Page 68 of A Thief to Die For

‘Maybe,’ I admit. ‘But Soren would also do his damnedest to take me and my friends down with him. Atlas just might believe him – he did earlier when Soren and I disagreed.’

Roughly, Ryland shoves a hand through his hair. The sharp glint of calculation and something dangerous flickers in his eyes.

‘Stop,’ I say. ‘I can’t have you involved. Soren will turn on you, too. Get you in trouble.’

He laughs humourlessly. ‘I don’t care about that.’

‘You should. I do. It will threaten your coal deal. Worse, if Soren succeeds in convincing Atlas that you’re an enemy … Atlas will kill you.’

Ryland’s eyes soften at the emotion fissuring my voice. ‘And what would he do to you?’

My lips pull to the side, pain my constant companion. ‘Atlas wouldn’t kill me … at least I don’t think so. But he would unleash Coatl on me … and make me wish they would.’

Determination hardens his eyes. ‘Then we should use the connection.’

I swallow, not sure how to answer, though my body can’t say the same. A rush of nervous excitement flutters through me. He’s talking about getting married.

‘I could heal you,’ he whispers earnestly.

‘But we’d have to share the pain, right?’ I imagine him with some of my wounds and vigorously shake my head. ‘I don’t want to give you this.’

‘That’s good, and we can argue about it later. But healing isn’t the only aspect of the connection that would help us.’

Yes, sharing memories and communicating wordlessly would give us an advantage against Atlas or anyone else. Also, getting married could free me from Atlas’s grip. A sure fix? No.

But there’s potential.

I falter for a beat, because relinquishing Atlas’s hold on me isn’t all a marriage would mean. Ryland would be stuck in a calculated union. A marriage of convenience with someone he barely knows. Permanently.

What an extraordinary sacrifice for him.

I frown. ‘This is your one chance at the connection, and you said yourself, it’s not temporary. Do you really think you could marry someone … you don’t love?’

I watch as he ponders the question, not rushing. ‘Of all the things I’m worried about, Marian, falling endlessly, hopelessly in love with you is not one of them.’

My bones might be melting.

His eyes light with a sincerity that seizes my chest. ‘This isn’t a favour I’m offering you. You’re not taking away my one chance. I choose you, if you’ll have me. Marrying you would be my greatest honour.’

My pulse is relentless as hope and longing ignite inside me.

‘But that doesn’t mean we have to barrel into this. We’ll use the gifts of the connection, but the rest of it, our relationship, can take whatever speed we want.’

‘So let me get this straight,’ I say. ‘You’re okay with rushing into marriage with a girl you barely know, all so you can possibly help her by using a rare and unexplainable magic … that may not solve her problems at all.’

‘Yes,’ he assures me. ‘But the connection will help us. I really believe that’s its purpose.’

I can’t decide whether my chest is swelling or on the verge of caving in. In all my life, I’ve never met a man as selfless and as honourable.

‘And what about you?’ he asks. ‘Are you okay with marrying a man you barely know—’

‘Yes,’ I say, quickly. I may have questioned it for his sake, but not my own. He’s offering solutions wrapped in hope that my suffocating, perilous life won’t be like this forever. But he’s much more than just a way out.

By accepting, I gain an incredible partner, something I didn’t dare let myself dream of.

Butterflies fill my stomach. I search myself, wading through the wild rapids of emotions rushing through me, but don’t find any reservations. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t want to see this come true.

He smiles. It’s breathtaking. ‘Good. Then let’s do this properly.’ He grips my fingers and lowers himself to one knee. ‘Marian, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? Right now?’