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“Wait, what are you—” I could not finish before my father pricked his finger, then did the same to my mother’s outstretched palm. Both wore matching smirks, as though they crafted the most wicked scheme, and painted the stones on their crowns in runes of power, prosperity, and wisdom.

Gaina rested Destin’s stone in his tomb for a moment, then took each mantle in hand. “It is the desire of my king and queen that their titles, their thrones, be passed on to a new king and new queen—two souls who saved this land time and again.”

“No.” Adira shook her head. “Markus, Torie, you . . . you belong on the throne.”

My father chuckled. “Well, we don’t plan on leaving. Maybe to one of the guest cottages when we tire of your faces at times, but we will still be here to guide you both should you need it.”

Gaina smiled sweetly. “What say you, do you accept the burden of a king, Golden Boy?”

I looked to Adira.

She hesitated. “My heart is racing.”

“In a way that is good or bad?”

Adira gnawed on her bottom lip. “In a way that feels . . . right.”

The burden of a crown was not a title that fit my birthright. It belonged to my sister, and in a manipulated reality, to my brother. Still, there was a heat in my gut—fate or instinct—that burned the more I thought of taking a throne beside Adira.

I looked back at my parents. “If this is your desire.”

“We have had nothing but time to dream and listen and think, son.” My mother came to my side and cupped my face. “We could hear you, Kagesh. Every visit, every update on the kingdom, every worry in your mind. You have been a king in the making. And Adira, you have the fire of a queen. You fight for this land, for my son,without thought. You have endured pain and heartache, and come out a ferocious Soturi who loves deeply. What more could we ask of our rulers?”

I blew out a rough breath, squeezed Adira’s hand, but together we nodded.

Gaina placed the crowns atop our heads, and a hum of the magic they carried filled my blood. Adira shuddered.

“Perfect,” said Gaina. “We’ll need to get one of those foolish seers from the Sanctuary to make it official, but as for me, I am looking at my beautiful queen and my fierce king.”

Another flash of the stone drew Gaina back.

“Kage,” she said, soft and low. “This is for you. Destin wishes to tell you that you will be a marvelous king. He says he does not expect your forgiveness, but now in his clarity, wishes for you to know he loved you. He will always see you as his brother.”

I didn’t know what to say, didn’t trust my voice to speak. I merely nodded, and Gaina gently closed the tomb over his stone.

The weight of the crown on my head was felt, but a bit of the burden eased when Adira leaned in, kissing me softly, and whispered, “Your fears are mine as well as your joy. This is where I belong, Thief. I feel it to my soul.”

Together. Side by side. That was a place I would always belong.

CHAPTER 51

Adira

The coronation wasnothing but a High Mage moaning an eerie song in words I did not entirely understand and placing theskallkrönoratop our heads. Again. Then receiving a great deal of accolades for his magnitude by his fellow seers.

Now, weeks after the battle ended and the crowns were passed to me and Kage, I woke tangled in his arms and a furious knock to our door.

“This is horribly embarrassing,” Gwyn called out through the thick wood. “You really are able to be separated, in fact, you should’ve been separated last night. Get out, Kage.”

He rubbed his eyes, glaring at the door. “I am the king.”

A pause, as though she were considering the title. Then, Gwyn scoffed. “Is that supposed to impress me? Get. Out.”

I nuzzled against him and traded kisses until the snap and click of our latch came from outside, and the door flew open. Gwyn, flanked by two other mage women clutching what seemed to be spools of silver and blue fabric, filled our doorway.

“Out!”

“Off with your head,” Kage shot back. He looked at me. “Right? Isn’t that what wicked kings say in mortal mooovies?”