Page 70

At last, when Alexander had heard everything, he looked up to meet the princess’s gaze. “It seems the country I longed for so desperately does not need me.” There was a strange,empty grief in his voice. He swallowed and raised his chin. “I am glad of it. Thank you for your generosity and trust in revealing such detail to me. I am glad to have you at the helm.”

The princess said, “Will you take your throne? It is yours by right. I ask only that you treat my father with the honor and gratitude he deserves for how he has served Eleria so selflessly, and that you respect and honor the work of the palace staff, advisors, guards, and military personnel.”

For a moment, there was only silence, and everyone watched Alexander. He swallowed and said thickly, “I am content.”

The king rose to his feet, clutching the edge of the table for support. “You want nothing?” he breathed.

Alexander bowed deeply to the older man. “I wanted… I wanted to know that I had fulfilled my duty.” He cleared his throat, for his voice was still choked with emotion. “I had not anticipated that I would be so deeply grateful that you believe my story. That you know me, or know of me, at least, and that I am not entirely forgotten. I have received more than I dreamed possible.”

He did not sound as happy as his words seemed to say, and Gytha studied his face. When he said nothing else, she slipped her hand into his. He flashed a quick, nervous smile and said, “There is one thing I had hoped, when I was alone and despairing. If I ever returned, if I ever saw Eleria again, I wanted someone to know that I was broken and still I did not bow to injustice. I upheld the honor of my father and of Eleria.”

The king, standing across from him, said, “You did. You honor Eleria with your courage.”

The princess said, “We will remember your courage, Your Highness. I am glad you returned from the North so that we know of it. King Tobias wrote of you. He said that everything he did, every decision he made, was done in the hope that if you returned, you would be proud of him. His reign was a testament to the love and esteem he had for you.”

Alexander swallowed hard. “I loved him very much.”

“He loved you, too, and he always hoped for your return.”

The king’s voice was weak, but there was steel in his face. “The coronation vows are a testament to that.”

Alexander let out a trembling breath. “Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Highness.”

Marin glanced at servant and nodded before looking back at Alexander. “When we finish here, you should see the portrait gallery. What else can be done to satisfy your honor and duty or make you comfortable?”

“The only thing I lack now is Gytha’s hand in marriage, and to fulfill my word to see her home safely.” Alexander smiled sweetly and looked down at Gytha.

The very air in the room changed, as if everyone but Gytha had been holding their breaths as they waited for his decision.

“That is generous of you,” murmured the king, his trembling voice almost inaudible. “But what of your children?”

Alexander looked at Gytha again, his eyes searching hers. “I love Eleria. But, if I am blessed with children, I would have them grow up surrounded by family. Near Gytha’s family. I suppose you, Your Majesty and Your Highness, are family, but...” He looked up. “There is nothing for me here. Staying would cause political trouble for you and cause Gytha grief to be away from her family. I owe her everything, and I promised to see her safely home.

“I will sign whatever papers you wish to renounce all claim, now and forever, to the throne of Eleria. Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Highness.” Alexander bowed again to the king, then to the princess, and then to the others in turn.

Papers were signed, and Alexander and Gytha were thanked and congratulated by everyone. They were offered a great deal of gold to provide for their future, not to purchase theircooperation but because the princess said it was unreasonable to send them away with nothing after Alexander had shown such open-handed generosity with what was rightfully his. At one point, Mr. Stepanov, tall and grave, put one hand on Alexander’s shoulder and bent to speak in his ear for a moment. Alexander looked up at him in surprise and then nodded.

On their way back to their suites, Marin led them through a wide corridor with portraits on either side. “This is the portrait gallery,” she said. She gestured graciously for Alexander and Gytha to continue at their own pace; one servant strode to the end of the hall and waited for them, while the king, princess, and the others bade them courteous farewells.

When they were alone, save the servant some distance away, Alexander looked around with something approaching trepidation. Soon he found one portrait and stood in front of it, studying the king’s face.King Tobias Ulrich de Graceyread a brass placard beneath the painting, along with a brief summary of King Tobias’s life and reign.

The king in the portrait bore a marked resemblance to Alexander, but he was older, with a few wrinkles by his eyes and a dusting of gray at his temples. His lips curved in a quiet, restrained smile. Alexander reached out to touch the painting, his fingers brushing over the king’s elegant boot. A brass placard beneath the first caught Gytha’s eye.

“Alexander, read this.” She pointed.

Alexander tore his eyes away from his brother’s face to the placard.Whatever fate took my brother, I know that his honor and courage could not be broken. Every good deed I have done, I have done in his honor. Every poor decision is my own. May the Creator bring Alexander home someday. When he returns, I will fall on his neck and give him his crown. If he is kept away for many years, I will require such a vow of my son and all my descendants. Alexander was my hero and my best friend, and I await the day we meetagain.

Tears rolled down Alexander’s face, and he fell to his knees. He wept, head bowed and shoulders shaking. Tentatively, Gytha put a hand on his shoulder, but she said nothing. In his tears, there was a release of grief held long and close.

After a very long time, Alexander’s quiet sobs subsided into jerky breaths that tugged at Gytha’s heart. “I’m sorry,” he said at last, covering his face with his hands. “I missed him so much.”

“What did you love most about him?” Gytha asked gently.

“He was just…fun. I prayed for a little brother for years, and he was everything I’d hoped for and more. He was intelligent and witty; he loved to make us laugh. He hugged me when I left for the forest the day I was taken, and it was the last time someone touched me kindly before you. He had so much love in his heart, for me, for my parents, for Eleria.” Alexander swiped his hands over his face and glanced at her, then back up at the portrait of King Tobias. “You see it in his face: the sweetness, the love, his character. He would have been a gracious, merciful king.”

Alexander stood and leaned both hands on the wall for a moment, his head down. Then with conscious effort, he straightened and looked at the other portraits. There was a portrait of his brother’s wife, the queen. “Kiersten!” Alexander gave a damp, surprised chuckle. “She was a little doll when I saw her, with little ringlets and big green eyes.” He gazed up at the portrait, studying the dignified smile on the queen’s face. “She would have been happy with him.” King Richard was much older than his father upon his coronation, for King Tobias had reigned for many years. His expression was grave, but his eyes held kindness and nobility. The placard indicated that he had been crowned just after his father’s unexpected death rather than a planned succession. “That’s my nephew,” Alexander said, as if he could not quite comprehend it.

For well over an hour, Alexander examined the portraits in the gallery. He showed Gytha the portraits of his parents and found the smaller gallery off to one side, which held more portraits, mostly of the families together. Alexander spent quite some time in front of the portrait of his brother, his brother’s queen, and their young son. He smiled through his tears, and he sighed, full of grief and love and resignation. “They were happy together. Good.”