Page 116 of Elemental Becoming
“And you didn’t break. You didn’t suffer because of me. Somehow, instead of destroying you, you became stronger beside me.”
His forehead lowers toward mine, close enough that I can feelthe warmth of his breath against my lips.
“You made me see that I was never a curse to bear. That love does not destroy.”
His hand cups my jaw, his thumb tracing lightly over my cheek.
“And gods help me, Amara—”
A breath.
A heartbeat.
“You made me want it anyway.”
His voice never wavers.
“I love you.”
He exhales sharply afterward, his grip tightening as if he’s afraid I might slip away.
As if I ever could.
My throat tightens, my chest aching with something I don’t know how to hold. Because I know. Deep down, I’ve always known.
“Thane.”
His name leaves me like a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, something sacred—something that has always, always belonged to him.
My chest tightens, my pulse a thunderous drum against my ribs. The words rise before I can stop them, desperate. A truth too heavy to carry inside any longer.
“I love you, too.”
It was always a choice.
But the moment I finally let myself see it—truly see it—it felt inevitable.
Like gravity.
Like something written into the stars long before we existed.
I swallow hard, my voice trembling, but the truth inside me does not falter.
“I have for a while now. Maybe since the moment you steppedinto my world and made me see myself—truly see myself—for the first time. Maybe since you looked at me and saw not just my power, butme.”
Emotion catches in my throat.
“The girl who thought she had to prove her worth. The girl who always fought, always ran headfirst into the impossible, but never stopped to see what she was really made of. You made me see that I was strong even if my magics never awakened. That I was more than a prophecy. More than fate.”
I search his eyes, burning with something absolute.
“And maybe even before that,” I whisper. “Maybe some part of me has been reaching for you my whole life without even knowing why.”
I exhale shakily, my heart completely exposed.
“It isn’t a decision, Thane. It never was.”
My voice softens.
