Shit.I squeeze my eyes shut.Did I really blurt that out like that?
“Your fated love?” Ethan pinches my chin between his fingers, and I open my eyes to meet his. “I thought you didn’t believe in that.”
“I guess we’re having this talk now,” I mutter under my breath, my face heating for some reason. Tugging him by his shirtsleeve, I drag him behind a tree, a few steps away from the guards. “Remember how I called for you through the mirror from the Kingdom of Water?” When he nods, I suck in a big breath. “Only those bound by the threads of fate have a strong enough connection to talk through the mirror of water.”
“I heard you through the mirror. Ifeltyou.” An intense, possessive light enters his eyes. “Because I am your fated love.”
“As I am yours.” My throat tightens with overwhelming love and gratitude. My timing sucks, but I am so happy to be his.
Ethan gathers me in his arms and kisses me so thoroughly that I forget we’re trying to avoid the palace guards’ prying eyes.
Come on, Sunny.
I break off the kiss and push against his chest. He immediately stops and drops his arms but obstinately remains toe-to-toe with me. So I take a step back, trying—and failing—to check my libido. I am embarrassingly out of breath from just one kiss.
“I’m serious, Ethan,” I say in abe reasonabletone. “You can’t ... we can’t ...”
“I can, and we will.” A muscle clenches in his jaw even as his chest heaves from our kiss.At least I’m not the only one.“I don’t care what anyone thinks. I will not hide my love for you.”
“Will you stop being so stubborn?” My pulse flutters in my throat at his words, but I double down. I want what’s best for Ethan. I don’t want to stir up trouble and make things harder for him. We can still be together, just not out in the open. “You have to unite the four kingdoms and lead the people of this realm. I’m not saying I can’t be with you, but we don’t need to announce it to the worlds.”
“I won’t have you hide in the shadows.” Steel lines his words, but his touch is tender as he tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You belong at my side for all the worlds to see. Either they accept us or they reject us both. I will not—cannot—compromise on this.”
“What would I stand at your side as? Your girlfriend? Or your pet?” I ask bitterly, remembering his father’s scathing words.
He draws back as though I slapped him, and I immediately regret lashing out at him. I open my mouth to apologize.
“No, Sunny,” he says, his voice raw. “I want you to stand at my side as my queen.”
I gasp, my blood rushing in my ears.His queen?He can’t mean that. But my eyes trace the lines of his face, open and vulnerable, and I know he means it. Every word.
Doesn’t he understand I’ll only make things harder for him? Panic builds in my chest. The Shinbiin will never accept agumihoas their queen.
I can’t do this. I’ll ruin everything. I’ll ruinhim. I—
“Be my wife, Sunny.” Ethan cups my cheek and holds my gaze.
His wife.
I know nothing about being a queen, but loving Ethan comes as naturally as breathing to me. I can’tnotlove him. I will always be his, body and soul. Isn’t that what being someone’s wife means? A promise to always stand by their side and love them no matter what happens—to love them even if the worlds end?
The love shining from his eyes silences the last of my insecurities, and everything in me stills with absolute certainty. “I can do that.”
“Yes, you can,” he says huskily. “You can do anything.”
“But that would make you my husband,” I whisper and bite my bottom lip.
Aching tenderness fills his expression, and he traces my cheekbone with unsteady fingers. “Yeah, it would.”
I trap his hand against my cheek and turn my face to kiss his palm. Then I look at him with a tremulous smile. “Weird.”
The corners of his eyes crinkle as laughter rumbles in his chest.Gods, he is so beautiful.And he is all mine. My husband. My family. I won’t be alone anymore. Euphoria, pure and bright, pulses through me.
Home. I am home.
With a squeal of unadulterated joy, I jump into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist, dropping kisses all over his handsome face. He laughs and spins me around.
“Your Majesty,” Jihun rasps.
