Page 48 of Samhain

I slept better than I had in years. I didn’t know if it was because of how tired I was or the warmth and coziness of sharing a bed with my three spouses. I peeled my eyes open when a streak of bright sunlight snuck in through the blinds, hitting me in the face. Ivy still slept behind me, but Lex was gone. When I sat up, I saw Carter was gone as well.

Just me and my wife.

Just me and my girl.

I ran a finger down the side of her face, tracing the way her cheekbone dipped and became her jaw. She cracked open her gray eyes and focused on me before curling into herself and stretching, reminding me of a grumpy cat that had been unceremoniously awakened.

“Good morning, darling,” I said, giving her a sweet kiss.

She reciprocated with a smile. “Good morning.”

“How do you feel?”

“Sore,” she said, her voice gravelly from sleep. “And tired. But good.”

“Me too,” I said. “I didn’t mean to make you upset last night. With Carter.”

She shook her head. “This whole thing is hard. I spent so long thinking neither of you wanted me. I was jealous of you. And of him. Of everyone.”

“I never wanted you to feel like that.” I kissed her again. “We’re in this together. No matter what.”

“Until the end.” She grabbed my hand with hers, rubbing our vows against each other.

“Make me a promise, darling.”

“Anything,” she said, eyeing me with sincerity.

“Don’t let me disappear on you again,” I said. “If you think I don’t love you, show up and ask me. I’ll do the same for you.”

She sighed and blinked back tears, kissing my knuckles while she said, “I promise.”

“Good.” I gave her a quick peck on the forehead before pushing the covers aside to climb out of bed. “I know it’s first thing in the morning, but I need to show you something.”

She narrowed her eyes, now more serious, and sat up. “Okay.”

I cleared my throat and walked to the wilted plant in the window. It looked healthy enough; it just needed some water. When I touched it, the energy surged through me, zipping right into the orchid. It perked up and grew a few inches before I pulled my hand away.

Ivy gasped and shot to her feet, closing the distance between us. “Holy hell, Miri.”

“Shhh.” I grabbed her arms. “Lex and Carter don’t know. No one knows.”

She took a deep breath and pursed her lips, meeting my eyes. But it wasn’t surprise behind her expression. It was resolution, as if showing her my deep, dark secret had cemented something in her mind.

“Don’t freak out, okay?”

I prepared to ask what she meant, but she grabbed my wrists and tugged me close. Her eyes went white before something tightened in my mind, like someone had taken a battering ram to the mental room that held my secrets.

Memories from California whirled around us. When I first found out I could do this. When I shoved Carter up against the balcony and sucked him off for all the world to see. When I said goodbye to him at the gala and my shattered heart broke in half again. I couldn’t stop the images from flicking like a movie montage, and with them came the emotional turmoil of those months apart, like Ivy could rip the agony right out of my body if she wanted.

What is happening? What is she doing?

Everything stopped the minute she let go, and I gasped, covering my mouth with my palms. “What the bloody hell was that?”

She sighed and rubbed her fingers over her eyes. “C’mon. We have a lot to talk about.”

We found Carter and Lex at the breakfast nook in the kitchen. Lex had a cigarette between his fingers, a coffee in the other hand, a huge grin on his face. Carter fried eggs on the stove, the smell of bacon permeating from the oven while he entertained Lex with a story about filming the notorious threesome scene in the first season. The king had just learned James was in love with his queen, and instead of reprimanding him for it, he instead invited him into their bed.

I’d had to rewind it four times during my first watch through. (For purely educational purposes, of course.)

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