Page 78 of Legacy of Thorns
Beside Fin, Daphne held her breath, but Gabrielle’s expression immediately softened. “Even if you don’t need anything,” she said, gazing at Archie lovingly, “I need you. And you deserve everything.”
Archie’s eyes bulged, and he looked desperately at Daphne.
“Please, save me,” he pleaded. “Tell her to stop.”
“Ha!” Daphne said. “Hahahahahahaha.” She stopped to breathe and then kept going. “Hahahahaha—no.” She smiled sweetly at Gabrielle. “Keep going, sweetheart. I think you’ve nearly won him over.”
Gabrielle immediately brightened. “You’ll find the feelings fade in a week or two,” Daphne continued, “but to really give him what he deserves, I would recommend keeping it up for at least a month.”
“I could gaze at him for a year,” Gabrielle sighed, and the rest of them burst into laughter at Archie’s despairing wail.
“And we thought Archie was bad,” Nisha murmured.
Finley grinned. “Gabrielle explained it to me this morning: He’s just so pretty. How can she resist?”
His arm snaked out, circling Daphne’s waist and drawing her to his side.
“I don’t know why you’re talking,” Nisha said. “You two are nearly as bad.”
“But look at her,” Finley crooned. “How could I resist when she’s sopretty?”
Daphne laughed and whacked him lightly on the shoulder. “Stop that! Archer may deserve it, but Nisha and Morrow haven’t done anything wrong.”
Finley laughed. He couldn’t seem to stop laughing since Daphne had come back to him.
In the chaos of everything, they’d barely had the chance to be alone, but he didn’t even mind. She was alive, and now they could have the lifetime of moments he had dreamed about.
But as everyone spread out beside the lake to enjoy the sunshine, he took her hand and led her away from the others, walking along the shore until they were out of earshot.
He gathered her into his arms, resting his chin on her head and gazing across the water. “It’s so peaceful here,” he murmured. “But we’ll be leaving for the capital soon, and everything will change.”
“Not everything.” Daphne’s arms wrapped around him. “My love for you isn’t going to change.”
He dipped his head to give her a kiss, marveling that he was finally free to do so.
“It has occurred to me,” he said when he came up for air, “that there’s something we haven’t specifically talked about. But I’m sincerely hoping that when you said you didn’t want to live without me—and then stole someone’s horse to ride across the kingdom to rescue me—you meant you were willing to marry me. Will you marry me, Daphne?”
Daphne laughed. “I didn’t steal Nutmeg!”
“That isn’t an answer,” he said sternly.
“Yes.” She smiled at him, freeing one of her hands so she could trace the line of his jaw. “I would love to spend every day ofthe rest of my life at your side, Finley. Even if that means staying in Oakden forever.”
Finley’s mood dropped. “I know you miss Glandore,” he said quietly. “Are you sure you’re really all right with being trapped here with me?”
“Oakden was my home first, and I love many things about it,” Daphne said. “I’m not all Glandorian or all Oakdenian, I’m a bit of both. I can be happy here. The naps have even started decreasing in frequency finally, ever since my long sleep in Gabrielle’s place. I certainly don’t want to force a burden onto you, just so I can live in Glandore.”
She sighed. “I’m starting to understand how my parents came to make the decisions they did. It’s infuriating to be so constrained by the Legacy’s mindless whims!”
“Maybe you won’t always have to be.” Avery strolled up to them, a smile on her face.
Daphne flushed and tried to push away from Finley, but he didn’t let go. She had just agreed to marry him, and he didn’t care who saw them hugging.
Daphne chuckled under her breath, shaking her head and relaxing into his arms again.
“Ah, new love,” Elliot proclaimed with the air of a venerable grandfather. “We wouldn’t know anything about that.”
Avery laughed, and he caught her around the waist, planting an enthusiastic kiss on her mouth while she tried to fend him off.
