I stroked her hair gently.
“They are gone, Clara,” I said truthfully.
“They will never speak to you again.
They will never see you again.
They have been held accountable by the full weight of the law, and their power has been completely destroyed.”
Clara looked at me, a deep, knowing look in her green eyes.
For six years, she had loved the quiet man who brought her coffee and fixed the creaking floorboards in our house.
Now, she saw the shadow king who had moved mountains to save her and our child.
“Who are you really, Adrian?” she asked softly, without fear, but with awe.
I smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead, then to my daughter’s tiny head.
“I am just a man who loves his wife and daughter,” I whispered into her hair.
“And the ruler of any world necessary to keep you safe.”
