LOGINMILAOur 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
I bit back a snarky comment about Nadine’s typical selfish behavior and fought the urge to roll my eyes.“The attic is fine,” I managed.“Well, come on in,” my mother said, stepping aside so that I could make my way through the doorway. “Your father and sister are in the kitchen. I’m sure they will
MILAI spent the rest of the day in bed.As I fell in and out of sleep, all I could see was Felix’s face the last time I saw him. The haunted eyes. The deep frown. The heartbroken slump of his shoulders.And although he was now only a few miles away, he felt farther away than ever.Towards the end o
MILAI had only been at my parents’ house for a week and I already wanted to leave.I was responsible for all of the cleaning, yardwork, grocery shopping, and general errands, while Nadine insisted on ordering food every night instead of letting me cook. I was constantly sore, sweaty, and tired, and
I felt a twinge of fear deep in my abdomen–faint, far away, but clear and steady. Mila. “She’s far away,” I exclaimed, not even caring what I was saying out loud at this point. “I can feel it.” Joseph nodded once, then leaned in to whisper: “Prepare the dragons. I’ll cover the ground.” We stal







