Page 66 of The Uncrowned Prince

Slowly, as if unwilling to admit it, Niell nodded. “At least in part. I have found some of my answers, though I do not know if I have learned enough. Not enough to form a plan. If I stay”—he shot a glance at Senaya—“perhaps there would be more to learn. And my efforts in other areas have been growing less and less effective.”

Emmerick shook his head. “Perhaps you have not been as successful as you would like of late, but I can assure you, those efforts meaneverythingto those of us who have escaped. You cannot allow a few failures to convince you to give up.”

“And when those failures lead to the deaths of those aiding me?” Vaniell demanded. “What then?”

“They understand the risks,” Emmerick insisted. “And they choose to take them, because they believe in this cause as strongly as you do.”

“But what if I can take down our enemy once and for all?”

Again, it was almost as if he had forgotten that Karreya was in the room. That the enemy he spoke of was…

“And how do you intend to do that? Lay siege to Hanselm, alone and without allies?” Emmerick’s voice dripped with scorn.

“The longer you argue, the less time you have to escape.” Senaya’s even tone interrupted the increasingly heated argument. “If you do not wish to be forced to return home against your will, might I suggest you seek safety first and determine your future course later?”

Niell shoved his hand through his hair in evident frustration. “She’s right,” he said. “Fighting among ourselves gains us nothing. And there are enough people who are aware of this place that I cannot be assured it will remain hidden for long.”

Picking up his black coat from where it lay over the back of the couch, he shrugged into it and jammed his hands into his pockets, presumably to ensure that his various enchantments had survived Senaya’s meddling. As he did so, his eyes darted around the room. They landed briefly on various objects before moving on, as if assessing their value and discarding them as unnecessary.

Karreya almost flinched as that gray-eyed gaze finally came to rest on her. Would he assess her, too, and find that he no longer needed her? Shrug off whatever they meant to one another, as a consequence of the tangled web that now bound them together?

“I know that I said you could not leave me.” His voice was gentle. Even kind, and it made her want to lash out, because it gave her no hint of his feelings. Knowing that he told the truth gave her no insight into the depths of his heart. “But I would never ask you to go on the run with me, either. Never assume that you would even want to. Especially now that you know the truth.”

He was trying to let her down easily. Avoid embarrassing her in front of others.

“Nothing would make me happier than to take you with me when I leave this place, but there are so many obstacles. I cannot promise safety, or even survival. And wherever I go, you know what my goals will be. I have no choice but to prepare to fight, and that battle may break both of us.”

As his words broke her now? She’d given him too great a hold on her heart, and now she was paying for her lapse. Perhaps he was not wrong about the difficulties ahead, but why did he notaskher?

“I could never ask you to choose. Not between your family and someone you’ve only just met. That would be unfair and selfish, and as much as I want to be selfish just this once, I cannot bring myself to cause you so much pain. Just know that walking beside you, leaning on your strength, depending on your skills, felt right in a way nothing else ever has. Whenever all this is over, if we both live, that place at my side will always be open. Waiting for you.”

Karreya’s heart pounded as she tried to make sense of his words. He’d said it would make him happy to take her with him. That he’d felt something, fighting by her side. But was it the same thing she felt? Because it sounded as if he valued her as an ally, not as something more. It sounded as if he cared, but not as a man cared for a woman. Not in the way she wanted him to care.

She wanted to ask for more. Wanted to say that safety and family didn’t matter, that she would choose to stay with him anyway, but she hesitated too long, and he did not wait.

Vaniell, Prince of Garimore, turned to Jarek and nodded. “I need nothing more from this place. I’ve been careful not to leave anything behind that would betray my identity or purpose. If you came here with any plans that might aid me in disappearing, I’d be grateful to hear them.”

He needed nothing more. Not from this temporary sanctuary, not from his temporary relationships. Not fromher.

And she would never beg.

“I can get you on a ship,” Jarek promised. “With a captain who understands the risks. But not until tonight, so you’ll need to hide out at my place until nightfall.”

“You’re… leaving?” Boden’s small voice broke, and he wrapped his arms around himself as he stood alone, watching the proceedings.

Vaniell’s expression softened as he looked at the boy, a hint of pain lurking at the corners of his mouth. “I’m so sorry. I know I just promised you otherwise, but I must. If I do not, there will be no one to stop the man who wants to conquer all of Abreia.”

“But… will you come back?”

“I don’t know.” At least he did not shy away from honesty. “I will try, but Boden”—Vaniell crossed the room to kneel in front of the boy and look him dead in the eye—“I hope you can believe that no matter what happens, I will not forget you. Not only because you played a part in this mission I came here to complete, but because you are a friend. And above all else, I want you to be safe and happy. Look after Viska and the littles, all right?”

Boden drew himself up tall, lips quivering, shoulders square. “You know you can count on me.”

“I do,” Vaniell said, rising and ruffling the boy’s hair. “You’re one of the most dependable people I’ve ever met.”

Then he looked around at the others in the room, allowing his gaze to rest on each one in turn. “Jarek will know where to find me,” he said. “If there is ever anything more you wish to say.”

That was for Senaya, but she gave him nothing in response. Her face was as still as if it were carved from marble.

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