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I frown, trying to explain how I feel. “It’s just that I feel empty somehow.”
“Empty?” he questions, flinching from my words.
“Oh no, please don’t misunderstand me,” I rush to say. “I’m not talking about the way I feel about the three of you. It’s just that something has shifted. Ifeeldifferent.”
His fingers trace the back of my hand that’s still pressed against the steady beat of his heart as he stares at me, his hazel eyes more brown than green today. “Howdoyou feel about us?” he asks.
“Certain,” I reply immediately.
“Certain?”
“Yes. I’m certain that all the hate I felt is gone. All the pain has disappeared, the distrust, the doubt and suspicion.”
“We don’t deserve you,” he replies, briefly pressing a kiss against my lips.
“Stop saying that. We’re past that now. I want to be with you. Not because of some legend, or because of what a woman said years ago way before we were even born. Not because Fate has deemed it her wish, or because some people believe I’m suffering from Stockholm Syndrome—”
“What? Who said that?” he demands, cutting me off with a scowl.
“It’s not important, what’s important is thatIwant you, all three of you. It took me a while to understand that,” I say with a smile,knowingit’s true.
“For all of us to understand that,” he reminds me. “But Christy,whosaid you have Stockholm Syndrome?”
I sigh. “One, who else?”
“She has no fucking right,” he seethes. “I’ll speak with her.”
“Stop,” I say, grabbing his arm as he moves to walk away.
“She’s overstepped. I need to remind her of her place,” he argues.
“How?”
“What?”
“How will you remind her of her place, Jakub? Will you punish her like you made Leon punish Twelve? Will you beat her, whip her, chain her in the dungeons?” I ask, uncertain why I’m defending her when she wouldn’t do the same for me.
“She’s disrespected you,us, our relationship. I won’t tolerate it!” His voice rises, and on the other side of the room Konrad and Leon look over at us. I shake my head, waving away their concern. They make their way over anyway.
“I’m a big girl. I can deal with a few spiteful words, Jakub.”
“This is my fault. I should never have gone to her when I did. I knew it was foolish. I have to fix this now. I won’t let her treat you like that, Christy. I won’t.”
“What’s up?” Leon asks, looking between us both.
“One,” Jakub grinds out.
“Is she going to be a problem?” Konrad asks, though it’s less of a question and more of a statement.
Jakub opens his mouth to speak, but I shake my head. “No. She won’t,” I say, attempting to reassure them despite my own concerns.
“And you know she won’t be a problem because…?” Leon inquires, eying me carefully, assuming I’ve had a vision.
“Not because I’ve seen anything in our future,” I sigh, “But because when it comes to the point that I have to…” I swallow hard, another well of nausea rising up my throat at the thought of poisoning them. “I’ve asked Five to keep One out of the way.”
“Why would you need to ask Five to do that?” Jakub asks, his voice low, lethal.
“Aside from the fact that she’ll try to stop me. One knows who I am, who my sister is. She knows they’re coming for me and she’ll try to intervene,” I explain.
