“What is it?”
He clenches his jaw as if hesitant to speak, before he finally says, “You are my fated one. When I went to you in the garden that first night, I felt the bond snap into place.”
Pain lances through me. “Is that why you wanted me?”
“The bond didn’t make me want you. It only confirmed what I knew deep in my soul when I first saw you in the ballroom.” He clenches his jaw as if the admission pains him. “Gods, Vivienne, I was already lost.”
He shakes his head. “And I should have told you everything then.” He runs a hand roughly through his hair. “When we were traveling, I was able to sense some of your emotions—your fear when you were attacked at the inn, and when you were ensnared by the hag. I’ve sensed your nightmares and have even seen flashes of them in my mind, like lingering echoes.
“I’ve heard stories of the bond manifesting this way between Elves, but you are human and I was worried it might scare you… make you feel trapped or pressured in some way. Especially since you never mentioned sensing the bond as I did.”
His gaze lifts to mine, raw and unguarded. “But you must understand, I never wanted to hurt you. I would sooner take my own life than cause you pain.”
My heart clenches. Because even now when I can see how badly he wants to be forgiven, he’s still not asking for more than I am ready to give.
And I don’t know if I can feel something of his emotions through the bond, as he claims he can with me. All I know is that I want to believe him.
I draw in a shaky breath, caught between the hurt and the love, the betrayal and the man.
Slowly, painfully, another truth begins rising beneath the hurt as I think of the marriage ribbon. Of how he never forced the bond deeper when he could have. Instead, he asked for thirty days. He offered me freedom even when it might cost him everything.
I recall the nights on the road when he slept apart rather than presume to share my bed, and cared for me during my courses without embarrassment or revulsion.
After he rescued me from the hag, I would have given him everything. Every single part of me. But he stopped because he knew I was vulnerable… even though he wanted me desperately.
He offered an annulment. And when I feared the Goblin King might still have claim over me, he refused to use that fear to press me into his bed to seal our marriage.
Despite the threat of war, he has vowed to protect me anyway. Even if I never choose him.
As all these memories resurface in my mind, I understand that the lie was real, but so was the love. So was every moment where he gave me room to choose, even while wanting me so fiercely he could barely stand it.
As I search his eyes, I know the man I fell in love withdoesexist. “Auren,” I whisper. His whole body stills as I step toward him. “I have been trying so hard to hold onto my anger, because I was hurt. I’m still hurt.” My eyes sting with tears. “But every time I touch that hurt, I realize something else.”
His brows draw together. “What is it?”
“You kept giving me choices.” I cup his cheek. “Even now when it would be easier to let me go, and avoid a war with the Goblin King, you have left the choice to me, to either accept you or leave. You offer your protection without expecting anything in return.”
“You will always have it, Vivienne. I—”
I press a finger to his lips, silencing him, because if he speaks right now I’m afraid I’ll lose the courage to finish. “At the ball,” I say, voice trembling, “I thought no man there was worthy of me.”
Emotions lodge in my throat, but I manage to speak around them as I give him the truth that has been waiting inside me all along. “You are the only man I would ever choose. You broke my heart. But it never stopped being yours.”
For a moment he doesn't speak. Something breaks open in his expression. He looks like a man who has braced so long for the worst that the absence of it undoes him completely.
He reaches for me but stops short, as though uncertain if he’s allowed to touch me. "Are you… saying you forgive me?"
“When I promised you forever, I didn’t know everything then. But I do now.” I touch his face. “I know you’re a king. I know you lied, and I know exactly what kind of man you are.” I meet his gaze evenly. “And I still choose you... this time with my eyes open.”
Something achingly fragile flickers across his expression as he waits for me to continue.
“I’m not choosing a crown, and I’m not choosing a lie.” My hand slides up his chest, over his heart. “I’m choosing the man who would burn the world to keep me safe… and still give me the choice to walk away.”
Silence stretches between us as I rise onto my toes and slide my fingers into his hair, staring deep into his eyes. “I’m not walking away. I love you, Auren. With all my heart.”
He goes completely still. As if he doesn’t dare believe me… like one wrong breath might shatter this moment entirely.
I close the distance between us and press my lips to his in a tender kiss. He inhales sharply against my mouth, his control fracturing in the smallest, most telling ways, but he doesn’t take over. He lets me lead and set the pace… lets mechoose.
