‘You spoke of duty… What of a ruler’s true duty?’ ‘And what’s that?’ ‘To provide an heir.’ Wilder flinched. ‘That’s not something I want,’ she told him. ‘Not ever.’ Again, she waited for him to tell her that she’d change her mind, that all women did when they got older. She’d heard the same patronising notion plenty of times in the fortress. But no such words slipped from his mouth. ‘Does that make me —’ ‘It makes you, you. And you are perfect,’ he said.
