lover of the tavern, the haughty king who had faced the captive guard and the captor priestess, the wild war-god of the battle—and now this boy, slim and fair and mysterious, with wind-cooled cheeks and a secret laughter behind his eyes—which was the real one? Or were they all Hildebrand? And would she ever know?
He touched her arm. 'We've won,' he whispered.
'Aye—won,' said Alfrid tiredly. 'Won what? The Temple is down, but so is the palace, and there's still riot and looting in the city.'
'It will pass. Victory was dearly bought, but now it is ours. And you, Alfrid, are ruler of Valkarion.'
'I—a heathen outlander?'
'After last night, the Household and the guards will follow you to hell and back. And the rest—'he smiled shyly—'will follow me, who follow you myself.'
'A big task. Too big, perhaps, for the daughter of an Aslakan peasant.' Alfrid smiled crookedly down at Hildebrand. 'Tis more for you, who are born a king. Best I continue my travels.'
Alfrid grinned. 'I surrender,' she said. 'Who am I to challenge the Fates?' Down in the street a hengist, escaped from her owner in the rioting, whinnied her greeting to the early sun.
THE END
Artwork by aelios imagery
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aeliosimagery/3298732736/in/faves-jekkarapress/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en
JEKKARA PRESS
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Coming Soon
The Adventures of Bulays and Ghaavn
The Gender Switch Adventures
Witch of the Demon Seas Resailed - Poula Anderson
The Beast-Jewel of Mars Reshone – Lee Brackett