Page 70 of Claimed
“You see, I realized almost instantly how much you would change me,” he said instead. “How you would smile at me and brighten my whole world, how you would challenge and provoke me, irritate and frustrate me. And most of all, how you would make it impossible for me to live for even one day without knowing that you were safe, you were healthy. And that you were mine.”
Nicki jolted, jerking her gaze up to meet Stefan’s when she realized she’d been staring at his mouth as if she couldn’t quite process the words coming out of it. His eyes were the color of a winter sea, a turbulent blue-gray, and she felt her heart kick up its pace. Not frantically, not erratically…but as powerful and true as Stefan himself, standing like a rock in the storm that was building around her.
“I—I don’t—I didn’t mean to upset you,” she finally said, and Stefan’s fierce expression wavered, a warmth coming into his eyes as his lips curved into a tender smile—a gentler smile than she’d ever seen on his face.
“But you did upset me, Nicki. You changed everything for me by walking into that room. I know you have a life beyond these walls, beyond the four corners of this kingdom. You have an entire world of adventures to live. But I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t want you to share those adventures with me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you to stay with me—by my side—to see what we could find if we explored this world together. Not racing each other to the finish line, not seeing who reaches the top of the hill first, but learning how fast and how well we can run together, pulling and pushing each other, if need be, or simply holding each other close. Because I love you, Nicki. I think I have since the first moment I saw you. And that’s…” he swallowed, and his smile faltered a little, his expression suddenly a little dazed, as if he hadn’t expected to say all those words at once. “That’s what I wanted to say. To ask you if you’d consider remaining here in Oûros. With me.”
Nicki wanted to respond—she really did. She wanted to speak with the same flowing and beautiful words that Stefan had. Words that no one had ever said to her, no one probably evenimaginedsaying to her, even if she’d slowed down long enough to let them. But the tears welled up in her eyes and she shookher head, hard, her voice barely a rasp as she finally managed speech.
“I—yes,” she said, her heart overflowing with its own set of tears, breaking down and dissolving the tight web of protections she’d built up around it for so many years. “Yes, Stefan. I can live anywhere in the world, I think, as…” She let her gaze fix on his, his beautiful eyes steady and true, staring back at her. “As long as you’re there with me. Because I love you, too.”
Her words were barely a whisper, but it didn’t seem to matter as Stefan bent toward her, claiming her mouth with his.
“It’s going to be all right,” he said, when he finally broke away from her. “You’ll have to trust me on this.”
Only then did she hear the sound of applause.
Nicki’s head came up, as Stefan turned with her, his arms around her as if he thought she would fall. But he stood with her, not before or behind her, as she looked out at people she had come to care about impossibly much over the past few weeks. The king and queen, standing together with hands clasped. Dimitri, Kristos, and even Cyril, all of them watching Stefan as if he had six heads.
And Queen Catherine, her face radiant with delight, her hands clasped to her heart as if her every wish had somehow come true.
Epilogue
Nicki lay collapsed on the chaise beside a crystal blue pool, every muscle in her body screaming in muted agony. Beside her, Stefan lay with a towel draped over his head. A tray between them held fruit juices and a collection of sugary pastries, but neither of them had the energy to stretch that far, not even for food.
“Those people were barbarians,” Nicki groaned.
“They were…certainly thorough.” Stefan sighed as he pulled the towel down his face, his starkly beautiful features appearing untroubled, as if they hadn’t just run the equivalent of a marathon uphill carrying bricks. “They’ll have preliminary results soon, I suspect, but I consider the fact that neither one of us collapsed a good thing.”
She didn’t miss the concern threading through his wry comment. If it were possible to hover from a treadmill across a gym floor, Stefan had hovered. First through the bloodwork, then through the VO2 max stress test, and finally through the window as they’d been taken in separately to be scanned. Nicki had undergone an echocardiogram test, sort of an ultrasound for the heart, and the techs had retained professionally neutral expressions throughout the entire procedure—the same kindof expressions that the diabolical personal trainers had worn as they put them through every muscle, sprint and endurance stress test Nicki had ever heard of, and a few she hadn’t.
But Stefan was right. She hadn’t passed out or gotten dizzy. She’d taken every challenge up to the point where she felt uncomfortable and then backed off, determined to do only as much as she could without pushing herself to a limit that no one asked of her—a limit no one wanted her to hit. It was strange, not going all out, but it was right too. She had a reason to protect herself.
She smiled at Stefan. “It’s been one good thing after another, it seems.”
He nodded, but his expression turned more serious at her words. “It has,” he said. “And there’s something else I really do need to explain to you.”
As if on cue, all of Nicki’s neuroses leapt to the fore. She and Stefan had retired to separate rooms the night before, but she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his words in front of the royal family. She opened her mouth to tell him it was okay, that he could take it back, that he could—and then he said something that made the words die in her throat.
“You’re going to receive the Rite of Oûros, Nicki. Do you know what that means?”
She frowned at him. “The what?” Then her eyes widened. “Oh, right! The queen said that yesterday.”
“Do you know what it is?” he asked again.
From the severity of his face, she decided honesty was the best policy here. “Umm…no. Is it bad?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. It’s—it’s perhaps best stated as an honored position within the borders of Oûros. You’re not a citizen, but you’ll enjoy the benefits of one.”
“Oh.” Nicki considered that. “That sounds good.”
He eyed her closely, almost expectantly, but she didn’t know why. “What?” She prompted. “What am I missing?”
“You’ll also receive a yearly stipend,” Stefan continued, holding her gaze. “And a home, fully paid for, in your name—that is, if you didn’t want to move in with me.”
“A…” Unaccountably, Nicki’s eyes felt wet. She blinked, hard, to clear them. “Are you insane?”Was he asking her to live with him? Was that even possible?
“I’m not.” His smile was infinitely tender. “Whatever you want, whatever you crave, it’s yours. I swear it.”