He tipped her head up. "Don't give up. Don't leave me before you're even here.

As if fixing the little errors would made the big stuff manageable.

It was the only way he knew to protect the court, the faery, and the only mortal who'd ever mattered to him.

You need to face what you're running from

Maybe the girl would get strong enough to withstand an ink exchange with one of the chosen faeries. If not, he could always give her to one of the weaker fey. It seemed a shame to waste a lovely broken toy.

He'd given her his vow: to take care of her, to keep her from hurt or pain, from wanting for anything. Her leaving didn't negate his promises; they weren't conditional.

The Summer King stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Can you offer me your fidelity? Your heart and your body and your companionship for eternity? Do you want my fidelity? Either love me or kiss me goodbye, my Summer Queen.