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"I put it together that day in the forest, angel. I went to Stonehaven to tell my father and yours that you were mine and we were getting married. I had the marriage contracts revised to ensure that you would have your freedom if anything ever happened to me. Neither your father nor mine will have any say over you," I explain quietly. "I wanted to make sure that, no matter what, you never again feel like you need to run to protect yourself. When I got back to the cabin to tell you, you were gone. We've torn every kingdom in this part of the world apart looking for you."
"We?"
"Me, my father, and yours."
Her face pales. "My father is here?"
"I left him back at Stonehaven," I murmur, brushing my fingers down the smooth plane of her cheek. "He regrets what he said to you, princess. He regrets that he made you run."
"Good." Anger snaps and sizzles in her eyes, burning hot. "He should regret it."
"He loves you."
"Loves me?" She blinks at me. "He didn't tell you, did he? You don't know everything."
"He told me that he lost his temper and threatened to lock you in the tower if you didn't follow through on the marriage," I say, watching her face. "He won't be threatening you ever again, Thalia, I promise you that."
"You still don't know," she whispers, the light dying in her eyes.
"Know what, princess? Talk to me."
"One of my ancestors was cursed, Troy. Destined to sleep for one hundred years. She could only be awoken by her true love's kiss," she says, wrapping her arms around her again. "He found her, kissed her, and woke her. According to the story, they lived happily ever after. But my family knows differently."
"What do you mean?"
"They had a daughter. When she was just a little girl, she fell into a deep sleep. Nothing could wake her, no matter what they tried. It was as if she had died. Twelve hours later, she woke with no memories. That night, as soon as the sun set, the same thing happened. It happened every night for years. Until one day, she met a man and fell in love. When night fell, and the curse claimed her, he thought she'd died. He kissed her in his grief and broke the curse." Thalia pauses, licking her lips. "But it didn't die with her, Troy. The curse passed to her daughter, and to her daughter, and then to hers. It's passed to every woman with Rosewood blood ever since."
"Are you saying—?"
"I'm saying the only reason you were able to wake me is because you were destined to do so," she whispers. "You're my one true love, the one man chosen by fate to break the curse. You didn't have a choice in loving me, Troy. It was written in the stars long before you and I were even born. So you can't be with me. not if you want to be in charge of your own destiny. " Tears slip down her cheeks again, her bottom lip quivering. "I knew it all along, but I didn't tell you. I kept it from you, hoping you'd love me enough that it wouldn't matter. I tried to take your choice from you, just like your father did."
Her father—the fucker—knew about this, and he threatened to lock her away, to trap her with no way of breaking the curse. He bound her into a contract, not knowing if I was her true love or if he was condemning her to a lifetime of living that way—of spending half of every day in an enchanted death.
That isn't love. That's torture.
I don't blame her for not telling me.
How can I? In her shoes, I would have done the same for a chance at freedom.
My entire life, I've fought against my father, chafing at his meddling, resenting his interference. Only to realize that somewhere in there, he actually cared. He was doing the best he could the only way he knew how.
Her whole life, she loved her father desperately, only to realize that she was just a pawn to him—just a tool for him to use. She was the one being forced and controlled, not me. I've always had my will. She's never had that.
When I see her father again, I'm going to break his fucking jaw. There is no excuse and no justification—none I'm willing to entertain. He won't have the chance to hurt her again. Her mother will be allowed to see her if Thalia allows it. But he won't come within a thousand yards of her.
"Thalia, what would happen to you if I rejected you?" I ask. It'll never happen, but I need to know. What's she trying to sacrifice to set me free?
"It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me, princess. Tell me."
"I don't know." Her breath trembles on her lips. "I guess the curse comes back?" She grips my wrists, her eyes boring into mine. "But it doesn't matter, Troy. I've already accepted it." Her bottom lip quivers. "I got to see the moon and stare up at the vastness of the night sky again. You gave me that. If I never see it again, I'll always have those memories. It'll be enough."
"Jesus," I mutter. She's breaking my heart. All this time, this is what's been eating at her. This is what she's been so afraid to tell me. I told her hell would freeze over before I was controlled, so she's carried her fears alone, trying to outrun a curse and her father. Desperately fighting for her life, all while consumed by guilt, believing she was taking my choice from me.
She's my choice. She'll always be my choice in every lifetime, in every version of this story, in every possible ending.
I reach into my pocket, pulling out the ring I've been carrying for the last week. I hold it out in the palm of my hand.
