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“Yes, very glad,” Zander agrees, trembling a little as his pupils elongate, and Maelyn rubs his arm vigorously.
She’s trying to keep him grounded. Meaning, she’s preventing an involuntary shift. Zander’s experiencing a surge of emotion so strong he might turn into his griffin form in this very room.
Wouldn’t that be a party foul.
“Go back to the celebration,” I urge them. “We’ll have plenty of time to catch up later.”
Reluctantly, they do, and a staff member tells us our room is ready.
However, before we leave this spot, I want to bask in the moment.
The joy of this minute.
And the minute after.
And the minute after that.
From here on out, the present will be fully appreciated.
I won’t wish a second away because Kai and I have each other, people who love us, and most importantly, self-love.
It came hard earned, but it’s ours, and no one can take that away from us.
Eleven months and three weeks later
Kai
Ilove mornings with Ro the most. Don’t get me wrong, every hour we spend together is amazing, but these quiet moments are my favorite.
I like it when the happenings of the day haven’t played out yet, and the possibilities are plentiful. It’s fun to decide if we should be adventurous or if we should stay right here in our favorite spot—the honorary suite in the City Hall of Sterling.
This is the best place for us to stay when we need temporary lodging.
Ro and I had discussed getting a home here, but it would be impractical because we simply have too many places to go. We’re constantly packing up and preparing for our next vacation.
In the past year, we’ve zigzagged around Valora in a magical tour.
First, we went to the Day Realm to have a proper reunion with our family. Initially, Ro had been worried being there would stir up bad memories for both of us, but on the contrary, it was healing. We got to experience what it’s like to feel safe in the place where our worst nightmares occurred, and we swapped bad memories with good ones.
Plus, we got some much-needed therapy. One of the abducted human women who decided to stay in Valora after being taken by a snatcher has a background in counseling. She’s been working at the medical center in the mental health department Queen Maelyn set up in Hailene. Admittedly, it was strange to talk about my feelings in the beginning, but I always leave our sessions feeling lighter. It seems to help Ro a lot, too, so we plan to keep regular appointments.
After our three-month-long stay in the Day Realm, we went to the Dream Realm where King Damon and his family welcomed us with open arms. I got to show Ro the glowing castle built out of bricks mined from the Meteor Mountains, and we watched the sky light up with green and pink streaks at dawn and dusk. During our visit to the Enchanted Forest near the palace, Ro met a bunch of sprites. The little creatures fell in love with her, just like I knew they would.
Last, we stopped in the Night Realm where we were served honeysuckle wine and butterscotch pudding in excess. King Kirian was a great host, and we even got to go to one of the largest gnome communities where Ro received a lot of hugs. I mean, a lot. Hundreds. And when we left, all the little people gave us the thumbs-up salute of respect.
In between our trips, we always come back here, where we have as much privacy as we want. Of course we enjoyed spending time with the royals, and Ro has become close friends with the other queens, but we value our alone time, too.
Unfortunately, our time is running out.
Our luggage is packed and stacked against the far wall, but we’re not headed for another castle or enchanted territory because…
As if Ro can read my mind, she’s a bit morose when she finishes my thought. “We only have a week left.”
I sigh. “I know.”
“Evacuations start tomorrow.”
Dawn shines through the bedroom window. The peachy glow casts the most serene light over everything around us, contrasting the gloomy conversation.
