Prologue

PROLOGUE

Wren

G ilbert Wren stood in a parlor that was so familiar that it had sometimes felt like home. Sometimes it had felt like hell. He looked in every corner and there was a lifetime of memories to greet him. There was the doorway where he'd first met his two best friends a decade ago, and the fireplace where they'd first whispered secrets together as they had become closer over the years. He'd been sitting on that very settee at fifteen when he first felt…well, a great many feelings that had changed things…changed even more when he realized the two of them felt the same.

And yet because of their disparate positions, they had never been free to explore more together. So there had always been longing and nowhere to put the love they all felt. It had become grief over the years and the pain of it stung Wren's chest the way it always had.

It was almost fitting that they would have this meeting here. That the end would come exactly where the beginning had.

The door behind him opened and he turned to watch as Miss Emilia Harris and Aiden Edwards entered the room together. His two best mates, his two deepest loves, his dreams that could never come true. They were both so utterly beautiful. Emilia was tall and curvaceous with sleek, dark brown hair that was almost black in some lights and the bluest eyes Wren had ever seen on any person. She was the kind of woman people couldn't help but look at, the kind of woman artists sketched and poets waxed romantic about. His late father had been the man of affairs for her father, Mr. Harris, the second son of a baron.

And then there was Aiden. He was shorter than Wren, with broad shoulders and thick thighs. In centuries prior, he would have led warriors onto the battlefield with a broad sword lifted high. But alongside his thick strength, Aiden had an intelligent face, intense brown eyes and a smile that could light up the world. Like Wren, he'd been raised in service to Emilia's family, as his father was their longtime butler.

But he wasn't smiling now. None of them were as Emilia pressed the door closed behind them and leaned back on it with a sigh. "My father will be back soon," she said, her voice wavering a little as she dropped her gaze away from the men. "We'll have to hurry."

"You should have told me sooner," Wren said, hearing his own voice crack as he moved toward the pair of them. His pain was too intense, so he allowed anger to lead because it felt easier. "Both of you."

Aiden folded his arms and his waistcoat flexed against his broad chest in a distracting manner even in this moment. He arched a brow at Wren. "And just what would you have done?"

He ground his teeth. "Oh, yes, because you could do so much more, Aiden. And yet she spoke to you about it!"

He hadn't realized he was jealous of the confession Emilia had made until the words spilled from his lips. She pushed away from the door and stepped toward him, her gaze locked with his in sudden understanding. She moved between them, looking first at Aiden and then at Wren. She lifted a hand and pressed it gently against his chest. He could feel the weight of each finger even through the layers of fabric that separated them. His heart began to pound.

"Please," she said softly. "There's so little time. I know you're angry that we left you out."

"Why did you?" he asked, the air coming out of him with her touch. "We were always all of us or none of us. What changed?"

Aiden stepped closer. Now there was a thickness to the tension in the air. "Because you have a future that you could lose, Wren," he whispered. "You'll be a fine investigator one day, but I know that Mr. Boyd's apprenticeship isn't easy."

Wren pursed his lips. "No. He is exacting, that is for certain."

"And with Emilia's father paying for your apprenticeship, there is even more danger," Aiden continued. "Your chance could be taken if he found out you were interfering in what he wants for her. We couldn't risk it."

Wren tightened his jaw. In his heart he had known that was the reason. They had always tried to protect each other. Him especially, it felt like sometimes. And here they were.

He sighed. "I-I know. I just…wish I could save you, Emilia."

She shook her head. "In the end, neither of you can save me. We've tried every way, I promise you." She stepped away now, leaving a gap between him and Aiden that neither of them stepped to fill, even though what Wren wanted more than anything was to feel the support of Aiden's steady presence.

Emilia's eyes sparkled with tears before she turned her gaze away and whispered, "I…I will be forced marry Viscount Wilburn. I-I must accept it. I must accept."

And there it was. The destruction of Wren's heart in just a few sentences. The crushing of his whole world like it was no more than a paper dream. The loss of a future that made no sense and yet he had longed for it since he was fifteen.

"No," he whispered, not to stop her but just because he couldn't keep the word in.

Now Aiden did move forward and took Wren's hand. His strong fingers closed around Wren's and he squeezed oh-so-gently.

"Are you sure?" Wren asked, even though he knew the answer.

She nodded. "Certain. The contracts were signed last night. The wedding will be in a few weeks' time. There is no stopping it now."

"God," Wren said, and Aiden gripped his hand even tighter.

Emilia stared at the two of them for what felt like a lifetime, and then she stepped forward, her full lower lip trembling slightly. "I-I wanted to see you both. To talk to you both one more time because I know that will never be allowed once I'm married. The viscount would see, I know he would. He would know what my heart is if you were near me. And he would never let that pass, I don't think."

She eased closer once more and leaned in. Wren and Aiden did the same and their foreheads touched in a circle, their breath mingling and their emotions understood even if they weren't said. Wren turned his face and his lips brushed Emilia's jawline.

She caught her breath, her mouth finding his in a searing kiss. Their tongues tangled, heated desire brought to a boil after so many years, so many thwarted moments. There had also been a few not-so-thwarted, a few brief kisses between Emilia and each of them. A few caresses, sometimes with both the men holding her hand before they pulled away in shyness. After all, three people couldn't be in love. Society declared it so. And so over the years none of it had ever gone so far as his heated body wanted, what his most wicked fantasies created in his bed.

She broke away, her breath short, and then she pivoted toward Aiden. As Wren watched, Aiden cupped her cheek and the two of them kissed just as passionately. His body ached as he felt their desire, felt their love for each other, felt the desperation of the parting. When Emilia turned away from Aiden, she caught his hand and drew him closer to Wren.

"Kiss him," she said, her voice cracking as she looked at Wren. "You've always wanted it. This was never about me. It was always about us. And if this is the end, I want to know , to feel what I've always known was there between us. What could have been."

Wren's heart was pounding. Oh yes, he had adored and wanted Aiden Edwards for just as long as he'd wanted Emilia, even though they'd never acted on that desire either. But thoughts of the other man kept him up at night as often as thoughts of her…of all of them together. And now, in the heat of this moment that was likely their last, he had no way to refuse.

He stepped forward and pushed his fingers through Aiden's short, crisp hair. Aiden let out a soft sound of pleasure that was immediately lost on Wren's lips as they kissed. He was drowning in a desire more powerful than anything he'd ever felt and yet there was a wall there, an end that was coming that tempered the beauty of this moment.

Aiden pulled away first and there was a sparkle of tears in his eyes. One that made Wren's chest hurt even more.

Emilia stepped back, smoothing her gown. "If we can't all be together, I-I hope you two?—"

"No." It was Aiden who said it, though the same answer had been on Wren's lips.

He shook his head and added, "We said a long time ago if it's not all of us, it's none of us."

"Wren," Emilia breathed. "Aiden. That was a promise of children, made about sneaking out to fish together. It was not about…not about this. Not about?—"

"If it cannot be all of us, it will be none of us," Aiden repeated firmly. "Yes, I want Wren. We've never been able to hide it, at least not from you. But if it cannot include you, then it won't be complete. It would be spoiled after a while, a joining of grief, nothing more."

"We couldn't be happy without you," Wren said as he locked eyes with Aiden and saw that he would truly lose everything today.

Emilia bent her head, her breath coming shallow. "I hate this."

"It's the way of your world, Em," Wren said. "I wish we could save you, but the two of us are from another world. The son of a man of affairs and the son of a butler? We don't have the power, we wouldn't have it even if we were older, even if things were different."

She wanted to argue, Wren could see it. Her sense of right, of fairness, meant she judged people by their characters rather than their position in life. It was one of the most remarkable things about her. It was entirely unfortunate that Emilia couldn't rule the world. And that no matter how she wanted to change it, she had no more power to do so than they did.

"I hate that it's true. I hate it," she whispered. "I've tried so hard to find a way to make it not true."

Aiden squeezed her hand. "It's not your fault. It's not any of our fault."

She drew in a short breath before she nodded sadly. She slipped her hand away and then stepped away. "I-I'm going to try to be happy if I can, but you both must know that my heart will always have a place for you. That will never change. It can't."

"For me either," Aiden said softly.

"Nor for me."

They were silent for a moment and then Wren moved toward the door. "We'll go so that your father won't find us here. It will be difficult enough for you without us making it harder."

He was shaking as she opened the door to let them out but wouldn't meet his eyes. Perhaps it was for the best, at that. This was painful enough. "Good—goodbye, Emilia."

She let out a soft sob and all he wanted to do was turn around, hold her, run with her. But he was twenty, with very small prospects, almost no money and no power at all. He could only hurt her by trying to do what was impossible.

So he left her, hearing Aiden say something similar to her behind him. Gentle words of goodbye, of regret. Wren tried not to let them settle in his chest, nor the sound of her crying when Aiden followed behind him. Their horses were on the drive, side by side. Wren could hardly breathe as he turned toward Aiden.

They were silent as they stared at each other for what felt like an eternity and then Aiden shook his head. "We'll see each other in Town."

Wren nodded. "I'll look for you. I'm not going to lie and say I won't."

Aiden's breath exhaled shakily. "But we won't…we won't go to each other."

"If it's not all of us, it's none of us," Wren whispered yet again. "Even if it breaks our hearts. Even if it kills my soul."

"Goodbye, Wren," Aiden said, and swung up on his horse.

He rode away and only then did Wren seat himself and whisper, "Goodbye, love. Both my loves. Goodbye."