Something had shifted in my mind when I’d walked up the palace steps and entered its royal halls.
This was where my father and mother had reigned. And generations of my family before them. They had tread these marble floors and held court in this domed room that reminded me a bit of the mine. Yet this place was full of light and without shackles.
But I didn’t care about the room. Or the palace. Not like how I cared about why Kiera was suddenly nervous.
“There is only one throne,” I said in a husky tone, easing close enough to touch her. “One crown.”
Her throat slid up and down in a swallow as she stared over my shoulder at the lonely chair and ornament. “Yes, well, Father removed Mother’s throne from the dais and dismantled her crown after she died. He claimed it was out of grief. That hewould never take another queen. But now I know it was out of spite.”
I gently caught her chin and shifted her attention back to me. “I do not want to rule alone.”
Her amber eyes were lined with silver. “Aiden,” she whispered.
My heart trembled before the sword of her rejection. But she needed to know, in no uncertain terms.
“Marry me, Kiera,” I whispered. She gasped and swayed. I snaked an arm around her waist, anchoring her to me. “Stay with me. I will always love you from afar, if that is what you wish, but I want to love you as close as possible. So close I never have to go another day without your smile. Your touch. Your heart and soul. Please...” I didn’t care that I was begging. My whole being yearned for her too deeply. “Please, marry me.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. “You can’t marry me, Aiden. I’m the daughter of the usurper king everyone hated.”
I grasped her face in my hands, my eyes burning. “I don’t care who your father was. I loveyou. The kind of love that no knife, no arrow, not even a gods-damned war can break. Tell me you don’t feel the same.”
“I do,” she whispered, clutching my wrists. “I do.”
My heart soared, and our mouths met in a scorching kiss.
I panted against her searching lips, kissing her again and again as I spoke the words that had been forming for days. “I want to give you everything, Kiera. I want to show the world the amazing woman you are. I want to live in the light with you, scars and all. For Nikella, who never could. For my parents, who wanted better for me. For us, because we had to hide parts of ourselves our whole lives. I want to be all of who we are, together. I want to change the world with you.”
Kiera smiled up at me through her tears. “I told Renwell I wanted to carve my place in the world, to make it accept me asI already was. And he said he would hand me the knife. But I don’t want a knife. I don’t want to force my place in the world. I want to create a world where everyone can live without fear.” Her brow furrowed. “Yet something still holds me back.”
“What, my love?”
“Being in this place, so full of bad memories. Being trapped in a role, caged by others’ expectations.” She gently swiped her thumb over my cheek. “Not being the queen you need.”
“You are the queen I want,” I growled, hating that she didn’t see herself the way I did. “You will rule however you see fit. We will fill this palace with friends and family and allies, with love and laughter and better memories across every single inch of it. Our home is what we make it. And when we need an escape, we’ll explore the world as far as you want to go.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “Everything I offer is freely given. It will always be your choice to accept or not.”
“I never thought I’d want this,” she whispered. “I thought I was destined for a life where no one really knew who I was or accepted me for it.”
“I see you, Kiera,” I murmured. “If you were the sun, I would be the moon—to always remind you how brightly you shine.”
“And if I wanted to be the moon?” she teased, her eyes sparkling up at me.
“Then I would be the stars to ensure you’re never alone.”
She made a tiny noise in the back of her throat as the tension melted from her body. “I can’t imagine a life without you, either. Whether it’s the two of us in a cabin deep in Twaryn or roaming the palace halls together, I just want you, Aiden. I want to take the advice Nikella gave me and choose the future I want most—a life filled with love.”
“What are you saying, my little thief?” I needed her answer like I needed my heart to keep beating.
“I’m saying yes, Aiden Falcryn,” she said with a smile, so soft and sweet I couldn’t breathe. “Yes, I will marry you.”
The world crystallized with light. I felt as though I were made of wind and fire and pure, healing joy.
I kissed her and spun her around, listening to her laughter echo in the marble hall.
Today was just the beginning.
We spenthours wandering the palace halls.
Kiera showed me her old bedroom, and I glimpsed who she’d been before I met her. The young princess who loved her mother and her siblings. Who used to look out of her windows with hope and longing.
