Against the law and tradition, he met Cairistiona’s gaze as a single tear fled down his cheek. He couldn’t breathe or think. All he wanted was to die, too.

How could he have allowed Sumi to be harmed? Gods, it was so unfair that she should die like this.

Because of him.

Cairistiona stopped by his side to brush his tear away with a kind touch that made him hate her even more. “Since you were a child, Dancer of the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk, you have been a great friend to my son. When no one else could spare a kind word to him, you, alone, befriended him and stood at his back to protect him at great personal risk and cost to yourself. You’ve been a blessed protector of my grandchildren and daughter-in-law, and have bled countless times for them all. For that alone, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. And I mean that with every ounce of honor that flows through my eton Anatole blood.” She smiled and patted his cheek. “Now, if you don’t mind, I shall leave you with my daughter to discuss your futures.”

Hauk frowned as she gathered her guards and exited the room. Nykyrian didn’t have a sister.

Was the queen insane?

A slight, hooded woman entered the room as the last guard left. The door slid shut behind her. Her royal scarlet robes shimmered in the dim light as she approached him.

His scowl deepened as he watched her move. She had a slow, seductive gait he knew intimately.

No… it couldn’t be.

“Sumi?”

She lowered the hood to show him the smiling face he craved most. One that had been painted with the scrolling marks of the royal Andarion blood clan. “Hi.”

Still on his knees, he pulled her into his arms and held her close as relief flooded him. He absolutely shook with the weight of it.

“Can’t. Breathe. Dancer!”

He loosened his hold as he kept his face pressed against her stomach and inhaled the sweetest scent he’d ever known. “Please tell me this isn’t a dream.”

“It’s not a dream, sweetie.” She brushed the braids back from his face before she cradled his head to her. “When your mother demanded my life, Nykyrian and Cairistiona said that the only way to save me would be if I were a member of the royal house. No one can demand the life of an eton Anatole. They said she could challenge me to the ring, but she couldn’t require an actual death sentence.”

He still couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What Nykyrian and his mother had done for him… it went far beyond friendship.