“I talked to the nurse on my way in. She said they flew in the best surgeons, and that he had the least invasive surgery. So, I choose to believe he’s going to be all right. Okay?”

“Yes. I’m going to choose that, too.” Her lower lip trembled.

“You can cry. It’s okay. We can cry together.”

With that permission, her sister crumpled against her, releasing big, heaving sobs against Rosalina’s shoulder. “It’s all my fault. I’ve been so self-absorbed.”

“What?” Rosalina stroked her sister’s hair. “No, you’re at university. You’re doing exactly what you should be doing.”

“I’m not even taking summer classes. It’s just that it’s such a stressful time, and there’s nothing I can do. I have no control over anything, so I just…stayed away. The vote’s coming, Mother and Father are a mess, you’re supposed to marry a cheating asshole…and I’m off having the time of my life in London.”

“Hey. Listen to me. It’s ridiculous for any of us to take the blame for Father’s heart problems. It’s a difficult time, for sure, but there really isn’t anything one person can do to fix the situation.” Saying the words to her sister—believing them—actually helped relieve some of her own guilt.

Harrison approached them. “Your mother’s going in. She says you can come in for a minute.”

“Oh, thank God.” She reached for her sister’s hand and, together, they followed him out of the room.

As they passed the nurse’s station, she flashed a grateful smile to the woman who’d answered her questions, before entering their father’s room.

Curtains drawn, monitors beeping, her father lay helplessly on the bed. A tube filtered fluid into the back of his hand. Her mother brushed the hair off his forehead and pressed kisses to his cheek.

Rosalina and her sister moved to the other side of the bed. She kissed his cheek. “Hi, Papa. I love you so much.”

“Love you, too.” His lips were dry, his skin gray. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m going to be just fine.”

“Of course you are.” But he didn’t seem fine at all. He looked older than she’d ever seen him. It was the first time she understood the impact of their laws of succession. Her father was truly alone in carrying the weight of the monarchy on his shoulders.

“Papa.” Tears glittered in Genevieve’s eyes.

It seemed to take a monumental effort for her father to lift his hand, but her sister grasped it. “Love you.” Her voice came out shaky and thin.