“Who says he has to stay with her forever?”
“You think he’ll kill her afterward?”
“Don’t you?”
Ellery briefly pondered this before responding. “Yes, but I don’t think she’s completely innocent in all this.”
“Maybe not, but I have to protect her.”
Ellery gulped, and her eyes were sad when they met mine. “I know.”
“I don’t knowhow he plans to make the news of who she is public, as she is a weapon, but I suspect that revelation will come after the wedding.”
“Does she love him?”
“I’m not sure, but I think so. My father’s very good at making women believe he loves them when he doesn’t.”
“Like your mother.”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to warn her?”
“No, if she loves him, she won’t believe me, and she’ll tell my father. If she doesn’t and is in on this with him because she also wants the throne, she’ll still tell him.”
“Do you think she could be in on this with him?”
“I’m not sure. I’d like to believe she’s not because she’s Leo’s daughter, and I want to believe the best in her, but power and wealth are a big lure for many immortals. And if she’s not in on it with him, her heart will be broken.”
“She can’t marry that man.”
“I know.”
We both grew silent as the sun rose higher and more amsirah woke. Color spread across the sky.
“I still can’t believe it,” Ellery muttered again.
I leaned over to kiss the top of her head. “No one is more shocked than me.”
“We have to start getting the money we stole out to the towns. We’ll do that tomorrow,” she stated. “The towns need help.”
“They do.”
“It’s time for me to go home.”
I settled my hands on her hips. “I wish you’d take a day off for yourself.”
“When this is all over, we’ll take a whole week for ourselves. Until then, we have work to do.”
She turned away and walked over to the bed; she sat on the mattress and shoved her feet into her boots. When her head lifted, her eyes landed on the rocks I’d collected and placed on the shelf over my bed.
“Why those rocks?” she inquired.
I shrugged. “I like the different shapes and colors and the fact they have a history I’ll never know.”
She smiled as she returned to me. “You’re a man of many surprises, Ryker Locke.”
“Nowhere near as many as you, my love.”
