“You won’t fail,” she declared, staunch in her belief. “And you will be revered. The great Kai king who saved a kingdom and possibly an entire world.” He sighed and hugged her, careful not to clutch too hard. If he held her as hard as he wanted, he’d break her. She settled into him and was soon slumbering, breath ghosting warmly across his chest. “I would have been content to live my life as just Brishen,” he whispered into her hair. “Who was loved by Ildiko.”
