The level of the roar that went up from the crowd caught Tavros by surprise. He lifted Antonia—Queen Antonia now—and kissed her before raising their joined hands skyward in jubilation.
Epilogue
Antonia
One year later
“Your Highness, the ship has been spotted in the harbor.”
Antonia gestured for her lady-in-waiting to quit fussing with her clothing. Together they glided down the hall to the nursery, where Piera was dressing Prince Hephaestus. Not quite four months old, he was a happy, healthy little boy with chubby thighs and a dusting of brown curls covering his tiny head.
Piera finished just as Antonia walked up, holding him aloft so that she could see the one-piece crimson velvet dressing gown they had decided on that morning.
Antonia stopped short when saw her baby’s pale eyes looking at her.
“Oh, my.”
“What is it?” Piera asked, concerned.
“It’s… he…” Antonia fought her tied-up tongue. “He looks just like…”
“Like the King! I saw the same thing. This is the color the His Royal Highness prefers.”
She was right; the baby’s dressing gown matched the burgundy cape Tavros wore on ceremonial occasions. Antonia smiled warmly at her former governess.
The three women walked quickly through the castle, Piera carrying little Hephaestus, who stared in wide-eyed wonder at his ever-changing surroundings.
Antonia recalled that she looked much the same the first time she’d seen the castle. It was an incredible feeling to realize that not only would she be living in a place that dwarfed her family’s huge Venetian palazzo, but she was the lady of the castle, Queen Antonia of Orpheus.
With the title came everything she’d ever imagined being a queen would include: immense wealth, the highest social status, ladies to attend to her every need, and clothing so beautiful and impeccably tailored it would make her Uncle Emilio jealous. Well, she’d soon see about that last one.
The docks were a blur of activity as dozens of men scurried around, preparing for the big ship’s arrival. Scanning the activity, Antonia spotted the familiar crimson cape and was glad to know her husband had gotten here first to ensure everything was in order. Behind him stood his adoptive parents, Calista and Tassos, who were more than thrilled to join their son here on Orpheus.
Tavros beamed when he saw them approaching. Antonia knew she had to share his affection now, because the King was totally smitten with the child he’d named after the Greek god of fire and metal-working. Hephaestus would never know the life of a blacksmith, though.
He planted a kiss on his son’s forehead, then another on his queen’s lips, turning her cheeks bright pink.
“Your Grace, not in public,” she admonished.
Tavros grinned. “I am the King. I will kiss you anywhere I choose.” His slight wink indicated the double entendre had not been accidental, and her blush deepened accordingly.
She was proud of how her husband had adapted to his new life. Retaining Phidias as Chief Minister was an easy choice, and he’d proven indispensable as Tavros learned the ways of a king. He ruled with a firm hand but an open heart, and his subjects had quickly grown to love him.
The people of Orpheus were happy to again have a queen who was unafraid to walk among them. Queen Iria had been a frightened shell of a woman who remained cloistered in the castle and who was rarely seen in public. Her recent death had seemingly little effect on Tavros.
Just a month after the coronation, King Nicos passed away, and Tavros became the sole surviving member of the royal line. Now she held another in her arms, the future King Hephaestus, and there were plans for yet more, in time.
“Are you ready for this, my Queen?” Tavros asked as the ship pulled ever closer. “It has been a very long time.”
Antonia bit her lip and nodded nervously. She had not seen her parents since the day of her ruined wedding. The same could be said regarding her best friend Flora and her Uncle Emilio, who also were aboard the approaching ship.
One of Tavros’s first official acts had been to dispatch Phidias back to Venice to tell Antonia’s family of the remarkable fate that had graced the couple. He knew his Queen was distraught that her refusal to marry Giovanni Donato had doomed the family’s finances, so Tavros offered to use his influence to open new lanes of commerce between Venice and Orpheus. Phidias had laid out the plan for Signor Crivelli, bringing samples of richly hued textiles from Orpheus, Crete and the Greek mainland for his inspection.
Now just a year later, the Crivelli textile empire was larger than ever and included open trade with all of Greece. The Crivellis’ wayward daughter may have been ruined the merger with the Donato family, but her new husband had rendered the merger unnecessary anyway.
“I’m so excited I can barely breathe!” Antonia whispered to Piera.
While in Venice to discuss opening trade routes, Phidias had also extended an offer to Piera to take on the role of Royal Governess. Stunned, she jumped at the chance to see Antonia again and to help raise an actual prince. Her arrival in Orpheus less than a month after the coronation had worked wonders to make Antonia’s separation from home and family more bearable.
Antonia looked proudly at her King and their child. At this early point, they did not know if little Hephaestus carried the curse of the minotaur in his blood. Regardless, one thing was certain: This young prince would never be banished from his home or his homeland. The last time Tavros became a minotaur was the day he intervened at Antonia’s wedding. Since then, a few times the change had begun to occur, but armed with the relaxation techniques imparted by his grandfather and his wife, he had learned calm his mind and keep the beast at bay.
“I see them!” Antonia squealed with delight, unable to restrain her enthusiasm. Then again, her unbridled exuberance was one of the things her subjects had grown to love about their new Queen.
She was relieved that all the drama and anguish over her proposed wedding to Giovanni Donato had long ago dissipated. All that mattered in the end was that she was beside the man she truly loved.
Antonia knew she would have still been filled with joy living with Tavros and Hephaestus in the tiniest of hovels in Bari. Being the Queen of a ruling King meant only that their home was larger, not filled with more love.
And now, minutes away from her parents being the royal guests of King Tavros III and Queen Antonia of Orpheus, she knew they would treat her husband with more respect this time. It was a shame they couldn’t see the good in him when he was but a poor blacksmith.
Too stuck in their plans of commerce, her parents had been blind to a truth that Antonia had seen all along:
Many men were more beastly than the minotaur, but none was a better man than Tavros.
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Also by Alexis Adaire
Alexis is the best-selling author
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Living in the Pacific Northwest, Alexis Adaire spends too much time indoors, cuddling under blankets and emerging from the bedroom periodically to refill her coffee mug and write a new story.
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Beauty and the Beast of Venice
Copyright © 2018 by Alexis Adaire
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations used in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual living persons is purely coincidental.
Published by Twisted Pair Publishing
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Beauty and the Beast of Venice Page 16
