Chey stared through the gloom, past her sleeping children’s bodies, at Sander’s face. There was enough light from the low-burning fire in their master suite to make out the stubborn determination and hope that lingered in his eyes. She hadn’t argued when he’d insisted on bringing up more firewood to keep the room warm so they could sleep in their own bed. He’d tucked the kids in with kisses, piling them between himself and Chey to share body heat during the night.

The rest of the castle was shuttered against a new storm that raged for hours, obliterating everything beyond the windows.

Sander stretched his arm along the pillows above three small heads and reached for Chey’s hand. She gave it, meeting him halfway, fingers lacing with his. It was an intimate, if innocent, gesture that sent a pleasant shiver down her spine.

How she’d missed him.

Although it felt decadent to sleep in their suite, Chey realized she wasn’t sorry. Even if it was just for this one night, she needed the privacy and intimacy with her family.

I love you. Sander shaped the words silently with his mouth.

Dragging her thumb across Sander’s skin, Chey returned the sentiment in the same way. I love you, too.

It wasn’t long before her eyes started to burn and itch with the need to sleep. She went under like that, fingers connected to Sander, his even breathing offset by the soft snores of the children.

When she woke, she knew instinctively that hours and hours had passed. Her fingers were no longer linked with Sander’s and the room seemed awfully still and silent. Rolling onto her back, she glanced across the bed.

It was empty.

Of Sander, and the children.

Sitting up, she rubbed sleep out of her eyes and looked next toward the windows. Sander had drawn the curtains, blocking out the view of the sea.

Or the blizzard, she reminded herself.

Refusing to sink into a melancholy mood at the return of winter, she climbed from the covers and wandered to the windows. She grabbed the edge of one curtain and pulled it half back, intending to see how bad the snowstorm was.

Immediately, a slice of sun blinded her. She brought up her free hand to block the rays, surprised that no one had told her the blizzard had stopped.

A fresh surge of hope swelled through her.

Two days in a row with brief glimpses of sunlight? Chey could only view that as a positive sign.

Fleeing the suite, she headed downstairs as quickly as she dared.

More sunlight flooded in through the tall windows in the foyer and along the great ballrooms. All the storm shutters had been thrown open and the curtains drawn back. It was such a stark switch from the constant gray gloom that Chey’s spirits lifted further.

Sander walked into the foyer, flanked by Mattias, just as she reached it. He looked every inch a king, even though he wore camouflage pants and a long-sleeved thermal under a thin coat.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” Chey demanded, crossing the foyer toward the men. She noted staff buzzing to and fro in her periphery, off on one mission or another.

Sander smiled and drew her into a one-armed hug. “You needed rest, so we let you sleep.”

“We’ve had good news from Somero,” Mattias said, dusting a brotherly kiss on Chey’s cheek.

“What good news?” she asked, impatient for information.

“They were able to get a forecast from Russia, finally. Looks like we’ll be seeing the end to this after all,” Mattias replied. “It appears we’ve seen the last of the snow for at least the next week, possibly altogether.”

Chey darted looks between the men, excitement chasing whatever remnants of sleep remained. “Really? When will aid arrive?”

“Somero already has helicopters en route. One is headed directly to Kallaster, the other three to the mainland. Trucks won’t be able to get through until we clear the roads—which will be awhile. So I’ve asked Somero, Estonia, and Russia to air-drop emergency food supplies throughout the hinterlands. It’s better than nothing,” Sander said.

“That’s great news! I can hardly believe it.” Chey’s mind raced with ideas and possibilities.

“It’s about damned time, that’s all I have to say,” Sander said. He did not look quite as happy and enthused.

Chey realized that just because it appeared they were out of the woods, so to speak, there had been many deaths in the process. No one knew exactly how many yet. Not hundreds, but thousands. And that was before the really bad storms had hit.

She laid her hand on Sander’s arm in a show of understanding and strength.

Sander kissed her brow then said, “Gunnar has flown back to his holding to check on his family. He’ll be back, probably with Krislin in tow, after a few days. We’re trying to get communications up and running, get the military mobilized on the mainland, start the trucks clearing roads. Estonia and Latvia have offered help with that, and I plan to take them up on it. Both countries were also hit hard, so they’ll have to dig out of their own mess first.”

Chey absorbed the details like a sponge. “If only the weather would warm up a little and the sun would stay out. It would make things a lot easier.”

“Let’s hope it does. Somero says we should see thirty-eight or thirty-nine degrees by the day after tomorrow, and perhaps even up into the fifties next week,” Sander said.

Chey couldn’t restrain herself. She threw her arms around Sander and hugged him tight.

A small chuckle shook Sander’s shoulders. He wrapped her up and gently spun her in a slow circle before setting her feet on the ground.

“What about Gaius?” Chey asked. She’d learned in the interim that Joska had chosen the side of the farmer’s sons, turning on Mattias and Gunnar, and had lost his life in the process. More than likely, he’d been involved with Helina from the start. Gaius had been left with a truck of supplies in the middle of nowhere, due to a lack of room on available snowmobiles. It appeared he’d remained true to the cause.

“We’ll have a vehicle sent his way as soon as possible,” Sander replied. “He had enough food to last him awhile.”

“Will you be flying to see Alannah?” Chey asked, turning next to Mattias. She knew his wife had been in Australia before the storms hit, and the two had been separated since.

“Not quite yet. As soon as I can contact her, I’ll explain what’s going on, that I’m all right, and that there’s work here to do before I go anywhere,” Mattias replied, rubbing his chin. He’d shaved sometime that morning, making his jaw smooth and beard free.

“I’m sure she’ll be relieved. She knew it was bad during the last contact, I remember, but she probably wasn’t expecting this,” Chey said. “She doesn’t even know if you’re alive.”

“She will soon enough.” Mattias winked. “I’m going to go check on the progress.”

After Mattias excused himself, Chey turned back to Sander. “Where are the kids?”

“Elias is helping shovel snow. Emily and Erick are in the kitchen with Chef, busy putting the supplies in all the wrong places.” His smile was fond, if small.

“Are you going to move Helina and the others soon? You never did tell me if you talked to her, and how it went,” Chey said.

“It went about like you’d expect it to. She’s very unhappy to be spending the rest of her time in an asylum, of course. I’ll have them moved to the mainland only after I know for sure that they’ll make it there without mishap. We need to send word first, and get the roads to the asylum and the prison clear,” he said.

“Why don’t you just fly them there?” Chey asked.

“Because we’re already low on fuel, and I’d rather use what we have for more important purposes. They can wait.” A muscle in his jaw flexed. After a moment’s consideration, Sander said, “If the weather holds, I may ask Somero to transport them, though, since they’ll be here to drop a delivery anyway. It’s politically tricky, but I think I can count on them to come through for us.”

“That’s an excellent idea. In my opinion, the sooner she’s gone, the better.” Chey couldn’t be rid of Helina fast enough. She wanted the woman as far away from her children as possible.

“I’ll contact King Thane as soon as I can to set the wheels in motion,” Sander said. He brushed his knuckles across the back of her cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. How are you? How’s your leg?” Chey asked.

“Everything’s good. Flemming checked my wound and redressed it this morning. You should have Chef make you something. We’ve got enough food to easily get us through until the next delivery. It may not be what you’d get at a five-star restaurant, but it’s something,” he said.

“I will. There are a hundred things I need to do first. I should help coordinate—” Chey paused the lengthy list of to-dos when Sander gently pressed a finger against her lips.

“You can do all that from a chaise lounge or a chair somewhere. I spoke to Flemming about what happened, your dizziness and passing out, and he said you should be taking it easy. You’ve been running this place like a general the whole time. Now you need to lighten the load a little,” he said.

“I can’t just sit around and be sedentary, you know that. I feel all right, really. No new dizzy spells, no aches other than the ones I accrued from my fall down the stairs,” she said.

“But you did fall,” he reminded her. “At least give yourself another day or two of rest, all right?”

“You’re not going to take it easy, I see,” she said with an arch of her brow, challenging his request.

“I’m not pregnant. I didn’t fall down a flight of stairs. I wasn’t having stomach cramps, and I didn’t pass out.” Sander arched a brow right back.

It struck Chey then that they were already back to bantering, to pushing each other’s buttons. Not twenty-four hours after his return, after surviving a hellish winter and nefarious acts against them, their chemistry was already starting to burn. At the foundation of their relationship, nothing had changed. He was still Sander, she was still Chey. Outwardly, they wore the scars of hardship and pain; inwardly, they were as connected as they’d ever been.

She didn’t realize a tear had slipped over her lid and down her cheek until Sander reached up to brush it away. He didn’t say anything, didn’t ask questions.

He didn’t have to.

And she didn’t have to explain.

He bent his head and brushed a gentle kiss against her mouth.

Chey palmed his jaw and kissed him back.

He strode away with purpose, summoning his military personnel.

Chey headed for the informal drawing room, ready to turn it into a command center. Her command center.

She could do everything she needed to from there—on the comfort of her favorite chaise.

Three weeks after the storm of the millennium passed, Chey followed Sander away from the formal drawing room in Kallaster Castle. A solitary news crew and reporter remained behind, posing questions to a high-ranking member of the military.

While they walked, Chey tried to gauge Sander’s mood. He’d just informed the citizens that more than ten thousand people had perished—and they weren’t done searching for survivors yet. It was the worst natural disaster to hit the country in centuries. Fully one third of the hinterlands were still unreachable, though Sander had done his best to order food drops in hopes survivors might find them.

Helina, Urmas, and the advisors who’d backed the former queen were gone from the island, sent to their respective destinations without fanfare or drama. Communications were up and running, finally, though it had taken the better part of two weeks to make it happen. Sander, working tirelessly from sunup to sundown, had done all his commanding from the castle, refusing to leave her side.

“You know, the doctor said—” Chey didn’t get to finish. Sander halted in his tracks and glanced back.

“I don’t need to go to the mainland. It’s all right, it really is. We’ve got rescue squads from other countries and the military all doing what they can. Besides, the minute I lift off from the island, I’m sure your water will break or the baby will come squalling out in five minutes flat, and I’ll miss the whole thing,” he said. Despite the somber news conference he’d just held, a small flicker of humor passed through his eyes.

Chey laid her fingers on his arm. Beneath the fine suit he was thinner than he used to be, but still muscular and honed. With each week he gained a little more weight; soon, he would look like the Sander she’d married. And it didn’t matter to her if he’d returned wasted to nothing. She would still love him as passionately as she always had. “Yes, and we couldn’t miss you toting the newborn around in your arms, giving him or her worldly advice about love and relationships and life.”

He smiled, wholesome and broad. “You love it when I do that. Besides, I can’t help myself. It’s never too early to start giving fatherly advice.”

“As we’ve seen,” she teased.

“There’s no way I want to break the pattern now. So I’ll be staying here until you have the baby.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Although Chey knew he felt responsible for every victim of this desolate winter, there was still room for affection, compassion, and humor. Sander couldn’t save the world, no matter how badly he might want to.

“How long will you be here afterward?” she asked.

“Now that Alannah is here with Mattias, and Krislin has come up with Gunnar, they’ll be handling a lot of the details. They’ll run the really big stuff by me, but I’ll be at Kallaster for at least eight weeks. I cancelled any big meetings or galas long before now anyway, so no one is expecting my presence,” he said. “Natalia should be here tomorrow, and I think she’ll do fine running things for you until you get back.”

Once upon a time, Chey would have cringed to hear Natalia’s name. Sander’s sister had come a long way, however, in bridging awkward gaps and working to be a more compassionate person overall. Marriage to a man she adored had made a huge difference. Chey didn’t have any issues allowing Natalia to take up in her stead. Temporarily.

“We’ll all be under one roof again,” Chey mused.

“It’s been awhile,” he replied.

“I like the idea that everyone will have a part in rebuilding Latvala. It’s as it should be. Even though Mattias spends time in Australia and Natalia is rarely here, I think it’s important to them to help,” Chey said.

“Everyone’s gotten older and a little bit wiser. I think we see the faults and failures of our parents and want to make it a better country for the people. For our own families and future generations. Since the truth has come out about Aksel and Helina’s devious natures, I’ve seen a shift in my brothers and my sister as well. Mattias was always going to be mature and step up to do what he must, but I think now he sees what serious mistakes his father made, and is determined not to repeat them. Mattias and Gunnar might not be kings, and Natalia might not be a queen, but I believe they’ve all come to want their legacy to live on in a positive light.”

“Which is a good thing,” Chey said. “I may not know a lot about other royal families, but I see firsthand how much you care about Latvala. About people in general. Aksel and Helina only cared about control and manipulation. Now we can all move on and recover together. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a time when this family has been so focused on a single goal, ready to do whatever it takes to make Latvala whole again.”

Sander cupped the back of Chey’s neck and eased her against his body. He wrapped his arms around her, palms smoothing up and down her spine. Near her ear, he said, “There’s no one I’d rather have at my side than you. I love you more than words can say.”

Smiling into his throat, relishing the warmth of his embrace, Chey said, “And there’s nowhere I’d rather be. I love you, Sander Darr—oh.”

Sander leaned back and looked into her eyes with confusion. “Oh?”

With a wry smile, Chey said, “My water just broke.”