Elara's POV
The next morning when I thought he was getting ready to leave, he suddenly turned back.
"Before I ride out," he said, "I want two weeks."
I looked up. "Two weeks?"
"Not in the palace. Not in the council chamber. Not in any room with a crown in it."
I stared at him. "What are you saying?"
He stepped closer. "I am saying I want to leave. You and me. Just us. Outside these walls. I want to see what the kingdom looks like when someone is not trying to destroy it."
I thought about Corvus. About the reformed council. About the ten reasons this was inadvisable.
"Yes," I said.
He smiled. It was small. Tired. But real.
"I thought you were riding out tomorrow," I said.
He shook his head. "No. I changed my mind."
"You changed your mind?"
He came to me. He took my hands. His fingers were warm.
"I just want to spend time with you," he said. "And our unborn child. If something ends up happening to me..."
"Do not."
