Page 126 of A Kingdom's Heart
I looked at him. His face was wet with tears, his hand still outstretched, trembling.
Love was more than wealth. More than duty. William was worth more than all of it.
But my thoughts still tangled. If I stayed, I would live a life of
silence and sorrow. I would smile for the court, bear the prince’s heir, and die a little more each day. My heart would belong to someone I could never touch again. Staying would mean surviving, not living.
If I went with him, I would lose the world. But I would have him. The one person who had ever seen me for who I truly was. The one who loved me before he knew my name.
My breath came out shaky. My decision came before my mind could catch up.
I stepped forward.
His eyes widened, glistening in the moonlight.
And then I placed my hand in his.
The world seemed to exhale around us, the sea roaring louder as if it knew what I had just done. His fingers tightened around mine, warm and certain, and I knew there was no turning back.
I had chosen him.
I had chosen love.
And everything else would come after.
CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
WILLIAM/IRIS
IRIS
Raven had helped us. Not easily. She had argued, begged even, her voice trembling as she tried to make me stay. But when I reminded her of the love she once lost, of how she knew what it felt like to ache for someone she could never have, something in her softened. She had promised not to tell my father, though tears filled her eyes as she watched us leave. I still saw that image whenever I blinked.
Now I sat wrapped in William’s cloak, staring at the horizon. The air was cold and sharp, biting at my cheeks. The water shimmered like liquid glass beneath the moon, and I tried to steady my breathing against the rhythm of the oars.
William’s movements were calm and even. His arms flexed with every stroke, the quiet splash of water breaking the stillness. After a while, he turned to me, his face half hidden by the shadows.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice low. “We can still go back.”
I met his eyes. “No,” I whispered. “I don’t want to go back.”
A tear slipped down my cheek. I didn’t bother wiping it away. My chest hurt, tight with all the things I couldn’t say. I had made
the right choice, but it was still hard. Harder than I imagined.
William slowed the boat until it drifted gently with the tide. His gaze stayed on me, full of worry and tenderness all at once.
I looked down at the sea, then back at him. “Where will we go?” I asked quietly.
He looked toward the horizon, his jaw tightening as if he were
choosing his words carefully. The boat rocked softly beneath us, the moonlight stretching over the water like a path only we could see.
“A place no one can find us,” he said finally. “My parents’ home. It’s far from the cities, far from civilization.”
My breath caught. I remembered. The same little house I had run into on that stormy night, drenched and trembling, when I first met him. The smell of the fire, the sound of the rain on the roof, the warmth in his voice when he offered me shelter. It all came rushing back like a dream I never wanted to end.
I looked at him and the ache in my chest softened just a little. The sea stretched endlessly ahead, but for the first time, it didn’t feel so terrifying.
