His eyes softened as he stepped closer. My chin tilted up under his gaze. “Tell me.”
My heart pounded within my chest. I had seen him framed in starlight so often that the bright sun flooding the library’s chamber set his whole face aglow. His piercing dark eyes scanned mine, his wiry spectacles sitting crooked on his nose.
I saw him swallow.
“I saw a letter,” I said.
Confusion crossed his face.
“That day. In the corridor. It was with his things. I… it suggested your father remove Stephen from the line of succession.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Of course it did. And who was the letter from?”
I tried to think back to the name scrawled along the bottom. “It started with a B.”
“Don’t say it was Blackwood.”
I stilled. “I believe it was. That was the man from the garden, wasn’t it? The famed potions master?”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, his glasses pushed up against his forehead. “That’s excellent. Absolutely excellent.”
“Why does he want Stephen gone?”
“Because it’s one less family member in his way for the crown.”
My mouth fell slightly open.
“Look, I really shouldn’t involve you in any of this.”
“I want to help Stephen.”
He reached out, placing a hand on my arm. My muscles grew taut as his thumb rubbed my sleeve.
“I appreciate that. I do. But that family is dangerous. I wouldn’t want to get someone like you involved.”
My nostrils flared. “You mean a commoner?”
“I mean a—” He stopped himself, pressing his lips together.
“A?”
His hand dropped down to mine, his fingers hovering inches away. My breath caught as heat seemed to fill the space between us. I wanted nothing more than for him to reach out, to trail my fingers against his. Instead, his hand drifted to the tail end of my engagement ribbon. He cupped it in his palm, examining the thin purple strand.
And then he dropped his hand, stepping back.
My chest deflated.
“A commoner,” he echoed. “I wouldn’t want someone like you caught up in noble politics.”
I pursed my lips, my heart sinking into my stomach. “If that’s how you feel.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. His throat bobbed.
I didn’t bother staying to let him choose his next words. I spunon my heel and stormed out of the library, away from the man who drove me crazy in all the best and worst ways.
And back to the life, the world, that had always kept me sane.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
