Free The Firethorn Crown by Lea Doué

boundaries.”
    She tugged until he rose from the ground and joined her once more on the bench. “There has to be another way.”
    “There is no other way!”
    She flinched.
    “There is no other way.” He frowned. “You are mine, Lily, and you are worth all the waiting.”
    Waiting. She could choose not to marry him, but then she trapped her sisters down here indefinitely. If she gave in . . .. No. She would never allow a sorcerer on the throne of Ituria. If only she could get home, she might find some other way to undo this mess, something that Prince Tharius might not have thought of in his limited realm.
    “You . . . you must give me some time. This is too fast. Either choice I make, I give up my freedom.”
    “What do you mean? By choosing me, you gain your freedom.”
    “My freedom of choice is gone. How can you want a bride who comes to you because of a curse?”
    He rose and walked to the bridge, arms crossed. The castle loomed in the distance, a place of sorcery. She shivered. She had no desire to experience its cold halls and echoing chambers, and much less to lead the girls there.
    Prince Tharius returned and offered his arm. “Walk with me.”
    He led her around the clearing to a gazebo just beyond the oaks. Black morning glories with crimson-pink centers choked the roof and twined down the wooden pillars. He moved a vine off the bench that ran along the inside, and they sat overlooking the dancers. Only Hazel, Junia, and Coral remained on the floor, in the arms of three beaming gentlemen.
    She waited, unsure if she’d offended him by suggesting that marriage to him was equal to imprisonment.
    “I suppose, after I have waited this long . . .” He pinched off a section of vine and wove it as he spoke. “There is something I can give you, I think—something to make the transition easier. But the end will be the same.”
    She clasped her hands over her stomach. “What can you give me?”
    “Freedom.”
    What? She opened her mouth to speak just as he raised the crown of flowers to her head. She flinched.
    “There are no thorns,” he said. “I would not harm you.”
    She allowed him to place it on top of her hair. “How can you give me freedom, when you said we’re stuck in your curse?”
    “I cannot free you from the curse, but I can arrange for you and your sisters to have a certain amount of freedom each day. Quite a lot, actually.”
    “You can’t free us, but you can allow us some freedom? I don’t understand. For what purpose?”
    “To court you.”
    Oh. The end would be the same.
    “I don’t want you to suffer as I have, to see your light quenched in this endless night.” He adjusted one of the flowers in her crown. “It will cause me more pain than you can imagine to see you go.”
    “Go?”
    “You will need to return to me for a few hours each night. My power has limits, and this will cost me dearly.”
    “You’re saying that we can leave?”
    “Yes.”
    She clasped his hands and smiled in relief. “Thank you!”
    A genuine smile flared on his face. “You understand that, even if you accept my help, you are still no more free than I am.”
    Her sisters had to pay for her ignorance and rash actions, but could they accept the help of a sorcerer, in order to get home?
    “I understand, but I need to talk with my sisters.”
    Any trace of a smile vanished. “Can the Crown Princess of Ituria not make her own decisions? Will you trap your sisters down here forever? Better to present them with a solution at the same time you tell them of the problem, no?”
    Mother had said she needed to take care of her own problems.
    She gulped. “Very well. I will accept your help.”
    His eyes gleamed with pleasure. “I will give you a token that will allow you to visit your home.”
    He plucked spiderwebs from the morning glories, and rather than sticking to his gloves, they floated, is if in water. He twisted them, stretching and winding the threads until he held a delicate