The ring was burning in my pocket as I climbed upstairs to the newest wing of the new demon castle, complete with chambers fashioned to suit the new demon king, and his future wife.
If she said yes of course.
In the days since that final battle, Kate and I had spent nearly all our time together, working with Forrest when we could, and dealing with my affairs in Boshen. She returned to Lucy’s home several times to check on the witches. There had been meetings with the council to try and come up with a plan to combat this new threat.
But without any information, we were left to simply brace for whatever came next.
I’d nearly lost Kate fighting against the plague and Cassius. I was not going to waste any time in moving our lives forward. With Forrest giving me his blessing, there was no other reason for me to wait.
I opened the door to the outer chamber and spied Kate out on the balcony, staring up at the moon and the stars in the sky.
Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders and for the first time since coming here, she was wearing a gown fit for her new position in this world.
“You look pretty stunning in that,” I said as I wrapped my arms around her waist, kissing her cheek.
She leaned back into me with a sigh. “I don’t know, I thought the leather armor and chainmail was more fitting. Getting in fights every other day, dresses might only get in the way.”
“You wear whatever you want,” I said with a chuckle. “I don’t care. As long as you’re happy.”
“I am, I’m here with you.” She tilted her head back and kissed me softly. “And Boshen is coming back to life, so is Gregornath. Forrest told me the Darrah lands have been completely purged and soon… soon I can go back there and see what’s left.”
“What are you going to do with the land?”
“I’m not sure yet. Wasn’t sure if you wanted me around all the time.”
I smirked against her shoulder and couldn’t wait any longer. “Kate, I have no idea what the future is going to hold.”
“Funny, since you get visions,” she teased.
“Alright, smartass,” I said as she laughed. I spun her around, so she faced me and tucked her hair behind her ears. “My point is… I love you, Katherine, and I have a proposition for you.”
She frowned as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring I’d been carrying around for days. When I held it up for her to see, she blinked furiously, and I spied the glimmer of tears in her eyes.
“Is that… is that what I think it is?” she whispered.
“Yes, and I think you already know what I’m going to ask.” I gently took her left hand and held the ring near her finger. “I’m not a fool and my being the demon king and you being the Vindicar is not going to make this a normal relationship, but I love you, and I want to make this official before… before…”
“Before we’re sucked into another war?” she offered.
I took a deep breath to try and steady my nerves. “Yeah, something like that. So?”
She made me wait at least a minute, and I swear she did it on purpose before a smile spread across her face and she nodded eagerly.
“Yes, yes!”
I slipped the ring onto her finger and wrapped her up in a hug, kissing her.
This peace of ours might not last long, but I prayed it would be long enough to give Kate the wedding she deserved and a few months, maybe even years of happiness before all hell came crashing down around us again.
We stayed out on the balcony, talking about our future, long into the night, our hands clasped securely together between us.
This was not how I saw this adventure ending, but then again, this was far from over.
Now, I was just getting started.