The crowd went nuts.
Izzy laughed against my lips. And when I pulled back enough for her to speak, she whispered. “Smart. Show them who’s boss? Claim your queen. I get it.”
She did.
She really did.
I’d needed to show these titans that I — a titan — was the one in charge. That I could dominate this woman who’d proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with.
Meanwhile, Izzy knew it was just a show.
Izzy had bested my mother — whom many said had been stronger than my father — in a matter of seconds, crushing her chest. Then she’d thrown my father across the ring. There was no denying her strength and power.
We left the arena, hand in hand, triumphant, making our way back to where we’d left Koar. And as we walked, I tried to sort through the surge of new emotions welling within me.
I felt… stronger with Izzy. Was that strange?
How could another person, who was clearly more powerful than me, make me feel stronger? The answer was clear, if unexpected. Because Izzy wasn’t like others in this world. She didn’t use her strength to push others down, but to lift them up. She made everyone around her better, stronger.
And with this strength and the knowledge of Izzy’spower, I felt… safe. Not entirely, not fully, but there was a hint of this new emotion: security. I’d never felt anything like this my entire life, always fighting, always proving myself, always scrambling for every inch of power, because I had to, to keep myself unharmed. I’d never been truly safe. But I was safe with Izzy, even if I didn’t allow myself to give into this sensation quite yet.
Because I still didn’t fully trust her.
I was starting to, and that was a huge leap for me. I’d never trusted anyone except my sister and a few close friends. Though if I was being honest, even my friends I’d always wondered about. Would they betray me? Everyone else had. I hadn’t even fully trusted those closest to me.
But Izzy.
I could trust her. Even if I didn’t let myself admit it yet.
I trusted her because she was damn strong. Shecouldcontrol me — her bindingstill didcontrol me — but she’d never once used her power or the binding to harm me. She didn’t lord it over me. She’d been trying to get rid of it, and I honestly believed she wanted it gone.
She didn’t make me feel small, controlled. She lifted me up and made me stronger.
Which shattered all my assumptions about power.
I’d thought power was control. I’d felt powerless for so long because I couldn’t control people the way I wished. But I’d been shown a different sort of power. One that wasn’t about posturing and manipulation and control, but was instead uplifting, giving and generous.
Maybe all my assumptions had been wrong.
Maybe I knew nothing of real power.
But now… I desperately wanted to learn.
And I had the perfect mentor to instruct me, the proud and stunning woman who would be my wife. And lookingat her, another new and strange emotion crept into my heart, something… soft and giving and caring.
It felt so wrong.
But also very right.
Whatever it was… it was going to take some getting used to.
IZZY
My showof force in the fight with the king and queen hadn’t quite been enough. There had been one other challenger to my and Bayn’s authority: the general of the titan armies. He’d not bent a knee the next day when we were presented as the new king and queen.
I’d maintained my enlarged form, it was just easier, since everyone around me was giant. I’d also been brave and adopted the titan style of dress, which meant a simple wrap skirt… and nothing else.
I’d seen the calculating look in the general’s eyes. He’d been about to challenge Bayn, but not so he could defeat him then fight me and take control of the titans… but because he wanted tohaveme, be my king. Yeah, I’d not let that happen, so before he’d challenged Bayn, I’d challenged him.
