MILA All thoughts and concerns about being a foreigner to the Fresonian people flew out of my head the second Felix proposed. I couldn’t stop staring at the ring on my finger. It was a massive diamond–a family heirloom, apparently–and caught the light whenever I moved my hand. I moved through the
FELIX Next to me, Mila froze. Her eyes were fixated across the street, seemingly on a redheaded man who was sulking in the shade of one of the buildings. I could sense her feelings of dismay and outrage swirling in my own gut. Something in my chest tightened. Who was he? “Do you know that man?
FELIX Our drive back to Fresia was quiet, but joyful. Despite the darkness of yesterday’s encounter with Derek, the trip had been a success. And I was returning with a fiancée. I was still trying to figure out a way to persuade Mila to have a quick wedding, but I knew there was no point in try
CHARLES Dinner tasted like ash on my tongue. Even the wine, which I usually loved, felt like it was burning acid each time I swallowed. Despite all my best efforts, despite all the hints Isabella and I had dropped, Felix and Mila had managed to get engaged. And judging from the stupid heart-eyes
MILA After we returned to Fresia, I spent all my time at the restaurant, desperate to put together the finishing touches before opening night in two weeks. I was definitely feeling the pressure–I had opened the reservation system, and reservations for the first month had filled up in less than a d
FELIX I had been sitting on the couch, reading a new book by an up-and-coming Fresonian author, when a bolt of fear ran through me. My heart was pounding, and there was a burning sensation in my lungs, as if I was running. Suddenly, my knee stung with a sharp pain, like I had slammed it on the g
I felt a twinge of fear deep in my abdomen–faint, far away, but clear and steady. Mila. “She’s far away,” I exclaimed, not even caring what I was saying out loud at this point. “I can feel it.” Joseph nodded once, then leaned in to whisper: “Prepare the dragons. I’ll cover the ground.” We stal
MILA The ground was cold and unwelcoming, and a frost had set in overnight. My eyes felt heavy, and my limbs felt weighed down by sandbags. I imagined this was what getting hit by a truck felt like. Every time I became alert enough to open my eyes and start moving, trying to find a way out of my
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,