Whipping around, I find Greer standing with her arms crossed over her chest. “General Rojas,” I say, bowing my head to hide my grin. “I’m sorry for the trouble. I’m sure you and your soldiers’ services could have been put to better use.”
“No it couldn’t have. Besides, it was nice doing something that didn’t require me threatening the king with physical harm if he didn’t get his ass in gear and start ruling.”
“You threatened me once,” Kyron says, stepping beside her.
She scoffs and says to me, “At least a dozen times. He forgets because he had taken to the bottle to drown his sorrows, andHis Majestyhas never been able to hold his liquor well. He gets really fuzzy in the head.”
It’s surprising that he would lose himself to reckless behavior. Kyron works best with well-calculated plans and all possibilities mapped out before him. He needs the security that control gives him. I suppose everything felt like madness to him when he couldn’t find me and knew to do so would put hiskingdom at risk of a war. I can’t say that I would have fared much better.
“I’m glad you were there to keep him grounded, Greer,” I say.
She nudges Kyron with her elbow. “What’s a best friend if not someone to kick your ass when you’re fucking everything up? But from here on out, you can deal with him when he is being a moody asshole.”
“With pleasure,” I say.
Dropping her bravado, Greer cracks a smile and pulls me in for a hug. “Damn, I missed you, girl.”
“Same,” I say, squeezing her muscular biceps.
“We will dock in five minutes, King Kyron,” says a man in foreign clothes with a bushy brown beard.
I move to look over the side of the ship and my heart gallops at the sight before me. I can make out the details of the docks, from the people going about their work to the rows of shops lining the street. The simple wooden structures with clay tiled roofs remind me of Lucent—humble, sturdy… home. This may not be the humble city I grew up in, but Stigian is now part of my home kingdom.
The ache that has lived in my chest for months gives way to fluttering. As the crew works to tether the ship to the dock, I will my feet to be patient. Every inch of my being is ready to be on solid ground and among my people. A warm hand slips into mine, and Kyron guides me forward.
The crew drops the ramp, and he asks, “Are you ready for what comes next?”
“If you’re with me, I can face anything,” I say, smiling up at him.
“Then welcome home, princess.”
Ansley thrusts her small sword forward and Rowan blocks her jab. He laughs in victory, but my littlest sibling doesn’t let up. She swings her dull blade in fast arches and never takes a step back unless she must. Her form is excellent and her tactics sound, utilizing every opening to her advantage. By the sweat dripping down Rowan’s brow, I can tell she is a fierce pint-size opponent.
She sweeps her blade across our brother’s abdomen and bursts into ecstatic laughter that reaches Papa and I on the porch. We stop the movement of our rocking chairs to smile at her as she says, “Did you see, Elle? Did you see how I got him?”
I’m impressed by what she’s learned so far. The Statera knows that I’ve taken my losses when sparring with Rowan, but all her quick maneuvering has him out of breath.
“Good job,” I say. “Now let’s see if you can knock him on his bottom.”
Rowan groans as she charges for him again. “I think it’s your turn to sword fight with her.”
“Oh, no. This is payback for all the times you never let up on me. I’m enjoying every minute of this,” I say with a chuckle.
“I don’t know if you saw this morning, but Ansley peered down the stairs before breakfast to see what you were wearing. She came back down in that,” Papa says, pointing the dagger he is sharpening in her directions.
Sure enough, like me, Ansley wears light-brown breeches with a sky-blue tunic unlaced at the top and knee-high riding boots.
Papa scrapes the blade along the whetstone again and continues to say, “Kyron has spent hours training her. Not by choice, but she’s so persistent, just like you. He couldn’t have said no if he wanted to.”
I pull my gaze away from the patch of grass my siblings use as a sparring ring and turn to see the pride on Papa’s face. The weeks of worry took a toll on him. The lines around his mouth and stretching across his forehead are deeper and his hair whiter. Yet, I can’t recall the last time I saw him at peace like this.
I set my rocking chair to match the pace of his, causing the porch floorboards groan in time. “Kyron told me that people haven’t taken well to his ascension to king,” I say.
“He has made major changes and people never take well to that. They’ll get over it with time and see his value as king. He also spent the first months of his reigndistracted.” He glances at me from the corner of his eye and a soft smile lifts his lips. “I don’t hold that against him, but others do. They felt his single-mindedness toward finding you was a testament to his priorities as ruler.”
I lean back and wrap my arms around my waist. It feels so safe here, surrounded by the things of my youth, Salone sitting prettily under the pecan tree while Mama brushes her hair, and Rowan and Ansley playing in the sunshine that beats down on our yard. I’ve spent almost two weeks tucked away at my childhood home, my family safe and sound as we grapple to return to our normal. The truth is that we may never find it, not while our kingdom faces unrest. One catastrophe and our family will be ripped apart again. Rowan could be called to war, Papa will have to protect our king if our peoples’ discourse continuesto grow, and me… I’m the single focus of the man who we need to lead our kingdom.
“How long do you think we have until the Allaji attack?” I ask.
