The door opened again not long after, and Rowan returned carrying a steaming bowl in his hands.

"This should help neutralize it," he said as he approached her bedside. "You’ll feel better soon."

He wanted to hand it over, but Rosalind’s hands trembled too much to hold it properly.

"Feed me," she said softly.

Rowan paused.

Something about the way she looked at him made his throat tighten briefly before he finally dipped the spoon into the medicine and brought it carefully toward her lips.

Rosalind winced slightly after tasting it. "It’s hot."

"Oh." Rowan looked unexpectedly embarrassed. "Sorry."

He blew gently against the spoon this time before feeding her again.

The medicine was bitter enough to make Rosalind grimace after every mouthful, but she forced herself to drink all of it while Rowan remained patient beside her. When she finished, he placed the empty bowl carefully on the table nearby.

Rosalind looked at him quietly for a moment before speaking again.

"Can you stay here?" she asked softly. "At least until I feel better."

"I wasn’t planning to leave," Rowan answered.

A small smile touched her lips at that.

He sat beside her properly this time, taking her hand gently into his while silence settled between them. Outside, thunder still echoed through the night, but inside the room things gradually became calmer as the medicine slowly began easing the burning sensation in her body.

After a while, Rosalind finally felt herself breathing normally again.

Rowan studied her face carefully. "How do you feel now?"

"Better," she answered quietly before looking at him properly. "Thank you."

Their eyes held for a moment longer before Rowan finally spoke. "Rosalind."

"Hm?" she murmured softly.

His fingers tightened slightly around hers before he asked quietly, "When do you plan to leave?"

Rosalind stilled slightly at his question, clearly not expecting it.

"The king will likely return any moment from now," Rowan said quietly. "Rumours have already started spreading that the war is close to ending."

Rosalind lowered her gaze for a moment. "I don’t really have a plan yet."

Even to her own ears, the words sounded foolish.

For so long, escaping the palace had been the only thing she wanted. She had spent months searching for ways out, thinking about freedom constantly, and now that Alaric was finally away from the castle, this should have been her chance to leave. Instead, somewhere along the way, her attention had shifted. Rowan’s presence had made her feel safe enough to stop thinking about survival every second of the day, and she hated herself a little for how easily she had let that happen.

Because none of it was permanent.

Alaric would return eventually, and when he did, all the danger would return with him, including the marriage she had never wanted.

"I don’t want to marry him," she admitted quietly, shaking her head.

Rowan nodded. "Which is exactly why you need to leave now."

"But how?" Rosalind asked immediately. "You know the exits are heavily guarded. The main gate, the garden entrance, even the back route. If I try anything now, they’ll catch me before I even make it outside the palace walls."

She already knew that much from experience. The guards watched her more carefully than before, and after her previous attempt, she doubted they would hesitate to drag her straight back and wait for the king to decide what to do with her.

"There’s another exit," Rowan said.

Rosalind looked at him instantly, her heart skipping at the possibility. "Where?"

"The abandoned place," he answered. "The water passage."

Her lips parted slightly as realization slowly settled over her. "It connects to the sea," she whispered.

Rowan nodded in agreement and for a brief second, excitement rushed through her so suddenly that she almost laughed. All this time she had been risking herself trying to escape through guarded exits when there had been another route hidden beneath the palace the entire time.

But Rowan’s next words quickly destroyed that relief. "It’s not as easy as it sounds," he warned. "You’ll need to stay underwater for a long time before reaching the open side."

Rosalind’s expression slowly fell. "How long?"

"About half an hour."

Her eyes widened immediately.

Half an hour?

The thought alone terrified her. Swimming through dark water while holding her breath for that long sounded less like escape and more like death itself. The longest she had ever managed underwater was nowhere near that.

Seeing the fear spreading across her face, Rowan spoke again.

"I’ll take you through it."

Rosalind released a quiet breath of relief at once. Right. Of course he would. Somehow she kept forgetting she was not facing this alone anymore.

"If you’re ready," he continued, "you can leave tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow?" Rosalind repeated in shock as she sat upright properly on the bed.

That soon?

But then another problem struck her almost immediately.

"There’s something else," she said quickly. "If I disappear, the king will go after my mother. And Mallory too." Her voice softened slightly. "You saw them the other day."

Rowan hummed in response. "Originally, you were meant to meet someone on a boat waiting near the shore," he explained. "They were supposed to take you straight to Merovia where the king would have difficulty reaching you. But I can arrange for your mother and Mallory to be taken as well."

Rosalind stared at him in surprise.

He had planned all of this already?

Not just the escape route, but where she would go afterward... Merovia.

"How would they even leave safely?" she asked. "If my father notices something is wrong, everything will fall apart."

"You don’t need to worry about that," Rowan said calmly. "You just have to trust me and be ready tomorrow night. We can’t keep waiting for the king to return."

Rosalind swallowed slowly before nodding.

He sounded so certain about everything that it made her want to believe him completely. Besides, she knew she could never do this on her own. Returning home herself would only alert Calder immediately, and her father would most likely hand her back to the palace before sunrise.

Then another thought suddenly struck her.

"What about you?" she asked softly. "Aren’t you coming with me?"

For the first time since the conversation began, Rowan looked away. "No," he answered quietly.

Rosalind frowned slightly, her heart dropping to her stomach. "What do you mean no?" she asked, confusion filling her face. "Don’t you want to leave this place too?"

"It’s complicated."

"I don’t think it is," Rosalind insisted softly, before adding "You can come with me... We could leave together and start over somewhere else. You wouldn’t have to serve the king anymore."

As she spoke, her hand slowly lifted to the back of his neck, her fingers brushing gently against his skin.

Rowan’s expression remained distant, almost conflicted, as though he had already made a decision long before this conversation ever happened.

"I can’t explain it properly," he said at last. "Rosalind... I just can’t go with you."

Her brows pulled together in frustration and fear. "You do realize what will happen if you stay here and he finds out I escaped?" she asked. "I don’t even want to imagine what he’ll do to you." Her voice softened desperately now as her fingers tightened slightly against him. "Please... you need to think this through."

"I know," Rowan said quietly as he turned to look at her. "But someone has to stay behind and take the blame for it. And if one of us has to suffer for this, then I’d rather it be me than you. I would risk my life if it means you never have to marry him and spend the rest of your life miserable."

Rosalind’s eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Why does this keep happening?" she whispered brokenly. "Why do I always bring trouble into your life?" Her voice trembled as she pulled her legs closer and wrapped her arms around herself. "Meeting me was bad luck."

The tears she had been trying to hold back finally slipped free.

She truly did not understand what she had done to deserve this. Just when she thought she had finally found someone different... someone who made her feel wanted and cared for in ways she had never experienced before, reality kept tearing them apart.

And somehow, every time, Rowan was the one paying the price for it.

Rosalind hated that more than anything.

Rowan moved closer instinctively and pulled her gently against his chest, though she resisted slightly at first, wanting to cry alone instead of letting him see her like this.

"You’re not bad luck, Rosalind," he said softly.

"Then explain why all of this keeps happening to us," she cried quietly against him.

Rowan went silent for a moment before answering. "Maybe this is just how things were meant to happen."

She shook her head immediately, refusing to accept that answer.

Rowan gently held her by the shoulders so he could look at her properly. His heart tightened the moment he saw the tears on her face and he wiped it off quickly.

"I have never once felt unlucky since meeting you," he told her honestly. "You do the opposite."

Rosalind let out another weak sob. "You liar."

"I’m serious." His voice remained calm and steady. "Being around you makes me forget what I am for a while. Everyone else sees a footman before they see me, but you never did." His thumb brushed lightly against her cheek. "I like hearing you laugh. I like the way you speak your mind freely. You’re kind even when people don’t deserve it, and somehow you still manage to care about others after everything you’ve been through."

His gaze remained fixed on hers as he continued quietly, "You don’t hurt me, Rosalind. You make me feel whole again."

Rosalind swallowed hard as she listened to him.

That only made this hurt more.

Because now she knew she was going to lose all of it.

"So this is goodbye?" she asked weakly.

Rowan’s eyes darkened slightly before he answered. "I guess it is."