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She falls quiet once more while I’m still staring at her, and finally glances at me again. “What?” she asks, a titter in her tone.
“Is something the matter?”
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”
I open my mouth, prepared to answer. But then I close it again, as a different thought strikes me. It’s something that I had planned to say tonight, anyway, and this seems to be the perfect moment.
“Be mine,” I finally say. “Not a slave. Not because you have to or because I won you in the arena. Be mine. My partner, my mate, my equal.
“Stay with me. Make a life with me.”
It all comes out in a rush, nothing like I had planned it. It’s nowhere near as polished as I had meant to deliver my speech.
But it’s from the heart and it’s genuine.
She sits up abruptly and stares at me with her mouth agape. I follow her lead, pushing up with one arm to sit beside her.
Her gray eyes are blank, and I feel a flutter in my chest.
Why isn’t she saying anything?
But then the shock fades from her face, and she finds her voice. “Yes,” she agrees, throwing her arms around my neck and burying her heated face in my shoulder. “Yes! I will be your mate.”
“And my equal,” I remind her, wanting her to understand that she isn’t my property or a slave. This must be her choice that she feels free to make.
“And your equal,” she agrees.
She’s still latched onto my neck, squeezing. I return the gesture, returning the embrace.
Then, as she pulls back, I capture her lips with mine. It’s powerful and I’m not the least bit shy, but I can’t help myself. My heart is soaring, and there’s no chance of holding back now.
She’s mine.
60
LAURA
“When the King met the owner of the rose-red slipper, they fell in love with one another. And they lived happily ever after,” I say, concluding Akos’ bedtime story. It’s become a ritual in the house, something that I enjoy as much as he does.
I used to be a proficient storyteller, using my skill to keep the children at the work camp entertained. We didn’t have much, but stories were free. It still reminds me of another time, and other children that needed me.
Akos, I suspect, is a bit old for bedtime stories. But he likes the attention, something that he missed out on for all those years that he spent without a mother or father. So, he pretends that he needs to hear my stories as much as I need to tell them to someone.
He pulls the blanket up to his neck, settling in to sleep, and issues a big yawn. “Good night, Akos,” I tell him in a soothing voice.
“Good night,” he replies with another little yawn. “Oh, Laura?”
“Yes?”
“If you’re going to marry Rej’thorek, does that mean we’re a real family? Even if you’re not my real mom?”
“Yes,” I assure him. “A family is what you make of it. On Protheka, most of my family was adopted. But I didn’t love them any less.”
He thinks this over for a moment. Then, seeming to be satisfied with my answer, he flops onto his side with a hint of a smile on his face. “Okay. Good night.”
I shake my head, wanting to laugh at the abrupt dismissal. I guess even thirteen year old demons can only show so much affection.
Turning away, I notice Rej’thorek waiting for me in the hallway. I glance over my shoulder at Akos, then hurry out of the room to meet Rej. He gathers me up in his arms, pulling me close, and gives me a deep kiss.
