I sweep my thumb over her cheek, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“What’s bothering you about this?”

“I don’t want you to regret it. I don’t want you to resent me or the choice you made. I don’t want you to do this just for me.”

“I’m not,” I say. “I mean, I am, but not in the way you’re implying. I’m doing it for us. I’m doing it for Heart, The Aurora, and all of Ouranos. We can’t beat my father without the bond. And you can’t destroy the ark without it. This makes sense.”

“Just because it makes sense doesn’t mean you might not regret this one day. And didn’t you tell me once you couldn’t risk the magic of The Aurora going somewhere else?”

“If I’m no longer the Primary, there is nothing stopping me from killing him. If I step down willingly first, then the Torch will not punish us. And if we don’t stop Zerra and my father, there will be nothing left to protect.”

She blows out a breath and presses her forehead against my chest before looking back up. “How did we end up with villains on every side of us?”

I smirk. “I never thought I’d end up fighting for everyone. But that day we escaped my father in Heart, I knew then I was protecting you not for myself, but for every single being on the continent.”

I touch her cheek, and she lays a hand over mine.

“I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

“I don’t care. I wish I could open my brain and let you see that I don’t care about a crown. I have never cared about a crown. I care only for you.”

Then I lean down and kiss her, hoping that I’m conveying everything my words are saying. I don’t care. Maybe when I was younger I liked the idea. Even a few months ago, if you’d asked me the question, I might have told you I wanted it, but Lor has changed me in ways that I can never return from. The crown isn’t important. What matters is family and friendship and this burning flame I carry for her in my heart. One that I won’t let be snuffed out. The Empyrium aren’t taking her from me, and Zerra certainly isn’t, and we’ll find some way through all of this.

My mouth finds hers, our lips fusing together in a slide of warmth. Her tongue grazes the seam of my lips, and I part them. We kiss, luxuriating in the decadence of its slow perusal, discovering one another over and over.