I let out a soft sigh, shrugging my shoulders. “I don’t know.” At least that’s honest. ‘I still hate Ragna and I know there are some secrets being kept about her. But I don’t know about everything else since no one has actually told me anything about all of the magic.” I glance up at him pointedly.

  “What do you want to know?” This comes from Orrael, but the man doesn’t turn around to look at me.

  I think that over. What do I actually want to know about all of this? I glance at Elyjah. I know nothing about his powers. At least I know that Orrtyn has two gifts, speed and persuasion, but what does Elyjah have.

  “What is your gift?” I ask the man.

  His shoulders stiffen and he blinks slowly, his gaze on Orrael’s back as if he expects the man to help him.

  “Well?” I gesture with my hands for him to hurry up with his answer.

  “I have the gift of premonition.” Just like I’d thought when I heard him talk about seeing things.

  “Really? And how do you see things?” In the mortal realm, there were sears and prophets and they all saw things differently. Some would have a vision in the middle of the day, others when they were dreaming, some would even black out and write a premonition on paper in shaky words.

  “It comes to me in many ways,” Elyjah says, his lips right. “Sometimes I dream, but it also comes to me in art.”

  My mind flashes to the study where I saw a lot of paintings and something tickles my memory, but I push it away when it becomes clear I can’t remember what exactly.

  “How often does it happen?”

  Elyjah lets out a slow breath, “Not often enough.”

  Something heavy hangs in his words and when I look up at his face, I study the frown on it.

  My feet trip up while I’m staring at him and I let out a grunt as I go stumbling. Strong hands wrap around my waist, keeping me on my feet and I push a hand out.

  I blink when I look in front of me, finding myself pressed firmly against Elyjah. He has an arm wrapped around my waist and he’s pulling my body in tightly against his own.

  My breath catches slightly at the feel of him against me. I’d expect a prince, especially one as himself to feel soft, but no, he feels hard against me. His chest is firm and when I reach a hand, grabbing his arm to keep myself steady, I feel chords of muscle beneath my hand.

  My eyes snap up, meeting grey ones. They’re so much like his mother’s, carbon copies. The eyes of the woman who watched in glee as my family burned. The eyes that watched in bloodlust as she used her gift on me. The eyes that I know are filled with determination as she ships guards out to kill me.

  But yet as I stare at the grey eyes in front of me they’re not filled with any of that. No, they have compassion, but they also hold a steamy swirl of lust and affection as they watch me.

  My lips part slightly, and his eyes track the movement. His hands clutch tightly on my arms, but not painfully. He pulls me closer and when he leans down I don’t pull away until the last second. I pull my head back, feeling lightheaded and hot as I take an unsteady step back.

  My eyes are wide as I take one last glance at the prince before quickly turning away, my cheeks heated.

  Prince Elyjah, the son of the woman who killed my family, who I’m supposed to hate, was just about to kiss me and I wasn’t going to stop him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Brielyn is a traitor.

  I watch with narrowed eyes as my friend looks up at Orrael with hearts in his eyes. The man is trying to explain to him the difference between some poisonous plant and one that heals. Apparently they’re identical in looks, but one will kill you. I don’t know how they got on the topic, but I can tell you that Brielyn is paying more attention to the man’s lips as he talks than his actual words.

  He’s wormed his way close to Orrael, his knees pressed up against the other man’s as they sit on the ground across from each other, legs crossed.

  Brielyn has an elbow propped on one knee with his head sitting in his hand as he stares at Orrael with a dreamy smile.

  Orrael’s hands move a lot as he talks to the man and there’s something more animated than I’m used to seeing about him as he speaks. I know it's because the man is an absolute nerd and anytime he gets to educate others or speak on the knowledge he knows, there’s an underlying excitement that appears in him.

  And Brielyn is taking advantage of it to cop a feel of the man.

  I watch as the hand not propping Brielyn’s head sneaks out to touch Orrael’s knee. The man doesn’t even seem to notice as he starts to speak even quicker, his eyes bright as he asks Brielyn something. Brielyn blinks at the man, confirming that he isn’t actually listening to him. His eyes widen slightly before he gives a lopsided grin and nods.

  He could have just signed over his soul and for all the attention he’s actually playing, he isn’t even aware of the fact.

  Orrael starts speaking again, this time going on about how the leaf of the poisonous flower has four leaves instead of five like the healing one.

  Brielyn’s hand on his knee climbs higher.

  My shoulders tense slightly as my chest feels tighter. I rub at the spot, trying to push back the weird feeling that stirs in me.

  Am I… jealous of Brielyn of all people?

  Shit.

  After the almost kiss with Elyjah yesterday, I’d remained quiet but kept my distance from the man. Yet, I’d promised myself that I’d be honest about the feelings that I was fostering towards the men from then on.

  It’s easier to get rid of something if you know what it is.

  And as I look at Brielyn and Orrael now, I know that I’m jealous. One hundred percent jealous of my flirty friend as he touches the man that I… hate?

  No, that’s not right anymore. I don’t hate any of the royals, not even Walker. I can’t quite describe the emotions that they invoke in me considering that there’s so many of them, but I know for sure none of those emotions are hate, not any longer.

  I rub at my jaw, continuing to watch the pair.

  Orrael is innocent in all this, not even noticing that Brielyn is basically assaulting him as he trails hands over his knee.

  Is Orrael into men like his brother?

  The thought is completely out of left field and definitely inappropriate but now that it’s in my head I can’t help but wonder. Orrtyn, like Ru, I’ve determined, doesn’t seem to care one way or another about the gender of people when it comes to the matter of the heart or just plain ole no strings attached sex. He sleeps with Walker, that I’ve known for a while now, even before I got the full on show from them. However, I recall him saying something about a woman before in passing, but also the way he kissed me… That’s certainly not a man who only likes men.

  And Walker?

  Well, he’s a bit more complicated to figure out. He has his thing with Orrtyn and he’s also kissed me, but unlike with Orrtyn, I’m not sure our kiss was actually something he felt passionate about. For all I know, it could have done nothing for him. He certainly hasn’t shown any interest since.

  Which is good, I remind myself.

  I also recall once at a ball one of the guys saying Walker would scare off all the girls or something like that, and when I’d saw a woman flirt with him once, there was zero interest. He looked more interested in cutting the woman’s tongue out than anything.

  When it comes to Elyjah and Orrael though, I don’t have much to go off of. I know that the two shared Delia at some point.

  They’re the only men to be able to give me multiple orgasms within seconds because while Elyjah’s mouth is skilled, Orrael’s fingers are godly.

  Before I’d killed the woman, she made it clear what had gone down between the three. She’d wanted me to know since she kept insisting I wanted them, which at the time was not true. Now… now I’m not too sure.

  Orrael’s head drops down and he finally notices Brielyn’s hand on him. His brows furrow slightly, and he looks up at my friend who feigns innocence. A smile wavers on Orrael’s face and it’s nothing but friendly as he shakes his head. He pushes Brielyn’s hand away from his thigh where it’s made its way too, moving it back to his knee. Otherwise, he doesn’t appear to be bothered or offended by the other man touching him.

  Interesting.

  In the mortal realm, I once watched a man flip out because another placed a hand on his shoulder. He’d spouted some bullshit about not being a fag and went to assault the other man before Ru stepped in and laid the bigger man on his back. She’d called him homophobic before planting a heel in his chest.

  Is Orrael just not homophobic or…

  Or do he and Elyjah also touch each other in their threesomes?

  Do they have a similar relationship to Walker and Orrtyn?

  I don’t let my thoughts continue.

  It doesn’t matter.

  It’s none of my concern and if I’m being honest, I need to keep myself distance from Orrael anyway.

  He’s the only royal that I haven’t kissed or come close to kissing yet and I need to keep it that way. Elyjah keeps shooting me little looks of regret and I can’t help but to wonder if he wants to kiss me again. Orrtyn is keeping more distance from us than usual and neither of us have brought up the kiss. Walker keeps shooting me suspicious eyes and I can’t help but to think it has something to do with the kiss with Orrtyn.

  I’m sure the man has told him since the two don’t seem to keep many secrets from each other.

  Is he mad?

  Orrtyn knows that I kissed Walker, the man walked in on us, and he hadn’t been pissed in the slightest. If anything, he’d seemed to be encouraging of it.

  Because they’re not actually monogamous?

  Another question that I don’t need the answer too, but yet I still find my gaze moving around the cave to where the two men are crowded in the back, close to each other.

  They’re always together.

  It seems as if the men can’t keep their distance from each other long, even if they have kept things platonic. They don’t touch often, but still I can see and feel the chemistry from them whenever they’re together.

  Yet, they don’t seem to be seriously dating, boyfriends or anything like that. Instead, it seems to be some casual thing between them they don’t keep a secret, but they aren’t exactly vocal about either.

  I think back to Brielyn’s offer of a threesome.

  Would they have taken him up on his offer if we weren’t interrupted first?

  “What are you thinking about?”

  I jump in surprise, whipping around to find Orrael standing behind me. His eyes light up with amusement. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to catch you off guard.”

  I move my gaze to where he was sitting before with Brielyn. The space is now empty and there’s no sight of Brielyn.

  “He went to find Elyjah,” Orrael says as if reading my mind.

  I place a palm to my head. “To harass him, probably,” I mutter. I debate on going to stop my friend before he finds himself in trouble but decide he should be okay for a little bit.

  Elyjah isn’t as likely to attempt to kill him as Walker.

  Orrael lets out a soft laugh, his eyes bright. “Probably,” he agrees.

  I raise a brow at that.

  “He's a little handsy,” he says, pressing his lips together as he tries to suppress a smile.

  I let out a laugh of my own. “A little?” I ask, raising a brow.

  Orrael’s eyes flash in surprise a moment before his lips turn up into a full blown smile. He shakes his head slightly. “He’s a nice guy,” he tells me as if I don’t already know my flirty friend is actually a good person despite the shit that he likes to stir up.

  Orrael clears his throat and his blue eyes move to Walker and Orrtyn before moving back to me. “We need to talk,” he says and any traces of humor from earlier are gone.

  I rub my chin, my forehead wrinkling slightly. “We need to talk?” I question.

  He nods, “Yes, particularly in private. This way.” He gestures for me to follow him. For a moment, my feet remain planted, before I finally decide that maybe I need to see what the man actually wants.

  It's not as if Orrael has ever been rude to me and since we’re currently working together there’s no reason to avoid conversation from him.

  Just make sure to stay a couple of feet back, since you seem to have a problem being in the proximity of royals.

  Somehow their lips always end up on mine when they get too close.

  Orrael passes by Walker and Orrtyn who barely spare us a glance. A small stream lines the back wall of the cave but that’s it. I’m confused for a moment until he takes the fork in the back of the cave.

  The second we turn things instantly become darker but after a few moments my eyes adjust. I can make out Orrael even as we get further back into the cave. Finally, he stops walking when we get to the small nook in the back which is basked in even more shadows.

  It's nearly completely dark back here.

  My eyes continue to adjust though, so I don’t miss the motion of Orrael’s hand when he gestures for me to sit down.

  I take the spot in the little nook, sitting and pulling my knees up. Orrael sits across from me and just like when he was chatting with Brielyn, he folds his legs crisscross.

  He places his hands in his lap as he stares at me. His lips press together for a moment.

  “What is it that we need to talk about all the way back here in the dark, away from the others?’ I question, my heart pounding a little quicker in my chest.

  Orrael tilts his head slightly. “I talked with the others and we know you have a lot of questions for us, so I’m here to answer them.”

  That catches me completely off guard. The guys don’t know that I’m aware of the conversation they had about trusting me but not completely, so I didn’t expect them to be upfront and come to me wanting to give the answer to the plethora of questions that I have.

  “Oh, that’s surprising,” I finally say. “And you’ll answer any question I have.” I eye him skeptically.

  He shakes his head, his lip pinching together. “Not everything. We’ve established parameters and I know what I am allowed to answer and what I can’t.”

  By we, I know he’s talking about the royals as a group and I have to wonder when they had this conversation. I didn’t notice them having a group meeting at any time today and considering how they easily draw attention, it’d be hard to miss if they decided to congregate together in one group.

  “Okay,” I finally say. I try to think of what I want to ask the man first. I have so many questions and now that I can finally get answers, none of them want to actually come to me. I have to refrain from letting out a groan at that.

  Don’t ask anything personal for starters. None of your questions about sexualities or why people keep kissing you and sending you these heated looks.

  No, none of that.

  “Why do you three have magic when the rest of Caelumine seems to think that magic has diminished from the lands?”

  It seems like a good place to start with questions.

  Orrael’s nose wrinkles. “That’s a bit of a complex question.”

  “You’re a smart man, I’m sure you can provide an answer,” I say, not budging on this. He wants to talk then we’re going to talk, and he isn’t going to push away what I want to know.

  I watch him closely in the dark and catch the movement when he gives a nod. “Okay… Magic in Caelumine isn’t gone like the people think, that’s the simple answer,” he says.

  “And the complex?” I question, because his words were just stating the obvious.

  “Magic did fade like the royals told the citizens for years, that’s true. What they didn’t tell them is that there was a way to enhance the diminished magic, to essentially bring it back to the people” he confesses and that makes me sit up straighter.

  Did my parents know this before they died?

  “A way to enhance magic?” I question.

  Orrael nods. “A ritual, it was used centuries ago with the first generation of Caelumine. But they realized they didn’t need it, so they stopped doing the process. Little did they know that by quitting the process, magic started to diminish more and more with each new generation born. The royals and other pureblooded caelestins were losing the magic at a slower rate since their magic always was stronger. Unfortunately, it started to disappear completely from the citizens of Caelumine. It was through trials and testing out different things, that one of the advisors for the Deightyn kingdom realized the ritual is what was missing.”

  I’ve never heard of these rituals, but this implies that my family knew about them. Why did they keep this from me?

  “The ritual requires the sanzuh flower which is only grown in the parts of Caelumine which were believed to be more blessed by the gods.”

  I know what he’s talking about. Our people believe that we’re descendants of witches and gods, but no one knows for sure. However, myths state that the places where portals are that were not man made is where the gods blessed more. Certain rivers and locations are also believed to be more blessed.

  The Loka Mountains for example.

  “The flowers are the most important part of the ritual. It’s ground down into dust before being mixed with water from the Michaud or Garsetin River. When consumed, it awakened the magic in Cael people.”

  “It's like an accession ceremony?” I inquire, wrinkling my nose.

  He nods. “Exactly.”

  “And this is why you have magic?”

  He nods again, his lips pressing together for a moment. A muscle twitches slightly in his jaw before he lets out a breath. “During one of my studies, I found out this information. It was hidden in my father’s journals.” His face scrunches up slightly for a moment before he shakes his head. “I didn’t know whether to believe it, but Elyjah had witnessed his mother use her powers many times before and her magic was strong. Too strong to have been watered down. We also had other proof...” He trails off.

  “What proof?” I lean forward slightly. A small fluttering in my stomach starts as I anticipate more information.