Page 23 of Fall of the Ember Throne (Crown and Crest 3)

“Audra said you still can’t use your sword.”

I’m glad she’s been spending time with the elf—Audra is far better company than Camellia.

“It’s not a great loss,” I lie.

My sister glances at me, looking hesitant. “May I ask you something?”

“You may.”

But I wish she wouldn’t.

“Ayan says you’re in love with the woman Camellia—” she stops abruptly, looking around us before she lowers her voice. “The woman Camellia ordered you to kill. Prince Lawrence’s intended.”

The question is more painful than I expect, and I don’t hide my reaction fast enough.

“Oh, Henrik, I’m sorry,” Brielle says hastily. “I didn’t mean to bring up a tender subject.”

I swallow, shaking my head. “I’m fine.”

“Ayan says Prince Lawrence knew your heart, and that he attacked you out of mercy. He said the prince will know you didn’t turn from the crown.”

“Ayan talks a lot, doesn’t he?” I answer curtly, not as eager for Brielle to spend time withthatparticular elf.

“Is it true?” she asks in a small voice.

I turn to her, studying her before I nod. “I asked Lawrence to intervene should it come to it.”

Her eyes swim. “Why didn’t you save her yourself?”

I let out a long-suffering sigh. “Why are you asking me this when you know the answer?”

She blinks several times. “I shouldn’t have left Dulnmarin’s.”

“As if you had a choice when the princess herself came to fetch you.”

“I could have donesomething,” she insists, too naïve for her sixteen years.

“You were at her mercy with the rest of us.”

We continue walking, and I nearly groan as we step into the humid night. Evenings should be cooler than the day, but it’s not like that here. The swamp holds the heat, carrying it through morning. There is no respite, even this late in the year.

Brielle steals another glance at me. “Since we’re on the subject, may I ask you something else?”

“And if I refuse?”

She gives me a tentative smile. “I’ll probably ask anyway.”

“Then get on with it.”

“Why did you allow yourself to fall in love with Prince Lawrence’s intended? That’s not like you at all.”

“We didn’t know,” I say darkly. “You learned at the same time as us.”

“You didn’tknow?”

“Lawrence didn’t bother to share the information with Clover or me.”

Instead, he let us carry on like fools.

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