Chapter 49

For the next couple of hours, I sat in a chair, watching the rain fall outside, thinking about all the time I had spent with Ethan. With every flash of lightning in the distance, memories of him lit up in my mind. I thought of the gentleness he’d shown me when we made love. My hand automatically went to my abdomen, where our child was growing. I couldn’t believe that someone would show me tenderness, make a baby with me, watch me give birth to their child… and then kill me. But that was Ethan’s plan—and that meant I had to go. Even if it meant trusting someone like Madalynn, who had told me herself she didn’t want her child to be second in line to the throne. My baby’s life was hanging in the balance. But I had to take the gamble and try. A knock on the door pulled me away from the window. Tonight hadn’t been quiet for me at all. Vicky entered, walked toward me, and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I wish tonight wasn’t happening,” she said, tears in her eyes. My heart dropped. H