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Chapter 36

Three’s a Crowd

~DOLLY~

Present Time

“Why, my Lolly girl, what have they done to you now?”

I open my eyes to the sight of wings silhouetted against a bright red orb, hanging low over a sparkling white city. Dressed in crisp white streetwear, Alex looks like he stepped straight out of a glossy magazine spread—for heaven’s most stylish hitmen. His wings twitch slightly, enhancing his angelic aura.

The canal water below reflects crimson, leading up to a cascade of buildings stacked like snow-white blocks, tiered and steep, as though carved from the side of a giant’s dream. The blood moon looms large, casting a bloodshot shadow over the city. A ritzy fairyland brought to life—with just a hint of apocalypse.

The half-Celestial crouches beside me as I stir on the balcony floor, his expression unreadable. Forty hours should have brought him here by midmorning, but now it feels like time is suspended.

“Alex. Aren’t you early?” I ask, attempting to stay composed, burdened with the knowledge he was sent by destiny to kill my boyfriend .

“Yeah, well, things haven’t turned out as fate predicted. You were supposed to be in the Celestial realm by now. The oldest brother was meant to be strangled by Velis’s hand. This place wasn’t even on the map.” His attention shifts toward the midnight skyline, his wings tensing. “The oldest one was always meant to warm, but he melted too quickly because of our nymph laird’s spontaneous influence.”

“Velis?” I ask, my heart flitting as I try to keep up, torn between panic and a surge of reckless defiance.

“Aye, Lolly. They’re not just learning through you—they’re learning through him as well. Your connection with them has entangled your fate with multiple destinies you were never supposed to touch. It’s a disruption to the natural order, compounded by the unusual way they were born—one soul split into three. Their very conception has already thrown the balance of fate off-kilter.” He slants his head, studying me as if weighing his next move. “Wish-granting bonds weren’t designed to sustain this kind of chaos. Fate’s delicate, and you’re pulling on threads you were never meant to touch. If someone doesn’t untangle them, they’ll fray beyond repair.” He extends his hand, and the bow, crafted from the Lover’s Vessel’s glass, flies eagerly into his grip through Jeb’s open door. “The best course of action would be to complete the task I was sent to do.”

“Wait!” I cry out. “What are you to me or us? Why are you even here?”

It works. He lowers the bow.

“I didn’t know myself, not until the day my bow started calling to me and I found myself buried deep in your past, present, and future. You could say I’ve become intimately invested in your fate. You could call me a guardian of it.”

“The bow is yours?”

“My ancestors’. Aphrode’s Tear is its name. One of the last remaining relics of our people. The demons destroyed the rest, though I suppose there are others in hiding.”

“Demons? ”

“The reason my clan fled to the human world and sought refuge in a forgotten era. They managed to smuggle out our clan’s keepsake by magically fusing it within a djinn’s vessel. It was given as a gift of gratitude to the djinn who helped my several-times-great-grandfather escape during the attacks. Our clan believed it was dormant. When it started calling to me, we had to unearth old tomes to understand what it meant. Once we knew it was a breaking of fate, we studied the lines of your family and your djinn’s, searching for the anomaly.”

“And?”

“You wished this, though you didn’t know what you were doing. You were manipulated by a wicked woman who sought to divert the fate of one of her sons.”

I think I know that wicked woman. I think I know which son.

Alex continues, “We Earthen Celestials have lost most of our powers—our bloodline diluted as it is—so I had to gain teleportation, invisibility, and access to your location through Jebidirah and a basic manipulation of fate. My clan chose me to carry the bow because my soul is the fullest and had the most to offer.”

My tragic genie romance has bled over into entirely new magical families I didn’t even know about.

“Celestials used to, what... write romance?” I ask, still trying to understand how it’s all strung together.

“No, no. No one cares about your romantic endeavors as much as you three there. We are meant to guide fate and intervene when anomalies occur—anomalies so rare and unpredictable their very presence can unspool the threads of destiny. Much of our art was lost long before the demons came, but my clan is reviving it now that we’ve retrieved our sacred relic. It’s difficult, tempering fate without destroying it. I’m learning as I go.”

Hold on, though—did he say ‘you three ’?

Despite him being a supposed enemy, I feel no animosity from or toward him. “So, what now?” I ask. “Are you really here to kill Vel? ”

Eyes on that cursed bow, born from a cursed vase, I prepare to throw every which wish I can think of at him.

“Well,” he begins, his tone contemplative, “my clan was certain the way to fix this mess was through the death of your djinn husband before you could be tempted to create new life. That does seem like the most permanent solution for correcting fate, especially since your sadistic brother didn’t die as preordained. Life for a life, and all that. However, as I told you before, Velis is an upright guy. That’s why I offered you an alternative to killing him in the first place. If you’re willing to accept this new shift in fate, and if you can ensure it remains steady and unnoticed by my clan, I think we can allow it to stand.

I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“But you can’t give him an heir. The heir is meant to come from the other one... for some unfortunate reason. While you may have found loopholes to modify your wish-granters’ fates, there’s no upsetting the destiny of anyone else, including your offspring.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I admit out loud this time.

“He’s saying that I get to have your baby,” a raspy voice answers from behind me.

I rise on shaky legs, turning to find my genies standing on Jeb’s balcony. Two djinn brothers, one in a white T-shirt, the other in black.

“Excuse me?” I blurt out, remembering the confession I made under extreme temptation, and hating the wicked sinking of my stomach at seeing Arrik again. Velis must not know. There’s love in his eyes as he steps forward, as though they were waiting for me to wake up. All around us, reddish light basks the balcony, streaming from Alex’s palm.

I run to Velis. “What’s going on?” Then I glance back at the enemy in our midst before whispering, “Do you need me to make a wish?”

With his hand on my jaw and the red moon reflecting in his eyes, he kisses me once with his model-full lips. “Can I see inside your mouth, Master?” He doesn’t seem worried.

Both his and Arrik’s pulses are even. I can practically—but definitely actually— feel them.

Just like he did all those days ago, Velis tips back my chin and peers down my throat, the golden light of my soul reflecting on his cheeks. I hear him gasp before passing me off to Arrik, who narrows his eyes and gets closer and more scrutinous than Velis before him.

“Wha—?” My tongue grazes his knuckle.

Through the golden, dancing light warming our skin, I see his arrogant expression twist into one of manic delight.

“Well, then, all that’s left is for her to commit to it,” Alex remarks, watching from his place on the balcony. “I’ll be keeping tabs. My first assignment. Consider me Dolly’s guardian in the shadows from here on out.” His wings fold in with a soft rustle, and in a swirl of feathers, he vanishes.

Above, the moon reverts back to a sliver, and the wind picks up again, tugging at my clothes, as if trying to make me face the consequences of my actions.

“What is happening?” I look from genie to genie, both tall and lean and loveable and unimaginably hot, and have no idea where this is going but feeling jittery from their energy.

“We need to have a discussion, Doll,” says Velis. “Let’s go inside.”

I try to act relaxed on Jeb’s couch, Velis sitting across from me on the now cleared coffee table, and Arrik leaning against the wall as the soft dawn light of Makaya slowly begins to rise over the pink flower city through the wide windows.

“What?” I ask, feeling the vibes in the air thickening. Arrik’s giving us space, waiting for Velis to speak, and Velis is stalling. I exhale, the exhaustion of the past few days rushing over me all at once. “Whatever this is, let’s just get it over with,” I say, rubbing my temples. “I’m tired. I’m tired of running. I’m tired of hiding. I’m tired of adjusting to new norms. I’ve been processing so much. The last few months alone... I literally shaved my head during a breakdown to feel like I had some kind of control over my body. I worked on myself hard during that year. I may have looked pathetic, but I was healing, in my own way. And then I find out magic’s real, and it’s just—everything. My whole life. I was the most ordinary human, and now suddenly every race known to djinn is after me—”

I realize I’m ranting.

And Velis looks like he’s trying to hold back a secret after being wished to tell it.

“Vel?”

“Your heart’s changed,” he blurts. “That is, your greatest desire. It’s no longer me.”

He waits for my reaction.

My reaction is an invisible train rams into me, and when I’ve recovered, my eyes zip to Arrik. “ What did you do ?”

“Excuse you,” Arrik says, pushing off the wall. “Saved your boyfriend’s life. Again.”

A shivery shiver hits me at the word boyfriend from his perfect, mocking lips, like it’s being stretched out in slow motion.

Something is definitely wrong with me. I feel different from before.

“Dolly.” Velis tugs my focus back to him, his Evangeline-blue eyes catching the morning light. “My greatest desire is to make you happy.”

My heart skips. Flutter, flutter.

“You’re the most important person in my life. Are you happier with Arrik in yours?”

It feels like a loaded question, one I hesitate to answer. Because lately, it feels less like happiness and more like torment .

“ Answer it, DJ, ” says a voice in my mind, slippery as ink and just as hard to remove.

“Yes, Velis, I’m happier with Arrik in my life. But what’s your point? That doesn’t mean I want him over you. What happened to not letting fate call the shots? What exactly have you agreed to here?!”

Arrik interjects, out loud this time, “We aren’t letting fate dictate anything. We’re rebelling.”

“Rebelling?”

“Think outside the box, DJ.”

I look between the two of them, unsure if I’m supposed to laugh, waiting for Beckham or Amoira or any one of our many enemies gifted with illusion magic to appear. There’s no way this is reality. I’ve had enough sexy dreams to know. Any minute, that damn bathtub is going to appear, and the walls of reality are going to shatter away.

“Answer the question, Master,” Velis prods.

“You’re . . . serious?”

There’s no way in hell I should be allowed to be with two Reilhander boys when there are billions of other women out in the world.

“It would never work. For one, you would never be okay with it, right, Vel? Sharing me with Arrik?” It’s ludicrous enough to make me scoff.

But Velis very much seems to be reconsidering a conclusion he’d previously drawn. “Surprisingly—” He exchanges a look with his brother. “As I said, my greatest desire is to grant yours. So is his. We’ve both read your soul. We know that what you desire most is for both of us to have what we want most. That changes our compulsion too.”

“But... isn’t that the same as brainwashing? Isn’t that the same as forcing you? How is that any different from control?!” I protest.

“Because I made this decision first. I knew what would happen, and I chose it, and I’m glad I did.” Velis glances away briefly, almost sheepish as he adds, “It feels better than I expected.”

I wonder if that counts as resonance of the most complicated kind.

I still don’t have any fucking idea what to say here. It’s like I’m being asked to the dance by the two hottest guys in school while I look disgusting and sleep deprived.

“ Imagine it, ” Arrik’s voice slinks into my mind, whispering like velvet. “ No more guilt. Complete acceptance of the things you really want. No one has to know but me, you, and him. ”

Velis watches me with a concentrated brow, silver tears slipping down my cheeks. But I feel too ashamed to meet his eyes.

“Why are you crying, Master?” Velis asks, his warm hands cupping my face.

“This makes me sad,” I admit, trying and failing to keep my emotions in check. “It feels like cheating.”

“It’s not,” says two voices at once.

“It feels like giving in,” I say, mine shaking.

“But don’t you think you deserve to?” my laird asks, at a volume meant only for me. “I ruined your life. I fucking stole you from him, and it ruined him too.”

Oh no. I hate seeing him empathy-cry. It’s like an unconscious mirror of my own pain, and he never acknowledges it. His face doesn’t clench. The tears just fall, like his empathy is siphoning them from me, cleansing me with his compassion, his warmth, his light.

I feel lucky to be in that light.

“Your love was meant for him,” Velis continues, his brow furrowing deeper with pain, with compassion, with the emotions that he knows best. “How can I deprive him of that, Dolly?”

Because it doesn’t feel like Arrik is mine. It feels like he’s hers. The Dolly who would have lived that life. That’s where the break is. That’s why I’ll never love Arrik as much as I love Velis. It feels like I’m not supposed to have him. Like I can’t have him. Like I was meant to pick Velis off that shelf .

And yet, the veil between what is mine and what was hers is so thin. I don’t want it to disappear—it’s the only thing keeping our worlds separate—but how do you say no when it feels so fragile, so tempting, with the right combination of heroics, glances, or words?

“What if it doesn’t work? What if it’s too hard?” I press.

“Then we can kick him out,” Velis says, deadpan.

“Hey,” Arrik protests.

Velis shoots him a look of annoyance. “Or you can kick me out. The important thing is—” Velis gathers my hand. “You don’t get hurt in this situation. We knew the risks, and we both agreed we’d rather share you than risk losing you to the other. Plus, this world is dangerous, and we have enemies. As laird of the manor, I’ll need him to watch my back. He’d have to be around us a lot, and I’m not saying anything would’ve happened between you two, but it would’ve been painful for you both. We only have so many days together, and I don’t want to waste them. It’s hard to be jealous when I can feel your intentions so clearly.”

There’s no way in hell this is actually starting to maybe kind of seem like it could possibly work.

But also, tell me I’m not entering into a genie threesome... thing.

“Probably best not to label it,” grunts Arrik. “And I would think of this as a trial run.”

I think through the potential of this happening, which really doesn’t feel like that much of a stretch with how intimately woven our minds, feelings, and lives have become. I’ve already had the most intimate relationship with each of them separately. It already felt like a breakup. It already felt unavoidable.

I guess if we can just keep what we already have, with things just a little more out in the open, that wouldn’t be so bad, would it?

“I mean, if it’s a trial thing...” My mouth is speaking, though my mind is still working. “A-and it’s a way to keep Velis from being killed by a cupid, and you’re both okay with it? If all those things are true... then I guess... maybe? But Velis remains my number one. A-and we stop here! I don’t care if Beckham saves me from a dragon and Jeb turns straight and is suddenly able to love. And no Daddy. And the first one to ask me for a Bellamy birthday thing is out.”

“Noted, Master,” says a smoky whisper. I didn’t notice Arrik slink over from the wall, and I’m not even sure if he’s really here or if it’s just a phantom hand on my back.

“And we need rules,” I say, trying to maintain some semblance of control.

Arrik is indeed here. I feel him slide onto the couch beside me, his presence unmistakable as he slides an arm around my neck, making my stomach flutter.

Something really must have changed within me. Vel’s usually sharp jealousy feels dim. Because he’s giving me what I desire in this moment? Because granting my desires feels good for him?

“We need to set rules. What if, when I’m with one of you, the other doesn’t remember, or we set specific days and use glamour to—”

“Oh, my fucking god, you children,” Arrik interrupts sharply. “Polyamorous relationships are a thing. People do this. It’s not that abnormal.”

“Yeah, but with two brothers? That gives me the ick,” I counter, trying to wrap my mind around the logistics.

“No, we’re not together ,” Arrik clarifies, his tone firm. “Each of us is with you, separately . It’s not that complicated.”

He says it with a confidence that suggests experience, and now it’s maybe feeling a little like ‘Daddy Arrik’ is here to teach us things, and I am adding it to the list of nos.

“This still feels like a ploy to steal her from me,” Velis accuses, his eyes narrowing as he watches how effortlessly Arrik adapts to the idea.

Arrik shrugs, nonchalant. “Don’t let me take her, then. But just know I’ll feel it every time you touch her—almost like I’m right there, watching, judging your technique,” he adds, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous purr.

“I said no threesomes!” I snap, my face flushing with heat. I elbow him, but his arm stays confidently around me. It feels like teenage flirting, my heart pounding against his grip.

“ You’re so nervous, ” his voice echoes in my head as his tobacco-scented lips graze my ear. “ I’ll take care of you, my lady. You’ll forget all about him. ”

A sharp whistle sound cuts through the tension. “Nope,” Velis interjects firmly. “We already discussed this, Arrik. No trying to steal Dolly, or the deal’s off. And respectfully? Stay out of her head when I’m with her.” He hesitates, glancing away again in his unguarded Velis way. “I don’t want things getting competitive.”

“No intruding on each other’s... intimate time,” I add, counting on my fingers. “No manipulative comments— Arrik . No trying to ‘steal’ me, or I’m leaving you both. I get to add rules whenever I want. No competitive shit. No at-the-same-time shit.”

“Agreed,” Velis says, sounding resolute.

“It’s a good starting point,” Arrik adds, but definitely sounds like there’s more.

“Arrik,” Velis says warningly.

“Agreed,” Arrik concedes, though a hint of mischief lingers in his voice. “For now.”

“Arrik!”

“I get my own anniversary with her, and it’s today.” Arrik kicks his feet out on the coffee table. “And I want a kid.”

“H-hold on!” I stammer, heart pounding. “We are in the experimentation stage, not the child-bearing stage.” My gaze snaps to Arrik. “And, really? You do? Not just because fate seems to want us to?”

That is what Alex was getting at, right? That in the original timeline, Arrik and I were supposed to have a child? And that if I had one with Velis instead, it would break everything? My thoughts swirl, my womb twisting at the thought. I’m not sure I’m ready to be a mom—maybe someday—but not now. Definitely not because fate decided for us. And definitely not if it’s just to fulfill some predestined path neither of us asked for.

I glance at Arrik again. I mean, I saw how good he was with Sarah’s son, and he’s twenty-eight. Old enough to be a dad, sure. But are either of us truly ready for that? And can we even make this decision without feeling like pawns in some larger cosmic game?

Velis shifts beside me, silent but watchful. What about him? If fate forbids me from having a child with Velis, what kind of future does that leave for us? It’s like there’s an invisible line I can’t cross, a wall between us even our love can’t overcome. What if choosing him in this way would destroy everything?

Yet, as I look at Arrik, his rare smile cuts through my mess of thoughts, and for a brief moment, my heart flutters—less like a regular fly and more like a butterfly. The complexity of the world seems to lift, replaced by a sense of ease. It does feel a little more first-date with him, and somehow, knowing Vel’s okay with it makes it both comforting and oddly thrilling.

Velis breaks the silence, kicking Arrik’s feet off the table. “Nothing in front of me.”

“Ditto,” Arrik retorts, setting them back on. “And I get to call the shots.”

“What shots?” Vel asks.

“If you don’t know, then you shouldn’t be calling them,” Arrik fires back.

“Um, no. I will be calling any ‘shots,’” I correct.

This is exhausting. But... really? Do I really get this? If we go through with it, I’ll be like their dirty little secret forever.

“It’ll keep things exciting,” Arrik murmurs with dark promise. “Not that we’ll need it. But you two will.”

“Arrik!”

“Last one,” he says, his eyes fixed on Velis, because he can’t lie to me.

Oh yeah, neither of them will be able to lie to me either .

We’d better get on perfecting that door—I’ll be desperately needing a way to shut them out of my head.

There’s a five percent chance this will work and at least a ninety percent chance it’s all a dream. How can this not be a dream?!