Four weeks later
Four weeks laterFour weeks laterAnna stood a few steps behind Alexei in the great hall as he knelt before a priest and received the royal crown of Ruritania. A cheer erupted from the crowd gathered to witness the coronation. Anna watched the late-autumn sunlight streaming through the stained-glass windows, painting the stone walls with a rainbow of colors and she snuck a glance at Aiden in the crowd who watched her with soft eyes that made her skin warm with a blush. She forced herself to focus back on her brother’s coronation.
“Rise, King Alexei III of Ruritania,” the priest announced. Alexei stood and turned to face the crowd, and his red cloak lined with white fur swirled behind him. He surveyed the room. Beneath it, he wore the royal Ruritanian military dress of whit
