Chapter Seven
Sage
I try to ignore Kayden's fidgeting. He's shifting every few minutes on his chair like an unruly school kid.
"Uh, that's interesting," he mutters, two hours into our research marathon.
I glance up, hopeful. "You found something useful?"
He tilts his head with an exaggerated shrug, then taps the open page. "Depends how you define useful. This one's titled How to Convince a Woodland Nymph to Sleep With You."
I groan. "Seriously?"
He smirks, entirely unrepentant. "Well, I managed it without the book, didn't I? Look at me, a natural-born scholar."
Asher exhales a sharp breath through his nose that sounds like a growl. "Focus. This isn't a joke."
"I am focused," Kayden says, flipping the page.
"But so far, it's all Greek myth and tree-fucking lore.
How to charm them, how to grow a more fertile orchard, how to not get cursed if you insult a dryad.
Nothing on defense. Let alone offense. At least with vampires, you get garlic, stakes, crosses.
Mostly useless crap, but it's something. "
"Yeah, well, creatures like nymphs are life-bound. People didn't usually need to kill them because they weren't out there draining blood and terrorizing villages," I retort.
Kayden gives me a look. "That's my point.
There's nothing in here that helps. We need to start thinking outside the box.
" His eyes narrow with that calculating gleam I've come to know too well.
"If we used slightly more… persuasive methods on the druid, I bet we could convince her to help in a real way. I've got a few ideas—"
"No." The word snaps out of me like a whip.
He lifts his hands, mock-innocent. "Just brainstorming."
"There was a mention about protecting against satyr influence with celestite," Asher cuts in, steering us back to the task. "There could be more like that. Not weapons, exactly, but countermeasures."
"Maybe," Kayden concedes. "But let's be real, unless one of these books grows legs and starts shouting useful advice, we're wasting time. We've got, what, five hours before your horny ex-fiancé rolls up in his dark wizard limo? We can't afford to screw around."
I rub my temple, already exhausted. "Then what do you suggest, natural-born scholar?"
Kayden frowns, brows furrowed like he's trying to do math without a calculator. I open my mouth, ready to say I thought so, but then his expression shifts. His eyes light up.
"Actually… yeah. There is something we could do."
I pause. "What?"
"Well," he says, leaning back, "Goat-man himself showed up here, skipping his billionaire blood-trafficking errands, because he's running on a deadline. Spring Equinox. That's when he wants to marry you, right? For the extra power boost your favorite druid mentioned."
I nod, unsure where he's going with this.
"So," Kayden continues, "if we take marriage off the table, we jam the gears in his little power-hungry machine."
Asher's eyes widen with realization. Mine don't. I'm still catching up.
"I don't understand," I say flatly. "What are you suggesting?"
Asher nods slowly, processing. "It could work. At the very least, it would stall him. Buy us more time."
"Okay, what could work?" I snap, frustrated. "Please stop vague-plotting in front of me."
Kayden turns toward me, his gaze dragging over me with something unreadable. "I didn't expect to say this today," he begins dramatically. "Or ever, really. This wasn't exactly on my bucket list."
I narrow my eyes. "Kayden…"
He smirks. "Will you marry me, sunshine?"
My mouth drops. No sound comes out. I open it again. Still nothing.
"Or marry him," he adds, gesturing at Asher with a casual flick. "If brooding and emotionally constipated is more your thing."
"Whichever you choose, it should work," Asher says, his voice cool but steady. "If you're already bound, Darius can't claim you."
Kayden shrugs. "Hey, and if nature demands it be all about love and fertility or whatever, maybe you can marry both of us. Pretty sure polygamy isn't frowned upon in the woods. Probably encouraged. Procreate, pollinate, spread joy."
I blink. Once. Twice. "What?"
"I'm proposing the idea of us getting hitched before your ex-fiancé tries to force you into a dark and twisted fairytale ending.
It's a desperate time, and desperate times call for.
.. unconventional solutions." Kayden beams. "You wanted out of the box.
Here we are. Off the cliff and into the stratosphere. "
"This is so far out of the box it's in another ecosystem. I didn't expect… fighting marriage with marriage."
"It's not traditional and probably not what you imagined for yourself," Asher admits, his voice gentle. "But it's a strategic move. Unless you're firmly against marrying one of us."
"Or both," Kayden chimes in.
I exhale hard. "It's not the romance part that worries me. It's that marrying me would paint an even bigger target on your backs. What's to stop Darius from killing you both and dragging me to the altar?"
"The fact that killing either of us isn't easy," Asher says. "And killing both? Not by the Equinox."
"How can you be so calm about this?" I ask Asher. "And you." I whirl toward Kayden. "How are you so smug? We're talking about marriage. Not just an 'I do.' This nature-bound link is more than paperwork. It's magic. It's permanent."
Asher steps closer, his hand covering mine with that deliberate steadiness of his. "I know we haven't known each other long," he says softly.
"Longer in my case," Kayden chimes in, his voice light, but his eyes anything but. "Even if it started with an attempted vampirecide."
I glance at him and see the seriousness behind the sarcasm. He's not joking around.
Asher continues, "No matter how it started, this isn't just about protecting you. We want you. I want you. And this bond, rushed or not, doesn't scare me."
Kayden takes my other hand. "Same here. I'm not scared.
Hell, if I get to call you my wife and piss off the satyr overlord in one go?
That's a damn poetic outcome. Plus, there's the whole consummation clause.
" He smirks. "From what I hear, nymph–vampire bonds have to be, you know, sustained. Regularly. Or they expire."
I let out a shaky breath. "I don't think there is a standard protocol for nymph–vampire marriages."
"Then we'll be the first," Asher says without missing a beat. The certainty in his voice lodges somewhere deep in my chest.
I try to breathe. We went from trying to kill each other, to having sex that nearly shattered me, to detonation-level emotional fallout over my secret engagement, and more sex after that… and now marriage?
It sounds insane. So insane that it feels like the natural next step in this chaos spiral.
I glance at Kayden—confident, feral, ready to bite the world for me. Then at Asher—controlled, unwavering, the still point in this storm.
They're serious. Not pushing, just present. My heart clenches.
Married.
I ran from one engagement only to fall headfirst into another. Another two. But this time, I'm choosing it. And it might be the only way Darius will finally understand that I'm not confused. I want out. If marrying a vampire, or two, makes that point clear, so be it.
Yes, it puts Kayden and Asher in more danger. But they're already in it. And going back to Darius won't guarantee anyone's safety, not truly. I'd never know what he'd do behind my back. At least this way, I'm choosing my side.
I take a breath, steadying myself.
"All right," I say. "Let's… let's do it. It's a yes. For both of you."
Kayden lets out a bark of laughter, sweeping me off the chair and into his arms like we're at the climax of a chaotic romantic comedy. He kisses me fiercely, heat and triumph pouring into every movement.
When he pulls back, his eyes are glowing. "I had the best idea, and it wasn't even from a book. Admit it. You're proud of your husband-to-be."
"I am," I say, laughing despite myself.
Asher steps in, his hand closing around mine as Kayden releases me. His kiss is quieter but no less intense. He cups my cheek, his palm warm against my skin, and murmurs, "Well, future Mrs. Darrow, we have a wedding to plan."
Future Mrs. Darrow.
The words hit me like a spark and a weight. This is happening. It's wild, reckless, entirely insane. And yet, somehow… it feels right.