Page 97 of Thrones We Steal

“You came alive in there,” he says.

“It was just the ale.” I try to sweep up the shards of my heart, but they’re scattered everywhere. Stupid, bloody wallet.

“You’re a natural with people, C. They adore you.”

“It takes more than adoration to run a country.”

“Trust me, I’ve been made fully aware of that fact.” The shift in the atmosphere is immediate.

“Is that your father talking?”

“He’s made it very clear I don’t deserve the throne.”

“Your father can go to hell. I don’t know why you care what he thinks.”

“Because he’s right.”

“No, he’s not. You care as much about Wesbourne as I do.”

“I know how to pretend. You said yourself I’m not good for much besides parties and women.”

Did I say that? “Henry, I—” My own pain is still raw and oozing, but I can’t ignore his. “I’m sorry if I made you feel worthless. That was never my intention.”

“Don’t worry.” He sticks a piece of spearmint gum in his mouth. “I have really thick skin.”

My lips part and a sharp, ugly mass rises in my chest. “Please don’t say that,” I whisper.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it.” He brushes his fingers against my cheek. His touch tears through my body like a freight train, igniting all of the desires I’ve been forcing down. “You’re the only one who has ever believed in me. That means the whole, bloody world to me.”

I don’t tell him it’s not true, that women the world over would sell their firstborn child for him. Instead, I soak up his words like dry ground during rain. As determined as I am to hate him, or at least rip him from my heart, I intend to snuggle with the thought for one tiny second.

“I’ve seen the way you are with people, with Mrs. Schumann. There is good inside you, even if you try to hide it,” I say.

“I’ve gotten really good at hiding who I am to get what I want.”

“Even when we were younger?” He’d been wonderful, the kind of person you could fall in love with.

The kind of person I did fall in love with.

“I wasn’t referring to who I am with you.” He says it quietly, his voice low and rumbling. “That’s always been real.”

“Except when you made me fall in love with you so you could throw it back in my face.”

When he speaks again, his voice is tight. “Is that actually what you think? That I intended for you to fall in love with me?”

My fingers twist and untwist in my lap. I can’t bear to look at him. “Why wouldn’t I think that? After everything?”

“I would never wish that upon anyone.”

Cold air rushes into my open mouth with each inhale, but I can’t make the proper nerves work to shut it. “Do you actually think so little of yourself? Or are you scared of what would happen if you let someone love you?”

“I’m terrified, C. Fucking terrified.”

29

“Someone Like You” - Adele

His words hang suspended in the silence of the car. The only sound is the soft rush of the warm air pumping through the vents.

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