“It seems you know a great deal more than me,” Aurora said, with a hiccup of a laugh. Kiran turned quickly, unsure if he had offended her, but she was … smiling, albeit tentatively, her eyes still red with worry.

He shrugged. “I have a lot of faith in you, that’s all.”

“I guess it’s good at least one person does,” she replied, her tone dropping.

“What happened to the girl who was going to travel the wilds and win her magic, no matter what I or anyone else said?”

Aurora sighed. “I am beginning to realize that I traded one kind of naivety for another. I left this sheltered place, looking to learn more about myself and the world, and I did that. I thought I had cracked open some secret and everything would then fall into place. But I forgot that it is not as simple as my single journey from beginning to end, that there are thousands upon thousands of other journeys happening simultaneously. Why should mine be any more important than theirs? We’re all connected, and more suffering for one means more suffering for all. At least that’s how it should be. But everything is so divided, no one here looks past the parameters of their own wants and needs. Promise me you will tell me if I ever do that—if I put my own wants ahead of the humanity of others. Again, that is.”

By the end of her speech, she was rubbing the heel of her hand over the place where the skyfire originated in her chest. And he could not help himself any longer; he was drawn to her like waves to the shore. He could try to hold himself back, but as long as he was near her, he would find himself falling again and again and again. She was the irresistible tide.

He sat down on the sofa beside her, slowly, so that she had the chance to object or move away if she wanted. When she stayed where she was and boldly met his gaze, he looped an arm gently over her shoulder.

“I did not want you to be a princess. You know that by now. But if anyone should be admitting mistakes it is me. I was selfish and greedy. I wanted you all to myself. But the world needs a princess like you, Aurora. It needs someone who contemplates the suffering of others. We need someone willing to admit to mistakes, willing to compromise and work alongside people from every background. This world needs your courage and your compassion, and I never should have tried to keep that for myself.”