Chapter 91 You can, but we’re taking care of you first.

Chapter 91 You can, but we’re taking care of you first.


/Edlyn/

For a while, I couldn’t remember how to move. I lay there between them, completely exhausted, my body heavy against the bed while my mind struggled to catch up with everything that had happened. The room had gone quiet, almost strangely so given how chaotic the night had been, and all I could hear was my own breathing slowly settling into something steady again.

I closed my eyes.

“Are you okay, kitten?”

Luca’s voice came from beside me, and there was something different about it now, the teasing edge gone completely, replaced by a concern so genuine it caught me off guard.

“I’m fine,” I whispered.

Nelson gave me a look immediately, the kind that saw straight through me. “You always say that when you’re not fine.”

I opened one eye and found him watching me with an expression that made arguing feel pointless. “Can I please just lie here without being interrogated?”

He smiled, soft and knowing. “You can, but we’re taking care of you first.”

Before I could argue, Nelson slid one arm carefully beneath my back while Luca supported me from the other side, and I barely had the energy left to protest as they eased me upright between them.

“I can walk,” I said, though even I didn’t quite believe it.

Luca raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “Of course you can.”

“Don’t start,” I warned, narrowing my eyes at him.

“I’m not starting anything, kitten. I’m simply pointing out that you nearly fell over when you tried standing.”

Nelson chuckled beside me. “He’s right, you know.”

“I hate both of you,” I muttered, though there was no real heat behind it.

“No, you don’t,” Nelson said, far too pleased with himself.

I wanted to argue, wanted to hold onto my irritation just a little longer, but the smile that escaped me ruined the whole performance.

They helped me into the bathroom, where warm water was already filling a large tub, steam curling gently into the cooler air. Nelson had clearly thought ahead, because he’d added herbs to the water that filled the room with a soft, calming scent, something earthy and sweet that made my shoulders loosen just breathing it in.

I stared at the tub, then at them. “You two did all this?”

Luca shrugged, but there was warmth beneath the casual gesture. “You’re our mate. Of course we did.”

Something about those words landed harder than I expected, settling deep in my chest and staying there.

Our mate.

Not his.

Not Nelson’s.

Ours.

I let them help me step into the warm water, and the moment I sank down into it, a long, shaky sigh escaped me before I could stop it. “Oh, Goddess.”

The warmth immediately began working through the tension that had settled into every part of my body, muscles I hadn’t even realized were clenched slowly starting to release.

Nelson settled beside the tub while Luca knelt on the other side, and both of them watched me with expressions so tender it made something in my chest ache.

“What?” I asked, suddenly self-conscious under the weight of their attention.

“Nothing,” Nelson said, though he didn’t look away.

“You’re staring.”

“I like looking at you.”

Luca nodded in easy agreement. “Same.”

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t hide the way the corner of my mouth pulled upward. “You two are becoming disgustingly sweet.”

“Get used to it,” Nelson replied, and there was a promise buried in those three words that I felt all the way down to my bones.

Luca reached for a cloth, dipping it gently into the water before brushing it slowly over my shoulder, careful in a way that felt like reverence more than routine. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I admitted, and meant it.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded, holding his gaze so he’d know I wasn’t just saying it to end the conversation. “Yes.”

Nelson leaned closer, his voice quieter now, more careful. “Did we hurt you?”

I looked at him for a long moment. There was no teasing left in his eyes, only a need to know the truth, however hard it might be to hear. “No,” I said softly. “I’m okay.”

Luca studied my face like he was searching for any crack in that answer. “And if something wasn’t okay?”

“I’d tell you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” I said, and felt the word settle between us like something solid.

He smiled and brushed some wet hair away from my face, his fingers lingering just a moment longer than necessary. “Good.”

I leaned back against the edge of the tub and let my eyes fall shut, letting the warmth and the quiet wrap around me like a second skin. For a few minutes, neither of them spoke, and the silence felt like its own kind of comfort.

Then Nelson broke it.

“Did you like it?”

My eyes flew open.

I looked at him, certain I’d misheard, but the grin spreading across his face told me I hadn’t. He started laughing the moment he saw my expression.

“What?” he asked, entirely too pleased with himself.

“You could have asked that in a less embarrassing way.”

Luca smirked from the other side of the tub. “He doesn’t know how.”

Nelson looked genuinely offended. “I’m asking because I want to know.”

I looked between them, my heart doing something soft and complicated in my chest. “You really want an answer?”

“Yes.”

I let a small smile slip through. “Then yes.”

Nelson’s shoulders relaxed in a way that told me the question had mattered more than his teasing let on. Luca looked equally satisfied, something quietly pleased settling into his expression.

“But,” I added, and watched them both go still.

“Don’t ever forget that I need you two to listen to me.”

Nelson nodded immediately, no hesitation at all. “Always.”

Luca’s expression softened into something steadier, more solemn. “Always.”

I looked down at the water, watching the ripples settle. “I don’t want what happened tonight to change the way we treat each other.”

“It won’t,” Nelson said, certain.

Luca reached across the tub and took Nelson’s hand, and for a second, neither of them seemed to fully realize what they’d done. Then they both looked down at their joined hands at the same time.

I started laughing before I could stop myself.

“What?” Luca asked, frowning.

“Nothing,” he said quickly, though his ears had gone slightly pink.

“You two are holding hands.”

Nelson looked at their hands like he was only just noticing. “We are.”

Luca slowly pulled his hand away, clearing his throat. “I blame the bath.”

I laughed even harder, the sound echoing softly off the tiled walls.

Nelson shook his head, though he was fighting a smile of his own. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet you agreed to unite our kingdoms with me.”

“Unfortunately.”

I smiled and let my head rest against the edge of the tub, watching the two of them settle back into their familiar rhythm of teasing. The laughter slowly faded, leaving something warmer behind, something that felt suspiciously like peace.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t thinking about dragons, or the missing pack, or the strange voices that followed me through my visions, or the war that seemed determined to swallow everything we loved. I was simply Edlyn. Their mate. Their queen. And for tonight, that was enough.

Nelson reached over and squeezed my hand. “You know something?”

“What?”

“We’ve got you.”

Luca nodded, his voice quiet but certain. “Whatever comes next, you’re not facing it alone.”

My eyes burned unexpectedly, and I blinked quickly, refusing to let the tears actually fall.

“You two better mean that,” I said, my voice thinner than I intended.

“We do,” Nelson said.

Luca leaned closer and pressed a kiss to my forehead, slow and deliberate, like he was sealing the promise into my skin.

“Every word.”

I closed my eyes, letting the warmth of the water and the weight of their presence hold me steady. Maybe the Moon Goddess really had lost her mind the day she gave me two mates. But lying there between them, wrapped in warmth and quiet affection, I couldn’t bring myself to complain anymore.