She had been wrapped in my arms for the past few weeks, neither of us willing to let go. We had slept in a tangle of limbs and sheets, never getting enough of each other. Our days were spent curled together in playful curves, talking about everything that had happened, everything we had missed.

I had absorbed everything she had to tell me, every story and every memory. While it had taken me a few days to open up about what had happened to me, it felt good to share, to tell her of the fear and pain, and to know that I was not alone.

That she was there.

And that she understood.

While not the same, she had been driven to madness while trapped in Cail's mind. Driven to an insanity that even I didn’t reach. She knew the pain of that type of misery, of that torture. It made sharing easier, it made healing safer. It had been my love that had held her while she had found her feet, and it would be her love that would help me find mine.

Seeing her dedication to me, to that support, brought all the more love into my heart. Into us.

Of course, that connection was made all the more amazing by the return of my magic.

We had only barely landed, my feet digging into the hot sand outside my home for the first time in nearly twenty years when I pressed the heavily scarred palm of my hand against her face, ready to lean in to kiss her.

I never made it that far.

With just the tiny touch of my burned hand against her cheek a jolt of power moved through both of us. Like a bolt of lightning it sparked, pushing through like an explosion that when we came to we were spread out on the sand, being fawned over by a very pregnant Wyn, a very joyous Thom and a little boy I had never seen before.

From then everything had been a blur. Teary-eyed reunions, rushed explanations, and powerful magic jolting through my veins. I did not stay in their presence for long, however, I swept my mate into my arms, announced I had a lifetime to catch up on and rushed her away to our room.

We hadn’t left since then.

Of course, we had had visitors, and Jos would help me take steps around the room as my ill-used legs began to heal. Mostly we were curled up under blankets, or cuddled together on the big squishy chairs on the balcony as we lost ourselves in the sound of wind and waves.

Right now, however, as the sun dipped below the horizon and everything was covered in gold, we lay in our usual tangle, listening to each other's heartbeats.

What did you miss the most? Joclyn asked into my mind, her voice soft and hesitant as she curled deeper into me. The texture of her voice in my mind made it clear that she was drifting back to sleep again, the slow steady beat of her breath cementing the fact.

“Sunlight,” I answered without hesitation. Whispering my answer aloud as she sighed.

She had asked me that question multiple times over the last few days, and every time I gave her a different answer. It was a joke that I had become obsessed with teasing her over, the taunt as clear as cling film. She could see the answer in my mind anyway.

She chuckled and burrowed herself into me, just as a soft knock on the door pulled my focus.

One flare of my magic told me who it was, and while years ago I may have been concerned with letting him see us like this, now it didn’t matter.

“Enter,” I called, the loud command in my voice making Joclyn jump.

“With a voice like that you’ll be claiming your crown again soon,” Ryland teased as he stepped into the room, his voice light and calm as he shut the door behind him.

“I am sorry to disappoint you, brother, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.” I made sure to keep my voice lower this time.

Ryland’s sigh was obvious as he sat down on the foot of the bed, his movements careful in an attempt not to disrupt us. The motion caused Joclyn to press closer to me, something I would not complain over.

“One of these days I will simply bribe you, then,” he said, “I do not know how you ruled for so long, and so well.”

“It was not always perfect, and I needed my breaks as well,” I admitted, the memories of the time I had spent in the monastery, or building this house, or remodeling Rioseco making so much more sense now. “You will have to find time for yourself as well.”

“I’m afraid I haven’t mastered that yet,” he sighed, his blue eyes laughing as he ran his hand through his hair. “Maybe I’ll do that right after I learn to stutter.”

I chuckled lightly at that, his own frustration tickling his lips as he sighed and leaned against the massive footboard, looking from me to Joclyn as though this was nothing more than an everyday occurrence.

“Is she asleep?” he finally asked, the lack of disdain, anger, and ownership still catching me off guard.

“She is doing a very good job of pretending to be,” I answered, just as the girl in question let out a very large snore.

The sound made both Ryland and I laugh, although Jos refused to move, instead curling against me in an attempt to hide her chuckles.

“Well, you might want to wake her up for this,” Ryland prodded, his eyes dancing in delight as whatever secret he had come in here hiding threatened to explode. “I have news.”

“It better be good news,” Joclyn mumbled, her voice as groggy with sleep here as it was in my head.

“The best.”

Jos sighed, groaned, pressed one last kiss against my neck and slowly turned, her eyes already shooting daggers at Ryland.

“I was almost asleep, you know.”

“You are still wearing your clothes, Jos.” His banter was meant for her, but I laughed right along with him, leaving poor Joclyn the difficult decision of who to glower at.

In the end, she chose me, poking me in the ribs as she teased me right back. “You let in a straight up loon.”

“I’d be careful what you say,” I hissed as I ran my fingers up her side in an obvious attempt at tickling. “You never know how much of that runs in the family.”

“Who says…”

“I have news!” Ryland announced again, his voice loud as he pulled us out of our bubble.

The look he gave us was such a cross between the powerful king and the frustrated kid brother that I couldn’t help but laugh, the joy expelling from me in a loud burst, that caused Joclyn to jump, and Ryland to scowl deeper.

His curls bounced as he shook his confusion away, turning to us with a piercing blue stare as he looked right at me. “We found her.”

It was all he needed to say.

My heartbeat sped up, Joclyn's accelerating to match as she fell away from me, my still weak legs pushing me to stand beside the bed, bare chest, loose pajama pants and all.

“Where?” I heard Joclyn ask behind me in exhilaration.

Ryland mumbled something as the sound of crumpling paper pulled me back to them, the two curled over a map that Ry had obviously pulled out of a book.

“Sweden.” Ryland stated, “Sigtuna to be exact. I have never heard of it, but Wyn said…”

“Yes,” a smile blossomed over my lips that just hearing of the town gave me. “I owned the first inn there. A tiny thing. We used it as a safe house for many years…”

I drifted off as the memories hit me, moments in time that were almost lost.

“Yes, well,” Ryland cleared his throat as he pulled me back, Joclyn’s hand wrapping around my own in understanding. “Wyn said you would know this intersection,” again another smile. “Which is the closest thing to where she is: here.”

The map crinkled as he released it onto the bed, the corners rolling as he dug in his pockets. Shoving a nicely folded square of paper toward me. Ryland looked from me to Joclyn in anticipation.

I couldn't respond. Luckily, Joclyn jumped up and wrapped her arms around Ryland’s neck, thanking him over and over as I began to unfold the paper and reveal an address in loopy feminine handwriting.

Kaye.

She was here. She was right here.

I could find here. I could thank her.

“Thank you, Ryland,” I whispered, my own thanks echoing Joclyn’s as I clenched the paper in my fist, suddenly determined to locate some regular clothes.

“You are very welcome, both of you,” Ryland said, peeling Joclyn away from him as he took a step toward the door. “I have some issues I must attend to, but call me when you have her. I would like to meet her too. And Jos, Ilyan; I wouldn’t wait too long. It seems she moves around a lot.”

“Thanks, Ry,” Jos said from behind me as he left, her voice distanced as I began to make my way over to my dresser.

It was a curse I had grumbled many times before. My now returned magic could do everything it had before, but no magic could make muscle grow. That was on me, and the slow healing of my atrophied appendages was only angering me.

“In five years it will only be a memory,” Jos whispered as she stepped past me, her hand soft against my arms.

“I would rather it not take that long.” I almost regretted saying it aloud, the anger and frustration was not really like me.

Joclyn responded with a knowing smile and a chuckle inside of my head. “With an attitude like that, it should only take one, then.”

It took some time, but I was able to get dressed for the first time in fifteen years, pajamas having been my uniform since returning home. Pants, shirt, shoes, jacket, they all fit. The slender attire matched the braid Joclyn had put in my hair. The plait, the outfit, they filled me with an odd pride I hadn’t expected.

It looked as though no time had passed.

Just as though I had a bad dream… nothing more.

“We are going to need to pick up a few magazines,” Jos said with a wink, her hands soft as they straightened the jacket. “You look a little out of date.”

Except for that.

I cringed. Jos gave me a soft smile that perfectly echoed what was on my mind, her eyes sad as she lifted onto her tiptoes and pulled me down into a kiss.

Her lips were soft as they pressed into mine, the pressure an intense power as our magic sparked. Warmth rushed through me, the lights of a million different hues breaking through the air. I saw them for a just a moment, the colors fading as her kiss did, although she did not move away from me.

“But you still look like my Ilyan,” she whispered, her breath gentle and warm against my lips. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“You are my everything, my mate.”

“And you are mine,” she whispered right into my mind, the words beautiful as she sang them in my native tongue.

“Even though we may be a little outdated,” I whispered the words in Czech and she giggled, the sound light as she finally pulled away, grabbed the paper from where I had placed it in the dresser and turned to me.

“Well, what do you say we go get the person who gave us the opportunity to be just that?”

Her smile expanded as I put my hand in hers, and with one swell of her magic she pulled us through the darkness of the world under ours, and right to that quaint little intersection in Sweden, right where my magic and memories guided her.

Everything about the place was different, while some of the buildings looked similar, not one was the same. The streets were paved and the crowded sidewalks looked strangely out of place against the hundred-year-old buildings behind.

While everything was different, there was one thing that they couldn’t change, the smell of the fish against the salt sea air. That, I smelled it with a delight I hadn’t experienced in over two hundred years. Joclyn, however, crinkled her nose in disgust and exhaled sharply, trying to ignore the pungent smell.

The look on her face one that gave me more need to laugh.

“Now who is outdated,” I teased and grabbed the paper from her, took one glance and began to lead her down the street to our left.

Everything was the same here, old homes and businesses against modern conveniences. I had seen this juxtaposition in cities for centuries, perhaps it didn’t bother me as much because I had watched the change happen. Seeing this beautiful little village like this was jarring.

Two lefts turns, a right, and a quick trip down an alley brought us to a street lined with trees, backed up against a massive field. Between street and field was a line of tiny cottage houses, the thatched roofs and sloped window exactly what I had expected to see from this ancient village.

I breathed deep, a surreal feeling of home hitting against my chest as we walked past the first two, and turned to face the third.

It was a tiny thing, with white shutters and porcelain blue stucco, it looked like it was right out of a storybook. It was beautiful.

But mostly, it was safe. It looked like a home.

I could tell at once why she had chosen it.

“Are you ready?” Joclyn asked from beside me, her hand a tight vice around my own.

I could only nod as together, we walked up to the door. Joclyn rapped on the door so fast I wasn’t sure if it was a knock or the sound of my heart in my ears.

I had been in situations like this before. While the anxiety I felt now was nothing near the moment that I had seen Joclyn for the first time, sitting at a battered old desk in school, it was at least in the top twenty.

“I like that memory too,” Joclyn whispered, running her thumb over my hand just as the door opened and the nut brown eyes of the girl who had given everything to save me looked into me for the first time in years.

I could see the confusion there for only a moment before her hand flew to her mouth, soft sounds of emotions bleeding through her fingers.

“Kaye?” I whispered, my voice broken from tears. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ilyan Krul, and this is my wife, Joclyn.

It’s a pleasure to meet you.”