The Dragons' Bathhouse: A Reverse Harem Enemies-to-Lovers Soulmate Romance

37

Eden

Eden was confused. Loving them was personal, it was an emotion that only she knew of for it resided within her heart. The twins returning her love was a miracle, a blessing, an unlikely occurrence that Eden had not dreamed to be possible.

And to Eden, making love was a symbol, a hammer to the last wall of all her defences. It was her way of giving herself to them, her way of sealing her deal in their contract of love. It was her way of saying that she loved them irrevocably and would trust them with her body. For Eden, the warmth in her heart had blossomed into something more after their night of passion. It was an acceptance of her love.

She made a promise to herself in that bed that despite the lies, despite the time-stop, despite the secrets. Despite everything. Eden would still love them because she had given a piece of her heart to her twins. A fragment of her soul was theirs, and theirs only.

But why did it feel as if sex had made them withdraw into themselves?

She sat, sipping on her mug of water as her twins prepared her meal. They had disappeared for hours that afternoon, only returning just in time for dinner. Eden bit her lips. But something was wrong. They were moody, disturbed and sullen and their worry stank the air. The tension inflicting their bodies.

It had not been any better that morning. Amid sex, Kaizel had changed. She swallowed nervously at the thought. He had been ruthless and uncaring, siphoning her pleasure from her despite her words of protest. There had been no signs of her kind, funny and sweet dragon.

Keegan had slapped him. She was sure of it. The two had growled at one another like territorial beasts and then Kaizel had disappeared, darting off as Keegan tried to distract her with sweet kisses and gentle caresses. But that didn't mean that she hadn't heard the crashes of falling things in the kitchen. That didn't mean she hadn't felt the tension and stiffness of Keegan's body as he held her. He held her as if she might break, as if he were holding himself away from her. As if a cage encased his heart, preventing him from falling in too deep.

It hurt her.

It confused her.

It made her wonder about their lies. About the time-stop, about her eyes, about the blank gap in her mind. And about their soulmate.

And her heart broke at the thought. Those dark voices whispered in her ear that she was human. That she was not meant for the gods, that she was not meant for them, and perhaps they had just realised that. Perhaps she was just another prostitute in a time-stop. It was difficult to convince those insidious thoughts, without the truth from her twins.

And she needed it.

She needed them to explain what the fuck was wrong.

And why the fire in her chest was dwindling despite their kisses, as if it knew something was wrong.

"My love," Keegan called her sweetly, his voice soft and gentle. He seemed to have picked up on her emotions, seemed to be catching on to her suspicions. He moved to gently rub her cheek, cupping her face sweetly to press a kiss to her hair. "Why the long face?"

"Just hungry," she fibbed an excuse and a smile. She hoped it worked, and at that moment she was thankful for her lack of sight, for her eyes would have given her away. She licked her lips, tilting her head into his palm, enjoying the smooth flow of gold.

"The chicken is nearly done!" Kaizel called from his corner at the counter. "Just give me a second to plate this."

He was snipping it for her, cutting the meat into cubes that would make it easier for her to eat. She heard the pop of a cork as he drizzled on something that smelled a little too sweet and a tad rusty. She wrinkled her nose and wondered whether he was drizzling on liquid time-stop into her food.

"I'm sorry for making you wait so long, something caught up at work," Keegan explained. Work. In other words, the princely duties that her twins had to do. She hated how her mind wondered if they were lying about this too. If they were meeting goddesses in Ukiyo, searching for their soulmate.

"Was your father unreasonable to you again?" she asked, furrowing her brows.

"I suppose you could say that," Kaizel grumbled, and Eden heard the clatter of a plate before her and the arrangement of cutlery.

"They gave us something to work with. It wasn't a complete and utter loss." Keegan hummed. He must have turned to her because his voice radiated towards her. "Eden, we told him about you." Her heart quickened in her chest at his words.

"W-what did he say?" She felt awful for doubting them. Of course they wouldn't do that to her. Of course.

"He asked us if we were sure," Kaizel growled. "Of course, we're sure as fuck."

"They don't trust us. We fucked up too much before we met you, pranked too many people. They think we're jokers, that even our love is a joke. That our pain is a joke," Keegan explained with a soft sigh. Eden's brows knotted together at his words.

"It can't be that bad...You haven't killed anyone with your pranks, have you?" she asked, taking his hand. "Hurt anyone badly?"

Her brows quirked at the stiffness in Keegan's fingers, at the clammy sweat of his palms. She smiled kindly at him, rubbing his skin. The pregnant pause in the air was strange, and Eden had the impression that they were exchanging glances. The pull of Keegan's hand from her own felt like a rejection and Eden sat in her seat, a sense of loss spreading through her system.

"What if we have?" Kaizel replied gruffly. She expected the answer, considering how long it took for him to speak.

It didn't take a genius to understand, for the puzzles to piece together, for the lines to attach. There had always been something off about their entire arrangement. Secrets and lies, things she did not know. The gap in her memories, the injuries. Her injuries. Memories of their apologies, the way they took care of her as if they owed her a debt.

She had always wondered why they were taking care of her personally. Why them instead of servants and healers? Doctors and nurses. Why the princes of all people? It must be more than just because of the fire that roared in her chest when she touched them, more than just the gold that trickled and flowed.

They had done something to her.

Something that she had forgotten.

Something that had resulted in stone for eyes.

Something that had hurt her badly.

"Do you regret it?" She found herself asking, and the answer was immediate.

"More than any fucking thing in the world."