So many emotions cross Gabriel’s face. Absently, he touches his throat where the golden lines of the Sun King once marked him as a prisoner.

Then his shoulders drop in resignation.

“I know,” he says softly. They bend their heads together as they each wrap a hand around the back of the other’s neck. They murmur soft words to one another I can’t make out.

Then Tyr releases Gabriel and turns to face me. “I will take this burden from you,” he says before looking to the Empyrium. “If you will have me.”

The Empyrium says nothing for a moment, the various people of its form flickering in and out as if they’re having a discussion. I watch in hope while Nadir clings to me tighter.

“But you’ll be alone up here,” Erevan says. “You’ll have only this place. You already lived like that for a century.”

“I’ve been alone for so long,” Tyr replies. “When I sat in that tower, looking out over Aphelion, I could do nothing. But here, I can make a difference. I can be better than Zerra, and maybe everything that happened will have had a purpose.”

Tyr’s gaze meets mine, his eyes soft with conviction.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

He smiles and tips his head. “It’s the first thing I’ve been sure of in a very long time, Heart Queen.”

The Empyrium confer for another few seconds before they speak.

“The Sun King is pure of heart. If he chooses to relinquish his crown, then we accept his offer. Is the Primary ready to step into his place?”

Every eye turns to Erevan before he exchanges a long look with Gabriel. I hold my breath, waiting for my entire life to shift in one direction or the other.

Gabriel rests a hand on Erevan’s shoulder.

“This was inevitable, Erevan. You’ve resisted for as long as you could, but you understand it’s time,” he says. “Besides, after everything Aphelion did to Lor, it’s the least we can give her.”

He gestures towards me, and my eyes fill with tears again as he gives me a small smile that feels like I’ve just won a war I’ve been battling since the day he dragged me out of that hole in the Void.

Erevan lets out a long sigh. I watch as his shoulders droop like a giant weight has been set on top of them. He looks at me and then dips his chin.

“Very well,” he says. “I will accept my place.”

I expel a shaky breath as Nadir kisses my temple. I can hardly dare to believe this is real.

“Say your goodbyes,” the Empyrium says to Tyr. “Your life changes today.”