• • •
THE war is over. We won. We survived.
My heart thunders in my chest, and there’s an energy, an excitement, under my skin that I need to share. Even my chaos lusters seem to sense it. They zigzag across my body, anticipating Aren’s touch as much as I am.
I have to find him. I have to hear him confirm that the violence is over, and we have forever to be together.
I head for his room, don’t find him there, then head for Lena’s apartments. Paige said she was busy, but maybe she’s overseeing his meals and his sleep. He didn’t get much of either because he was watching over me. It’s so damn sweet.
But I still can’t find him. I pass through the sculpture garden for the third time. Maybe he’s not in Corrist? He could be at Naito’s or—
“You looking for Aren?”
I turn and see Nick sitting on a stone bench.
“Hey,” I say in greeting. “What are you doing here?”
“Avoiding the police,” he says, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his knees. “They want to know why I fired a gun at my house and left a few bloodied swords lying on the ground.”
Oh, hell. “I’m so sorry, Nick.”
He shrugs. “I didn’t have to let you in.”
“But you did, and I appreciate it. I didn’t want—”
“It’s okay,” he cuts me off. “I knew what I was getting into. Plus, she’s happy.” He nods to the left. There’s Kynlee. She’s sitting on the edge of a raised flower bed with Lord Garon, her brother. They’re both grinning, and it’s easy to see the similarities in their smiles. She has a name-cord in her hair. It’s made of bright green and white stones and matches Garon’s perfectly.
“He’s been cool about everything,” Nick says. He watches them a moment before he shakes his head and straightens. “Anyway, I saw Aren at the training grounds a little while ago. He’s probably still there.”
I give him a smile. “Thanks, and I hope all of this works out,” I say, indicating Kynlee and Lord Garon. Then I all but run to the training ground.
It’s a strip of land that lies between the palace and the silver wall. This morning, it’s filled with swordsmen. They’re all wearing jaedric armor that’s engraved with Lena’s seal—the seventeen-branched abira tree. I try to spot Aren, try to hear his voice but the clinks of the practice swords are a steady hum in my ears.
Maybe he isn’t here. Maybe he’s already left. Maybe—
“McKenzie!” Aren sweeps me into his arms before I’m able to turn. My feet come off the ground as he spins me, and I hold him tight, clinging to him.
“Nalkim-shom,” he whispers as he sets my feet back on the ground. He breathes out a thank-you to the Sidhe, then holds me half an arm’s length away.
My heart flips. Lena must have healed him at some point. His sharp cheekbones and strong jaw are no longer bruised and swollen, and his posture is relaxed. He’s not tense and hunched in pain.
Her magic didn’t do anything for his hair, though. It’s still a disheveled mess.
A sexy, disheveled mess. God, I love him.
I start to move closer, but a pair of swordsmen swing their swords a little too close.
Aren grabs my hand. “Not here.”
I expect him to lead me back to the palace, to his room or to mine. Instead, he leads me beneath the silver wall.
“Where are we going?” I ask as we step onto the terrace that separates the wall from the gate that’s just ahead.
He runs a hand through his hair, tightens his grip on me. “McKenzie . . .”
He fades off. He seems nervous, and that makes me nervous.
“I . . .” He glances at me, clenches his jaw.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, my stomach sinking as I half walk, half jog to keep up with him.
“Nothing, I just—”
“You’re practically pulling my arm off.”
He immediately slows his pace. “I’m sorry. I . . . I know you said you worked things out with Taltrayn.”
“I didn’t—”
“And I know you have the life-bond with him, and that he loves you and I’ve been an ass. I had my reasons for staying away, but I shouldn’t have. I should have . . . I shouldn’t have made that decision for you, and I regret it.” He stops beside the river, turns me to face him. “I’m in love with you, McKenzie. You’re the most courageous and beautiful person I’ve met in either of our worlds, and I want . . . No, I need to be with you, and I can’t let you go without a fight.”
On the inside, I’m doing somersaults and grinning like a fool, but I make myself look at him as sternly as I can manage, and ask, “Are you finished?”
“No.” He reaches into the river and opens a fissure.
I start to ask him where we’re going, but he cuts me off.
“Your anchor-stone,” he says, pressing something into my palm. Something that feels nothing like a small rock.
I frown down at my hand—at the diamond ring in my hand—and my thoughts catch. But, no, he can’t know what this means. Diamonds can be imprinted. It’s not a well-known fact in the Realm, but Aren imprinted a diamond for me once before. That one was inlaid in a necklace. It was a leap of faith on his part. I could have betrayed him. I could have destroyed the whole rebellion. But I didn’t. I didn’t because I’d started to fall in love with him.
I clear my throat, not as a nervous gesture or a gimmick to buy me time, but because I really can’t seem to form any words.
“Y-You’re out of anchor-stones?” I finally manage.
“No,” he says, looking into my eyes. Then he takes my other hand in his. “I know I hurt you. I know this is our last chance to be together. Please give me that chance, McKenzie. Please . . .” He seems to remember something. He drops to one knee. “Please marry me.”
Lightning strikes between our clasped hands.
“Fae don’t marry.” I don’t know why I say that. My brain obviously isn’t functioning.
“Humans do,” he says. “And I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. Now that I’ve been forced into retirement, it could be a very long life, McKenzie.”
“But the life-bond. You can live with it? You said . . .”
“It kept us apart only because your life was at stake. The high nobles won’t be executing anyone now. I can live with Taltrayn being in your life, but I can’t live without you.”
“Stand up,” I say.
“What?”
“Stand up.”
He frowns as he rises. “Naito said I was supposed to kn—”
I silence him with a kiss. Tiny explosions rock through my body, and I swear the air around us glows. I love the feel and taste and the scent of him, and when he deepens the kiss, our connection deepens as well. He’s a part of me now, no life-bond needed, and he knows me like no one else ever will.
“McKenzie.” He pulls me closer, clinging to me as if I’ll slip through his arms.
I’m here to stay, I say with a kiss that promises love and passion. I want that passion now. I want us to find ourselves wrapped in chaos lusters again. I want to wake up every morning with him at my side, and I want whatever kind of normal we can have together.