Chapter 24 — Her Father
The sixth ship entered the harbor shortly after sunrise.
Amara knew immediately that something was different. It was larger than the other royal vessels, and the soldiers on deck stood in formal formation beneath the colors of Azania.
Minister Okoro came for her before the ship reached the dock.
“Your Royal Highness. The King is aboard.”
For a moment, Amara could not move.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
She ran.
Alexander saw her rushing toward the harbor and followed, but when they reached the waterfront, he remained several steps behind. He understood that this moment belonged to Amara.
The gangway descended.
Guards came first, followed by officers and ministers.
Then King Adisa appeared.
He looked older than Amara remembered. Months of searching had left exhaustion on his face. He ignored the officials waiting to receive him and searched the crowd.
Then he saw his daughter.
“Father!”
The King stopped.
Royal dignity disappeared.
He came down the gangway quickly, and Amara ran toward him.
They met on the dock.
Adisa pulled her into his arms.
For several moments, neither spoke.
“My child,” he finally whispered.
Amara buried her face against him. “I knew you would look for me.”
“Every day. Every port. Every ship we could send.”
“My mother?”
“Alive. Waiting for you. She never believed you were dead.”
Amara began crying.
Around them, hundreds of people remained silent.
The King held his daughter as though he were afraid she might disappear again.
Finally he stepped back and looked carefully at her face.
“Did they hurt you?”
Amara hesitated.
Her father's expression hardened.
“Who did this?”
“Rourke. Others worked with him.”
“Names.”
“Father, later.”
Adisa stared at her.
“Later?”
“Yes.”
Alexander, watching nearby, almost smiled. Apparently becoming reunited with her father had not made Amara any more obedient.
The King sighed.
“You have not changed.”
“I have changed very much.”
Her answer erased his smile.
Adisa understood that there were parts of his daughter's story he had not yet heard.
He embraced her again.
“Then you will tell me when you are ready.”
Only after several minutes did the King notice Alexander.
Amara took her father's hand and led him over.
“Father, this is Captain Alexander Whitmore.”
Alexander bowed.
“Your Majesty.”
Adisa studied him.
Amara continued, “Alexander helped me. He investigated the men who took us. He protected Lela and me. When I tried to escape—”
The King's eyebrows rose.
“You escaped?”
Amara stopped.
Alexander looked away.
“From whom?”
“Technically, from Alexander.”
Adisa looked between them.
“Why?”
“I wanted to reach the coast.”
“How?”
Amara sighed. “I borrowed his horse.”
“Stole,” Alexander corrected.
She turned toward him. “Do you really need to do this now?”
King Adisa stared at them for a moment.
Then, unexpectedly, he laughed.
It was the first real laughter Amara had heard from him since his arrival.
“You stole the Captain's horse?”
“Borrowed.”
Alexander shook his head.
Adisa looked at him with new interest.
“You argue with my daughter?”
“Frequently, Your Majesty.”
“And you are still alive.”
“Barely.”
Amara folded her arms.
“I can hear both of you.”
That only made her father laugh again.
The mood became more serious when Adisa asked Alexander to walk with him.
Amara immediately looked suspicious.
“Father.”
“I merely want to speak with him.”
“You are a king. You don't merely speak with people.”
Alexander smiled.
“I'll survive.”
“You said that about the pirates.”
Adisa stopped.
“Pirates?”
Alexander's smile vanished.
Amara closed her eyes.
“We will discuss that later too.”
The King looked as though his list of people to punish was growing by the minute.
He and Alexander walked a short distance along the waterfront.
Adisa spoke first.
“Did you know she was my daughter?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“When you began helping her?”
“No.”
“Then why did you?”
Alexander answered simply.
“Because she had been kidnapped. What happened to her was wrong.”
“You expected no reward?”
“None.”
Adisa studied him.
“And when you discovered who she was?”
“Nothing changed.”
The King looked toward Amara.
She was standing with Okoro in the distance, but her eyes were fixed on the two men.
“She trusts you,” Adisa said.
“I hope so.”
“She does not trust easily.”
“Neither do I.”
The King nodded.
Then he asked the question Alexander had expected eventually.
“Do you love my daughter?”
Alexander looked directly at him.
“Yes.”
Adisa showed no surprise.
“Does she love you?”
“You should ask her.”
A small smile appeared on the King's face.
“That is a sensible answer.”
When they returned, Amara immediately asked, “What did you discuss?”
“Nothing important,” her father replied.
“You asked him about me.”
Adisa looked offended. “How could you possibly know?”
“Because I know you.”
Alexander said nothing.
Amara looked at him.
“And you are terrible at hiding things from me.”
“I survived the interview.”
“Interview?”
Adisa laughed.
Alexander realized his mistake.
Amara pointed at both men.
“I will deal with you later.”
Her father smiled.
“I missed you.”
The words stopped her instantly.
Adisa touched her cheek.
“I missed your arguments. Your terrible patience. Your habit of questioning everything I say. I would give anything to have been listening to you annoy me these past months.”
Amara's eyes filled again.
She embraced him.
“I missed you too.”
That evening, father and daughter stood together overlooking the six ships.
Preparations for the return voyage had already begun.
“You are coming home,” Adisa said.
“Yes.”
“Your mother will probably refuse to let you out of her sight for a year.”
Amara smiled.
“Two days. Then I will escape.”
“I believe you.”
They stood quietly.
Below them, Alexander was speaking with several royal officers.
Adisa noticed where his daughter's attention had gone.
“You love him.”
Amara did not deny it.
“Yes.”
“Does he know?”
“Yes.”
“And what happens when we leave?”
Her smile disappeared.
“I don't know.”
Adisa looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said, “I spent months searching for you because men took away your freedom.”
Amara turned toward him.
“I will not bring you home only to take it away again.”
“What do you mean?”
“You will come home because you want to see your family. After that, you decide what happens.”
“Even Alexander?”
“Especially Alexander.”
Amara stared at her father.
Adisa smiled.
“You are my daughter, Amara. You are not my possession.”
She put her head against his shoulder as she had when she was a child.
Below them, Alexander looked up.
Their eyes met.
The King had crossed an ocean to find his daughter.
Now he had found her.
But bringing Princess Amara home would not restore the woman who had disappeared months earlier.
She had survived.
She had changed.
And somewhere along the way, she had fallen in love.