Chapter 73 #2
“Ren just wants to know that the world he and Twino have carved out for themselves isn’t at risk.
But give him time—give them all time, and they’ll come around,” I say.
But there might not be much more time. The world will be remade soon, after all, and Twino and Ren…
they might not even know me after it happens.
They won’t have memories of the world being remade, but surely they will have some memory of me.
It’s worrying and confusing, but not enough to hold me back from what must be done.
He’s silent for a long stretch, gripping the railing tighter before relaxing his fingers. I look from his briefly white knuckles to his face, the night air cooling the flush the wine left on his cheeks.
“You’re not that worried about it, are you?” I rest a hand lightly on his forearm, shifting to face him, my hip against the railing of the balcony.
“No.” He startles back to the present. “No, I think overall this went far better than expected.” Kaelis shifts to face me as well, the river forgotten.
“See, I told you.”
He laughs; it’s low and soft, like the rumble of distant thunder. “I should trust you implicitly.”
“You’ll learn this eventually.” Only part of my arrogance is put upon.
More laughter, louder this time. His hand finds my cheek, fingertips brushing along my jaw. His eyes lock with mine, and suddenly we’re encased in our own sort of magic as the world falls away.
“You know I do, don’t you? You know I trust you with my whole world.”
I nod, knowing exactly what he means. “The wish.”
“My heart,” he corrects without missing a beat, as mine skips two.
“Kaelis…” I swallow as his fingertips leave my face, trail down my arm, and find my hand.
“I would rather die a thousand deaths—suffer a million horrible fates—than exist in one world where you are not mine, Clara.” There’s something in the depth of his voice that’s different. It’s a resolution stronger than steel. But a vulnerability I’ve never seen from him before.
He’s terrified, yet he’s never been more sure of anything in his life. He lifts my hand and presses his lips against my knuckles, as though I am a queen he’s swearing fealty to. Then he shifts, a half step backward.
“I love you,” he says, plain and simple and perfect. Before I can reply, he sinks to one knee.
My breath catches. Panic explodes in me, tearing through my lungs, making it so that the only sound that escapes is a shocked wheeze. This can’t be happening. But I don’t even know what I’m panicking about, or afraid of.
Then he removes all doubt.
He reaches into his pocket and withdraws a ring that glints in the moonlight as he presents it to me.
The ring is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
A large round sapphire rests at its center, its facets carved in a manner that makes it look as though a small explosion is perpetually frozen in its core.
It’s set alone into a lattice of brilliant platinum—a framework that reminds me vaguely of the intricate designs of the academy’s windows and stonework.
“I never formally asked…” Kaelis has yet to move, yet to release the band. My eyes shift back to his. “No pretense, no politics…no threat or coercion…Will you be mine, Clara?”
“You don’t even know my name—my real name.” My words are little more than a whisper.
A gentle smile crosses his lips, his brows tilting up slightly. “Does that matter?”
“Can you love someone whose name you don’t even know?”
“Keep your name; I’ll give you mine, should you want another. Keep your secrets; give me enough of your days, and I’ll earn them. All I need to go on is the promise of your heart.” Kaelis gives me the most brilliant and raw smile I’ve ever seen from him. “Be my wife, Clara.”
A slow exhale leaves me, rather than words. My fingers tighten around his as if in rebellion to the notion of refusal that crosses my mind.
“Yes.” One word carries the weight of a thousand cards. One word is stronger than the vessel. One word changes the world.
“Yes?” Kaelis’s eyes widen.
“Yes.” I nod. I stare at the ring that’s slid onto my finger. A perfect fit. Just as everything else he’s ever made for me has been.
In a blur, he’s on his feet. His arms are around me, and his mouth crashes against mine in a kiss that feels like the start of something new and wonderful. Every part of me aches for him. I want to fall to the balcony’s floor in a tangle of limbs with him.
I want him.
I want him for a thousand years and in a thousand worlds. I want him until we turn to dust. Until we’re nothing but memories and whispered myths.
He sets me down but also doesn’t lighten his grip. I didn’t even realize that he’d lifted me. No wonder the world felt so weightless for a moment. Kaelis presses his forehead to mine, a gigantic grin across his face.
“I feel as if I’ve been waiting an eon to do that.” A tiny bubble of laughter bursts within him. Almost boyish. It’s the first time I’ve ever thought anything about Kaelis could be adorable.
Cupping his face, I bring his mouth to mine once more, gently. “If you break my heart, I will kill you, Kaelis Revisan.”
“If I break your heart, I will kill myself, Clara. And then I will come back in a new world to love you better.”
“Chevalyer,” I add, pulling away just enough to look him in the eyes. I expected telling him my real name to be harder. But something in me loosens. It’s as though a shackle has fallen from my person. The last secret is finally, at long last, gone. “Clara Chevalyer is my real name.”
“And I will guard it with my life,” he whispers.
I believe him, wholly and completely. “If you’re to be with me, you should know me—all of me.”
“It would be my honor.” He kisses both of my cheeks.
I kiss his lips in reply, and he holds me tighter. For a heartbeat, the world is still, and quiet, and good. For tonight, we will indulge in a singular dream that everything can be right and normal. That we can simply be two people in love.