Page 115 of Fall of the Ember Throne (Crown and Crest 3)

“But she made an additional term.”

His tone is off and cool…and I don’t like it one bit.

“What?” I ask hesitantly.

“You have to marry Lawrence, and I…have to remain by her side.”

I curse out loud, saying somethingveryunladylike, startling Henrik so much he almost smiles.

“Absolutely not,” I snarl. “No.”

I push out of his arms, angry enough I want to smack him for being so gullible.

“She said she’ll remove the necklaces as soon as you and Lawrence exchange your vows,” he says.

I whip back to look at him and say again, “She’slying.”

The commander pins me with his gaze, looking resigned. “I don’t think she is this time, and what choice do we have but to believe her? You heard Pranmore. There’s no way to remove the necklaces.”

“We’ll find a way.”

“Clover—”

“Stop!” Angry, terrified tears well in my eyes. “I won’t hear it, Henrik. I will not throw away our lives becauseCamelliamade a promise.”

“Marriages are often arranged for political gain. This is no different, Clover. We knew from the beginning we were destined to walk different paths.”

“It’s not right.”

“It is what it is,” he argues. “Right or wrong, fair or not.”

Suddenly, the fight leaves me. “Will you give up so easily then?”

Turning to leave, he says, “There is no part of this that’s easy.”

My chin wobbles as I watch the commander stride to the door. He’ll cause Palmer to have heart failure if he walks out now, but he’s not in the mood to care, and frankly, neither am I.

I wait for him to turn around, to tell me we’ll figure something out.

But he doesn’t.

When I realize he truly means to leave, I step forward. “Henrik!”

His name passes my lips before my pride has a chance to stop it. The commander pauses, his hand on the doorknob, preparing to leave.

Slowly, he looks back over his shoulder. Our eyes meet and hold, and my heart pinches painfully.

“Please don’t go—not like this,” I whisper.

I fully expect him to walk out the door and leave me drowning in a pool of my own tears, but instead…he turns around.

I hold my breath, waiting.

Without a word, Henrik crosses the room and pulls me into a crushing embrace. Roughly, he says, “I’m doing this for you—don’t you realize that? For your future, so you can live in a kingdom that’s not torn apart by war. You have no idea what I would sacrifice for you, Clover.”

“But I just want you,” I say on a sob.

He tilts my head up, looking like a man about to go to the gallows. Like a vow, he says, “I’m yours until morning.”

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