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Gently, I smiled at her "You are a princess of this land, and as such, it will be your responsibility to choose the next ruler of Carthya You can na"

"The people won’t accept that"

"But Harloill, if it’s ents will follow Besides, my lady, the people love you" I sat back in awe of her and then chuckled at my own faults by coe"

She weighed that in silence and then asked, "What if I wish to marry?"

"I ask only that you choose a husband from Carthya" My thumb brushed over hers "Someone who is the proper match for you"

"And if I don’t want the crown?" she asked

"Then you give it to anyone worthy and walk away froht off her shoulders She straightened her back and nodded A moment of silence lapsed between us, and if I were soreement with a kiss But I didn’t, and I was certain she took note of it too

We finally stood and I offered to escort her to her apart at the doorway, his face pinched and grim His ar it clear I wouldn’t get past hiered nearby, so I asked him to see the princess to her rooms

Even before they left, I could tell Mott was ready to scoldas if Master Graves, ies to prove once and for all horong I alas "We need to talk," he said

I rolled ht"

"I won’t, but you h So I shrugged and let him follow me back into the throne room When the doors were shut behind us, I turned and started to tell hireement I had just made with Amarinda

However, he was quick to cut e hand to reveal a crunize Roden’s stilted handwriting on an open corner of the paper So at least he was alive, or had been when this note ritten

"When did you get that?" I asked