“You can’t honestly tell me you’re okay with that policy. It’s an outdated, shortsighted law that needs to be changed.”
“Ah, but as much as I’d love to accuse the king of being outdated and shortsighted, I’m thinking that’s not the way to affect change.”
“You’re the Chancellor’s brother. You’re telling me we’ve got nothing? There’s no way to help the Lupine?”
“I didn’t say all that. I just said the law can’t help us, and we can’t act outside of its boundaries.”
Ella stared at him dubiously. “I feel like you’re enjoying your riddles, old man.”
Remus smirked at her sass that usually only came about when her headaches were growing vexing. They’d tweaked the dosage of the St. John’s Wort to perfection. It was doing wonders to control errant magic casting out from her, while still allowing her to use her abilities. The fogginess was starting to fine-tune itself as she dialed back the dose of her herbal regimen, but it was still a concerted effort to get her Pulse to perform properly.
Remus strummed his fingers atop his desk, his eyebrows dancing playfully. “I admit, I rather like leading you around the obstacles so that you can come to the most beneficial conclusion.”
Ella’s nose scrunched. “That’s my point. I’m not seeing a conclusion. Are you?”
“Not yet. But if we narrow down what we can’t do, then it makes a clearer path toward what we can.”
Henry entered the study, pausing to greet Ella with a light kiss. “Is Remus doing that annoying ‘the answer is within you’ thing again?” He shook his head, tsking his mentor. “Always trying to make us smarter.”
Remus stood to hug Henry. “My eternal crime. Good to see you, Henry. How’s your father?”
A cloud shadowed the prince’s usually breezy smile. “Stubborn. Still intending to go through with the ball, even though I told him I’m already in a relationship. Ella, can I talk to Remus for a minute?”
Ella tried not to let the king’s stalwart rejection strike her chest, but the arrow sunk in its usual spot all the same. “Sure. I’ll be in the living room when you’re finished.”
Before she exited, Henry gripped her hand once more, meeting her eyes with a firm, “Always and only you.”
She softened at the reassuring reminder that no matter what, they were in this together. “Always and only you.”
Ella closed the door to the study behind her, knowing she shouldn’t eavesdrop. She’d had many lessons with Remus about ethics, and the responsibility that came with unnaturally strong gifts like hers.
She moved up the stairs to the living room and sat on the caramel-colored leather couch. She didn’t relax into the cushions but sat perfectly erect, her hands atop her knees. She closed her eyes, honing her Hearing to push through the floor and walls so she could listen to things that weren’t meant for her.
“I don’t understand how Dad can be like this about her. He’s never even met Ella!”
“I admit, King Hubert isn’t usually so snappish in his judgment. You can’t get your hands on that photo?”
Ella pushed out her Sight, so she could see how worked up Henry was. She bit her lip when she saw him pacing and talking with his hands, his shoulders tight with agitation.
“No! My own press secretary won’t give the incriminating picture to me. Said they destroyed all traces of it. Remind me again why I can’t just drive her to the palace tonight and introduce him to Ella. He’ll have to see that she’s not whatever wretched monster he’s concocted in his head.”
“Is that how you imagine Ella would like to meet her future father-in-law? Don’t you think she’s had enough heartbreak?”
Ella’s palms grew sweaty at using her Pulse in such a focused way. Her heart hammered in her chest when Remus slid King Hubert into the role of her future father-in-law. There were so many things she’d never allowed herself to want, but now that they were being dangled in front of her, part of her needed them.
Henry scowled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I hate it when you’re right. The throne makes things so much more complicated. If I was anyone else, I’d marry her tomorrow and everyone would just have to deal with it. But there can’t be contention when there’s a crown involved. I have to do this delicately, and you know how I hate that. Being in love shouldn’t be so weighted with politics.”
“Ah, but ‘shouldn’t’ and ‘are’ might be two sides of the same coin.”
Henry paused his pacing to glare at Remus. “You know I despise it every time you riddle me when I need actual guidance.”
Ella’s Sight was too foggy around the edges to clearly see the details of Remus’ hands on his stomach, but she imagined him twining his fingers together, as she noticed he often did when he was holding himself back.
“You want advice?” Remus asked, his expression neutral.
Henry threw his arms in the air, exasperation flying out in his words. “I didn’t come down to your study just to hear myself whine. Please, Remus. Any solution at all.”
“Do nothing.”
Henry blinked at Remus, and Ella could see his anger boiling. “You are being impossible on purpose!”
Remus stood, letting Henry know he wasn’t the only man in the room, and that the prince needed to calm himself down. “Do nothing. Let your father think as he does for now. Ella will go to the ball and present herself as one of the many women hoping to win your affections. That girl won me over in the first minute I met her. Give her fifteen seconds with the king, and he’ll see what’s obvious to anyone who’s not trying to use her. Trust your father to see the truth, and trust Ella to stand for herself.”
Henry collapsed into the chair Ella usually took across from Remus’ desk. He leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs. “And if it all falls apart? If he meets her, hates her still and breaks her heart? Then what?”
“Then you’re in the same place you are now, and we’ll deal with it then.”
Henry shook his head, and Ella began to lose the details of his face. “I just don’t understand. He was so adamant about it today. Wouldn’t even have a conversation about it. Said point blank that he forbids me to marry her. Said that her politics were bigoted, and he couldn’t believe I was drawn to someone who would only bring shame to the crown.”
The harsh words cut Ella, making her feel as if the wind was knocked out of her.
Remus leaned against his desk, his arms folded over his chest in confusion. “I wouldn’t tell Ella those things. She doesn’t need the stress right now. I bought her another two weeks here before she has to stand up to Lady Tremaine, but it’s coming.” Remus rubbed his forehead, his shoulders tight with consternation. “What are you going to do if your father threatens to take away the crown if you marry her? Will you go through with it?”
Henry hung his head. “I love my father. I can’t believe he would come down so harsh the one time I finally want someone in my life, which he’s always encouraged.” He paused, the shadows flickering as he considered the gavel that would inevitably fall. “My duty is to the people.”
Ella lowered her chin, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. Her hands gripped her thighs as her heart hammered in her chest. She felt cold on the inside, and knew the chill wasn’t something that would fade if things remained as they were.
Henry shook his head. “But a crown without her is a consolation prize. If I can’t marry Ella, I’ll fulfill my duty to the people, but I’ll never take a wife. The lineage will end with me.” He buried his face in his hands. “Either way, I destroy the crown.”
Ella slumped against the couch, pulling her magic back into her body. Everything felt surreal, as if she was floating above her life so she could see the problems for what they were.
She didn’t have to tell her body to stand—her feet were already on their way up the stairs. She packed up the meager possessions she’d come there with, leaving behind the beautiful clothes Rory had bought her. She ran her hand over the bed Henry had invited her into,
lifting his pillow to inhale the smell of him one last time.
She turned corners and moved down stairs without calculating them, feeling as if the world was a thing she merely passed through, instead of enjoyed and explored. She opened the door to the study and didn’t apologize for interrupting.
“I’m breaking it off,” she declared abruptly, detached from her passion, which felt crushed inside her chest. “I won’t be the reason you don’t get the crown, and I won’t be the reason you can’t pass it on to your children. I’m out.”
Remus hung his head, but Henry was on his feet, anger burning in his damp eyes. “This is how you stand by me? Listen in on my private conversations, and then go over my head to make decisions about me on your own?”
Ella blinked at the bite in his words but maintained her level chin and quiet demeanor. “This is exactly how I stand by you. Taking the crown is what’s best for you, and what’s best for the country. You and I both know that. If you don’t rule after your father, then it’s open to the Chancellor, the Baron, and whoever else wants to try their hand at making choices for Avondale.” Anxiety over leaving him shredded her heart over and over, rending her insides to pieces. Still, she put Henry’s welfare ahead of her own. “If you left the throne to marry me, our children might live under the Baron’s rule. You’ll resent me and curse yourself, wishing you could’ve done something.” She shook her head. “I won’t be the curse that holds you back.”
Henry’s anger melted into panic. “You don’t hold me back! This is some crazy misunderstanding! Don’t you see? If my father could only sit down with you, he would see what I do—that we’re perfect for each other, and there’s no one who would fit better beside me on the throne.” He gestured wildly toward her. “See? You’re already thinking of Avondale ahead of your own needs.”
Ella glided over to him and lifted herself up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. His eyes moistened, and a tear fell onto the curve of her upper lip. “Always and only you.”
“Always and only you.” Henry let out a sob as he pressed his forehead to hers. His eyes were winched shut, as if the thought of separation from her caused him physical pain. “Don’t take away my always and only.”
Her words felt like a slice across her chest, but they tumbled out of her all the same. “There’s no other choice.”
Remus moved to the door and shut it, pressing his hand to the center to keep her inside. “The ball. Promise him you’ll come to the ball and present yourself. If you love Henry as you say you do, then you’ll have an open and honest face-to-face with the king. If Hubert remains stalwart in his opinion, then we can examine that fallout. But if he’ll give his blessing…”
Ella folded herself into Henry’s arms that held her a little too tight, but still never tight enough. “If the king approves of us, then I’ll let you pick out my wedding dress, Remus.”
Henry kissed Ella through his anguish, his tears mixing in with hers before he pulled back in frustration. “Don’t do this. There must be another way!”
“If I really love you, then this is the only way. You won’t be able to live with yourself if you go against your father. You love him.”
“I love you!”
“And I’ll always have that. In my heart, I’ll have always and only you.” She let out a bleat of agony, fearing part of her would remain perpetually broken if separated from him. Her forehead rested against his as the world shifted around them. “Tell me a story, Henry. One that has nothing to do with this one.”
A tear slid down Henry’s cheek and touched onto her thumb as she held his face. His voice trembled with heartbreak and uncertainty. “Once upon a time, there was a prince who wanted…” His nose was red as a sob escaped him. “Ella, this is madness! I can’t let us be over when we’re clearly not!”
Ella held tight to him, her whisper shaking her insides as her eyes shut tight. “Once upon a time, there was a prince who wanted good things for his kingdom. He was noble, selfless and wise. The kingdom was so lucky that one day, the prince gave up his one true love so that he could rule his kingdom without division. And the kingdom lived happily ever after.”
Henry gripped her hard. “That’s a terrible story!”
“But that’s how our story has to go.”
With one last kiss, Ella tore herself away from Henry, holding her chin up as she walked out of the house to the bus station, taking herself out of the equation, and back to her town.
36
Standing on Her Own
The crash of leaving Henry didn’t hit Ella as she got off the bus at the police station. She kept the dam in place in her mind, hoping she could get through all the changes that needed to be made before she was crushed by the weight of it all. If she was truly going to stand on her own, she knew she couldn’t go back to the life she’d once accepted as her only option.
She filed a police report for the black eye, showing them the photo Henry had taken of her on her phone as proof. She explained the whole story, proving that the house she’d let get taken over by the Tremaine women was, in fact, hers. “I need them out, but they won’t go without a fight. I’d rather not get hit again, if I can help it.”
“Eviction isn’t all that simple. If they’ve been paying you rent, they have thirty days to leave.”
“They’ve never paid a thing. Lady Tremaine’s been living there because she doesn’t like my Pulse, and thinks I’m dangerous.” Ella had kept the winter gloves Rory had bought her, and took a page from Cordray’s book, flexing her gloved fingers to incite fear.
The police officer’s eyes widened. “Are you a Lethal?”
“I’m a tax-paying citizen who’s never harmed anyone. I’m asking for a police escort to get rid of abusive squatters who have no legal right to be in my home. I don’t use my Pulse to solve my problems, which is why I’m here, abiding by the law.” Ella met his eyes with a firm but kind smile. “I trust you can respect that.”
The officer was sweating, but stammered through his response. “Of course. Lethals are protected under the same laws as everyone else. Let me look into the name on the deed of your home, and I’ll see what I can do.”
Ella didn’t get up, but waited patiently for the help she requested while she called a locksmith, asking him to meet her at her address in an hour. Leaving Henry had been the hardest line to cross, which made everything else that had seemed so impossible mere hours ago look laughably simple.
Everything was expedited when a Lethal was involved. The officer she’d petitioned handed off the job to two cops who looked like they wrestled trolls for a living. Both of them were easily several inches over six feet tall, and kept their hands on their belts, as if readying to defend themselves against the meek woman.
Ella smiled up at them, brushing a few stray blonde curls from her face. “I’m sorry I’m making you guys uncomfortable. If only I’d been born with a Pulse to make people laugh at my jokes, right?”
The corner of the mouth of the officer standing nearest to her twitched, giving in to the gentleness she couldn’t help but radiate. She did her best to put the men at ease, wondering how Cordray did it so effortlessly.
In the back of the squad car, Ella’s phone buzzed with a call from Henry. The moment she heard his voice, she felt a pressure behind her eyes. “Hello?”
“Tell me that didn’t just happen. Tell me I hallucinated the worst thing in my life. Tell me you didn’t leave me.”
Ella cradled the phone as if it was his hand on her face. “I love you. The people we love never truly leave us. Don’t you feel me in your heart?”
“I do, but I want to feel you in my arms. Come home. This is madness.”
“Actually, I’m on my way home right now. Not to Remus’ place, but mine. After tonight, it’s going to be all mine. I’m kicking out Lady Tremaine and her daughters. I don’t care what happens to me anymore.”
Henry gasped. His next words came out in a rush. “I’m so proud of you. I’m on my way.”
“No. This is something I have to do on my own.”
“That woman is a monster! There’s no way I’m letting you have a confrontation with her without me there in case things go south. Am I not allowed to love you now?”
Ella couldn’t help the smile that played on her lips. “You really do love me.”
Henry let out a sigh of exasperation. “It’s like you’re trying to vex me on purpose. Of course I love you. Always and only you.”
“Stay where you are. Coming here would only complicate things with your father. I’m not going alone. I’ve got the cops with me.”
“With you now? Hand them the phone. I want to speak with them.”
“Now’s not the time to go public.”
“I only want to have a little chat with the boys in blue about my dear friend Ella. What’s the harm in that?”
“Behave,” she scolded him before handing up the phone to the officer in the passenger’s seat. She sent out her Listening, feeling nervous using her abilities inside a police car, but it was worth it to hear Henry’s voice just a little while longer.
“Officer, this is Prince Henry of Avondale. What’s your name?”
“This is Officer Klein. Is this truly Prince Henry?”
“It is. I want you to make sure Lady Tremaine doesn’t lay a hand on Ella. It would be considered a personal favor to me if you could keep an eye on the house until the Tremaines have collected their things and are off the property. In fact, I’d like you to stay until I can get a locksmith there.”
“I already called the locksmith, Prince Henry,” Ella chimed in from the back, using his formal title so as not to appear overly flirtatious.
“Very well, then please stay with her until I can get a security system installed tonight.” Then he raised his voice to be heard through the car. “Bet you didn’t think of that!”
Ella smirked at his protective nature, grateful that, even though she couldn’t be with him, they could hold their connection in their hearts, untarnished from the world that threatened to pull them apart.
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