Page 95 of A Kingdom's Heart
A quiet, sudden laugh escaped me. “Well, it worked.”
That pulled a small laugh from her too, unsteady but real. It
broke something heavy between us. I found myself smiling, just a little.
“Come here,” I said.
She hesitated for only a heartbeat before stepping closer. I wrapped my arms around her, drawing her against me. She felt small and trembling in my hold, her cheek warm against my chest. For a long time, neither of us said anything. The only sound was her uneven breathing and the steady beat of my heart.
“I’m sorry,” I said finally. “For everything I said. When I called you a duty, I didn’t mean it. I was angry and feared the king a little. I wanted to push you away, but now I don’t. I don’t care about any of that.”
Her hands gripped my arms tighter. “I’m sorry too,” she whispered. “For lying about who I was. If I hadn’t, maybe none of this would have happened.”
I shook my head. “Don’t say that. I would have fallen for you no matter what name you gave me.”
She looked up then, her blue eyes soft and wet. “You forgive me?”
“I already have,” I said quietly. “I forgive you, Iris.”
Her lips parted slightly at the sound of her real name. “It feels good to hear you say it,” she whispered. “Not ‘your highness.’ Just Iris.”
I brushed a thumb across her cheek, wiping a tear that had
escaped. “Then Iris it is,” I said.
That drew another smile from her. She leaned into me, her forehead resting lightly against my chest. I held her tighter, my arms settling around her as if they belonged there. Which she did.
“It feels so good to finally be able to hold you again,” I said softly.
She tilted her head slightly, her voice muffled against me. “It feels so good that you’re not avoiding me anymore.”
I smiled faintly. “Then let’s keep it that way.”
Her quiet laugh filled the room, soft and tired. “Agreed,” she said.
A yawn escaped her, quiet and unguarded. I loosened my hold and stepped back slightly. “You should probably get some rest,” I said. The words felt heavy. I didn’t want the moment to end. I wanted to stay here, to hold her, to tell her everything she meantto me, to ask if she felt the same. To ask if she loved me too. But that could wait. Tomorrow would come soon enough.
She nodded, her eyelids already drooping. “I should,” she murmured, moving to sit on the edge of her bed.
I straightened, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword.
“You should rest too,” she said, glancing up at me.
“There’s no resting when it comes to your safety,” I replied.
She gave a tired smile. “But you’ve been awake for so long.”
She was right. I could feel the weight of exhaustion pressing at
the edges of my thoughts, though years of training had taught me to stay awake through worse. Still, I only said, “I’ll rest when you’ve fallen asleep.”
Her eyes softened. “You promise?”
“I do.”
She smiled again, faintly this time, and lay back against the pillows. The covers rose to her chin as her breathing slowed.
“Goodnight,” she whispered.
