Rejected by my Mate, Chosen by his Enemy
And here it was, at the bottom of the world, held up by the one person who had bled to keep it mine.
So I chose.
"Yes," I said. "And not because fate says so, not because the law says so, not because a war is coming or a crown is heavy or a child sparked a mark before I was ready. Yes because I looked at every road there was, and every man who wanted me, and every claim ever laid on me, and I want you. Freely. Knowing the cost. Choosing it anyway."
My voice broke on the last of it.
"I choose you, Hunter Grear. Stand up. Stand beside me."