“Listen to me now,” he says urgently, gazing down into my eyes. “If that ever happens, if he ever comes to me with that order, I won’t do it. I’ll disobey him. I’ll never be with anyone else but you.” Struggling not to cry, I say, “But you took a vow. You told me you’d have to—” “I’d kill him before I’d betray you. I’d burn his whole empire to the ground before I’d turn my back on the woman I love.”
