She ran.
Samantha's feet carried her across the cold stone floor of the hallway. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps. She did not look back. She did not slow down. She just ran.
Behind her, in the throne room, the triplets were still fighting.
Jayce had his hands around Darlington's throat. Darlington had his knee pressed into Jayce's stomach. Finnian was trying to pull them apart, his silver wings getting in the way of everyone.
"Let go of me," Jayce growled.
"You let go first," Darlington snarled back.
"I was holding her first."
"You lost her. That is the point."
Jayce's golden eyes flashed. "I did not lose her. She ran."
"Because you scared her!"
"I did not scare her. I flew with her. There is a difference."
Darlington shoved Jayce away. His dark wings spread wide, catching the light from the halos. "You grabbed her without asking. You took her to the ceiling. You held her mouth shut when she tried to speak. Of course she ran."
Jayce straightened his shirt. His golden feathers were ruffled, sticking out at odd angles. "She is our mate. I do not need to ask."
"You do need to ask. That is how relationships work."
"Since when do you know anything about relationships?"
"Since always."
"Name one girlfriend you have had that lasted more than a month."
Darlington's jaw tightened. "That is not the point."
"That is exactly the point. You do not know how to treat women any better than I do."
Finnian stepped between them. His silver wings formed a barrier. "Both of you. Stop. She is gone. Fighting about it will not bring her back."
Jayce and Darlington glared at each other but said nothing.
Finnian turned to Jayce. "This is your fault."
Jayce's head snapped toward his brother. "My fault?"
"You heard me. This is your fault. You grabbed her. You flew with her. You would not let any of us near her."
"I wanted to scent her."
"You could have scented her without flying to the ceiling."
"The ceiling was nice."
"The ceiling was excessive."
Darlington nodded. "Finnian is right. You always do this. You take things too far. You push too hard. You scare people away."
Jayce's wings flared. "I do not scare people away."
"You scared Vanessa away."
The name hung in the air like smoke.
Jayce went still. "Do not bring her up."
"Why not? It is the same pattern. You meet someone. You get excited. You smother them. They run."
"Vanessa was different."
"How? How was she different?"
Jayce did not answer.
Darlington stepped closer. His voice was low. Cold. "Vanessa ran because you would not give her space. You followed her everywhere. You showed up at her work. You waited outside her house. You made her feel trapped."
"I was trying to be romantic."
"You were being creepy."
Jayce's hands curled into fists. "Shut up."
"No. I will not shut up. Someone needs to tell you the truth. You are the reason Mom died."
The room went silent.
Even Finnian stopped moving.
Jayce's face went pale. "What did you say?"
"You heard me." Darlington's voice did not waver. "Mom died because of you. She was carrying you. You were too big. Too strong. You tore her apart from the inside. And you have been tearing things apart ever since."
Jayce's wings drooped. His golden eyes lost their fire.
"You cannot put that on me," he whispered. "I was a baby."
"You were a monster. Even then."
Finnian grabbed Darlington's arm. "That is enough."
"It is not enough. It will never be enough. He never takes responsibility for anything. Everything is always someone else's fault. The mate ran because she was scared. Vanessa ran because she was scared. Mom died because her body could not handle him." Darlington looked at Jayce with cold eyes. "Do you see the pattern yet? You destroy everything you touch."
Jayce said nothing.
Finnian sighed. "Darlington, stop. This is not helping."
"Then what will help? Nothing. Nothing helps with him. He is broken. He has always been broken."
Jayce's voice came out small. "I am standing right here."
"I know. That is why I am saying it."
Finnian pulled Darlington back. "Enough. Blaming him will not bring Samantha back. Blaming him will not bring Mom back. Blaming him will not fix anything."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Finnian looked toward the doors where Samantha had disappeared. "We go after her."
"Again?" Jayce asked. "We have to chase her again?"
"Yes. Again."
Darlington rubbed his face with his hands. "Women. Do we really have to chase her like we chased Vanessa?"
"Vanessa was not our mate," Finnian said. "Samantha is. There is a difference."
"Tell that to my legs. I am tired of chasing."
Jayce almost smiled. "You are out of shape."
"I am not out of shape. I am just tired of running after women who do not want to be caught."
Finnian walked toward the doors. "Then maybe we should try a different approach. Maybe we should let her come to us."
Darlington raised an eyebrow. "Let her come to us? She just ran out of here like her life depended on it. She is not coming back on her own."
"Then we make her want to come back."
"How?"
Finnian turned to face his brothers. His silver wings caught the light. "We stop chasing. We stop grabbing. We stop flying her to ceilings without asking. We give her space. We let her breathe. And when she is ready, she will come."
Jayce shook his head. "That is the stupidest plan I have ever heard."
"Do you have a better one?"
Jayce opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
Nothing came out.
"That is what I thought." Finnian pushed open the doors. "Now come on. We have a mate to find. But this time, we do it together. No fighting. No grabbing. No flying to ceilings."
"Can I at least talk to her?"
"Yes. You can talk to her. But be nice."
"Nice is not my strong suit."
"I know. Try anyway."
Darlington walked past Jayce and bumped his shoulder. Hard. "For once in your life, do not ruin this."
Jayce followed him. "I am not going to ruin anything."
"You already did. Now we have to fix it."
The triplets walked out of the throne room together. Their wings folded behind them. Their halos dimmed. Their footsteps echoed in the empty hallway.
They did not speak.
They did not need to.
They all knew what they had to do.
Find Samantha. Win her trust. Claim her as their mate.
And try not to scare her away again.
The doors closed behind them with a soft thud.
The throne room was empty.
And somewhere in the palace, Samantha was running.