Amara's POV
My breath caught.
For a second, I thought I misheard him.
He didn't turn to face me when he said it. His voice was steady, but beneath that calm tone… something trembled.
"Will you be my wife?"
I froze in place. My heart slammed against my ribs, louder than the silence between us.
"Be my 02," he added, softer this time. "Stand beside me—not just as my enforcer. Not just as the one I trust above all—but as my equal. My partner."
I didn't know whether to fall to my knees or walk out the door.
This was Chris Blackwood—the God of the Empire. The man everyone feared. The man I would have taken a bullet for ten times over. But never in my darkest dreams did I think he'd say this.
"I…" My voice cracked. I tried again. "Chris… what about Skylar?"
He finally turned, his face unreadable but his eyes burning with something raw.
"She was my 02 in the past," he said. "But loyalty isn't just about the past. It's about now. And now, she's unpredictable. Her heart isn't with me. She speaks for the masses, not the throne."
His hands clenched at his sides. "But you… you've never wavered. Even when you were angry. Even when I pushed you away."
Tears threatened, but I blinked them back.
"I'm not asking for love," he continued. "Not the fairy tale kind. I'm asking for something deeper. A bond forged in fire. A union that makes the Empire unbreakable again."
I felt the room spin. My mind scrambled, but my body stood frozen in front of him.
"Say yes, Amara," he said. "And this time, no one will ever question your authority again."
My voice trembled as I whispered, "Yes."
He stepped forward, touched my face gently.
"Then kneel," he said.
And I did—right there in the center of the Grand Chamber, on the polished black marble floor—while Chris Blackwood placed his hand on my head, and the AI walls echoed his words:
"As of this moment, Amara is declared 02 of the Empire."
The war had changed. The game had shifted.
And now, I wasn't just fighting for him.
I was his sword. His shield. His chosen.