She nods slowly.
This palace is entirely too big, and it takes us forever to get to my room. I help her up, get her undressed, and into bed. I climb in beside her and hold her, making sure she sees me.
She leans in and kisses me. “I love you.”
My heart takes flight, and there’s no stopping my elated smile.
“I don’t feel like I deserve you or this, and it terrifies me, but I want you anyway.”
“I love you too. I loved you before all of this happened. I loved you even when I knew I shouldn’t. I trust you. You know I didn’t before, and I had no reason to because you were lying to me and hiding your identity. But I trust you. You were going to leave me, and I understand why you felt like you had to then. But those reasons are gone. I don’t want you to leave me. Not ever. I want to do this with you. I want to start fresh and build us into something incredible.”
She sucks in a shaky breath. “I don’t…I’ve done horrible things. I don’t have a last name. I’m the illegitimate half-sibling of the man who tried to kill your brother and sister-in-law and your nieces and nephew.”
“You’re not Samil, Marcella. Or Signoria or Antonia. They tried to make you into something, and yes, you did some bad things, but I’m not sure you had much choice in that. You were abused—mentally, physically, and emotionally. You’re not that person anymore. You’re your own person, and I’m not sure you ever knew what that felt like until you came here. But now you do, and you can do and be anything.”
“You’re too good to be true,” she whispers, losing steam, even as tears glisten in her eyes.
“It’s the truth, sweetheart. Every word.” I kiss her lips. “Jaqueline deserves that too.”
“I’m working on making myself believe it. On believing I’m not evil and I am worthy.”
“You’re not evil, and you’re more than worthy.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Get some rest. You need it.”
She nods slowly.
“I want to stay with you. Is that okay?” I don’t want to let her go. Since the moment I got to the hospital, I can’t handle any distance between us. And until we figure out this situation, she could still be in danger.
Her eyes close, and she sags into the pillow. The one I caught her smelling all those weeks ago. “Go talk to them,”she mumbles through heavy lips. “You have a lot to figure out.”
“Marcella, something feels off about all of this.”
“I think there’s a lot more going on than any of us know, and we’re here trying to complete a puzzle that’s missing pieces. If I knew more, I’d tell you. I wish I did. I wish I knew the way to end all of your suffering.”
I smile and relax my body behind hers so I can kiss her neck. “You have no idea how much you’ve already helped.” I kiss her again, my nose and mouth resting against her sweet skin. “Stay with me,” I whisper into her. “You know I love you. I know you love me. I also know you’re reluctant because part of you still doesn’t feel you can have everything. But we can. I want you. I want you as mine. Stay this time. Don’t run.”
“You’re the prince. I’ve killed people, Rowan. Likely people who didn’t deserve to die, but I honestly don’t know. I killed them because that’s what I was trained and ordered to do. But that doesn’t make what I did right or okay. How would you explain me to the world? There is no explanation.”
“I don’t have to explain myself to anyone. I’m the prince, not the king. We can say whatever you want or not say anything at all. You’re Marcella Russo now until you’re Marcella of the house of Alerie. Jaqueline’s guardian with your own last name.”
She releases a breath and moves gingerly to touch my jaw. “I like that idea. But I worry Antonia will try to strike at you and your family because she knows I know her secrets.”
“We’ll figure that out as we go. It’s not a reason for you to leave. It’s a reason for us to find her.”
I run my fingers down her hair and across her jaw as her pretty green eyes hold mine. “Your past doesn’t scare me. I have a curse to fend off, remember? I need a woman who can stand by my side and fight the darkness with me.”
“Women like me don’t become princesses. That’s the stuff of fairytales.”
I chuckle. “Wow, so presumptuous. Now I know you’re after my crown.”
She tries to scowl as she says, “I hate your crown.”
I grin. “But would you wear it with me if I put a ring on your finger and promised you always? All of my love. All of my obsession. All of my protection. My heart. My body. My mind. My soul. All of it is yours if you say yes.”
“God, Rowan.” She takes my hand and squeezes it to her chest. “I love you. I love you so much. You’re the prince of my heart. The one who kept it beating when others tried to kill it. I don’t feel like I deserve this, but I don’t care enough to fight it anymore. Maybe people like me get second chances. Maybe sometimes, the glass slipper fits.”
“Or we princes find the other earring.”
She smiles, and I kiss the corner of her lips.
