He didn’t answer for a long moment. “This would have happened eventually, even if you weren’t a descendant of the gods. Malik wouldn’t be ready to lead, and we would have had to make a choice. At the end of the day, I want what is best for Atlantia,” he said, and I remembered then how Kieran had described him as a young boy. How many would’ve mistaken him for the heir and not his brother. I heard it then, the seriousness in his tone. I’d heard it moments earlier when he’d called me out on my denials. “But I also want what is best for you.”

My gaze lifted to him.

“We know what we both need to do. I need to free my brother. You need to see Ian. The Queen and King of Solis must be stopped,” he told me. “But after that? If you want to claim the Crown, I will support you. I will be right beside you. Together, we will learn to rule Atlantia,” he said, and my stomach dipped. “If not, just tell me what you want to do, where you want to go. I will be right beside you.”

“Where I want to go?” I asked, confused.

“If you decide you do not want to take the throne, we cannot stay here.”

Chapter 22

“Why not?” I pitched forward again.

“Because you usurp the throne, Poppy. No other Queen could rule with you in Atlantia. The wolven will treat you as the Queen even if you do not sit on that throne. Some Atlantians will treat you the same. Others would follow who wears the crown, whether that is my mother or someone else. It would create a division, one we haven’t seen since the deities themselves ruled. I can’t do that to Atlantia,” he said.

“I don’t want that to happen.” My heart started thumping heavily as I gripped the edge of the table. “But this is your home.”

“You told me that I was your home. That works both ways,” he reminded me. “You are mine. What matters is that we’re together and happy.”

His words warmed me, but he would be leaving because I chose not to take the Crown. I pressed against the back of the chair, suddenly understanding what he was saying. “If I wasn’t a descendant of a god, and Malik wasn’t ready to rule, what would you have done if I said I didn’t want to rule?”

“Then we wouldn’t,” he answered. There had been no hesitation.

“But then what happens to the Crown? Do your parents continue to rule?”

“They would until the Crown was challenged.”

“And what happens if the Crown is challenged?”

“Several things, Poppy. None that you need to worry about—”

“Actually, I think I do.” I sensed his concern then, heavy and thick. “You’re holding back because you don’t want me to worry.”

“You shouldn’t read my emotions,” he countered. “It’s rude.”