Page 104

Colum knew that, but he didn’t like hearing it.

“Even if that alone would solve the problem, Colum, we’d never let you quit,” Xavier said softly.“This isn’t just a job to you.I saw it when you took me upstairs, when you showed me the Wedgewood and the book, when you told me all your thoughts about the history and its implications.This archive is so much more than just your profession, it’s your home and who you are.”

“It’s a building with a bunch of stuff in it,” Colum said, even though those words cost him something, because Xavier was right.He did love his archive, but… “I love the two of you more.”

Annie’s smile returned, and he noticed the sheen of tears in her eyes.“Hearing those words from you…I think my heart might burst.”She pressed a kiss to his cheek, but her eyes were sad.

Annie was right.There was a list of seemingly insurmountable reasons they couldn’t be together.

Even if he hadn’t been the archivist, Annie was a member of the Trinity Masters.Control of her marriage was in the hands of the Grand Master, not a territory admiral or Eric.Privately, he was fairly sure that if he told Franco—and by extension Juliette—that he was in love with Annie and wanted to marry her, the Trinity Masters would be willing to agree to an inter-society marriage and allow Annie to move to Europe.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

He was technically still married until, hopefully, Eric dissolved Colum’s marriage to Nikolett and Sarah—whom he’d yet to even speak to.

If Nikolett had already been married, they would have had to make the archivist marriage to an admiral, vice admiral, or security minister.But Colum knew he was right in what he’d said to Eric.Eric had seen an opportunity and taken it, using the new stipulation to place Nikolett in a trinity, and to ensure Colum was married but in name only.

Maybe, if Annie joined their society, after a few years, she could work her way up to being a security minister…

Maybe.

If.

The biggest problem of all was that none of them were free to choose each other.They’d each agreed to an arranged menage marriage when they joined.

Colum had never really considered what it meant to give up the choice of who he’d spend his life with until now.He hadn’t been subject to the arranged marriage before the Trinity Council meeting.Maybe if he came right out and told Eric what—who—he wanted…

“There’s a lot of things standing between us and a happily ever after,” Annie said, proving her thoughts had gone the same way his had.

“I have a solution for one of the problems,” Xavier said.

Colum and Annie both looked at him.

“What solution?”Colum asked.

“For which problem?”Annie added.

Xavier rested his arm along the back of the couch.“I’d rather not say just yet, but trust me.There is one problem I think I can solve, and it will allow you to remain the archivist.”

Before Colum could ask what he was on about, Annie spoke.

“You realize any ‘us’ can’t include me,” Annie said sadly.“I’m not a member of the Masters’ Admiralty and your fleet admiral doesn’t have the power to put me in a trinity marriage.”

“Then you switch.Move to Europe.Become a member of the Masters’ Admiralty,” Xavier said with a negligent shrug.

“The Trinity Masters’ membership is for life.Is that not how it is in the Masters’ Admiralty?”

“It is,” Xavier said reluctantly.

“I can’t just…switch societies.”

“No,” Colum agreed, “but inter-society marriages aren’t unheard of.”

“Are you saying that the fleet admiral has allowed people to leave the society to marry Americans?”Xavier asked.

“No, but together they—the fleet admiral and Grand Master—arranged a marriage at that Trinity Council meeting.One of our members was wed to two Americans.”

Xavier and Annie looked visibly shocked.