“Sebastian doesn’t know what he wants.” He shakes his head. “And you’ve got the wrong idea about him and Lilith.”

“That may be so, but I think it’s only fair you change this marriage scheme of yours.” Not that I pretend to know how he plans to make it happen. “I want Liam to be an option.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Give me a logical reason why.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“He’s always been kind, and he looks out for my best interests.”

“Or he’s looking out for his own.”

I narrow my eyes. “Whatever you’re holding back…” I wave a hand around his workspace. “Now’s the time, Landon. I’m leaving in three days.”

A lengthy beat passes as he studies me. “Perhaps you’re right.”

My shoulders relax as I watch him stride to the wall opposite the tall mullion windows. He slips his hand underneath a shelf on a bookcase filled with volumes of what appear to be reference books. Three seconds later, a landscape portrait of the ocean slides to the left, revealing a safe. After the security panel scans his fingerprints, the gears shift and the door opens.

My eyes are wide by the time he returns to the desk. With an air of significance, he sets an envelope on the surface between us.

“What’s that?” I stare at the letter-sized envelope, trepidation stiffening my muscles.

“It’s a letter your father sent mine.” He slides it to me. “Dated the week before your parents’ plane went down.”

I push it away. “Just tell me what’s inside.”

“Very well.” With a sigh, he settles back into his seat. “King Van Buren asked my father to ensure the safety of you and your nation…should something happen to him and his wife.”

I blink rapidly as Landon’s words filter through my brain in disjointed confusion.

Ensure the safety of you…should something happen…dated the week before…

“You’re telling me—?” My voice cracks, unable to put the implication into thought, let alone words.

“We don’t believe the plane crash was an accident. Someone conspired to have your parents assassinated.”

“Rowan?” I choke out as hot devastation bleeds from my eyes.

“We believe so.”

My mind flashes back to when I was under the thumb of a harsh, uncaring uncle who only saw me as a means to an end. A man who might have killed my parents. “Why did your father leave me there with him? For six years, Landon.”

“He did it to protect you.”

“Protect me?” I scoff. “Well, he failed.”

“No, he didn’t, Novalee. My father used the auction to make you valuable to Rowan, all while preserving the secret of your paternity, and that meant you were safe.”

“Safe from what?”

“The same fate as your parents.”

I hold my stomach, about to be sick. “He wants the throne.”