With a groan, he dropped to his knees.
He reached out, his large hands resting on either side of my still-flat belly, as if he was afraid he might shatter something delicate with too much pressure. He leaned in and kissed where our child now grew in a soft, lingering vow. His forehead followed, resting against me as his breath snagged in his throat.
“Our little star,” he whispered. “Born of hope where there was once only ruin.”
I swallowed hard, stroking my fingers through his hair.
He looked up, tears shining like silver at the edges of his lashes, and smiled in that quiet way he did when his heart was full beyond words.
“This child,” he said, “is proof that even in a doomed life, something precious can grow. A promise I may not live to keep, but one I will love until my last breath.”
A sob rose in my throat.
His hand slid up to grasp mine. “Whatever they become, daughter or son, they will carry the best of us. Your fire. My ruthless devotion. And the fierce, impossible love that made them.”
I sank to my knees with him, leaning into his chest, soaking in the fragile, fierce joy of thismoment.
And I let myself believe we might still win.
I cradled his face in my hands, brushing the tear tracks on his cheeks with my thumbs. Lore looked at me like I was his whole world. I pressed my lips to his in a kiss that was soft, sure, and sealing. Not desperate, but deep. A vow made flesh. His arms curled around me, and I felt it, our future blooming in that quiet space between heartbeats.
When we parted, he kissed the tip of my nose and gave me the sweetest smile.
“You will live,” I said. “With everything inside me, I will make it happen.”
He nodded, no hint of shadows in his eyes, before he helped me rise.
“I didn’t think I could love you more than I did yesterday,” I said, gazing up at him. “And then today happened.”
Lore kissed my temple, my neck, the swell above my breasts. Lifting his head, he tilted my chin, our gazes meeting. His eyes held everything I’d ever need. Fierce, yet fragile beneath the iron.
“I have one more vow,” he said.
I nodded. “I do too.”
We stood facing one another, the silver veil still clinging to my shoulders, his hand at the small of my back.
“I vow to defy the end,” he said softly. “To rage against it. But if the fates take me, then know this, Wildfire. I will not go quietly. I will spend my last breath loving you. I will carry your name into the dark and light every shadow with it. I’ll wait beyond the veil, and I’ll find you again. This I swear.”
Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes. I didn’t wipe them away.
“I vow to remember,” I said, my voice breaking. “To carry you with me in every step, every breath. If I lose you…” My swallow refused to go down. “If I lose you, Lore, it won’t be the end. I’ll find the threads you leave behind and pull them close. I’ll keep you alive. I’ll burn kingdoms to cinders if it gives us one more chance.”
“Queen of my heart, mother of my child, destroyer of worlds. There's nothing you could ask that I wouldn't give.” He pressed his palm against my chest as if he needed to feel my heartbeat to survive.
We said nothing at all. Just breathed. Together.
Under the moon, with the stars tangled in my veil and the wind whispering through the high windows, I kissed my husband again. And again. And again.
Not as a queen claiming her king but as a soul who had finally, finally found her mate.
I would not let go. Not of him, not of this moment, not of the fierce hope that burned in my chest alongside our child. Whatever came next, whatever trials the talismans would demand, we would face them together.
We had to.
Chapter 45
Reyla
