“We traded rooms. They’re far away in the honeymoon suite. They don’t seem to mind.”
Rominy snaps his eyes toward his father. “This hotel has a honeymoon suite?”
“It seems that it does.”
“Is that where they keep disappearing to? You know what? Don’t answer that.”
Father laughs as he pushes open the door. Once they’re alone in the room, Father draws Rominy close, and Rominy returns his embrace. Father’s hugs aren’t as solid as they used to be, but the familiar hold is comforting.
“I have something I need to say to you,” Father says.
“All right. Well, here I am.”
To Rominy’s surprise, Father pulls back and takes Rominy’s face in his hands, looking into his eyes. “When I thought we might lose you, I realized how many things I meant to tell you that I never got around to. Things I feared I might never get the chance to say.”
Emotion clouds Father’s voice, and a lump forms in Rominy’s throat as Father continues.
“We waited so long for you, and every year, every tear, was worth it. I would endure every moment to have the chance to know you. You, Rominy. I see your fears. Fears that you’ll never be enough. You are enough. You have always been enough. And the man you’ve shown yourself to be every moment of every day since Lorial crossed the border between our kingdoms is someone I couldn’t be more proud of.”
Stars above. Rominy fights back a shuddering breath and a wetness in his eyes, but his emotions are too near the surface.
“I won’t always be here to watch you grow and come into your own, and I wish we could have more years together. More than we will. But I rest easy every night knowing I will leave Nunia in good hands when I’m gone. In your hands, Rominy.”
Rominy shakes his head, blinking rapidly, but Father doesn’t let go.
“Believe in yourself the way I believe in you. The way Elowyn believes in you. These doubts that grip you—let them go.”
A shudder fills Rominy, and Father pulls him close again. Rominy struggles to breathe as he clings to his father.
“Do you really feel that way about me?” Rominy asks through a halting breath.
“If you could see inside my heart, you would never doubt it.”
Father just holds him for a few minutes. Rominy feels like a child again, but it’s soothing, and it leaves him more whole.
“I’m sorry I ambushed you like that,” Father eventually says, “but life is short. My life, at least. And I didn’t want to wait in case I never got another chance to tell you how proud I am of you.”
“Ambushed is right. Stars above. Can we pretend I’m not crying like a baby now?”
“I promise not to tell.” Father frames his face again. Wipes away his tears. “It comforts me that you’ll have Lorial to guide you when I’m gone. He is a good man. A good king. Trust him.”
Rominy nods. “I don’t want you to die, though. You make it sound as though you’re on death’s door.”
Father smiles. “Watching you almost die made me acknowledge my own mortality and the things I need you to know before I’m gone. But I hope it will be a good many years before you take my crown.”
“It had better be.”
“I love you, Rominy. Never doubt that.”
“I don’t. I won’t.”
“Good. Now, why don’t you take a shower. Get cleaned up. Feel human again. So you can be strong for that elf in there who looks at you like you’re her entire world, all right? I know that’s where you want to be—always by her side. And right now, you feel like half your heart is missing.”
Rominy laughs, but it sounds strained. “You’re going to make me cry all over again.”
Father squeezes his shoulder and smiles before letting go.
Breathing out slowly, Rominy finds his trunk sitting near the window. His guitar leans against it, and he runs his hand along the black case. “Did you pack this for me?”
