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“I’m abdicating my throne,” I said. “I can’t take the risk something might happen to you. And it won’t, so long as people don’t want to hurt me. And they will, so long as I’m the emperor.”
She looked at me strangely. Not happy, not sad… but confused.
She placed a hand on my arm, and I released her.
“What’s wrong?” I said. “I thought you would be happy.”
“I am,” she said, though her expression was anything but joyful. “I just… never expected you to give up everything for me.”
“It’s not easy. Being the emperor was what I was brought up to be. My education, my ancestry… but I would give it all up in a heartbeat if it meant I could be with you.”
She shook her head and ran a finger down my nose.
“Don’t you see?” she said. “You already have me. You will always have me.”
“Then I’ll get the papers drawn up,” I said. “I’ll name my successor and we can be away from here by the end of the day.”
“And miss the wedding?”
I smiled.
“Okay,” I said. “After the wedding.”
But there was still that pursed cluster of lines on her brow again. She was in deep thought.
“Nothing will change, you know,” she said. “You can’t wrap me up in cotton wool to keep me safe.”
“You just watch me!”
She shook her head and gently placed her hands on my arms.
“No,” she said.
“No?”
“No. I won’t let you give up your throne.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ve made my decision—”
“But I haven’t made mine. I love you, Fiath. I’ve loved you from the very first moment I saw you. It doesn’t have anything to do with the money or power you have. It’s the kind of person you are. You grew up in a palace and I want our kids to grow up to be just like you.”
She giggled at the image.
“Little princes and princesses,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve always loved kids but I’ve never thought about having them with someone before. I guess I always preferred the idea of having kids with the right person than the wrong one.”
“So, you’re okay with being the empress?” I said.
“I am,” she said.
I scooped her up in my arms again and spun her around.
“It doesn’t need to be forever,” I said. “Any time you want to leave and live somewhere else, we can. There’s nothing stopping us.”
“I know,” she said.
She lowered her lips to mine and we kissed. It began slow and sensuous and turned passionate like I was riding thunder and I couldn’t stop myself.
She was the best of me.
