Page 31 of The Crownless Prince

The ice and snow on the trellis did worry him a little, but he grinned. “I’ve climbed that wall many times. I’ll be fine.” He covered her fist against his chest as he leaned closer. “And I already promised I’d see you tomorrow night.”

She smiled, a bit of color creeping into her cheeks as she pulled her hand out from under his. “You should go before I give in to the desire to kiss you again.”

That rather made Marcus want to stay, but Adriana was right. They both needed to sleep—and Edwin would be going mad with worry over his delay in returning.

“I love you.” Marcus brushed a kiss against her forehead.

“I love you,” she murmured.

And then, before he could lose his willpower, Marcus went to the window, clenched the bag of letters in his teeth, and climbed down the trellis.

Edwin looked equal parts relieved and like he was considering killing Marcus himself when Marcus crept back into the servants’ room.

He listened with a pinched expression to Marcus’s explanation of their plan to stop the wedding, then was silent for several heartbeats. At last, he sighed.

“I suspected this is where we’d end up the moment you decided to sneak up there.” Edwin shook his head. “But I’m not leaving you to face this alone. Between the two of us, we have a greater chance of discovering a reason why Lord Thorne won’t make a suitable husband and son-in-law.”

Tension drained from Marcus’s shoulders. He hadn’t realized how afraid he was that Edwin would be angry or would want to make his escape alone. “You’re a far better friend than I deserve.”

“I’m also your only friend,” Edwin quipped.

Marcus snorted. “I don’t see you having any other friends, either.”

“Unfortunately,” Edwin said, donning a melodramatically sorrowful expression, “I was imprisoned for years and had no opportunity to build friendships.”

Marcus stifled a snort and gave his friend a gentle shove. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to read some letters.”

“Shouldn’t you sleep?”

As if he could sleep after kissing Adriana. But he did need rest. “Iwon’t stay up too late.”

Edwin huffed and got off Marcus’s narrow bed. “I suppose that means you’re keeping that candle lit, then.”

“Obviously.”

“If I’m exhausted tomorrow, I’m blaming you.”

Marcus made a face at Edwin, then withdrew a letter from the sack.

He read until his eyelids grew heavy. Adriana’s letters were full of her life and heart—telling him about visits to the fluffy cows and annoyance with a prank Jairus had pulled, about good days and bad days. Like his own letters back in the tower, there were also memories of their secret rendezvous and lines about how much she missed and loved him.

It was one thing to be stuck in the tower thinking of Adriana and imagining that she was thinking of him, too. It was something else to know that all that time, she truly had been remembering him just as often as he had been missing her.

After hiding the letters inside his mattress, he blew out the candle and went to sleep with a lightness in his chest despite the uncertainty of the coming days.

Chapter 14

Adriana awoke with a smile on her face. Ignoring the chill, she went to the window, tossed open the shutters, and leaned out, inhaling a deep breath of the crisp morning air. Her skin prickled in response to the cold, but she didn’t mind—it was a reminder of how alive she was, and how wonderfully alive Marcus was. For the first time in days, she wasn’t wavering between unfeeling numbness and the urge to weep. She smiled down at the trellis. Hopefully no one would question how snow had been knocked off the iron bars.

The door to her chamber opened.

“Your Highness?” Leena sounded shocked. Of course she was, considering recently Adriana’s handmaiden had nearly had to drag her out of bed.

With a wide grin, Adriana closed the shutters and hurried over to Leena. Seizing Leena’s hand, she dragged her maid and friend over to sit on her bed.

“You seem…optimistic this morning,” Leena said, but her face conveyed her skepticism.

“Leena.” Adriana kept her voice low. “I have the best news.” She paused, reflecting. “Well, maybe notbest, as the situation is somewhat of a mess, but that’s all right. Leena.” She squeezed Leena’s hand. “Marcus is alive.”

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