Light of Stars [2]

Chapter Seventy-Six

♕ On One Knee ♕

Sybilla grabbed Zanders hand as he stared at the letters in his hand. She could feel all of their eyes staring at him, and at Aubrette, waiting for either of them to speak again.

"You've known this since you got here?" Zander asked Aubrette. "And you didn't say anything?"

"Well, I didn't want to say something and risk it not being true" she said. "I didn't know if it was well, if it was even possible. But I read more on Jackel when I first went to Infernum... All of it adds up though, if you need to read about it on your own... Zander this doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it too. We can keep it a secret. It can stay between the people in this room"

Zander frowned. "No" he said. "No. I... look I was never close with my family... I was never the good son or the best brother, but I had chosen you as family before this, you know that."

Aubrette smiled. "Yeah well we didn't exactly give you much of a choice" she said laughing.

"You know what this means right?" Zander said. "You're next in line to the throne."

"Until you have a family of your own" Aubrette agreed.

Zander turned to Sybilla, his hand reaching out for hers. Sybilla grabbed it, pulling him as close to her as she could. Family. She had a family now.

The room fell into silence, Dorian clearing his throat. "We are all too tired to discuss anything else. We should all just rest for a while"

Zander nodded. "We'll carry on in the morning"

Dorian stood up letting go of his grip on Aubrette for the first time all night, just to give her a chance of hugging Sybilla goodnight, and then wrapped his arms around her again.

Sybilla watched them leave, Nevaeh looking everywhere but at the two of them.

"They weirdly make kind of a good family don't you think?" Zander said, placing his chin on her shoulder, moving his face to the side to leave a kiss on her jaw.

"Yes. I think they do" she agreed. Grinning, and turning to kiss him back.

The two of them slowly made their way back to their bedroom. The palace was quiet, more quiet than she'd ever heard it before. She could almost hear the sound of the sun as it rose up from the windows. The sky filled in pink and purple shades. Washing over the whiteness of the walls.

She stepped inside closing the door behind them, not waisting any time before moving to sit on the bed. There were birds singing somewhere too, even with her eyes half closed, she could hear their humming in her ears, whispering as they woke up for a new day, a new tomorrow.

"You think we'll have more days like this?" She said.

"What do you mean?"

Sybilla smiled pushing her hair behind her ear as he opened the door to their room, both of them walking inside.

"Just, peaceful you know" she said. "With so much silence you can hear your own heart"

Zander smiled. "I think that's all we'll ever have. Just an eternity of silence and peace."

"An eternity?" She asked, watching him as he placed his jacket on top of a chair, beside Sybilla's just thrown out heels. "So you're real serious about this then?" She asked. Watching as his smile grew at her question. "You and me?"

"Oh I don't know" he said shrugging, turning his back to her.

"You don't know?" She asked, for a second feeling her her doubt even knowing he was just messing around with her. "I think that picturing an eternity of peace would be sign enough sir" she said teasingly.

Zander chuckled. "You think I'm not serious about this?" He asked, turning his head just enough so that she could see his profile.

Sybilla smirked. "I don't know. We haven't really had a chance to speak about it all. I know you might have not... meant all the things we said before." She said, trying to speak honestly. He didn't hold him to whatever promises he'd made to her. Not when he'd made them in a place of such pain. Not when now he could see everything much clearer.

"Sybilla Trueheart" Zander said. "Are you seriously doubting my feelings for you right now?" He said.

Sybilla tried not to smile. "No." She said. "I know you love me. Just not how much."

"How about this..." he whispered, walking towards her. He kneeled down with both his knees, placing his hands on her knees. "I could have never expected myself to be happy. I thought that was just something people said to have a thing to look forward to. I could've never thought I would be able to show my heart to someone else. Someone who could take it from me and I would not feel afraid, because I would know its safe, that they probably care for it more than I would. I found you when I least expected to, and I watched you be in pain and suffer for those you love the most, I watched you never loose your smile through all of it, never loose a speck of your conviction. I fell in love with you the second you carried me halfway across the world so that I'd get a chance to heal. Even when you didn't even like me that much" He said, laughing. Sybilla giggled along with him, a tear falling from her face. "I found you slowly become the one thing in my life that was stable, constant, unwavering. You are my peace. You are everything I want to be. Every piece of love I could ever feel is tied to you."

Sybilla placed her fingers on his mouth stopping him, tears falling down her face. "And here I was just wanting to hear you say I love you once more" she said joking, because that's the only way she could respond without breaking into pieces.

Zander smiled. Kissing her hand and turning it so her palm would face up.

Sybilla frowned. "What are you.."

Zander delicately dropped a ring on her palm.

"Syb." He whispered. "I've already spent too many nights beside you without being able to say that I'm yours."

"Zander"

"I don't ever want to spend another one without knowing I'm with you in any way I can possibly think of, and I know... I know its soon and whatever will come after this... I know we may not even see till tomorrow but together I can..." Sybilla kissed him, pushing him down to the floor, the ring falling down beside them. She kissed his lips, and then both his eyes, wishing she could stop the tears from coming down, hoping they were happy ones.

"Yes" she said.

"Yes?" Zander said, and she could see the surprise in his eyes. Sybilla laughed.

"Hell yes" she said again, leaning down to kiss him. "I love you Zander. I love you today, I'll love you tomorrow, and I'll love you long after my heart stops beating"