34
GERARD
The sound of hooves woke him from his sleep. Gerard sat up in his makeshift tent. Elea was still asleep at his side. She had slept nearly all of the day before as well. Her coloring had improved dramatically and the bruising on her face was less. But every time she moved, even in her sleep, she whimpered in pain. He gently touched her shoulder to wake her up. She flinched.
Sitting up, Elea blinked and brushed her short purple hair from her face. “What?!”
“Either your cousin is here or we are about to be attacked.”
Her lips formed into a small smile as she sat up. He watched her pull on her boots and wrap her cloak around her shoulders. She gave the familiar gasp of pain as she got to her feet. He ought to have helped her. Gerard held open the branches to the entrance of their makeshift shelter. Elea walked out and he followed behind her.
He was right. Riding toward them in a gallop were two figures clad in black.
The closer they came, the more Gerard understood why Elea had been jealous of her cousin Nora. Even with her neck bandaged and her cloak splattered with mud, Nora looked majestic on her horse, like the warrior queens of old. Beside her was a handsome, dark-skinned young man who rode like a soldier. He had to be King Matteo, the man whom Elea had loved and who had scorned her. King Matteo sat tall on his horse, his muscles showing through his clothing, radiating power and assurance. An ugly stirring of envy filled Gerard’s soul.
Elea bumped Gerard’s shoulder with her own and gave him a lopsided smile because of her bruised cheek. “They are irritatingly beautiful, aren’t they?”
A reluctant grin spread across his face. He couldn’t have described it better himself.
In a smooth movement, Matteo slid out of his saddle and then helped Nora down from her horse. Up close, Gerard could see that, like Elea, Nora’s face was healing from bruises. A circle of scabs wound around her throat like a choker necklace. The familiar feeling of guilt flooded his soul. He was partly responsible for her torture and death. He had captured the ship the princesses were on. He had allowed the admiral to take Nora to his father. He hadn’t even questioned his orders.
Matteo held Nora’s hand and there was a slight hesitation in her steps. Coming back from the dead had clearly not been a smooth transition for her. Her face was nearly as white as the bandages around her neck. Every movement seemed to bring her pain.
Nora stopped about three feet from Elea and fell down to one knee. “My queen.”
Elea rushed to her cousin, knelt down, and threw her arms around her neck. “Oh Nora, I am so sorry for everything.”
He watched Nora stiffen but then slowly return her cousin’s embrace. Although, her face looked as uncomfortable as he felt when Elea started to cry on her shoulder.
“I was so horrible to you,” Elea sniffed. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“Of course,” Nora said, standing up and lifting her cousin with her. “You are my queen. I would forgive you anything.”
Still crying, Elea shook her head. “Not as your queen. Can you forgive me as your cousin? As your family? We were once almost sisters.”
A shadow passed over Nora’s face, as if the sun was blocked by a cloud. Gerard knew all too well that it was much harder to grant forgiveness when your heart had been hurt by Elea’s actions. He did not blame Nora for not giving her cousin instant absolution. He would not have either. Words were too easily spoken. It was in their actions that showed that people had truly changed.
Surprisingly, King Matteo held out his gloved hand to Gerard. “You must be Captain Batard.”
Gerard shook the young king’s hand. He was a little taken aback at the lack of formality and pomp. His own father would not have been so casual, but then his father did not radiate power and authority like this man did.
Gerard bowed. “Your Majesty.”
The young king waved his hand. “No need for titles. My friends call me Matteo.”
“Gerard.”
Matteo pulled a letter out of his jacket and held it out to him. “Your half brother, Alexandre, the new King of Kaul, sends his love and his amends. He regrets his actions.”
Gerard reluctantly took the envelope. Like Nora, he was not quite ready to forgive his half brother, who had tried to kill him with poison. Unfolding the first paper, he saw that it was not a letter but an official Kaul document. A writ of title. It proclaimed Gerard a prince of Kaul and gave him the additional title Duke of Caleigh, including the estate and fortune of that dukedom.
He blinked and brought the paper back to his face. He couldn’t quite believe it. All of his life he’d been waiting for his royal family to acknowledge him as one of their own and it had never come. Alexandre had not only given him a title of duke but also prince. He was recognizing Gerard as a legitimate son of the king. A potential heir to the kingdom. Never in his wildest dreams had Gerard ever thought that he would be given the title of prince. And Alexandre had not used his false surname of Batard on the document. He was Gerard of Caliegh, not the illegitimate son of the king.
Folding the writ of title back up, Gerard placed it in his own pocket. He was not ready to share it with anyone else. Not yet. He was still coming to grips with what the document meant for his future. For his relationship with Alexandre. His confusing feelings for Elea. He did not have time to untangle them all.
Gerard unfolded the second paper to see that it was a letter to Admiral Rapace, recalling the Kaulish Navy. Alexandre was ending the war with Urka. His country was no longer fighting Elea’s. But how was Gerard supposed to deliver such a letter?
“Where’s the trigon?” Nora asked.