“Never expose the world of gods. Protect the magic. And keep the Amheuk at bay ...” She trails off. “I guess we just simplified the rules even more. We only have two rules to follow since the Amheuk is no more.”
“You made sure of that.” Pride and gratitude swell in my chest. “You saved us all, Sunny.”
“And you saved me,” she whispers.
“I can’t imagine what it felt like to be the most powerful being in all the worlds. You were the goddess of Light. A god among gods.” I shake my head in wonder. “It couldn’t have been an easy choice to make.”
“It was the easiest choice I ever made. Because it was the only way we both could live.” She cups my cheek with one hand, looking at me as though I am her everything. My heart pounds so loudly that I almost miss her next words. “I’ll always choose to be with you, Ethan. There is no other choice for me.”
What did I do to deserve her?
I land in front of the cave and look up at the sky, gathering myself. With an unsteady exhale, I set Sunny down on her feet. But I keep my hands on her hips, because I can’t stop touching her. When I finallymeet her eyes, mine are filled with unshed tears—tears of joy, tears of gratitude.
“But you’re not an immortal goddess anymore.” My throat works as I hold off my tears.
“I don’t want to be a goddess, Ethan.” She holds me by the shoulders and pushes up to her toes. “I want to be your wife.”
“You already are my wife.” My fingers clench around her hips.
“Lucky me.” Her soft laugh brushes against my lips.
“Iam the luckiest bastard alive.” I lose my battle against the tears. “I am yours, Sunny. Heart, body, and soul.”
“Good, because I am never letting you go,” she whispers. Her sweet kiss holds the promise of forever, and I kiss her back with all the love in me.
I am complete.
With Sunny—my wife, my fated love, my true heart—by my side, I can face anything that lies ahead. Even an uncertain world, filled with the divinegiof the flawed gods.
Epilogue
Sunny
“You are late,” Cheyun clips out.
“I knew Ethan and I should’ve eloped,” I mutter under my breath but offer my friend a strained smile. “Almost ready.”
As annoying as the former suhoshin captain may be, I’m just fucking happy that she’s alive. I’ve lost too many friends. The least I can do is appreciate the ones I have left. Plus, she’s right. I am late.
For my own wedding.
I am apparently marrying my husband again because my father, Dangun, declared that our simple ceremony in the Kingdom of Sky was “not valid in the eyes of the god of Mountains.” I might have gotten my goofy sense of humor from my old man. Still new to this father/daughter relationship, I didn’t sass him by pointing out that he was no longer the god of Mountains.
As a matter of fact, the Shingae, the world ofgods, no longer has any gods. I snort at the irony but sober almost instantly.
The collapse of the Realm of Four Kingdoms still haunts my nightmares. Even now, my stomach takes a sickening swoop at the reminder. I exhale slowly through my mouth, envisioning Ethan wrapping his arms around me, like he does every time I wake up gasping in the night.
I think of the smell of the dark coffee that he brings me in the mornings. The feel of his five o’clock shadow, tickling my cheek. The sound of our laughter as we watch our latest crap reality show.
He’s safe. We’re alive. We will share a life together.
Speaking of which, I am late for my wedding.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I yelp, hiking up my floor-length gown and running out of Hailey’s apartment.
I don’t know how I got persuaded into wearing a fucking wedding dress. A lacy, strapless, mermaid gown at that. But I grin when I see my red Converse high-tops.
“I simply do not understand her attachment to that footwear.” Bora crinkles her nose at them when she catches up with me at the elevator bay.
