“To erase everything else from my mind completely.”
I pressed my lips to his, and the rest of the world melted away.
EPILOGUE
Ipeered through the door at the chattering crowd circulating in the ballroom, letting my nerves wash through me and then dissipate. It was hard to believe two months had passed since we dismantled the gang, but at the same time, so much had changed.
Rek had insisted I move into the palace immediately, and they had even given me back my old rooms, the ones I had shared with my father. For the first two weeks, the tears had flowed constantly—but they were healing tears. I could now move around the palace and remember my father and my past years here without the memories being tainted with darkness.
Rek stepped up beside me, his familiar, warm smile bringing light to both my past and my future.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked.
I laughed. “What if I say no?”
He pretended to consider. “It’s not too late to run off to the Four Kingdoms.”
I fought a smile. “Every person in that room is there to celebrate our betrothal. I think it is too late.”
He sighed. “That’s a pity.”
I wound my arms around him, resting my head against his broad chest for a moment. “Don’t pretend you don’t love it. You’ve been preparing yourself to fill this role for years.”
“And with you by my side, I have no regrets,” he said. “Despite my father’s example, I’m convinced it’s possible to rule with both love and care for the kingdom.”
I looked up into his eyes. “I know it is. In fact, I’m not sure it’s really possible to do one without the other.”
A fanfare sounded, and I quickly pulled back, returning to my place at his side and frantically patting my hair. He was still laughing at me when the herald announced our names, and we walked into the room.
I saw little of him after that, despite it being our betrothal celebration. As the guests of honor, we were constantly busy meeting dignitaries from near and far.
I took extra time with the ambassador from Arcadia, knowing she was in the final stages of negotiating a treaty with Sultan Khalil. She was the first ambassador from beyond the desert to establish a permanent presence in our court, but we had high hopes she wouldn’t be the last.
But the dignitary I was most excited to see came from closer to home.
“Princess Cassandra! I’m so glad you made it. When your delegation didn’t arrive until last night, I feared—”
She cut off my words by pulling me into a hug.
“Sorry,” she said with a chuckle when we separated. “But after all those letters, I feel like I’m seeing an old friend. I felt it the first time we met, you know—that we could be friends.”
“Me too! Only you ended up as a princess, so I assumed it was just wishful thinking on my part.”
It had taken courage to send her a letter after my unofficial betrothal to Rek, and only necessity had induced me to do it. But her reply had been more warm than I could have imagined, and our correspondence had become a pleasure.
Cassie laughed again, her eyes finding her husband across the room. Prince Zain was deep in conversation with the ambassador from Arcadia and didn’t notice her looking, but she smiled affectionately anyway.
“Sometimes I still can’t believe I’m a princess. Then I remember there are fewer crowns and a lot more talking about irrigation than you might think, and it becomes easier to believe.” She gave me a confiding look. “He’s talking about it right now. I can tell by the spark in his eyes.”
I giggled. “But if he really can reclaim the desert, it will all be worth it.”
She sighed. “I know. Ignore me. I love it, really.” Turning back to me, she brightened.
“I know we didn’t get here as early as I hoped, but how did that prince of yours go with—”
“Excellently,” Rek said, appearing beside us and handing me a bundle wrapped in plain cloth. “It all went exactly as you said. I will never again doubt the genius of either of you ladies.”
“Yes!” Cassie crowed before nudging me toward the other side of the room. “Go on! The sooner you deliver that, the sooner we can all be celebrating together.”