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There was a touch of sadness visible in her smoky green eyes, but overall, Nicola didn’t regret her actions and chose to side with him down to his last decision. The grand statement was punctuated with a grand poof before she turned into a bat and was frolicking to the skies. Nate sighed, lips quirking. Then he waved Maddox off with a nod.
Winter was observing the flying bat when he walked to her side, the fascination written on her face. “Wow.”
“Neat trick?”
“Neater than yours.”
That had him grinning before he got right onto it.
“You are leaving. That’s why you wanted to know shipment schedules. It’s a good alternative to just diving in the ocean and jumping coordinates to the next island.”
“Oh.” She looked taken aback but recovered quickly. “I didn’t think about it yet. I just…wanted to check. To scout things. I still want to explore the Otherworld—not that I don’t like it here, especially with how things have turned out, but….”
A lot of them still hadn’t gotten over their prejudice. Or the idea that it was Winter who had saved the day when they could easily put Nate in the role of the hero—because he was one of them and she wasn’t.
The unsaid words galled, but it was the truth he couldn’t walk away from. So, he took her hand.
“How about in a week or so?”
“What?”
This time, Winter fully gaped at him. Hurt formed in her expression, misunderstanding completely, and mortification hit him hard before he rushed through the rest.
“I gave up the crown. House Hendricks is no longer in line, and Nic and I are happy about it. We are free. Matthew will be a good king. It’s a long story, but,” he took a deep breath, heart galloping fast and mind a relentless roar. He needed that breath to calm down for the most important part. “I don’t want it. This is still my home, and our house will help him out, but most of my years were spent settling for that life. I don’t want to settle. I want you. I love you. You made me see better, feel better, and want better. But I don’t want to keep you here, either, knowing where your happiness lies. So, what I meant was that in a week or so, after Matthew’s official induction, I’m free. Really free. I can go with you. We can explore together. That is, if you will have me—”
His statement ended with an oof when she came to him, tight arms banding around him until his nerves dissipated. He didn’t even know there were nerves, but now all he felt was peace.
“My happiness lies with you,” she whispered as if the hug didn’t make that clear. Then she punctuated her point even further with a kiss that warmed him up all over. “And what I meant by that is...”
“Yes. You meant yes.” He grinned, kissing her back.
“Big yes.”
A ship honked somewhere in the sky, signaling its arrival. Two human workers started arguing with each other, shouting in the distance. Fluttering sounds flitted by, too, his sister in bat form, probably spying on them before moving on.
And nothing could have been more perfect.
