She looked at him in mild wonder.
“You! But you are no longer interested in Theos, are you?”
He sighed.
“I have been an exile for many years,” he said, “and Theos has come to mean little else to me save a beautiful memory. Yet I have never forgotten that she is my native country. I am never likely to forget it.”
“Do you hope ever to return?” she asked.
“I hope to be in Theos within a week,” he answered. “I am returning with Reist.”
She looked up at him startled, but deeply interested.
“You mean it?” she cried. “Oh, tell me!”
“You have read of the downfall of the Republic,” he continued. “Reist assures me that the people will never tolerate another. They speak already of a King, and, Miss Van Decht—you must not laugh, please—I am the only surviving member of the royal family of Theos.”