And gods help me—I’m in love with him.
It hits me with the quiet force of a storm just beginning to roll in. Not sharp or sudden. Justsure. Certain. Unshakable.
I’ve wanted him for years. I’ve admired him. Desired him. Protected him. But this? I’d go to fuckingwarfor this man.
But more than that—I’d stay. I’d fight to build a life with him. I’d carry his crown if it meant he never had to do it alone again.
I press a kiss to the top of his head and close my eyes, letting the weight of that truth settle in my chest.
I love him.
And maybe one day he’ll love me too.
But even if he doesn’t, I’ll still be here. Because loving him is my purpose.
12
RANGI
Morning light filters through the crack in the heavy curtains, casting a golden beam across Leo’s sleeping form. I’ve been awake for nearly an hour, content to simply watch him—the steady rise and fall of his chest, the way his dark lashes rest against his cheeks, how his usually controlled expression softens in sleep.
Last night had been... incredible.
He stirs slightly, one arm reaching across the empty space I’d left when I propped myself up on an elbow to watch him. His fingers curl into the sheets, seeking warmth.
“Stop staring,” he murmurs without opening his eyes. “It’s creepy.”
I laugh softly. “Can’t help it. You’re nice to look at.”
One eye cracks open, amber-flecked brown regarding me with sleepy amusement. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” He stretches, wincing slightly. “Though I may need a recovery day before ‘everywhere’ is an option again.”
“Sorry,” I say, not feeling sorry at all. After he’d taken me, I returned the favour—perhaps a little too enthusiastically judging by the wince and rather large hickey on his right pec.
His lips curve into a smile that makes my heart stutter. “Don’t be. I’m not.”
The moment hangs between us, warm and promising. In the light of day, I half-expected awkwardness, maybe even regret. Instead, there’s easy intimacy, the comfort of two people who have found something worth keeping.
“So,” I say, tracing patterns on his bare shoulder, “what happens now?”
Leo sighs, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling. “Now we get up, put on our formal clothes, and go back to battle with the Prime Minister who would rather appease mining interests than honour centuries of tradition.”
“I meant with us,” I clarify, though I know he understood my question.
He turns his head to look at me, his expression serious. “I don’t know, Rangi. I want—“ He pauses, seeming to wrestle with his thoughts. “I want this. Us. But it’s complicated.”
Lying here, with him in my arms, nothing has ever felt more simple.
“The young often think so,” I echo Elder Kiri’s words from yesterday, earning a raised eyebrow from Leo.
“I’m pretty sure thirty-two doesn’t qualify as ‘young’ anymore.”
“To Kiri, we’re practically infants.” I prop myself up higher, looking down at him. “But she’s right. We complicate things that are actually quite simple.”
“Simple? There’s nothing simple about?—“
“Do you want to be with me?” I interrupt.
His eyes widen slightly at my directness. “Yes.”
