Page 163 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

He rasps a low chuckle. “I didn’t sleep much . . . but it was a pleasant night anyway.”

I refuse to acknowledge what he means by that and practically hurl myself from the bed. “Well good!” I wince, covering my eye from the sun streaming in through the windows. “What time is it? It’s got to be well into the afternoon!”

“It’s not even noon.”

I refuse to look back at him, but I can hear him sitting upright, followed by a rustle like he’s running his fingers through his hair.

“That’s unfortunate,” I chatter, accidentally banging open the door to my wardrobe in an attempt to find some real clothes to wear. “I was hoping I got more sleep than that. Oh well! There’s nothing to be done. If I take a nap this afternoon, I’ll ruin my night of sleep. It’s best that I stay busy. What are you doing today?”

“Apparently making youveryuncomfortable,” he replies dryly from right behind me.

I whirl, clutching the frock I’ve just selected to my chest in fright. “Rahk!”

“Kat.” He leans around me and closes the wardrobe doors much gentler than I would have. Then he takes a seat on my side of the bed, tilting his head as he regards me. “Please. I do not wish you to be uncomfortable. I have made my regard for you obvious enough to get past even your stubborn refusal to acknowledge it.”

I flush hot.

“You have also made your preference for me clear,” he continues, even though I wish he wouldn’t. “But I have also observed that, while you may care for me, there are clearly things that hold you back.”

My fidgeting goes still. I look at his serious face, the way he sits with his knees wide and his hands clasped between them.

“I have no expectations for you.” Rahk says the words very slowly, very deliberately. “I have been thinking hard the last few hours, and I decided I want to make this marriage between us work—as unusual as it is, and as difficult as a marriage will be in our circumstances. I want it. I want to discover with you how we can forge a way forward.But.” He draws a deep breath, his expression turning gentler. “If you don’t want the same thing, or if you are not sure yet, or if you fear your mind will change, I will accept that. You owe me nothing—not your affection, your time, your fortune, your regard, none of it.”

I cover my face with the frock, growling low in my throat. “Now I feel terrible. I’m not trying to—to—tease you and lead you on! I’m trying to be honest with you, but I don’t knowhowto—”

He catches my forearms, tugging my hands and frock away from my face. “I know you care about me, Kat. I’m not suggesting that you are leading me on. I’m saying that you are allowed to need time.”

I stare at him. At his beautiful face, with all its hardened, chiseled edges. The same face I once thought was cold and ruthless. I swallow hard. I care too much about Rahk to not be honest about what I have the freedom to be. With a groan, I plop on the bed beside him. I open my mouth. The words are like knives, and it takes several tries before they finally leave my tongue. “I also want a way to make our marriage work. But it is not possible.”

“It does seem that way—”

“You have to go back to Nothril!” I cry, my throat thickening. “I have to stay here.”

“I can visit you.”

“Can you?” I demand. “Lord and Lady Nothril would let you come back and forth from the human lands?”

Rahk purses his lips, looking away. “It would be challenging, and I would have to keep it a secret.”

I press on, relentless. “What if you cannot get your sister out of Nothril? What if you visiting me puts her in danger if you are found out?”

“Kat—”

“I am a curse for you, Rahk,” I say, choking slightly. “You are good and kind, no matter that you believe Faerieland is corrupting you, and so I cannot let you be hurt because of me.”

His expression is stricken. He reaches out to me. “If anything happened, it would not be your fault. It would be mine and mine alone. You are no curse. You are my joy. From the beginning, that is what you have been to me.”

He says it so earnestly, so pleadingly. I would not have believed it otherwise. But just because he believes it does not make it true.

Your existence does not take away good things from those you love.

He was wrong about that. And I won’t have Rahk losing his sister or his life because of me. Neither will I have him bound to me as I age while he remains young and cultivates resentment against me.

He exhales slowly and pushes to his feet. “If your desires are my own, it would mean a great deal to me that you would consider my offer for a few days. I do not want to give up simply because it does not seem like it can work. Would you do that for me?”

I’m not sure what a few more days of consideration will do. I’m the Ivy Mask. This marriage was doomed from the beginning. Still, I nod.

He steps away. “I will send Mary in. I plan to watch the queen’s visit of the troll from a distance this afternoon, to see if it goes well.”

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