Page 58 of Three Scorched Kingdoms

“You really love him, huh?” I ask.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She scoffs, but it’s so fake I roll my eyes.

“Okay, now who’s lying,” I say, hip-bumping her.

She snickers, but when she doesn’t answer me, I know better than to press it.

We march along in silence for several minutes. Around us, the men talk and laugh. It’s hard to imagine we’re marching to a bloody battle with the sun shining and spirits so high. Or itwould be if I couldn’t feel my mate’s struggle through our bond. The weight of all he’s carrying pressing down around him.

From here, I see Aries doing his best to appear unconcerned despite the swirling of fear inside him. Blossom is right. He’s just looking out for me, and I can’t fault him for it. I just hope we aren’t making a mistake by ignoring the threat Constantine poses.

Beside me, Blossom clears her throat. When she speaks, her words are so quiet I almost miss them entirely. “You know…. dragons aren’t the only shifters to have fated mates.”

I stop short, gaping at her. “Wait. Do you mean…”

“Mag is my mate, yes.”

Her words strike me speechless.

This time, she’s the one to tug me along. I let her, still reeling at her confession. If Mag is her mate, that means… all these years, she’s known it and done nothing about it.

“Why did you fight it for so long?” I ask.

“Because I didn’twanthim to be my mate,” she says, frustration leaking into her voice. “You know Mag. You knew how he acted, how he would flirt with everyone. Every skirt that walked into the library, he would sidle right up to her.”

“But did he know?”

Blossom laughs, but there’s more pain than humor in the sound. “No.”

My heart pangs at the way she’s clearly kept herself so closed off for so long. “He’s different when he talks about you, Blossom. He might joke around and flirt with others, but it was only ever to get your attention. To get under your skin. He loves you.”

“I think it’s taken me a while to believe that,” she says. “A long while.”

“I knew you were stubborn, but this is just ridiculous,” I tease.

She shoves me lightly, laughing as her eyes light up. “I just realized something.”

“What is it?”

“Out of all the criminals across all the worlds, the library chose Mag and me as its Keepers. Almost like it wanted us to find each other. And you… Out of all the books you could have accidentally opened, it was this one. It was Aries.”

My eyes widen as I realize her point. “Holy shit. Athenaeum is a matchmaker.”

Blossom and I share a look, and then we both start laughing.

“Wait until Mag and Aries hear this,” I tell her.

“Whoa.” She grips my arm, her smile vanishing. “I haven’t told him.”

“You haven’t told him you two are mates?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I was going to after he was injured in the cavern, but then Constantine showed up, and it was just chaos.”

“But we’ve been here for days now,” I say.

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