Page 163 of Wicked Prince of Frost

I flex my hand. The shimmering thread of magic, once tied to our fingers, is gone. “Our marriage was always meant to be temporary. It ended when the curse broke and both our promises were fulfilled,” I say quietly.

“My heart says you are my wife still. I do not need a bargain to tell me as much.” Joon presses his lips to the spot just below my ear. The delicate kiss sends heat sluicing through my body.

“I’m not so sure anyone else would agree,” I say. My eyes close as his mouth explores my skin.

“The world can think what it wants of me. Nothing will stop me from claiming what is rightfully mine.” His lips move over the column of my throat, leaving a trail of kisses between nips and flicks of his tongue. “One way or another, I will have you as my wife again. You are the fate I choose, just as I am yours.”

My back bumps up against the rough bark of a tree. “I suppose there is not much for me to do but accept my fate,” I say.

“Then say it. Say that you are mine, and I am yours.”

This moment reminds me of another. When we pretended during a time when I would never live a normal life, and hewas destined for one far outside my reach, when being together was nothing more than an impossible dream. But now it is ours to seize.

“I am yours, and you are mine,” I say.

“For the rest of our lives and beyond.” He leans forward.

“For the rest of our lives and beyond,” I echo, just as Joon’s lips descend on mine.

EPILOGUE

VIOLET

“Are you sure about this?”Joon grimaces. “Perhaps I should wear something nicer?”

I glance at him from the corner of my eye. This might be the first time I’ve ever seen him look so uncomfortable. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

He looks like he wants to protest, but after several false starts, he presses his lips into a tight line and sighs in defeat.

“You’ve never met anyone’s family before, have you?” I ask slowly.

Joon lifts his chin, adopting a false haughtiness. “I have… just not in this context.”

“This will be casual. I want them to meet you first. Humans don’t usually go around marrying someone they just met.”

He frowns. “But we didn’t just meet.”

Stifling a laugh, I say, “Weknow that, but they don’t. The man I married was declared dead after defeating the Traitor King.” I press my palm to his chest. “I haven’tknownthisJoon for long.”

“All right, I concede to your point,” he says reluctantly.

I take his hand, then half-drag him inside my parents’ house before he can delay again. I’d moved into a small cottage near the northern side of town after I finished studying under Physician Wilkes, but this will always be home to me.

Familiar voices drift from other areas in the house. They have company. I briefly wonder if I should have given them notice rather than dropping in on a whim. I push the doubt away. It’s too late now anyway.

I want to talk about Joon with my family.

“Mother? Father? I’m home,” I call out. “I brought someone I want you to meet.”

A rush of people comes from the kitchen in the back all at once. Mother and Father lead the way with Talya, Sebastian, and his fiancé Lilly, and Mr. and Ms. Byron following.

Everyone begins talking over each other. Joon takes half a step back, positioning himself slightly behind me.

“Why don’t we all take a seat in the drawing room while we wait for dinner?” Mother suggests, speaking loud enough to silence the rush of questions.

Chatter immediately resumes as everyone files into the next room, eager for an introduction.

“You will stay for dinner, won’t you?” she asks Joon.