Page 51 of An Empress of Earth & Darkness

He had seen both of them from the beginning. This wasn’t a shock. The looks, the small gestures, the tension in their arguments that weren’t really arguments. Time after time, she had opened up to Torin, allowing him further into her heart. She brought out the best in Torin. It was what the Gods called balance.

“I am sorry that I didn’t challenge my father more on the arranged marriage,” he found the courage to say. “You deserved better than that.”

“It’s all right, Gideon. I understand that your traditions are special to you.” She sighed as she found the railings too.

“I wouldn’t say special,” he said, trying to find some sort of humour in this mess. “It’s just not how I wanted things to be, you know? For things to turn out this way.”

She nodded politely. “I know you didn’t.”

Another moment passed, her gaze still on him. And she must have known that he was working up to asking her something significant because she seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

“Answer me one thing,” he finally said, not waiting any longer for his final piece of closure. “Truthfully, after all of this is said and done, if my brother wins tomorrow, it is his path to become the commander of the clan. If he tears up the treaty that chains you to the Blacksteel Clan and states that your heart is free to choose whoever it wants, will your heart still choose him?”

She took a moment, and as she thought it over, a long strand of hair worked its way out like a silken banner, blowing across her face.

“Yes. Gideon, my heart would choose Torin.” Her throat bobbed. “My head, if it were sensible, would tell me to choose you. It would tell me that we would have had a good life together, a great friendship. But my heart cannot allow me to do that. My heart belongs to him. Our souls are attached.” A pool of tears swam in her eyes, and guilt etched into her features. “I know you wanted to fight for us, for something that your father wanted. But he inflicted that pressure on you, and that wasn’t fair to you, your brother, or me.” She stepped forward, and Gideon could see a small tear glitter down her cheek. “Thank you for offering to fight for me, but I will not allow you to sacrifice your happiness anymore. It would be cruel of me to give you any kind of hope that my heart is undecided on where it lies. Whether I realised it or not, it’s been settled for a long time.”

“I know,” he said, looking at his boots. “I realise that now. But please don’t cry.” He quickly closed the distance between them so that he could wipe away her tears. “You should be happy that your heart finally found its unwavering, core-rattling, soul-on-fire kind of love.”

She laughed as another tear fell. “With us, it was like trying to fit a key into a lock that just didn’t quite fit.”

“Oh, the key did fit,” he said back, his hunter charm lingering in the air. “It just doesn’t unlock the door.”

Emara laughed again and rolled her eyes. “Right,” she said. She stood back with a smile and wiped her own tears.

“I said to you long ago that it would be an absolute travesty if someone won your heart that wasn’t worthy of it. But my brother is. I am happy for you both.” Gideon tucked one hand into his pocket.

Emara rolled her lips, another tear falling as she mouthed, “Thank you.”

He threw her a cheeky grin. “So,” Gideon teased, feeling the energy between them shift, “what was it about him? His downright bad attitude? His swaggering arrogance? The rebellion in his eyes?”

Emara’s laugh travelled into the dusky pink sky. Gideon laughed with her, feeling a little lighter.

But when she settled back down, she had that beautiful magic in her eyes. “Torin is formidable, and when he looks at me, he makes me feel that way too,” she replied. Her eyes softened, and her heart burst open wide for the world to see. “He makes me feel like I could conquer anything.”

Gideon smirked. “You should see him when he gears us up before a hunt. That might really tip you over the edge. Some say he’s the most formidable warrior in the clan, but don’t tell him that. We don’t need his ego getting any bigger.”

They laughed again, and as the amusement settled into silence, Emara spoke. “Whatever happens, I don’t want us to lose this, our friendship. We almost have before, and I don’t want that to happen again.”

“It won’t,” he promised her. “We are on the same team.”

“Good.”

He let out an over-dramatic sigh. “Well, I suppose you should go and find the formidable, Torin Blacksteel.”

“I liked you better when you were sulking,” Emara jested, sticking her tongue out at him.

“No,” he laughed. “But you should go. He needs you tonight.”

A softness found its way into Emara’s eyes again, and her features relaxed. She nodded once. “I am glad I caught you.”

“Me too.” He smiled politely back at her.

Emara turned to walk away, but just as she reached the door, she swirled around, her dark hair swinging over her shoulder. “Take her freesia.” Gideon’s brow must have pulled down because Emara laughed. “Freesia is Sybil’s favourite flower. There is some growing in your mother’s garden, you will know by the smell. They are beautiful. Pick her a bunch and take them to her. The white ones are her favourite.”

With a smile, the Empress of Air disappeared down the steps.

Freesia was Sybil’s favourite flower.

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