The Kingdom of Light

Chapter 15

“Good morning, Miss Luna.” Lily’s hand woke me with gentle strokes through my hair. I opened my eyes to her smile before she quickly began our usual morning routine.

Before I even knew it, I was dressed—in a beautiful orange dress that complemented my growing sun-kissed glow—my hair twisted into an elegant bun, and already on my way down to the dining hall.

“We’re not inviting all of them. I refuse to look at him!” Nicolais sounded angry on the other side of the doors. “I don’t want him anywhere near Luna, it’s going to go horribly wrong!”

The doors swung open as I approached, revealing Nicolais and Sicca sitting at the table as usual—but Sicca had a sheet of paper in front of him that he was scribbling notes onto. “Good morning,” I interrupted their argument.

“Good morning, Luna,” Sicca replied, trying to force a smile.

“Good morning, my beautiful one.” Nicolais’ voice went soft as butter the moment he saw me, completely shifting his attitude and pulling a smile onto his lips.

“What are you talking about?” I walked all the way around the table so I could lean against Nicolais’ chair, feeling him against me. I was becoming more and more dependent on having him close.

“We’re debating the Solstice Festival. It already takes place this Friday.” Sicca sounded stressed, as if there were thousands of plans that needed to be added and that he absolutely wasn’t ready.

“This Friday already?” He nodded in answer to my question. A smile crept onto my lips. “Funny coincidence,” I looked down at Nicolais, who stared curiously up at me, “it’s also my birthday on Friday.”

“Really?!” His eyes lit with joy, as if it were a sign from above. “That’s fantastic!” He rose in one smooth, elegant movement before grabbing me and spinning me around, then pulling me into a tender embrace. “You were made for me.”

A small laugh escaped me, mostly out of surprise at his reaction—at how intensely he could respond to something as simple as my birthday.

“How old will you be?” Siccala was already planning.

“We don’t need to celebrate it,” I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. “The important thing is the Summer Solstice.”

“No! That would be an insult to the Mother!” Nicolais immediately spiraled, telling Sicca he needed to order a cake big enough for every guest to have a slice. We also had to sing a birthday song, and then we needed to come up with a huge surprise for me.

“Really,” I said, placing a hand on his chest, “it doesn’t matter to me. I’m just turning twenty-three, it’s not a big deal.”

But I didn’t get a say—he was already continuing with his orders to Sicca.

**

Even though Nicolais had advised me not to, I now stood in front of his office door. I lingered there for a long while, wondering if it was worth it. But my thoughts wouldn’t stop spinning; I had to be prepared for Friday, I had to know what was going to happen.

Before I even got the chance to knock, a voice sounded from the other side.

“Just come in, Luna.”

I carefully opened the large door and peeked my head inside.

“Sorry if I’m disturbing you,” I mumbled, staring at the floor. “Do you have time to talk?”

Sicca gestured for me to enter. I slipped fully into the office and closed the door behind me.

His office was beautiful, brilliantly arranged. The entire wall behind him was filled with books—every kind imaginable, different thicknesses, different colors, and heights. Sunlight streamed in from overhead windows built into the ceiling. His desk was large, covered with towering stacks of papers and more books. He himself sat in a wide, cushioned chair.

“What do you want to know?” he asked, looking up from his papers. His ice-blue eyes met mine—not angry, not bitter, not full of rage.

“Just… a bit about Friday,” I murmured, looking down at my hands as they nervously fidgeted with each other.

“Just sit down, Luna. I’m not angry or anything,” he clarified, motioning toward a chair opposite his desk. “I also have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

I moved through the room. I wished so badly that I could walk the way they did—light, elegant, almost ethereal. No matter what I did, I always looked stiff and clumsy. The sunlight touched everything except Sicca, who somehow remained perfectly seated in shadow.

The chair was soft beneath me, hugging my body, holding me, making me feel safe. It was made of dark wood with red cushioning. The velvety fabric looked like something you could draw little shapes in with your fingertips.

“Ask away,” Sicca invited with a reassuring smile.

“It’s just…” My gaze drifted to his hair—beautiful white hair that wasn’t loose like usual. Part of it was tied back, the top portion pulled away while the rest hung over his shoulders. “I’m already going to get so much attention on Friday. I don’t need to stand out even more by it also being my birthday.”

His expression shifted slightly—just for a moment. I saw understanding there, a touch of care, before he slipped back into his advisor demeanor, that serious look that analyzed everything: every word, every movement.

“That’s the king’s decision,” he answered formally. “I can’t change that.” He glanced down at his papers. “But we can try to tone it down a little.” His smile was reassuring.

I smiled back gratefully. I was already nervous about all the other things I had to do that evening. I had to perform a song for the Mother—that was Nicolais’ idea. I had to dance with him to show our bond, and I had to make conversation with the other royals.

“I can’t dance,” I admitted quickly, feeling the heat creep into my cheeks. “Or… I mean, I can. Just not to the kind of music you all listen to.” My thoughts drifted back to my old life, when Lucas and I would go to clubs, dance the night away, and feel the bass pounding through our chests.

“I can find a dance instructor for you,” he replied. “Our dances aren’t too difficult, but you’ll probably need to learn how to let someone else lead.”

“Are we inviting all the royal families? From all the kingdoms?”

His mouth thinned into a line. “I’ve been trying to persuade Nicolais, but he’s struggling to invite both the King of Winter and the King of Darkness.”

The King of Darkness.

The one who could slip into the deepest, most secret corners of anyone’s mind.

“It’s just…” I shifted in the chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. “It would probably be best if I could just get all of that over with. Meeting the other royals, I mean.” A lump formed in my throat. “My heart starts pounding, my hands get sweaty just thinking about it.”

“I can try speaking to him again,” Sicca said reassuringly. He really was so easy to talk to—he didn’t try to change my thoughts, feelings, or opinions. He accepted them as valid, and then he worked around them.

“Do you think it would help if I tried talking to him about it?”

“You can try.”

I looked down at my hands—hands that had gained a warm tan, hands that had grown slightly rougher from playing the many instruments Nicolais kept in the music room.

“Is there anything else, Luna?”

“Can I be honest?” My gaze lifted to his ice-blue eyes—the eyes that always met mine, never shied away, never backed down, even when a discussion froze over.

“We’re completely private in here,” he assured me.

I knew their hearing was phenomenal. I knew they could hear me anywhere in the castle. I knew I could be found no matter where I went.

“Nicolais’ enchantment… what exactly is it?” I looked up at Sicca pleadingly. I needed clarity soon. I needed to hear all the details before deciding what would happen with us—him and me.

Sicca leaned back in his chair. One hand slid through his hair, catching the small stray strands that had escaped his half-tied style.

“It’s not easy to explain.” His expression went a little distant, as if he truly didn’t want to explain—as if he genuinely didn’t want to tell me. “The Mother likes to test us,” he said, folding his hands together on the desk. “Test all of us,” he added. “The Ferno bloodline has always been lucky. They always succeed in their challenges, pass their tests. So the Mother decided that Nicolais needed to be tested more.”

His ice-blue eyes met mine, and unless I was mistaken, I saw sympathy there—real sympathy. “So in a world where humans don’t exist, the man who could do everything, the man who never lost… had to fall in love with a human, marry her, and father his heir with her.”

My back hit the chair. Horrible.

It gave me a completely new understanding of him—of what he had to endure.

“So he made the agreement with the humans, so he could find his bride,” Sicca explained, his tone turning cold—colder than it ever was with me. “The one who would fulfill the prophecy.”

“And he hopes that woman is me?”

“He wants that woman to be you,” Sicca clarified.

The pressure grew. It grew so painfully beneath me. This wasn’t just for fun. It wasn’t just some joke. Nicolais had truly waited for me for five hundred years—maybe longer than that.

“What do you think?” I asked him. I looked into those ice-blue eyes—eyes that were resolute, strong, never doubtful.

“I think…” He leaned back in his chair again, a small smile playing over his lips. “That you would be good for the Kingdom of Summer.”

As if I’d been holding my breath the entire time, air rushed back into my lungs. Relief washed through me as Sicca confirmed it. He wouldn’t say that lightly—I was sure of it.

I smiled at him—an honest smile—one that hopefully showed that I felt the same. That I believed this could be good. That this could possibly work.

“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

His serious expression returned instantly, like it swept right back over him.

“It’s very important that you listen carefully now, Luna,” he began.

The lump returned to my throat. Something serious. What could it be?

“At the Summer Solstice Festival, many royals will attend,” he explained, and I nodded. “And royals love…” He tasted the word. “Making deals. Bargains, if you will.” His ice-blue eyes locked onto mine. “Never—and I mean never—make a deal with any of them. They will try to deceive you.”

“Of course,” I answered, feeling my eyebrows pull together.

“This is very important, Luna. Promise me that you won’t make any deals.”

“I promise.”

**

I found Nicolais out in the garden. He was deep in thought, which only made me even more nervous. Slowly, I began following him, hoping he would eventually notice me. I didn’t want to interrupt him—I wanted to be discovered naturally.

“Why are you following me?” Relief shot through me at the playful tone in his voice.

“Why aren’t you following me?” It was easier that way. It made the conversation light, fun.

“Because it would be too tempting,” he answered, his voice rough and laced with desire.

“Good to know you’re so impulsive you can’t even walk behind me without attacking me.” The smile on my face was obvious in the words coming out of my mouth.

He kept walking a little ahead of me, his hands clasped behind his back and his head held high. “It’s hard to even think about you without attacking you.” My cheeks grew warm, my palms starting to sweat in nervous anticipation. “Is there a reason I’m lucky enough to have your company?”

“Sicca and I talked earlier,” I said honestly—it was the best way to talk to him, “and he told me that you didn’t want to invite all the royals.”

“Correct,” he answered shortly, but I could see his shoulders tense under his tunic.

“I was just wondering why you didn’t want to invite them?” This way, I wasn’t forcing him to answer—I was only hoping he would.

“It’s complicated,” he replied, short and cryptic.

“I just thought…” It was easy talking to his back; those glowing eyes weren’t pulling my focus, “that it would be nice for me to meet them all at once, so the pressure would lift a little.”

“Understandable.”

“So I thought maybe we should just invite them. Whether they come or not is up to them, but then we haven’t done anything wrong by not inviting them.”

He turned toward me, that crooked smile playing on his lips, making my knees go a little soft. “How diplomatic you already are.”

“I’m just used to dealing with a group of girls, and that’s nothing but drama,” I said with a cautious smile and a little shrug.

“Does it mean a lot to you?” His eyes narrowed, assessing, weighing what he should do. I nodded. He sighed and glanced up at the sky. “Fine,” his eyes met mine again, “we’ll invite them all.”

A rush of joy shot through me, a huge relief filling my chest. I wrapped my arms around him, feeling his warm body against mine. Surprised by my reaction, it took him a couple of seconds before he returned the embrace.

His face buried itself in my hair, and I felt him inhale. The steady thump against my cheek was the calm, even beating of his heart—a rhythm that soothed me.

“I can’t get enough of your scent,” he murmured into my hair.

“You smell like sunlight,” I smiled against his chest. That earned me a trembling ripple beneath his gentle laughter. “It’s lovely.”

You’re falling for him.