Page 55 of The Last Strike

“That instinct is exactly why we need to get married,” he said, his eyes faraway for a moment.

“Need or want, Asher?” she asked, her eyebrows threading together.

“Need,” he admitted, looking away.

“Asher, what is going on?” Abi asked, watching him carefully.

Finally he looked back to her. “King Luang raised a good point today: Santina has no heir. If something were to happen to me, who would take over the throne?”

“Alistair,” Abi said without hesitation, but even as she said his name, doubt crept in. Alistair buckled under pressure. How would he handle Asher’s responsibilities?

“Exactly,” Asher said as if he could read her mind. “You have the same doubts I have, the same doubts Luang voiced. So, I’m going to amend the royal succession to advise that, in the event of my absence, the queen consort is to reign.”

Abi stopped breathing. Her jaw dropped open. “I can’t; I wouldn’t know what to do,” she said so quickly her words blurred into one another.

“Abi, I have no idea what I’m doing every day. But Santina needs someone who can think under pressure. You have demonstrated that you can, over and over again. The rest of the job you kind of have to figure out as you go. There is no rule book,” he said gently.

She shook her head. She couldn’t do it—not without him.

“So, I would prefer Khalil not to know you’re queen consort, because if things don’t go as planned, you’ll be the next target. If he thinks Alistair is in charge he probably won’t bother to take action. He’ll think he can sit back and rely on Alistair to mess things up so that he’ll be able to walk in and look like Santina’s savior.”

Abi stood, walking around the desk. She stood in front of Asher, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Exactly how worried are you that things might go wrong?” She pushed the lump in her throat down and it felt like it was made of razors.

“I’m confident in the plan, but we both know how wrong things can go,” Asher said quietly, placing his hands on her hips, drawing her closer.

“Don’t do this. Find another way,” Abi said. “Please don’t do this.”

He met her gaze and she knew what he was thinking. He had begged her not to meet Lamberi, and now she was asking him not to meet with Khalil.

“There are other plans, but none as effective as this. If we pull it off, it will give us everything we need to take control of Adani,” Asher said.

“And if you don’t pull it off?” Abi asked.

“Then you will reign as queen of Santina, and you will live for us both,” Asher said, an apology in his eyes.

“No, I can’t do it. I won’t do it,” she said quickly, adamantly.

“You won’t do what is best for Santina, for our entire region?” Asher asked gently.

“No,” she whispered. “Please don’t ask me to do this, Asher.”

“I have every intention of walking away alive, Abi,” Asher said.

“That’s not good enough!” she said, her voice becoming louder. “It was different when I met with Lamberi. I wasn’t ruling a kingdom. You can’t do this to me. You can’t do this to your kingdom! The people of Santina need you. You can’t. I am begging you. Please, do not do this.”

“I begged you and you did it anyway,” Asher reminded her, his voice gentle but firm. “You might not have been ruling Santina, but I was, and I would’ve been nothing but a shell if something had happened to you,” he said.

She understood, but she also couldn’t agree to this. “Then let me come with you. I can help protect you. Let me do something useful.”

Asher managed a small smile. “The most useful thing you can do is remain safe, so Santina’s queen can lead them should she need to.”

Abi hated herself for her next question, but she couldn’t stop herself. Her fear had taken over and she couldn’t think straight. “What if something happened to you tonight?” she asked. “Who does the power go to then?”

“Alistair,” Asher admitted, then stopped. He stepped back and she couldn’t believe she was about to say the words, but they came—and she saw the heartbreak in his eyes before she said them aloud.

“Then I won’t marry you. I refuse to marry you, and I will take my chances on going to meet Khalil with you. Alistair will reign if something happens to us.”

“If you refuse to marry me, you won’t be going to meet Khalil,” Asher said, cold and firm. “If you make that choice, Abi, you’re no longer standing beside me.”

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