It began softly.
Rowan drifted off to sleep, surrounded by the soft warmth of fairy lights and the comfortable sound of Bella's quiet breathing... and then the world folded and remade itself around her.
Marble floors. Stone columned room with red banners swaying in a breeze that didn't exist.
She knew where she was. Her pulse escalated, and then she knew she wasn't alone.
A presence stirred behind her.
She turned and froze.
Aro stood the closest, elegant form draped in midnight velvet robes, long black hair draped over his shoulders, blending into the robes, and his crimson eyes shining like twin lanterns. He looked at her like she was something miraculous.
Beside him stood Marcus, looking like Aro's brother with his dark hair that fell over his shoulders if it weren't for the slightly softer, rounded features of Aro's angular ones. Marcus watched her with something close to reverence, like she was the realization of something he'd waited centuries for.
And to their right was Caius.
Blonde almost silver hair shimmered like a first frost. His gaze was sharp and assessing but not cruel. In fact, he looked startled by her appearance.
Rowan's breath stuttered, and her magic rippled beneath her skin.
Aro stepped forward, "Little light, you've at last crossed the veil to reach for us."
Marcus shook his head, "No, we reached for her."
Caius was silent at first - but Rowan felt herself blushing from his steady, consuming gaze. When he finally spoke, his voice echoed in the chamber, "You are ours."
"What is this? Is this really just a dream?" It didn't feel like one, this felt like more to Rowan.
"Your magic has opened a bridge," Marcus explained, "a Dreamlink born from recognition of our bond."
Aro offered his hand, and Rowan sensed it was more. More than him trying to see through his gift, more than him wishing to touch her...something beyond that.
"Take his hand." Caius spoke fiercely, his gaze intent.
"Not yet." Rowan whispered, "It's too soon."
"Rowan," Marcus spoke her name like it was something sacred, "You already belong with us. This will not change."
Rowan reached out toward Aro, her fingers trembled as they brushed Aro's palm - the world around them burst apart.
Light tore open around them. Gold, silver, and white crashed together like a storm of starlight. The soulbound roared within her - ancient and absolutely undeniable.
All of their emotions hit her at once:
Aro: wonder, relief, hunger
Marcus: hope, grasping for the peace that came with her
Caius: devotion, protectiveness
Rowan gasped and found herself crashing to her knees from the force of their strong emotions enveloping her.
Aro's voice filtered through to her, "At last."
Marcus: "We have waited lifetimes."
And Caius knelt beside her, his cold fingertips grazing her cheek, trembling with intensity. "We are coming for you, and nothing will keep us apart."
The light enveloped her. Rowan closed her eyes tight before opening them and finding herself back in the comfortable quiet of her shared bedroom with Bella.
The room glowed.
Golden dust floated in the air.
Every object in the room sparkled.
And Rowan shone so brightly she cast shadows on the wall.
She was breathless, shaking, and her bond thrumming strongly in her chest.
Through it all, Bella slept, wrapped in her blankets like a cozy burrito.
Rowan sat up, holding her chest that felt the very vibration of her soul with three distinct pulses.
"I am in so much trouble."
And across the world, three kings snapped awake - the Dreamlink had opened, and none of them intended to close it.
Not now that they at last saw her, their Rowan.