97: Ada's POV

Darius was working me harder than in any of our other sessions. I don’t know if it was because he had a lot on his mind or if maybe there was a lot of pent-up sexual energy, but it didn’t matter. Either way, I was reaping the consequences. I’d gotten the balance exercises down about a week ago, and he’d moved us on to the hand-to-hand combat combinations. Today, he wasn’t pulling his punches and kicks.

I doubled over as his fist connected with my left side, my breath whooshing out with an *oof*. Darius didn’t wait for me to catch my breath before roundhouse kicking me on the shoulder. I staggered to the side and made a ‘T’ with my hands. He laughed and shook his head, but dropped his hands and relaxed.

My glare was fast, “What’s gotten into you today?”

“A lot of energy,” his grin was pure wolf, “Since we’re taking a break, we should talk.”

“What is with the three of you?” I grumbled as I sat on the ground and worked to slow my fast breathing, “All of you want to talk lately.”

Darius sat beside me, legs stretched out in front of him. He rested back on his elbows, sweat dripping down his forehead, “There’s a lot of ground to cover, and we don’t have all that much time.” With a sigh, he crossed his ankles. “Have you made your decision?”

I shot him an incredulous look, “You all made the majority of the decision for me.”

“Not really,” Darius looked out at the gardens as he spoke, blue eyes looking almost violet in the sunlight, “We may have marked you, but until you mark us, you can reject us. You don’t have to be our Luna Queen. You still have a choice.”

Did I? The truth was that I probably did, but it didn’t feel like much of one. And it seemed like it should be a hard decision, but it wasn’t. My freedom meant nothing without them anymore. My leaving them also wouldn’t do anything to stave off the growing rebellion. I didn’t have a home away from here. In fact, I didn’t have a family. Nik, Darius, and Phoenix were the closest thing to that. Why did they all think I was going to end up leaving them still? Adrian had been a mistake. I’d tried to sacrifice my own happiness for their well-being, and someone else had paid the consequence of that. I might make mistakes, but I learned quickly from them.

Yet, I couldn’t quite make the words come out of my mouth. Instead, I sighed, “Tell me about the coronation tomorrow.”

“It’s pretty standard,” Darius shrugged, “The three of us will stand in front of the court and all swear loyalty to the Kingdom of the Moonglade and its people.” His finger played with the him of his tunic, “Crowns will be placed on our heads and from then on, we will be the three Kings of this Kingdom, ruling in tandem.”

“Is it really that simple?” I arched an eyebrow.

Darius smiled at me and nodded, “It really is,” he reached over and placed his hand over mine, “We want you to rule with us, Ada. We think you’d make a wonderful Luna Queen.”

Me? A wonderful Luna Queen? I had some tenacity; I’d give them that. There was also my bleeding heart for those in need. Were these good qualities for a ruler? I had no fucking idea. Still, if all three of them really thought that, there was something to be said for that. I think the real question here was whether or not I was going to actually choose to believe them, to trust them.

“I want to,” I admitted sheepishly, because I did. I did want to be their Luna Queen. I did want to be with them. It was hard to admit that, even to myself, considering how adamant I had been when we’d first met about how this arrangement wasn’t something I had interest in. How had I flipped so completely? “I do. I want to be your Luna Queen.”

He practically leapt to his feet and howled. Elation radiated off of him and flooded into my own mind and body. The intensity made me dizzy. I laughed as he nearly did a jig. When he reached for me, I gave him my hands. He pulled me up and into his arms, twirling me around. Once I was set back on my feet, Darius held up a finger.

“Okay, don’t be angry,” he started, “Nik was pretty sure you’d say yes, so we’ve been planning your ceremony alongside ours. It won’t happen tomorrow,” he explained quickly when my eyes widened, “But it will happen soon. For all of our safety.”

“And what will mine be like?” I asked plainly.

If I had to guess, the Luna Queen ceremony would be a large, tedious thing followed by an extravagant part— much like the events my father and Francine had thrown. Probably with larger dresses and fancy hair and lavish food, but similar nonetheless. I hated the idea of that, but if it was what would be required of me, I could play along.

While I waited with baited breath, Darius studied my face. After the silence had stretched into uncomfortable territory, he responded, “Simple, as well. You’ll claim us and the Kingdom and be crowned. There doesn’t even have to be a party after if you don’t want.”

I pursed my lips, “But it would be better if I made nice with the court?”

“But it would be better if you made nice with the court,” he agreed, nodding with a small smile. Before I could ask any more questions, he reached forward and pushed a loose piece of hair back behind my ear. Darius swallowed hard enough for me to hear and asked lowly, “Would I still be the one you’d choose?”

I blinked. Where the hell did that come from? His fingers were hot on my cheek, his eyes slightly watery. I furrowed my eyebrows, “I don’t have to choose, Darius.”

“If you did,” he squeezed his eyes shut, throat bobbing, “Would you still have chosen me?”

“That’s a complicated question.”

The truth was, we both knew the answer. If I had to choose one of them with all of the knowledge I had now, with all of the things that had happened between all of us, Darius would not be the one I would choose. I wasn’t sure why he now felt like he needed to hear me say it, but I wasn’t about to play into his game. He wouldn’t make me choose. I wouldn’t say anything that would risk whatever relationships any of us were building.

He’d have to just get the fuck over it.