If you wish it, Ariana, we will marry.” “What of Genevieve?”
He hesitated. “I would not be the first prince or king to have a mistress, if you will both consent to it.”
For a moment, the idea was tempting. I could have all that I wanted, even…well, if Tristan had a lady, he could not object to my having a gentleman…
But I would follow that train of thought no further. What farce of marriage would this be? And for what—so that I could be queen? Did I want power so badly as to trade my own honor for it, and that of my friends? No. I did not even want the power, so much as I was accustomed to it. I could grow accustomed to something else.
“I thank you, Tristan,” I said. “It speaks well of you, that you desire so much to do right by me. But I do not think either of us would rejoice in such
