down at the rings stacked around my finger, the jewels glittering, then out at the three men standing around me beneath the dark canopy of the woods.
For so long, I thought my story was one of confusion and torment, a sad girl who had no future other than as just another victim in a city that thrives on cruelty.
Tonight, standing at the altar where so much was taken from me, I finally understand that this is where it changes. Not an ending.
A beginning.
EPILOGUE
Arianette
It’s late afternoon and I’m sitting in Hunter’s truck outside the Gilded Rose, smoothing out the burgundy skirt with the tiny flowers embroidered into the fabric.
“You don’t have to go in there,” Hunter says gently. “We can drop those gifts off and go home.”
His hand is on my thigh, and it’s tempting to do what he suggested. Drop off the gift bags, offer an excuse, and run back home. But this is my first invitation to something like this, and even though I’m anxious about it, I want to go.
“I can do it,” I say firmly, my fingers looped around the truck’s door handle.
“Hell yeah, you can.”
He slides his big hand around my neck and pulls me toward him. His palm is warm against my skin, his thumb brushing beneath my jaw as his mouth finds mine. Even though he’s gotten his impulses under control, his touch still thrills me.
Hunter’s mouth moves over mine, slow at first, then deeper, coaxing a little gasp from me before he catches it with another kiss. My fingers curl into the front of his shirt, and for a second, I forget there’s anywhere else I’m supposed to be.
