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F atigue weighed heavy on Cora as she ascended the stairwell leading from the dungeon. Taking on another’s emotions did that to her, as did thoughts of war. But there was one thing she could count on to clear her head. Or rather one creature .

She paused on the next step and closed her eyes, extending her senses outward, seeking a familiar mind. A wordless greeting responded, carrying a warmth as comforting as a hug. Valorre, her unicorn companion and dearest friend, was close enough that she could feel his presence despite the walls between them. She could almost smell the soil of the forest outside the castle, hear the snapping of twigs beneath his hooves, feel the heat of the sun streaming through the canopy of trees. Her lips stretched into a smile. She opened her eyes and raced the rest of the way up the steps. I’m going to try to sneak out , she mentally conveyed.

Even though she was often in the presence of her guards or lady’s maids, she could find an excuse to be alone and use her worldwalking ability to reach the forest in the blink of an eye. All she needed was strong emotion to drive her and a clear destination.

She expected Valorre to respond with approval, for it had been weeks since Cora had snuck out for a forest ride. Instead, a ripple of hesitation moved through their energetic link. I don’t think you should .

She frowned as she pushed open the door at the top of the staircase. Why not?

Well…because ? —

“Prince Teryn has arrived.” Master Arther, steward of Ridine Castle, practically sprang before the doorway. He wrung his gloved hands as exasperated relief eased the furrow between his brows.

Several emotions shot through Cora one after the other. Shock, panic, excitement. “He…what? He wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow. When did he arrive?”

“Less than an hour ago, while you were…down there .” He said the last part in a whisper as he cast a glance at the door Cora had emerged from. Not that there was any reason for secrecy here. No one entered the halls leading to the dungeons aside from Cora, her guards, and approved staff. Now the only other people in the hall besides Cora and Arther were two members of the royal guard who’d stood sentinel outside the door.

Cora shifted her mental focus from her steward to Valorre. Did you know? Is that what you were about to say?

Yes , came Valorre’s reply.

Why didn’t you warn me? He could have. While her guards had been ordered not to interrupt her while she was in the dungeon, Valorre hadn’t been given such a restriction.

You were busy , Valorre said. Didn’t want to distract you from scary men in the dark place .

The dark place was what he called the dungeon. While their connection was strong enough to give each other impressions of their current locations or environments, Valorre didn’t always understand the impressions he received.

Cora returned her attention to Arther as she realized he was speaking again. “—King Larylis and Queen Mareleau will be here in just two hours.”

She frowned. “Teryn arrived separately from them?”

“Yes, he said he rode ahead.”

Her lungs constricted. “Was something wrong? Was there an emergency?”

“No, it seemed more like he grew tired of his retinue’s slow pace.”

That was a relief. After everything that had happened last spring and summer, Cora’s mind was often quick to go to the darkest places when anything seemed out of the ordinary. But Teryn’s actions made sense. Mareleau’s retinue was moving slowly due to her pregnancy and the precautions required around travel. She couldn’t blame him for taking off on his own. If only he’d sent word ahead of time, she’d have been there to greet him.

“Where is he now?” she asked.

“He said he was tired after his ride, so I escorted him to his guest chamber to rest.”

She was about to ask why Arther had taken him to a guest room and not her own chambers, but she stopped herself. Even though she and Teryn would share the royal suite once they were wed, they couldn’t be seen sharing quarters before their wedding.

A troubling thought occurred to her.

She took a step closer to Arther. “He said he was tired? Did he seem unwell?”

“He seemed…fine,” Arther said, brows knit with confusion.

Just fine? Her lungs tightened all over again. She cast the same question at Valorre.

I didn’t see his face , he conveyed. I saw him riding but he wore a head blanket .

A cloak , Cora corrected. Then how did you know it was him?

Smelled like him.

He has a smell?

Like strength and moonbeams .

Cora nearly snorted a laugh. She could have taken comfort in Valorre’s insistence that he smelled like strength, but she couldn’t take him seriously with the part about moonbeams. Valorre had always had a bit of a crush on Teryn. Of course he’d smell like strength and moonbeams to him.

She shook her head and pulled her consciousness from Valorre’s. This was no laughing matter. If Teryn was fatigued after his ride, that might mean he’d pushed his stamina too far. Mother Goddess, why the hell had he ridden ahead of his retinue? His physicians had given him the go-ahead to travel months ago. In fact, he’d been scheduled to arrive last month but had been delayed when an unexpected envoy had arrived from Brushwold, and Teryn had stayed behind to help his brother host them. An extra month of recovery should have aided his health, but just because Teryn was fit to travel didn’t mean he was in peak condition. Cora had seen what Morkai’s possession had done to his body. He’d nearly died from it. He’d hardly been able to move or speak when she’d last seen him.

Cora’s mind spun to the darkest places all over again.

She lifted her chin. “I must see my fiancé at once.”

Arther released a long-suffering sigh and spoke with a practiced tone. “It wouldn’t be proper, Majesty. You must hold a formal audience and greet him before the court. You know this.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he was right. Seven devils, she was loath to admit it, but now that she was queen, she was bound by rules of royal propriety before the public eye. And Ridine Castle was no longer as private as it used to be, especially with her fast-approaching wedding. Her coronation had been a private affair, a somber necessity after a great tragedy, which meant the royal wedding would mark the first public celebration the castle had hosted in years. As a result, eyes were everywhere.

Yet she didn’t have the patience to wait hours to see Teryn. She hadn’t seen him in seven months. Seven achingly long months with only letters between them. She was dying to see that he was well with her own eyes. To hear his voice. And to tell him all the things she never had the courage to convey by pen and paper.

Arther softened his tone. “Besides, Majesty, he’s likely sleeping by now. He asked to rest. We will move your audience with the king and queen to this evening after they arrive, so you may receive Prince Teryn shortly.”

Tension unraveled from her shoulders but not entirely. She had to see him. Maybe he was sleeping. Maybe they couldn’t have the heartfelt conversation she’d been planning for. She could at least rest her eyes upon his face and know he was well. Only then could she fully relax.

She released a calming breath and gathered her composure. Then, steeling her expression, she delivered her lie. “You’re right, Master Arther. I am so grateful for your counsel. I shall return to my quarters at once and ready myself for tonight’s audience with our royal guests.”

“That is the right choice, Majesty. I will clear the way through the great hall so you may reach the keep without further ado.” After a bow, he turned on his heel—but halted midstep. His eyes shot back to her, widening as they took in her ensemble. His nose wrinkled with clear distaste. “Please allow me to take your cloak.”

Heat flushed her cheeks. Right. She’d nearly forgotten about the dark cloak she was wearing. Having donned it for secrecy over fashion, it was hardly fit for a queen. And even though Arther would clear the way ahead, courtiers would still see her.

She gave him a thankful grin and undid the clasp at her neck. Underneath the cloak, she wore a mauve brocade gown with a ruffled square neck and an overskirt that parted at the center to reveal layers of ivory lace—a far more regal look. When she passed him a cloak, she added with contrived nonchalance, “Which guest room is my fiancé in?”

Arther’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, but he had no reason to hide such information from her. “The Cambron suite, Majesty.”

“Thank you, Master Arther.”

He bowed once more and strode ahead toward the great hall. Cora hid her smile behind his back.

Her heart was a racing, rioting mess by the time she entered her bedroom in the royal suite. She’d dismissed her lady’s maids, ordering them not to return to ready her for tonight’s audience for another hour. She probably didn’t need a full hour, considering Teryn was likely dozing by now, but it would ensure no one would enter her chambers and find her missing.

She stood before the mirror, checking her appearance. Turning her face to one side then the other, she studied her golden-tan skin, her dark eyes rimmed with kohl and powdered cosmetics, her black hair pinned in a coronet. As she patted the neat braid that encircled her head, a stray tendril sprang loose, falling onto her cheek. She was about to reach for a hairpin from her vanity but stopped herself. Teryn’s voice rang from memory.

I like when it’s a mess , he’d once said about her hair.

A giddy grin tugged her lips as she loosened another strand of hair, then another. With her hair properly mussed, she removed her gloves and brushed her tattooed palms over her skirts, smoothing wrinkles that weren’t there. Assessing herself once more, she gave her reflection an approving nod, though she wasn’t sure why she was going through all the trouble. Teryn probably wouldn’t be awake to see her. Still, on the off chance that he wasn’t sleeping, she wanted to look her best.

Anxious excitement flooded her heart, sending it thudding even faster. She needed to steady its raging pulse with at least a sliver of sobriety. While she was satisfied with her appearance, she needed to ready herself for the inevitable changes she’d find in him. He may look different from the man she’d fallen in love with. His hair had been sapped of color during his battle over his body and would likely be brittle and gray. He’d be thinner. Weaker. A far cry from the broad-shouldered man who’d once made her blush while dueling shirtless. It might break her heart to see how much he’d changed. How badly his body had been broken.

But she would love him just the same.

And if he was awake, she’d finally get to tell him that. Finally say the words neither had let past their lips despite feeling them pulse between them, despite almost hearing them in mumbled tones when Teryn was barely conscious, despite reading them between the lines of their letters.

She took a steadying breath, filling her lungs with air. Then, rooting her feet beneath her, she connected to the element of earth. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the open windows of her bedroom, linking her to the fire element. Then the emotions flooding her chest, nourishing her very soul, connected her to water.

Closing her eyes, she thought of Teryn. Felt his proximity, his nearness, his presence, just down the hall. She knew how close his room was. The Cambron suite was just two doors away. If she wanted to, she could sneak down the servants’ passage, using her magic to extend her senses, cloak herself in shadow, and evade passersby no matter how busy the secret halls had become. But she wouldn’t, for she had faster means. Easier means. Quieter means.

She could cross the distance between them in a single step.

Keeping her emotions fixated on Teryn, she pictured the bedroom in the Cambron suite, imagined him lying on the bed, safe beneath the smooth linen sheets and velvet blankets. She imagined the carpeted floors beneath her feet, the bedroom door behind her, the four-poster bed just ahead. Calm settled over her despite the excitement radiating from her chest. Then she took a single step.

She opened her eyes and found the new destination before her, exactly as she’d imagined it. A cream-and-violet patterned carpet cradled her feet while a mahogany bed stood before her.

But Teryn wasn’t on that bed.

He was standing mere feet away, half facing her.

Shirtless.

The top button of his trousers undone.

Her breath caught as she took in the low rise of his waistband, the fingers that had been in the process of loosening the next button down, his muscled forearms. She lifted her gaze, drinking in the sculpted V of his lower abdomen, then his rib cage, marred with the puckered scar he’d earned at Centerpointe Rock. She studied his curving biceps, his wide shoulders, his silver hair that fell in tousled waves just above his collarbone.

Mother Goddess, this was not the frail, weak version of Teryn she’d expected. Sure, he was slightly leaner than he’d been before, but he didn’t look unwell at all.

He looked…good.

Really, really good.

Her eyes darted to his face and found his familiar green irises sparkling with mischief. A corner of his lips quirked at one corner. “What a pleasant surprise.”