Page 92 of Kiss of Ice

But perhaps if his own daughter were to corroborate the story, it might be enough. Her father would face exile or execution. The choice would be Kam’s.

Is that what she wanted? For her father to be executed? Miserably, she knew the answer was no. Even after everything that had happened, some small part of her stubbornly refused to give up on him. Still loved him, even. It was pathetic. But she couldn’t help it.

Another question occurred to her. Even if she kept her mouth shut, could she in all conscience marry Kam? Her father had hinted he had a plan to get rid of him after they were wed. She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let Kam get hurt because of her. She cared too much for him.

The realisation sent a little shockwave through her heart. She cared for him. The thought of him being hurt, or worse, left her weak. Could she… she bit her lip. Could she be falling for him?

Gods, she was an idiot. To fall for someone like him was a recipe for heartbreak.

You could just go ahead with the wedding,a little voice whispered.Then he’d be yours.

No. She couldn’t risk anything happening to him. There was only one solution. She would have to rescind her consent.

The thought made her want to curl up into a ball again. Kam was the only man who’d ever made her feel desirable and beautiful. But she had no choice.

And afterwards… where would she go? What would she do?

She couldn’t go back to Valkar. She couldn’t blithely resume her role as Lady Morenna of the Marid as if nothing had happened. There would be questions, for one thing. People would ask why the wedding had been cancelled.

It didn’t matter. Let them think the Emperor had called it off. No-one would be surprised he’d thought better of marrying someone like her.

Perhaps she could stay in Nurhan for a while. Queen Raya had seemed nice, she might be willing to help her. And after that, she’d find somewhere to go. Somewhere people didn’t know her.

There was a knock at the door.

“Ren.”

She froze. It was Kam.

“I’m in the bath,” she said.

“Can you get dressed and come out here?” There was a pause. “Please?”

Hm. That was uncharacteristically polite of him. With a sigh, she climbed out of the bath. The bruising on her side still looked bad but the pain had, for the moment, abated. She wrapped a towel round herself and opened the door. Kam was pacing round her bedroom like a caged bear.

“Can you turn your back?”

“What?” He was surprised.

“I want to get dressed. Turn around.”

“But I’ve already seen you naked.”

“Please, Kam.”

Her tone was firm and he turned to face the wall.

“I came to make sure you were all right,” he said gruffly. “You had me worried.”

Ren didn’t reply. She padded to the dressing room and grabbed a gown at random. Her ribs stretched painfully as she raised her arms to pull it on over her head. Kam fidgeted impatiently.

“Ren? Will you please talk to me?”

She arranged herself on the chaise longue. It was more comfortable than standing.

“You can turn round now.”

He faced her slowly.

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