The Paper Boat by Priebe Trisha; Jenkins Jerry B.;

Author:Priebe, Trisha; Jenkins, Jerry B.; [Priebe, Trisha White; Jenkins, Jerry B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4796054
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2017-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

As Avery drifted off, she tried to push from her mind that she had accomplished little beyond knowing where Thomas was and that he was still alive.

She had two more days.

Chapter 24

A Gift

“I feel I still owe you an apology about what happened in your office, Your Grace,” Avery said the next morning in the near-empty Throne Room, curtsying deeply. If he’d been told of her visit to the dungeon, that would draw it out. She was relieved when the king waved off her words.

“You have much to learn, Daughter, but let me be the one to teach you. Sit with me.” He pointed to a velvet chair beside his throne. “I had this made for you. Tell me whether it’s comfortable or if I should have it redone.”

The chair would not have been more uncomfortable if it had been made of spikes, but Avery had learned not to voice every opinion.

“You are kind,” she said. “I appreciate your generosity.”

The king snapped his fingers and a servant appeared carrying a red silk pillow bearing a beautiful crown. Circles of gold intertwined with pearls to form delicate flowers. Avery recognized it as the crown she had tried on with Kate shortly after arriving at the castle.

“Do you like the look of it?” the king asked.

“Oh, yes.”

“Anything you would add?”

The crown was perfect, but Avery sensed he wanted her to suggest something. “I have always loved rubies, Your Grace.”

“Yes!” he said, smiling. “A touch more color. Add rubies!”

As the servant hurried away, the king said, “It’s time for a little castle history, my dear. Shall we start from the tops of the towers down, or from the subterranean tunnels up?”

“What was she like?”

The king’s brows drew together, almost as if he didn’t know whom she was referring to. But then he rested his chin on steepled fingers as if deep in thought.

“Strange, I had all but put her out of my mind. Losing her was so painful that I determined to forget her. But when you appeared in my war room, fearless before my council, and pleading fiercely for someone you loved, it was as if you embodied her. I was seeing her again.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, nearly overcome. What higher compliment could she be paid?

“Which is why I want you to start ruling with me.”

“But I’m only thirteen, Highness.”

The king laughed heartily. “What better way to learn to swim than jumping into the sea?”

Avery cringed, wondering how much he knew.

The king slid a ring from his bony finger. “If you like rubies, you should have this.”

Avery could barely breathe as she turned it this way and that. From the first time she had seen the king’s portrait in the theater district as a child, she had associated him with this very ring.

“Are you sure?” she managed.

“My gift to you,” he said, taking it back.

The king called for a servant and handed him the ring. “Have this sized for my daughter, and take that chair and have a throne built for her by tomorrow, fit for a ruler.

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