It's been a few years since the war ended, and Deryn has rediscovered how it feels to be a girl. Her hair has grown longer and whips around her face like a blonde curtain as they hang up in the air, close to the stars. Deryn feels free as a girl, largely because she no longer has to hide her true identity from Alek. Finally, no more secrets and lies. She can be who she truly is, and still fly.
They're up in an air balloon, but this time Deryn isn't worried about flaming balloons or people dying. She feels comforted and safe, largely because of the presence of a certain someone in the air balloon with her.
Alek looks especially handsome today. His reddish-brown hair is tousled, and his green eyes sparkle with wonder at the sights around them. His starch white shirt stands out against the inky blackness, but the top two buttons are unbuttoned, giving him an effortless, easy air. Deryn is in a dress, but not one of the stiff ones her aunts used to force her into. This one is cotton and moves easily, while offering her warmth up in the starry sky. The two of them make a dead romantic sight, Deryn muses.
"Beautiful night, aye?" Deryn asks, who, while discarding her airman persona, hasn't discarded her airman's language.
"Not as beautiful as you," Alek offers. Deryn snorts.
"Stuff it – flattery will get you nowhere."
"It isn't flattery if it's true." Deryn rolls her eyes. Alek can be such a suck-up sometimes.
"Aye, you know what else is true? You're a suck-up and you know it," she says, but affectionately. Alek grins cheekily. Then, suddenly, he draws his gaze away from her and towards the ground, the stars, his eyes darting around her figure. Deryn tenses, wondering if something is amiss. "Alek? Are you okay?"
Alek slips a hand into the pocket of his pants, withdrawing a dark blue velvet case. Deryn inhales sharply. It can't be. Alek gets down on one knee, making the air balloon wobble slightly, and flips the case open.
Deryn is met by a blinding sparkle. What in blazes… Her eyes open wider as she sees a diamond, perfectly set off against the backdrop of the night, and the blue velvet of the case. It's as if Alek's captured a star for her. Deryn, at a loss for words, manages to mutter, "Barking spiders, that must have cost a fortune."
Alek shrugs. "I've got some of that to spare," he says teasingly, but his green eyes are serious as they meet her blue ones. "Deryn…will you marry me?"
And then, because actions speak louder than words, Deryn kisses him as her answer.