“Thank you,” I said. “It was a long time ago. But Marigold has similar episodes.” I gestured to Clarissa. “Did something happen to cause it? Was it everything with Galen?”
“No, no, it wasn’t that. I—” She cut herself off. It looked like she wanted to say more, but she simply shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Thank you, Thorne,” she added, her lips curving slightly around my name. Perhaps the first time she’d said it without a scoff or sneer.
Two nights ago, I was plotting with my mother about how toget her to leave. Now, I found myself wondering how I could get that smile to stay.
She has to marry your best friend.
I blinked the thought away. “Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the curse before. It’s not that I thought you didn’t have the right to know. It’s just…it’s bigger than me. And apparently, bigger than Galen and the Grimaldis.”
“I take it you didn’t know about the marriage bit, either.”
I pursed my lips and shook my head. “How are you doing with all of that?”
She resumed her pacing. “How do you think? I was tricked into coming here by a king who couldn’t be bothered to tell me the truth. He just wants to use me to break this curse. And the thing is, Igetit. It’s bad. Especially after seeing what’s been happening in just this territory alone. Nobody should be forced to suffer because of some power-hungry king who lived two hundred years ago.” She paused, biting her bottom lip in thought.
“I would have said yes,” she said, quieter this time. “If he’d told me from the beginning, I would’ve said yes. How could I not, if saying no would mean letting this kingdom get destroyed?”
“That’s not your responsibility,” I countered.
She let out a humorless laugh. “What, don’t you want me to stay and marry him? Save Mysthelm and all of that?”
I swallowed, too many voices and opinions of others whispering in my ear. “Of course I want to help my people. But it should beyourchoice. I may not know you very well, Empress, but you seem like the kind of person who would do anything if it meant helping others. Even if it wasn’t in your own best interests.”
Her brow pinched. “Is that such a bad thing?”
“No,” I said, stepping closer to her. “As long as it’s what you want. You have your own life, your own empire, to consider. Don’t do this just for him or out of some sense of guilt.”
Clarissa searched my features for a moment, underscored by the buzzing insects and whistling of wind through the hedges. Then she sat back down and rolled her neck to gaze up at the stars.She was lost in thought, those dark eyes expressing so much in their silence.
She, like Galen, held the weight of her people on her shoulders. But unlike Galen, she bore hers with strength instead of letting it drown her.
“We would be lucky to have you as our queen, Clarissa,” I said softly, unsure what urged me to speak it, other than it was the truth. Even if I hadn’t uncovered the deepest secret of the curse tonight, I would’ve believed in those words.
She gave me another one of those tentative, wistful, crooked smiles. “You don’t even know me.”
“I don’t have to,” I said simply.
“This suits you, you know,” she said, tilting her head. “It’s genuine. Better than the cocky act.”
Something constricted in my chest. I so rarely let the mask fall, I hadn’t even realized she’d sent it crashing down. “Who said it was an act?”
She let out a small chuckle that turned into a sigh. Then she asked, “Is he worth it, Thorne? Will he do right by his people? If I do this, will he do right byme?”
“Galen has a good heart,” I said, almost without thinking. They were words I’d thought to myself so many times over the last few months. “He’s just…lost. Misguided.”
“Why do you keep defending him? What has he done to earn such loyalty from you?”
An uncomfortable knot settled in my gut. “He’s my best friend. He’s been through some terrible times, but I…” I exhaled and closed my eyes, then dropped to the bench beside her. “You want genuine? The answer is I don’t know, Empress. But thiskingdomis worth it.”
“I think so too.” Her words were quiet but not weak. She rested a hand on my shoulder as she stood. “Thanks for following me tonight,” she said. “I’ll see you around, Lord Reaux.”
Her smile, the first true, uninhibited one she’dgiven me, slammed through my chest. Her handprint was like a brand on my shoulder when she moved back toward the manor.
I knew at that moment that she was going to do it. She was going to be our queen, end this curse, and save our kingdom.
She was going to marry Galen.
That thought should have filled me with relief. Many of our problems would soon be solved, and we’d no longer have to worry about the rotting or dying or what curse would be passed on for the next generation. It may not be exactly how my mother wanted it to happen, but I realized now what mattered most was stopping this curse. This death.
