Chapter 151: Permanent. Sacred. No Take-Backs.

Maria sat up straighter and clapped her hands once. "Oh, this part is my favorite. Father always used to make the flames go red." She gave Nova a pointed look. "Pay attention to the fire one. It may or may not be relevant."

Maverick dragged a hand down his face. "Maria."

"What? I have kept my mouth closed about this all day. I am connecting a dot for her before I explode."

Dante looked at his wife, his face stone serious. "Make sure you use your voices."

Nova and Maria both looked at Dante. Then at each other. Then back at Dante. The request did not match his expression.

Dante shrugged. "I like the voices. Sue me."

Maria and Nova both lost it at the same time, laughing as hard as they had in their prison cell earlier in the day.

Freya let the laughter finish on its own. Then she picked up exactly where she left off, as if the interruption had been scheduled.

"By prophecy and blood, both kings were bound to protect her and she them. But they were not bound to take her as their queen or love her. The Alpha King of Fire told the gods—" Her voice lowered, warmer, like embers speaking. "’She is the only thing I have ever burned for and my choice is her.’"

Dante gave a nod of approval at his wife’s execution.

"The Alpha King of Lightning also gave the gods his answer." Freya’s voice shifted again, cooler, like the stillness before a storm. "’She is the only thing my thunder has ever gone quiet for and my choice is also her.’"

Nova’s brows creased because she had never heard of a wolf having two mates.

"Exactly, Nova," Freya said, noticing Nova’s surprise. "That was not done. Neither king wanted to share her. Both were possessive, territorial, and accustomed to having what they claimed entirely to themselves. But the gods were not interested in territory. They were interested in truth. So the gods presented two paths to each king. The path would be chosen in isolation, without knowledge of the other’s answer."

Maverick’s thumb started tracing circles on Nova’s back. She didn’t think he knew he was doing it. But she definitely knew. Her entire nervous system knew. She leaned forward to grab her tea. His arm followed her, but the tracing stopped immediately, which confirmed what she had suspected about him not realizing it.

"This is where Father used to pause and get himself a drink," Maria commented.

"A drink of tea?"

"A drink of whiskey, Nova. This next part required whiskey because the gods are absolutely unhinged."

"More unhinged than curses and vampires?"

"That was the warm-up, Nova."

"It was," Freya agreed before holding up one finger. "The first path the gods offered to both kings was the ability to choose another. If either king wanted a different mate, the gods would bless that union and each king would retain their respective elements of fire and lightning."

She held up a second finger.

"The second path was to take her as their mate and the gods would bless that union. If only one of them chose her, they alone would take her as their queen. But, if both chose her, they would share her. Therein was the risk of this choice."

Freya lowered both fingers. Then she pressed her palms together, holding them there, the way someone holds two halves of something that is about to be separated.

"Their decisions were sacred and could never be undone," she continued. "To ensure their choices were made freely, the gods silenced both kings’ wolf spirits before their answers were given so that the decision would belong to each of them alone. Both kings made their choice without knowing the other’s answer."

"See what I mean?" Maria asked.

"Yes. It sounds like a messed-up divine game show," Nova replied.

"It absolutely does," Freya agreed. "Pick your path. Both want the same prize but neither wants to split it. No communication. And by the way, we silenced the one thing inside you that might have helped you decide. Once the decision is made it’s permanent. Good luck." She paused. "Guess what they picked, Nova."

"I’m going to guess neither picked her," Nova answered.

Maria’s mouth fell open. "You absolute pessimist. You heard the most romantic setup in the history of wolf legends and your first instinct was ’neither picked her.’"

"Yes. For a number of reasons."

Maria stared at her. "You are supposed to guess the opposite of that, Nova."

"You asked me to guess what I thought."

"You guessed the sad ending. Why would you guess the sad ending? What is wrong with you? I would shake you right now if you didn’t have a shoulder injury."

"Is this reverse psychology?" Nova asked, genuinely baffled.

"No. This is not reverse psychology. Turn your brain off. You were supposed to say both. Both chose her. That’s the damn—" Maria looked at Freya. "—darn answer."

"Really?"

"YES. That’s the whole point. That’s the romantic part. You just skipped the romantic part."

"But you said it was messed up, Maria."

"Messed up doesn’t mean sad, Nova. Messed up means dramatic. There’s a difference."

Nova glanced at Maverick. His face was doing something she couldn’t translate. It wasn’t the cocky grin or the protective intensity or any of the expressions she had started to recognize. He looked away first this time.

"Maria is correct," Freya continued, looking thoroughly amused. "Both kings chose her as their queen. Thus she was crowned queen of two kingdoms. Under both reigns, their kingdoms flourished. She bore two sons, one for each kingdom, both carrying their fathers’ elemental gifts."

Maria pointed at herself. Then at Maverick. Then back at herself. The pointing was aggressive and unnecessary and Nova understood it completely.

"I’m pointing at us because we both inherited something," Maria explained.

Maverick closed his eyes. "She knows, Maria."

"I’m reinforcing."

Freya looked at Nova, face dead serious. "Maria has fire."

The deadpan was so clean it took a full second to land. The room broke. Dante first, his laugh low and proud. Maverick second, shaking beside Nova. Nova third, pressing her face into Maverick’s shoulder.

Maria stared at Freya like she had been stabbed by a grandmother.

"I trusted you, Freya."

"And I informed Nova. We both did our jobs."

The laughter settled. The fire cracked once. The room shifted the way a room shifts when whatever comes next needs space to land.

"This next part is where it gets ugly," Dante warned from his chair.