Now he sawCassandralaughing in a suite on theMotherShip, her hair loose around her shoulders, a curvy little human woman tucked between two giantKindredmales on a couch meant forTwinKindredand their bride.Shewas holding a book in one hand and scolding both him andSevfor interrupting her reading.
Sev was beside her, one arm behind her shoulders, looking happier and calmer thanRavikhad ever seen him.Ravikwas on the other side, his head inCassie’slap while she absently stroked his hair.
Sev reached over her and touchedRavik’sshoulder andRavikdidn’t flinch.Heturned his head and caughtSev’shand, pressing a kiss to his palm like it was the most natural thing in the universe.
The vision moved on.
He saw them in theSacredGrove, all three of them this time.Cassandrain white,Sevand he were wearing their uniform shirts and ceremonial leathers.
Some people in the audience stared.Somewhispered and pointed.Afew looked shocked when they realized this was a three-wayJoiningceremony.
Ravik saw himself notice.Thenhe saw himself kiss firstCassieand thenSevin front of everyone.Bothof them kissed him back andRavikcould almost feel their joy as the three of them vowed to be together for life.
But he saw even more…Avaccine spreading through theMotherShip.Childrensafely receiving it fromKindredhealers.Visskoussurvivors weeping as the cure reached their sealed cities.Dr.Verityxfluttering around his lab in triumph whileCassandrarolled her eyes and called him “Dr.Owl.”
He saw lives saved because of the three of them but it wasn’t all roses.
He saw himself standing onRageronagain, but not alone this time.Cassiewas beside him, chin lifted in that stubborn way he loved, andSeverinstood on his other side.Hisclan watched from the hall steps, some horrified, some curious, some silent with shock.
His father’s face was like stone and his mother was crying.
Ravik saw himself take a breath, then reach for both his mates.
“I amBondedto them,” theRavikin the vision said.“Bothof them.Theyare mine, andIam theirs.Anymale who has something to say may say it to my face.”
No one stepped forward—no one dared.
The vision blurred, and theGoddess’svoice filled the cabin again.
“This is also a path,Warrior,”she said.
Ravik’s throat ached.
“They’ll hate me,” he whispered.“Myclan.Myfamily.”
“Some may,”she said.“Somemay not.Andsome may learn courage from your choices.”
“I don’t know how to be that male—the one in the second vision you showed me,Goddess.”Hisvoice came out low and hoarse.“Iknow how to fight.Iknow how to protect.Iknow how to stand between danger and the onesIcare about.ButIdon’t know how to stand in front of everyone and let them seethis.”
“Then begin with one truth,”theGoddesssaid.“Donot ask what others will think.Askwho you love and who matters most to you.”
Ravik closed his eyes.
The answer came at once—Cassie.
He loved her warmth, her courage, her sarcasm, her softness, and her way of making impossible things sound absurd instead of terrifying.Heloved the way she said his name, the way she trusted him to hold her, the way her body opened for him and her heart somehow made room for the broken parts of him.
Then the second name came, quieter but no less true.
Sev.
His best friend.Hisbrother-in-arms.Themale who had known him at his worst and stayed.Themale who had put the cure in his own body and risked everything to save him.ThemaleRavikhad kissed once in a pleasure house and spent years pretending he hadn’t wanted to kiss again.
Ravik covered his face with one hand.
“Gods,” he whispered.“WhatamIgoing to do?”
“That is up to you,Warrior.”TheGoddess’svoice was growing fainter in his ear now, as though she was fading away.“Ihave shown you what may be.Choosewisely.”
