Nyx grinds his teeth. “Your back.”
As soon as he says it, I remember. It’s why my entire body is screaming in pain.
“I think Isolde thought if she let a healer work on you, she’d go soft and you wouldn’t be scared of her anymore. Not that you are scared of her. She should be scared of you,” Ambrose says.
I nod, looking from one man to the other. “Did she give any indication of what she plans next?”
Ambrose rubs the back of his neck.
Nyx looks me dead in the eyes.
“We just need to focus on getting free,” Ambrose says.
“She will continue to test which of us she thinks is your mate until she’s satisfied,” Nyx answers.
“Which means what exactly?”
“She’ll use her magic to make us fuck. She has to test it to complete the marking ceremony since she won’t trust that you’ll be willing to join either of us to break the curse for her. She wants complete control over you.”
“We don’t know that. Stop scaring her,” Ambrose says.
But I know that Nyx’s words are true.
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Ambrose says, taking my hand. “We won’t let her do that to you. Neither of us will fuck you against your will. We are both stronger than that. And we will figure out how to escape first.”
But I’m looking at Nyx. His sad, relenting eyes, and I know that Ambrose is just telling me what I want to hear. I know that we might not be able to stop Isolde. We might not be able to fight her magic to stop it from happening.
“I’ll be okay. If either of you is forced to fuck me, I will be okay. I care about you both in different ways. I’ve already fucked both of you. It—”
“No, we won’t let it happen,” Ambrose says.
Nyx studies me, even though he can’t push into my mind anymore; he knows that I have a plan. “What are you thinking, love?”
I look from him to Ambrose and then back to Nyx. I can’t believe what I’m about to ask them. It’s not fair to any of us. But I need to take control back.
“We do it on our own terms, then. I know Isolde is somehow watching to ensure I don’t almost die again. Let her see for herself. Give her what she wants, but we decide the when and how.”
“Lumi, we can think of another way to stop this,” Ambrose says.
“No, we can’t.”
“Even if we do this, it might not change anything. She’ll still want to practice with her magic before the marking ceremony. She’ll have to in order to ensure that she can control you,” he continues.
“I don’t care. This will help me. Even if we are forced to later, this will help me get through that. It will help me feel like I have some control back. Make it easier to pretend that we are doing it on our own terms later.”
Ambrose looks around the cell—the dirt floor, rough stone wall, single pillow, and blanket. There isn’t much that would pass for romance or make for a comfortable experience.
Nyx is silent—all of his attention is on me. Studying me completely like he’s trying desperately to push into my mind.
I open my mind for him, in case the connection I severed regrows. I know it’s not possible. I know I made my choice. I know Ambrose is my mate. But he’s not the love of my life. Being my mate and being the man I love are two wildly different things.
I’m asking a lot of both of them. Asking them to willingly fuck me. Knowing there is an audience. Knowing they have to do it together or while watching each other fuck me. Knowing that next time it will be under the control of magic.
Gods, why did I sever my connection with Nyx?It was the worst decision I could have made. I need to talk to him. Just him. I need to know what he thinks of my plan. If he thinks I’m insane. If he thinks there is another way to take control. I know what I’m asking him. He’s in love with another woman. I’m asking him to fuck me while she sits in a cage nearby. Something that if we survive this, he’ll have to explain to her that he did willingly.
Nyx looks from me to Ambrose, and I realize what he’s telling me to do.
I jump into Ambrose’s head, knowing that any further conversations should happen here, not out loud. No one else should hear but us.