“I’d challenge gods and queens to make you mine, Ballard. Conquer a kingdom or two if necessary.” He didn’t smile at her declaration. His fingers followed her scalp line and passed through the locks that had come loose from her haphazard braid. “You’d find me outside the kingdom gates, my belongings at my feet and a note pinned to my cloak for you that read ‘Better you than us.’ They’d be wrong. Far better for me. The answer is yes. You didn’t even need to ask.”
