hate being here. I used to love Faer, but he hates me. I’ve ruined everything—I’ve always had a gift for that. Azrael, Duncan, Tiron… I’ll just hurt them. Again.”
Because Herrick was leaving me no choice.
“You’re never been afraid of that before, “he said.
“I’d rather live the rest of my life in the undersea than keep disappointing people that I care about,” I said. “You certainly know all my faults and don’t seem to mind them.”
“You seem very reasonable today,” he said, tilting his head to study mine. “Did you have a good night’s rest?”
If I couldn’t escape marrying Raile, I was pretty sure I was going to murder the condescending bastard in his sleep.
“Lovely,” I said.
I slept quite well, yes. Conked out on the marble floor while Herrick plotted.
And now I couldn’t tell Raile about any of Herrick’s plots. To my surprise, I realized I wanted to.
“You kissed me goodbye the other night in the palace,” he said. He stepped close to me, but didn’t touch me; he seemed to carry the cool, refreshing scent of a deep sea breeze with him, and it eased some of the heat in my pounding head.
“Do you think I could ever make things up to you, Alisa? I don’t think I have it in me to grovel. Any more than you do.” His lips tilted up mockingly. “But maybe I could make up for ever going along with Herrick’s plan. For entertaining the thought—even for a moment—of marrying you against your will?”
“Yes,” I said. “I… I’m willing to marry you now, Raile. To start over. As long as we leave for the undersea and I know Azrael, Duncan and Tiron are safe.”
If Raile wanted the three of them to be safe, then Herrick would play along. He genuinely wanted that alliance with the sea court; he seemed afraid of our enemies to the north.
“I don’t need you to marry me, Alisa,” he said. “Not yet. I just need a second chance.”
No. Holy hell—at the worst possible moment, Raile was being too nice.
“I need a second chance too, Raile.” I caught his hand between us, squeezed it gently. “Let’s find one together.”
He leaned forward slightly, and I raised my chin, inviting him in. I drew him a little closer, and his hands slid around my hips. Raile’s fingers still felt hot as brands whenever he touched me; I’d have expected him to be cold as the sea, but then, he was always unpredictable.
When Raile kissed me, the world went fuzzy again, but this time I couldn’t blame Herrick.
“Please, Raile,” I whispered. “Take me away.”
“All right, Princess,” he said. “We’ll have our wedding, finally.”
Despair clutched my chest. I was saying what Raile had always wanted to hear—of course he would believe me. How many of us can second-guess when someone tells us exactly what we’ve always wanted to hear?
A door flew open, out into the courtyard.
Duncan strode out at the head of half the Fae knights. A familiar green-haired knight was behind him, and I caught a glimpse of her before I looked back at Duncan, unable to tear my eyes away from him. His gaze took in Raile and me, and the expression on his face—the hurt before he shuttered—was something I knew I would never forget.
“At your service, my queen,” he said icily.
“Duncan,” I started to say, and the fingers twisted in my brain. My throat closed up, and I could barely breathe; the dark words that I could say to him, that Herrick wanted me to say, pressed on me. If I tried to explain, the magic would just make me break him all over again.
I felt someone watching me and looked up to see Faer’s slender figure, watching from the balcony. He raised his hand in a wave.
I turned to Duncan and said flatly, “I’m marrying Raile. Everything will be fine.”
Duncan just stared at me, his jaw setting. Emotion flickered through those icy blue eyes, as if he was trying ot decide what to do, and one hand went to the pommel of his sword, but there was no one here to fight.
“What do need from me?” he asked, and my heart fractured in two.
God, he was trying so hard to trust me, even though I could see it was a struggle, especially when he’d just found me kissing Raile.
“Make sure my wedding goes off,” I said.
The green-haired knight came to his side, worry written across her face.
But Duncan just said, “You heard the princess.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
Tiron
Perin and I made our way