I raise myself out of her arms, staring at her in the dark as my heart pounds. “Daisy, you don’t mean that—”
“I do mean it.”
She wants to stay.
“You don’t understand what you’re signing up for. You think it’s bad now? Just wait until you’re my queen.”
I can’t see her face in the dark.
“I want to be with you.”
“Daisy, I want you.” I find her cheek and slide my thumb over her eyes. “I was determined to keep you here against your will because I’m a selfish prick, but I can’t do that, even if it’s no longer against your will.”
“Why?”
“You’ll never be happy here. All your dreams for your future will be dashed.”
“It’s my decision.”
“I won’t allow you to resent me.”
Her head turns, the warmth of her body fading as she inhales a sharp breath. “Please don’t send me away.”
Doesn’t she realize it’s the last thing I want to do? That I’d rather rip my own heart out than do this? I won’t tell her that the thought of forcing her away from me makes me physically ill, that I feel like I might bleed to death without her.
“You’ll find someone else.”
“I don’t want someone else.”
“Daisy, you deserve a better life than this. You have a chance to make your life anything you want, and I know this isn’t it.”
Wetness pools over my thumbs, and then I hear the sound of her trying to inhale through a tight chest, and it’s as though she’s run me through.
I’m sorry.
Just get it over with. Rip it off like a Band-Aid.
I stare at the door leading to the king’s council chambers, knowing my father’s advisors will be gathered inside. The king’s will is unsealed. They’ll be reading it. The bells will toll, and I’ll be able to issue my first edict.
Which will get rid of Daisy.
There’s no nicer way to put it. My heart pounds, sickened by my decision and yet knowing it’s the right thing to do for her. I love her, and I will not see her dreams crushed to dust because she is with me. She can hate me all she likes if it helps her move on. And me? I’ll be fine, just fine.
The brass doorknob stings my hand as I grasp it and turn.
My father’s advisors are already there, sitting at the long table along with Lucian at the head. What the hell is he doing here?
“Brother, so nice of you to join us.”
I look at their pale, worried faces. The captain of my guard holds a piece of paper in his hands, and I see the discarded envelope signed in my father’s handwriting. The will.
I stop next to Lucian, incensed that they read the will without me present. “Get out of my seat.”
“This seat is reserved for the king.” His smile widens. “It appears our father had a change of heart.”
“What?”
I snatch the will from the captain of the guard, almost tearing it in half as blood roars in my ears. I already know what it’s going to say, but I’m not prepared to see my brother’s name written down, sealing the king’s command to pass the line of succession over me.
“Our father believed I would be the better choice to rule.”
It crumples in my hand. “You think this piece of paper will protect you?”
“Those are the king’s last words.”
“The people loathe you. They will never accept you as their king.”
That hits a nerve. The smirk falls off Lucian’s face, and he suddenly barks at the advisors, “Leave us!”
They obey like reluctant cattle, and for a moment I’m tempted to snap at them too. What sort of threats did my brother make in my absence?
“That’s why you kidnapped her, right? To make this change right under my fucking nose?”
“I did, and I gave Father a little extra pain medication when he signed the will.”
“You killed him,” I say, my lips numb.
“Don’t look at me like that. He was a bastard. I know you hated him as much as I did.” He stands, his eyes gleaming with triumph. “I expect to see you and your wife at my coronation.”
“What will happen when I tell the press you conspired against me and killed the king to take the throne?”
“Try it. I’ll strip you of your titles and ban you from the country. You can live out the rest of your days as a commoner with that American bitch.”
For a second I see myself smashing Lucian’s head through the window and throwing him over the table. He just wants a