"You have made me proud, daughter," Chief Topher praised while stroking Nerina's cheek with a calloused thumb.Nerina stood before her father in the middle of her chambers still, unmoving. Barely thirty minutes ago, she was being dressed by Delia and three other maids who fussed over the perfect style for her hair and made last-minute adjustments to the elegant, sweeping dress she was to wear.In an hour, she would be one step closer to finalizing her goal. What she and her father had always wanted—what he had whispered into her ears from the day she could walk."Thank you, Father," Nerina responded with a smirk. To avoid prying ears, she had cast a net of her power around the room so that their conversation would not be heard by anyone."I was not quite sure that you could pull it off.""It is very refreshing to hear of your unwavering trust in me, dear Father," Nerina drawled, recoiling from his touch as she walked around him to sit by her dressing table.She turned her head to the

It was bad enough that Daegal was ensnared to a liar but now, he also had to pretend that everything was fine as he held Nerina's firm, yet delicate hand in a gentle grasp and led her to the large balcony where they were to greet their subjects. Daegal struggled to keep the smile on his face, fought to act normal so there wouldn't be an inkling of suspicion from Nerina. However, he may have let some of the warring emotions raging inside him show on his face because Nerina tightened her grip on his hand and whispered. "Are you alright, love?" She asked in a sugary sweet tone and Daegal tried his best not to cringe away from it. "I am fine. I only..." Daegal trailed off as they stopped in front of the huge brass doors that held the balcony beyond. "I am tired, that is all. Everything is exhausting." Nerina gave him an encouraging look and it bothered Daegal as he wondered how she was able to fill in Naomi's shoes like it was nothing. Naomi was great at impersonating Nerina but there

'Nothing is ever easy...' Daegal thought as he twirled the bronze dagger in his hand, studying the way the light streaming in from the windows in his study bounced off the shiny blade. The air crackled with sparks of magic as he phased the blade in and out of existence. Making it disappear and then materializing it out of thin air. He ran his finger along the slender length of the beautiful weapon. It had taken Daegal fifteen days in total to craft the dagger. Three days went into steeling himself to become a maker again since the last weapon he made fell into the hands of a now-dead greedy battle commander and nearly wiped out a small village on the outskirts of Estoria. The better parts of the two days were dedicated to learning the spells with Azriel while avoiding Nerina's advances with the excuse of being busy with the affairs of the continent and also planning for the war. As for the war, he spent some hours with his Master of war and the commanders but spared hours to study

"I believe I should leave now," Azriel muttered with a small smile on his face but neither Daegal nor Naomi paid him any attention. So, he crept away and silently shut the door behind him.Daegal held onto Naomi—afraid that she would slip out of his hands again and be lost to him. He kissed her fiercely, tangling his fingers in her hair, and crushed her body to his, feeling the soft planes and curves of her against the hard muscles of his torso.There was nothing else that mattered except her and the stars exploding all around and raining down their droplets of fire on him.Naomi was there with him. Not trapped within the bottomless depths of Nerina's power or the cold inferno that enveloped her moments before—the full realization brought Daegal immense relief. His panic and fear were washed away the instant he gazed into the light swirls of her eyes and witnessed the life contained in them.Daegal didn't want to be separated from her not in this lifetime or the next but the need for

"You love me?" Naomi repeated slowly, still tingling from their mind-numbing escapade. Naomi yelped as Daegal grabbed and pulled her on top of him. When they were flush against each other, she lifted herself a bit and began tracing patterns on his broad chest with her fingers. Daegal pushed her raven-black hair away from her face and gazed into her eyes. "Of course, I do." He paused and then continued after a heartbeat. "You are as lovely as the day I lost you... I never want to lose you again, Naomi. Ever." "You won't." Naomi placed a chaste kiss on his lips. "I promise." A moment later, she spoke again. "This is the first time, you know?" "What is?" Daegal questioned, brows knitted together. Biting her lips, Naomi murmured, "It's the first time you're telling me that you love me." Daegal chuckled and sat up, back against the headboard. Naomi adjusted herself and straddled him. "It is not. But the time that I did, you were not..." He looked her over. "... You." "Damn. She got