Page 134 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

He inches even closer. “I’m listening.”

“I love Chase,” I say, the words tumbling out, fierce and certain. “That won’t change, and I will not give him up unless he demands it. But I want you too—I can’t pretend I don’t. So unless Chase says otherwise, I’m his, too.” I draw myself up straighter. “I’ll go through the betrothal ceremony with you, because I can’t stand that you’re a prisoner in your own realm.”

“Thank you.” The words are barely a whisper. “I sense a but coming on.”

“You’re a very smart man,” and despite the bombshell I’m about to drop—one I expect he anticipates—we share a small smile.

“I will marry you if you insist. But I refuse to be the cause of the barriers coming down. I know what you believe, and I respect that you think it’s right. But I don’t. I trust Chase,” I add, and see him wince.

I stand straighter, “If you do insist that we marry, I will never sleep with you again. The barriers will stay as they are. And I will live my life in the Realm of the Real because I want that life. I want my friends. And I want to help Chase fight your mares who’ve escaped into that realm.”

I draw a breath, unable to read his expression. “But mostly I want to be away from you, so that I’m not tempted to break that vow.”

He tilts his head, as if he’s searching my words for loopholes.

Part of me hopes he’ll find one.

When he stays silent, I lift a shoulder. “Those are my conditions. You’ll be free to move beyond the castle and its grounds, but you won’t have me like that. Only your brother will.”

I glance down, knowing that the last may prove to be a lie. I don’t want to lose Chase, but he might walk away from me once he learns of this deal. And about me and Adric tonight.

The truth is, I’m terrified. I’m playing on a cosmic scale. Me, the girl who failed her first semester of high school physics.

And yet it feels right. As if this mysterious power in me knows what it’s doing.

“I accept,” Adric says, taking my hands and tugging me to him. “But know this, my Queen. I want you in my bed. And I will have you. Even after we’re wed.”

“One of us is wrong,” I tell him.

“And for the time being, the point is moot. Tomorrow is the betrothal ceremony. As for the wedding itself? Well, we have no date set for that, do we, my love?”

“No,” I say, with the whisper of a smile.

“You should go check on my brother,” he says. “But after that, come back to me.”

I nod, then start to turn away. “No,” he says, grabbing my arm and pulling me back to claim me with the kind of kiss that makes me think I’m melting. And that perhaps this strange arrangement will work.

That I’ll have both men, albeit with conditions. That the barriers will stay up.

That we’ll all have a happily ever after.

He breaks the kiss, and for a moment, he just looks at.me. Then one hand slides into my hair, the other gripping my hip hard and tugging me against him.

“I should go check on Chase.”

“Let him sleep. We have plans.”

“Plans?”

“Time may be infinite,” he murmurs. “But we should never waste it.” Then his mouth closes over mine in a kiss different from the one after the flight. That one was exploration. This one is conquering. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, and I make a sound I don’t recognize, my hands fisting in his shirt. He tastes like night air and something darker, something that makes heat bloom low in my belly and spread outward until my skin feels too tight.

I pull back just enough to breathe and grab his hand, tugging him toward the tent. We stumble through the opening together, the silk falling closed behind us like we’ve stepped out of the world entirely. Inside, lanterns have lit themselves, casting everything in warm, flickering gold.

I turn to face him, then reach for the tie of his robe. My fingers fumble with the knot, and he covers my hands with his.

“Eager,” he whispers, the amusement in his voice underscored with heat.

“Problem?”