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My body buckled with exhaustion, and Bennett caught me as I could no longer hold myself up. His arms wrapped around my body, one hand gripping my hair as he pulled me into a fierce embrace. I wasn’t sure if it was the fear of losing him, the betrayal, or the absolute drain of power that had me fall over the edge and break down. I gasped between sobs as he gently stroked my hair.
“Regina Victoria,” he whispered, kissing me on the head.
Huh? Perhaps I didn’t heal a concussion.
“It’s Rhia, you idiot,” I said between sobs, confused why he would call me by the wrong name.
All he did was chuckle, and I couldn’t help but indulge in the sound and the fact that he was safe and breathing. That he was alive.
“It was always you,” he said. “I should’ve known, only I didn’t see it because I was blinded by my own pride.”
I lifted myself up from his chest and immediately his eyes found mine, piercing into the very depths of me and claiming me as his own.
His hand caressed my cheek as a single tear fell from his eyes. “My Queen.”
“Bennett, please stop with the crazy talk, you’re gonna make me think I accidentally broke you with my craft.”
He laughed deeply, and the sound alone made my heart sing. Pushing a strand of loose hair behind my ear, he said, “Queen or not, you’ll always be my Rhia.”
Placing both of his hands on either side of my face, he pulled me into a kiss so powerful it challenged the stars in the sky. His lips were warm and claiming and I indulged in every blissful second of it. The world slipped away for a moment as the most beautiful boy held my heart in the palm of his hands. He pulled away and his eyes studied every detail of my face. “Stars, I’ll never deserve you.”
My heart hurt at that. He was more deserving of me than anyone I’d ever met. Someone who saw my deepest scars and looked at them as works of art. Someone who challenged me and pushed me, someone who saw me as their equal.
“Thank you for saving me.” The purest sincerity shone in his eyes as he continued to give me soft and reassuring strokes down my body.
I laughed softly at that, because really he was the one who saved me. He saved me from falling into a dark pit I most likely wouldn’t have been able to crawl out of. He saved me from a life of torture at the circus that day he ran to me. He saved me from a life where I thought I was unlovable and incapable of loving. He saved me from thinking love like this didn’t exist.
He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and helped me stand. “We need to get home, and soon. There are more Red Bones that are sure to turn up once they realize this meeting didn’t go according to their plan.”
I shook my head in disagreement. “Bennett, it’s not safe in Veladis right now, they know who I am and there are sure to be Red Bones that have infiltrated the castle.” I rubbed my temples as I tried to relieve some of the stress. I had no idea how we were even going to play a role in this war. We had no army, and there was no way we could confide in Pater. Where would we live?
Bennett smiled and simply shook his head. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
I gave him a dumbfounded look, because clearly I was missing something.
He threw his hands up in exasperation, as if he couldn’t believe I didn’t understand. “Rhia, you’re the legend come to fruition. You are the curse breaker, the one my people—our people—have been waiting for. You may have been the King’s Favorite, but it seems the stars wanted that claim for themselves. Rhia, my love, you’re our Regina Victoria.”
I searched my mind, trying to remember where I heard that from until I realized—I’d never heard of it, I’d only heard of the Region Victor, from the stories Bennett told me when he first showed me Vesper.. The Star’s Favorite, the future King of Vesper, the one chosen to lift the invisibility spell from Vesper and rule all three kingdoms in peace. The Legend of Golden Shadows.
I shook my head at the thought of it. There was no way.
“I’m sure the stars just stepped in for a bit to help me in that moment, I don’t think that was actually something that was permanent,” I said nervously, my head aching from the information.
He arched his brow and gave me a look that basically said, You know that’s not true. But it had to be true. That was the only explanation.
I couldn’t actually be—
Could I?
My head spun with the seriousness of what this meant.
“Why would the stars choose me?”
There was nothing special about me. If anything, there was a long list that proved why I shouldn’t be given this position. After five hundred years. . .me? Why? I’m an assassin. I’ve killed countless people and now I’m supposed to bring them peace? I’m selfish, guarded, cold and—stars I’m a mess. I’ve got so much baggage, it would be impossible for me to carry the weight of the world, too.
I turned towards him. “Bennett, I can’t do this. I don’t know the first thing about ruling a kingdom or leading an army. I didn’t even grow up in Vesper! I know nothing about the land or its people. How could the stars have picked me to be their ruler?” I shook my head, my eyes locked on the floor. “The stars messed up; they chose the wrong one. It shouldn’t be me, it should be you.”
“Look at me,” he said, grabbing either side of my face and tilting my chin up so my eyes connected with his. “Words can’t even begin to describe how incredibly worthy you are of this. If I were the stars, I would’ve chosen you over me any day. You’re strong-willed, determined, creative, focused, and hold all of the skills it takes to be an outstanding leader. Not to mention your resilience. You’ve gone through so much that no person should experience in their lifetime, yet you’ve used it to fuel you, not burden you. It’s made you stronger and shaped you into the person you were always destined to be. You’re what our kingdom needs, what our world needs, and you’ve already proven yourself worthy of this title, time and time again.”
