Chapter 321

I awake to a sharp knock on my bedroom door. Neil’s arm is still draped over me but some distance had inched between our hot bodies in the night. I’m able to slink out from under his arm without him waking.

Naked, I quickly stop by the bathroom to throw on my fluffy bathrobe. Then, after glancing back at Neil to make sure he’s properly covered from the waist down, I walk to the door and open it a crack.

Archer stands on the other side. He’s fully dressed, even though it’s not quite dawn.

I worry for a half-second, thinking it an emergency, but his stance is too relaxed for this to be anything but a social call. Albeit one at – I check the clock on the nightstand – 5 am.

“Is everything okay?” I ask him. He must know Neil is in here with me, but he’s too relaxed to be furious about that, even if his nose scrunches in displeasure.

“I need to borrow your dagger,” Archer says.

“My… dagger?” My dagger, gifted to me by my old friends before I attended this school, before I ever met the brothers. It’s a symbol of my hopes and dreams as a warrior. It’s been my inspiration through so many hard times when I’ve wanted to give up.

Archer’s always hated the sight of it, but now he wants to borrow it?

“Yes,” Archer says. He waits.

This could be some kind of weird trust test – like some kind of mind game. But that’s really not Archer’s style. He’s typically an upfront person. He likes what he likes. Dislikes what he dislikes. He wouldn’t ask to borrow something of mine just to destroy it.

Well… not anymore. Maybe when we first knew each other and things were so tumultuous. But even then, he wouldn’t ask to borrow. He’d demand to have. Then he’d destroy it right in front of me.

Archer as I know him know wouldn’t hurt me in that way. I firmly believe that.

“Okay. Wait here a second,” I say. He’s being kind about Neil being with me. I’m not about to invite him inside and rub it in his face.

Archer nods and stays put.

I walk to my dresser and dig through my drawers. Buried at the bottom of one of them is my dagger. Retrieving it, I carry it back over to the door and pass it over to Archer.

“Take care of it,” I say. I can’t help myself. I trust Archer, but this dagger is a symbol of my hopes and dreams for the future. “It’s important to me.”

“I know,” Archer says. He holds the dagger gently, as if it’s a precious thing. “I’ll be careful.”

“Thank you,” I say.

Archer turns then and leaves me standing there without goodbye or explanation. He’s always been a man of few words so I don’t take it too much to heart, even if I am confused.

Slinking back into bed, I crawl under the covers. As soon as I’m settled, Neil’s arm slides over me again.

“Everything okay with Archer?” he asks.

“I think so.” I pause. “He wanted to borrow my dagger.”

Neil stills a moment, and then he laughs.

I roll over to look at him. “What is it?”

“My brothers and I have often been in one mind about things,” Neil says. “I’m glad that rule seems to hold true in this case, too.”

“What do you mean?”

Neil pushes his face into the pillow, half-hiding his smile. “You’ll see, Chloe.”

I can’t get a word more out of him after that.

I see Archer again midday. He hands the dagger back to me unharmed and says, “I have a gift for you. Meet me on the balcony after dark.”

He doesn’t wait for a reply, just up and vanishes again.

I’m no less confused, but now excitement is beginning to creep up inside of me as well.

Just what could Archer be planning?

It’s agony waiting for nightfall, so the minute the sky starts to darken with sunset, I make my way up to the balcony Archer meant. It’s one high up on the Pyramid, and offers a great view of the nearby campus.

To the west, the sun creeps down over the buildings. Orange and pinks paint the sky a beautiful tapestry.

“You’re early,” Archer says from behind me, making me jump.

I turn as he walks closer. He seems normal enough, dressed the same as he was before although… wait.

There’s a dagger hanging from a belt on his hips. A dagger that looks suspiciously like mine. Did he steal it? But no, that doesn’t make any sense. Archer wouldn’t do that. He’d have no need. He knows he would just have to ask me, and I’d let him use it.

I step closer to see better, and that’s when I notice the subtle differences. The dagger is slightly bigger, for one. It’s made to fit a man’s hand, even if much of the design is otherwise the same.

Archer, noticing my stare, draws the dagger and holds it out to me, hilt first. I accept and look it over. It’s a fine weight, beautiful in design, just like mine.

“It’s a perfect match to mine,” I say, in awe.

“It is,” Archer says.

I’m so confused. I look up at him, my brow pulling together. “But what does this mean…?”

Archer steps closer to me.

“I will stay by your side, Chloe,” Archer says. He’s said that before. The words still steal my breath away. “In battle and outside of it.”

The daggers are a matching pair, just like us.

It’s a love confession in every way except for the words. But… that can’t be right. Out of all of the brothers, Archer always seemed like the one whose feelings for me were the most volatile. He wanted me one minute, hated me the next.

That couldn’t have changed… could it?

I can’t make assumptions anymore, one way or another. I never would have thought that Steven would confess his love to me, or that Neil would do the same but publically!

Would it truly be so outlandish for Archer, who has been my fiercest critic but also my most diligent protector to have learned to love me as well.

I’d still rather he tell me upfront.

“What does this mean, Archer?” I know I’m asking a lot. Archer doesn’t use his words, especially for feelings. He’s more of an action kind of guy.

But I need a sign here. I can’t afford to make assumptions and lose my own heart in the process.

Archer takes the dagger back and secures it in its sheath. Then he reaches out, grabs my arm at the wrist, and drags my hand up to his chest. He places his heart flat on his chest. I can feel the wild beat of it there, pounding in his ribcage.

Nearly as fast as my own.

Oh my Gods. He does love me.

Leaving my hand on his chest, he wraps his arms around me and tugs me more firmly against him. Slowly, he lowers his head down and presses his forehead to mine.

“Do you understand now?” he asks.

In my heart, I know the truth.

“I love you, too,” I tell him.