Page 68 of Snowed In With the Dragon Kings

I look at all of it. The castle. The city. The lords and ladies downstairs in their silks and velvets.

"Are you sure?" I hear myself ask.

They all look at me.

"About marrying me." I wrap my arms around myself. "I'm not a lady. I wasn't raised in a palace. I don't know a single thing about royal manners or etiquette. I've spent my whole life sewing other people's clothes and digging up herbs to sell at the market. I'm stubborn. I say things I shouldn't. I have absolutely no idea how to be a queen."

My voice gets smaller.

"What if I embarrass you? What if your people expect someone completely different? Someone polished. Someone who knows what she's doing."

None of them hesitate.

"I don't want a polished noblewoman," Zarek says. His voice is firm. "I've met hundreds of them. They curtsy and smile and hide everything they really think behind a fan." He shakes his head. "I want you. The brave, stubborn woman who stood in the snow and told Silas Brusteen exactly where he could go. Who wouldn't let anyone decide her future for her. Who walked into our lonely cabin and turned it into a home."

My throat tightens.

"Besides," Rhydian adds, "any woman who can make Kaelen blush just by complimenting his cooking is clearly destined for greatness. That's a rare and powerful gift."

Kaelen gives him a look that could melt stone.

I laugh. A wet, choked laugh, but a laugh.

Then Kaelen pulls me into his arms. He holds me tight against his chest, his big hand cradling the back of my head, and when he speaks, his voice is low and rough and certain.

"Don't change," he says. "Not one thing. I love you exactly the way you are. And anyone who has a problem with that can answer to me."

"And me," Zarek says.

"Me too," says Rhydian. "Though I'll mostly just insult them. Kaelen can do the answering."

And then all three of them are holding me. Zarek's arms around my waist. Rhydian's around my shoulders. Kaelen's around all of me, pulling us all in tight.

I've never felt so loved in my life. I didn't even know it was possible to feel this loved.

We stand there together at the top of the world, looking out over the kingdom. And I let myself dream. I imagine our wedding. A beautiful gown, maybe one I sew myself. Evergreen garlands everywhere. Candles. Hundreds and hundreds of candles. And at the end of a long aisle, three men waiting for me.

Dancing with each of them. Laughing with Rhydian as he twirls me until I'm dizzy. Stealing kisses from Zarek in the corners when he thinks nobody's watching. Calling Kaelen my husband, out loud, in front of everyone, and watching him turn as red as a solstice ribbon.

But even better than the wedding is everything that comes after.

I imagine all the years we'll have. All the places we'll fly. The adventures. The children, maybe, someday. Little ones with black hair and copper hair and pretty eyes, running through the castle halls. Maybe even one who can shift. The quiet moments by the fire, all four of us, just happy to be together.

And every winter, I imagine going back.

Back to our little cabin in the mountains. Hanging the old garlands. Lining up the carved dragons along the hearth. Making Kaelen's eggnog. Remembering that strange, wonderful, impossible week when everything changed.

Their arms tighten around me. Kaelen presses a kiss to the top of my head. And I realize something. The frightened, lonely woman who ran into that blizzard was looking for a place to hide. Somewhere safe. Somewhere nobody could make her do anything she didn't want to do.

She found so much more than that.

A home. A family. Three men who love her more than anything in the whole world. And a future more wonderful than any fairy tale.

I’m not running anymore.

I'm right where I belong.