Besotted (The Fairest Maidens #3) - Jody Hedlund Page 0,86

great. But Prince Kresten is a hero for his sacrifice.”

I nodded and wiped the moisture from my cheeks. At the sight of Kresten’s brothers nearby, I stood and walked toward them with as much dignity as I could. Upon reaching them, they both bowed, kissed my hand, and introduced themselves.

“He saved my life,” I said, “and in destroying the white stone, I believe he saved many more people from experiencing heartache.”

“I believe this as well.” Prince Mikkel, the brother with the fairer hair had a leader’s authority about him. He was Pearl’s husband, and they made a handsome pair.

“If it pleases you,” Prince Vilmar said with a sad smile, “we shall make him comfortable for the duration of our stay here while we make arrangements for his transport back to Scania.”

I wanted to deny his request, but to do so would be foolish. I needed to return to Mercia and take my place at court as queen. Erelong, I would wed the man chosen for me. And I couldn’t delay simply because I was brokenhearted.

Kresten had shown us all that we must oft do hard things—even impossible things. If I would be a queen worthy of Mercia’s throne, then I must do this hard—impossible—thing and let him go so his family could care for him as they rightly should and so I could get on with my life as queen as I rightly should.

Chapter

28

Aurora

“We must go, Your Majesty,” Chester said from the doorway of Kresten’s chamber.

I’d hardly moved from the chair beside his bed over the past two days since he’d destroyed the stone and we’d captured Queen Margery.

Even now, I clasped his hand, unwilling to part ways. Vilmar and his bride, Gabriella, planned to travel with Kresten and attend to him. They would take Kresten south to the closest river, and from there they would go by boat to the East Sea before they sailed to Scania.

In the meantime, Mikkel and Pearl had already left for Kensington with a large contingent of knights to deliver Queen Margery to the capital city. From there they would take her to a remote mountain fortress where she would be locked in a tower for the rest of her days. Mikkel and Pearl intended to stay in Kensington until Ethelbard’s coronation, then sail back to Scania with Ruby.

I’d learned Mikkel and Vilmar had both abdicated their claim to the throne because they’d given up their Testing before the six-month commitment ended. As a result, Kresten had been the first in line to become king. According to his brothers, Kresten had never aspired to be king the way they had, but he’d taken it upon himself to attempt to finish his Testing and do his duty for his country.

Now that Kresten was unconscious in a sleep of death, the Scanian Lagting would have to decide between Mikkel and Vilmar. But since neither had finished their Testing and both had married without permission, they feared the censure that awaited them upon their return.

I brushed a kiss against Kresten’s listless hand and thought back to the days in the cottage when I’d sat beside his bed many an hour. And now, this would be the last time I’d ever be able to do so. Though I’d contemplated visiting him in Scania in the future, how could I? How would I explain a desire for another man to my husband? Even if I never loved my husband, I resolved to do my best to remain faithful and true. I couldn’t do that if I clung to Kresten.

This had to be farewell.

I forced myself to stand.

Aunt Elspeth slipped her arm around my waist. “Oh my sweeting,” she said with a gentle squeeze. “I always knew he was a special man. Right special, I said.”

I nodded even as I leaned more heavily upon her.

“He should have told us he was a prince,” Aunt Idony remarked dryly as she rolled up a scroll she’d been reading from among those she’d discovered in the monks’ chambers of the lodge.

My two dear aunts had ridden in the morn after our victory, led by several dozen of Mercia’s best knights who were now waiting to escort me to Delsworth.

“If we’d known he was a prince,” Aunt Idony continued, “maybe we wouldn’t have worried so much.”

She was just trying to make me feel better, and I loved her for it. However, even if we’d known Kresten’s identity from the start, our relationship had been doomed. We would have been in an impossible situation with