Free Chronicles of Logos Quest For the Kingdom Parts IV, V, VI, and VII Revised With Index (Quest For the Kingdom Set) by L. M. Roth Page B

lean, with dark waves of hair flicked with silver around his
hairline. His brown eyes were warm and his smile of greeting went beyond the
friendliness of a new acquaintance as he beamed at her. He bowed slightly and
laughed as she studied him, whether amused at her bewilderment or whether glad
to see her she could not tell.
    Then
he laughed and held out his hand.
    “Hello,
Kyrene. It is Stephanos. Do you still remember me? For I have never forgotten
you.”

Chapter
IX
A Romance Renewed
    “Stephanos!”
she breathed, her heart suddenly stopped its beating and her breath strangled
in her throat. “It can not be!”
    She sat down
abruptly as the realization smote her. Stephanos merely laughed again and
raised her to her feet, keeping her hands in his.
    “Yes, Kyrene,
it is! It is I, at last!”
    She openly
stared at him. How long has it been, she wondered. She had been sixteen, and he
was twenty. Twenty-five years. How incredible! She used to dream of this day,
yet when it came, she had not known him.
    She recovered
herself with an effort and returned his laugh.
    “Oh, it is
wonderful to see you again, Kyrene!” Stephanos sighed with a note of yearning
in his voice.
    “And it is
good to see you, Stephanos,” she agreed. “But you must tell me all that has
happened. For it is many years since we have met.”
    “Yes, it is; too many years. All the fault of my father!” and a bitter chuckle escaped the lips
of Stephanos as the corners of his mouth turned downward.
    “But, I am
free now; free to come to you,” he said softly and drew nearer to Kyrene as he
held her hand in his.
    Her heart beat
faster, and she felt a sudden shyness fluster her as his nearness affected her
as it used to so long ago. She withdrew her hand from his to hide her sense of
agitation, and stepped back a pace. But Stephanos was not deterred.
    “It is
alright, Kyrene. Isadora passed away three months ago, and I am free. And now
that my time of mourning is complete, I hastened to come to you; for I have
never stopped longing in my heart for you, my love.”
    She had the
sensation that the world around her collapsed as the ground gave way beneath
her feet. Her body slumped forward from its usual erect posture and she
laughed, laughed until she wiped the tears from her eyes. Alarmed, Stephanos
put an arm around her, but she gently pushed it away.
    “Please, I am
alright, Stephanos,” she assured him. “I am simply stunned at your coming, for
I thought you had forgotten me long ago. And I am sorry to hear of Isadora’s
passing. I know how fond of her your father was.”
    A shadow
darkened Stephanos’ face, and the bitter twist of his lips was evidenced once
more.
    “Yes, he was
fond of her indeed. So fond that he would not permit me to marry where my heart
lay. And I have lived in bitterness with his choice ever since!”
    Kyrene was
touched and oddly pleased. She extended a hand to him, and he took it and
raised it to his lips.
    For a moment
they stood hand in hand facing one other, each examining the countenance of the
other to determine what changes the years had wrought. Their clasped hands
tightened involuntarily, and Kyrene realized that whatever had been between
them in the past was not yet over…
     At last
Stephanos spoke quietly.
    “Kyrene, will
you give me permission to call on you, to court you as I once did? Believe me
when I tell you that it was not my wish for our betrothal to be broken off.
That was the will of my father, not mine. Will you give me leave?”
    Kyrene’s eyes
clung to him, and she was too dazzled to speak. For had he not been her first
love, the one she thought she would love all the days of her life?
    Slowly she
nodded her head, and a smile of pure joy illuminated her face.
    “Yes,
Stephanos! Yes, I give you leave.”
     
    It was true,
as he had said, that it was his father who separated them. Georgios Zenobios
was not about to permit his only son to unite with the daughter of a merchant,
respected though he