CHARLESJoseph and I were gathered in the war room deep within the castle, reviewing protections and protocol for a siege, my parents and a few other royal advisors also present. I was repeating the intel that Isabella had managed to capture in Abernathy when a messenger burst into the room, his fac
Joseph nodded once. “And I suppose the same goes for Lady Isabella.”“She is a grown woman and can make her own choices,” I said, “but I would be lying if I said that I did not manipulate her into doing what I wanted.”“At least you’re admitting it,” Joseph said. “Look, I don’t love the idea of sett
MILATo say the crowd was restless was putting it mildly.They were all pushing and shouting, clamoring over each other to be the first person to the castle walls. We were still a few miles out from the capital, but the closer we got, the angrier the mob became.Although I wanted no part in any of t
MILAFor a moment, all I could do was stare in shock at my husband.Despite the fact that he clearly had not slept in days, he looked better than ever. It was clear that the breaking of the curse had restored him to his full strength, and once he was back at full power, he would be nearly unstoppabl
FELIXI could not believe that after all this time, I was finally reunited with Mila.It felt like every fiber of my being was on fire, like I was alive for the first time. Holding Mila in my arms once again was quite possibly the happiest moment of my life.My wife looked up at me with love and rel
FELIXMy wife having magic was something I feared I might never get used to. I was accustomed to the powers that ran through my own blood, but Mila was on a completely different level. Sofia had been the greatest enchantress to ever live, but Mila might even be stronger.She bent the wind to her wil
MILAFelix was doing a great job. The crowd may have been hostile and unfriendly, but he was holding his ground in a really impressive manner. I was so proud of him.I had, of course, used my magic to do a bit of silencing of the mob, just to help him out. After all, he could not bring peace to the
“I would like to hear more about that,” I admitted. Joseph nodded in understanding, his eyes softening.“I can arrange a meeting between you and Lady Isabella,” Joseph offered. “We can travel to the South Smyth Islands as soon as you feel up to it.”“Maybe we should discuss temporarily lifting her b
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,