"So are the four of us not enough for you?" Thane's words were oddly harsh, I thought the three of them were more understanding about my other relationship with Seth, maybe not as understanding as I thought then, but it didn't matter how they felt, he didn't have to be rude for Kaiden.
I could feel him stiff up, try to pull his hand from mine, but I simply clench my hand tighter, refusing to let him go. "I wasn't actually certain whether I even had a relationship with you three anymore, not after you failed to talk to me for almost a week. But it doesn't matter whether we were in a relationship or not, I thought you understood that I am unable to solely be with one person, did I ever say that I was completely exclusive to any of you? I know it is cruel and rather possessive of me to expect you to be with only me and allow me to be with others, but that is the way this relationship has to be, and if you aren't comfortable with that, then there is nothing more between us." I knew what I was asking of them wasn't fair, but I didn't really have time to be fair when my life was on the line, and I knew that it wasn't fair that only Seth knew what was at stake, but surely they knew me better than someone who just collected any man up as a boy toy or something, surely they knew they meant more than that to me.
"I am with you, my darling Kari. I would have come to you sooner, but we agreed to wait until we were all ready to see you, and these two had things to sort out with their families and properly end their engagements. As you found out earlier today, Thane doesn't mean it, we are all just a little wired after the incident earlier and wondering all day if you were alright." Ryker was always so easy to be with, so open and honest, the fact that he cared for me and didn't care if I was with anyone else, without anymore explanation, that he trusted I was doing it for more than just selfish reasons, it meant more to me than any sort of romantic gesture he could have done for me, though he was very good at being romantic.
"Thank you, Ryker, that means more to me than you know. Now Thane, Ezekiel, you've both ended your engagements, presumably because you are serious about me, has that changed after what you've seen today, now that you know what I am capable of when I am angry? Now that you know you will not be the last men I enter into a relationship with?" I could tell Kaiden felt supremely awkward for me forcing him to stay here and listen to me argue with my other lovers, but I wasn't letting him go and he honestly wasn't struggling that much.
"How many men are you talking about? Two more? Five? A dozen?" Thane was staring at me with ice in his eyes, oddly he felt offended that I needed more than them, and I would like nothing more than to say they were enough for me, but my very life depended on there being six men in my life.
"Half a dozen actually, six. No, I don't know who the six is currently, and I am not doing this to be cruel, or even selfish, I am doing this for a reason, one I cannot tell you until I know you are certain about me." I wanted to say that if I didn't have six men with me, that I would die, but that would be unfair pressure, I didn't want to put my death on their conscience, they had to choose me because they wanted to, no matter who else I would be with at the same time. Kaiden starts tugging away from me, but I simply turn and stare at him. "I am considering you as the fifth, I know we haven't known each other for long, two months is nothing in the years we've already lived, but am I wrong to assume you don't become close to other easily, that you don't spontaneously kiss someone because you don't care for them? Feel something deeply for them? Am I the only one that has been having feelings these past two months?" He stops trying to pull away from me and looks at me with soft eyes.
"You're not the only one." His words are soft but filled with emotion, I grasp his hand in both of mine, trying to project the depth of my emotions through my eyes, unable to say the words until I know I can completely trust him, I didn't want them to go into this without the full information, but at the same time I didn't know what threat would come for me, if it would be from one of the other students or something deadlier.
"Will you stay? Will you trust me enough to have a reason for all of this subterfuge? You know me, all of you know me, would I do this without a good reason? Please just trust me?" It was asking for a lot, I knew it was, yet I had to ask anyways, I had no choice, Seth loops an arm around my waist and pulls me to his chest, letting me lean into him for comfort, he was the only one of them that knew what this was about, that had wholly and completely committed to me.
"I'm with you, no one has ever made me feel this way, you drive me crazy." I smile at Kaiden, pleased to know that I affected him as much as he affected me. I glance to the other three, I was fairly certain Ryker was with me, it was Ezekiel and Thane I was worried about.
"I'm yours, I was yours days ago, I was just waiting for these two to catch up." As I had predicted Ryker was solid, and completely romantic with very little amount of effort, being with him would be no difficulty on my part.
That left only two, I glance at Thane first, knowing he could go either way based on his reaction to Kaiden and possibly others entering the picture. "I do know you, you're right about that, which is why I know you aren't doing this to punish me for taking so long, you are doing this for a reason, and based on the way you aren't looking at Seth, he already knows. I'm with Kaiden here, you drive me crazy, I am extremely possessive, and the thought of you with other men makes me insanely jealous, but for you I will learn to deal with it, I guess I'll have to, or I'll lose you, and losing you is something I never want to happen." That left one man left, we all turned to look at Ezekiel at once, the man who hadn't said a single word since he had shown up here outside Sira branch.
He steps up to me, looking me seriously in the eyes, and I prepare for the worst while hoping for the best, he lifts his hands up to my face, and a part of me wants to flinch back worried he'll slap me, but I force that reaction down, if he did, I would deal with it, I would not tolerate being hit and abused, but he did nothing like that, instead he softly cupped my face in his hands. "I have not been arguing with my family for the past week just to break it off with you, I am serious about you. You make me feel alive, like I can be whoever I want, instead of whoever my family wants me to be. I hope you are okay with a penniless man in your life, because I am pretty sure my family is going to cut me off once they find out that I've put myself in a relationship with a woman who also cares for other men, a member of Sira branch, a branch they hate, but I love for the freedom you all have." I laugh and twist my head to gently kiss the palms of his hands.
"It's okay, I have enough money for the both of us, all of us in fact, I am filthy rich, though I certainly don't feel like it." I was never going to be someone who would spend money frivolously, that just wasn't how I was raised, I wasn't about to buy new clothes if my old ones were fine, or an absurd amount of jewelry, I knew some people were like that, and there was nothing wrong with that if they had the money to spend, but that just wasn't me.
"Oh, my Sira! You're a sugar momma!" Monica's cackles following that comment, make me sigh and roll my eyes, but I also knew there was no stopping her, I might as well let her get the comments out now.
"Well, you may be his sugar momma, but I intend to spoil you with gifts using the excess amount of money my family gives me as allowance." I give Thane a soft smile, knowing he was certainly trying hard to tame down the jealousy, I am sure it helped that two of my men were his friends, friends he had known were going to be in the relationship as well.
"Don't go too overboard, I don't want chests of jewels or something, like a big thing once a year." Thane scoffs and rolls his eyes at me, obviously disagreeing with that. "Once a month then?" He looks pensive and slowly nods in agreement, making me sigh with relief, I wasn't one who liked a lot of presents.
"Though I can get you little things whenever I want." I glare at him lightly, but I can tell by his face that he wasn't going to budge on that, unfortunately I also knew that his definition of little things and mine were probably different, mine was probably a cupcake or some sort of small trinket, and his was probably something like diamond earrings.
"I can tell that I didn't really win that argument at all did I?" He nods his head easily, making me know for sure that big gifts or small would be given whenever he felt like it, I guess I would have to get used to accepting presents like he would have to get used to toning down his jealousy. "Okay, well, now that we have that all out of the way, we should head into Sira branch before we continue this conversation, I have a lot to share with you." I wasn't sure how this conversation would go, but I imagine finding out that I may very well die soon probably wouldn't go very well with them.
YOU ARE READING
Hidden Magic
FantasíaCrest-Fallen Academy has been suspected and charged with practicing witchcraft, yet all the accusers always end up retracting their charges right before the trial, leaving Crest-Fallen Academy forever surviving only on the law of innocent until prov...
