by Madison Faye
They turned and suddenly, we froze.
“Your Highnesses,” Carl hissed at us.
I shook my head, eyes narrowing at Carl, Thomas, and Shawn — three of the six members of our royal council and the very ones who’d been sticking to the laws of the land about us not being able to take the thrones.
…And there they were, in Berne, on the palace grounds, pushing Anya back against a tree.
I saw the look on Anya’s face as she glared at them, and suddenly, it all fell into place. These were the men who’d brought her there that night — the men who’d tried to trick her into that place, and trick her into being claimed by them.
The men who’d gone and told on us when we’d claimed her as our own.
I heard Killian growl fiercely beside me, and I knew my friends suddenly saw it too for what it was.
“You’re fucking members aren’t you,” I hissed, storming towards them.
“Uh-uh,” Carl spat back, raising his shirt to reveal the butt of a pistol tucked into his pants. “It’s an anonymous club, remember?”
He grinned wickedly at me.
“Now, this one belongs to us, so if you don’t mind, we’ll—”
The man was so busy trying to throw some lame little line at me that he never even noticed Killian bolting past me until he was flat on his back on the ground. I lunged forward as well, tearing Thomas away from Anya and bringing my knee into his gut. Jace smashed a forearm into Shawn’s nose, shattering it and bringing the man to his knees.
We advanced on them, the rage exploding out of us, when suddenly, the whole damn garden was swarming with guards.
…Yeah, I guess crashing a car though the hedges on palace grounds will do that.
And just like that, chaos ensued.
There were guns trained on all of us, and men shoving us to our knees on the ground. Carl, Shawn, and Thomas were bellowing on about being innocent, Jace, Killian, and I roared back about them being traitors to their country, and Anya screamed at the Berne Royal Guards to let us go.
Eventually, the screaming died down, and when one of the guys holding me down pulled out my wallet and saw who the fuck we really were, suddenly all three of us were very much on our feet.
Anya ran into us, throwing her arms around us as we pulled her in tight.
“The royal council will never approve of you three taking the thrones,” Carl hissed from the ground. “Even without us, there’s not a chance they approve of whatever insane idea you have of all claiming her as your damn queen!”
Killian growled, taking a menacing step towards Carl.
“With you three in jail for treason, they might,” he spat through clenched teeth.
Carl laughed. “Not with this slut.”
Those were the last words he got out before I stepped forward, pulled my fist back, and sank it into his mouth. He screamed, spitting blood as I stepped back.
“Punch me all you want! But they will never accept her!”
“Yeah? And why’s that?” Jace spat.
Carl grinned.
“She’s not a princess.”
“But I am.”
We whirled, the guards around us saluting sharply, and turned to see Princess Adele, of Berne, marching towards us.
…Holding hands with her Captain of the Guard, no less, but I decided an explanation on that fairly interesting detail could wait for another day.
“I'm a princess,” she said thinly, glaring at the men on the ground. “So, what’s this all about?”
16
Anya
Adele flew into my arms the second she saw me, hugging me close and holding me tight.
“Is this your secret?” she said quietly, glancing at my men standing behind me.
I nodded, the heat flushing through my face.
Adele’s cheeks went red, but she smiled at me. “You happy?”
I nodded even harder, the grin splitting my lips as she beamed back at me.
“Good,” she whispered, pulling me close. “Me too.”
She nodded at the man in uniform who she’d walked over, and I suddenly recognized him as Captain Hunt, of her father’s Royal Guard.
My eyes went wide. “Wait, that’s your secret??”
She nodded gleefully.
“Uh, tell me everything?”
“Later,” she giggled, hugging me again and looking around at the scene around us. She glared again at the three assholes on the ground before turning to Jace, Killian, and Dean.
“So,” she said sharply, eyeing them.
“Your Highness,” the three of them bowed formally.
“So you’re the ones making my best friend so happy?”
“I hope so, Your Highness,” Dean said with a grin.
“Oh, and they're polite too?” She turned, winking at me before turning to the guards standing watch over the three pricks on the ground.
“And who are you?”
“Your Highness,” Killian growled in his deep baritone. “I apologize for my fellow countrymen. This is Carl Manning, Thomas Harmon, and Shawn Post. They’re Dukes of Tam, and members of the intermediary high royal council in charge of the transition.”
Adele frowned. “I was sorry to hear of the loss of your fathers,” she said quietly.
“Thank you,” Killian nodded.
Adele turned back to the three dukes glaring at her from the ground.
“And what are you doing here, on palace grounds, harassing my best friend? What exactly is going on here?”
“I’ll tell you,” Carl hissed — Carl, who’s name I guess really was Carl. So much for fake names,
“These three,” he spat, nodding his chin at my men. “They want to be kings, but they need queens to do so in Tam. And even if the council does sign off on the three of them being with one chick—”
This time it was Jace who strode over and kicked him sharply in the ribs.
Carl whined.
“Even if they do,” he spat. “She is not a princess. And in Tam, that still matters!”
Adele rolled her eyes, making me grin.
“I see. Well, I am.”
She turned to me, biting her lip before glancing up at my men.
“Is this true? You all want to be with her?”
“We’ll never hurt her, Your Highness,” Dean said quietly, his face tight. “We’ll never stop protecting her, and we’ll never stop loving her. All of us, together.”
Adele’s eyes darted to mine, and I could definitely see the “oh I have so many questions for you, girl,” look in her eyes before she turned back to the princes.
“And does Tam allow…” She blushed trailing off.
“Marriages of multiples?” Jace said with a small chuckle to my red-faced friend. “It’s rare, but yes.”
Adele nodded. “So the only problems are that half your council are traitors.” She turned and smiled thinly at the dukes. “But it seems you’re taking care of that.”
“Damn right,” Killian growled.
Adele continued. “So just that, and the fact that Anya isn’t royalty.”
The men were silent.
“Is that really a problem in Tam?”
They looked at each other, a fierce look flashing between them before their shoulders slumped.
“Yes,” Dean muttered. “It’s an old, ridiculous law, but it stands. And changing it could take years.”
Adele nodded, chewing on her lip before she turned to me, a small smile creeping over her face.
“Well, I guess I should have done this a long time ago,” she said quietly.
I frowned. “Done what?”
“Decree you a princess.”
My jaw dropped.
“What?”
She grinned. “Well, okay, I can’t personally, but my father and his council can.” She looked into my eyes, her face beaming. “Consider it done,” she said pulling me close and wrapping her arms around me.
“Although I am going to miss you. You’re such a good servant.”
/> I laughed, punching her in the arm as she giggled.
“Why?” I said breathlessly.
“Because you’re my best friend and I love you, and I want you to be happy.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, my heart feeling like it was filling my whole body as I grabbed my friend and hugged her close.
“You hear that?” she said fiercely to them. “I love her, so if you—”
“That’s never going to happen,” Jace said evenly, smiling.
Adele nodded. “Well, you can tell this to your council then. Or, what’s left of them after you throw these three in a dungeon. Tell them that your lovely girl here is no longer Anya Green. She’s now Princess Anya of Berne, effective within the week.”
I laughed out of pure silly happiness, the warmth and the love of everything around me just pouring through me.
“You know, your stepmom will never go for this.”
“Oh, about that...” She grinned at me. “Yeah, a lot has changed while you were gone last night.”
“What? Like what?”
She turned to her Captain of the Guard, reaching out and taking his hand before looking back at me with a blush on her face.
“Uh, a lot. We’ll catch up later, I promise. But no, I think you’re all theirs.”
I hugged her once more before turning and flying into Jace, Killian, and Dean’s arms. They hugged me fiercely, all three of them pulling me tight and holding me like they never wanted to let me go.
Something told me, they never would.
“So,” I grinned jokingly. “Are princesses allowed in the club?”
Dean made a face. “Actually, no, they’re not.”
I frowned. “Oh.”
“But guess what?”
I looked up to see all three of them grinning.
“We’re not allowed in the club either.”
My brow went up. “Holy shit, seriously?”
“Ask us if we give a single shit.” Killian chuckled darkly, his hand stroking my back.
He leaned in and kissed me deeply and passionately — just enough to send a sizzle though my body. I turned to Dean, kissing him the same way and gasping quietly into his lips before turning to Jace and doing the same.
I came away blushing, suddenly remembering my friend and the small crowd behind us. But when I whirled back, the guards were already dragging the three kicking and screaming Dukes of Tam away. Adele looked back though, and winked at me.
“Look, Anya—”
“Uh, that’s Your Highness now, thank you very much!” I grinned at them as they chuckled.
“Well, excuse me Your Highness,” Jace laughed. “But I wanted to say that we know this is nuts, and fast, and probably the single craziest thing you’ve ever even heard of, but we’re fucking head over heels for you.”
My heart thundered in my chest, my eyes darting from one face to the next.
“We love you, Anya,” Killian said quietly, squeezing my hand. “And we know it’s fast, and we know you barely know us. But there’s something about you that clicks with each of us and all of us in a way we thought we’d never find.”
Dean sighed. “What these two are trying to say is, we love you, we’re going to keep on loving you until the end of time, and we’d love to know one thing?”
“Which is?” I said breathless.
“Will you marry us?”
“Yes.” I said it without even thinking, just blurting the word out.
“No, I mean all of us. No jealousy, no drama, no mess. It’s all of us or nothing, so if you need time to think—”
“Yes,” I whispered, moving in and kissing him. I pulled Jace in, kissing him tenderly, before turning and searing my lips to Killian’s.
“Yes, absolutely, yes!” I shrieked as I jumped into their arms, peppering them with kisses as they held me tight. “A thousand yeses.”
It was minutes later before we all finally pulled apart. We turned, them holding me tight as we stood there watching the sun catch the edge of the fountain that sat beside the roses, there in the gardens of Berne.
“Call your council,” I said, nodding slowly as the grin spread over my face.
“Tell them it’s time for the three Kings of Tam to take their thrones.”
The three of them growled, nodding with fierce looks on their faces.
“Just, you know, make sure there’s a fourth one for me.”
They laughed, pulling me close and kissing me until I forgot everything else.
Epilogue
Anya
Moving to Tam was surreal after spending my whole life in Berne. And yet, it also felt right. It felt like the next step in life that I’d just been waiting to take, without even realizing it.
Also, Tam is really close to Berne, so Adele and I can still see each other all the freaking time.
Becoming a princess was…well, wow, how do you even describe that? It was a strange feeling, and yet, I also felt exactly the same afterwards. Adele wasn’t kidding about making it happen either — four days later, in a small ceremony in her father’s throne room, King Lorne himself — with a freaking sword and everything — dubbed me a real, honest-to-goodness princess of Berne. He also hugged me close and thanked me for being the sister his daughter never actually had.
As it turns out, Carl had spotted me that night at the club, and when I’d left with my princes, he’d had us tailed. After that, it was easy to put two and two together.
But, that was the random circumstances part. What made the whole thing even crazier was that the three of them had been plotting to overthrow things in Tam. They’d managed to weasel their way onto the royal council, and their plan had been to delay Killian, Dean, and Jace ascending to their rightful thrones until they could put together some fake dirt on them and declare the council itself the rulers of the kingdom.
The evidence to support all this was overwhelming, and the three of them were quickly tried, found guilty, and thrown into jail for high treason.
My men never told me the details about what happened with them and the club, only that they weren’t going to be going back there ever again. At one point, soon after the trial, a gorgeously vintage black and silver town car had driven up to the palace in Tam, and the three of them had taken a meeting in the car with whoever it was.
They’d been grinning when they came back, with Jace muttering something about “so much for them never changing their minds.” But even after that, they assured me, the Triple Crown Club wasn’t a place they needed, or wanted anymore.
“Now when we’ve got you,” they’d said.
Not a bad answer, really.
And so the Triple Crown Club was left behind for us. There were, of course, the two major events that happened right around the same time as me meeting my men. First, the insanity and almost scandal of my cousin Julia’s adventures there, and then the even crazier events surrounding her roommate Emma and the triplets she—
Well, like I said, the club and all of it’s wild tales were behind us, or at least better saved for another day.
Tam’s been an amazing, welcoming kingdom, too. As it turns out, marriage laws in Tam were fairly vague in their wording, and so, in a huge ceremony broadcast to the whole kingdom, without any shred of secrecy or shadows, Jace, Killian, and Dean proclaimed their love and commitment to me, and me to them. We married — me to all three of them — and when the council finally cleaned out the trash that had been holding it back, their decision to put my men on the thrones they were born for went through.
Which, I guess makes me officially no longer a princess.
It makes me a queen.
But even without the jewels, and the royal pageantry, and the throne (they did get me throne, thank you very much), I’d feel like a queen with my husbands anyways. Hell, I’d feel like a queen in their arms even if we were penniless and on the streets. No matter our rank or station or titles, I was their queen, they were my kings.
And damn did we have love.
Becau
se really, that’s all you need to have a kingdom and a happy ever after.
Trust me, it’s all we needed for ours.
The End.
Royally Tempted
Royally Tempted
Filthy. Royal. Gorgeous. Triplets. Temptation’s never tasted so sweet.
They’re the hottest, dirtiest fantasy that I never saw coming. Three gorgeous, powerful princes – triplets at that – who share everything.
And now they’ve got their eyes on me.
It’s called the Triple Crown Club – a place out of whispered secrets and rumor, where the powerful, royal elite come to indulge in the ultimate fantasy: a place where three princes share one lucky girl.
…If she dares.
Sneaking in here was a mistake. But meeting the King brothers might just be the best mistake I’ve ever made.
Three identically gorgeous men, with three wicked tongues, six demanding hands, and three huge, uh, crown-jewels.
I’d ask how a girl’s supposed to choose, but maybe I won’t have to.
After all, triplets are exactly the same…
…size.
1
Emma
“We need something filthy. Something big.”
Martin, the editorial chief, pumped his fist into his open palm, looking around the small conference room.
“What we need to deliver is a story that people will talk about for years — something that scandalizes. So, get out there, get hunting, get digging, and bring me all the dirt you can find. We have a job to do people, now let’s get to it.”
He slammed his fist on the table like he tended to do when he ended one of his little speeches, his slightly piggish face bright red and sweaty.
The room nodded as the meeting broke and people started to get up from the table, collecting their things.