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CHAPTER 43
“What?”
I want to laugh. I want to scream. Around us, bodies are still hitting the ground, and I’m the one on my knees, and this can’t possibly be an actual proposal.
Memnon’s hand slips beneath my chin. “Marry me.”
I can’t see him well through the strain shrouding my eyes, but my ears heard him correctly.
“Agree to lift the curse and be my wife in earnest, and I will release these people.”
“You’re sick,” I whisper.
His grip tightens on my chin.
“You’re ru
“No,” I say breathlessly. “Choose different terms.”
He lets out a laugh, as though there’s anything amusing about this moment.
“Why would I?” he says. “I have you right where I want you.” His expression grows serious, and his gaze burns. “I am still awfully bitter about being locked away for fucking mille
I glare at him as he kneels before me, putting us at roughly eye level.
“But I love you,” he continues, his entire demeanor gentling. “I have always loved you. The night I found you half dead in that forest made me face a truth I tried to bury. I ca
My body trembles, and the throbbing in my head only increases. He’s given me an impossible ultimatum, one I must agree to if I want these people around me to survive tonight.
“If you do this,” I say softly, “I vow to make every day of your life a living hell.”
A slow, wolfish smile spreads across his face. “I look forward to it, est amage.”
More magic is pouring out of me, though it’s sluggish now, and it’s battering uselessly against the sorcerer’s. My mind is starting to feel hollowed out. I’ve overdrawn my power, and still more supernaturals are falling to the ground.
There’s no escaping Memnon’s demands. Not in any real sense. My hate and anger nearly swallow me whole, but the sorcerer is right. I don’t want anyone else to die on my behalf.
Around me, the room has gone quiet, except for a few panicked gurgles and those unsettling thumps.
My shoulders heave with every ragged breath I take. I’ve done everything I can. It just isn’t enough.
“Fine.”
With that, I collapse forward, falling into his waiting arms, my breathing heavy, my magic spent.