Page 111 of Façade

“Ryland?” I stammered.

“When we married we did it under the guise of deceit and for our own ambitions, but now my only reason in kneeling before you is solely because I love you.” He reached into the pocket of his cloak and withdrew…

A ring box. “Oh.” Overcome, I collapsed onto the stone bench lining the railing.

He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed the base of my ring finger. “Evie.” His heated breath tickled my skin and his fingers grazed my wrist. My heart pounded harder with each touch. I squeezed my eyes shut in hopes that blocking out the sight of him would allow me to maintain my fragile hold over my escalating emotions.

I didn’t notice my lips were pressed shut until he lightly traced my mouth with his fingertip. “Are you holding your breath?”

“I’m struggling to remember how to breathe.”

His warm chuckle only increased my fluster. The cold ring touched my finger, contrasting the heat of his reverent touch as he slid it on. It felt as if it took forever to travel along my finger before settling directly on the spot he’d gently kissed. Only then did I manage to shakily release the breath I’d been holding.

“Did you remember how to breathe?”

“Somehow.”

“Sees like you've now forgotten how to open your eyes.”

I was almost afraid to. He reached towards me to caress my closed eyelids, his delicate touch tracing along my lashes like he was wiping away tears. “Evie.” Soothing tenderness enfolded my name, allowing me to timidly open my eyes to find Ryland looking up at me as if I were something infinitely precious.

“Is this real?”

“Nothing has ever been more real.” He slowly withdrew his hand cradling mine. My breath caught as I lowered my gaze. Shining on my finger was a beautifully set ring. The band shone brilliantly like it’d been spun out of golden thread, two strands curving together like waves, sheer delicacy in the refined beauty of the design. The center stone was inlaid with small, starlike diamonds, and set in the center…a jasper stone.

For a long moment I could only stare before I slowly raised my gaze to meet his. “Is that—”

“It’s the stone we found while wading in the stream together, one of the first moments I realized that my feelings towards you had shifted. I knew it was the perfect choice to fashion into a ring, a design made more appropriate considering it’s a symbol of our romance but is unique, just like you.”

Unique, just like me. My thumb reverently caressed the jasper. Though it wasn’t a stone that would traditionally adorn a ring, it was perfect for me, especially with all it symbolized—not only the journey we’d embarked on to come to understand one another, but that he accepted me, no matter how unconventional.

I shuddered as his thumb grazed my knuckles, his tender gaze not once wavering from mine. “Diamonds are too traditional. I wanted something meaningful so that you have no doubt that my heart is only yours.” My heart swelled at the warmth deepening his eyes; I never imagined anyone could look at me with so much love, even after knowing all my secrets, weaknesses, and eccentricities.

“Are you asking me to marry you? Can a relationship really be built on a façade?”

He gently squeezed my hand. “It wasn’t the façade that our relationship was built on, but all the true things that made our way through it. I know we’ve both made me mistakes, but we’ve both learned from them, making us far different from the people we were when we first came together. Our experiences have strengthened us and will allow us to build something new. But it’s not only your heart I seek but your trust, something I hope to spend our life together earning, beginning now.”

He reached into his cloak to withdraw a rolled-up parchment. With the way the edges shimmered, it appeared to be an enchanted document. My royal position had made me intimately familiar with contracts, allowing me to immediately recognize it as I unrolled it.

A prenuptial agreement.

I held my breath as I hastily skimmed the contents before lifting my gaze in awe. “This is—”

He nodded solemnly. “An enchanted contract that will allow you to retain full access to your magic so that it’s impossible for me to ever steal it again.”

I could only stare, his words failing to penetrate my shock…or the hope rising within me over what this would mean for us. “Buthow?I thought…” At one time such agreements had been common for any union involving magic, but the power to create them had faded along with much of the magic filling the surrounding kingdoms.

I could think of only one place he might have been able to secure one, which must have been his mysterious destination during our brief parting. “The monastery?”

Ryland nodded. “The priest possesses and protects the ancient knowledge to create such a safeguard, along with the many other spells lost over the years. It’s imbued with a combination of several protective spells so that there’s no chance I could ever hurt you in such a way again.”

“You wouldn’t—the first time…I know you didn’t mean—”

“The unfortunate fact remains that Idid.” His fingers tightened protectively around mine. “You’ve already endured far too much at my hand. I married with full intentions to use you, I deceived you, I betrayed your trust…even when I loved you, making me the last man who deserves you even though I want nothing more than to keep you. Though it’d be impossible for me to ever hurt you in such a way again, I want you to be assured that this magical safeguard will protect you so that you never need wonder if it’s your magic I’m after when I only want you.”

Love and joy swelled at his heartfelt words that made me yearn to accept his beautiful proposal, even as one worry lingered. “But what of the curse afflicting your kingdom?”

“Lucian and my father are already searching for a more honorable way to help them,” he said. “I expect none of your powers.”

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