We didn’t court war like other countries, in an effort to take more than we needed. SteelTown was enough, she said.
She never imagined that war would come to us, courted or not. She would live just long enough to see how poorly peace fared against the Kalovaxians’ wrought-iron blades and savage greed.
My mother was the Queen of Peace, but I know too well that peace isn’t enough.
The spiced coffee is sweet on my tongue, made with a generous dollop of honey. The way Crescentia always orders it.
We sit on the pavilion like we have a thousand times before, steaming porcelain mugs cradled in our hands to ward off the chill in the evening air. For a moment, it feels just like every time before, a comfortable silence hanging in the dark air around us. I’ve missed talking to her, but I’ve miss
