Alizeh would be along to bring Cyrus the good news that she’d be accepting his offer of marriage. She’d likely spare him the rest – too merciful to announce that she’d be marrying him while being quietly betrothed to another, the two of them conspiring to kill him and combine their empires. Cyrus knew he was unworthy of her – knew he had no right to hope for more than the terms he’d offered – and yet he could not calm the commotion in his chest, his heart thudding so hard he almost didn’t hear the gentle knock at his door.
