War Storm (Red Queen #4)

by Victoria Aveyard

I love you is a promise we both made, and we both broke. It should mean I choose you above all else. I want you more. I need you always. I cannot live without you. I will do anything to keep our lives from parting. But he wouldn’t. And I won’t. I am less than his crown, and he is less than my cause.

I am selfish, weak, and afraid. I can’t be alone with myself, not now, not yet. So I sit, and I listen, and I watch. And through it all, I feel his eyes.

Cal could have ended my misery, broken our betrothal, refused Father’s offer of my hand. But for the crown, he threw Mare away. For the crown, he trapped me.

“Of course you aren’t a dog, my dear.” Maven offers a sneer, never breaking his stride. “Dogs obey.”

“I don’t think so,” he says. “Love can be exploited, I guess, used to manipulate. It’s leverage. But I would never call loving someone else a weakness. I think living without love at all, any kind of love, is weakness. And the worst kind of darkness.”

“You forged this crown yourself—now wear it. Or don’t.”

Despite everything, his presence feels like safety. No matter what, he chases away any fear I have for myself. Of course, that only leaves fear for the people I love. For Farley, for my family. And still, always, for him.

I feel smaller than usual beside him. A dirty little speck of scars and heartache.