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‘No.’ He didn’t want that either. He didn’t know what he wanted. He just wished she’d never discovered this place. ‘Who told you? Luca? Because not even Erik—’

‘No one said anything, I just had a…’

His throat closed over as if he’d swallowed a bee, and breathing was getting harder and harder.

‘It’s only me, Alex,’ she whispered. ‘Only me.’

His lungs tightened more. She was minimising herself, when she mattered. Her being here mattered. Her being here unravelled him.

‘I would never say anything to anyone.’

She was here and she shouldn’t be.

‘Alex.’

No.

He couldn’t stand to hear her softness. She moved to pass him.

‘Tilly.’ He caught her scent. Breathed it in like a miner catching fresh air for the first time in days.

She picked up his phone and handed it back without looking at him. ‘You shouldn’t have to suffer this alone—you can share with me, if you want.’

She was the one person who wouldn’t judge. Who wouldn’t tell. Who wouldn’t try to make it better because there was no going back. No changing anything. She would take his secret to her own grave. Because she knew how awful it was to be abandoned alone.

‘I’m not going to be a reminder—just someone who listens and leaves.’

They were going to be over. His time with her had to end soon. Suddenly that was all he could think of. Why was the impermanence of them suddenly the worse thing to contemplate? It was easier to hide in the heartache of the past, than the tearing sensation he felt about his future.

‘I was required to spend time with my ancestors,’ he muttered to keep her still and beside him. Because she should know why. Because he’d got at her for not sharing anything when he’d hidden all this for so long. And if she’d known, if he’d warned her about his father, she could have got free so much sooner.

But his father hadn’t done this to anyone but him. The shame gnawed, needing release.

‘It began when I was about seven. I was too unruly, too emotional. I needed to learn how to be a proper prince. So I had to appreciate the magnitude of my lineage and become a worthy heir. I couldn’t act so spoiled—a king needs to understand true suffering.’

‘But you were a child—’

‘It was bullshit. It was just an excuse to be sadistic. He’s a controlling prick and he didn’t like my rebellious spark.’

‘Did he lock you in here? Did he use that chain?’

He closed his eyes.

‘And hit you?’

‘Sometimes.’ He’d preferred that to the chain. ‘His blows weren’t too brutal, the bruises not in obvious places. For me this was the worst and he knew it.’ He swallowed hard. ‘Now you know why I have the lights on at night. I’m still a kid afraid of the dark.’

‘I’d be terrified of it too. Most people would. And your lights are beautiful.’

He blinked, seeking her in the dim light. ‘I became more rebellious because I was so angry. Then I was sent away for school.’ It had been a relief.

‘You never told anyone?’

‘Too scared. Then Mum was going through it. I couldn’t.’ And he’d been too ashamed.

‘He didn’t do this to Erik?’

‘Erik was a support for her. That was enough for him to bear already. He was loyal to my mother, and my father considered that helpful in keeping her happy and distracted. A son for each of them. The occasional times Erik caught his attention…’