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Gazing upon the rest in attendance, I spotted some of the new, unexpected friendships that had attended the ceremony and were departing early from the reception. Ravinder, Ro, a few others from the camp, Evenita, and Alaina, whose time I noticed had been monopolized by Marco in the minutes between ceremony and reception. While most would be fawning over his attention, she treated him with a level of indifference that I think only piqued his interest. Poor girl was just trying to eat her desserts.

Upon bidding farewell, before they departed on their travels home, Evenita whispered in my ear, See you soon, Queen Nora. Something about that lingered, and I suspected that time would come sooner than later.

We stood together, his hand comfortably holding my hip, while the last of the guests departed. The king offered me his hand, which I took without hesitation, and he led me to the gardens. The weather had picked up within this last week, the humidity clinging to my skin.

A light breeze ruffled the fallen strands by my ears, the rest of my hair still pulled back and secured by a dazzling broach. He brought me to that place we’d chatted the night of the dinner by the half-wall made of stones, mere feet from where he had lowered on one knee.

“I have a gift for you,” he said.

I leaned against the wall, elbows resting atop it. “Oh? I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts. I didn’t get you anything.”

He flexed his fingers in the air, a posted guard heeding the signal. He stalked over with a box in his hand, handing it to the newly crowned king.

“Thank you, Archeron,” I said as the guard bent at the waist with a smile before retreating.

Nick opened the box. Displayed before me, on a cushion of satin, laid a glass dagger. I pushed off the stone, taking a closer look. “Oh,” the breath rushed from my lungs. I lifted the weapon, or… “Is this a decoration?”

Nick smiled. “It’s more of a symbol. A reminder of where you’ve been. I didn’t want to get you another glass heart, I know it can’t replace the one your mother gave you. And you definitely didn’t need more daggers.” He shook off the thought with a teasing smile. “But I’ll never forget the first night I met you, Nora. You changed the course of my life to something I never thought possible.”

I could barely see past the tears welling in my eyes. My gaze rose to meet his, my bottom lip fighting against the building tremble. “You are my home, Nick, when I didn’t think I’d have one again.”

He took the box and set it down before letting his hands slowly drift across my lower back until his fingers locked. And when he kissed me, he sealed every promise he’d ever made. The one person who I could count on in this life, who I could bear myself to.

Wholly.

66

Nora

Aweek had gone by, and each morning and every night still felt like a dream. The afternoon sun streamed through our windows, casting an ethereal glow in the white and gold decorated room. Our room.

I threw on the plush robe that hung from the gold coat rack near my bedside and made my way to the war room where my husband often disappeared to for morning meetings. Walking around a ‘house’ that took me at least ten minutes to travel to any given room was still mind-blowing. Maybe I could convince Nick to let me bring Maxom inside. It’d definitely be faster.

I stopped before the posted guards, attempting to address them by their names. Of course, I got both wrong, and apologized with a frustrated groan. They smiled at my failed attempt.

I sauntered into the small office, finding Nick hunched over a letter at his desk.

“Good morning,” I purred as I strode toward him.

He lifted his eyes from the paper, briefly masking the heavy concern that resided there. “Good afternoon, my lady.”

I rounded the desk and sat myself upon his lap, brushing back his golden locks. “What’s wrong?”

He returned his attention to the letter. “The curse that took over Argora Vale, the dark magic. It’s back.”

“What? How?” My skin pebbled.

“Unclear. Residents in Argora Vale are reporting updates to Radhak. Apparently, the source is near Witches Pass between the two borders. King Taja must be unaware.”

“He seems unaware of a lot these days, seeing as people from Highcrest are being smuggled into his borders,” I said bitterly. “Well, let’s arrange a trip to Rahana then. Find out exactly what they know.” I rose to my feet.

Nicholas simply slid his gaze over me and reclined further into his chair.

“What?”

A small smile curved his sensuous lips, and butterflies erupted into flight in my chest. “You are…” He released a deep breath, his blue eyes sparkling like the sea on a sunny day. “Perfect.”

I almost couldn’t withstand the intensity of his gaze, so I approached with slow, steady steps, unraveling the tie around my waist. My robe split open, revealing my satin chemise. His gaze drank me in, and his throat bobbed.