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“Why does that matter?”

Ruskin gets up and closes the door.

“You know the High Monarch has a connection with the land and living things of the kingdom.”

“Yes, it’s why your curse started showing up elsewhere,” I say, remembering the spoiled food and sick animals, infected with the same gold that was taking Ruskin over.

“We also share a link with our subjects. It’s certainly not as strong or direct as the tie to the land, but it’s still there. And if I cast a spell on one of my subjects, that link intensifies.”

I absorb this, my eyes flicking to the door. “So why the secrecy?”

He sighs. “The connection goes both ways. I’m connecting my magic directly to someone else, if only for the time it takes me to cast the spell. If someone is aware of and understands that link, then they can exploit it.”

“Which is what Cebba did,” I prompt. Ruskin’s demeanor has been subtly shifting as he explains this to me, and now I see a glimmer of hope on his face.

“Yes. When I cast the banishment spell on her, she was ready for it and she sent some of her magic back—the curse on my heart.”

I stand up and start pacing the room. “So what’s to stop me doing the same to Evanthe? She opens up the link to attack me with her magic, and I send my own magic through it to get that iron shard out of her heart. That way I can get around her defenses. All I have to do is get her to cast a spell on me, which shouldn’t be hard—she hasn’t exactly been cool-headed recently.”

“Well, there’s one small catch,” Ruskin points out.

It only takes a beat for me to understand what he’s getting at. “I’m not a subject of Seelie.”

He shakes his head. “I’m afraid not. Those with Seelie blood living in the Seelie Kingdom are automatically subjects of the monarch, but neither apply to you.”

“Well, so what do I have to do?” I say. I’m not willing to give up on the idea. “There must be some way a person without Seelie blood can become a subject of the Seelie Crown.”

I’m about to start ranting about the idea of blood purity, but I stop when I notice Ruskin is looking at me funny.

“What?” I ask.

He takes a deep breath, as if preparing himself for what he’s about to say next.

“There is. In fact, my father did it. Aside from being born into it, you can become a subject of the Seelie Crown if you marry into it.”

I don’t move. “So you’re saying, if we want me to have a chance at getting that iron out of Evanthe…”

Ruskin slowly stands, walking over to me. My heart rate speeds up. I don’t know what to do, where to look, as he drops down to one knee in front of me.

“Eleanor Thorn,” he says, looking up at me with intense eyes. “Will you marry me?”

I’m genuinely lost for words for at least ten seconds.

“Are you serious?” is all I can manage in the end. I feel confused—blindsided.

“Of course I am,” he says. “You’re right, this could be the best chance we have.”

Even though I’m the one who got us here, I can’t help but feel a twinge of annoyance.

“Right, so the only reason you’re proposing is to save your kingdom,” I say.

“Well, that’s what gave me the idea.” He grins up at me, as if he’s not concerned in the slightest that I’ll say no. “But I do have another reason, actually.”

“Oh? And what is that?”

He rises, leading me over to the bed, where he sits us down, side by side. The smile is gone, and his expression is so deadly serious it almost worries me.

“I’m asking because I love you, Ella, so deeply, so utterly, that I no longer make any sense without you. Not because you broke my curse, or because your true name matches mine, but because you’re you, and I can’t imagine wanting anything more. If our names didn’t match, I’d rewrite the stars myself if that was what it took to be the one by your side. What I feel for you is stronger than destiny and truer than anything the stars could write out.”