Page 154 of Stolen Empire
"I don't know how to be what they need," she says finally.
"I don't know how to be a Pakhan’s daughter."
"You don't have to know."
I turn to face her.
"You just have to be you. You've been on your own for how long now? And you're a survivor. That's what they'll see. That's what they'll follow."
She looks at me, her eyes searching mine.
"And you? What do you see?"
The truth rises in my chest, demanding to be spoken.
I see the woman I fell in love with.
The woman who spit in my face and refused to beg.
The woman who dived into danger without hesitation.
The woman who makes me feel things I swore I'd never feel.
But before I can answer, she turns away.
"I need time to think."
"Katya, they're preparing for war. We don't have the luxury of time."
She's quiet for a long moment.
Then she lifts her to look at me.
"What will happen if I claim that name? I'm afraid. I don’t want to do it alone. Will you stand with me?"
"Yes."
The words are on the tip of my tongue, to tell her I love her.
To confess how much I would love her even if she refused her name.
How I'd still keep her.
But I don't want her decision to be swayed by my affection for her.
It has to be her own feelings.
"Even if it means risking everything? Even if it means going to war?"
"Yes." I move closer, stopping just inches from her.
"I will stand with you—always."
I mean every word I say and she doesn't even know why.
She takes a breath, then nods slowly.
"Okay, then…"
