Honor-Bound [ Lore of Penrua: Book III ]

31

"Your Grace."

Mhera looked up from the correspondence she had been reading. It was late in the evening, so she had not expected to be disturbed. Typically, these were the sweetest hours of the day, those she and Matei could reserve for themselves alone. Now that he had gone to Narr to fight alongside his men, though, they were the hardest hours for Mhera, who felt her loneliness and her fear more keenly after the sun had gone down.

"What is it?" she asked, turning her full attention to the servant girl at the door. She mustered a smile.

"You have a visitor, Your Grace. I suggested she wait until the morning, as you were not to be disturbed, but she was insistent."

"Who is it?"

"A woman with a child. I bade her wait in the receiving hall, Your Grace. It looked as if she had traveled long, so I offered her tea to refresh herself as she awaits your pleasure."

Perplexed, Mhera set her correspondence aside. She had not yet dressed for bed; still, she reached for a shawl and wrapped it round her shoulders. "I'll see her," she said.

She followed the servant into her private parlor thence into the hall. As she crossed over the threshold, her personal guard fell into step behind her, their hands on the hilts of their swords as they followed Mhera down the hallway toward the grand, sweeping staircase that led to the main level of the Imperial Palace. When they'd reached the receiving hall, Mhera smiled at the servant girl again.

"Good night. Thank you."

She was not alone even as the servant turned and left. Her guards accompanied her everywhere, and she felt uneasy enough to be grateful for their solid, eternal presences at her side as she stepped into the receiving hall, clutching her shawl a bit more tightly. Once she saw who awaited her, though, she left them behind in an instant, dashing across the room to meet the woman who was waiting.

"Aun!"

Laughing, Aun caught Mhera in her embrace. The two women wrapped their arms around one another tightly as Aun cried, "Your Grace!"

"Oh, Aun, please." Mhera straightened, taking Aun's freckled face in her hands and looking her over in disbelief. She wanted to see every detail of Aun's dear face, which was difficult, because tears were blurring her vision. "Please. Always Mhera. It's been so long, my dear friend. I didn't know you were coming!"

"I wanted to surprise you." Aun's voice wavered with emotion, but her smile reassured Mhera that it was happiness.

"And so you've managed." Mhera laughed, stepping back from her. She took Aun's hands and squeezed them. "I do wish that Matei were here. He would be so glad to see you."

"He isn't?"

"No." It was enough to dilute Mhera's joy. "I'm afraid he isn't. He—...Who is this?"

Mhera's attention had been caught by a boy, not much older than Uarria, who was peeking out from behind Aun's skirt. He looked up at her with bright blue eyes from beneath a fall of wavy auburn hair. Aun followed her gaze, reaching down to rest a hand on the little boy's head. She smiled, and then she looked up at Mhera, suddenly serious again.

"This is Kaolo. My son. Kaolo, darling, this is Mhera, our empress."

Kaolo did not speak. He lifted a balled fist to his chin, and then he turned, pressing his face to his mother's hip. Mhera was startled into silence. It had been easy enough to assume that the boy in Aun's company was her child, but his name...She looked up at Aun, knitting her brow in question.

Aun smiled. "Yes," she murmured. There was a note of anxiety in her voice. "Yes...I...I thought it might be time."

"I didn't know."