Former Flame

Queen Annabelle’s POV

“Hello, Olcan.”

After more than twenty years, those were the first two words I said to my former lover. Somewhere in my peripheral vision, Alex’s face has transformed from angry to surprised. I see him call me, but I don’t hear it. My focus is on Olcan’s face, now lined with age and hair starting to silver at the edges. I cannot help but compare his face with my son’s.

Olcan stands. “Annabeth,” he says.

“It’s Annabelle now,” I smiled faintly. “Queen Annabelle.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked. The emotions warring on his face felt like a mirror of my own.

I, too, want to catch up, but here in this hall with countless eyes and ears… I hold my silence a little longer. “Perhaps we can take this reunion to somewhere more private,” I suggested.

“You may use the family den rooms,” Queen Tasha offered.

There is no malice in her eyes when I turned to her. “Thank you,” I said.