“Lyra.”
My head whipped right, my reverie broken. David stood next to me, a thin purple ribbon in his hands. His shaky fingers fidgeted over its length, wrinkling and twisting it as his gaze met mine with earnest, almost breathless anticipation.
I inhaled sharply.
A corner of his mouth tilted upward. “I-I know it’s been a long time coming…”
“You didn’t.”
“You’ve waited a long time for me to do this, but I wanted to be completely certain.”
A bead of sweat rolled down the back of my neck.
“But of this, I’m sure: there is no other woman, not in this town, not in this kingdom, not on this earth, Lyra, who I would rather spend the rest of my days with. You are who I want to share my bed with, who I want to bear my children, and who I want by my side when death comes for us both.”
I stepped back.
He held the ribbon out in one hand, outstretched between his fingers. A gentle summer breeze sent both strands tossing in the wind.
“I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes, Lyra,” he said, stepping closer, his affectionate gaze boring into mine. “I know your heart is telling you yes. Follow it gladly. I’ve made you wait long enough.”
I tried to breathe, but my lungs refused to expand. “I…”
His other hand rose to cup my cheek. I leaned into his familiar touch.
“We’ve made so many memories,” he whispered. “I can’t wait to make a thousand more.”
I looked up into the green eyes that had comforted me on my worst days. The strong brows that helped shape my decisions with their skepticism. The soft lips that felt like a second home.
Wehadmade so many memories. And David had been the only one who’d brought me back to life after Papa’s death.
My answer caught in my throat.
“What was that?”
“Yes,” I whispered, so light that my words could’ve been carried off by the wind.
“Yes?”
I nodded, a shy smile coming over my expression.
David grinned. He wrapped the dark purple ribbon around my wrist, tying it in a firm knot. I fingered it as the sunlight glinted off the satin, then looked up at him with crinkled eyes.
He pulled me tight, wrapping me in his embrace, and I burrowed within, breathing in the scent of smoke and leather that followed him everywhere he went.
“I love you,” he murmured into my hair, the first time I’d heard the declaration from his lips.
“I love you too,” I replied.
It seemed like the right thing to say.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The sunset sent warm golden light streaming through the palace windows as I made my way toward Prince Stephen’s room. My engagement ribbon bit into my wrist. I mindlessly let my fingers pick at it to loosen its grip.
I wanted to be excited. Isn’t this what most girls dreamed of? Mama and Kelara would be over the moon, and Asha would be eager to help me pick out a nice gown for my wedding. But when I tried to picture the ceremony, imagine our eyes locked on one another in a chapel, my mind went blank and my stomach churned.
