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Lorelei’s glower shifted into a far more dangerous smile, and Gerard braced himself for trouble. “Oh, but darling Saskia, we’ve kept you for far too long tonight already,” she purred. “I know how much you must be missing your own lovely consort by now. He does still consider himself to be your librarian, does he not?”

“Ah…” Queen Saskia’s brows lowered in suspicion. “Why would you—?”

Before she could even finish the question, Lorelei drew a swift circle in the air. The new portal opened to reveal a cozy, circular library, lit by a crackling log fire as well as the warm glow of a gas lamp. The room was filled with towering piles of books and papers, high wooden bookshelves that stretched up for multiple stories … and the Archduke of Estarion himself, studying an ancient-looking manuscript at the closest table while a crow napped by his elbow.

“Yoo-hoo!” Lorelei caroled through the portal, waking the crow up with a jerk. “Felix, darling, we’ve brought your lovely consort back to you perfectly safe and sound. Don’t worry—she wasn’t injured in the slightest when she marched into the Emperor’s own winter palace in Fiora tonight and took on a whole squadron of his guards!”

“Why, you—!” Queen Saskia’s mouth dropped open in outrage.

Giggling, Lorelei leapt forward to push her taller friend through the portal. She snapped it shut while Saskia was still sputtering in the library beyond.

Queen Ailana sighed and shook her head as she turned to Gerard. “You’ve always seemed such a reasonable man, General. Are you aware of what a menace your new consort truly is?”

Gerard smiled as he tucked Lorelei once more against his side, where his mischievous partner belonged. “Your Majesty,” he said gravely, “I will look forward to working with all of you, beginning tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” she agreed with a regal nod.

Lorelei was already drawing a new portal in the air with dancing, multicolored sparkles that were nearly as eye-catching and irrepressible as she was herself. Gerard stepped through them without a second thought and felt the closest sparkles cling to his hair and coat like a welcome brand.

The room they landed in was familiar—Lorelei’s bedroom in the private lodge where she had first brought him—but Lorelei’s sudden gasp startled him into full attention. He followed her shocked gaze to the bed, where a single golden arrow had been laid across one pink silk pillowcase.

Gerard’s eyebrows rose as he turned back to her. “Was there some clause I missed in the rules for the Tournament of Leaves?”

“Oh, no. We certainly didn’t win. We couldn’t have. But…” Lorelei’s smile wobbled as tears glistened in her eyes. “I believe that must be a message from my mother.”

“Ah.” There was a good deal to unpack in that statement—something important had clearly passed between the two of them while he was gone—but even as Lorelei dashed the tears from her eyes, relief was paramount in every weary line of her body. So Gerard set aside that conversation for later and made his chest a wall that she could lean against tonight.

Tomorrow, they would talk over everything that lay ahead, both for them and for the continent as a whole. Hard consequences would inevitably follow tonight’s victory, along with challenging new battles to fight. War was coming, and for the first time in years, Gerard couldn’t be certain that he would stand on the winning side of that battlefield, with all of the Empire’s forces mounted against him rather than under his command.

Tonight, though, after so many years, he and Lorelei were finally together—not only as partners for a single tournament, but for the rest of their lives. Whatever came next, they would face it all together …

And that night, when he dreamed, she was at his side again.

Lorelei recognized that vast stone hall immediately. She grabbed Gerard’s hand in hers before he could take a single step forward to be claimed by Jovar.

“You can’t have him for your hall of heroes yet!” she announced into that endless, echoing hush. “He’s mine for the rest of our lives. You’ll have to wait!”

Standing beside her, Gerard cleared his throat. “Lorelei … who are you talking to?”

“Can’t you tell?” She snorted, waving her free hand at the stone statues in frozen procession around them. “We’ve been summoned here because I dared to flout a direction from your god.”

“Summoned into a summer garden?” He frowned down at her.

She blinked up at him. “I beg your pardon?”

As they stared at each other in mutual incomprehension, the scene shifted around her … and, from Gerard’s start of surprise, around him as well.

Suddenly, the stone hall didn’t look nearly so austere.

Green vines climbed lovingly around the statues. Scented flowers bloomed and hung from the high ceiling. And, spotlighted at the far end of the hall, an immense, stern, and bearded divine presence cracked a miraculous smile, while the shining goddess who rested in His arms laughed out loud, the sound of Her open delight filling the hall with joy.

Lorelei’s mouth dropped open. “You two have been planning this together all along?”

Gerard, always more sensible, was already on his knees and tugging her hand to join him.

Still staring, she lowered herself to the ground. Soft green moss covered the hard stone floor, cushioning her knees, and Sylvana’s breath brushed over them both in answer.

“PARTNERS.”