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He swallowed. “A prince must be ruthless. I was serving the throne.”

“No,” I whispered. “You were serving yourself.”

I signaled to Bram and Fergus.

Aleks didn’t struggle as they lifted him, and he made no sound as they carried him to the balcony. But just before they thrust him into the light, he craned his head around and met my gaze. “You finally learned to fight, Halina. I’m…proud.”

Tears ran down my cheeks. I nodded to my mates.

They pushed him into the sun.

Epilogue

HALINA

I doubled over with my broadsword braced on my knees, struggling to catch my breath. “Just…a…minute. I’m dying.”

Bram stopped and swung his sword around his body in a fancy whipping motion, not looking winded in the least. Now that it was summer, we’d been training by the loch. The moonlight on the surface made it easier to see—and when we finished our session, we could strip and cool off in the water.

And do other…stuff.

“Come on, Halina!” Fergus called from the blanket he reclined on, his legs crossed at the ankle. He was (shockingly) shirtless. “I paid for this!” He tossed a grape in the air and caught it in his mouth.

I straightened enough to glare at him. “You didn’t pay anything!”

“Sure I did.” He gestured to Bram. “I paid Bram to get you all sweaty.”

I wrinkled my nose. “That’s gross.”

He dipped a deliberate gaze to my sports bra. “To each his own.”

I glanced down. Sure enough, the fabric was soaked, and my nipples poked under the material. I looked at Bram. “You went along with this?” On the blanket, Fergus tossed another grape and caught it with a snap of his teeth.

Cheeky dragon.

Bram shrugged. “We were going tae train anyway.”

“We were supposed to do yoga today. He bribed you and you changed it to broadswords.” I huffed. “I hate sword fighting.”

Fergus snorted. “Could have fooled me.”

I pointed my sword at him. “Eat your grapes.”

A vampire appeared a short distance away.

I jumped. Even though I was getting better at channeling, I still wasn’t used to seeing my people appear out of nowhere.

Fergus sat up and scowled at the newcomer. “Kneel, dickface, or she’ll chop your head off.”

The vampire dropped to his knees. “M-My apologies.” He gulped and added a belated “my lord.” He darted a nervous look at Fergus from under his eyelashes.

Fergus settled back down and popped a grape in his mouth.

I hid a smile. The vampires of Krovnosta still didn’t know what to make of Bram and Fergus—especially Fergus, who took particular delight in tormenting them.

“What is it?” I asked the vampire. “Is everything all right?” The guys and I weren’t due to return to the territory for three more days. I’d left a trusted steward in charge, but sometimes issues cropped up and I had to channel back to solve a mini crisis. It was exhausting and stressful.

But Bram and Fergus were always by my side to help—and they had unique ways of helping me relax.