Sharon knew. How could she not? Mayerling has always embraced everything she is, everything she can do, and all the things that haunt her. He’s never flinched, not even when she dragged him into the Otherworld. She knew he wouldn’t start now. But hearing him say it, hearing him confirm it with such quiet certainty, soothes most of her worries—never all, but enough—and fills her with an overwhelming rush of love. It surges through her, leaving her with only one possible response: she rises up and kisses him, deeply, passionately, pouring everything she feels into that connection.

When she finally pulls away, she’s breathless, and tears shimmer along her lower lashes, catching the light.

"Thank you," she murmurs against his lips, her words barely a whisper before she seals them with another, softer kiss. He knows the horrors that lurk there, the nightmares that will claw at him, and still, he’s willing to face it all with her. "I’d say you have no idea how much that means to me, but..."

But he does. He knows. It means the whole damn world.