The gates of Ironheart crashed open before I could announce myself.
“So you came crawling back.” Astrid’s voice cut through the frigid air like a blade drawn for war. She stood in the courtyard surrounded by her warriors, all of them armed and watching with predatory anticipation.
“I came back to finish what we started.”
“We?” Her laugh was sharp enough to draw blood. “There is no ‘we’ anymore, Prince. The moment you left for another woman’s bed, you made that choice.”
“Did I?” I dismounted slowly, keeping my hands visible but ready. “Because last I checked, you told me to go. Your exact words were ‘don’t look back.’”
“And you obeyed so well.” She stalked closer, her red hair whipping in the mountain wind. “Tell me, how was the Eastern Queen? Did she measure up to your expectations?”
Before I could answer, Nyx stepped out from behind my horse. The effect was immediate and electric—every warrior in the courtyard tensed, hands moving to weapons.
“You brought her here.” Astrid’s voice dropped to a whisper that somehow carried more threat than any shout. “To my territory. My home.”
“I brought my mate here,” I said. “Just like you’re my mate. Just like—”
“Don’t.” She held up a hand, stopping me mid-sentence. “Don’t you dare try to make this sound reasonable.”
“Why not? Because it threatens your pride?”
“Because it threatens everything!” The words exploded from her with enough force to make her warriors step back. “Do you know what the other territories are saying? That Prince Kieran collects mates like trophies! That the prophecy is just an excuse for royal greed!”
“Let them talk.”
“Easy words when it’s not your reputation being shredded.” She moved closer, close enough that I could see the pain she was fighting to hide. “When it’s not your authority being questioned by every Alpha from here to the Southern Wilds.”
“Then prove them wrong.”
“How?”
“By showing them what three united territories can accomplish.”
“United?” Nyx spoke for the first time since we’d arrived, her voice carrying that smoky authority that made everyone listen. “Is that what you call this? Because from where I stand, it looks like a woman defending territory from perceived invasion.”
Astrid whirled on her, fury blazing in her green eyes. “Perceived?”
“You’re treating me like an enemy instead of an ally.” Nyx stepped forward, unintimidated by the circle of hostile warriors. “Instead of someone who shares your… interests.”
“My interests?”
“Him.” Nyx gestured to me without looking away from Astrid. “Unless I’m mistaken, we both want the same thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“To keep him alive long enough to see if this prophecy is worth the price we’re all paying.”
The courtyard fell deadly silent. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
“You think I can’t protect him?” Astrid’s voice was deadly quiet.
“I think you can’t protect him alone.” Nyx moved closer, and I saw Astrid’s warriors shift nervously. “The Alliance has mobilized six territories against us. Six, Commander. How long do you think Ironheart can stand against those odds?”
“Long enough.”
“For what? To watch him die defending a fortress that should have fallen weeks ago?” Nyx’s voice carried absolute certainty. “Or to swallow your pride and accept that some battles require more than one army?”
“You don’t know anything about my battles.”
“Don’t I?” Nyx smiled, and it was sharp as winter steel. “I know you’ve been fighting alone for so long that you’ve forgotten what backup feels like. I know you’d rather die than admit you need help. And I know that stubbornness is going to get all of us killed if you don’t set it aside.”
“How dare you—”
“How dare I what? Tell you the truth?” Nyx stepped closer still, until they were almost touching. “Challenge your authority? Suggest that maybe, just maybe, two Alphas working together might be stronger than one Alpha standing alone?”
The tension between them was electric, dangerous, like watching two storms decide whether to merge or destroy each other.
“Enough.” I stepped between them, and both women turned on me with blazing eyes. “This isn’t about territory or authority or who has the right to challenge whom.”
“Then what is it about?” Astrid demanded.
“Survival.” I looked between them, these two fierce women who’d both risked everything for a prophecy they barely understood. “The Alliance moves against us in three days. Three days to prepare a defense that none of our territories could mount alone.”
“And you think the solution is to put three Alphas in the same war council?” Astrid’s voice dripped skepticism. “Three people who’ve never worked together, never trained together, never learned to trust each other?”
“I think the solution is to start learning. Fast.”
“And if we can’t? If this grand alliance falls apart the moment actual strategy is required?”
“Then we die.” The brutal honesty silenced them both. “All of us. Our territories, our people, our children. Everything we’ve built, everything we’ve fought for—gone.”
Nyx was the first to break the silence. “He’s right.”
“Of course you’d take his side.”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side.” Nyx’s voice carried steel wrapped in silk. “I’m acknowledging reality. And the reality is that we need each other.”
“I don’t need anyone.”
“Maybe not. But your people do.” Nyx gestured to the assembled warriors. “They need their Alpha to make the hard choices. The ones that keep them alive.”
Astrid stared at her for a long moment, something complex moving behind her green eyes.
“Fine,” she said finally. “Three days. We’ll try your alliance. But when it falls apart—and it will fall apart—I want you both to remember that I warned you.”
“Deal.” I reached into my cloak, pulling out the crystal Reed had given me. “But first, this is for you. From Nyx’s son.”
Astrid took the crystal, her expression shifting from suspicion to surprise as she felt its warmth.
“What is it?”
“A promise,” Nyx said quietly. “That whatever happens between us, we’re family now.”
“Family.” Astrid tested the word like she was learning a foreign language. “I’ve never had family beyond my pack.”
“Neither have I,” Nyx admitted. “Not since my mate died.”
“And I’ve never had family at all,” I said. “Just duty and crown and the weight of expectations.”
We stood there in the courtyard, three people who’d found each other through prophecy and desperation and something that might have been fate.
“This is insane,” Astrid said.
“Completely,” Nyx agreed.
“Then let’s be insane together.” I offered them each a hand. “All of us.”
Astrid looked at my outstretched hand, then at Nyx, then back at me.
“Three days,” she said, taking my hand. “But I’m not making any promises beyond that.”
“Neither am I,” Nyx said, taking my other hand.
“Good.” I squeezed their fingers, feeling the electric shock of connection that came with touching both my mates at once. “Because the only promise I need is that we’ll face whatever comes next together.”