Page 13 of Ruler

Without missing a beat, she answers, “Yes.”

Lupa laughs. “Down girl. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? To come out without announcing it. Well… here you go.”

“But it isn’t right.” I have to strain my ears to hear now that she’s lowered her tone. “You’ve been through so much shit, so I need to, as well.”

My attention wavers as I look at Nereid who looks absolutely devastated. “Morgana,” my wife murmurs. “That’s not how it works and you know it. Besides, you have other shit to deal with that Lupa doesn’t.”

For the first time, I see a look of pure uncertainty on Morgana’s face. “I-I need it… I need to prove my love for Lupa like she has for me.”

“This makes no sense,” Gus whispers.

“It makes all the sense in the world,” Liam shoots back.

I look around to make sure no one is paying us attention before saying, “It’s not always easy to accept happiness.” The words are as true as the fact I loathe speaking them.

My wife isn’t the only one who has to work hard at keeping her walls down. If this is going to work, I have to embrace my bond to the other two men as well. That doesn’t mean I want anyone else to overhear.

I know Nereid wants the council to be equal, and it’s a pretty dream. But that’s all it can ever be. We will never be equal, and I’m okay with that. The question is, will she?

I agree we need to change, and I want to throw out most of the archaic beliefs. But it can’t all go. We need the hierarchy. Without it, the Kronos Society will descend into chaos, and then what? If I—we—don’t rule, someone else will. So while we might be talking a good game about shattering the wheel, we can only break it, never destroy it completely.

Chapter 5

Gus

I’mnotatallhappy about the guests being here right now, preventing me from asking Kai what the ever loving fuck has him looking like he just bit into a lemon and clenching his fists. Oh, he’s doing a great job of trying to look unaffected, but it only took me a second glance at our professor to realize it’s his Society mask slipping into place. And judging by Liam’s raised eyebrow, I’m not the only one who has noticed.

“You good, man?” I mumble, discreetly. All I get in return is a sharp nod.

Since I don’t have any choice but to drop it, I refocus my attention on Morgana and Lupa, who are still discussing among themselves. Honestly, this is ridiculous.

Cia wants a party, so we all go along.

She wants honesty, so we agree.

She wants to orchestrate a safe place for Lupa and Morgana to show they’re together, so we hire caterers and put on our best tuxedos. Not one of us speaks up, or even considers mentioning that it. Isn’t. Our. Place.

I love that our girl never lost her fight for what’s right, and I’d never ask Cia to give up on her idealism. Maybe I should have. Yeah, I think I should have. This isn’t a fucking sorority. It’s a Society so old it dates back to a time where people believed in the deity the Kronos Society is named after. Yes, changes are needed—I’m just not sure that means we need to be friends and break bread together.

“Oh my God,” Lupa shrieks, her entire body exuding anger. “That’s not how it works, and you fucking well know it. You need to pull your head out of your ass and get over yourself because I don’t want to indulge in this misguided pity party.”

Great. Fucking great. That’s how I wanted to spend my evening, witness to a lover’s spat that bears no consequence to me. It’s times such as these where I’m wondering if Cia and I really received the same training.

Right now, she has me thinking she wants to fight oppression during the day, and then slip into her pearls and cocktail dress at night. What kind of fucking life is that? This isn’t Cia at all. No, there’s something going on. Something I—we—have failed to notice. Probably too blinded by her openness towards us, which, I have to admit, has been fucking great.

“That’s not what I mean,” Morgana hisses.

My thoughts have clearly distracted me more than I thought, because it’s only now that I notice Cia has moved from her seat and joined Lupa and Morgana, which is all sorts of troublesome.

I dart a glance at Arthur and Remus, who look like they’re feeling as awkward as I’m starting to.

“Ladies,” Arthur says, turning around to look at the three women who are acting so out of character it’s bordering on distressing. When Lupa, Morgana, and Cia turn their faces towards him, he lifts a brow and places his hands on the back of his head. “I think I can speak for all of us at the table when I ask, what the fuck is going on?”

Remus mirrors Arthur’s position before saying, “Yep, that’s definitely what’s on my mind.”

My gaze flicks to Cia, and I try to come up with something to say to get her out of the predicament she’s created. When nothing comes to mind, I shoot her a smile I hope shows her she’s not alone.

“This does seem…” Kai trails off, clearly contemplating his next words. “Odd. I think we all believed we gathered to spend time together, not have two different groups arise before we’ve even had our starter.”

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