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All three of them stared at me blankly, avoiding a response.
I sighed. I didn’t blame them for their bad takes, at least not entirely. The entire fae world was centered around males, with females bringing up the rear. It was bullshit. I didn’t have a lot of stable adult role models in my life, but the ones I did have were powerful females who were as good as males at whatever they did. The only difference was that the males never assumed a female was as good as them, so they never gave them chances like they gave males.
“You really think females are that different than I am?” I raised an eyebrow, putting the peeled and chopped potatoes into a bowl. “That somehow, I’m the only one with an independent streak? I’m not. I don’t have a ton of friends, but the females I know aren’t like what you’re saying. It’s tiring to always feel like you’re second class by default.”
None of them spoke. Had I gone too far? I didn’t care, really, because I was telling the truth.
“Maybe we’ll take a look at who we’ve hired, then,” Lex said, glancing at the other two. Jagger shrugged as if to say,why not? Flint was deep in thought.
I didn’t want this dinner to be awkward, so I cleared my throat and went back to the fridge.
“Anyone want a snack while we wait for the rest of dinner to be ready?” I asked, putting out some cured meat, cheese, and some dip. I also found some crackers in the pantry.
“Sure.” Flint got up from his stool and stood next to Jagger, the deep-in-thought furrow still in his brow. “We should have a meeting about all of this. About hiring staff.”
“How do you three decide something like that? Or decide anything?” I asked, grabbing the broccoli to chop while the potatoes parboiled. “With three males ruling, don’t you butt heads?”
“We do,” Flint said, taking a cracker from the package. “But we’ve come up with a system. Each of us has a primary domain where he does most of the decision-making.”
“Like I’m in charge of the parties,” Jagger said. I wasn’t surprised. A party with Jagger wasn’t something I’d ever forget. “And Flint handles the boring shit like infrastructure.”
Flint shot him a dirty look, but Jagger just grinned.
“Anyway.” Lex put some cheese on a cracker and held it up for me to eat. No male had ever fed me before. A blush crept its way up my neck. “All of us have our domains that we run more or less independently, but if an issue crosses over into another Royal’s domain, we discuss it together. Things like crime—or the prophecy—fall into that category.”
“Sounds harmonious,” I said after swallowing.
“More or less,” Lex said, offering me some of the dip on a cracker. I wasn’t sure what it was—something creamy and herbaceous.
“You’re spoiling me, Lex,” I said, eating the cracker straight from his hand. The dip was delicious, almost like hummus, but with more herbs. “All of my guys have been the past few days.”
Jagger grinned, but Flint bristled.
“I don’t share,” Flint said, his blue eyes losing the warmth and happiness they’d held most of this evening.
His words came out harsh, as if he’d held them inside for days. I wasn’t surprised. Flint’s hesitation to sleep with me because I was with the other guys had surprised me, but obviously, he didn’t have that big of a problem with it.
“Well, I’m not going to pick just one of you,” I said, resting my hands on the counter. “I love being with all of you equally, but for different reasons. Take it or leave it.”
“I’m willing to share.” Jagger shrugged, reaching out for me. I took his hand, and he pulled me close, looking down at me with his ink-dark eyes. “I’m already falling in love with you, and I can’t stop now.”
“I’m falling in love with you, too.” My heart fluttered, taking away my ability to speak until I swallowed. “All of you.”
I’d never been anywhere close to falling in love with someone before, much less three. My heart was full in a way I never thought I’d experience.
“I don’t like to share, either.” Lex shrugged, coming up behind me and gently squeezing the back of my neck. “But if I had to choose between not having you and sharing you, I’d pick the latter every time.”
I smiled, the amount of attention on me making my body heat. Flint was still leaning against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. He still wasn’t going to change my mind, but I wanted to change his attitude.
I scooped up some dip on a cracker and waltzed over to him. The closer I got, the more unwound he appeared.
“Open,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow at me and sighed. I wasn’t going to back down until he was in a better mood again. We were in an awkward spot in our relationship—he didn’t want to share, but the other two did, so what did that make us? Either way, I wanted him to have fun.
“Fine.” He opened his mouth, and I slipped the cracker into it. He chewed, a lightness coming into his eyes as he tasted it.
“Good?” I asked.
