"Somewhere I've been wanting to show you." His hand found the small of my back, guiding me through the servants' passages he knew better than any noble should. "Somewhere that's just ours."
We slipped through the city like thieves — through the Border District, through streets that grew wilder, until we reached the edge of the Border Forest and started to climb.
The path wound upward through ancient trees, their branches heavy with luminescent moss that cast the world in soft blue light. The air tasted different here — sharper, electric.
"Hakan," I gasped, hauling myself over a fallen log, "you could have mentioned the mountaineering portion of this evening."
"Where's the fun in that?" He caught my hand, pulling me up the next ridge. "Besides, you're doing fine."
"I'm dying."
"Dramatically, maybe."
The trees parted, and I saw it.
A tower rose from the mountainside like a finger pointing at the stars. Ancient stone, half-covered in vines, its windows dark but somehow expectant.
"The Sky Tower," Hakan said. "Built by an astronomer three centuries ago. Everyone thinks it was destroyed in the Sundering. I found it last year."
"Last year? But we weren't together then," I pointed out.
"I know." Something vulnerable moved behind his eyes. "I still dreamed about you then. I've been restoring it, doing a bit of work here and there." He produced an ancient iron key. "For you."
Inside, candles burned and the setting felt surreal. Silk cushions in crimson and midnight blue. Wine and fruit on a low table. But it was the ceiling that stole my breath — or rather, the lack of one. An enchantment showed the sky with impossible clarity, and as I watched, golden-tinged stars faded, replaced by silver ones. Two skies, overlapping. Two realms bleeding into each other.
"When both moons align," Hakan said softly, "you can see them both. The light realm's sky and the shadow realm's."
I turned to find him watching me, vulnerable beneath the arrogance.
"You did all this for me."
"For us." He closed the distance, hands finding my waist. "I wanted somewhere that was neither realm. Just ours."
My heart pounded. "Why tonight?"
His jaw tightened. For a moment I saw him reaching for his mask, then deciding against it.
"Because I'm done waiting. Because I've wanted you since we were children. Because if I don't have you completely, I'm going to lose my fucking mind."
Heat flooded through me.
"I know what people say about me," he continued, rougher now. "The rumors. The women." His fingers tightened. "They're notentirely lies. There have been others. Hands. Mouths." A muscle jumped in his jaw. "But never this. Never all of it."
I stared at him. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I've never fucked anyone, Ada." The words came harsh, angry — at himself. "Every time it got that far, I couldn't. Because they weren't you. Because some desperate part of me was waiting, even when I told myself you'd never want someone like me."
My mind reeled. Hakan — arrogant, devastating Hakan — had been waiting. For me.
"Everyone said —"
"I let them say it. Better to be the court whore than the lovesick fool pining after the Light God's daughter." His hands trembled against my waist. "But I wasn't noble. I was a coward. Too afraid to reach for what I wanted."
I grabbed his face. "You absolute idiot."
"Probably." He pulled me closer. "Is that a problem?"
I answered by kissing him.
