Reborn at seventeen, Elowen gets a chance to escape the loveless marriage that once destroyed her. When the King offers to arrange her marriage, she shocks everyone by rejecting the Crown Prince and choosing Cassian, the legendary Duke lying in a coma. But Cassian was the only man who showed her kindness in her darkest life. This time, can she rewrite their fate—and awaken the man she chose?
“Wait,” came a sharp voice from behind. It was Bran. Marwen turned, scoffing. “Bran, don’t let yourself be fooled by this woman! She’s nothing but-“ “Is she?” Another voice spoke, quiet and raspy, but steeped in undeniable authority. Every face on the path blanched in an instant. Marwen’s eyes went wide. She turned slowly, lips…
Cassian said nothing more. He let go of her and lay back down. But Elowen could still feel the heat of his grip on her wrist. She looked down at the spot where he had touched her. Then looked toward the bed. Cassian had passed out again. From the exertion earlier, his collar had loosened…
Marwen’s face went pale. It wasn’t subtle. Elowen was threatening her. The trouble was, Rose Hall had only a few maids and matrons-none of them a match for soldiers trained in war. Swallowing her anger, Marwen forced herself to nod. Elowen watched as Marwen rose, pulled a small key from beneath her pillow, opened a…
The clerk gawked. “F-Fifty?” “A hundred,” Alaric said, calm as a frozen lake. Now the clerk was nearly gasping. In Avenlor, a hundred could buy a cottage and a plot of land. And the gentleman tossed it out as if it were nothing. Elowen clenched her fingers inside her sleeve. She didn’t back down. “One…
Cora was stunned. “My lady, where did all this money come from?” Elowen brushed it off. “Just a deal I struck. Now go.” Cora still looked confused, but accepted the money and hurried off. Elowen sat alone in her private room, lowering her gaze to her injured knee. A quiet heaviness settled in her chest.…
“But,” Elowen’s voice shifted, gaining a light, amused tone, “I came up with a little business venture with the shopkeeper…” She described it in detail. By the end, she chuckled softly. “It was just a bangle. It wasn’t worth more than thirty, fifty at most if someone’s feeling generous. Two hundred? Three hundred? That’s just…
He didn’t believe her. “Since you married my uncle, live like his wife,” he said with disdain. “I wouldn’t have married you before, and I certainly won’t now. Even if you never lie with him, even if you’re still pure-it doesn’t matter. You belong to him now.” His words were cruel, but oddly satisfying to…
That would at least vent some of her anger. To her surprise, he showed no anger. Instead, a faint, knowing smile curved his lips, his eyes holding a glint of knowing pleasure, as if to say, “I knew it.” Vivian was stunned. Even as the Crown Prince departed, and even when Cora arrived with guards…
But… She remembered Cassian saying last time that he couldn’t hear anything while unconscious. That meant he’d had no awareness. Right. Inspiration, born of sheer desperation, struck. She bit her lip and flatly denied it. “I don’t know.” She dared a quick glance at him. He was watching her, a thoughtful look in his eyes.…
A folding screen partitioned the room, providing a place to hang clothes and a modicum of privacy. Bran wheeled Cassian right up to the tub before bowing and leaving. Elowen entered a beat later. Against the screen, she saw the clear silhouette of a man-tall, straight-backed, the line of his shoulders and neck speaking of…