Page 78 of Besotted
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 my needing to return to Mercia and become queen and his departing for Scania to take up the kingship.
“The men are eager to be leaving,” Chester said, his tone tight with impatience. Outfitted in his elite knight armor, he was an imposing figure. He’d proven himself to me time and again, even if he did still irritate me.
“I need a moment of privacy.” I straightened my shoulders and faced him, lifting my chin and daring him to resist granting me a final farewell.
He scowled. “Fine. One more minute.”
“Two.”
He heaved a sigh of exasperation.
“Alone, please.” I glanced to Aunt Elspeth and Aunt Idony.
Aunt Elspeth hurried across the room, fanning her flushed face. “Of course, dear heart, of course.” As she exited, I held back a smile. Surely the dear woman didn’t think I still needed a chaperone, not at a time like this.
Aunt Idony’s steps were slower and more calculated, and when she reached the doorway, she paused. “Your Majesty, a legend has been passed down amongst the healers who have come and gone from St. Cuthbert’s. The legend says that true love’s kiss is the strongest weapon for fighting the battle with death.”
“True love’s kiss?”
“If you truly love someone more than you love yourself, then a kiss filled with that love may have the power to bring life where there is none.” She bowed her head and then motioned to the few other remaining servants, who followed after her, leaving me alone.
Once the door closed, a sob slipped out before I could hold it back. I’d done well keeping my emotions in check, but now that I was alone and had no need of pretense, I could let my sorrow loose, couldn’t I?
I looked down on Kresten’s handsome face, his features so peaceful and relaxed, just as they’d been so oft when we’d spent time together. His lips even seemed to be slightly turned up into one of his winning smiles.
With a glance to the door to make sure I was alone, I lifted my hand to his cheek and traced the scratchy stubble there before I moved to his forehead and brushed a wisp of his hair back. Then I grazed his fine nose and tentatively skimmed his lips.
Did I dare kiss him?
I’d relived the kisses we’d shared in the woods dozens of times. They were embedded into my memory. A kiss now would be nothing like it. But I wanted to do it to say farewell.
I bent over him, leaning in toward his face until I was only a handbreadth away. His form under the covers was so still, so silent. And yet I could hear his laughter and teasing like a whisper taunting me with what could nevermore be.
After casting another glance toward the door to ensure privacy, I closed the distance and pressed my lips to Kresten’s. I expected them to be cold and lifeless and was surprised to find them warm and pliable.
I pressed both of my hands against his cheeks and kissed him more deeply, loving him with every breath and heartbeat. I thought I felt him respond, lift up, and move in tune to my kiss, but when I pulled away a moment later, he was as still and silent as he’d been since we’d laid him in the chamber.
