Page 110 of Forged in Cursed Flames (Crown and Crest 2)

I grasp hold of his arm. “You’refree.”

“I’m free,” he whispers. “Yours if you want me, whether we can prove Camellia is a sorceress or not.”

“Henrik.”

“As soon as I obtain my seal, I will ask your family’s permission to court you. With the mess Camellia has made, I don’t know how long Algernon will drag it out. Will you wait for me?”

This is happening.

“I will.”

Just when I think he might kiss me, a mosquito lands on his cheek. Laughing, I swat it away.

I smack another insect on my arm, growling with frustration. It’s a shame we never got the concoction from the apothecary.

I’m about to suggest we continue this discussion inside when Henrik says, “You cannot go with us to the palace tomorrow. I don’t want you anywhere near Camellia. I believe she is truly dangerous.”

“How will you explain my absence?” I raise a brow. “Are you going to tell her you let the insects carry me into the swamp? Or that you pushed me into a canal? Fed me to a ralnauth?”

“Don’t say such things,” he murmurs, looking troubled. “Not even in jest.”

“You must have some sort of plan.”

He looks down, shaking his head.

“Tell her you slipped me a poison,” I recommend quietly, feeling a bit jittery talking about my own murder plot. “The others will claim they left me with a sour stomach and a headache, backing it up.”

He shudders as if he cannot bear the thought.

“For now, let Camellia believe you’re on her side,” I insist. “She’s more likely to talk if you do.”

“And when she finds out you’re still alive?”

I shrug. “Tell her Pranmore healed me. It will at least buy us some time.”

“I don’t like it,” he says vehemently.

“I don’t either, but you need to find out why she’s so desperate to get her father to Ferradelle—preferably before he shows up for the wedding.”

Knowing I’m right, Henrik relents.

“I will get it out of her tomorrow,” he swears. “And then we’ll leave to intercept the king.”

Feeling ill, I say to the ground, “Use any means possible, you understand? Don’t worry about me.”

“Clover—”

“Lawrence is right. You’re her weakness. Even if Camellia is incapable of love, she is infatuated. You can use it against her.”

“I’m not going to woo information out of her,” he practically snarls, taking my waist as if to show his loyalty. “Not when I—”

He stops abruptly, and my eyes fly to his.

“Not when youwhat?” I demand quietly.

The commander swallows, his brow creasing deeply in the dim light. “Care for you.”

All right, it’s not what I was hoping. But it still makes my chest soft and warm.

---