From the author of the critically-acclaimed fantasy novel, A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON, a sequel/spinoff novella:

Long before Tadek Hasira ever made it to the Gold Court to serve as one of the royal family's elite bodyguards and servants, he was nothing more than a grubby street urchin in the poorest district of the capital city?that is, until her Highness, the Crown Princess Mihrisah, held out her hand in kindness, lifted him out of his circumstances, and gave him a future to dream of.

But that was twenty years ago, and tragedy befell the palace only a few years into Tadek's training. Ever since, Tadek held his unwavering love and loyalty to his princess in silence. No one knows what she was to him, and he is prepared to carry that secret for the rest of his life...

Unless someone?the right person?happens to find him standing vigil at her portrait.