That instantly propelled him into motion. In three quick strides, he’d closed the door without a sound, and he was right in front of me.
“Ask away,” he said.
I took a deep, centering breath, heart pattering faster. Harder.
What I wanted would not be easy.
Gods, I didn’t even know if it was possible.
But I wanted it.
Under his curious gaze, I walked to the armoire and opened the narrowest door. Rows upon rows of clothes I hadn’t looked at twice greeted me.
What lay underneath them was what mattered.
I kneeled down, sore fingers digging into the wooden bottom I’d secretly dislodged so many moons ago. My bloodied dress from Evie’s first wedding waited underneath, a reminder of why I was doing this.
I gently tucked it to the side, hand delving deeper into the darkness, to retrieve the one thing which had been haunting me every night and every day.
“Remember what I told you before you left for war?” I whispered as my fingers caressed the steel.
The shift in the room was instant.
The playful energy had vanished, replaced with the unmistakable sense of inevitability.
“Yes,” he said. “I keep my promises. And you have my utmost devotion, no matter where this takes us.”
I hadn’t realized it, but I needed to hear him say that.
Not an oath drenched in blood, but one forged in trust.
The last tendrils of tension left my shoulders.
Slowly, I uncovered the Protectorate crown.
Its sharp metal spires glistened in the light filtering in through the windows, as if greeting me.
I kept staring down at it, my reflection determined, but nervous.
“No matter what it says, you are the true heir to the Protectorate throne,” Ryker muttered gently.
My thumb caressed the cold metal for the longest time. Ryker gave me the space to wrestle my thoughts into submission.
All the doubts.
All the fears.
All of them had to pale in comparison to hope.
I stood up and walked in front of the mirror, my power stirring deep inside of me.
Excited.
Apprehensive.
Curious.
The woman staring back at me wasn’t the same one who’d woken up in a strange land, surrounded by her former enemies.
