Page 4 of Their Fated Magic

I scan the room again, looking at each man. They’re giants, crowding my large room and making it seem smaller. What’s more, they’re giants with some serious hatred between them.

I look back at the double bed set-up, and unexpectedly, I burst into laughter. “All five of us are sleeping together?”

Like a pile of puppies.

Garrick’s nose wrinkles. “It’s the only way to be sure all of us stick to our word.”

So, their only solution was… this… this mess?

“You don’t trust each other that much?” I grin at the notion of these enemies sharing two beds together. “How will you know you’re safe? Can you really even sleep like this? I bet you’ll end up fighting in your sleep.”

An image of Drogo and Garrick sleep-fighting under the covers pops into my head with the blankets and sheets swishing all over the place, and I’m laughing again. Maybe it’s exhaustion, maybe it’s that I’m tired of feeling stressed and alone, but I can’t seem to stop laughing.

Garrick cracks a smile before joining in on the laughter with me. Prince Rinan chuckles too. Prince Arlys simply rolls his eyes, a smile teasing the corners of his mouth, and places his folded shirt on the vanity.

“It’s not funny.” Drogo scowls. “We have to sleep with a fucking bear.”

Buzz kill. The laughter dies down shortly after that. Then, we’re all just staring at each other.

“So, Tara, does all of this sound okay with you?” Garrick asks, those big hazel eyes filled with hope. “Everything is your choice.”

All eyes are on me, even though I’m not sure how much the wolves even care. Still, this is what I wanted. A say in things.

Slowly, I nod.

He smiles.

But I’m not done. I swallow, hard, speaking without thinking. “I never want to be talked about like I’m an object with no say in anything ever again. Like… I’m a piece of food you all get a piece of to fuck.”

Garrick comes closer to me, his huge body towering over mine. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me. I prioritized fighting with the wolves over my wife. You deserve better than that.”

“You’re a smooth talker,” I tell him, my back rigid. “I’m going to remember that.”

Hurt flashes in his eyes. “I meant everything I said to you.”

I rub my hands on my arms, even though I’m not cold. “At least they’ve never pretended to care about me or like me. What you did is somehow worse.”

Prince Rinan makes a sound of surprise. “Princess Tara…”

I give him a look. “Don’t start now.”

His mouth closes, but he looks upset.

“We all just need to focus on fixing the curse,” Prince Arlys says.

I flash him a smile that’s all teeth. “You’ve made it perfectly clear that that’s your only concern.”

His shoulders bend. “We never said we didn’t care about you.”

“You didn’t have to.” I turn away from them, trying to regain my composure. “So, what do we do from here, Prince Arlys?”

There’s silence before Prince Arlys responds. “You can drop the ‘prince’ from our names. We’re married. We should start acting more like it.”

I nod. “Okay. Right. I’ll get better at acting.”

Arlys flinches.

Rinan stands up a little taller. “That’s not what he meant.”

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