Chapter 15
Dragons soared overhead, their magnificent wings flapping as they carried boulders on their scaled backs.
The singetail, Yvarro I’d recently learned his name was, let the boulder roll down his back onto his tail, then flicked it up into the air.
It landed on top of another boulder, my castle being slowly rebuilt piece by piece.
Fire people wielded their fire magic far below, searing the rock together.
Others used shovels and picks to hack away at the mountain.
I wiped the sweat off my brow and turned my attention back to the part of the mountain I worked on.
This wasn’t only going to be my castle. It would be a safe haven for everyone who wanted to come.
We weren’t just building a home for me; we were building a new capital for Gilraeth.
The mountain would make not only a good home, but a good fortress with all its hidden cracks, crevices, and caves.
I dug my shovel into the ground, gritting my teeth as I heard the loud crash of another big boulder landing.
“You know, you don’t have to do this,” a voice said from behind me.
I turned and smiled at Madden, my heart jumping at the sight of him: bronze skin, brown hair, piercing eyes. His muscles gleamed under the bright sunlight.
“What kind of queen would I be if I expected my people to build my own castle while I just sat and watched?”
He swept me up into his arms, and my breath caught in my throat. “You’d be like every other ruler.”
“Exactly. Not worthy of my people.”
He chuckled, the sound low, rumbling through his chest. I pushed away from him. “You’re supposed to be working in the caves.”
Madden had taken a team to explore the caves, create maps of them, and to connect them. I wanted a good network of underground tunnels we could use should the need ever arise.
Sorrengard was coming. I didn’t know when they’d strike, but they’d sent Helena here for a reason. That meant they had other spies in other courts.
A few fire people stood nearby, staring blatantly at Madden. They didn’t trust him yet, and I understood. He’d done terrible things as a mercenary, but he’d prove himself yet. And they trusted me, which was all that mattered.
Madden pressed a kiss to my head.
I turned to him. “Are you ready to be my king?”
He shook his head, and my heart sank, stomach twisting.
“I won’t be your king, but I will be your commander, your trusted advisor, your husband.”
My heart stuttered at that. Husband.
Madden gestured to all the people working on the side of the mountain. “They won’t accept me as king, nor should they. I don’t deserve the title, but Gilraeth doesn’t need a king. Not when we already have such a strong queen.”
I smiled up to him, my fingers trailing up his chest. “Husband, huh?”
“It will be my most coveted title yet.”
“There you go assuming again,” I said, a smile in my voice.
He wrapped his arms around me and tightened his hold. “You’re mine as much as I am yours.”
I snuggled into him despite the searing heat outside. His body was like a furnace. Spirits below. I’d let him set me on fire. Consume me whole.
“Then we will be married,” I said. “After my coronation.”
“After we work together to rebuild Gilraeth.”
We broke apart, Madden grasping my hand as we turned and stared at out the fire court that spread out below: brown sand, orange stone, dunes, mountains for miles, as far as the eye could see. My court. My home.
Seraphina and Madden got their happily ever after, but to find out if the king of thieves finds his, get ready for book one of the Stolen Crowns series, Mirror of Malice, out now!
Snow White meets Robin Hood in a fairytale retelling where the princess gets kidnapped by an infamous thief and has to work with him to overthrow her stepmother—while not falling for her captor in the process.