The ball had ended, but its aftermath still clung to the air like perfume—sweet, dizzying, and impossible to escape.

You slipped out into the garden, the cold stone under your heels grounding you for a moment in a night that felt too surreal. Lanterns flickered gold in the ivy above, casting dancing shadows. You needed silence. Solitude.

But instead, you found them.

Alaric, already standing by the railing, his silhouette sharp against the moonlight. Thane joined seconds later, his steps quicker, less controlled. As always.

“You left,” Alaric said first, voice smooth, unreadable. “Was the evening too much?”

“I needed air,” you replied, heart already stumbling. “Not more questions.”

Thane tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly. “Then why does it feel like you’re running?”

You swallowed. “From what?”

“From us,” Alaric answered without hesitation.

Your breath hitched. “You’re both imagining things. I’m just—”

“In over your head?” Thane stepped closer, too close. “So are we.”

You looked between them, struggling to find footing between restraint and desire, between caution and curiosity. “What is this, really? Some royal game?”

“No,” Alaric said. “This is us giving you a choice. Because we both want you.”

Thane added, voice lower now, more vulnerable, “And we’re not going to tear each other apart over you.”

“I didn’t ask you to—”

“We know,” Alaric cut in gently. “But we’ve made our choice anyway.”

You stared at them, the two princes of a kingdom now bound to yours. The night suddenly felt heavier than your dress, heavier than the crown your family hoped to place on your head.

“I don’t know what I want,” you whispered.

“That’s alright,” Thane said. “We’ll wait.”

“But we won’t pretend,” Alaric added, taking a step forward. “Not anymore.”

The silence that followed stretched, fragile and electric, until you dared to ask, “What happens if I say no?”

Alaric met your eyes, calm and unyielding. “Then we’ll walk away.”

Thane’s voice cracked through the tension like a plea barely held together.

“But just say it, sweetheart—tell us you don’t want us. Lie to us, if you must. Just… end it, before we start falling too deep.”