Page 199 of Serpent In White

“I’ve made my peace with it,” he continues. “It’s been many years of healing, most of which was done by you all. And the ultimate knowledge that I was avenged.” Darian’s face turns to Drake, whose snake eyes are stuck right on our King.

The love I hear in their thoughts warms my chest immensely. Since the moment I saw them together months ago, when I spied on them in the lounge, I knew they were completelymadfor one another. It just took a little puzzle of our own to get them to snap into place. We’re like a Rubik’s cube, the four… now I guessthreeof us.

It’s as bewildering as it is brilliant.

“Drake took the life of that evil man,” Darian says these words with nothing but gratefulness and admiration. “He did it to protect me, as he’s been doing ever since. He’s dedicated his life to protecting us from the evils of the world. It’s our turn to repay the favor.”

Darian looks over the crowd, possibly to assess their feelings on what he’s just said. And I’m not surprised to find everyone sufficiently on board, regardless of what it means.

They’re here. We all are.

“I want you all to know that starting today, starting right now, I’m going to give you full transparency. Because I can’t expect you to be truthful to me in all things if I can’t do the same for you. So here it goes…”

Darian peers over my head at his brother once more. Drake’s lips curl; subtly, of course. But still, it’s quite the sight to see.

“Drake is my lover,” Darian sighs. “He has been since long before any of you came here. Since long before The Principality was even an idea. He is my foster brother, yes. But I’m in love with him, and I always have been.”

The crowd is much quieter than I expected, but from the thoughts, I’m not getting as much pure shock as I expected. There’s some of it, sure, but there are also some people are thinking it’s about time he came out with it, which makes me chuckle.

“It was wrong of me to marry, knowing I could never love any of my wives the way I love him, and for that, I’m eternally sorry. My wives and I will begin a divorce process. And I’m sure they’ll be quite relieved about it.”

He lets a little chuckle slip as he glances at the wives. None of them are upset, or scorned. They all get it. They’ve long since picked up on Darian’s secret need for dick in a relationship, so there’s no shock from that side.

Lauris grins at Darian, before pulling Gem into her side.

The crowd is full of smiles, and nods.Acceptance, which is a beautiful thing to witness. But we’re not done yet…

“So… that said, here’s where it gets a little stickier.” Darian rubs the back of his neck. “In the interest of no more secrets… I have more than just the one partner. Drake and I have been seeing Abdiel Harmony for a few weeks now. Another thing we’re very happy about.”

I squeeze my King’s hand in mine, and he peeks down at me. I show him a loving smile before my eyes begin to shift at the startled thoughts from some of my family.

This is the revelation getting murmurs of shock. I guess we were pretty good at sneaking around because not one person seems to have predicted this one, except maybe the wives.

“You’re the scandal, little mouse,” Drake whispers into my ear until I shiver. I shove him, and he snickers.

“The point of all this is that I can’t hide anymore. And we shouldn’t have to hide anything,” Darian’s voice thunders. “Secrets were never meant to be a part of this family, this life we’ve built here onourland. Things got muddied up for a while… It was my fault. For not being honest. For not seeing the truths I’d been blinded to.”

He looks to Drake, and I hear them sharing a wordless conversation. Drake still insists that he’s as much at fault as Darian, if not more.Our Serpent… He just loves to hold that burden.

We’ll keep trying to break him of the habit, especially since we’ve agreed to carry it with him.

He’sours. Not just evil, or just good. He’s the serpent in white. Our holy protector.

“No more hiding. No more shying from it,” Darian says, firm and demanding. It’s a call to action. “I am your leader, yes. But I want you by my side in everything. We’re all part of this transformation together. The strength we hold… it cannot be rivaled. We are… The Principality.”

The echo of his final word is barely done breaking as the crowd cheers. People clap and hoot and whistle. The noise is unlike anything I’ve heard before.

Their applause carries through the air, over the lake.

Darian grins, peeking at Drake, then me. And then the three of us look out whimsically over the water, at the fire that’s almost burnt out.

Rhiannon will remain with us in spirit, I know she will. She’s a part of this land forever. A part of our hearts… Of our transformation.

And thefourof us are ready. Ready for whatever comes next… To defend our land, to face any truth we have to. To live, and learn, and love.

This family right here, these partners… They’re all we need.

Because today is here… and it’s so damn special.