She had to laugh. “Why, because she’s cheating on you, or because you never cared for her in the first place? The latter I could’ve guessed. You’ve never truly cared for anyone but yourself, Danton.”

He flinched. Ran a hand through his dark auburn hair. “Lexana needed a cover story. She’s in love with a commoner, a servant boy her father would never approve of. She asked me to pretend to marry her, in exchange for her father’s dowry. It would’ve been more than enough money to supply Tarik with food, medicine, everything we needed to survive this year.”

Tarik. Always Tarik. “Enough to help your rebels build better weaponry, too?” Ren asked, tone scathing.

“Absolutely not.” His hand dropped back to his side, clenched. “I’m never helping them again—not after.…”

Not after the reason I’m locked up in here, she thought angrily. Not after the rebels took the plans Danton and Ren stole for them, and used those plans to kill thousands of Kolonyans.

“Every last coin was going to go toward rebuilding our country. It would’ve created an alliance between the Northern Reach and Tarik, given Tarik a fresh start.”

“Would have. Past tense? What disturbed your plans?” She crossed her arms.

“Me.” He locked eyes with her. “I’m going to confess.”

It took a moment for her to understand. When she did, she scrambled to her feet. “Danton, no.”

“It’s the only way, Florencia. They’ll kill you for this. You know as well as I do that correspondence is fake. But Lexana showed me the letters. They’re damned convincing; whoever forged them used a real rebel seal, code words only the rebellion uses. The only way to prove you’re innocent is to show the council the real letters. The ones addressed to me.”

“You’d be executed in a heartbeat. I’m still Andros’s daughter; they’ll hesitate before hanging me. But you, you’re an Easterner, no noble ties… You can’t.” She didn’t remember moving toward him, reaching out. But suddenly she was clutching his hands to her chest, their faces inches apart.

Danton searched her gaze. “I thought you hated me.”

“That doesn’t mean I want you to die.”

“I’ve brought you nothing but misery. You, the person I love most in the world.” He said it so easily she forgot how long it had been since she last heard him say I love you. It seemed like yesterday. It always did when they stood like this, so close she felt his breath on her cheeks, almost tasted his lips on hers. She still craved him, even when she hated herself for it.

Nobody kissed her like Danton.

“Let me do this for you,” Danton whispered. “Let me shoulder this one burden for you when I’ve failed to carry so many others.”