“You have no idea.” He smiled at his father. Perhaps it would be more fun than anticipated to share everything he had learned.
The door opened behind them and Ian entered, followed closely by Onric and his sweetheart, Ashlin.
Erich braced himself for more hugs as Ian and Onric threw themselves at him.
Behind them, Ashlin had gone completely pale. Her eyes were glued to Peter’s face.
“Papa?” she whispered. Then, in two leaps, she flung herself into the older man’s arms as a strangled cry left her lips.
Peter somehow managed to keep his balance as his daughter squeezed his body with everything she had.
“You’re alive. You’re alive.” she repeated, tears streaming down her face.
Erich blinked, realizing that his cheeks were getting a little wet, too. Aizel reached for his hand.
His brother Onric stepped forward as Ashlin finally took half a step away from her father. Erich had a feeling she wouldn’t allow anyone to move the man away for some time.
“My sweet, sweet girl,” Peter said, pulling her back in for another hug. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
Noticing Onric close by, Ashlin reached her hand out toward him. “Father, this is Onric.”
Peter kept his arm firmly around his daughter’s shoulders. “Yes, I know who His Highness is. But I would like to know why you’re here at the palace with him.” He raised his eyebrows.
“That’s a bit of story.” Ashlin’s face clouded over and she looked down. “And not all of it is good.”
Peter placed a hand on her cheek. “Your stepmother?”
Ashlin nodded, still avoiding his eyes.
He pressed her face against his chest. “I am so sorry. So, so sorry. I started helping the Majis soon after your mother died.” He glanced up at Erich’s father, as if remembering too late he shouldn’t be mentioning outlawed activities in front of a king. “I was going to share the mission with Meliora, but every time I planned to tell her, something felt off. I never fully trusted her. The enormity of that didn’t fully hit me until I realized you were alone with her.”
He leaned back, taking Ashlin’s face in both hands and peering into her eyes. “I hope she hasn’t been too terrible?”
Onric stepped forward, reaching out and touching the back of Ashlin’s hand as if to let him know he was there.
She instantly wrapped her hand around his, holding on to him for support.
Erich smiled at the tiny interaction. He doubted that anyone else in the room even noticed it, but it was typical of his older brother. Onric was the most solid of any of them, and Ashlin had completely stolen his heart.
He squeezed Aizel’s hand. Ashlin was great and all, but she wasn’t nearly as fun as his fiercely independent and daring Aizel.
“It’s a bit of a tale, sir,” Onric answered Peter’s earlier question. “Perhaps one best saved for a more private moment.”
Ashlin smiled at Onric with appreciation.
“Of course,” Peter said.
“Why don’t we all get comfortable.” King Frederich gestured to the circle of chairs and sofas in the room. “I believe you all have some explaining to do.”
Chapter 45
Later that night, after a long, fruitful discussion with the king and queen, Aizel followed Erich through the dim hallways of the castle to a bedroom on the upper floor.
A small fire was already lit in the open stone fireplace and the most comfortable bed she had ever seen sat against the far wall.
If she had seen that many pillows on a single bed at any other time of her life, she would have scoffed. But after spending weeks sleeping on the hard ground, she would take every possible pillow she could get.
“Are you tired?”
