John’s easygoing grin wobbled, and he clutched onto his twin’s shoulder for support. He blushed a deep red as he gazed at me intently.
I arched my eyebrows back at him. “Hit me with it. I mean, it’s not like we just found out we’re leading a realm-wide war.”
John relaxed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe, Aran.” He grinned and trailed his fingers across my back where my wings were retracted underneath the skin. My knees wobbled.
Pleasure spiked.
Then pain.
Scorpius cocked his head to the side with a scowl while Malum and Orion stared at where John’s fingers were skating across my back.
Luka took a step closer and flanked me on the other side.
Their body heat chased away the chilly air.
I leaned closer to the twins and relaxed into their friendly embrace.
“Will you accept this?” Luka pulled a glittering diamond bracelet out of his pocket.
The diamonds were stunning and bright and dripped with black jewels.
I fingered the cold weight of John’s necklace; I’d honestly forgotten I’d been wearing it.
He looked so unsure and earnest that I smacked his shoulder with a grin and said, “Of course, I’d never turn down diamonds. I’m not dumb.”
Luka beamed down at me.
I almost staggered backward from the amount of happiness radiating off the normally stoic man.
“That’s not all we wanted to ask,” John said as he stepped away from me and stood beside his twin. Standing side by side, they were physically identical, but their energy was like night and day.
You could see it in the way they held themselves.
John’s posture was loose, like he was aloof and perpetually unbothered by life. Luka stood ramrod straight. His muscles were tight like he was ready to fight at any second.
Both their cheeks turned pink as they stared at me.
Then they fell to their knees in tandem.
John’s voice shook as he said, “Aran, will you accept our betrothal jewelry and agree to link your life with ours in love? For all of eternity?”
I blinked.
“What?” I whispered as confusion filled me.
Luka raked his hand through his messy dark hair and stared up at me like I meant everything. “We were bound by an obligation somewhere else, but we’ve been released from our obligation to pursue our true love. Our future wife.”
I pressed my hand to my chest.
“Um, are you sure?” I asked incredulously. “You know a war is coming, right?”
My heart was pounding against my sternum.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” John said in a serious tone. “We want to be by your side, no matter the circumstances.”
I forgot how to breathe.
John grinned bashfully. “As you’ve probably guessed, bestie, we’re only part human.” He winked and flashed his dimples. “If you want to get technical.”
I blinked rapidly.
“We’re the Princes of Darkness,” Luka said.
John nodded and looked chagrined. “We’d tell you more, but then we’d have to kill you.” He winked, then his expression fell. “But this isn’t some scheme to bond with you and get out of our duties. We’ll always have obligations elsewhere. It’s just we both met you and knew that we didn’t want to be away from you.”
Luka stared at me intently. “We couldn’t do it.”
“Plus”—John smiled—“we have lots of cousins, and none of the kings or queens in our family had approved a betrothal request. They always found them lacking.”
“Until you,” Luka said.
“Father actually demanded we unite with you after we gave him your name. You’re wearing the Necklace of Death, and it is the only one in all the realms. Many people have died to possess its beauty.” John winked cheekily. “It reminds me of you.”
Luka pointed to my bracelet.
“And that is the Bracelet of Power. They both are rumored to bring their wearer glory. It’s glorious, just like you.”
My face warmed impossibly hot.
“Wow,” I whispered.
The precious stones burned where they lay across my flesh.
“Aran, will you be the wife of the Princes of Darkness?” John asked softly as he looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Please,” Luka finished for him.
The world was shades of suffocating gray.
Time kept slipping through my fingers.
Nothing made sense half the time.
But they made sense.
For once in my life, I wanted to be someone’s first choice. I was tired of fighting against people.
I wanted people standing by my side.
“Yes,” I blurted out impulsively as tears spilled down my cheeks. As soon as I said the words, a sense of calm washed over me. It felt right.
I threw myself into their warm arms. “I’ll be your wife.”
“What?” Malum roared and tried to pull me away from them. “No, you can’t accept it. I let that charade go on because I knew it didn’t matter. You’re our Revered.”
Standing tall, the twins shoved me behind them protectively.
My twins.
Darkness glimmered around them.
“You can’t bond with them,” Scorpius sneered beside Malum. “You’re ours. We know we messed up, and we’ll make it up to you. But this. This can’t happen.”
Orion nodded as Malum smoldered.
I smiled over John’s shoulder at the kings, eyes still watering from emotions, and said, “I already told you. I refuse to be your Revered. I accept their proposal. Get over it.”
John turned around and pulled me into his arms.
I wrapped my legs around his waist and buried my face in his neck. Luka hugged my back and sandwiched me between them.
Malum exploded into flames as he hurled expletives at me, and his mates held him back.
“Dude, I really love you,” John whispered.
I peppered kisses across his jawline and asked, “Bestie, are we worried that we’re acting rashly?”
“Fuck no,” John snarled with uncharacteristic vehemence. “You’re everything to me. Do you think I hold everyone up in the freezing ocean for hours?”
Luka grunted in agreement and said gruffly, “We’ve only ever felt this way for you.”
I couldn’t hold back my chuckle. “You guys are so obsessed with me.”
“I know,” they said at the same time.
Suddenly Sadie was squealing like a lunatic and hugging the three of us. “We’re all going to be one big family,” she wailed.
John and Luka stiffened.
“Don’t touch her. She’s ours, not yours,” John warned.
Sadie and I laughed together.
We rejoiced like we didn’t have a care in the world.
The rest of the hour passed in a blur of celebrating with the twins while Malum stalked us across the arena.
The party continued into our bedroom with competitors and students passing around bottles of demon brew. Somewhere along the way, our room had become the designated party space, and everyone filtered in.
I was on the bed. John and Luka sat flush against me on either side, passing a bottle back and forth.
Our legs hung off the edge of the mattress.
Knees kicking back and forth.