“Elias! I have something I need to show you.” Inari didn’t waste even one second on greetings when Elias found her pacing the hall outside the office. She touched her hand to his arm, encouraging him to follow her back to the upper hallway where the portraits of his ancestors hung.

“What is it? I wanted to tell you—”

“You’re not going to believe it.” She was so excited about the discovery that she did not pursue whatever topic Elias wanted to discuss with her. She led him up the stairs and into the long hall. “Remember when I said earlier that something was bothering me about one or two of the paintings?”

“Yes?” he said.

“I discovered what it was.” She brought him to a halt before the picture of his ancestor then lifted her hands to block out the hair and jawline, as she’d done before. “Put your hands like this. Frame just the eyes, nose and mouth of the king and try to ignore the rest.”

Elias complied. He lifted his hands and stared through the rectangle he’d made.

Inari waited for Elias to see the same thing she’d seen. To make the connection. It took him a few minutes of frowning and staring and, when he still hadn’t had an epiphany, Inari moved him back a few steps, farther from the picture.

Less than fifteen seconds later, he sucked in a surprised breath and dropped his hands. He stepped closer to the painting again, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“You see it now, don’t you?” Inari asked.

“Yes. The resemblance is very faint but undeniable. When you focus on just the eyes, nose, and mouth, you realize that he resembles Aleksi. Especially the eyes. The shape, more than the color. And the nose. The structure, the similarity, cannot be coincidence.”

“Exactly! The eyes and shape of the face from brow to mouth are so similar, at least with this king. Some of the others, not so much. But there is a definite resemblance there. The blood tie cannot be ignored.”

“No, it cannot,” Elias said. “Which only adds to the information we’ve obtained that the Rehns were once Ahtissaris. Cousins or brothers who separated in the beginning and started different lands. My father is going to ask Aleksi for a DNA test, see if we match.”

Inari felt strangely triumphant at the discoveries. All of them. “Did your father say what he’ll do? I mean, Elias, the implications—”

“Exactly.” Elias touched a hand to her shoulder. “Keep this to yourself for now, all right? Father is going to talk to Aleksi, with Caspian and I present, and we’ll decide how best to break the news to the world. Father thinks the details will eventually get out anyway—since there is a dead man involved and some of our guards already know about it—and wants to control the release. He’ll wait until after the DNA results, of course.”

“I wouldn’t dream of saying a thing to anyone,” she said, and meant it. She knew without being told what a delicate situation it was. “Will this change your relationship with Imatra?”

“Only insofar that we’ve made progress eliminating the ‘cold’ distance between kings. We’re allies now and have been for years. Other than that, I don’t see any sharp changes in store. We each have our own country to run, and I, for one, am happy to leave it at that,” he said.

“Some kings would try to overtake the other country,” Inari said. “You know what kind of power struggles go on in this world.”

“Some kings. But not my father or Aleksi, nor Caspian and me. I feel confident Caspian will say exactly the same thing. We’ll be stronger as allies with blood ties behind us.”

“A good thing, I suppose, because my country sits right between you, and if you decided to become one, that might create a whole host of problems,” she replied. Inari tilted her chin up when Elias stepped closer and cupped her jaw gently in his fingers.

“Neither my father, nor I, are the kind of men who would go to war to overthrow another sovereign country. Blood ties or not. I’m satisfied things will stay exactly as they are, and everyone will be happier for it,” Elias said.

And if you and I marry someday? Inari thought it, but did not ask aloud. Things were too new between them. But she would be foolish to not at least consider how it might affect their lives down the line.

The way he studied her suggested to Inari that he knew what she was thinking. He said nothing of it, however, and she decided he’d probably come to the same conclusion as she: marriage was a distant possibility, nothing more at the moment.

“Will you want privacy to go through the rest of the journals tomorrow?” she asked. It was late, and she doubted he would continue searching tonight.

“You’ve been there almost every step of the way. I’d be disappointed if you didn’t join me to finish,” he said.

Inari set her hands on his hips and kissed him. Nothing illicit or sexual, but rather sweet and warm. “I’m thrilled to help. Count on me being in the office first thing tomorrow.”

“Excellent. How about breakfast first? My suite, 5:00 a.m.?”

“It’s a date.”