Nathaniel exhales, shaking his head as he considers his sister, but it’s a gentle motion. “Hagan may be my champion now, but he can’t atone for the past. He knows that. You need to accept it too. You’re free to make a match with anyone else you choose.”
She listens quietly, pressing her palms together before she says, “You’re trying to protect me. He’s trying to protect me. But, Nathaniel… who else is going to challenge me when I make the wrong decisions? Who else is going to stand firm and deal with all of my fears? My flaws?” She points to the field. “That man is the only person who truly knows me.”
She grabs Nathaniel’s hand, the one with the scars. “You took hold of your future, fought for love, when everyone—including me—fought against you. I’m ready to fight for my future too.”
He covers her hand with his. He’s quiet for a long moment as she looks up at him. She will never beg him, but she won’t stop fighting for what her heart wants.
“Then what are you waiting for?” he asks.
She stares at him, surprised, hope filling her face. “I have your blessing?”
He inclines his head toward Hagan. “You don’t need it.”
She steps back from Nathaniel, flashes me a smile brighter than the sun, and then spins on her heel and strides onto the field.
Nathaniel slips his arm around me as we watch her go.
In the distance, Hagan’s focus shifts toward Christiana the moment that she appears. He takes a step away from the trainees he was working with, his head raised, the sunlight catching the silhouette of his broad shoulders and back. He has never lost his dangerous intelligence. For a moment, he freezes, his chest rising and falling as if his breathing increased just from seeing her. His gaze locks on her and doesn’t let go.
He won’t be able to push her away this time.
I lean into Nathaniel, warmth filling my heart, catching the smile in Nathaniel’s eyes as his forefinger traces the shape of his family name across my face.
With each stroke, he murmurs, “The sun, the moon. And you—the starlight in between.”
I turn in his arms, reaching up to his face, tracing my own symbol across his forehead and cheeks, stroking the last line down his lips and chin. “All of the stars. And you—my anchor.”
He returns the kiss I press against his smiling lips.
Very soon, I will sleep.
But when night falls and the world is dark, I will wake up and shine.
THE END