Chapter 68
Aiden
I frowned at Kiera’s words. Was she saying goodbye?
I stepped closer to her.
She bit her lip, her fingers dancing on her thighs before she gestured around the cavernous room. “Is it everything you thought it would be?”
Something had shifted in my mind when I’d walked up the palace steps and entered its royal halls.
This was where my father and mother had reigned. And generations of my family before them. They had tread these marble floors and held court in this domed room that reminded me a bit of the mine. Yet this place was full of light and without shackles.
But I didn’t care about the room. Or the palace. Not like how I cared about why Kiera was suddenly nervous.
“There is only one throne,” I said in a husky tone, easing close enough to touch her. “One crown.”
Her throat slid up and down in a swallow as she stared over my shoulder at the lonely chair and ornament.
“Yes, well, Father removed Mother’s throne from the dais and dismantled her crown after she died.
He claimed it was out of grief. That he would never take another queen. But now I know it was out of spite.”
I gently caught her chin and shifted her attention back to me. “I do not want to rule alone.”
Her amber eyes were lined with silver. “Aiden,” she whispered.
My heart trembled before the sword of her rejection. But she needed to know, in no uncertain terms.
“Marry me, Kiera,” I whispered. She gasped and swayed.
I snaked an arm around her waist, anchoring her to me.
“Stay with me. I will always love you from afar, if that is what you wish, but I want to love you as close as possible. So close I never have to go another day without your smile. Your touch. Your heart and soul. Please . . .” I didn’t care that I was begging.
My whole being yearned for her too deeply. “Please, marry me.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. “You can’t marry me, Aiden. I’m the daughter of the usurper king everyone hated.”
I grasped her face in my hands, my eyes burning. “I don’t care who your father was. I love you. The kind of love that no knife, no arrow, not even a gods-damned war can break. Tell me you don’t feel the same.”
“I do,” she whispered, clutching my wrists. “I do.”
My heart soared, and our mouths met in a scorching kiss.
I panted against her searching lips, kissing her again and again as I spoke the words that had been forming for days.
“I want to give you everything, Kiera. I want to show the world the amazing woman you are. I want to live in the light with you, scars and all. For Nikella, who never could. For my parents, who wanted better for me. For us, because we had to hide parts of ourselves our whole lives. I want to be all of who we are, together. I want to change the world with you.”
Kiera smiled up at me through her tears.
“I told Renwell I wanted to carve my place in the world, to make it accept me as I already was. And he said he would hand me the knife. But I don’t want a knife.
I don’t want to force my place in the world.
I want to create a world where everyone can live without fear.
” Her brow furrowed. “Yet something still holds me back.”
“What, my love?”
“Being in this place, so full of bad memories. Being trapped in a role, caged by others’ expectations.” She gently swiped her thumb over my cheek. “Not being the queen you need.”
“You are the queen I want,” I growled, hating that she didn’t see herself the way I did.
“You will rule however you see fit. We will fill this palace with friends and family and allies, with love and laughter and better memories across every single inch of it. Our home is what we make it. And when we need an escape, we’ll explore the world as far as you want to go.
” I pressed my forehead to hers. “Everything I offer is freely given. It will always be your choice to accept or not.”
“I never thought I’d want this,” she whispered. “I thought I was destined for a life where no one really knew who I was or accepted me for it.”
“I see you, Kiera,” I murmured. “If you were the sun, I would be the moon—to always remind you how brightly you shine.”
“And if I wanted to be the moon?” she teased, her eyes sparkling up at me.
“Then I would be the stars to ensure you’re never alone.”
She made a tiny noise in the back of her throat as the tension melted from her body.
“I can’t imagine a life without you, either.
Whether it’s the two of us in a cabin deep in Twaryn or roaming the palace halls together, I just want you, Aiden.
I want to take the advice Nikella gave me and choose the future I want most—a life filled with love. ”
“What are you saying, my little thief?” I needed her answer like I needed my heart to keep beating.
“I’m saying yes, Aiden Falcryn,” she said with a smile, so soft and sweet I couldn’t breathe. “Yes, I will marry you.”
The world crystallized with light. I felt as though I were made of wind and fire and pure, healing joy.
I kissed her and spun her around, listening to her laughter echo in the marble hall.
Today was just the beginning.
We spent hours wandering the palace halls.
Kiera showed me her old bedroom, and I glimpsed who she’d been before I met her. The young princess who loved her mother and her siblings. Who used to look out of her windows with hope and longing.
It only made me love her more.
She took me through the secret passageways, delighting in making me find their entrances.
Parts of the palace were still destroyed—such as the royal bedchamber I’d set on fire and the tunnel leading away from it. But I didn’t mind that. I wasn’t planning on sleeping in Weylin’s old room anyway without remaking it.
I made a mental note of every place that caused Kiera sadness or anger so that I could include it in our plans of renovation. If this was to be our home, then we would change it until it felt like ours.
Everett and Delysia rejoined us, adding their own stories for the benefit of me and Henry. When Kiera told them of our engagement, they embraced us with cries of happiness. It made me ever fonder of my soon-to-be family.
Eventually, as the sun set, we crossed back into the city where Maz waited for us outside Asher’s mansion. The rest of the Dags stood with him, dressed for departure.
Last night, he’d told me the other Dags were eager to return home, and I could see in his eyes that he wished to go with his people. Yet, sadness still leaked into my heart.
I forced a smile and tapped my friend’s chest. “Not taking your armor with you?”
Maz snorted. “I tossed that hunk of metal in the heap as soon as I could.”
“Must you leave so soon?” Kiera asked, her eyes watering again.
Maz’s face softened. “How else would I find a stitcher for that tattoo I need to get?” When Kiera didn’t smile, he pulled her into a bone-cracking hug. “I’ll come back, lovely. I expect you to visit as well.”
“Of course,” she mumbled into his chest.
“We both will,” I said firmly. “But perhaps not until after our wedding.”
Maz’s eyes widened. “Fucking Four!” He thrust Kiera away to gape at her. “Is it true? Did you say yes?”
She laughed, wiping her cheeks. “Did you know he was going to ask?”
Maz grinned. “It was inevitable. I knew from the moment you two emerged from that cell with unlocked shackles you would be sharing a story for a long time. After you came back from The Hollow, I knew it would be a lifetime. I felt it.” He rubbed his stomach as he had that first night.
Kiera and I laughed.
“What’s all the ruckus?” Yarina demanded, poking her head into our little huddle.
“They’re engaged!” Maz boomed out.
Kiera’s cheeks reddened as the news spread like wildfire.
Ruru nearly tackled both of us, beaming with joy. Dags, Elorens, and Rellmirans alike congratulated us. I could see the hope and excitement in the city folks’ faces of not only a new king but a new queen as well.
We paraded in a celebratory fashion to the docks, where we said our goodbyes to Maz and the Dag warriors. Some were carried aboard Skelly’s ship on stretchers, including Jek, who was still healing from his leg wound.
The older Dag warrior gave me a firm handshake and a solemn promise to always uphold the alliance between Dagriel and Rellmira as long as my family ruled.
I thanked him, feeling a strange rush of eagerness for the future. No more raids between our countries. No more trade bans. We would be free to engage with each other as we wanted.
Our new world was already taking shape.
Kiera and Ruru said their tearful goodbyes with Maz while I said goodbye to his sisters.
“Keep him out of trouble,” I said, returning Yarina’s brisk hug.
“Unless it’s entertaining, of course.” She winked.
I chuckled and held out my hand for Sigrid, who shook it and went so far as to squeeze my shoulder. Her one blue eye looked brighter than I’d seen it.
My throat tightened. “I never thanked you for helping Nikella. With the final bomb. And me. I would’ve found what you did very difficult.”
“I did what had to be done. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for everyone. I was willing to shoulder a portion of your pain.” She pinned me with a hard stare. “We protect our family.”
I dipped my head in acknowledgement of the sentiment.
Then it was my turn to say goodbye to Maz. We stood an arm-length apart on the dock, the sea lapping against the wood.
“Gods-damned strange,” he said with a rueful smile. “Leaving you here.”
I tried to tease him. “It’s been seven years. Surely you could use a break from me.”
“I never needed one, brother. But, Fucking Four, does it make my soul sing to see you so happy. To leave you in the home you always wanted.”
My eyes burned, and I took a deep breath. “I wish the same for you, Mazkull. That you’re able to lead a life that’s not so dangerous or lonely.”
“Ah, what’s life without a little danger?” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “I’m sure I’ll find some. But I sure as hell won’t be lonely because I never was. All these years . . . I was always with my family.”
I embraced him hard, slapping his back. “So was I.”
He thumped my back as well, and we pulled apart, swiping at our eyes.
Maz cleared his throat. “I expect the finest room in the palace when I return.”
I grinned. “And flagons of fresh Sunshine delivered every morning.”
He roared with laughter. “See you soon, brother.”
He walked up the gangplank, followed by his sisters. They waved from the deck as Skelly shoved off into the starry night.
Kiera slipped her hand in mine and continued to wave until the ship was out of sight. “It’s not goodbye,” she whispered, almost as if reassuring herself. “We’ll see them again. Many times.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Whenever you wish. We never really say goodbye to the ones we love. If our eyes don’t meet, our souls will.”
She looked up at me, hope warming her amber eyes. “I’m so glad I’ll never have to say goodbye to you.”
I smiled. “And I you.”
We kissed under the stars to the tune of the waves, and I felt it for the first time in my life, just as Maz said.
I was finally home.