Page 25

T he dappled light of day lured me from the best sleep I could ever remember having.

With a contented groan, I stretched, feeling a soreness in places I’d never felt before, and everything from the prior night came rushing back to me.

I reached for Lucius in the oversized bed, but his spot beside me was cold.

I sat up, pulling the sheets with me to cover myself, only to find I was alone in the room.

Resting on his pillow was a folded piece of parchment and a single red dahlia. I snatched it up with greedy fingers, eager to devour every word he’d written. I paused with it in my hands, a cloud of doubt dashing my excitement. What if this was a nicely worded farewell rather than a love letter?

Stop it, Mic! I refused to let myself always settle on the worst-case scenario. I took a deep breath and opened the letter.

Good morning, Dove,

I’m sorry I didn’t wake you, but you were sleeping so peacefully that I couldn’t bring myself to disturb you. I hope you’re feeling well today. Although I must admit, a part of me wishes that you’re pleasantly sore, so you’ll be reminded of me.

Please excuse my absence. I woke with the dawn feeling transformed. I am a different man than I was only yesterday, and the urge to welcome a new day was overwhelming. But don’t worry about me—I’ll be back shortly, because I am quite literally incapable of being away from you for too long.

I hope this dahlia will make up for my absence.

They are the last flowers to bloom before winter, steadfast until the end.

In my realm, dahlias represent kindness, inner strength, beauty, and commitment—all of the things that you represent to me.

Know that you’ll be on my mind until I see you again.

Love always,

Lucius

I clutched the letter to my chest, his words melting me into a puddle of emotions. There was a side of him that no one else saw—a side he’d always kept just for me. I knew in that moment he was truly mine, no matter what happened when I stepped outside this room.

I grabbed the dahlia, admiring the deep crimson petals as I pulled it to my nose. The faint floral scent transported me to a sunlit glade, alive with warmth and possibilities. Lu’s enthusiasm was contagious, urging me to get up and start this new, confusing chapter in my life.

I dressed quickly, slipping on the homespun skirts, admiring the deep burgundy color.

Gunner’s eidris was strapped to my thigh—a habit I’d formed since we’d been on the run.

I took extra time to arrange my hair. I hadn’t put much effort into my appearance lately, but today felt special.

I pulled the front pieces away from my face and secured them at the nape of my neck, tucking the dahlia into my hair as a finishing touch.

My courage began to wane as I entered the main living quarters of the cabin. Fallon was busy serving Nico and Luca, who sat at the long dining table, engrossed in discussion. Lucius had assured me there would be no ill will between us, but I wasn’t so sure.

“There you are, Mic. You ready for some breakfast?” Fallon asked, spotting me lingering at the edge of the hallway. I was a goddamned coward.

“Sure, sure… that would be great. Have you seen Lucius this morning?” I asked, as Luca and Nico turned to greet me with achingly handsome smiles.

“Oh, he left early this morning. He seemed unusually chipper for Lucius,” Fallon said, and I could see the mirth in her eyes as she smiled at me.

She knew. “Come on over here. You can’t eat from all the way over there.

” I could hear the challenge in her voice.

This was her way of pushing me out of the gate, so to speak.

With a huff, I made my way to the table, sitting as far away from Nico and Luca as I could manage.

The moment I sat down, my scent hit them.

I could see it on their faces—both of them tensed, straightening in their chairs.

All conversation ended abruptly. The line in Nico’s brow deepened, and Luca’s jaw ticked.

You could’ve heard a pin drop in that moment.

“Suns out today,” I said awkwardly in a poor attempt at small talk. Anything to fill the demoralizing silence.

“Lucius? Really?” Luca said. There was a grit to his voice, but he didn’t sound malicious.

“Well, Lucius and I… we’ve been friends for a while and…” I stammered, words failing me completely.

“She doesn’t owe us an explanation,” Nico said. “Lucius has made no attempt to hide his feelings for Michaela. I’m genuinely happy for him. But with that being said?—”

“Game on,” Luca growled, finishing Nico’s sentence.

Lucius strolled into the room. His hair looked windblown, an uncharacteristic smile set into his flushed face, as if he’d been running wild in the woods.

“Morning, brothers. Fallon… Dove, you look lovely this morning,” he said sweetly, a complete contrast to his typical demeanor.

“Well played. Well played,” Luca said as he got up from his chair and shook Lu’s hand. This wasn’t what I was expecting at all, and I felt my cheeks flush the same color as the dahlia in my hair.

“Does this mean that you two are an item now?” Fallon asked.

“I am whatever Mic wants me to be,” Lu answered as he came to stand behind me.

Luca’s brow raised. “Mic, I always knew you were amazing, but what you’ve done with my asshole of a brother… you’re a goddess.”

I giggled, feeling a wash of relief that things seemed relatively normal. “Lu and I are still figuring out what all this means. Relationships and revolutions don’t typically go hand in hand, but?—”

“That’s the best time to start a relationship,” Nico interrupted. “When you don’t know how much time you have left, you should go after what you want with a blind passion. Don’t let anyone or anything deter you.”

Nico got up from the table, a sobering look on his face. “Lucius, come find me in the study once you’ve tended to Mic. There’s news from the leaders in Dunharrow. We’ve got a rendezvous with the Raven’s Hand later.”

Lucius sat with me while I ate breakfast before heading off to meet with Nico.

Everyone seemed busy. Fallon had gone to “run errands.” I’d offered to go with her, but she made some excuse why it was best she go alone.

I think she was in search of more brimshade.

She’d smoked her last cigarette this morning, and she seemed on edge.

Luca had gone hunting, which left me with time on my hands.

I hadn’t had a moment alone since we’d left Mathenholm, and I wasn’t sure I was prepared to face everything that had happened.

Maybe this was the universe’s way of forcing me to digest my feelings for these brothers and figure out what the fuck I was going to do now that my heart had gotten tangled in this fated mess.

I made my way back to the room in search of paper and a quill. If I could write it down, then maybe I could make sense of it all. Before I reached the door, Nico stepped out of an adjacent room and into the shadowed hallway with me.

“I thought you were meeting with Lucius?” I asked casually, before I could make out the look on his face.

His jaw was set in a hard line and his brow furrowed, a darkness cast over his eyes.

He took purposeful strides toward me, and I backed away from him instinctively.

I hit the door, the handle digging into the small of my back as Nico cornered me with his muscled arms.

“Is everything alright?” I asked, fighting to keep the edge of fear from my voice. Nico would never hurt me.

“It should have been me,” he said, breaking my stare. His gaze roamed over my lips and neck. “I was raised to be logical. To analyze every aspect. It’s a trait of a good king—or so I’ve been led to believe. I never should have hesitated when it came to you.”

His face was so close to mine I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“Hesitate? You’re destined to take the throne. Your life’s already been planned out for you. You have a betrothed, for God’s sake. I don’t fit into your world, Nico. I never expected you to drop everything because your Divine has placed some mythical expectations upon us.”

“It’s not a myth,” he growled, pounding a fist into the door behind me. “Don’t you feel it? Or am I the only one of us in agony?”

“Yes. I feel it. But I want you to choose to be with me—not because the meddling of some deity forced you into it.”

“Now that Lucius has told you about being fated, there’s no taking it back. How can I prove to you how I feel? You’ll always second-guess me.”

“If you truly want this?—”

“I want it more than I want my next breath.”

“Then you’ll have to work for it. Just because we have the title of ‘fated’ doesn’t mean you get to skip all the good parts. I’m quite fond of the idea of falling in love with you.”

Nico growled again, pressing his body into mine. “Challenge accepted, little bird. But just so you know, I’m done waiting on the sidelines. I know what I want, and you’ll find that I’m not easily deterred.”

“I was hoping you weren’t,” I whispered, trying to be bold even though butterflies swarmed at my core.

His lips slammed on mine—fierce and consuming.

A heady rush washed over me and I kissed him back.

I wanted no regrets in whatever life I had left, and in that moment, I couldn’t deny that I wanted him.

I wanted him to lift me up and bring me into the bedroom.

To explore this newfound passion and see how he could make my body sing.

His hands wrapped into my hair, pulling tight and pinning me in place while he explored my mouth. I hitched my leg around him, trying to pull him closer even though our bodies were already molded together. But as I yearned for more, he ended it—pulling away from me, leaving my scorched body behind.

“The lady has asked to be wooed. Not ravaged in a dark hallway,” he said, taking another step away from me, leaving altogether too much space between us.

“I don’t remember saying that ravaging was off the table.”

Nico laughed, and the sound filled me. It was those small glimpses of joy in these dark moments that made it all worth it. “After I meet with Lucius, I’ll be taking him and Luca with me on a raid. You’ll be safe here with Fallon until we get back.”

The joy faded just like that, and our reality came crashing back. “A raid?”

Nico sighed, his gaze shifting to the ceiling.

“It’s necessary. We’ll never be safe here if I can’t take out Johan.

We need weapons so I can build an army, and I need an army so I can protect you.

Johan has an order of iron coming in from the northern territories.

The plan is to relieve him of that shipment and use it for our own. ”

“A few days in the woods and you’re already becoming a thief. I’d say there’s some truth to the dark magic in this forest,” I said, joking. But Nico only offered me a sad smile.

“Don’t think too poorly of me. Every move I make now has good intentions, I promise.”

“I don’t doubt it one bit. Make sure all of you come back to me safely.”