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Evie nodded but the ache didn’t leave her eyes; if anything, it increased. Instead, her lips closed over mine and she kissed me, pulling all thoughts from my head—making me want to love her again.
“Braxton, there is something else I need you to know…” Her words fanned my lips, and I pulled away to glance into her eyes. Concern, and a sliver of fear colored her features and my brows creased with worry.
“What is it?”
“It’s about us. Things here are not as simple as they would be in the human world. There, you and I could be together without judgement or explanations. But here, things do not work that way, not for me anyway.”
Her eyes fell to my chest, and she placed her hand there, trying to find a way to tell me what she needed to say.
“I wasn’t fair with you, Braxton, and for that, I'm truly sorry. You see, I am the only person left of my family. The last Skyborne, and because of it, all these people depend on me. I am their princess, and with that comes a lot of responsibility that I cannot shy away from, or put on anyone else. One day soon, I will become their queen, and they have to be my first priority. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but by allowing myself to give in to what I feel and experience with you, I fear I might be asking more of you than you are willing to give.”
I carefully watched her, trying to decipher the intentions behind her words. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
When her eyes lifted from my chest, focusing on me again, I noticed the uncertainty and sadness in her. My gut tightened in response.
“I never thought I would want to be with someone, but I want to be with you, Brax.”
Her confession made my heart start beating again. Thank God. For a moment, I thought that was goodbye.
“But I was born with this weight upon my shoulders, and it is not fair to put that on you. No one here knows who you really are, and they can’t ever know because you came from the human world. They won’t understand. How can I be the ruler they need me to be, and still be with you, when you are a perfect stranger to them? The more I think about it, the less I know how they will react, and they already doubt me. I’m losing the faith of my people, a faith my parents and aunt fostered. Every day, more and more of my kin leave for Lachlan’s clan, and the worst part is, I have no way to stop it. I don’t even know how to—”
“Shhh, it’s okay. Just breathe,” I encouraged, hearing the anxiety in her frantic words, shame, and guilt capturing her being.
In that moment, I finally understood who she was in this world, and the burden she truly carried—not only on her shoulders, but in her heart. The people had chosen her parents to lead and protect them, and in turn, they had also chosen her. This was her family’s legacy and there was nothing more important to her. Evie would do anything, sacrifice it all, to protect these people and finally liberate her world. Even herself.
I knew she would, because I would do the same.
The weight of her crown was real, and although I had never been royalty or anyone important enough to fully comprehend, I had seen enough to imagine what she must be going through.
Did that also mean Evie was unreachable to me now?
No. Not if I had something to say about it.
Cradling her cheek, my eyes bore into hers. “I have fought for everything I’ve wanted in my life, Evie. Did you really think I wasn’t going to fight for you too?”
Emotion glistened in her eyes, a small smile curving her lips, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a more beautiful sight.
“I will become whoever I need to become for you, Evie. I will be a warrior, asky rider. Hell, I’ll take Kingston’s job if I have to. Okay, that might be a tall order, but I’ll try.”
Laughter escaped her, but the emotion increased in her eyes as the vow formed in my heart.
“I will prove myself to him, to you, and everyone else, until they realize that where I come from does not determine who I am. They’ll accept me as the man who will stand beside you always. I’ll share that burden with you and help you protect this beautiful place and noble people, not because you somehow tricked me into it, but because I choose to be here. I choose you, Evie.”
Swallowing, she nodded, attempting to accept my words as true, but hesitation still clung to the walls she had built around herself.
It didn’t matter, I would show her. I would show them all.
Her hands curled around my neck and she pulled me to her, claiming my lips with renewed need. Our kisses sealed my promise as I loved her again.
* * *
Stepping out of the shower, I dried myself and began to dress in my regular leader pants, adding the linen shirt meant only for bed. I knew I wasn’t supposed to wear it, but I didn't feel comfortable showing my scars. Not to mention, there was something about the blatant display of masculinity here that made me uncomfortable. I was in the middle of some ancient weightlifting tournament apparently. These warriors were crazy buff. Also, the mornings were incredibly chilly inside the mountain, and my nipples froze so hard that I feared they were going to fall off.
I supposed it didn’t help that I was bathing with mostly cold water so early, but I had decided to be either the first one in or the last one out of the showers, so I could avoid the nakedness runway show. There was only one woman I wanted to see naked, and I only wanted her to see me naked, so nope, I was not doing that. I felt like a pervert when I accidentally looked somewhere that I wasn’t supposed to look. My eyes wanted to bask in the sight of breasts and butts galore, because I was after all, a guy, but I didn’t want to let them. I refused.
There was also the fact that I was kind of filthy from sleeping in the honeycombs again. After forcing myself to leave Evie’s side in the middle of the night, Vyper took me to his lair as he did each night. So I slept there, between him and Draco with their mother resting close, and strangely enough, it felt just like home.
Slipping my feet into the boots, I couldn’t help but think about my conversation with Evie last night. She hadn’t really said it blatantly, but being with her meant it was everything or nothing. There was no dating the Skyborne Princess for a month and if it didn’t work out, oh well. Additionally, princesses didn’t usually end up with the stable boy, which was basically what I was right now. Scratch that, I was currently the boy who cleanedafterthe stable boy.
