Page 120 of His Realm

“Never mind. I wanna hear more about these cruises you and the king will take.”

“Cruises?”

I started laughing again. “Ow, ow, ow, goddamn, that’s sore, but the look on your face is priceless, and I have this vision in my mind… Jesus, I need some Tylenol or something.”

“My darling, what is so funny?”

Just imagining Isabella and Messina on a cruise ship, dressed like tourists, him in a Panama hat and sandals, her in white shorts and a flower-print blouse and matching scarf, was making me laugh like an idiot.

“I bet there’s a royal yacht, isn’t there?”

“Of course there’s a royal yacht,” she said indignantly.

“C’mere and gimme a hug,” I said, gesturing for her.

She took me gently into her arms. Traveling like very rich humans, maybe, I thought to myself, chuckling into her hair.

“I have no idea what you find so amusing.”

I knew she didn’t, but that was all right.

She ordered me to lie down then and rest a bit. Dae-Jung brought me something not for pain, but for sore muscles and inflammation, and I lay there and listened to her tell me about the king’s epiphany.

“I had no idea, after all this time, that his love still ran so deep.”

“He realized he could have lost you forever.”

“Yes. And that’s why he insisted on giving you his blood,” she explained, clearly overwhelmed. “Jason, he held you in his arms as the transfusion was made. I have not seen him care for anyone like that since Varic was a child.”

“Thank him when you see him,” I muttered.

“You will thank him yourself when you and Varic return home for your wedding.”

When I glanced at the door, she saw me.

“I know you wonder what’s keeping Varic, but it’s doubtful Kamari has even reached Hadrian yet. Everyone has been so spread out, working to make Ophir function as it should but I know as soon as Hadrian delivers the news, Varic will rush here.”

I had no doubt.

“As far as I know, Varic is out on the ice, near the sea, with Alrek. They’re surveying the rock, seeing how they can put in an airstrip so that the many needed supplies can be flown in. There’s so much necessary infrastructure to build, so many items to bring in, generators first, solar panels later, but also wind turbines to produce heat so the panels remain ice-free, and the list goes on. It feels endless to me, overwhelming, but as always, Varic has a plan, and it begins with the airstrip so he can bring this place into the modern age.”

I knew how far away he was. I’d walked it myself, and he was even further away on the other side of that mountain. “So he and Alrek, how’s that going?”

“I am at a loss, but the change in Alrek is unprecedented. You’re the one who said, from the beginning Varic tells me, that the children of the king needed focus and purpose to succeed. It seems you were right.”

“It only makes sense.”

“I never thought of them as needing purpose. I thought they would find their way out of the palace if they wanted to. My own sons were born to lead, so there was never any question of what they would do. I had no idea that the children of courtesans needed to be engaged with.”

“Well, they’re just like everyone else. They need something to do.”

“Apparently so, and Alrek, who ran instead of trying to help you and Nerilla,” she reminded me, as if I would ever forget, “has asked for and been given forgiveness.”

I scoffed.

“You doubt my word?”

“No. I just know your son. He’s never going to trust Alrek, not after he ran. He will trust him to do the work he’s asking of him, but he’ll always have someone keeping an eye on him.”