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“I’m sorry, I wish they saw in you what I do. You’re more than capable of leading them. You’ve been raised for this your whole life.” I reached over the table, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tight. He looked so defeated and tired, but my one touch seemed to revive him. He lit up, his smile once more wide, his eyes focused on me again—that amber gaze fiery and warm.
“You always make me feel better, Supernova.” He grabbed my hand and kissed the knuckles again, just as he did earlier, this time my cheeks heating at the act. “Plus, it’s not like youdon’t understand. You of all people can relate. The two of us will prove them wrong time and time again, until they too wish they had seen in us what we see in each other.”
I didn’t really believe that. They would accept Talon one day, that was a given. He’d get older and wiser. He’d learn and grow. The name Zade would never lose its importance or value—would never fade. I, on the other hand, would never be accepted. Even now, I could sense that they often talked around things during my observations of the council meetings, as if there was something I was not allowed to know. When the time came for me to become general—if they even let me get that far—it would not be me they followed and respected, it would be Talon.
The server came to take our order, offering a thick piece of parchment with beautiful, long script that was almost difficult to read. I picked the first thing my eyes caught, not really caring. Talon was more precise, asking questions about sides, sauces, seasonings, and all of the things that I would’ve never been able to afford before. In fact, I was relatively confident that some of those things my family and I had never tasted in our lives, and they never would, even though I was about to.
Quickly—suddenly—I lost my appetite.
“Oh, and please do bring a bottle of wine to the table. This is a special occasion,” Talon said, smiling at the waiter before turning away, looking back at me.
“Special occasion?” I inquired, raising one of my brows. What kind of special occasion could this have been?
Talon offered me a sly smirk, mischief in his face and secrets in his eyes.
“How exciting, a mystery.”
Must you be in my head right now?
“We’re always in your head. It’s such a perfectly heinous place to be.”
“Talon, is there something going on that I need to know?”
“Well, it’s been six months since…you know, and I think the both of us could use some relaxation. Plus, there are some other things that I do want to talk to you about.”
“Those are?” I asked, fearing the answer. Wishing I could avoid it at all costs. This sounded like a conversation about our future. Even though I knew it was inevitable, I still silently, secretly wished I could slow it down.
“Last summer, I was fairly certain my life was over. When I realized I had more time, I knew I wanted something more than what my father had slotted me with.” His voice was wistful, but all I could think was that even the wealthy and influential wanted more. We were all perpetually starved, always looking to find more no matter how much we already had. “I dreamed of being something with value and worth. At first I thought that meant doing the best at Elite Academy, maybe even earning the stars. I thought there had to be something more than whatever life my father was living, because how miserable do you have to be to nearly kill your own son? The craziest part was that I was telling him to lay off Dove, and she didn’t even stand up for me. She didn’t do anything for me. My family never showed me any kindness or love, like they were incapable of it.”
I couldn’t disagree. His many childhood stories were proof of that. My fingers squeezed his tighter, my elbow knocking the table and causing the crystals hanging from the vase to clink together.
“Then I met you, and I could’ve sworn that, even from the back, you emanated greatness. You hadn’t even spoken to me yet, but I couldfeelit. When I turned around and saw your face, I swear I knewyouwere my purpose. You were everything I’ve been waiting my whole life for.” Talon’s voice was becoming zealous, his back straightening. I tried to resist, but my nose still scrunched slightly, my lips pressing together. “I know that sounds crazy, and I understand that you didn’t feel the sameway, but I think the difference was our priorities. You had a family that loved and cared about you, so you didn’t need me. You weren’t just waiting around for someone to sweep you off your feet. Somehow that turned into you becoming something I could earn, all on my own. It means the world to me that you were willing to give me any of your attention at all.”
I was absolutely terrified, hanging on every word in the worst way. I had an awful, sneaking suspicion that I knew what Talon was doing.
“And then we went through losing our families, surviving academy, and every day since. While it’s been exhausting, you have proven me right. You are my purpose. I think I was made for you.”
The food hadn’t even come yet, and Talon was already getting to what he viewed as dessert. He stood up, cleared his throat and took two steps towards me. Then, with perfect balance, he lowered to a knee. Silence overtook the dining area. Everyone watching, waiting. Talon slipped his hand into his pocket and tugged out a small red velvet box. It was so dainty and tiny. There was nothing else it could have been, and still I hoped it was anything else as he opened it, maybe a pin or something. But no, within the hold of the satin padding was a ring.
It looked to be white gold. The center stone was a clear, large diamond shaped like a star—pointed on the top and bottom and rounded out on the sides. To the left and right of the diamond were two rubies.
“This wasn’t my mom’s, or my grandmother’s, or anybody else’s. This is something that I made special for you, because you are my family, Nova. We’re all each other has. If I were being honest, I’d say that I would do it all over again. Feel every pain. Every heartbreak. I would stumble and fall. I would experience the last year time and time again if it meant that I had you.My only regret is not doing this sooner.” I stilled, my heart a ferocious drum in my chest, my mind a cacophony of memories blending together. All of them swam by, a chorus of my own voice in the background, reading off the final line of a letter I had hatefully obsessed over. “I love you. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
My only regret is not doing this sooner.
Everything hit me all at once then. Talon’s distaste for my dedication to my family. His outright disgust at my desire to keep them around. His less than heartbroken reaction to the loss of his family over the last six months. His comments about my potential and my refusal to focus on it.
Had the writing on that note matched Altair’s note he had sent slithering into my bed all those months ago? No, it had matched the script within a journal beneath a bed.
Then I thought about what Altair had said in the cell that day. That it was the people we trusted the most who often betrayed us. And stars if I didn’t hate myself so much for not seeing it sooner. All this time, the cores had been right. Altair hadn’t killed my family. Talon had.
Pasting a smile on my face and letting some of the tears run down my cheeks from such a betrayal, I nodded.
“Of course I’ll marry you,” I said, allowing that emotion to bleed into my voice. He smiled back wide and broad, so clearly happy, and I wondered what was real. If any of it had ever been. Who really was Talon? He slid the ring on my finger, winking at me when it fit perfectly, and then he stood, grabbing either side of my face and tugging me in for a kiss.
I had to will myself not to vomit or pull back to hit him—to curse and cry and scream—because now was the time to be smart. I couldn’t let him know that I knew, not now when I saw what he did to those he supposedly loved. Because it wasn’t just my family that Talon killed, it was his own too.
When he pulled away, he laid his forehead against mine, his breaths heavy. “This might sound crazy, but I was terrified you’d say no.”
