“Michael Cross,” she said.“We’ve seen the Eye of God.Whatever do we do now?Your father said you’d know.”
“Ma’am, I have no idea.”Then he remembered the day at the chapel with Scottie.“Wait, perhaps we should be grateful.The day Lady Royal and I trekked to the chapel and Emmanuel happened by to speak with us, He noted our mission was good.Perhaps restoration was on His mind.”
“I believe you’re right.”The queen glanced at Scottie, then squeezed Michael’s hand.“Now we’ve seen heaven breaking into earth.We shall never be the same.”
“Kate?”Scottie reached for her mum as she turned for the ballroom, her security detail and the king consort waiting.“Thank you for everything.I love you.”
“My darling daughter, I have always loved you.”Kate embraced her and kissed her cheek.“Now, let’s dance the night away.”
“Mum, please, don’t wear yourself out.”
“Scottie love,” she said, a hitch in her voice, “I’ve never felt more alive.”
“We thought the legend of flora and fauna was about romantic love,” Michael said, more to himself than Scottie.“But the legend is about Emmanuel’s love for us and our love for Him.”
“After tonight,” Scottie said, “I don’t think anyone will ever call Him a legend.”
He peered at her through the moonlight, and the affection he felt for every beating heart tripled for Scottie.
“Don’t go, love.Stay.Please.At least until the end of the summer.We can sort out if we’re for real or just caught up in a rare story.Go to Hearts Bend if you must for work—but come back.”He pressed her hand over his heart.“I’m all in, Scottie.”He pulled her to him.“Tumbling over the side of the quay, twenty, thirty feet, shoutingwahoothe entire way down.”
* * *
“This satellite shot of the Eye of God—I’m speechless.It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed.”
— Stone Brubaker, the Morning Show
* * *
“Stone, I can’t begin to describe the spectacular events from last night’s Rose Ball.As Her Majesty Queen Catherine announced the restoration of Hamish Fickle’s family title and duchy, the Eye of God ignited the north country from the Highcrest Mountains down to the Midlands.Stories are coming in of true, bona fide miracles.A little girl in the hospital suffering from an undiagnosed illness recovered.A man on the street claims his sight was restored.I’ll be collecting these stories and more from Dalholm, but Stone, we’ve witnessed an event not seen in more than two hundred years.”
— Melissa Faris, Royal Reporter, the Morning Show
* * *
“I owe a great debt of gratitude to Lady Royal, Officer Michael Cross of the HMSD, and Her Majesty Queen Catherine for recent events.I fully accept Her Majesty’s apology and offer one of my own for my uneducated venom toward the House of Blue.As a member of the House of Lords, I will continue to fight for the freedom of all, including the RECO party.However, I will no longer be their voice.I’ve been humbled by the queen’s kindness.To wit I say, let there be peace among all who live in Lauchtenland.There is always a story behind the story, and if we seek truth, if we dare ask questions with an ear to listen, we make life better for us all.”
— MP Hamish Fickle, Lord Midlands, X.com
* * *
“AP Morning Business News—Boston Brothers of Boston, Massachusetts, announced today the acquisition of O’Shay Shirts, a men’s apparel company founded in Hearts Bend, Tennessee, in 1902.The deal comes after almost a year of negotiations.‘There is a great deal of synergy between Boston Brothers and O’Shay Shirts,’ said Boston Brothers CEO Briggs Carson.Trent O’Shay, CEO of O’Shay Shirts, was unavailable for comment.As of this writing, no RIFs are planned in the Boston or Hearts Bend location.”
— The Lauchtenland Business Journal
* * *
Scottie
She woke slowly, clinging to sleep and her dreams from last night.A real royal ball.A handsome sort-of-prince.Music and dancing, a supernatural moment, shared kisses, confessions of love, and not one single, solitary care in the world.Truly.Scottie rolled over on her belly and sank into her pillows, snuggled and warm under the blankets.
“Miss?”The maid knocked softly on her door.“Breakfast.”
“Hmm.”Scottie sat up.Breakfast sounded nice.“Come in,” she said, reaching for her robe, a necessity when one lived in a castle where staff entered and exited her suite.“What time is it?”
“Almost noon.”The maid, Soto, set a tray on the table by the window.
Not going to lie, she could get used to this.“Did you see the Eye of God?”
