“Hollis, do you know anything about this?” he asked, holding up the paper.
“What is it?”
“It was slipped under my door last night. Ayanna’s gone.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. I sighed. “I might know something. Can you . . . can we have your staff leave for a moment?”
Still looking like he was asked to solve a riddle before he could pass a bridge, he nodded, staring into nothing. The butlers and dressers left, closing the door behind them.
“This is my fault,” he said. “I should have been more attentive to her. I got swept up in needing to give you the best goodbye that I could, and I don’t think she could see past it. I brought this on myself.”
“She . . . we talked. She knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and she was hopeful. You did nothing.”
He looked over at me, shocked. “You talked?”
“Yes. Women do that. I highly recommend it. Solves so many problems.”
“Didn’t solve this one,” he said bitterly, throwing himself into a chair.
“We spoke yesterday afternoon,” I told him. “Something must have happened between then and now. My best guess is that she and Hagan bonded over their positions in our lives.”
He looked up at me through the fingers that were propping up his head. “What makes you say that?”
“Oh, nothing. Just that he’s gone, too.” I held up my letter.
Etan hopped up. “Do you think they left together?”
“How would an Isolten girl know where to run unless a Coroan boy took her?”
His shoulders slumped and he started pacing. “Hollis . . . I’m so sorry. Messing up my life is its own thing, but yours?”
“I’m used to it,” I said with a shrug.
Despite his disappointed mood, he laughed. “How are you so calm about this? You and I both have to marry someone. We have to establish lines, and the most fitting options for either of us are gone.”
I shook my head, smiling. Tears came to my eyes as I whispered, “No, Etan. No, they’re not.”
He stopped walking and stared at me, looking equal parts hopeful and nervous. We probably matched in that sense.
“Hollis?” he asked, his eyes still hesitant.
I cleared my throat. “Do you remember how you suggested a new border between Isolte and Coroa?”
“Yes. I still mean it. It’s the thing I’m most passionate about.”
“Well, what if we just . . . eliminated the border?”
His forehead folded in confusion. “What?”
“What if Isolte gave Coroa all its land? And what if Coroa gave Isolte all its land? And what if . . . what if there was no border between you and me?”
His face softened. “No border?”
“No border.”
“One country?”
“One country.”
I saw all the wheels in his head spring to life. “So, instead of two thrones in two castles in two countries . . . those thrones would be in one country, one castle?”
“With a circular throne room,” I proposed.
“And a garden maze. Obviously,” he added.
“Valentina, Nora, Mother, Scarlet, and I stayed up all night reading the law, dissecting everything. We would need to word it differently, but it is well within my rights and power as queen to acquire new land, to absorb other countries into ours. Seeing as Isolte is also a land of laws, I’m sure you have similar powers. We can find a way around one law with another. We could be together.” I looked at him and shrugged. “What do you think?”
He charged at me, crashing his lips against mine. I held on to him, dying to have him closer. There was simply too much air.
“Could we make this work?” he asked genuinely. “They’re still two different peoples.”
“Not like they used to be, Etan. I’ve been watching so carefully over this trip. Things have changed. Probably because of us. It is surprisingly easy to teach people not to hate. I think it will work, Etan. I really do.”
He looked me up and down. “We’ll have to start wearing purple.”
“That’ll work. I look good in everything.”
“Eh, I suppose,” he teased, gripping me tighter, and kissing me again.
About the Author
PHOTO BY SUZANNE PLAFCAN
KIERA CASS is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series and The Siren, The Betrothed, and The Betrayed. She is a wife and mom and too many other things to list. If she could make a crown out of anything, it would be the unending tears of her readers. You can learn more about Kiera and her books at www.kieracass.com.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Books by Kiera Cass
The Selection
The Elite
The One
The Heir
The Crown
The Selection Stories: The Prince & The Guard
The Queen & The Favorite
Happily Ever After: Companion to the Selection Series
The Selection Series Sampler
The Selection Series 3-Book Collection
The Selection Series 4-Book Collection
The Siren
The Betrothed
The Betrayed
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Copyright
HarperTeen is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
THE BETRAYED. Copyright © 2021 by Kiera Cass. Map by Virginia Allyn. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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Cover art © 2021 by Gustavo Marx/MergeLeft Reps, Inc.
Cover design by Erin Fitzsimmons and Alison Donalty
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021932074
Digital Edition JULY 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-229168-4
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-229166-0 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-06-311771-6 (special edition)
ISBN 978-0-06-308598-5 (int.)
21 22 23 24 25 PC/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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