Dennis nodded, his cheeks tinged with pink. "Ah… minus the curse word… exactly what he said."
The room filled with laughter, a brief respite from the gravity of their situation.
Zoe threw her arms around him. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
*****
Lucas stared at the letter as if it might burst into flames. It had arrived in the early hours, hand-delivered by the King's courier himself who refused to give it to anyone else but Lucas.
With a heavy sigh, he broke the seal and unfolded the parchment. The script was elegant:
'Alpha Lucas Raventhorn,
Quite a lucky man. I didn't know the Daughter of the Moon was taken. I will respect that though your letter could have been less rude. I accept I wasn't proactive in searching for her.
On the matter of Zoe, deserters aren't welcome in my kingdom anyway.
Good luck.
King Herod of the North.'
