Dawn broke over the north.
The crystallized snow glistened as the sun slowly rose above the mountains. The only sounds were the faint crackling of ice and the soft whistle of wind cutting through the air.
Seraphina swung her sword downward, her reddened cheeks glistening with sweat as she moved through her practiced forms. Snow crunched beneath her boots, nearly drowned out by the sound of her breathing as pale clouds billowed from her lips.
She had managed only a few hours of sleep, still irritable and tense from the day before.
The meeting had gone awry, and after another hour of pointless bickering and threats of fights, she had finally called it off and left. She had wanted to see Aurelian afterward, but yet another urgent matter had demanded her attention. By the time she finally retired for the night, her fiancé had already fallen asleep.
She had found him in his chair, a book resting open in his lap and a peaceful expression on his face. Careful not to wake him, Seraphina had lifted him with ease and carried the tall man to bed.
Feeling his lean body in her arms had only renewed her concern that he seemed far too easy to break. He was hardly a fragile man, she knew, yet the thought of anything happening to him left an unpleasant tightness in her chest.
Seraphina swung her sword once more, bringing the blade to a sharp stop before lowering it.
By then, the sun had climbed farther above the mountain peak. Satisfied with her morning training, she sheathed her weapon and headed back toward the fortress.
The halls were already busy by the time she returned. Servants cleaned the windows, replaced linens, dusted furniture, and prepared the fortress for another day. They bowed as she passed, and Seraphina acknowledged them with brief nods, though her mind remained elsewhere.
After a quick bath and a change into more leisurely clothes, Seraphina found herself standing outside Aurelian's door.
She gave it two sharp knocks.
A noise came from inside, and a moment later, the door opened.
Joshua answered with a confused expression, only to freeze when he saw the duchess standing before him.
"Y-your G—!"
Seraphina quickly shushed him, and he clamped his mouth shut.
"Is he up?" she asked quietly.
Joshua nodded before opening the door a little wider, allowing her to see into the room.
Aurelian stood on the opposite side, his bare chest exposed as he pulled off his nightshirt. He had failed to notice her arrival and continued toward the wardrobe to prepare for the day.
Joshua's face flushed with embarrassment as Aurelian remained completely unaware that the duchess was standing outside his room.
"I have to go to the greenhouse today," Aurelian said as he swung open the wardrobe. "I need as many layers as possible."
He nodded to himself before beginning to pull out several articles of clothing.
"My lord." Joshua coughed into his fist. "You have a visitor."
"Is it Emma?" Aurelian asked casually.
He turned toward Joshua—and the guest standing beside him.
Then froze.
Seraphina stepped into the room.
She wore her usual simple black clothing, though it was far more relaxed than what Aurelian normally saw her in. The neckline left her collarbones exposed, and her silver hair fell freely around her shoulders instead of being arranged in an updo or intricate braids.
Seeing her dressed so comfortably made his heart race. There was something almost intimate about witnessing her without the formality she so often carried, as though he were being allowed to see a side of her that the rest of the world rarely did.
"Good morning," she greeted gently as she approached him. "I apologize for not being able to come see you yesterday."
She sounded almost dejected, and Aurelian's stomach fluttered.
"N-no, it's fine. You are rather busy, and I understand that." He spoke quietly, matching her tone. "Are you taking a day off?"
"I will be." She paused, her eyes flickering down to his bare chest before quickly returning to his face. "I would like to spend the day with you. But I see you will be busy."
Pink immediately bloomed across his cheeks.
He had planned to venture out today.
Had planned to.
Aurelian swiftly turned back toward the wardrobe and began putting away the clothes he had pulled out. Instead, he reached for a simple shirt, trousers, and a pair of comfortable boots.
"I can go tomorrow."
The corner of Seraphina's mouth tugged upward, her eyes softening at how readily he had changed his plans.
"I would like to escort you to breakfast."
Aurelian nodded, a bright smile spreading across his face as he waved Joshua over. "Give me but a moment. I will be quick."
As the attendant hurried toward him, Seraphina stepped back and exited the room.
Just before she closed the door, she heard a startled gasp from inside.
"Oh, my light!"
He must have only just realized how much of himself he had shown her.
Seraphina chuckled.
In record time, the door opened again, and Aurelian stepped into the hall. He glanced around before spotting Seraphina leaning against the wall beside his door.
"Sorry for the wait."
The moment he remembered his state of undress from earlier, color rushed back into his face.
Seraphina pushed away from the wall, and before he could say anything more, her hand slipped into his.
The touch sent a shock through his arm, and when her fingers intertwined with his, his breath hitched.
Her hands were surprisingly smooth, he thought.
For a woman who held a sword every day, he could barely feel the calluses along her palm or fingertips. Perhaps it was because of the gloves she always wore.
Aurelian glanced down.
Oh.
She was not wearing gloves.
The realization alone made his head spin. There was nothing separating their skin, and she held his hand with such casual confidence that he wondered whether she understood what it was doing to him.
When he noticed her pale pink lips moving, he quickly snapped out of his thoughts and forced himself to listen.
"Did Maliha treat you well yesterday? She can be rather… exuberant."
"She did. Though she did try to coerce me into a spar in the indoor training room."
Seraphina's lips thinned.
"She is what I would call single-minded. It is as though her sole purpose for being born was to fight and cause trouble."
Aurelian smiled as he listened to her mildly complain about her vice commander. The subject eventually shifted to the meeting from the day before, earning a far more exasperated look from Seraphina.
She spoke about the endless arguing, the stubbornness of those involved, and how little had actually been accomplished despite the hours spent in discussion.
Aurelian listened quietly, still smiling.
For her to relax enough to complain about her day to him made him feel strangely special.
Seraphina was always so composed and guarded, carrying herself with an authority that made it impossible to forget her position. But right now, walking beside him and voicing her frustrations without restraint, she did not feel like Duchess Vaelmont.
She was simply Sera.
He even dared to think of her as his Sera.
The thought sent heat rushing up his neck and into his ears.
He truly had been jealous yesterday.
He was a grown man, for goodness' sake! This was hardly his first crush. Yet Seraphina was his first fiancée, and apparently, that distinction had rendered him incapable of behaving sensibly.
His fiancée.
The thought sent his mind reeling all over again.
By the time he finally managed to shake himself free of it, they had entered the dining room.
The long table was decorated with dark candlesticks and a vase of flowers that immediately caught his attention.
White sunflowers.
Aurelian stopped.
He had only ever seen illustrations of them in botany books. White sunflowers were far more difficult to cultivate than the yellow and golden varieties for which the flower was known, and he had never expected to encounter them so far north.
Seraphina smirked when she noticed him staring.
Thanks to one of her councilmen, she had learned of a small village to the southwest that managed to grow a modest field of them. She had purchased every available bloom and arranged for them to be placed throughout the fortress.
Seeing Aurelian completely captivated by the flowers made all the trouble worthwhile.
"We should eat."
Seraphina gave his hand a gentle tug, and the two took their seats at the table.
Rather than sitting across from him, Seraphina chose the chair beside Aurelian, close enough that their shoulders nearly brushed whenever either of them moved.
He could certainly hear the quiet chuckles coming from the staff as breakfast was served, though he did his best to ignore them.
An hour passed surprisingly quickly.
Conversation between them flowed naturally, with little teasing and almost no mention of work. For once, neither seemed in any hurry to be elsewhere. Aurelian found himself wishing their mornings could always be this peaceful, though he knew better than to expect such a luxury while the threat of war hung over the north.
When they finally left the dining room, both looked content.
Almost without thought, their hands found each other again.
They walked through the halls toward one of the rooms Aurelian had been especially eager to explore.
The scent of paper and ink greeted him the moment they entered the library.
Shelves several stories high lined the walls and stretched all the way to the ceiling, filled with more books than Aurelian could immediately count. A pair of desks occupied the center of the room, while a comfortable chair rested near the room's only window.
The window itself was enormous, with a ledge wide enough for someone to sit upon. Morning light poured through the glass, bright enough to illuminate nearly the entire library.
"The war and strategy manuals are in that corner." Seraphina pointed toward a slightly uneven stack of books tucked behind the chair.
She casually mentioned that they were part of the reading pile she intended to work through, but knowing he would be of little use with the subject, Aurelian wandered toward the other shelves instead.
Botany and gardening immediately caught his interest.
Other sections, such as politics and etiquette, made him shiver.
Lady Lockwood flashed through his mind, and he could practically hear her scolding him from miles away.
He pulled out several books, flipped through their pages, and returned the ones that failed to capture his attention.
Seraphina had already settled into her chair with her chosen book resting in her lap. By the time she opened the cover, Aurelian had reached the shelves beside her.
He continued browsing until his fingers stopped on a particularly thin volume.
Its binding was simple, and the faded calligraphy across the front had worn with age, though the title remained legible.
The Wolf Who Loved Only Once.
A children's book?
He had not expected to find one here, but his curiosity was immediately piqued.
Aurelian carefully carried the book to his newly claimed spot on the window ledge and sat down, drawing his knees toward his chest before opening the cover.
An illustration of a white wolf immediately caught his attention.
Once upon a time, as many fairy tales begin, a lonely wolf sat inside his cave and stared up at the full moon.
His eyes filled with tears, and he cried, "Oh, how I wish to be loved!"
He looked toward the moon and prayed, "Oh, Goddess of Light, please send my fated mate to me! I promise I will protect her with all my strength!"
The moon did not answer.
So the wolf continued to weep as he sat alone in his cave.
One day, the wolf left his home to hunt in woods beyond his territory.
In the distance, he spotted a great buck grazing peacefully among the trees. The wolf lowered himself against the ground and prepared to strike.
But just as he lunged forward, another wolf leapt onto the buck's back and brought it down with one swift bite.
The lonely wolf rushed forward to confront the stranger.
Then he stopped.
Before him stood the most beautiful female wolf he had ever seen.
And for the first time, he fell in love.
He began courting her by sharing his food, bringing her gifts, and showing that he trusted her enough to lower his head before her.
Eventually, the female wolf fell in love with him too.
They became mates, and the lonely wolf was lonely no longer.
Not long afterward, his mate became pregnant with their pups.
The wolf howled with excitement.
He was going to have pups with the one he loved!
When the time came, two beautiful pups were born. They were tiny and helpless, and the wolf loved them the moment he saw them.
He gently nudged each pup with his nose before turning to his mate.
Together, they watched over their little family and spent many happy weeks side by side.
But when the pups were nearly half a year old, illness entered their cave.
His mate became terribly sick.
As she lay dying, she looked at the wolf she loved and whispered, "Protect our children. Cherish every day you have together. And love them a little extra for me."
That night, she closed her eyes for the final time.
The wolf had lost his mate.
And once again, he wept beneath the moon.
Aurelian almost closed the book.
This no longer felt like a simple children's story. What had begun as a sweet tale of finding love had turned unexpectedly sorrowful, and he could not help feeling as though he were intruding on something deeply personal.
He hesitated, his fingers resting against the edge of the page.
But his curiosity won out.
He continued reading.
Many moons passed, and the wolf still mourned his mate. But whenever he looked upon their two pups, he remembered the promise he had made.
He would protect them.
One day, the eldest pup looked up at her father.
"Papa Wolf, where is Mama Wolf?"
The question was innocent, spoken by a pup still too young and pure to understand.
Papa Wolf lowered his head.
"If you wait until night, I will show you."
And so, they waited.
When night finally fell, the two little pups sat beside their papa beneath the open sky. Together, they looked up at the full moon.
"Mama is with her friend, the moon," Papa Wolf told them, pointing toward the sky with his snout.
"Where?" the youngest pup asked curiously. "I cannot see her."
"Your mama is in the night sky now. Look at how brightly the moon and stars shine. They only shine so beautifully because your mama is helping them."
"Wow!" the pups exclaimed.
Papa Wolf watched his children gaze up at the stars, their little eyes filled with wonder rather than sorrow.
And quietly, he made another promise.
He would remain beside them until they were brave and strong enough to leave the den. He would protect them, cherish every day they shared, and love them enough for both himself and their mother.
And when his time finally came, he would join his beloved mate among the stars.
For his mate.
For his pups.
He would be strong.
Aurelian closed the book gently, his heart heavy as he thought about what he had read.
It was sad, to say the least.
He found himself lingering over the image of the father wolf sitting beneath the moon with his children. The story had ended with a promise of strength, but Aurelian wondered how lonely the wolf must have been during all those years.
"Aurel?"
A gentle voice called his name.
He looked up to find Seraphina standing beside him, a glint of concern in her gaze.
Her thumb brushed beneath his eye.
Only then did he realize.
He was crying.
"I-it got to me more than I thought it would," he admitted quietly, offering her a slightly embarrassed smile.
Seraphina withdrew her hand, though it lingered for a moment before hovering over the book.
A flash of emotion crossed her face.
She gently took the worn volume from his hands and turned it over.
Her fingers brushed across the faded inscription written on the back cover.
To my star and moon, my daughters.
William Vaelmont
"My father wrote this for us," Seraphina explained.
As Aurelian watched her, she continued.
"It was meant to help us cope with the passing of our mother." Her thumb slowly traced the edge of the worn cover. "Celeste was barely four, and I was only a baby. I did not understand what had happened, so he created this for us. He wanted us to have something that might bring us solace when we were old enough to understand."
Aurelian stared at the little book in her hands.
Then at Seraphina.
The two pups.
It had been them.
The realization made his chest ache. He had been reading the story of a grieving father who had tried to find a way to explain death to his daughters, even while struggling to endure the loss himself.
It was a kind of love Aurelian understood, though the sorrow behind it was something he wished no family had to experience.
A short silence passed between them.
"Your father loved you very much," Aurelian said.
Seraphina looked at him.
His attention remained on the book for a moment before he finally lifted his gaze to hers. A radiant smile rested on his lips, and the lingering tears on his cheeks made the tenderness in his expression all the more apparent.
Aurelian stood and gently took the book from her hands, setting it aside.
Then his fingers found hers.
A small tug drew Seraphina one step closer.
Before she could react, his arm slipped around her waist and pulled her against him.
Seraphina's cheek met his chest.
The embrace was warm.
It was a kind of warmth she had rarely allowed herself to feel in years, one that asked nothing of her and expected nothing in return.
Aurelian's heartbeat was loud beneath her ear, almost reverberating through his chest as she rested against him. He held her gently but firmly, one hand resting against her back while the other remained at her waist.
After a moment, Seraphina wrapped her arms around him too, clutching the fabric of his shirt as she allowed herself to sink into the comfort of his embrace.
She had not expected to speak of her father that morning, nor had she imagined that finding Aurelian with the little book would stir memories she seldom allowed herself to revisit.
Yet somehow, standing there with him, she found that she did not mind.
They remained like that for a long while, surrounded by the quiet of the library and the warmth of the morning sun.
And for once, Seraphina did not feel the need to pull away.
• · ─ ·☽𖤓☾· ─ · ·
The capital at night was quiet.
Few ventured outside so late, save for patrolling guards and the occasional stray animal wandering through the empty streets. Beneath the winter sky, the city seemed almost unnaturally still.
The castle, however, was very much awake.
Inside one of its meeting chambers, the heads of several noble houses and other important political figures sat gathered around a long table.
King Richard Evelina sat at its head, staring down at the letter that had been delivered to him.
The crest stamped upon it did not belong to his empire.
A dark green hawk above two crossed swords.
The hawk held no significance in Evelina, whose symbols had always favored the celestial, but Richard knew exactly where the emblem came from.
"How brash of them to even attempt this!"
An older man seated nearby struck the floor lightly with the end of his cane. His gray eyes glared at the letter before he clicked his tongue.
"It has been years since they locked themselves behind their walls, and now they send us such an insulting request."
Richard did not acknowledge him.
Instead, his gaze swept across the table, taking note of the uneasy expressions worn by nearly everyone present.
Rightfully so.
The foreign kingdom beyond Vaelmont's borders, separated from Evelina by stretches of winter wasteland, treacherous rivers, and lands populated by dangerous beasts:
Fatima.
For years, almost nothing had been heard from them.
Not a whisper concerning their king, nor a word regarding their court. Even the state of their government remained a mystery, with merchants and informants alike unable to provide anything reliable.
Richard had his suspicions, however.
Their prolonged silence had always suggested that something within Fatima was deteriorating. A kingdom did not simply withdraw from the world without reason, particularly one that had once shown such interest in its neighboring territories.
Why else would they send such a letter now?
His brows drew together as his attention returned to the words that had summoned half the court from their beds in the middle of the night.
A marriage alliance.
With the King of Fatima.
But that was not the only concern.
Not long before the meeting began, a messenger bird had arrived from his sister-in-law, carrying details of the urgent matter she had been called away to handle the previous day.
No one else at the table knew what had been written.
Only Richard and one trusted associate.
Fatima had begun gathering resources.
Weapons.
Food.
Supplies taken from villages along the border and smaller settlements that had been unprepared for raids.
The reports described coordinated movements rather than isolated acts of theft, and the quantities being gathered were far beyond what a few desperate raiders would require.
Richard's expression hardened.
The marriage proposal had arrived under the pretense of diplomacy, yet Fatima was already preparing for the possibility that its demands would be refused.
There was only one conclusion to draw.
Either Evelina accepted the proposed marriage alliance—
Or Fatima intended to force the matter through war.
Chapter discussion