The castle had finally, blessedly, grown quiet. With Elysia and Kaelith both napping—one curled in the sun-drenched bed, the other sprawled like a baby starfish in her crib—Malvoria felt, for the first time in days, the full, dazzling freedom of solitude.
But instead of using it to catch up on paperwork or wage silent war with the mountain of unread reports on her desk, she settled at the small table by the window with parchment, ink, and a singular purpose: to plan the perfect date.
It had been too long since they'd had time for just the two of them. Not a family walk, not a stolen moment in the garden, not a banquet where one of them was required to be regal while the other kept Kaelith from juggling bread rolls.
Malvoria wanted something that belonged only to Elysia and her—a day of laughter, surprise, and a view that would take Elysia's breath away.
But what? She'd lived her entire life in castles, cities, on bloodstained battlefields and in lush demon gardens.
