Cinder forced herself to hold his gaze, and to swallow the lighthearted joke that rose to the tip of her tongue. He wasn’t teasing her about engagement rings and dance lessons. This was a real question, from a real emperor, who had the real future of his country to consider.
If she wanted to be a part of his future, she’d have to be a part of it all.
“I would consider it,” she said, then took in the first full breath she’d taken in days. “Someday.”
His grin returned, full force and full of relief.
He put an arm around her and Cinder couldn’t smother her own smile as she leaned against him, staring at Artemisia Lake and the white city and planet Earth surrounded by stars. She spun the cumbersome, hateful foot in her fingers. Ever since she could remember, it had been a burden. A constant reminder that she was worthless, she was unimportant, she was nothing but a cyborg.
She held the foot over the water and let go.
And they all lived happily to the end of their days.