Page 137 of Tale of the Heart Queen

“Nadir. We have to talk about the bonding and the final condition Cloris shared with us.”

I sigh and let her go, rubbing a hand down my face and heading for the fire, bracing my hands on the mantel and dropping my head.

I’d already told her my decision, but I knew she wouldn’t accept this without an argument.

“If you don’t want to go through with the bonding, I’ll understand,” she says. “I can’t ask you to give up your crown for me.”

I whip around to face her. “Of course we’re going through with it,” I say. “How could you ever say that? Lor. I’m giving up my position as Primary of The Aurora.” I stride over to her and wrap a hand around the side of her neck. “It was never a question.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she says.

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”

“Nadir . . . but what about everything you’ve wanted? All the years you’ve spent trying to bring down your father?”

I shake my head. “You still don’t get it, do you, Lightning Bug?”

“What don’t I get?”

“I never wanted a crown, Lor. That was never my motivation.”

She watches me, those big dark eyes filled with conflict and emotion. Those eyes drown me every time I look into them.

“I want to end my father, not because I want a crown but because I want The Aurora to have a better ruler.”

“And?” she asks.

I tip my head and smile. “While I can’t be sure of who the Torch will choose, I have an idea.”

Lor pauses, and then her eyes widen. “Amya.”

“Amya,” I say.

“Are you sure about this?” she asks.

Of course I’m sure. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I could never ask Lor to give up everything she’s fought for. Everything she dreamed of every night she rotted away in Nostraza. I can’t give her those years back, but I can give her this.

“Lor, I want to end my father and release my mother from his hold. But what I want more than anything is to stand by your side. To be with you every day we have left on this earth. To stand with you and be your rock. To be your mate and your partner.”

The flicker in her eyes is uncertain. “But I’ll be stronger. I’ll have more magic than you.”

My answering smile is wry. “You’re already stronger than me, Lor, in every way possible. It’s what I love so much about you.”

“Nad—”

I press my thumb to her mouth, silencing every protest she can summon. “Stop it. It’s my fucking honor to do this for you. I promised I would burn down the entire world for you, and I meant it every single time.”

“This isn’t burning the world down,” she says. “This is changing who you are.”

I shake my head. “It’s not who I am. I meant I’d do anything, and if it means changing a piece of myself, then I would do that too.”

I sweep my thumb over her cheek, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“What’s bothering you about this?”

“I don’t want you to regret it. I don’t want you to resent me or the choice you made. I don’t want you to do this just for me.”

“I’m not,” I say. “I mean, I am, but not in the way you’re implying. I’m doing it for us. I’m doing it for Heart, The Aurora, and all of Ouranos. We can’t beat my father without the bond. And you can’t destroy the ark without it. This makes sense.”