Chapter 35 #2
Daemon turned, faced the Ellesian king. “I’ll go in Nik’s place—for a term.
And after someone smarter than I am has gone over the contract.
” He looked away from Stefanos, toward her and Nik.
Never had she seen a smile like that on his lips—soft, almost affectionate.
He looked, in that moment, more like his father than he ever had before.
“I think I’d appreciate some time away, honestly.
And you’ll have your Aflame king. Nik is strong enough to rule Fjordlandi’s volcanoes, and the others can teach him anything he doesn’t know yet by instinct. ”
Nik sucked in a breath, and Kyrja knew he was wrestling with more feelings than he knew what to do with.
So was she. And yet, she could understand why Daemon would want this.
So long, he’d been a slave to Helviti. Even though now he was free, it would be difficult, she had to think, to watch the newest member of his family take his place beside her, as he clearly knew she meant for Nik to do.
He’d likely have felt displaced, maybe even resentful in a way.
“You.” Stefanos reeled back a few inches, eyes widening just a bit. “Were you in fact the first? Seraph-born, like Queen Arden?”
“Seraph…sired. Yes. Human mother, seraph father.”
Stefanos considered him for a moment, just long enough for three different Aflame to shout his name in dismay.
“I accept the offer,” Stefanos interjected quickly, silencing the objections.
“So then, terms. Ten years in Ellas, perhaps? With a private dwelling built into our volcano for you, but daily work with our scientists. And a considerable stipend for your help, of course.”
Perla somehow stole the attention simply by crossing her arms. “Don’t be ridiculous.
Ten years is far too long—the man’s never been away from Helviti for a day since he was Awakened.
I think a year is a perfectly reasonable exchange.
You were willing to give away nearly half your kingdom for six months studying my mother, if you recall. ”
Stefanos sighed. “Perla, I am beginning to regret the day I met you.”
Daemon snorted a laugh. “Common sentiment, I think.”
She elbowed the Aflame none too gently in the ribs. “Do I have to tell you again to shut up, Daemon, when someone’s trying to help you?”
“Five years,” Stefanos said. “And a million kronia for your trouble, paid out over the term in equal increments.”
Perla shook her head. “Two years.”
“Four.”
Her grin looked positively mischievous. “Three years ten months.”
Daemon, for a reason Kyrja couldn’t follow, rolled his eyes and shook his head, muttering something she couldn’t catch.
Stefanos frowned a bit, clearly not any more sure why she was quibbling over two months than the rest of them were. “All right. Does the princess’s negotiation work for you, primal?”
“Four years is fine.” Daemon spat it at Perla.
She lifted her chin. “Three years ten months, Your Majesty.”
Stefanos chuckled. “You choose interesting lines, princess. But primal, if you want to stay an extra two months, we certainly won’t argue.” He turned back to Kyrja and Nik. “Shall we draw up the Accords?”
Kyrja nodded. She let the crowds sweep her toward the palace, leaving her father’s body in the charge of the Vektors who emerged—they’d handle moving him to the palace.
Soon, there would be another state funeral in the Grand Kyrka.
Another family member to mourn, with a grief even more complicated than the last.
She greeted Dania when her friend finally pushed through the gathering at the palace steps, drew her in for an embrace. “There’s so much to tell you,” she murmured.
Dania gave a choked laugh. “There certainly is. For me too—just wait until you hear what Sven and his students have come up with for Fjordlandi now that they know they’re free to speak of it.
” She drew back, silver-and-gold hair blowing into her face.
“Later. For now, you need a long bath and a good dinner. Doctor’s orders. ”
Kyrja felt a tired smile creep onto her lips. “Yes, doctor.” She let Dania lead her to the palace, to her room, only half-listening to her friend’s easy chatter as she bathed, changed, and waved away the maid who offered to do her hair.
Dania smoothed the damp curls and studied Kyrja’s reflection in the mirror.
“Sometimes, when I look at you, I can’t believe we were girls together.
You should have smile lines just like me.
A few strands of silver sneaking into your hair.
Then I remember who you are. Who you were always meant to be.
And instead, I can’t believe that my best friend is the queen I’ve prayed for all my life. ”
Kyrja gripped Dania’s hand where it rested on her shoulder. “Honestly? I can’t believe it either. Until the attack, I thought I was only what Krystiana said—pretty and useless.”
“Pretty, yes. But definitely not useless.” Dania grinned and pulled away, took a step for the door. “Tomorrow’s inoculation day in the clinic—but I can come with Sven the next day, if you’re ready to resume what he’s dubbed the Great Conversation.”
Kyrja chuckled at the name. “I’ll be ready. Goodnight, Dania—give my love to your girls.”
Dania pressed her fingertips to her lips and slipped out the door.
Kyrja stood, then wobbled. Her adrenaline had ebbed, and exhaustion set in.
But her day wasn’t finished quite yet. She slipped out of her room, scarcely paying any attention as Viggo led her along the corridor, not really pausing to consider their surroundings until they’d bypassed the reception room they’d been using, and behind whose doors she heard familiar voices.
“Viggo?”
Her head Vektor sent her a smile. “Just a small detour, Majesty. I think you’ll approve.” He opened a set of glass doors at the end of the hallway and bowed her through, onto a little balcony.
The night sky was clear beyond it, the first stars just peeking out, the aurora dancing—clear skies had seemed a fitting end to a day with so many storms, so she’d sent the clouds scattering as she neared Reykstoll.
And there, a dark silhouette against the not-as-dark night, was Nik. She smiled and moved toward him, hands outstretched.
He took them, raised them, kissed her knuckles on first one hand then the other. Then guided her arms around his neck and settled his around her waist. “I thought I’d steal a moment of your time before there’s more official business.”
Kyrja relaxed against him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. “You can steal all the moments you want.”
“Well then.” He kissed her, his lips soft and inviting, but then pulled away.
Dropped to his knees. “I bent the knee to you as my queen, Valkyrja. And would do so again today, tomorrow, forever. But you’re more than the queen of Fjordlandi—you’re the queen of my heart.
I want to spend my life at your side. Will you be my wife?
Will you build a family with me as we build a new Fjordlandi together? ”
“Nikanor…yes.” Emotion clogged her throat, but she swallowed it down. “As long as you’ll be not only my husband but the king ruling beside me. I don’t ever want to do this alone.”
“Never alone—even if we’re separated, by death or distance, you’ll never be alone, my love.” He stood again, wrapped his arms around her, then nodded toward the light-streaked sky.
Focus. She saw the stars winking down, the aurora pulsing, the endless dark beyond it—and she knew he was right. The Giver wasn’t just up in Himmel, watching them. He was here, sending his Song, guiding their land. Guiding their hearts.
Will. She would align hers with their Creator’s first, and then with Nik’s. They’d build a life, a kingdom that wasn’t about the Challenge or Proving their might, wasn’t about domination and strength. They’d build a home founded on love and family.
Act. She came up on her toes and caught Nik’s lips with hers. Tonight, tomorrow, forever. They’d forge a land of ice and fire. A nation of equals. A family.
She could hardly wait to see where the Giver would take them.