—Tristan—  

    Eleanor had offered herself to me, but she’d done it out of despair, out of love for her cousin. Not because she wanted to.  

    She loved her cousin fiercely, wanted to protect him at any cost, like I would my brothers. I could respect that. I’d never admired a woman on her knees more than I did Ellie. She followed me quietly through the mansion. I could have asked anything of her, but that wasn’t how I wanted things to go. Far from ...