Dagny made us tea, and Pan sat on a steamer trunk and pet Brueger. Ridley and I sat on the lumpy sofa and slowly composed ourselves. It didn’t last long, though. We managed some pleasantries about how Ridley’s trip down here had been, and then I blurted out, “I’m sorry that I didn’t bring her back alive.”

He laughed then, even as tears slid down his cheeks. “If she couldn’t get herself back alive, then there’s nobody else on earth that could’ve done it. I know she . . .” He paused. “She did what she thought was the right thing to do, and nothing could move her from that course.

“And I know that she’d be happy that she died the way she lived—protecting those she loved,” Ridley went on, and his dark eyes rested warmly on me. “She loved you, you know. She was so upset when she found out that Indu might be her father, but she was . . . she was so excited about gaining you as a sister.”

“We weren’t really,” I said. “Indu wasn’t my father, so we weren’t sisters.”

He reached over and put his hand on mine. “Yes, you were.”

“Thank you for saying that,” I sniffled.

“Actually, that’s why I’m here.” He let go of my hand and reached into the messenger bag he’d carried with him, and he pulled out papers. “Bryn really did consider you family, and you know she always wanted to take care of her family. One of the benefits of being a guard to the King is that the palace awards your family a large insurance payout if you die.”

“What?” I glanced over at Dagny, but she only shrugged. “What are you saying?”

He held a paper out to me. “Bryn named you and me as her primary beneficiaries. You can see for yourself.”

“What?” I repeated even as I took the paper with trembling hands. It was a short letter with the Kanin seal at the top and the King’s signature at the bottom. After a paragraph of condolences about Bryn’s bravery and all the honors she’d been awarded in her service to the kingdom—in service to others—the benefits were explained.

“A million dollars?” I asked quietly, disbelieving. “This can’t be right.” I looked up at Ridley with fresh guilty tears springing into my eyes. “No, I can’t. I can’t take this. I don’t deserve it.”

“Ulla, you haven’t done anything wrong,” Ridley assured me. “This is a gift for you, from Bryn. That’s your share, and that’s what she wanted you to have.”

“But . . .” My heart was racing, and I felt too light for my body, like I might just float away in the sky. Somehow I stayed on the couch, gaping at Ridley. “What do I do with it?”