She seemed to accept everything with remarkable grace considering the absolute chaos of the last several hours.
My identity.
Her awakening magic.
The claiming.
Her confrontation with her mother.
The celestial blessing.
Gods.
Not to mention I’d already taken her virginity.
Claimed her publicly before the realms themselves.
Bound our lives together beneath the moon.
And through all of it, she still looked at me like I was something miraculous instead of frightening.
The realization tightened painfully in my chest.
Guilt crept in unexpectedly as I remembered leaving earlier that evening for Asgard while she got ready for tonight alone.
True, things ended better than they began once we confronted her mother.
But still.
I hated the idea of her hurting at all.
Good thing she would never face it without me beside her.
I would spend the rest of my existence ensuring she never faced pain alone again.
“Luna,” I began quietly.
She paused beside one of the glowing blue bonnets growing beneath a crooked stone archway, moonlight painting silver across her soft features.
“Yes?”
“I must apologize for tonight.”
Her brows furrowed immediately.
“Apologize? For what?”
“For leading you right into that confrontation with your mother.”
The confession tasted bitter.
“I should have done more.”
Amrin stared at me for a long moment before something impossibly tender softened across her face.
“What? Menon, you did everything,” she whispered gently. “Don’t ever be sorry for that.”
I frowned.
