He pivoted on his heel to face her again. “I knew of you previously, of course. The Mandaryn said marrying someone from Kingfountain would help secure the peace quickly. I wished to marry you and invite your father to serve me, but they took him away. They’ve hidden him from me . . . from us.

“It was Rucrius’s doing. He led the Mandaryn. They have more power than you can understand. Every emperor before has been controlled by them, but I will shake off the yoke. With our gifts merged together, we can do it. Now, do not tell me that you will not consent. I cannot accept that answer. What would it take to win you? Name it, Tryneowy. I would give you half of my kingdom. But truly, it is yours anyway! Name your terms and I will accept them. Only be mine.”

His tone was pleading and passionate. There was ambition in his eyes, but it was not the only thing she saw there. There was open fascination in his gaze, as if everything about her intrigued him. She’d always felt so marred, so flawed. Morwenna was infinitely more beautiful. Yet he professed to feel passion for Trynne. But did he truly know her? They had only spoken twice. Was he in love with the idea of her? A conjuring of his own imagination?

He was so handsome, so self-confident. She was neither impressed with his wealth nor impressed by the opulence of his court. She could not imagine herself being the emperor’s wife.

But this was the moment. Her heart told her this was what her mother had seen in a vision.

Gahalatine’s look was so intense and imploring that she gazed down at the rugs beneath their feet.

“I cannot live apart from Brythonica,” she said haltingly. “I have a duty to protect the people in my mother’s absence.”

“Done,” Gahalatine said with a snap of his fingers. “My dear, as you well know, our magic is superior to yours. You can return to Ploemeur instantaneously every day if you wish it. I must rule from the Forbidden Court, but there is nothing to prevent me from joining you or you from joining me. Distance is not an obstacle to us. Please, think no more of it. What else? What are your concerns?”

Her heart nearly revolted at that moment, conjuring Fallon’s face in her mind. She had loved Fallon for so long, even though she’d known they could not be together. Losing him permanently would be painful. She’d been preparing herself for it, but the moment was finally nigh. She pressed her face into her hands and breathed deeply, trying to quell the trembling of her limbs. She looked up at him, his expression so vulnerable. “You do not know me very well. There are many things we do not know about each other.”