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“No, but I’d be happy to tell her. Anytime you’re ready,” he said calmly. “I’m not hiding it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

I rubbed my forehead. “I think you both might be insane.”

“Love does that to you,” Kage said simply. “There’s a power to it.”

I felt my cheeks heat. The word was far too heavy for dinner. I ignored it. But there were things I couldn’t ignore. “You’ve claimed we’re a triad,” I started to say.

“We are. There’s no question about it,” Lysander said. “Can’t you feel it?”

I ignored the question. “I just don’t see how you can be sure about something like that. Sure about me.”

Lysander’s intense expression softened slightly. “Regan, we’re sure.”

Kage tilted his head. “We know.”

“How?” I demanded, my voice a little shrill. “You don’t even know me.”

Lysander’s blue eyes held mine. “We know enough. We know you’re the missing piece.”

Heat crawled up my neck. “We’ve slept in the same bed, but … I don’t understand how you can both be satisfied with this … arrangement.”

They glanced at each other. “We know some of what you’ve been through,” Lysander said quietly. “Not all, but … we can guess.”

Kage’s face had turned wrathful. I assumed he was thinking of Viktor. I squished the piece of bread between my fingers, crushing it, blinking hard.

“You don’t owe us anything,” Lysander said bluntly. “You don’t have to give us anything. We want to be here—with you. You are enough. Your presence is enough.”

“All we want is to keep you safe,” Kage added.

I stared at them. It made no sense. Highbloods weren’t supposed to be like this. Highbloods took, they didn’t wait. High-bloods weren’t self-sacrificing. And most importantly, highblood triads didn’t cross house borders. Not when it came to the four great houses. We didn’t blend bloodlines. We just … didn’t. But they’d been doing it all along, I realized, looking at them. They’d been with each other. Fed from one another. Mingled blood. Among other bodily fluids, I suddenly thought, with a sharp flush of heat.

Had they sensed my thoughts? Maybe. Because Lysander’s hand rose, his fingers sliding into Kage’s hair at the base of his neck. He leaned forward, his mouth meeting the Avari’s. The kiss started off tender, then it turned breathless. I watched their mouths move, the crash of lips, the play of tongues. The kiss carried history. They’d been doing this for years. Stealing moments. Keeping secrets. Hiding desire. And waiting. Always waiting.

For me?

My breath caught. I hated that my body was reacting to the kiss. Heat pooling low between my thighs, my pulse hiking. As if I were keeping secrets, too.

Lysander broke the kiss. He looked at me. “Does this bother you?”

I stared back at him. “No. Yes. Maybe.”

Kage was looking at me, too. “How? Are you … disgusted?”

“No! Bloodmaiden, no. Of course not.” I stumbled over the words. “You’re … beautiful together. But I feel like I should go.” I pushed myself to my feet, feeling shaky. “I shouldn’t be here. I feel like I have no right to see this.”

Lysander rose. “You have every right. You’re a part of this.”

“But I’m not, not really.” My throat felt choked. “I’m broken, Lysander. I’m so fucked up. I have no right to be here. I don’t know why you even want me.”

Kage was on his feet in an instant, his face storm-tossed. “You have every right. We want you all the time. In any way we can have you.”

“But you can’t have me,” I said desperately. “No one can.” I felt sick. “I don’t know if I ever want to be touched … like that … again.”

“But watching us just now,” Kage said softly, “it made you …”

I flushed. “Blooddamn you and your wolf nose.”

He didn’t laugh. “We want to make you happy. Is that so terrible?”