3. The Deal
three
The Deal
*CAELAN*
E ndellion has gone completely still; his mouth dropped open. He probably mirrors my own expression. I must look equally dumb. “Melt a maiden’s heart? You mean take a chosen mate?”
I’m not going to lie and pretend the thought has never crossed my mind. I don’t think there is a mate waiting out there for us. Ever since our birth, we were a mystery, triplets that shouldn’t exist, a shared mind link we can always use, it even physically hurts us if we are arguing with each other, and we can feel each other much more than our other siblings.
Maybe we shouldn’t exist, and the goddess decided to take our fated mates from us, to make sure we don’t procreate.
“You haven’t heard it all yet,” Quinn gripes. “You truly think he would make this so easy? Goddess forbid, we would have actually been able to do this without a ton of work.”
“What does he mean?” I ask our father. “Dad?”
“Ever since my grandfather reigned, our relationship to the kingdom of the Everlasting Desert was strained,” he explains. “When I took over the Kingdom of Eternal Ice and King Naseem started his reign over the Everlasting Desert, there was a truce, in which our lands slowly blossomed. We have been negotiating for years now to find a real settlement, and finally, the King and Queen Consorts of the Everlasting Desert have agreed on a peace treaty and an alliance,” he pauses. “Under one condition.”
“And what’s that?” Flinn asks, completely dumbfounded. For one who always has a sassy remark on his lips, it’s weird to see him all shocked and confused.
“He offered us a… present,” Dad says. Something flashes in his eyes, something dark and angry, but it’s gone fast.
“A present?”
“To show his sincerity in the new-found bond between our countries, King Naseem decided to send his youngest daughter to us. The Princess is said to be beautiful, bright, intelligent and gifted with rare talents, that only very few members of the direct bloodline of the king possess,” he recites like he read it in a book.
“If she has such rare powers, why do they send her away?” I ask.
Dad looks at me thoughtfully. “Can’t you guess?”
I frown, trying to remember what I know about the Kingdom of the Everlasting Desert. It’s said that, albeit they are humans, a certain line of princes and princesses of the Everlasting Desert have specific powers, which is why the king himself has several concubines to ensure many descendants, as not every son or daughter born possesses these secret gifts. No one knows what kind of gifts they have; it’s kept as a secret, but the country worships and fears their princes and princesses as if they are deities.
Or maybe rather monsters.
“He is selling his daughter to us,” Endellion says all of a sudden, making us all turn to him in surprise. “Is that what it is? He wants to get rid of her, so he sends her to the rough North, where he probably thinks only barbarians are living?”
“We don’t have slaves. Fortunately, he doesn’t know that, or she would be sold somewhere else,” Dad says shortly. “But this is a risky political situation. Frankly, King Naseem is an annoying stuck-up shitface, and there is no use talking to him. So, whether we like it or not, his daughter will come here in a few days.”
“You want us to court her?” Endellion asks, surprised.
“What will be, will be,” he says evasively. “We all know that one of you will be my successor,” Dad continues. “However, all three of you are good men and have important strengths and talents. Over the years, it got more and more difficult to decide.”
“There is another reason King Naseem is sending his beautiful daughter to us, aside from wanting to get rid of her to allay his fear,” Quinn says. “She is only nineteen, said to be kind and smart, and blessed with the gift - whatever that means.”
“He wants her to marry into our kingdom,” I conclude. “She is basically a human sacrifice to them.”
“Dad,” Endellion looks at him earnestly. “You want one of us to marry this woman?”
“No, I want you to win her heart in whatever way you deem suitable,” Dad says. “If this leads to one of you falling in love with her and her with you, that’s even better.” He frowns. “Rumors said she was barely allowed to leave the castle and its grounds; she could never talk to someone her age. She is a lonely soul, and a human on top of that. I want to see who of you has it in you to make a hurt and shunned girl open her heart again, and feel welcome here. Technically, winning the princess as a willing ally would be of benefit to our kingdom, since she could be a strong advisor to whoever of you will rule. On a more personal level, I hate King Naseem; I want to shove it in his face that we aren’t as presumptuous as he is and can treat his child better than he does.”
Silence stretches around us. “Dad, what if none of us succeeds?” I ask. “It is a possibility that this young woman will be so terrified she won’t let anyone in.”
“Then we’ll return to Quinn’s plan with the chosen mates,” he grumbles.
Again, silence stretches around us, before Flinn breaks it. “Alright, I’m in,” he says.
“Excuse me,” I blink.
“I’m fed up with this. Dad needs to make a decision, and if she’s suited to one of us and it helps, I’m all for it. I hate how we are all beating around the bush constantly. Let’s face it, one of us has to
“And what if the girl hates your guts?” Endellion asks with a chuckle.
He shrugs, grinning a little. “Then, there are still the both of you, who are too responsible not to at least try.”
Endellion nods. “Alright,” he says. “I see nothing wrong with trying to help this young princess.”
“I could see it as another mission,” I admit.
Dad’s scheming something - I just know it - and I hate that we all just have to play along, but Flinn is right, all of us just want to settle this. We all have the drive of an Alpha King, we are all strong, but only one can become king.
Endellion isn’t wrong either, saying that a young woman who has been neglected her whole life deserves to feel welcomed and loved.
I feel there is more to this story about the princess, though, and the real reason Dad wants her to stay with us so much.
*FLINN*
“What’s the old man plotting now?” I ask my brothers once we have left the meeting room. Dad even opened the bottle of wine to celebrate his ‘brilliant idea.’ I know brilliant ideas, they don’t call me Master Manipulator for nothing, and this isn’t one.
There are a gazillion things that can go wrong. What if the poor girl is so traumatized she hates us all? What if she simply doesn’t like any of us? I feel like she should be working with an actual professional doctor or therapist instead of with three single men. Worst comes to worst; there won’t be a winner next year, and Dad will have to find another way to choose his heir.
At least he doesn’t want us to marry her. I’m sure she is a nice girl, but she unfortunately has the wrong gender. Now if her father sent a hot prince here, we would be talking.
“I think he just doesn’t want to choose,” Endellion says quietly. “He thinks if he chooses one of us the others will automatically be envious, and our bond will break.”
“It’s not going to be that way,” Caelan says shortly.
“Yes, we know that,” Endellion says. “Because we have this special bond between us, which makes it physically and mentally impossible for us to hurt each other. But no one else truly knows how it feels to be connected like we are; they don’t understand. They believe because we are an alpha’s successor and have the drive of a leader in us, it will lead to a massive fallout once one of us is chosen.”
I sigh. I hate that Endellion is right. “Come, the blizzard passed. Let’s head outside and check the damage.”
“You want to go outside and work?” Endellion smirks. “Are you sick?”
I roll my eyes. “Very funny!”
“What’s funny?” The voice of our younger brother reaches me. Nevyn comes running towards us, waving his arms. He looks odd like that as he is quite tall. Other than that, he looks more feminine than the three of us. He has soft gentle features, and his white skin and green eyes are a stark contrast to his almost black hair. He has been growing it out and is keeping it long.
Caelan has been in his ear for a while to cut it short again. The man has an aversion to long hair, it seems, but Endellion told him to suck it up, be a good brother and accept Nevyn the way he was.
Being called a ‘bad brother’ did the job it seems.
And they call me the most manipulative! Unbelievable.
Endellion throws his arm around Nevyn, head locking him playfully, and tussles his hair. “I don’t know, but now you look funny.”
Nevyn glares at him and straightens his hair. “I was about to tell you I missed you, but seeing you now I’m not so sure anymore.”
“We missed you too,” Endellion says. It’s funny how he and Nevyn are the only ones in the family with black hair, but still the both of them look so different. Whereas Nevyn looks soft and pretty, Endellion looks rugged with his broad jaw, and his silver eyes. He has the most unique look of us; the doctor said his silver eyes come from a genetic anomaly, but fuck it, he looks dashing, and I say that as his envious brother. Credit where credit is due!
“Speak for yourself,” I smirk. “I didn’t miss my annoying siblings.”
“Really? What about me?” Alana chimes in, laughing slightly. She knows she is my weakness. She hates all those representative royal duties as much as I do. We also look similar, both of us have red hair, we love our independence and making our own choices.
“You know I will always miss you,” I grin, grabbing her hands and twirling her around. She laughs and snorts at the same time.
“Are you really the oldest?” Kilah asks. I hadn’t noticed her approaching, but I assume she must have heard the commotion. She always tries to sound regal and dignified, and unlike Alana, she always dresses prettily.
She loves being a princess, and I know I shouldn’t say this, but I find her attitude annoying as fuck sometimes.
“Here is where you are wrong. Caelan is the oldest,” I say, smirking when she looks a little bit flustered at my teasing. “Are you sure you can tell us apart, Princess Kilah?”
Her cheeks flush a shade and her lips tremble.
“Don’t listen to him, Kilah,” Caelan says shortly, glaring at me for making fun of her. The three of us don’t even share one trait. A redhead, a blonde and a guy with black hair. We couldn’t be any more different; it’s impossible not to tell us apart, but Kilah just gets on my nerves sometimes.
“Caelan is right,” Endellion nudges her with his elbow and smiles. “It’s good that at least one of us tries to follow a certain etiquette. Gives Dad less of a heart attack.”
Oh Goddess, I hate and love that he is such a goody-two-shoes.
“Talking about Dad; why was he in such a good mood today?” Alana asks, brushing through her short hair and smiling brightly. She always looks a bit mischievous, but she is a good soul.
“Secret,” I say. “If we tell you guys, we’d have to kill you.”
“Who’s going to die?” Eibhlin comes running through the corridor and jumps into Caelan’s arms. It’s funny how she always chooses him to hug and tackle, as he always looks grumpy and broody. Maybe he reminds her of a big, broody teddy bear.
“No one’s going to die,” Endellion sighs.
Caelan frowns and tries to untangle Eibhlin’s arms from his neck, but she doesn’t budge. For such a tiny person she has quite some strength and persistence. People always underestimate her because she looks so young, but she is sixteen and sees and understands a lot. She claims to be the odd one, always dressing in pitch-black dresses - a stark contrast to her pale skin and almost white-blonde hair - and carrying her creepy porcelain doll with her.
“How about we go have some tea and cake?” I offer.
Caelan frowns. “Didn’t you want to check the damage the blizzard has done?”
“You know what they say,” I grin. “Without cake, no make.”
“I’ve never heard that before,” he deadpans.
“Don’t always be so boring,” I roll my eyes at him. “Let’s indulge our younger siblings, and spend some time with them, then we can spend the whole day checking the damage the blizzard left.”
I put an arm around Alana’s shoulder and another around Nevyn’s and lead them towards the kitchen. I’m the chef’s favorite; she always makes sure to have some extras for me whenever I drop by. Eibhlin tugs at both Endellion and Caelan’s arms while Kilah gracefully follows us.
Alana turns her head to look at Caelan and Endellion. “Nevyn and I will help you later, don’t worry.”
Endellion chuckles. “Seems like we are outvoted.”
“Aren’t we always?” Caelan grumbles.
He isn’t wrong, but it’s not like any of us truly minds. Mom’s always told us how she was an only child and missed having siblings. As annoying as it is sometimes to have so many of them around, I wouldn’t want to be without any of them.