32. One’s Secret

My eyes snap open, and I jump to my feet. I'm on the third floor of the library. A few pieces of parchment are scattered around me, but I could swear I was about to cross a line with Nell that would bring the kingdom to ruin. I rub the tantalizingly familiar haze off my face, my dick throbbing in the confines of my pants. Nell's spicy cinnamon taste is still sweet in my mouth.

I was researching the next great hunt, when I…fell asleep?

What the actual fuck?I dreamed that I was kissing Nell—only I haven't dreamed in decades, and the threads of the Dreaming don't allow sleepers in from Faerie. The fog lifts, and a second, life-altering hypothesis forms in my brain.

I race to the hallway leading to Three's chamber through the closest mirror, blood pulsing at my temples…and in my cock. Is this really happening? Because if this is really happening…

Two's got his ear to the door, listening to Three's room like a horny teenager. He smirks at my arrival. "Well, look who's here. Your precious seed is in there with Three. I wonder what they're doing?—"

I grip his collar. "Shut your big mouth and listen. I merged with Three."

"That's impossible," he huffs.

"Just for a minute, but I did."

The quasi-continuous, sarcastic line of his mouth falls. "How?"

"He was with Nell, and suddenly I was with Nell, too, and I spoke to her, but it was really his body."

"That hasn't happened since?—"

"The curse, I know," I seethe.

"Wow…sounds like your little pet's got a magical vagina after all."

I shove his chest hard, but he just laughs.

"Cheer up, comrade. A glitch in the curse is exactly what we need. Let's see what's going on in there." He raises a hand to the door, but I stop him with an iron-clad grip.

"Don't be stupid."

"She's about to fuck Three, isn't she? I bet she's more ready than you think. What if it's a sign? What if all we have to do is drain her magic to break the curse?" he says with enough confidence to shake me.

"You're dreaming."

He paces the length of the corridor back and forth. "We should at least try. What's the worst that could happen?"

I glower in response, not in the mood for thick and completely unnecessary allusions. "We could destroy our only viable lead to a cure."

His face wrinkles in a pout. "I hate how you think."

"Ditto."

He plays with his hands in a series of nervous movements that signals exactly how indecisive he's feeling. "If Nell fails the next trial, we'll have to take her magic. Merge or not, if she doesn't sprout, we can't keep her."

"Agreed."

He finally stops jittering long enough to look me up and down. "Aren't you angry that she's cheating on you in there?"

"Are we really going to argue about the semantics of the curse again?" I bark, my patience for his cruel musings growing thinner and thinner with each passing second.

His previous hesitation is blown away by an asinine smile. "I know all about your little note. And the necklace. Did you really think you could get away with it?"

"You're the one who said I had to make it clear to her that she was here for the king."

He tilts his head back in a snort. "Well, he's not about to get on one knee, is he?" The words reek of cynicism, but I disagree.

"It's not the craziest idea," I say.

"Are you?—"

We exchange a glance, and I can almost see the gears turning in his head. He's starting to understand my meaning, and I'm not sure if I'm thrilled or downright terrified that he's considering it.

Why the fuck did I say that? It's insane.

The door slams open, and we both shimmer to the deepest shadow as Nell barrels out of Three's room like the hounds of Cimmeria are after her.

Three looks shell-shocked, his white tunic hanging open and his pants undone, his unsatisfied cock visible through his boxers.

Two winces and motions to his crotch. "That's got to hurt, man."

We roll our eyes in sync.

"Did you feel the merge?" I ask.

He waves us inside and slumps down on the green couch at the center of the room, his head tilted back on a gruff sigh. Yes.

"What happened?" I ask.

A wry grin touches his lips. I seduced her.

Two flashes his teeth. "Not thoroughly."

Three makes a swift back and forth motion with his hand like he's erasing a blackboard and weaves the rest of the story. First, with his gesture for Nell, he points two fingers at his eyes, and then motions to himself and to me, and finally to his heart. But then, she looked at me, and I felt different. I felt like…

He tilts his hand from side to side in hesitation and holds up one finger for us to wait. Then, he crouches to the ground and makes a series of sweeping gestures like he's gathering dirt scattered across the floor with his hands. He cups his other palm over the metaphorical debris like he's holding a treasure and brings the sum to his heart, eyes cast down.

My fingertips go numb. I know exactly what he means.

A sad smile glazes my lips as I draw in a shaky breath. "I felt it too. Exactly like that."

Two presses his lips together. "You felt whole again? How can that be?"

Three moves his clasped hands in a blooming motion. And she sprouted right then.

The sliver of hope in my chest burns big and bright as I breathe, "Nell sprouted? Without a formal trial?"

Three confirms it with a grave nod and touches his breastbone, curling his fingers to mime a digging motion over his chest. She coaxed the magic right out of me. He shakes the emotions off his face and winces at his still stiff erection. It was hot as hell.

Behind him, a fantasy version of Nell steps out of the mirror, and Two licks his lips. "Now, it's a party."

My mouth dries up. "Could you not do this now, I mean?—"

Three throws me a nasty look and relaxes in his seat, the woman already bending over him.

Two and I both watch the fantasy suck his cock, green with envy. If only we could have a full life without each other, but alas…he's the only one who can have sex. Even though Three can't speak, can't taste food, and is basically forced to fuck an endless string of fantasies to sustain himself, I still feel like I got the raw end of the deal.

"Imagine Nell's pink tongue running over the tip of your cock, arousal dripping between her legs," Two teases cruelly.

"Stop!"

"Like I said: magical vagina. We should see it through."

I flip him off, my face hidden in my palms. "The other day, you wanted me to cut ties with her, and now you want me to seduce or marry her?"

"I want us to seduce her. We need magic, and we needed it yesterday. If a white dress is what you need to convince yourself to take her magic, it's not the worst idea."

I brought it up, but now I"m freaked out beyond belief. "We can't—I was rambling. We vowed to never get married?—"

"You missed the Foghar ritual because of her, did you not? And invited her to dance in front of the whole court. You clearly have feelings for her."

I pinch his shoulder as hard as I can. "If we marry her, we might as well paint a red "x" on her forehead. She'll never be safe again."

Two opens his mouth in outrage. "And what about us? We can't go on as we are. Morrigan will not be content to lurk in the shadows for much longer, so whatever happens next, your pet might not survive the fight that's coming."

Three groans in approval as the perfect replica of Nell finishes him off, swallowing every gulp of his seed before vanishing into thin air, leaving Two and I horny, unsatisfied, and dangerously close to blows.

This is what happens when a soul gets cleaved into four, not-so-equal parts. If you think getting along with your family is hard, try arguing with broken pieces of yourself every day for decades—it would drive any man mad.

And trust me when I say he's even worse off for it when he's king.