Page 141 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

I stood and leaned over the balcony, peering into the garden.

All I wanted was a small intimate ceremony where I could celebrate with my friends and family—the people closest to me, as I committed to spending the rest of my life with the person I loved.

Tomorrow would not be that.

And on top of all that, the absence of those I had lost would be felt more than anything.

A soft knock on the door echoed through the room. “Come in,” I called out, looking over my shoulder as Luka hesitantly stepped through the door. He looked around for a second before spotting me on the balcony and making his way to me.

“Hey.” He stood beside me, placing his hands on the railing next to mine.

“Hi,” I murmured softly.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Our wedding.”

“Really?” He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. “What about it?”

“It’s—it’s not what I had expected my wedding to look like.”

“Me either.” He was silent for several moments before speaking again. “That’s what I came here to talk to you about.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I know this isn’t what you wanted in a marriage. I know how important it was for you to get to choose love for yourself. It eats at me every day that I am part of the reason why that choice was ripped away from you.”

He turned to face me. “That’s why I wanted to give you a choice. You don’t have a choice in marrying me tomorrow, but you have the choice in marrying me now.”

“Luka—what—what are you talking about?” My mind raced—trying to figure out what he meant. What did he meanmarry him now?

“I’m giving you a choice, Lennox. You can marry metomorrow—in front of all those people, we can do the whole big wedding thing, that will be our wedding. Or—or you can marry me tonight. We can have the ceremony we both want. We get our friends and have a private ceremony. We don’t have much control when it comes to this wedding—our marriage—but we can have control of this one thing. You can choose to marry me tonight if that’s what you want.”

“You would do that for me?” I somehow choked the words out through the lump in my throat.

“I would rip the stars from the sky for you if that’s what you wanted. Because I love you, Lennox.” He brushed his thumb across my temple. “I love you so fucking much and it pains me every day to have taken this choice from you. Let me do this for you. Let me give you back this choice.”

Goosebumps scattered over my body. “You love me?”

He shook his head and smiled, letting out a small puff of air. “Yeah, I love you. And I think you already knew that.” His hand moved to cup my chin, his other hand resting lightly on my hip, his thumb brushing lightly underneath my ribs.

I had assumed he loved me, but hearing those words from him—it cemented together a broken part of my soul.

“Yes.” His brows furrowed. “Yes, I’ll marry you tonight Luka.”

The smile that broke across his face was so bright—that too mended another part of my soul.

He didn’t hesitate as he pressed his lips to mine. His hand wove in my hair as he pulled me closer and I fisted my hands in his shirt.

He loves me. Lukalovesme.

I suspected what he felt for me, but hearing him say it out loud—hearing that confirmation—my magic swelled inside me, my emotions going haywire over his confession.

Hesitantly, I pulled my lips from his. “If we’re going to get married tonight I need to get ready,” I panted.

“You look perfect the way you are.” He placed another kiss on my jaw.

“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this right.” He continued kissing his way down my throat as I spoke.

“I’m going to send for Kara and Luce to help me get ready. Can you, Declan, and Nico get everything else set up?” He halted, his groan vibrating against my skin.

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