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Chapter Thirty-Four

VOLAN

M y heart nearly stops when I see Maya crumpled on the ground. She’s so small, so vulnerable, compared to the warriors surrounding her. The urge to gather her in my arms and never let go burns through me, but I have no right. Not after what I did to her.

Around us, my warriors maintain their protective circle as they deal with the remaining beasts. I barely register Tanis shouting orders in my place - my entire focus is on Maya. Her leg is twisted at an awkward angle, and lines of pain crease her face. I did this. I brought her here, exposed her to these dangers.

“Maya,” her name escapes my lips like a prayer. My luminae pulse erratically, betraying every emotion I instinctively desire to hide.

She looks up at me, those dark eyes piercing straight through to my soul. I expect to see hatred there. I deserve her hatred. Instead, there’s something else... something that makes my heart stutter in my chest.

“You jumped off the arena wall,” she says, her voice tight with pain. “That was either really brave or really stupid.”

A laugh breaks free from my chest, rough and desperate. Even injured, she challenges me. “I would jump from much higher to reach you.”

The words slip out before I can stop them. Maya’s eyes widen slightly, and I curse my lack of control. I need to focus on helping her, not making grand declarations that I haven’t earned the right to speak.

“Your leg,” I say, kneeling beside her but not daring to touch. “Will you let me help?”

She studies me for a long moment. Beside her, the blue-scaled male - Melvall - groans as the harkcana helps him into a sitting position. Zoran hovers anxiously between them both. They fought to protect her when I couldn’t. They proved themselves better allies than I ever was.

“I’m pretty sure I can’t walk,” Maya admits. Her fingers dig into the sand beneath her, and I recognize her frustration. She hates feeling helpless - it’s one of the first things I learned about her. One of the many things I admire about her. She’s not a warrior in the traditional sense, but she embodies the spirit and loyalty of one.

“I wonder who can help with that,” Melvall pipes up, giving me a distinctly firm and pointed look. “He’s got all sorts of medicine that-”

“I will give her the nanites,” I cut him off. My hand goes to the pouch at my belt, where I keep a personal supply of the medicine. The same medicine that’s caused so much strife, so many battles. The same medicine that might now let me help her, if she’ll trust me one more time.

Maya’s spine stiffens. “The medicine everyone’s fighting over? That’s what you want to give me?”

“Yes.” I pull out the small container, its metallic surface catching the arena lights. “It will heal your injury completely.”

I swallow hard, then force myself to meet her gaze. “I know I have no right to ask you to trust me again. But please, let me help you.”

The words feel like shards of glass in my throat. Everything in me screams to simply gather her up and treat her wounds, to protect her as I’ve failed to do so far. But I won’t take her choice from her. Not again. Not after everything she’s gone through. In this manner, I will fully respect her decision - even if it kills me to know that she chooses pain rather than my assistance.

Maya’s gaze darts between my face and the container in my hands. Around us, warriors continue to battle the escaped creatures, their shouts echoing off the arena walls. We’re in the eye of the storm, a small bubble of quiet in the chaos. Just Maya and I, and this fragile moment that could shatter with one word from her.

“I betrayed you. I led you here under false pretenses. I-” the words tumble from my throat, completely unplanned. A confession - and one that doesn’t feel good enough. Nothing I will ever say will be good enough. Not for what I’ve done to her.

“You also just killed a giant tentacle monster to save my life,” she cuts me off. “So maybe we start there?”

Hope flares in my chest as I glance up at her face. The same face that has haunted my every thought since I first met her. She looks at me not with the hatred that I had expected, but with a complexity of emotions that makes my heart race.

“The nanites will heal you,” I tell her softly. My fingers shake slightly as I open the container, revealing the silvery gel inside. “But there are things you should know first.”

Maya’s eyebrows raise at my hesitation. I can almost hear her thinking how unusual it is for me to show uncertainty.

“The medicine... it changes you. It becomes a part of you.” I meet her gaze, willing her to understand the magnitude of what I’m offering. “This isn’t just healing, Maya. This is something that will alter you forever.”

“You mean like how you heal so quickly?” she asks. Of course, she noticed. She notices everything.

“Yes.” I find myself leaning closer, drawn to her despite my attempts to maintain distance. “The nanites in my blood are why I heal so fast. Why many of my people do. It’s our greatest secret... and our greatest shame.”

A cry from the stands draws my attention. More warriors pour into the arena, dealing with the remaining beasts. I should be leading them. I am their king now, after all. But I can’t leave Maya’s side. Not until she understands everything.

“Your father,” Maya says slowly, “He was protecting this secret. That’s why he wanted me dead.”

Pain lances through my chest at her words. At how close I came to losing her. “He was wrong. About so many things. About you most of all.”

“And you?” she challenges. “What were you wrong about?”

“Everything,” I admit. The word comes easily now that I’ve started confessing. “I thought I could protect my people by following his path. I thought I could protect you by bringing you here. I was wrong about what it means to be a protector, a warrior... a king.”

Maya’s eyes widen at that last word. “A king?”

“Yes.” I look down at the container in my hands, unable to meet her gaze. “I am - was - the prince. Now I am king. But none of that matters. Not compared to what I did to you.”

“It matters,” she says softly. When I dare to look up, her expression is gentle despite her pain. “It matters because it explains why you did what you did.”

“No,” I tell her. “Being king, having power... none of it means anything if I can’t protect those I care about.” I meet her gaze, willing her to see my sincerity. “Your quest - to save your people from corruption, to protect them - it’s more noble than anything I’ve achieved. Let me help you. Let me prove that I can be worthy of your trust again.”

Maya’s lips part in surprise. For a moment she just stares at me, and I fear I’ve said too much. Then her fingers brush mine as she takes the container from my hands. The touch sends electricity through my skin, my luminae pulsing in response.

“You really mean that, don’t you?” she asks.

Hope blazes through me, so intense my luminae probably blinds everyone nearby. “Every word. I swear on my very life, I will help you save them all.”

“Don’t,” Maya says sharply, her fingers tightening on mine. “Don’t swear on your life.”

Her reaction startles me. My luminae flicker with confusion as I study her face, trying to understand the pain I see there.

“When that thing had me,” she says, her voice catching, “when I thought I was going to die, all I could think about was you. How I’d never get to tell you...” She breaks off, looking away.

My heart thunders in my chest. I want to pull her into my arms, but I force myself to be gentle as I apply the nanite gel to her injured leg. “Tell me what?”

She watches the silvery substance seep into her skin, her own hands trembling slightly. “That I understand why you did it. That I forgive you.” Her eyes meet mine, fierce and vulnerable all at once. “That I love you.”

The container slips from my fingers, forgotten. My luminae blaze so bright the warriors around us step back, shielding their eyes. “Maya...”

“I know it’s crazy,” she continues in a rush. “You’re a king, and I’m just some computer engineer who can’t even fight properly. But when I saw you leap down here, putting yourself between me and danger without hesitation... I realized that’s who you are. You protect people. You protected me. And somewhere along the way, I fell in love with that stupidly noble, overprotective, absolutely infuriating male.”

I can’t help myself - I gather her into my arms, pulling her against my chest. She comes willingly, her small hands gripping my shoulders. “You are everything,” I tell her, my voice rough with emotion. “You’re brave and fierce and utterly remarkable. You make me want to be better, to be worthy of you. I love you, Maya. I think I’ve loved you since the moment you stood up to that scamper with nothing but a slingshot and pure determination. No, before that even, when you looked up at me in your people’s marketplace with such defiance in your eyes, like you were just begging me to disagree with you.”

She laughs against my chest, the sound watery. “You have really weird taste in females.”

“I have perfect taste,” I correct her. I pull back just enough to see her face, to memorize every detail of this moment. “I choose you. If you’ll have me?”

“You’re a king,” Maya says softly, pain in her eyes, but she doesn’t pull away from me. “Don’t you need someone more... appropriate? Someone who knows how to be a queen?”

“I need you,” I tell her firmly. “Someone who challenges me, who makes me see beyond what I was taught. Someone who’d throw her most precious possession at a monster just to save her friends.” I brush my thumb across her cheek. “You already have the heart of a queen - you put others before yourself, fight against corruption, protect those who need it. You are my light, the one to guide me through my darkest moments.”

A shaky laugh escapes her. “Is that what you saw? Because I’m pretty sure I just looked terrified and desperate.”

“I saw someone absolutely magnificent.”

Maya’s eyes widen at my words, her cheeks darkening.

Before she can tell me otherwise, I scoop her into my arms. She fits perfectly against my chest, like she was made to be there. There was a time when I took what I wanted, believing it was my right as prince, but now, I can see that it’s a gift to be given your desires instead.

“As soon as things are resolved here, we will return to your people. I promise.”

My people do too, I realize, but as I glance around, I notice Tanis quite capably shouting orders. The normally shy male stands tall, focused entirely on his work… and for once, he’s oblivious to the few females that watch him from afar.

“We need to deal with Walter and the council members,” Maya says, her expression hardening with determination. “They knew about your existence here all along. They’re clearly after the nanite medicine. In the right hands, it could save countless lives. In the wrong hands...We’ve got to stop them.”

Around us, the arena has finally quieted as the last of the beasts are subdued. My warriors await my command, and for the first time, I truly feel like a king. “Together, we’ll expose the corruption and protect both our peoples.”

Maya’s hand comes to rest over my heart. “Together,” she agrees. Then she grins up at me. “But first, you might want to put on a shirt. I mean, the glowing is impressive and all, but if we’re going to overthrow corrupt officials, you should probably look a bit more... official.”

I can’t help but laugh. This remarkable female who can face down monsters and still make jokes - she is truly everything I need. “As my queen commands.”

“I’m not your queen yet,” she reminds me, but there’s a smile in her voice.

“Yet,” I agree, holding her closer. No matter what comes next, I know we’ll face it together. And anyone who tries to harm her or her people will learn exactly why the sulthari are feared warriors. We were born to be protectors, and this is the legacy I will see restored.

My luminae betray my joy. Maya loves me. She forgives me. And together, we’ll build something better than either of us could achieve alone.