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This room has the best light, and I knew that when we moved in here and I refused for anyone else to have it, taking it as my studio, it was meant for great things. Looking at it now, I know I was right. A massive bed that was delivered today sits against the wall opposite the vast floor-to-ceiling windows that look out not at the city, but at the mountains beyond us. I covered the bed in layers of pristine, white bedding with a canopy of gauzy, white lace because every princess needs a fucking canopy. I had the curtains made of the same material because my Nightingale doesn’t like the dark. This way, the light of the sun will always come in to find her. As long as she is beside me, I don't mind waking up with the dawn every morning.
There’s the built-in wardrobe that I’ve put all of her clothes in—bar some of her used panties I’m keeping—a couple of bedside tables, and the floor is covered in some rugs she was raving about from Tarl’s room, he won’t mind.
I hear them all returning, and I can’t stop the delighted giggle that slips out of me as I tidy the last couple of bits away and head out of the door, shutting it behind me. Whistling “Whistle While You Work,” I stroll down the stairs, the anticipation of showing her what I’ve been working on making me feel light-headed and giddy.
“Jude!” she cries out, rushing over to me and flinging herself into my arms. I catch her—I’ll always catch my darling Nightingale—and bring her in close, loving that her warm, cherry blossom smell is tinged with the earthy scent of horse from her time at the stables. “You’ll never guess! They gave me a horse, I’ve called her Firebrand because she’s this beautiful color, like a sunset, and she’s so gentle, Devil Prince.”
My heart fucking bursts with her happiness, my chest too small to contain what I feel for this beaming woman before me. She’s as essential to me as breathing, and I’m never letting her go.
“I love that name,” I tell her, knowing all about the horse that my brother had chosen for her. “And I’ll help to teach you how to ride her.” Her smile gets wider, and fucking hell, I could die right now, if only it wouldn’t take me away from my Nightingale. “And now, for your second surprise.”
“My second surprise?” Her delicate brows dip as a cute as fuck crease forms between them, her plush lips parting slightly, and fuck if I don’t want to slide my cock in between them. Later. Surprise first, fuck later.
“Yep. This way!” Grabbing her hand, I drag her upstairs, her tinkling laugh filling the air as I go past all of our rooms to the last one on the right. “Now, close your eyes, Nightingale.”
She does as I say, and her obedience makes my dick stand to attention in my pants. I love it when she does what I or any of the others say, no questions asked. The others are behind her, gazing at me curiously. I didn’t tell anyone else what I had planned, so it’ll be a surprise for them too.
I open the door, then take both of her hands in mine and walk backwards, leading her into the space. My eyes are on her face, on the way her eyelashes flutter as she resists opening them.
“Can I look now?” she asks, and I make her wait a beat, just because I can and am still an asshole sometimes.
“Yes. Ta-dah!” I shout as she raises her eyelids, her eyes going round as saucers when she takes in the room.
“Jude…” she trails off, and I take in every movement on her beautiful face.
“Do you like it?” I question, suddenly butterflies fluttering around in my stomach at the thought that she might not. “I can change anything—”
She flings herself at me again, and I stumble a little as I catch her once more.
“I fucking love it! I’ve never had a room so beautiful before,” she says, abruptly letting go and spinning around to look at everything. She pauses at the wall full of birds. “Did you paint these?” she inquires, extending a hand. I catch it, stopping her from touching the still slightly wet paint.
“They’re still wet and yes, I did paint them. They’re all free, like you are, Nightingale.” I watch as she traces each one, her eyes filling with moisture.
“They’re perfect, Jude,” she whispers, her hand gripping mine tightly as she turns to look at the bed.
“It’s the biggest bed that I could find,” I tell her as she blinks at the monstrous size. “It’s an Alaskan King and should be enough to fit us all, if you want the rest of them in here with us,” I add, winking when the others curse me out.
“I want you all with me, always,” she states, walking over to the bed and stroking the bedding, taking me with her.
“And we will always be here,” I say, wrapping her up in my arms from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder. “I want to spend every night with you, Nightingale. For the rest of my life, and then beyond.”
“I love you, all of you, so fucking much,” she confesses, and I watch as my brother, Tarl, and Knox gaze at our love as if she’s the center of their lives.
Aeron isn’t as cold anymore, laughing and smiling more since she came into our lives than he has since they killed June. The rage in Knox is less, and he’s been able to accept himself and his desires since she’s been around; she calms him like no one else ever has, not even June. Tarl has softened too, the ghosts that haunted him from his childhood no longer present in his eyes, and he’s finally able to embrace his healer nature. And me. The darkness has receded until I can finally see the light, can finally take a breath, and the monsters that kept me chained for so long no longer have a grip on me.
She’s the light, the missing piece, and everything we never knew we needed. Looking around at our family, with the other part of my soul in my arms, I know that I’ll never be lost in the darkness again.
Lark
“Better” by Khalid
We spend that night in my new room, exhausted from our day spent at the stables, and for the first time since we were rescued, my sleep is dreamless. I wake up feeling refreshed, in my new bed, surrounded by the men who make up my entire world.
“Good morning, Dove,” Aeron greets, his voice thick with sleep.
“Good morning, Devil Man,” I reply, watching as his lips twitch at my continued use of that nickname. What can I say, it suits him.
Soft light filters in from the gauzy curtains that we pulled across the window, and I could kiss Jude again for giving me the light and not trapping me in the dark. I’ve spent too much of my life in dark rooms, and I don’t plan to be in one ever again.
