Reborn, I Let My Sister Take the Poisoned Crown novel · Chapter 18 of 24
Chapter 18: Break It
The king came himself, an hour past midnight.
He did not use the hidden stair.
He walked up the north stair in front of his four guards and said, "Leave us," and they went.
He stood in my doorway in his plain black coat, with a worn grey cloak over his arm.
He did not look at my face.
"I was cruel to you," he said.
"You were."
"You told me a hard thing, and I answered it by hiding behind your own rule."
"Yes."
"I am not asking you to take it back." He drew a slow breath. "I walked to the yard behind the tower after I left you. I stood at the three stones and called it grief. It was not. It was a king who never asked, and I have no defence."
My throat hurt.
"You asked this time," I said.
"I am asking now. Can I come in?"
I stepped aside.
He came in and stopped beside the bed, close enough that I could feel his warmth.
"Say the rule again," I said. "The one about touching."
"No touching."
"And?"
"Break it," he said, and I did.
I put my hand flat on his chest, and his heart was going hard under it, and he shut his eyes.
"Forgive me," he said.
"Not yet."
"But soon."
"Maybe."
That was when someone on the stair coughed, loudly and with feeling.
"If you two are quite finished," said a dry voice, "I walked up forty steps on this knee."
Hester Quill stood on the landing in a cloak thick with road dust, leaning on her stick.
Rurik took his hand off my wrist.
I did not blush.
I was only warm in the face.
Keep reading free with an account. Start Reborn, I Let My Sister Take the Poisoned Crown from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 17 · All chapters · Chapter 19 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend