Days had bled into weeks since the Seven Sins had been swallowed into the void.
Peace had finally returned to the Aurex region, and the people were busy scrubbingthe last of the black ink from their marble capitals. Deep within a heavily fortified wing
of the palace, Jee-shahn finally stirred, his brain rattling like a jar of marbles as he
tried to process how he had ended up face-down in the dirt.
He tried to stretch, only to hear the heavy, rhythmic clink of metal. To his horror, his
7-foot frame was pinned down by massive, reinforced chains that looked thick
enough to hold a kraken. Even more confusing was his reflection in a nearby
mirror—he was no longer in his travel-worn silks, but dressed in the elaborate, stiff
finery of a royal groom.
"Lizard?" he rasped, his voice cracking.
He looked to his side and saw the Azure Lizard in its tiny form, but it was currently
wrapped in so much rope it looked like a blue cocoon. The lizard couldn't speak; it
just let out a mufled, tearful squeak.
"Master, don't bother," Draco chuckled from the skin of his left palm. "You and the
lizard were neutralized by the 'four-headed lady-boss' while you were out cold."
The color drained from Jee-shahn's face. At that exact moment, the heavy chamber
doors creaked open. Jasmine, Mina, Liana, and Yuna glided into the room, all four
dressed in breathtaking white bridal gowns, their hair adorned with floral crowns.
They stood before him, wearing smiles that were far too bright to be anything but
dangerous.
"You're awake," Jasmine said, leaning in close with a smile that hid a mountain of
lingering rage. "You aren't leaving this room until you accept all four of us."
Jee-shahn broke into a cold sweat, his mind racing for an escape. "But Jasmine...
aren't you already my wife? We already did this!"
Jasmine's smile sharpened. "Don't think you can fool us again. I know that the
marriage ring you gave me was as fake as your promise to 'never' come back. You will
accept us all, just like your other four wives in the North."
Jee-shahn's breath hitched. She found out. He realized his lazy deception had finally
collapsed under the weight of four determined princesses. He took a long, stressful
breath and looked at the ceiling. "If I accept... will you let me and the lizard go?"
"Of course," the four sisters replied in a terrifyingly sweet unison.
With the heavy resignation of a man walking toward a guillotine, Jee-shahn gave a
weary nod. In that instant, the fake ring on Jasmine's finger shattered into dust. As
the marriage rituals were completed through a collective vow, a beautiful, shimmering
ring manifested on the right middle finger of all four sisters.
Jee-shahn watched them celebrate, his eyes bored and hollow as he looked at his
still-roped lizard. "Can I leave now?" he asked.
"Nope," the sisters replied together, turning on their heels and leaving the room with
the synchronized grace of a military unit.
The doors slammed shut and the locks clicked back into place. Jee-shahn stared at
the ceiling, his brain finally short-circuiting. For the second time in a month, the great
Cosmic Observer fainted—this time from pure, insane shock.