He held her, his cheek resting against her hair as he let himself feel the strange shape of this new possibility. For the entirety of his life, he had carried a single certainty inside him, heavier than any crown. It was the knowledge that he would one day be a king. That certainty had been there before he fully understood what it meant, that quiet expectation was woven into every lesson, every interaction, every decision he had ever been handed. He had never set it down. He had never known how to.
And now, he was letting it go.
There would be no throne. No coronation ceremony with his name solemnly spoken out over a crowded hall. Some small part of him braced for the grief, the familiar feeling that would wash over him every time he made a choice based in responsibility not desire.
But the grief did not come.
What he felt, instead, settling into the place where weight had always filled every crevice, was lightness. For the first time in his life, the path ahead was a cold walk down the same stone stairs. It was an open field behind a small stone manor and he could walk in whatever direction he chose.
Ian felt a laugh bubble through his chest as he looked down at Robin. “I hope Onric says yes.”
Robin stepped back,taking a moment to look up at Ian. To truly look at all of him. This man standing in front of her with his serious eyes and strong shoulders. This man who never stopped fighting, never stopped learning, never stopped changing. This man who had carried the memory of their friendship even when he had lost the hope of ever having it again.
This man who had hurt her so deeply. Who had sacrificed everything, even his own happiness, to do what he thought was right.
She smiled. Except for right now. When he had chosen his own happiness and, in doing so, had also chosen her.
She wanted him.
She did not need him. She had Lockwood, she had Lane and Nele and Ulli and Ilida. She lived every day in a way that brought purpose and meaning to herself and to those around her.
She did not need this man.
But she wanted him.
She wanted him desperately.
She wanted all of him.
She wanted to know all of him. She wanted to see him come alive as he discovered the things that made him happy.Shewanted to make him happy.
“I cannot read the intense look on your face,” Ian said. “So you are going to have to tell me what you are planning.”
“I wasn’t planning anything.” She grinned, knowing he would not believe her.
He raised his eyebrows.
“I never allowed myself to imagine what it would be like to have you in my life. Then you came to Lockwood. And now I want that. I want you.” The words floated out on top of her breath. “I want you in my home, and in my travels—I even want you in my ledgers.”
He was smiling a half smile she had never seen before. It was relaxed and pleased, and it sent a spark of feeling through her whole body, like a touch of harmony magic that flooded through her and could not be contained.
“I want all of you,” she said again. She threw herself forward with abandon, knowing that he would catch her.
And he did.
She slammed against his chest, capturing his face in her hands and crushing his mouth to hers.
She wanted to know who this man would become if he allowed himself to be happy. And she hoped that her kiss was telling him how much happiness she envisioned for both of them.
Dropping her hands to his chest, she pulled her head back for a moment to breathe and looked up at him with mock concern. “I hope Onric says yes!”
Ian laughed. The sound was a delightful bubble of ease. “I am certain he will. And if he does not, there is always Aden. Or Sol. Or Meena. Or even Erich.”
Epilogue
Robin walked around the small pond between the forest and the castle walls. Several geese swam serenely in the cold water. The worn dirt path which skirted the pond was mostly a flooded wash of mud, but she did not mind getting her leather boots dirty. After spending the last sevennight at the castle, she was happy to have a moment away from the bustling repair that seemed to be happening in every room.
Stoneworkers and architects filled the courtyard, their loud carving and shouts slowly rebuilding the damage that the recent fights had caused.
