When my eyes followed, I realized several hands were holding me, some along my arm, others along my leg and dress as people gathered at the edge of the stage for me, all of them trying to get closer. Blinking the dampness away, my hazy gaze swept over their faces to find tears streaking their cheeks too, hurt bursting out of them while they cried with me.
My pain became theirs.
Those nearer to me stretched their hands as far as they could, desperate to touch me, trying to offer their warm and consoling touch like Harriet was doing. Others held on to the person before them, unable to reach me, but content to be touching someone who was touching me.
One after the other our people grabbed onto each other’s shoulder or back, creating a chain that linked them all together. More men and women joined them, forming row after row until they filled the center of the arena. Fresh tears brimmed in my eyes while I followed the multitudes united for me all the way back. The people who had begun to leave stood frozen in place, shaken to their core by witnessing my devastation.
Gripping one of the hands that reached for me, new sobs left me, mixing with theirs. I reached for someone else, getting relief from finally feeling their touch and support, while Harriet’s caress continued along my back.
Offering me a tearful smile, Willow picked up the circlet that had fallen with me, fixing the crown on my head.
I had no idea how long I sat there, embraced by a mother that wasn’t my own, feeling the warmth of people who had never touched me before today. Seeing their tears fall with mine because my pain was now theirs, after I had carried their pain as mine my entire life. And yet, the tears didn’t cease, they couldn’t, they’d been my prisoners for far too long.
At some point, Harriet let go of me, and Braxton’s strong arms wrapped around my back and legs, lifting me from the floor. Remaining silent, he cradled me against his body, my tired eyes falling closed as I rested my cheek on his broad chest.
When our soft bed met my back, I opened my sluggish eyes once more to find the silhouette of him lying next to me and pulling me close, so close that all I could feel was him.
“Please make it stop,” I begged, my hoarse voice barely making it out of my lips while unstoppable emotion escaped me. The burning inside me continued, unrelenting, but I knew he would. If anyone could heal my soul right now, it was Braxton.
Slowly nodding, he kissed my forehead, his loving, healing magic tingling in every cell as it flowed into me. I knew it wouldn’t really cure the rips my heart had suffered, they weren’t a tangible wound, but my mate’s warmth still engulfed my being, allowing my exhausted body to finally rest.
I sagged against his broad chest, beautiful darkness embracing me as consciousness left me.
The lulling feeling of Braxton’s caress brought me back to reality the next morning. I was still wrapped in his delicious embrace, and as my eyelids lifted, I found his greenish-yellow eyes looking down on me. Love poured from his gaze while he regarded me, a slow smile tilting his full lips.
“Good morning, Mrs. Skyburrito.”
Surprisingly, lighthearted laughter escaped me, and I pulled him down until our lips danced together, bringing me relief.
“I will never regret you,” I confessed, remembering the pain that had engulfed my being the night before. “No matter who leaves or stays. Regardless of how selfish that might make me, or what kind of queen I might be because of it. No matter how hard it gets for us, and how it all ends. I will never regret choosing you, Braxton Devenish. I love you.”
Emotion instantly shone in his gaze, my vow reaching the depths of his heart, and he nodded, claiming my lips as his. The kiss was hard and filled with need, but it also burst with the softness of his love, his passion, and the silent promise that he too, would never regret our love.
Our breaths mixed together when his mouth pulled away, but he held me tighter, his forehead pressing against mine. Silence stretched while we held each other, taking the other in, and basking in the powerful love that had formed between us. A love that would be our strength until the end.
“How do you feel?” he finally asked after placing one last kiss on my nose, and then helping me sit up on the bed. “Even as you slept, tears slid down your face,” he confessed, concern coloring his words.
Gripping the sheet to my chest, I slowly took in my own body, assessing myself. I expected exhaustion to cling to my bones. For the weakening pain to linger in my throat, and my eyes to feel swollen and weary after breaking down, but all I found was relief. Somehow, it felt like I floated in a sea of endless lightness, a hundred bricks lifted from my chest, no longer pushing me down while I urgently fought to stay afloat.
Without an answer I stood, the nightgown draping over my bare feet. With each wandering step, the feel of lightness became part of my being, coursing through my arms, legs, and filling my heart with content and the notion that I truly, truly, was not alone.
“The people,” I gasped, turning around when the memory of their comforting touch returned.
“Your people,” Braxton smiled, walking to my side. “They were there for you when you needed them the most. Just like you have been there for them, even if they didn’t realize it.”
The sensation of Harriet’s motherly embrace returned when Braxton held me to him, his large hands curling along my waist and back. I glanced up at him, fresh tears reaching my eyes, but these weren’t born of sorrow. “They didn’t leave me.”
“Not all of them. No. When they saw you like that…” He shook his head, the muscles of his chest constricting under my fingers. “When you fell apart, it opened their eyes to the truth hidden from them, revealing the soul-crushing burden you have carried for so long. They understood how important you are to all of us. Seeing you like that did something to them. Our kin couldn’t help but rush to your side, wanting to comfort you.”
One of his hands lifted to my chin, his thumb caressing my jaw.
“There is no Kingdom of Hope without you, Evanna Skyborne. You are the heart of all hearts, and the glue that keeps them together. The Queen of the People… My queen."
His forehead sought mine again, and my hands glided up his chest, curving around his neck before my mouth closed over his, drinking the nectar of our love directly from his lips.
“You said, ‘not all’ left?” I asked, pulling away enough to look at him.
A saddened breath sank his chest, but he still managed to smile. “About four hundred people left after Lachlan.”
“Four hundred? But that is less than those who originally followed him.”
“A hundred returned to your side after witnessing his behavior.”
Nodding, I let the notion bring me relief, even when that meant the others had still followed him after his deceit and were now banished from our kingdom. As much as it hurt me to know that there were people out there without our protection, they had made their choice—the wrong one, but it was theirs to make.
I was done caring for people who didn’t care about me or even respected me enough to give me the benefit of the doubt. Especially after everything my family and I had sacrificed for them. I was done caring for those who hurt me.
“What about the recently rescued?”
My mate’s smile returned. “They are still with us. They—”