His face darkens to a deep red color. “Did you come home to lob insults at me? How mature. If you’re going to act like a child, you can go to your fucking room like a child.”
He’s not going to listen to me. He’s acting like he has every other time one of us has done something he doesn’t like. My father becomes a rage-filled steamroller and annihilates any form of resistance. The impulse to retreat nearly sends me fleeing the room. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to fight, to spit these hateful words at each other.
But if I don’t stand up to him now, I’ll never get a chance to do it again.
“No.” I take a breath.
“What the hell did you just say to me?”
“No,” I repeat. “I am not a child. I am not a rebellious teenager. I’m sure as hell not a princess locked in a tower. You are my father, but I’m no longer accepting you as my jailer.”
He laughs, harsh and cruel. “Now I know she’s put words in your mouth. I’m not your jailer. I’m your father. I only want what’s best for you, and if you can’t see that, you’re not ready to have this conversation.”
It would be so easy to slip back into that old skin, to stop fighting. I have twenty-three years of learned behavior, all that experience clamoring for me to stop arguing and leave the room until he’s less angry. Instead, I plant my feet and straighten my spine. “I am an adult and you keep me locked up in this house, unable to go anywhere without an armed guard, unable to talk to anyone who isn’t approved by you. You keep me from getting a job, from having access to my own money. From everything. Tell me what that is if not a jailer?”
“I—”
But I’m not interested in whatever he’s about to yell at me. I keep going. “I only came home in order to tell you that I’m done. You have to let me go.”
He blinks. “What?”
“You have to let me go,” I repeat. “Do you think that I’ve learned nothing from you? Do you really think that I’m so much of a fool that I don’t know my own heart?”
He leans back a little. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’m moving out.” I measure each word carefully, all too aware that rushing through this will give him further ammunition not to take me seriously. To say that I’m too emotional to be rational right now. “I am starting my own life and making my own decisions while doing it.” I watch him closely. “I would like you to be a part of it, but if you can’t support me, then you won’t be welcome in my new home.”
“Your new home,” he echoes. Father sinks back into his seat, all the red rushing from his face and leaving him pale. “You’re going back to her.”
“You will stop any plans to take your people to Carver City.”
“Or what?”
I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I’ll do what I have to. I can’t afford to waver right now. I only have one chance to make this stick, to protect the people I love and ensure my freedom. “Or I’ll tell Poseidon that you’re utilizing his resources to attack another city and potentially drag all of Olympus into a war. Because of your pride. Because you don’t trust your daughter to make her own way.”
He pauses for a long moment, and finally says, “What makes you think he’ll care?”
“I’m sure he can do basic math. We have a line of supplies that go straight into Carver City for what I imagine is a large amount of revenue. A war would cut that off, in addition to costing both sides a fortune in supplies and lives lost.”
Something like pride flickers through his eyes. “It would seem you have me over a barrel.”
“Father… Daddy…” I sigh. “I love you. I’ve been blind to your faults for too long and let you keep me in this cage because of that love. It’s over now. Either let me fly or get out of my way.”
He surprises me by chuckling. “You’re so much like your mother.”
My chest pangs, but I refuse to soften. Not until I have his agreement. “Give me your word that no harm comes to anyone in Carver City.”
“Including the Sea Witch.”
“Including the Sea Witch,” I confirm.
“If she harms you…”
“She won’t.” I don’t know if I’m lying or not. If she turns away from me when I go back to Carver City… Well, I don’t know what happens next. I’ve sacrificed the money earned for the auction. I trust Hercules’s promise that Alaric’s debt remains paid, but the extra money no longer belongs to me. I’ll be in a city I barely know, with no money or resources of my own. But at least I’ll be free.
I have to risk it.
I have to try.
My father is silent for so long, I have to quell the urge to fidget. Finally, he sighs. “There will be no turning you from this, will there?”
“No.”
“If I lock you in your room, you won’t be able to go running to Poseidon with stories.” He almost sounds like he’s musing. “I could send a team of my best men and finally remove the blight of the Sea Witch from my life.”
My chest tries to close in on itself, but I refuse to quake. “If you do that, I’ll never forgive you. I’ll spend the rest of my life doing whatever it takes to bring you down and make you pay for it.”
He nods as if he expects no less. “She’s been my enemy for a very long time, Zurielle. Decades.”
“Is your revenge worth more than my happiness?” I stare at him, willing him to see reason. “Is your hate for her greater than your love for me?”
My father looks at me like he’s never seen me before. “She makes you happy.”
“Yes.” I hesitate. “She will if we’re given half a chance to see what we might become.”
This time, when Father sighs, he sounds defeated. “So be it. I give you my word. With the understanding that if she harms you, I will burn that entire city to the ground, Poseidon’s disapproval or no.” His lips pull up into a half smile. “I guess you really have grown up.”
No point in reminding him that I fucked Alaric while he was on the phone with Ursa. Or in pointing out how beyond out of line his actions have been since the beginning. Not with this fledgling peace blossoming before my eyes, not when I am nearly free. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “I’ve got to get to work. Be careful.”
Careful is the last thing I’m going to be. Not when my heart is beating so hard, I feel a little light-headed. This worked. I can’t believe this worked. “I promise.”
He rises and walks around the desk to pull me into a hug. “Call me when you get there so I know you’re safe.”
“Okay.” It’s the very least I can do, a concession in response to a larger concession.
He walks out of his office without another word.
It worked. I can barely believe it. I walk back to my room in a haze. I have to pack, but as I look around, the handful of things I can’t live without are already in Carver City. I hear footsteps behind me and turn to see Aya. She looks at me and looks at my room. “You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”
There’s no point in denying it. “Yes.”
Aya nods as if it’s nothing more than she expected. “You care about her, don’t you? The Sea Witch.”
“Her name is Ursa.” I take a deep breath. “I love her. I love both of them.”
Aya’s brows rise. “Why didn’t you say something last night? Tell us that you wanted to stay?”
“Would you have listened?”
She opens her mouth but seems to reconsider. “I don’t know. Being in that place…” She gives a delicate shudder. “It feels like another world. Having you stand here and tell me with clear eyes that you’re in love with her—with them—feels more concrete.” She shakes her head. “I’m sorry. We should have paid better attention.”
“Don’t be sorry.” I cross to her and give her a quick hug. “I had to come back or Father would have done something unforgivable. You brought me that news, and that’s important.”
She gives me a tremblin
g smile. “Will you come back to visit?”
No. I don’t think so. At least not anytime soon. “Maybe. But you’re more than welcome to visit whenever you want.” I don’t know how it will work, or if I should be making promises like this, but I won’t take it back.
“Okay.” This time, her smile is far firmer. “I’m happy for you. Truly.”
“Thank you.” I hitch a breath. “I have to go.”
“Be safe.”
“I will. I promise.” So many promises.
I hope I’m not going to make a liar of myself.
Chapter 31
Alaric
I wake up in Ursa’s arms. She’s relaxed in sleep, her body pressed against mine. This soft moment, quiet but for the steady sound of our mingled breathing, is something I’ve wanted for a very long time. To share her bed. To share her life.
I didn’t anticipate having a half-broken heart while doing it.
Pushing away the hurt Zuri’s departure caused doesn’t work. It’s still there, lingering beneath the surface, all teeth and claws that strike every time my mind veers back to her. To the memory of what we all shared. To the future she threw away without a second glance.
And that’s just what I’m feeling. I’m a selfish bastard, but my walls don’t have anything on Ursa’s. It took me years to get close enough to bring her heart into play. It took Zuri three days.
The strongest woman I know, the most dangerous, cried in my arms last night. As much as I am appreciative of the sign of her trust in me, as happy as I am to be a rock to her for once instead of the other way around, I can’t stop the slow ignition of anger in my chest.
Ursa shifts against me, and her breathing changes. “Good morning, Alaric.”
“We should go after her.”
She lifts her head. “What?”
“Zuri. If she wants to leave us, she can damn well tell us like the adult she wants to be instead of running like a coward.” Another thought below that, one more insidious. “And if she didn’t leave by choice like Hercules claimed, then we left her in the hands of her father overnight because we were too hurt to think clearly.”
“Hades wouldn’t lie about something like this. His entire reputation rests on everyone in the Underworld being safe at all times.”
I run my hand down her arm. “Exactly. His entire reputation. Hades would lie to protect that. Zuri is nothing to him, and Hercules is one half of everything.” The more I think about it, the more foolish I feel for not realizing it last night. “Do you know that when Jafar first staged a coup of the territory Jasmine eventually took over, the security of the Underworld was breached? Ali made it into the private rooms and threatened her.”
At that Ursa lifted her head. “You never told me.”
“I heard about it later, and it was downplayed. Similar to how Hades downplayed things last night.” I huff out a breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think of it. I—”
“Neither one of us was thinking clearly.” She sits up. “But you’re right. She’s more than capable of telling us she’s finished with us to our faces.”
My pulse kicks up. “So we’ll go after her?”
“Yes, we’ll go after her.” She rises, and it strikes me that I’ve never seen Ursa in the morning light. Not like this. She catches me watching her and raises a brow. “Yes?”
“Nothing. Just that you’re beautiful and I love you.”
Her lips quirk, though it’s obvious her thoughts are on the next steps. “I love you, too. Now get dressed.”
It doesn’t take long to pad to my room and pull on some clothes. I take a few extra minutes to fix my hair, but I don’t bother to shave. Even as quick as I am, she beats me to the door, looking as perfectly put together as if she’s had several hours to get ready instead of fifteen minutes. She’s twisted her locs up into a crown of sorts and is wearing one of my favorite dresses of hers, a black wrap that fades to a deep purple at the hem. She looks me over. “You’ll do.”
“Thanks,” I say drily.
A knock on the door freezes us both. She frowns but moves to it. I hold up a hand. “Wait, shouldn’t we—”
“I pay for the best security money can buy, lover. It’s one of my people.” She opens the door and, sure enough, it’s her head of security, Monica. Ursa frowns. “What’s going on?”
“I found something of yours on the sidewalk outside.” She steps aside to reveal Zuri. “Thought you might want her returned to you.”
“Thank you, Monica,” Ursa says faintly.
Monica nods at her, and then at me, and then eases out of the room and shuts the door softly behind her. Then there’s nothing to look at but Zuri. She’s changed since we saw her last, which is to be expected. The slacks and green blouse are almost too severe for her, especially with her hair slicked back. It makes her look like a different person, like she’s someone I’m not sure I know.
She smooths her hands down her pants. “I’m sorry.”
Ursa hasn’t moved since she appeared. “So he didn’t take you after all.”
“No. He didn’t take me.” Zuri takes a deep breath, her gaze jumping from me to Ursa. “My father was going to level an attack on you. I took care of it.”
“You…took care of it.” Ursa exhales a rough laugh. “What in the gods’ names made you think such a reckless act would work out?”
“I had no choice.” Zuri lifts her chin, a sure sign that she’s not going to back down. “I have his word that he won’t move against you or anyone in Carver City.”
“What makes you believe his word?” I blurt.
She cuts a look to me, her eyes going soft. “Because if he doesn’t, I’ll inform Poseidon that he’s about to bring war between the two cities. The Thirteen won’t allow it.”
“They might kill him if you do that.” I drag my hand through my hair. “He has to know you’re bluffing.”
“I’m not bluffing.” She turns back to Ursa. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left like that, and I know it hurt both of you. I knew you would assume I’d made my choice and left, but I still went through with it because I’d rather you were alive to hate me than the alternative.”
“You have such faith in your father. He’s been trying to kill me for years.” Ursa still hasn’t moved, every bit of her expression locked down.
“It’s only recently that I know what he’s been doing outside the house, but I know what his people are capable of. I am less sure of yours. I couldn’t risk it.” Zuri clenches her hands, her expression resolute. “It may be too soon, but I love you, and I refuse to lose you. So I took care of it. He’s not going to welcome us back into the family home anytime soon, but he won’t move against you. If making that choice is unforgivable, then I understand and I’ll leave. But I’m not sorry I moved to protect you; I’m only sorry that my actions hurt you.”
I can barely believe that she’s here. Safe. Returned to us. Last night hurt, but fuck. I can be angry about her choices and still be grateful that she’s come back. That she didn’t actually choose to leave in a permanent way.
But I’m not the only one in this relationship.
I look at Ursa, waiting for her response. Finally she exhales shakily. “Am I to take this to mean you’ve made your choice, little Zurielle?”
“Yes.” Zuri takes a step forward and then another. “I choose you, Ursa. And I choose you, Alaric.” She gives me a quick smile. “I choose this life and the future we build together.”
I take the last step to close the distance between the three of us and press my hand against Ursa’s back. It’s like that touch unfreezes her. Ursa pulls her into her arms and buries her face in Zuri’s hair. “I was so worried about you.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ursa grabs me with her other hand and pulls me into the embrace. “Don’t you ever do that again, Zuri. Do you hear me? Ever again. If there’s a problem, you come to us and we figure it out together.” She meets my gaze. “That goes for you, too, Alaric.”
“Understoo
d,” I say faintly. I hug them both tightly, something inside me finally realizing that Zuri is here, that we’re all safe. That we are actually going to have the thing I want more than anything—the three of us together.
I kiss Ursa. Or maybe she kisses me. I’m not sure how it starts, but one moment we’re hugging and the next the three of us are stumbling down the hallway, shedding clothing in our wake. We end up in Ursa’s room on her bed, Ursa on my cock and Zuri between our thighs, her mouth on Ursa’s clit. It’s hard and fast and messy, Ursa riding me to orgasm as I fight to hold my own at bay. It’s no use. It’s never any use, not when I have the two women I love in bed with me.
Ursa tumbles Zuri back onto the bed and then she’s fingering her, kissing her like she’ll never get another chance to again. I go down on Ursa, needing this connection, needing everything.
I never really believed in happily ever after. Not for people like me.
I believe in it now.
I’m living it.
* * *
Thank you so much for reading Ursa, Alaric, and Zuri’s story. If you enjoyed it, please considering leaving a review! Still craving more of these three? If you sign up for my newsletter, you get a bonus scene featuring them!
The Wicked Villains series reaches its smoking hot conclusion in QUEEN TAKES ROSE! Aurora and Malone have been circling each other for nearly a decade and it’s finally time for them to get each other out of their system… Or that’s what Malone thinks. Aurora? She’s got darker plans for this queen.
Looking for your next sexy read? You can pick up my MMF ménage THEIRS FOR THE NIGHT, my FREE novella that features an exiled prince, his bodyguard, and the bartender they can’t quite manage to leave alone.
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Keep reading for a sneak peek of QUEEN TAKES ROSE!
It takes me three minutes to get to Hades’s office. I pause outside his door and take several deep breaths that do absolutely nothing to calm me. It’s enough to get my public face in place, though, and I’m smiling as I walk through the door.
The Sea Witch: A Wicked Villains Novel Page 24