Page 67

As we make our way through the castle, lords and ladies keep stopping us to greet the kings. And every time, the men introduce me. Their betrothed. Their future queen.

At first, I'm terrified.

These people are so elegant. So polished. They congratulate me. They ask about the wedding. They ask where I'm from and who my family is, and I don't know what to say. I don't know how to talk to people like this.

But the men never leave my side.

Rhydian leans down and whispers wicked little observations in my ear. That lord over there wears a wig. That lady has buried three husbands and is looking for a fourth. That duke once fell in a fountain at a ball and has never lived it down. I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing in their faces.

Kaelen stays close beside me. Every time I look uncertain, his hand finds some part of me. "You're doing fine," he murmurs.

And Zarek. Zarek introduces me to every single person like I'm the most extraordinary woman who's ever walked the earth. He says my name with so much pride in his voice.

Slowly, I start to relax. I'm not alone. I'm never going to have to face anything alone again.

Finally, Zarek turns to the crowd of nobles gathering around us. "The wedding arrangements can wait," he tells them. "There's something I want to show my bride first."

He carries me away from the busy halls. The others follow. We go through a quiet corridor, then a heavy door, and then up a staircase that winds around and around and around inside a tower.

And up. And up.

"Was this really necessary?" Rhydian complains halfway up. "Couldn't you have picked somewhere a little less exhausting for your grand romantic gesture?"

"You could always fly," Kaelen points out.

"Inside a staircase?"

"I'd pay to watch you try."

"Rude. Very rude."

"You're both children," Zarek says, not even out of breath, with me still in his arms.

There's an enormous set of carved wooden doors. Zarek pushes them open with his shoulder and sets me gently on my feet.

I step outside and stop. It's a balcony. A wide stone balcony at the very top of the tallest tower, open to the sky. And spread out below it is the whole kingdom.

The city stretches out beneath me. Rooftops sparkle in the late sun. Ribbons and garlands fill the streets with color, and I can see tiny people gathering in the squares around the solstice trees. Beyond the city, forests roll out toward the horizon. Rivers wind through valleys, glinting like silver threads. And far away, at the very edge of the world, there are mountains.

My mountains, maybe. Somewhere out there is a little cabin with a garden that stays green in winter.

It's beautiful. It's so beautiful I can't speak.

Zarek comes to stand beside me. Rhydian and Kaelen join us on my other side.

"All of this," Zarek says quietly, "is yours now, too."

I turn to look at him.

"Not because you belong to us," he says. "But because we choose to share everything we have with you. Everything. Our kingdoms. Our homes. Our lives."

I look out over the city again.

It's too much. It's so much more than I ever dreamed of. More than I could ever have asked for.

I turn and kiss Zarek. Then Rhydian. Then Kaelen. Long and slow, every one of them. I want them to know. I want them to feel how much they mean to me.

But when I turn back to the view, something small and cold creeps into my happiness.