Page 138 of Her Dark Promise

“You made me strong,” she said softly.

I shook my head. “No. You persevered against all odds. I had nothing to do with it.” I paused for a moment. “You changed me; turned my entire world upside down, and helped me see past the darkness that had overtaken my life. You are my light.”

She lunged for me then, wrapping her arms around me as her body shook, the side of her head resting on my shoulder. I stood there in shock, my hands limp at my sides.

Her hug was tight, and I wasn’t sure if this was goodbye. Before I could overthink it, I slowly raised my arms. I leaned into her touch and hugged her just as tightly.

I could feel something wet on my shoulder, and I knew she was crying, though not a sound was coming from her. We had been through so much together. Her body was still shaking, but then I felt a hand slowly circling my back and realized that I was the one who was crying. Tears cascaded down my face as I let go and leaned fully into her embrace.

The sobs slowed as my breathing returned to a normal rhythm, and I pulled back to look her in the face. She wiped at the tears that I let flow freely down my face as she said, “I am so sorry. I should not have yelled at you the way I did before. I was just—”

I grabbed her by the shoulders. “I am sorry that I forced you to be around them, that I thought I knew what was best for you.”

She shook her head. “No. I was wrong about them, about so many things. I would like to start over if they will allow me. And what I really wanted to say was that I am not leaving you. You are my home, the only one I’ve ever known. How can I let that go?”

Her sudden change of heart was startling, to say the least. Part of me didn’t want to believe her because she seemed so sure of herself not too long ago. What could have happened to change her mind? But I mentally shook my head.

No. She was here, and she said she wouldn’t leave me. She was staying, and I wasn’t going to ruin the news by questioning it. I was going to try to live in this moment.

Everyone was staying because theywantedto and not because I forced them. They werechoosingme.

Part of me was still upset with Bastian, not because I was truly upset but because anger was as much of a lifeline to me as Emilia and Callum were. I depended on that emotion to keep me grounded in the present, but maybe… Maybe I no longer had to hide behind those feelings.

My breath hitched, and I straightened my back, willing the tears to stop because we had more pressing matters at hand. And I was sure the rest of them were dying to know what we were talking about. Best not to wait any longer.

I turned to leave when she piped up, “Your majesty, if I may…” I turned back around. “Bastian is a good man. He made a mistake, and I feel as though he has suffered enough. It is not my place, but I wanted you to know that I do not blame him—either one of them—for what happened with their father. If I can forgive him, why can’t you?”

She was already speaking so calmly about their father that it sent a chill down my spine. I could barely talk about it without wanting to burn down the forest.

I pushed the thought away, not wanting to press her. “I don’t know if I’m ready.”

She gave me a small smile. “We have limited time to be here with you. One day, we will die, and I am afraid that it will break you. Don’t let your anger cloud your time here with them.”

I watched her walk away, giving me a moment to contemplate everything she said. She wasn’t leaving. She didn’t blame them. So I shouldn’t? Yes, Bastian had tried to kill me. But did he? Or was he so afraid of his father that he thought he should strike me down to save his brother? Would I have not done the exact same if it were Belle?

I knew the answer immediately.

I took a deep breath before following her back into the library. I entered just as she grabbed a book and made herself comfortable on the lounge chair. She looked up and said, “No time to waste.” As if nothing happened.

I could tell the brothers wanted to say more to her, feeling as though they didn’t get to apologize the way they wanted. Especially Bastian.

Emilia looked into each one of their eyes, smiled at Soren, and then landed on Bastian’s. She said, “Your stew smells delicious.”

She was being brave, and so would I.

I walked over to Callum, who was silently watching everyone and smiling to himself. I sat on his lap, placed my hands on either side of his face, and brought his lips to mine. It took him one single moment of shock before he wrapped his hands around my lower back and deepened the kiss.

I was tired of living life in fear and hiding behind anger. They’d spend years trying to break my curse and never succeed, and maybe I selfishly didn’t mind that. At least they’d be here. I’d have them to myself.

I licked the seam of his lips, ordering him to give me entrance, and he happily obliged. Our lips moved in sync, and I chastised myself for denying me this pleasure. Tingles shot down to my core, heating as I heard someone cough.

I pulled back just enough so that I could smile against his soft lips. I sunk my teeth into his bottom lip and pulled. He hissed as I bit down on him, then pulled back fully and slapped his face just hard enough to jolt him. His length hardened beneath me.

I got up without any sort of explanation, picked up the book in front of me, went over to the couch to get more comfortable, and began to read. I could feel their questioning gaze on me, but I ignored them as the light from the large stained glass window beamed onto my back, illuminating the book in broken shards of light.

The book was from the early twelfth century, and its pages were worn from time. Dust had collected over the pages, and it made me think about all the books in the library that were probably close to falling apart. I should have taken better care of them. I could worry about that a different day when the pressure of breaking the curse wasn’t looming above us.

A few hours had gone by, and I had barely made a dent in the book with well over five hundred pages left. I stood up and stretched my arms above my head. I had chosen to wear something with more coverage than I was used to, but still cut low enough to leave nothing to the imagination. I heard someone’s breath hitch and found everyone staring at me.

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