I hadn’t expected that reaction.

I looked at the blonde and could see the sincerity on her face. Ether had been right in her assessment that Aelin was acting out in an attempt to divert attention from her own romantic life.

“Aelin…”

“Have you talked to her?” Ether interrupted.

Aelin looked confused. "Justia? Yes..?”

“About the two of you?”

The blonde shook her head. "We’re never alone, you know?” She looked at each of us. "Like you two.”

“When are we alone?” I realized that I may have asked my question a little too fast.

“All the time!” Aelin hung her head. “The two of you were always together at night, like on watch.”

“I wasn’t allowed to have a watch shift the last night we were in the dungeon and if I remember correctly, you had as much time on watch with Justia as Ether and I had with each other.”

“Atlas, that was before.” Aelin punched me in the shoulder. “That doesn’t count.”

I was thoroughly confused. "How does..?”

“You need to talk to her.” Ether looked away from the road again. "I’ll help the two of you find time to talk.”

“You will! Thanks!” She stood up and wrapped her arms around Ether’s neck, hugging her from behind the driver’s seat.

I pushed my feet into the floorboard and grabbed the dash. I don’t know what the RV was made out of, but I didn’t leave even a small indentation. I wanted to complain about road safety, but the look Ether gave me was enough to keep me quiet. I knew Aelin needed reassurance right now, but I would have preferred if it could have waited until we stopped.

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Aelin let go and went to the booth to bother Rix and Trent. We rode in silence for a little while before Ether looked at me and spoke just above a whisper.

“It’s not a bad idea, you know.”

“I’m all on board with her talking to Justia.” I was confused.

“I wasn’t talking about that.”

I started to blush. "Don’t tell me you’re buying into that harem thing?” I tried a different approach. "You seriously want to share me with another woman?”

“From a practical standpoint, I already am.” She was keeping her eyes on the road. "Aelin, Justia, even Rix. Creating a harem would allow you to bind everyone together, which would help keep your secret safe.”

“I could have Trent do that anyway.” I thought about the binding contract I had been a part of on my first day at the Cathedral.

“And what happens if one of those women gets married to someone else?” She looked at me. "Some bonds can supersede even the strongest seals.”

“What about Justia and Aelin?”

“What about them?” Ether looked back at the road.

“Justia would never join and I wouldn’t ask her to share, so Aelin would be out too.” I shook my head. "Regardless of her nervous flirting.”

“That’s a closed loop.” Ether leaned back in her chair and glanced at the road before looking back at me. "Both of them would be in the contract, which would mean they wouldn’t have to keep it from their partner.”

“Then why don’t we find someone for Rix…” My mind followed that thread as I contemplated the possibility.

“Rix has damage.” Ether stated. "It’s going to take her years to get over that. Do you really think a guy would wait that long for only her?”

I opened my mouth.

“A male Adventurer. In the Cathedral. With all the Mundane who work there?” She turned back to the road. "For years?”

I saw what she meant. She hadn’t said Noble, because a Noble would hear about Rix’s Bandit upbringing and want nothing to do with her. A child of Mundanes wouldn’t see a problem pairing up with a Mundane woman. I’d heard about it from some of the Farmers. A Mundane who failed the Mantle Trial would seek out an Adventurer and try to marry them. That way they’d get brought into a Noble house and even if the Adventurer died later on, they’d be taken care of.

She nodded when she saw I’d made the connection. "Exactly, which could be a big problem.” She shook her head. "The smart play is to bring in a woman willing to join a harem and then help Rix through her damage. She’s loyal enough that even if she doesn’t find you attractive, which she does by the way, she’d still join just so she could watch over everyone.”

I swallowed and looked back at Aelin who was laughing at something. I looked at Ether. "Fine, but can we not tell Aelin for a while?”