Page 96 of The Broken Prince

“Why are you afraid to say it?” I snapped. “You chose to stay behind and risk your life for me, but you don’t feel the same way? I don’t believe that, Aurelias. Not for one fucking second.”

“I meant what I said before. I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back—”

“Shut up. I’m so tired of hearing you say that—”

“And I’m tired of saying it.”

“Whether you stay or go doesn’t change the way we feel. I would rather love you with my whole heart and lose you than pretend you’re just some guy I’m fucking. You’re not Ethan or all the other guys who don’t mean anything to me. You mean everything to me.”

He turned away entirely, like my words were punches. “I said we aren’t doing this—”

“Why—”

“Because I don’t want to hurt you.” He came back to me. “Because I will fucking leave you, Harlow. I will get on that ship and return to my lands and go back to my life, and you’ll move on with yours. Yes, all we are is two people fucking. I am Ethan. That’s what I signed up for—and that’s all we are. Period.” He held up his hand to silence me, even though I hadn’t opened my mouth. “I don’t want to discuss this ever again. We’re but a moment, a very brief moment, a flower that blooms in spring and then dies in the first frost of winter. That’s it.” He lowered his hand again, his stare furious.

I couldn’t read minds, but I could read between the lines, read the hurt written all over his face. I remembered our previous conversations about this, and I hadn’t noticed it then…but now I saw it. I saw it as clear as day, as clear as the sun on a cloudless afternoon. “You aren’t afraid you’ll hurt me…” I felt my eyes water because I understood him for the very first time. “You’re afraid I’ll hurt you…”

There was no rebuttal to that statement, and the viciousness in his eyes slowly darkened to something deeper, a pain that had no depths, an infinite ocean of agony. He swallowed, his throat shifting with the movement. When the deep breath left his nostrils, it was a trail of mist into the air. His eyes remained on me, the hardness slowly softening, the petals in his eyes withering in decay.

My body was paralyzed by the realization, something I would have noticed long ago if I’d just paid attention. I’d listened to the lies of his words when I should have focused on the truth of his actions. It had been right in front of me this entire time. Looking me dead in the eye.

I stepped toward him, and the second I drew close, he inhaled a deep breath in anticipation, but he didn’t step away. He let me come to him, watched me with his guarded eyes. I moved into his chest and cupped his face, rising on my tiptoes to kiss him, to feel our warm lips come together and burn the cold away. “Tell me you love me.” I spoke it against his lips, spoke it between our kisses, my fingers tangling in his hair.

He kissed me back, his hand sliding into my hair and cradling the back of my head. His arm circled my waist and squeezed me into his body, smothering me with his passionate kisses. His breath filled my lungs, and his tongue danced with mine. He bit my bottom lip before he kissed me harder. “I love you, baby.”

TWENTY-FOUR

HUNTLEY

I watched the shadows move across the ceiling. They started on one side of the room then slowly crawled to the other side as the sun crested the horizon then inched slowly higher. My eyes were tired. Without seeing my reflection, I knew my eyes were bloodshot. Ivory was tucked into my side, dead asleep while I was wide awake.

I couldn’t sleep when my brother was probably dead.

Now I understood how Ivory felt when I left her behind to do something dangerous. Powerless, all she could do was sit there and wait. And if she never heard anything…it was because I’d been killed in battle.

Ivory finally woke up, taking a deep breath as she stretched her legs under the sheets. Her eyes opened, and she looked at me, relaxed and sleepy. She watched me, and once she realized I hadn’t slept all night, her stare hardened. Her hand moved to my chest, and she gently dragged her fingertips across my skin, comforting me when I couldn’t be comforted. Nothing could comfort me—not even a bottle of scotch.

An anxious knock pounded on the door. “King Rolfe? It’s urgent.”

I was out of bed and on my feet instantly, leaving Ivory behind as I marched to the door in nothing but my shorts. I opened the door, taller than him by nearly a foot, and narrowed my eyes. “What is it?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you—”

“Speak.”

“Jeremiah has returned with his dragon and Nightshade…but Steward Ian is not with him.”

The agony…it hit me like a pile of stone. It crushed my shoulders and then my spine. “Are you certain?”

“Yes…”

“Tell Jeremiah to come here immediately—”

“He’s already on the way. I ran here—”

I shut the door in his face and dressed quicker than I ever had. I didn’t just don my uniform, but all my armor and weapons, ready to head to the east the second this conversation concluded.

Ivory quickly got dressed and didn’t even brush her hair before we were down the hallway. “Retrieve Harlow and Lady Rolfe.”

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