Page 144 of A Reign of Chromes & Shadows

Rain dabbed at the sauce, listening.

“Instead,” Henry continued, “I’ve watched you carry your burdens without complaint. I’ve watched you sacrifice yourself to fulfil your duty, while also making the hard decisions to protect people less fortunate than you.”

“That’s very nice of you to say,” Rain replied, “but what would you know about that?”

Henry’s expression softened.

“Your kingdom is at war with Red. And you—specifically you—are a feared enemy of theirs. Anyone else in your position would have seen what you stumbled upon as an opportunity.”

Rain frowned, shaking his head.

Henry pressed on gently.

“I hate to say it, but the version of you your father likes to exploit would have slaughtered those girls in their sleep and left feeling like a war hero. Drazier’s daughters dead, the Red Kingdom thrown into chaos, their people enraged and desperate for revenge. It would have been the perfect spark to ignite their fury.”

Rain’s stomach twisted.

He couldn’t imagine doing something so monstrous.

“Alternatively,” Henry said, “most would have left them there. Let their king decide their fate. But you… you risked your life. In more ways than one. And I imagine you haven’t even considered the negative consequences that will come of this.”

“Because the consequences don’t matter,” Rain said simply. “Those girls deserve better. I’ll take whatever comes my way, so they don’t suffer again.”

Henry smiled knowingly.

“There you go. Proving my point. You make necessary, noble sacrifices because it’s the right thing to do. Now name any other king or prince alive who would do the same.”

Rain sighed.

“Okay, I hear you. None of them would do the dirty work themselves, never mind act selflessly. Perhaps King Taffy would? He seems fair from what I’ve seen. Dare you speak freely of your cousin?”

Henry snorted.

“He is kind and remarkably wise—please never tell him I said that—but no, he wouldn’t have intervened. If I’m honest, Your Highness, the onlyreason he even got out of bed at that hour was because you requested an audience.”

Rain blinked, surprised.

Henry continued, voice warm and candid.

“We Pinks are… self-serving. We love beauty, art, comfort. We keep to ourselves. We make alliances only for self-preservation. We don’t pick sides. We don’t get involved.”

“Sounds like everyone else,” Rain said dryly.

“Precisely. But very unlike you.”

Henry’s gaze softened with sincerity.

“I wanted you to know that you have my complete respect. And I look forward to serving you.”

Rain swallowed, touched despite himself.

“Thank you, Henry. And thank you for the lasagne. It was delicious.”

When they returned to the living room, Scarlet was perched on the couch, listening with rapt attention as Snow told stories from their childhood. Storied of mischief, chaos and accidental disasters. Rain realised she was doing it intentionally: showing the girls that losing control didn’t make them monsters. That even the strongest aetherials had once been frightened children with unpredictable gifts.

Scarlet listened like Snow was telling her the secrets of the universe.

Rose rocked gently in her chair, humming, eyes drifting dreamily toward the ceiling as though imagining the stories like constellations.