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When Evret eed a moment later, he looked startled to find her there, but he covered it easily He was not as good as sootten better at it over the years

"I wanted to tell you that I’ his head, Evret shut Winter’s door, then headed down the hall to his own cha her hands "Evret?"

"It doesn’t hts flickered on as he entered the roo you needed?"

Levana took in the bedrooht Evret had never bothered to bring much personality into it After ten years, the roouest suite

"I wanted to ask you why … why did you agree tothe second boot across the rooht, I sometimes wonder It seems that back then I had to coerce you for every kiss Everyentleman Honorable Loyal to … Solstice’s h, Evret sank into a cushioned chair "We don’t have to talk about this now What’s done is done"

"But I want to knohy Why did you say yes, if you … if you didn’t love me And you didn’t want to be royalty And you didn’t care if Winter was a princess Why say yes?"

She could see hied "I didn’t have a choice"

"Of course you had a choice If you didn’t love hed huainst the chair’s backrest "No, I couldn’t have Youto letTell me you would have just let me walk away"

Levana opened her mouth to say that, yes, of course, she would have allowed him his freedom, if that’s what he’d truly wanted

But the words didn’t co still so clearly Her blood on the sheets The taste of sour berries The bittersweetthat he’d been hers for one night, and yet never hers at all

No

No, she would not have let hiround