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Her mouth nearly fell open. “You want to go to other worlds for this? Absolutely not.”

“No,” he countered. “But Scarlett can now control the mirror gates. I am suggesting we not discount an obvious resource: those in other worlds. If I can find something in a book and figure out which world it came from, we could contact someone in that world.”

“Do you even know how to do that?”

“No, but anything can be learned,mai dragocen. That is the joy of books.”

“Is this that important to you?” she asked, trying to swallow down the tears welling in her eyes. They had talked about this. She thought he was fine with her not being able to have children.

A hand came up, cradling her cheek in his palm. “I would pursue this no matter what Curse Mark adorned your skin. It is not the type of curse, but the fact that it is a curse to begin with. But if this is not something you want, I will let it go, Eliza.”

She stared into his sapphire eyes, getting lost in everything she found there. She moved first, closing the distance between their lips and kissing him slowly. He broke the kiss after a time, a finger tipping her chin up to look into her eyes.

“If we find a way, it does not mean we have to have children, Eliza, but I want you to have that choice. If we decide not to, then that is because we decided, not because of some Curse Mark from a dead Fae fucker. I cannot promise we will find an answer, but if this is something you want, I need you to tell me.”

“It is something I never thought I could have,” she whispered. “It is something I have taught myself not to want. But so were you.”

His lips lifted into a small smile. “And now,mai dragocen?”

“And now you have ruined me.”

“In the best way possible, if I remember correctly,” he said, lips drawing closer to hers.

She huffed a small laugh. “It terrifies me to allow myself to hope,” she admitted.

“I will say nothing else of it unless I have found an answer, but I want your permission to look into it.”

She searched his eyes, his lips hovering above hers. “Maybe hope isn’t such a bad thing.”

Chapter52

Callan

“Tava?”

She started, shooting to her feet. She had been sitting in a chair near the window, looking out over the city below. He’d been watching her for a good minute now, wondering how in the world they had made it here.

“Callan, I did not hear you enter,” she said, smoothing her hands down her silk robe before clasping her hands in front of her. Habits that had been ingrained in her from childhood. Then, as if suddenly remembering such a thing was no longer required, her cheeks flushed.

His lips quirked to the side as he crossed the room, pulling her into him. A small sigh escaped her as she settled against his chest, and he ran a hand up her spine.

“What were you contemplating so deeply?” he asked.

“Nothing important,” she murmured. “Is Eva awake yet?”

“She still sleeps,” Callan answered, taking his wife’s hand and leading her out to their small private dining room. Eva and the other children had returned from Avonleya when Scarlett took the Wards down a week ago. Most of the children had returned to Baylorin with it being the only home they knew. Nuri, Juliette, and Scarlett had been working closely with Callan and Tava to find them permanent homes, but there were so many of them, there were still a couple dozen to work through. Those children were currently being housed in a wing of the castle with constant caretakers. Tava spent most of her days there, and Eva was always excited to go see the other children the moment she woke.

But today would be different. At high noon, he and Tava would be officially crowned King and Queen of Windonelle. Soon there would be staff bustling around them. Tava would be rushed off to bathe and dress. They would send him off to do the same. But for the next hour, he had her all to himself.

There was a small breakfast spread laid out for them, and he pulled out a chair for her to sit before taking the seat across from her.

She was pouring them both tea as she asked, “When is everyone else arriving?”

The Lords of the various Windonelle territories had all been gathered since the war had officially ended, and Lords from Rydeon and Toreall had been making their way here after each coronation. It was why they had started in Toreall and worked their way west. Drake and Hale themselves would arrive with one of the Fae royalty using portals for Traveling.

“Throughout the morning,” Callan answered.

“And the celebration afterwards?”