Gesai was crying.

  I felt my ears pop the moment I walked onto the roof, letting me know that I’d just walked into a privacy bubble. I flexed my jaw to work out the muffled sounds, then walked over to her side.

  “It’s all messed up.” Gesai reached for me but pulled her hand back. Her green eyes darted towards my right hand. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Then don’t.” I wrapped her in a hug. I could feel her tense, but it wasn’t like she wanted to pull away. Instead, she was resisting the urge to hug me back.

  I squeezed her as tight as I could, then took a step back. I wiped her tears with the back of my finger.

  “Why can’t everything just work?” Gesai sniffled, then sank to the floor. She braced against the wall and covered her face with her hands.

  “It can work out.” I sat down next to her and slid my arm across her shoulders.

  “How?” Gesai looked at me. “Fray joined your team first. Fray is your level. She’s got all the priorities.”

  “Since when have I cared about priorities or what people want?” I touched her chin with my finger so I could look into her green eyes. “If I followed protocol, then Justia and Aelin would have never been allowed to be together.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No buts.” I shook my head. “I care about Fray and I’m not going to kick her out, but she had plenty of opportunities to get closer to me and so far she’s been content to keep things platonic.” I glanced over at Ether, who nodded.

  “Fray only wants to be as close as Aelin or Rix.” Ether shook her head. “She’s part of our group, but that means that eventually, she’s going to become one of our guards, not one of his women.”

  “But you’re a Goddess.” Gesai objected. “How am I supposed to compete with that?”

  “You don’t.” Ether shrugged. “If we’re competing with each other, then it’s going to cause friction within the harem. You need to find what makes you unique and lean into that.” She wove her fingers through Gesai’s, squeezing the lacy gloves the other woman wore. “We both want to protect Atlas, but you’ve done things that I’m not sure if I’d be capable of right now.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  I thought about the Six and how Gesai had executed them so the Demons couldn’t possess them again. While I knew that Rix would have had no problem getting her hands dirty, Rix wasn’t here, and I doubted if she’d ever want to actually be in the harem in a sexual kind of way. Even with Oz and Ren, Gesai was the only one who had shown she was capable of going that far to protect us.

  “But what about the level difference?” Gesai took a deep breath. “It’s going to be years before we could…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Okay.” I shifted so that the three of us were forming a triangle on the flat roof. “Do you want to be with me?”

  Gesai blinked and looked over at Ether.

  “He asked the question.” Ether pointed at me.

  The silver woman looked at me. “Yes.”

  “Then we’ll figure it out.” I shrugged. “We’re going to live for over a hundred more years, so we’ve got plenty of time.”

  Gesai took a sharp breath. “The two of you are.” She sighed. “But the rest of us aren’t going to live for hundreds of years.”

  “That’s only if the Primus don’t hunt us down.” I grinned. “We could end up with a lot shorter lifespans than you.”

  “They’d have to go through me first.” Gesai growled.

  “See?” I pushed her arm playfully. “So what’s there to worry about?”

  “I just…” She sighed. “You’re about to take her and leave me at the Cathedral.”

  “So?” Ether pointed at the RV pulling behind the clinic. “We’re leaving Oz and Ren with you.”

  I shifted so I could watch the others get out of the RV. They looked happy considering they’d been in the Dungeon all day with Miel. I had forgotten that I was going to have to leave most of my harem at the school while we went to go get Rix and Pixie.

  “That reminds me…” I snapped my fingers. “How are you going to train for the prelims without a Healer?”

  “We could always use a sub.” Gesai blinked. “That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

  “Sorry.” I rubbed my eyes. “My brain went down a rabbit hole.”

  “Well, stay focused.” Ether sighed. “We’re trying to make Gesai feel better.”

  “Okay.” I held up my hands, then looked over at the silver woman. “Your dad told me that it’s always been your dream to work for Celia.”

  “That’s not—”

  “It’s okay.” I chuckled. “We all have dreams. Mine was to become an Adventurer and I got this.” I motioned at myself. “Which is kind of what I’d always dreamed about, but not how I pictured it.” I took her hands. “I’ll understand if your dream was actually working for Celia, but if it’s just pushing deep into the Dungeon with people you can trust…” I motioned between myself and Ether. “We’ve got your back.”

  Gesai started laughing. It was good to see her smile. She wiped a tear from her eyes. “You’re not wrong, but what are we going to do about the level difference?”

  “I have a solution for that.”

  We all turned to see my father standing against the door.

  “And…” Trent continued. “I believe it will solve your problem of being down a Healer.”

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