Conquering the Queen (13 page)

Now the crowd did begin to murmur.

“She and I were to marry, but in his desire for power, King Leon used the eve of our wedding to launch an attack on Ravenscroft. For months, I was told that Avin was part of this plot. She was not.”

Now he reached down and lifted Avin to her feet.

“No ruler can be true to his people if he is false to his family. Today, I offer my rule to you, but will only do so as a just king. And a just king corrects his mistakes.” He reached up, sliding his hand under Avin’s hair to unclasp the collar around her neck.

“Even though she did nothing wrong, your queen willfully did her penance. She did so to heal the land. A just king honors that, and realizes that, to lead, he must utilize all his strengths. I will lead you, but only with the rightful queen of Windbourne at my side, only with our houses united at last, as they should have been.”

The crowd remained hushed as Xander snapped the collar shut, placed it on Avin’s head, and took her hand. The king held his breath and looked over at Avin, whose expression was both filled with wonder and apprehension.

Somewhere in the back, a voice yelled. Xander could not make out what was said, but the phrase was repeated, first by small groups and then by the crowd, the message rising in a wave.

“Long live the queen! Long live the king!”

Avin was looking at him, tears of gratitude streaming down her face as he placed the crown back on her head. Then Xander turned and lowered his head before the two turned to face their people, the sun warm on their faces.

Epilogue

“What’s that, Mama?” A chubby pink finger pointed to the window, and the cherubic little boy with golden curls turned his bright eyes toward Avin.

“That, my little prince, is called snow. It falls each year about this time, and covers the ground in a fluffy coat of white. You can play in it, but not very long, for it is very cold.”

“How long will it last?”

King Xander, who had been watching from nearby, walked over and took his son from Queen Avin’s arms.

“Last year, the winter was short and spring came early. But there was a time when winter lasted a very, very long time. We are prepared for that now. The harvest was good, and even if there’s snow to play in for months, all will be warm in the castle and beyond.”

“I like snow.”

Avin laughed. “Now, Prince Peter,” she said. “How can you know?”

“I just do.” The child wriggled until his father put him down.

“Look, it’s Cynric come to take you to play.” Avin smiled as the advisor entered.

“I did promise,” said the advisor. “And the queen looks as if she could use some rest.”

Avin smiled and placed a hand on the belly swelling with a second child who would be born in the spring, unless winter’s grip held. Then it would be the second of her sons born in the snow. But all would be well no matter what.

Xander had offered to fuse the seam that opened her crown, but she kept it as it was. By day, she wore the circlet on her head, and the necklace he’d given her around her neck. But at night, in their bedchamber, she removed the necklace and replaced it with her collar. And there, from dusk till dawn, she was naked and at His Majesty’s pleasure. Nothing else made her happier.

Xander’s arms went around her as she stood.

The first few years of their reign had passed quickly and peacefully. They’d never spoken of Lord Reginald, who’d died in exile a month before their son was born. Avin, ever benevolent, urged her husband to bring his father’s body home and give him a burial that was more dignified than the man deserved. But Xander drew the line at entombing his father in the family crypt. Lord Reginald’s final resting place was on a hilltop, overlooking the kingdom he’d hoped to rule by proxy.

Avin also appealed for Xander to spare Lady Fleur. She was sent home in disgrace. As the king had predicted, Lady Fleur Breton would never marry; the loneliness her lover had wished on Avin was instead visited on the young woman he’d sought to use.

In the end, the two tragic players had ended up living lives of misery, while Avin and Xander would go onto enjoy long and fulfilling lives ruling over a prosperous kingdom that stretched from north to south.

“You seem lost in your thoughts, my love,” Xander said. “Do not hide them from me. What is on your mind?”

“Just how happy I am,” she said. “How happy I am to be your queen.”

The End

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