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"Always ju to conclusions" He chuckled and kissed me, and I obediently shut up "I meant what it would be like to have you here all year I have never had anyone spend that much time in the Underworld with me before"

"I want to," I whispered "You’re ain, but instead he pulled away In the low light, I thought I saw hi me, but my vision was bleary from sleep, and I couldn’t be sure

"Do you still want to be ht that was i"

"You do not have to take on the duties of the Queen of the Underworld now if you feel you are not ready," said Henry "You are my wife no matter what role you play in the work I do"

I didn’t answer right away I couldn’t control the one power I had so far; whatever other ones cauarantee I would be able to control those, either "Do you think I can do it?"

"Yes," said Henry unequivocally "You ht away, but in time, I have no doubt you will be the best partner I could ask for You have a rare gift--"

"Falling all overup every choice I er to rew somber "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you

You have the extraordinary ability to bring people together when they want nothing more than to walk away and never come back You see the simplest solutions e often see only the complications, and you have hope in the most impossible of situations But most of all, you understand people When you see someone, you do not see their ac-tions Despite how you may feel about them, you see their motivations and have the compassion to understand thereat queen Not even I have that self-control"

I wasn’t so sure he was right about all of that, but the sincerity in his voice stopped my objections cold It didn’t matter whether or not his vision of me was biased; what mattered was that he believed in me

I traced an invisible pattern on the hollow of his collar-bone The s to do would have been to wait

Wait until the end of the war, until I could close my eyes and see anyplace or anyone I wanted, wait until I fully understood what it was like to live, let alone die; but as Henry watchedin the di above us, I knewforto wait anymore I couldn’t dash Henry’s hopes just because I wasn’t one-hundred-percent sure I could do this Henry was, and that meant more to me than I could ever express

"Yes," I said without a hint of uncertainty "I want to be your queen, whenever you’re able to do the ceremony As soon as I return, if you’d like"

Henry took ht appeared between theainst my skin "I do not see a reason to wait"

My eyes widened, but I didn’t give uess it This hat I wanted I’d prepared for this since the moment Henry had found ht There was no reason to wait "Neither do I"

He sht choice "As my wife, you have consented to take up the responsibilities of Queen of the Underworld," he said, the same words he’d said exactly three months earlier "You shall rule fairly and without bias over the souls of those who have departed the world above, and fro of every year hence, you shall devote yourself to the task of guiding those who are lost and protecting all fro what came next "Do you, Kate Winters, accept the role of Queen of the Underworld, and do you agree to uphold the responsibilities and expectations of such?"

This time I didn’t hesitate "Yes," I whispered "One-hundred-percent yes"

The light between our hands disappeared, and for a moment ere pitched into darkness Before I could so ht in the roo above our bed, even the candles f lah the palace Through the entire Underworld, as far as I knew

"My queen," said Henry, kissing my knuckles "I am honored"

I blushed "Is that it, then?" I said "I’m--I’m queen?"

"I am certain the council will require a more formal ceremony, but you are my queen" He cupped my chin and pressed his lips to mine, chastely at f irst, but as the seconds passed, the promise of more formed between us "Now that you are awake, I ht si we celebrate?" I said, andqueen would feel different so inside of ed, but I felt the same I was still me, and with Henry besidethat this will be our last night together for a while," he murmured, "and I would like to make the most of it"