*LYCIA*My heart felt like it would beat out of its cage and run all the way back to Amoret. Amoret was a small coven, so its population was small too, but with the way things had been in Darrow, I didn’t know how to face such a gigantic crowd.“Nervous?” Mom asked, coming to my side where I had been waiting to be called to greet the crowd of Darrow.“How could I not be? There are more than a thousand people out there waiting to see me, and millions more watching me back at their homes,” I said, feeling the anxiety eat at my nerves. "I knew what was coming for me, yet when I peeked out and saw it in reality, it was unbelievable. I can’t believe I am a part of the royalty of such a big kingdom."“Regretting being mates with that boy now?” she asked with a wicked smile on her face. She was teasing me and enjoying seeing me squirm, as if taunting me to have listened to her and stayed within the protective walls of the coven.“Never,” I admitted, “I almost died, fought a crazy manic culti

*LYCIA*So maybe I was wrong. The reason why Mom wasn’t worried wasn’t because she had been hiding her fears; it was because she had been working on it. So far, she had put ten tracker witches on Alora’s case to find her, and although they hadn’t been successful, she had been putting all her time and energy into bringing her out of whichever hold she had been hidden in.“It feels weird to be back here,” I commented from my spot on my bed, where I had been lying flat on my belly while Seff was seated on the sofa of my room, holding a cushion to his chest and taking in the room.We had decided to stay the night at the palace yesterday after the ceremony and had only returned back home just two minutes ago after having breakfast with Roz and freshened up.“Yeah, it does, but also kind of nostalgic and comfortable,” he said, picking at a stain on the wall of my lipstick form when I had once thrown it at him, and the stick had smeared red on the wall. “I can’t believe so much time has pass

*LYCIA*"I can't believe you would be the first one to get married among all of us," Esme said, adjusting my veil so that it framed my face better."Hey, don't forget you were the one who wanted me to get into a serious relationship. I merely adhered to my best friend's request," I said, making her pout at me."Don't think that just because you made me your bridesmaid I will forgive you for keeping that secret about the spirit from me," she said, clicking her tongue in disapproval. "That isn't something you hide. You should always come to me first when something happens. I want to be there for you.""I've already apologized a million times for it. Please let it go for today," I groaned, her action reminding me of Reemus. The two were similar in that they both held a mean grudge.She grinned at my expression and then, facing forward, she said, "By the way, you look really sexy! Seff is going to lose his mind."Suddenly, there was a cough behind us, making her look embarrassedly at my d