“Nyx doesn’t love Amora. It was all a lie. I remember now. I remember what he erased from my mind. It must have come back after he died—or almost died.”
I’m frozen, processing what he’s saying. “He never…”
“He never fucked Amora. He kissed her. He tricked you into believing it was more, so you’d let him go. So that you’d mark with me, and this would all be over. He tried to protect you. Just like he tried to protect Emeric. He’s the ultimate martyr.”
“Speak for yourself,” I say.
He sighs. “We are all martyrs then.”
Another tear drops as I sit between Nyx and Emeric.
One dead, one almost dead.
Ambrose is sitting across from me. And I know the price that I’m going to have to pay.
“Tomorrow’s the full moon,” Ambrose says.
I nod, not ready to tell him.
“Kiss me,” I say.
He blinks in shock. For a moment, I think he’s going to deny me. He’s going to ask why in this moment, surrounded by death and uncertainty, that I want to—
His lips land on mine, and it’s like everything that’s been missing between us locks into place. A shared camaraderie, misery, and thankfulness for one another. Something so pure and perfect passes between us as his lips lock with mine. There is no holding back. Nothing but love as he kisses me like I’ve always been his.
I gasp into his kiss, unable to control myself. I want to stay like this, kissing him forever. When suddenly, he speaks against my lips, “Mark with me tomorrow. We’re mates. I don’t care that Nyx loves you and you love him. And I care about him. Complete the marking ceremony with me. Let’s break a goddamn curse. Help Nyx to break the rest, and then we can all live together, mates, not mates, it doesn’t matter.”
“I love you,” I say suddenly, and I know the words are true.
I love Ambrose.
I love Nyx.
But it doesn’t mean that either of them is my mate.
“We can’t.”
“Why not?”
I look at Emeric. “Because of what the gods said. I have a lot to explain, but at the core, there is a strong possibility that we aren’t mates.”
“Fuck them.”
I nod. “But I can get answers. There is a way to get the truth.”
I grip Nyx’s lifeless cool hand, where his steady pulse races for assurance. My other hand is holding onto Ambrose’s hand. And I look at Emeric’s lifeless body, knowing the truth isn’t fair.
I won’t let your death be in vain,I promise Emeric.
“It means summoning the gods again.”
Ambrose frowns.
“It means more sacrifices.”
“No, we can’t sacrifice anyone else. You make your choice. Me or him. Only one of the three of us dies. No one else. That’s how it’s always been,” he says.
A new, fresh tear falls. One reserved for him. For my heart that breaks for this man—for this new love. Because I know what’s coming. What we thought was impossible is about to happen.