Page 98 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

He’s making it difficult for me to keep my newly made promise to myself not to kill him when he keeps talking to me. All I want to do is sit in silence and watch my girl.

“Do I want to know how you found him so fast?” The corner of his mouth twitches, and I realise he’s doing it on purpose. Is he trying to rile me up to get a rise out of me, or does he find something about the question funny?

I’m about to snap at him, but I understand what he’s doing when I notice the fear in his eyes. He’s terrified. This is his attempt to calm himself and deal with what almost happened. While I need physical contact with Alyx and silence, he needs to air his concerns.

Pushing my annoyance to the side, I think about his question and chuckle darkly. “No.” I grin with my reply, meaning it. He might think the healer was joking when he mentioned he was tied up like a hog, but he wasn’t far off. I needed to make sure Master Yiel came to the palace, and the easiest way to do that was to make sure there was no way he could refuse.

Some might call it kidnapping, but I call it saving Alyx’s life.

“Usually, I would protest,” Orion grumbles from where he’s leaning against the wall. “But the less I know about this, the better. She was saved because of your actions.”

“She has us all wrapped around her little finger.” Joha chuckles, and it’s not really funny, but both Orion and I crack a smile.

“That’s my girl,” I mutter, shaking my head as I watch her unmoving form. “She’s had control over my heart since the day I met her.”

“Tonight showed me how easily she could have been taken from us, so I am not going to deny my feelings for her any longer despite my misgivings.” Orion’s declaration changes something about the atmosphere in the room. This is more than just discussing our feelings. He’s making his intentions clear, and he is not going to step back. “She has my heart,” he continues, “and she will for as long as she wants it.”

I hate hearing this, and I’m a jealous man, but I can’t deny him this right. My girl is hypnotic and has caught all of us in her snare.

Joha clears his throat and looks between us. “You both know I’ve been obsessed with her for months. I will not lose her.”

Another declaration, a line drawn in the sand, and something we are all going to have to decide how to deal with.

“So what do we do?” Orion asks with a heavy sigh, looking to me for answers.

I am secretly glad they do not ask me whether or not I would be willing to step back and allow Alyx to be with one of them, as I do not think I could control my behaviour. Alyx is mine, and I will never give her up, so there is no point in even trying to deny me.

“She cares for all of us, that much is clear.” I look at her as I speak, her face still the most beautiful I have ever seen, even when she looks so pale. It’s our turn to care for her now.

There is only one way I can see us all getting what we need and Alyx being able to see us without the restraints of a relationship. I have seen her confusion and flashes of guilt she feels over the situation. She loves us all, perhaps in different ways, but I have seen the look in her eye on several occasions now.

“None of us are going to step back and risk losing her, so we’ll let her choose. We’ll let her decide if she wants one or all of us,” I begin, wishing I had a better way of explaining myself. “Forcing her to choose is only going to hurt her. She has experienced enough pain in her life without us adding to it.”

Orion sputters at the idea of Alyx being with all of us, but I continue as though I didn’t hear him. The king is watching me intently.

“Sharing is not in my nature, I am possessive and jealous, but if this is the only way I can be in Alyx’s life, then so be it. We don’t push the issue. This is her life, her heart, so she gets to decide,” I explain, although there is no room in my words for their hesitation or stipulation.

We all need to agree or this will not work, and I will not allow her to get hurt because of it. I will not lose her over my own petty jealousy, so if this is what she needs, then I will give it to her.

“Are we in agreement?” I look from Joha to Orion, taking in their expressions. As I expected, the guard is frowning, but he wears a thoughtful expression rather than one of disagreement. The king is leaning back in his chair, resting his chin on his hand as he considers everything I just said, and I see his mind turning.

He comes to an answer faster than I expected though, sitting forward and meeting my eyes. “We will have to discuss how it would work with her being my betrothed, but essentially, if that is what she wants, then I agree.”

The man is right. We will have to be careful with our affections when in public, as I cannot imagine the nobility approving of the king sharing a lover with anyone else, especially not a guard and an assassin. This could work though.

I turn to Orion, expecting to have to convince him that this is the best option, but he surprises me. Huffing a sigh, he looks to me then his king, and then he finally lays his gaze on Alyx.

“I do not believe she will not pick me. However, if she chooses, then I am hers.” Something in his face changes as he watches the woman he loves, his expression softening.

That decided, I nod to myself and fall back into a state of silence, ignoring the other two and allowing Alyx to become my entire focus.

Now I just have to wait for her to wake up.

Chapter

Fifty-Four

ALYX

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