Page 66 of The Wicked Prince

“If she doesn’t want me, she’s going to say it to my face.”

“And… what if I say no?” Richard half-sat on the desk in the tent. “What if I say I’m putting an end to this right now? Forget the annulment. You never pardoned her before you married her or after. I can have her arrested and tried right here and now.”

John’s stomach hit the ground, and no air seemed to get through to his lungs. He’d what?

He’d… forgotten to pardon Robin.

He choked out. “You’re not serious.”

“Deadly. I might have appointed you regent, but I’m still king. Maybe you’ve forgotten who is actually in charge here, and maybe it’s time I do something about it.”

There had to be a way to fix this. So he’d messed up one step in his plan, but he could still—

“I’ll pardon her. Right now. You—”

“Again. John. I’m king. You’re regent. Your authority does not extend past me. If I want to have her tried so I can get my country back to rights, I will.”

“She has been saving your country, you idiot,” John spat. “And so have I. This past year that criminal and your brother—who you think can’t do anything right—have been holding Astren together by the seams as you keep pulling at it with the resources you need for this war. You won’t get away with putting her on trial. You harm a hair on her head and the people will never forgive you. I—”

“Well, be honest John, when word gets back to Astren, who are people going to blame? Me or you? I could go out there and tell them all it was me, and they’ll still find a way to blame you and justify me. There might be some who turn on me, but it will be forgotten when I return as a war hero who saved our country. Is it right? No, but you and I both know that’s how things have always been.”

John’s mind was spinning. This wasn’t what he’d planned for. This wasn’t the Richard he remembered. Maybe war had changed him.

“Pardon her and I’ll stay.”

Maybe John had changed too.

Richard almost fell off the desk. He stumbled off it instead and choked on his breath. “What?”

He wasn’t sure where the words had come from, but he was certain of them. If that was the way to fix his mistake that now had Robin at risk, he’d do it. Maybe there was only one thing in this world that could make him less of a coward, and Robin was it.

“You want to set Astren to rights? Fine. Go back to Lathe. Do it. I’ll stay here, and I’ll probably get myself killed before you even make it back to the castle, but I’ll stay here. As long as you pardon her, and you leave her alone.”

Richard continued to gape at him.

And Richard had a point. He had made such a mess of this. If dying—because John wasn’t foolish enough to believe he wasn’t going to die if he spent more than a week in the desert being shot at—would fix it… then that’s what he would do.

He’d done all of this in the attempt to preserve his life, but he would not preserve it at the cost of her. Maybe it was time to free her completely from him if that was the only way to free her from this.

“And the annulment?” Richard finally managed to get out.

“That’s Robin’s decision. I came here to make my case. For once in my life, I was going to at least put up a fight for something. But… If you agree to pardon her, then all I ask is at least the chance to talk to her and plead my case. Even if the best result I could ask for will just end in making her a widow and freeing her that way, I might still get some time with her before then.”

His words faded away and silence settled over them. John was left with his terror at what he’d just offered. He felt like throwing up. Running away.

But there was also a strange sense of peace on top of it. Because no matter what at least Robin would be alive, safe, and hopefully happy. Even if it wouldn’t be with him.

“You…” Richard shook his head. “You are not who I left behind in Lathe six years ago.”

The tension in the air was thick, and John couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, “I should hope not. I was an eighteen-year-old idiot who had no idea what he was doing with everyone out to watch him fail.”

Then Richard laughed, deep and booming.

John wasn’t sure if that was a good sign.

“That sounds a little more like the John I remember.” When Richard straightened up, he had a grin on his face. “And when this war is over, I’ll be looking forward to getting to know this newer version better.”

John didn’t quite understand. Surely Richard didn’t think John would survive it if he was—

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