The Girl Who Fell From The Sky - Rebecca Royce Page 0,85

comes to survival. We get one good thing. A beautiful woman literally falls from the sky, and you and Mattis nearly get her killed. It’s like…you don’t want to have anything good in our lives. If you want to go and get yourselves killed, I will mourn you, but why drag her along with you for the fucking suicide?”

“Because we don’t hide our women like flowers that might disappear in a dust storm," Nox shot back. “Your sister fights as one of us, and while we don’t put them on the front line when called to action, our women fight as well as any of us. You told Astor and Bianca to plan, they planned. They brought Mattis in to help with that planning, even. Just because you don’t like how it turned out, doesn’t mean that they weren’t somewhat right, and you know it, Torrin. I know you do.”

Mattis widened his eyes. Shock rocked me that Nox had spoken up like that, and I was obviously not the only one who felt that way. The whole cavern fell immediately silent at his outburst.

Astor put a hand on Nox’s shoulder, and the two exchanged speaking looks. Then he turned to his brother.

“You have ruled our City-State by fiat for all our lives, brother, and you are right—you’ve done well by us,” Astor said, siphoning some of his brother’s anger, or attention at least, away from Nox. “But taking a wife has changed our family dynamic, and as you are also our leader, it has changed our community dynamic. We need to consider solutions that don’t involve war and torture. We need to consider solutions that our wife suggests. We need to, for lack of a better term, grow up.”

I could hardly keep my face from expressing my shock and horror at Astor’s words, and Nox’s before that. If all his closest friends, his brothers, were ganging up on him—in public no less—what was that going to do to Torrin? I knew how personally he took the safety of each person he thought himself responsible for. I knew how much his swagger masked a man who felt deeply, perhaps too much.

He was vulnerable right now, without wanting to be, and he could lash out.

I couldn't let him hurt my men. I couldn’t let him hurt himself.

I went straight to Torrin, tipped my head back, and set my hands on either side of his face, in effect forcing him to look at me. He did.

“Thank you,” I said in a low voice. “Thank you for coming to our rescue. Thank you for trusting Astor and me to come up with a rescue plan. Thank you for welcoming Rae into our City-State, as you did for me. Thank you for loving all of us so very, very much.”

His nostrils flared, and as I stared at him steadily, held him between my hands, the fury drained from his eyes.

“That is my reason,” he said at last, his voice gruff.

“I know.” I raised up on my tiptoes and kissed him. Pulling back, I let him see a smile. “See you in the morning?”

He grimaced, knowing I was referencing Astor’s night, the third of my firsts, but then he dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Sleep well, wife.”

And before I could think about it and ponder the wisdom of saying my secret truth aloud, I blurted, “I love you back, you know.” I made a turn, looking at each of them, my beautiful, loyal, warrior husbands. “All of you.”

I watched this declaration break like dawn over their tired faces. Mattis, still holding a semi-drowsed Rae, looked close to tears. Nox’s pleased, content nod was like a benediction. Astor’s wing-like eyebrows were still drawn tight to his nose, frowning, but he would melt like ice-candy later, when we got privacy, I knew.

Torrin stood exactly where I’d left him, as if he were rooted to the spot. I had no idea what the expression on his face meant, but I knew what it wasn’t. It wasn’t anger, not at me, not at his brothers. If I didn’t know better, I would say we were all witnessing wisdom descend upon the shoulders of our king. As if he’d never thought before that there was more to life than fighting and struggle.

But now he knew. Or was coming to realize.

A hand took mine, and I knew that was Astor, leading me away. I gave Torrin one more smile, and he didn’t stop us from leaving. Neither did Nox or Mattis