LOGINWe left the king’s chambers, and to my surprise, we didn’t go down—we went up, climbing a spiral staircase into some tower. There were several doors there, and we stopped in front of one of them.“This is, in a way, my armory. But about it…” Kays paused, thinking, “…no one knows. There’s no access here.”When he placed his hand against the door, his palm glowed—and the door simply vanished. At my whispered “wow,” we stepped inside the small room. It was modest in size, like a storage chamber, but everything inside was perfectly orderly.There were no windows—only several shelves lined with various items.I’ll admit, I expected to see massive axes, muskets, firearms, blades, swords, and bombs—but not what I actually saw. Resting peacefully on the shelves were amulets, pendants, and rings of all kinds of colors.“This looks more like your jewelry box,” I snort, examining the glittering trinkets.“Appearances can be very deceiving at times,” Kays smirks. “Minerals, metals, and stones hav
“Nice talk, smooth operator,” I still grumble.“What’s a ‘smooth operator’?” he asks, and I roll my eyes.“Nothing. This world wouldn’t understand it.”“Iza, what are you even imagining now?” Kays sighs, gives up, pulls on his trousers, then gently wraps me in his arms, lifting my chin so I look at him. “We’re fighting over something that doesn’t even exist. Why?”“It’s just… I love you so much that I’m scared… scared you’ll regret being with me… scared you proposed out of a sense of duty—for lifting the curse…”I’m cut off by my beloved’s demanding lips crashing into mine.“Thinking really is bad for girls,” he smirks slightly as he pulls back. “No sense of duty would ever make me marry a woman I don’t love! And I definitely don’t plan to regret my decision. In fact, I’m counting on you giving me a few more beautiful little prepedollies and some brave princes,”At that statement, my eyes nearly pop out of my head.“I’m not a little boy who doesn’t know what he wants—I’m a very mature
How wonderful it is to wake up in the morning wrapped in the strong, warm arms of my fiancé.How did I ever live without them before?After yesterday’s proposal, we loved each other for a long time—in the water, on the blanket beneath myriads of stars, and, it seems, in the bedroom after we returned. By then I was already almost out of strength and remember it all rather vaguely. I just know it was good. Very good—even half-asleep.And yet, despite all that, I can feel that his magic wand is charged again and full of energy. I wonder—does he use magic to make it stand so proudly, or did I just end up with a superman? Or is everyone like that here?“What’s my bride thinking about so early in the morning?” my fiancé asks lazily, pulling me even closer to his club.“Oh, nothing special—girly things,” I wave it off. I’m not about to admit I’m wondering how other men in this world manage their morning erections.“Go back to sleep. Thinking is bad for girls,” Kays mutters drowsily.“Sleep?
“Come on, just a little more, and I’ll take off the blindfold,” my man says, leading me by the hand.“Before you murder me somewhere in the bushes, remember—I broke your curse, by the way!”I hear Kays let out a heavy sigh.“Don’t get your hopes up. I might fuck you—but for that, I need you alive.”“Oh! I’m not against that!” I laugh. With this man, I’m never against it.“Alright—one more step… and that’s it.”Kays unties the blindfold, and I fall into absolute rapture.We were standing on a small ledge before a vast lake, surrounded by the most breathtaking forest scenery. The sun was already setting, casting orange reflections across the water. But that wasn’t what stunned me most.At the bottom of the lake lay millions of small stones—and larger ones too—glowing in different colors, creating an utterly unreal picture.“Kays, this is incredible!” I squeal with delight, taking in this natural wonder. “Look—there are even schools of fish visible!”I turn toward my beloved and lose my
No matter how good we felt in each other’s arms, the affairs of the kingdom did not stand still and required Kays’s involvement. For more than a week, we had barely left the bed, but a king must rule and receive various audiences.Kays didn’t want to let me go even for the duration of his so-called work. He sat upon the throne and received visitors, while I remained at his side, within his field of vision. Sitting on the queen’s throne felt far too pompous—and besides, I wasn’t a queen yet. No one had even hinted at that. So I chose a seat not far from the throne, at a small table, and studied that book and many others while Karadeylis ruled Virolia. Very often I caught the studying, mischievous glance of his gray eyes, but the moment I stuck my tongue out at him, Kays would smile and refocus on whatever his subjects were telling him.There were many visitors. First came reports from his scouts and guards about the situation in the kingdom. And there was little good news—magical creat
“I saw her and couldn’t tear my eyes away. The brunette captivated my mind and refused to leave it. She turned out to be an orphan and was helping a local farmer with his goods. I started visiting the market more often, and that’s how everything began. We confessed our feelings to each other, and I wanted to make her my wife. My parents were not impressed at all—Bahira had no family or home. Laverna wasn’t exactly thrilled about my first love either, though she pretended to tolerate it. We secretly married in an ordinary temple, and the next day we appeared before my relatives as husband and wife. Oh, what a scandal that was!”I think I know exactly what kind of scandal it was. Clearly, that was the very one I saw in my dreams.“At that time, our lands were constantly under attack, and my marriage only added to my parents’ worries. I decided to prove myself in their eyes and gain magical power—to help defend our lands with magic and reduce the loss of lives. I knew there were certain







