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Callum chuckled. “It’s so cute that you keep them.”

I gave him a look. “You dragons are shockingly casual about flinging diamonds around.”

His gaze turned heated. “You’ll have to train us, lass.”

Desire pooled between my legs and turned my voice breathless. “I think you’ve already trained me.”

He laughed again. Then he pulled me against him and tipped my chin up. “I’m proud of you, witchling. You’ll lead your house with grace and wisdom.”

My heart squeezed. “I couldn’t have done this without you.” I looked at Graeme. “Both of you.” I turned back to Callum. “I guess I should have known you two wouldn’t follow the rules and stay away for this.” As I’d predicted, the elders hadn’t been thrilled with the news of my mating. They’d banned Graeme and Callum from today’s meeting, insisting I needed to explain my failure to harness the North Wind without “interference” from “outside influences.”

Callum shrugged. “We figured it could go one of two ways. If the elders named you leader, you’d be in charge and no one could tell you what to do. If they didn’t name you leader, Graeme and I would be right here, and we could enter your coven thingie—”

“Covenstead.”

“—and knock some heads together until they stopped being cocksuckers and named you leader. Either way, our witchling becomes queen, and we become your loyal subjects. The three of us go home and fuck. Everyone lives happily ever after. The end.”

“I’m not a queen,” I said, fighting back laughter. “And I can’t believe you convinced Graeme to agree to this.” I slanted my enormous, bearded mate a look. “He hates breaking rules.”

“Not when swords are involved,” Callum said. He gave Graeme a look hotter than the fire in the hearth. “He gets up to all kinds of mischief when he’s got a sword in his hand.”

Graeme shook his head, but he was obviously fighting his own smile as he turned to me. “We also came to bear witness, lass. I know we’re not exactly unbiased, but we intended to speak on your behalf in the event the elders questioned your account of what happened at the Oracle.”

I’d figured as much, and I went to him and cupped his cheek. “Thank you. I would have been proud to have you speak for me.” Fortunately, it hadn’t come to that. The death of a fae queen was always big news. Circe’s demise had rippled across the immortal world. Everyone, including the elders, knew I’d killed her using the North Wind’s help.

What they didn’t know was that I’d asked the North Wind instead of commanding it. I hadn’t harnessed it. I’d partnered with it. My whole life, I’d tried to be my parents. But now I knew my magic didn’t work that way. It didn’t bludgeon. It didn’t force. I didn’t bend the wind to my will.

I worked with it. And sometimes, I dropped it. But that was okay. I just picked it back up again.

Callum and Graeme watched me, heat and love forming little fires in their eyes.

“Ready to go home?” Graeme murmured.

“Yeah,” I said, putting my hands in theirs. We’d already decided to split our time between Scotland and Manhattan. Graeme had a lot of living to do, and Callum and I couldn’t wait to show him everything. I smiled as I tugged them into the wind.

“Oh shite, not this again,” Callum said.

I laughed as I skipped us home.

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