MILA By the start of my first day, I had twenty new ideas to incorporate into the menu, hoping to make my mark at my new job. But things were proving difficult. Samara, as executive chef and owner, was often busy, and did not have time to chat with me most days. She had been nice enough to tell
MILA Felix was here. I swear the stone around my neck heated at the thought. Samara walked over to my station and frowned. “Why are you chopping vegetables?” she asked. Fiona quickly interjected. “It’s only her second day, Samara. She needs time before she’s ready to do anything else.” Sam
MILA As Samara led me and Fiona out to the main dining room, I could feel my heart hammering in my throat. I could only pray that I wouldn’t have to say anything or look at the Prince. And that I didn’t just burst into tears on the spot. Would Felix recognize me? I was quite literally carrying h
FELIX “Are you certain this woman is your Destined Bride?” my mother asked breathlessly. I nodded. I swear a small tear formed in the corner of her eye. “Once I have, I will bring her to the palace,” I believe this would be fast, since there were no reason for her to hide from me. “The Great W
On the day of the competition, I awoke early. I’d barely slept, the anxiety of the day keeping me awake. I put on my mask and the stone necklace and made my way to the bus that was to take us to the castle. Fresonia was known for its royal castle. It looked like something out of a fairy tale–glitt
MILA Samara nodded, still eyeing me. Once the rest of the team was gathered, I took a deep breath. “Somehow, the prickly pear supply has gone missing,” I explained, receiving quite a few horrified gasps in response. “So instead, we will be doing zest from the skin of a lime on top of the pie. Yo
“That’s enough.” Felix’s voice was firm, and as he stood, all the attention in the room rushed to him. A prince, through and through. My face was scarlet behind my mask, and I was fighting back tears. What was supposed to be my greatest triumph had turned into yet another embarrassment. Maybe Nadi
MILA After Felix left the room, everyone just looked at each other, still in a state of shock. Apparently, the royal temper tantrum thrown by Charles was something unusual. Even Felix had seemed rattled, and that had set everyone else on edge. I stared at the ground, wondering if I tried hard enou
MILAOur baby boy, Samuel, was born in April, a few days after Felix’s 31st birthday. He was named for the first King of Fresonia and to commemorate the love that had brought his parents together. As the future King of Fresonia, he had an official naming ceremony in front of the entire kingdom, and
CHARLESLife in exile was surprisingly calm.Despite our conversation before being sent to this remote island, I’d had a harder time adjusting to a relationship with Isabella than I once thought. Perhaps it was the sadness I felt at being away from my home kingdom, or maybe I did not like the vulner
FELIXWhen I was growing up, I never imagined that I would enjoy being King.The whole thing looked dreadfully boring to a young boy. Although I knew I was the heir to the throne and would someday take over for my father, I always had far more interest in hanging out with Ignatius and running around
MILAThe last few weeks had been a blur. Meetings, ribbon cuttings, speeches. I spent countless hours in the countryside of Fresonia helping to relocate people who had been displaced by either the war or the dissolution with Abernathy. I cooked meals for homeless shelters and taught magic to young c
FELIXThe King of Abernathy had been placed in a highly-protected magical prison deep in the Dragon’s Teeth mountains, locked away with no hope of escape. His advisors and various family members were locked away with him, all facing sentences for their crimes against magic.The leaders from the othe
FELIXThe King was clearly shocked by my challenge. He slowly put down his wine glass, his eyes darting between me and Mila. I could tell that the idea intrigued him, as much as he wanted to seem disgusted by the offer.The curse might have been broken, but I could still feel the panic and tension s
FELIXIt was time for me and Mila to travel to Aberenathy. We could delay it no longer–although the magic across the kingdoms was safe and protected, time was still of the essence when it came to the civilians in Abernathy.We were concerned about what the King was doing to his citizens. Based on Is
At the nearest chance I would ask Mila to take me to that famed Library of Magic so that I could learn about the powers that now flowed through my veins. Although I was thrilled, I was also terrified. I had gone twenty-six years of my life without magic.What would change now?I was exhausted, ready
ISLAI had been waiting in the war council room with Joseph when the magic came surging back into the kingdom. In case anything went wrong, we were instructed to stay in the below-ground chambers and monitor any potential problems with the magic.I had no idea what to expect when the magic returned,