Her voice shifts. A shadow passes through it.
“We were lucky,” she says quietly, blinking hard as if to clear away memories pressing in.
“Things were harder elsewhere, weren’t they?”
I’ve learned parts of the timeline—the Fade, the famine, the wars. The birth of the young princess, so celebrated. The hope of a new era. Everything I’ve heard tells me it’s been a long and arduous climb to the Caerhollan of today. And it makes me even more proud of Vale’s efforts to continue healing this kingdom.
“For many, yes,” she says after a pause. “And for too long.”
Her fingers trail along the sill, pausing where the stone has worn smooth with time.
“That’s why I tend things. Rooms. People. The earth. I think when something survives, it deserves care.”
I cherish seeing this side of my friend. Yes, she acts as my lady’s maid, but to me she is so much more.
I’m grateful she’ll be joining us on the journey. We’re keeping the party small—at least by royal standards. With the council largely reassured that the attack during the ceremony was the isolated act of a madman, we’ve been permitted to travel with only a limited guard.
A honeymoon should be intimate. Private. But as queen, I’m expected to have attendants. I insisted that Soria would be more than enough. And it wasn’t difficult to convince Ace to join us—his presence makes the group feel balanced. Quietly, I hope his company helps Soria enjoy herself as my friend, not only in her duties.
Preparations have moved swiftly since Vale and I began to plan. Work is underway here and at the manor in the Jewel, with word already sent ahead of our arrival.
I breathe a long sigh of relief. Even with the public statement about the assailant, tension has lingered within the palace walls. Guards shadow my steps more closely—through the halls and outside the sanctuaries I once found comfort in. The conservatory feels less like a refuge. The library, less like a retreat.
Thankfully, no one expects me in the Solarium or other social spaces. A mercy of being newlywed.
With Soria off ensuring everything reaches the manor before us, I linger in my old chambers. The bed—our bed for so many nights—feels strangely empty now. Not lonely, just… relinquished. A chapter closed the moment I became his wife.
Wife.
The word still catches me off guard. I never imagined my life bending toward marriage—let alone marriage to a king. A flutter rises in my stomach, a blend of awe and nerves and something impossibly tender.
I trail my hand across the coverlet, remembering the nights Vale and I claimed each other here—the quiet between us, the heat, the belonging.
It should be simple joy. But the world hasn’t stilled.
Not really.
The happiness is real—exquisitely real.
So is the fear that shadows it.
Before the feeling can settle, I rise. Resolve has carried me throughevery change in my life; it carries me now. I move through the rest of the day with purpose, letting each task fall neatly into place. The worry never quite fades—but it softens at the edges, held at bay by the promise of tomorrow.
When evening comes and Vale returns, his arms enveloping me, the tightness in my chest eases. He doesn’t even need to speak.
He is the quiet in the storm, and I anchor myself to that truth.
Tomorrow, we ride.
Tomorrow, we breathe again.
Whatever awaits at the manor—joy, fear, answers, danger—I will face it with him. That is the truth I hold onto as night gives way to dawn and tomorrow becomes this very moment.
Horses neighing, the scent of hay and fresh-cut wood—I latch onto it all. Let it anchor me. Let it pull me out of the tangle of nerves coiled beneath my ribs.
This is our honeymoon. I remind myself of that fact like a prayer.
Vale murmurs to Bracken, stroking the stallion’s neck, and the sight steadies me more than I expect. It still feels unreal—precious in a way that almost aches. I pushed and fought and clawed my way through fear and prophecy and blood to reach this life… and now that I am here, truly here, married to a man I love beyond measure, a quiet terror whispers that it could all slip away.
