Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79938 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79938 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
“No, really?” Galen gave him a tight smile. “Congratulations, Your Highness.”
“Don’t pull that bullshit.” He walked to the nearest chair and dropped into it. They drifted to stand next to each other, though he doubted they meant to. It was just sheer magnetism, drawing them together with both proximity and chemistry. He felt the pull, too, a hook in his gut that demanded he go to them, touch them, hold them close and celebrate this win.
Not yet.
Theo considered how to broach the subject, but in the end, he wanted nothing between them but perfect honesty. No good intentions. No self-righteous bullshit. Just the truth. “I want you to stay. Both of you.”
Galen crossed his arms over his chest. “We’ve talked about this. Several times.”
“Yeah, we have. Things change.” He leaned forward. “Princess, you have another year of school and I’d never ask you to sacrifice that, but you don’t start back up again for another eleven months. Stay with us. Figure out if we can make this work. I know we can, but it will take time to work out the kinks.”
She looked torn between hope and fear, her hazel eyes too large in her face. “What happens when eleven months is up?”
“That’s for you to decide. Go back to NYC and finish out the degree. Visit us on your breaks, and we’ll visit you in between breaks. Or do your year remotely. It’s your choice.”
Galen shifted. “You have to marry, Theo. It’s part of the gig.”
This, at least, he had an answer for. “If you agree to stay, to be with me, I’ll name you Consort. Both of you.”
Meg blinked. “What?”
Theo couldn’t help a grin at their confusion. “There’s an old clause in our laws—so old, I’d completely forgotten about it until Isaac brought it up. Thalania’s always been a small country, and as power rose and fell around us, one of my many times removed great grandfathers decided that if he had to marry a foreign princess to save the country, he would, but he wouldn’t share full power with her. So he named her Consort to his King. It put her above the noble families, but below his position. Their children were legitimate, of course.”
“Charming.”
“It was a different age.” He shrugged. “Only two of the monarchs in the entire Thalanian history utilized that clause, so it’s not well known. The reason I bring it up now is because there’s no limit on the number of Consorts a monarch can have.”
Galen looked away, and back. “It will cause problems. Triads aren’t exactly an accepted thing, here or on the world stage.”
“It won’t cause any issues that we can’t deal with together.” Theo pushed to his feet and crossed to them. He took their hands, and hesitated. This had to be their choice, damn it, but fuck. He wanted them to make the one that would bring them all the most happiness.
He flat out wanted them. “It won’t be easy. There will be unique challenges, and things will be messy while people get used to the idea that their king is in love with two people. It’s worth it to me. More than worth it. I love you. Both of you.” He hesitated, trying to control his racing heart. He might as well have tried to control a stampede. “But if you don’t want all the strings that come attached to loving a king, I can’t blame you for that. Or if you want to take the eleven months and figure it out at the end of it, we can make it work.”
“That means keeping things secret,” Galen said.
“Yes.”
“No,” Meg said. “No secrets. If we do this…” She gave herself a shake and lifted her chin. “I want you, Theo. And I want you, Galen. I can’t pretend that I’ll be graceful and easy about every challenge that shows up, but I’m willing to fight for you—for us.” She gave him a tentative smile, and then turned it on Galen. “What do you think?”
“It might be a mistake.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “No shit it might be a mistake. It could blow up in our faces—literally, apparently. The question isn’t what could go wrong. It’s whether you are willing to fight for what you want—what you love.”
Fight for us, Galen.
Galen looked them both. “This is what you want—what you really want?”
“Yes,” Theo said.
Meg took longer. “I never expected any of this, but… I’m not willing to walk away just because it wasn’t part of my plan. We can make it work. I know we can.”
Finally Galen nodded. “Then I’m in.”
Theo pulled Galen in for another kiss, and then Meg. “We need to change and address the media.” He kept a hold of Meg’s hand and tugged her behind him to the door and down the hall toward the private living quarters.