Page 54 of Stolen Magic (All That Glitters #2)
“I am so sorry for the pain you’ve endured,” he said. “I can’t undo what’s been done, but I can promise you that every scar you carry and every secret from your past matters to me. If you choose to stay with me, if you’ll let me, I’ll spend my life helping you heal.”
Tears blurred my vision as I stared at him, letting the love and tenderness of his words seep into all the broken places I’d thought would never mend. He knew the truth—every lie, weakness, and mistake—and still, he chose me…allowing me to finally believe that I was worthy of choosing him, too.
“I used to believe my hate was stronger than anything I possessed,” I said.
“Stronger than grief, even stronger than love. But then I met you, and somehow, despite every wall I built, you reached me. You really saw me when I couldn’t even see myself.
And somewhere along the way, the hate began to fade—not because I forgot what I’d lost, but because I finally found something worth building instead. ”
Slowly, I reached for him. He took my hand, his fingers curling around mine with a tenderness that felt like coming home.
“I don’t believe you ever truly hated me,” he murmured.
“You were deeply and unjustly hurt in a way no one should ever have to endure. And though you came here to right that wrong, from the beginning you saw me for myself. Long before you learned to trust me, you looked past my title instead of letting hatred blind you. You may have believed you were nothing more than a witch on a journey of vengeance, but you have always been so much more. From the moment we met, the goodness of your heart shone through, whether you realized it or not.”
His sweet words cradled my heart, healing the last of the fractures until none remained.
“I love you,” I whispered. “Even when I tried not to. Not as a prince or even as the man who saved me, but as the man who stood in the wreckage of everything I was, and still saw someone worth reaching for. I thought loving you would be the ultimate betrayal—to my mother, to my past, to the girl I used to be. But now I think the real betrayal would be walking away from what we could create together.”
His hand rose to gently cup my cheek, as if I were something infinitely precious. I leaned into the warmth of his touch, my eyes fluttering shut as I allowed myself to bask in all of him—his tenderness, his care in the way he held me, as though I might vanish if he wasn’t gentle enough.
“I love you too, Lysa.” The words trembled with emotion, the weight of truth anchoring each word. “Even before I fully remembered, I think my heart always knew.”
My breath caught upon hearing my name attached to his love. “Can you say it again?”
He smiled. “Lysa, my love.” He leaned forward, and my heart met him halfway.
Our lips met—not rushed, but as reverent as a vow, soft and achingly real, as though we had all the time in the world to explore the beauty of our newfound feelings.
The kiss didn’t steal breath or demand answers, but gave space to everything we were and all that we felt for one another.
His hands cradled my face, thumbs brushing away a tear I hadn’t realized had fallen, grounding me to the impossible truth that I was no longer alone in loving him.
I leaned into him, my fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, holding on as if anchoring myself to this moment.
I kissed him back with everything I had—every ache, every regret, every fragile hope that had carried me through the darkest of nights—and he answered in kind, giving all of himself in return.
There was no more pretending, no more borrowed names or stolen titles.
Just two people who had once stood on opposite sides of a broken world, now daring to believe they could build something whole together.
When we finally parted we rested our foreheads together, our breath mingling, hearts stumbling in the same rhythm. I opened my eyes to find him already watching me, his expression filled with awe and wonder, like he was still trying to believe I was real.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. There was no need with all the precious feelings enfolding us. I allowed myself to bask in him, the silence between us full and warm and brimming with understanding.
At last, he spoke. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I can’t wait to discover it with you. If you’re willing, I would like to keep courting you. Together, we can build something real and honest from the ashes.”
This time, I was the one to lean in and kiss him.
A gentle swirl of violet magic rose from my still-untrained palm, curling around us like a blessing.
All the hatred I’d once carried for his kingdom had transformed into love for the man who would someday rule it.
I no longer clung to the pain of what I had been, but to the joy I found in him and the hope of what our future together held.
I wanted Callan. Not the crown prince, just the man who had seen me at my worst and loved me anyway. We were no longer prince and impostor, just two souls who had found each other across the ruins of the past—and perhaps, at last, found a new beginning.