by Eva Chase
But it didn’t hurt to be prepared. And there was no point in letting dark vermin wander around, potentially stirring up minor mischief.
“Darkness begone,” I murmured. The gloom wisped away. Darton squeezed my hand a little tighter when we started walking again.
“Our lives are never going to be completely normal, are they?” he said.
The words sent a pang through my chest. I’d tried so hard to give him normal before. But when you were a reincarnated wizard attending to your reincarnated king...
“No,” I said. “Probably not.”
He shrugged and gave me a smile that melted my regret. “I’m okay with that. Normal all the time would get kind of boring.”
We crunched through the thin layer of snow on the campus green and turned onto the street leading to the apartment he and I had moved into right after Thanksgiving.
“I’ve started thinking,” Darton said, with a hint of hesitation that told me my opinion was going to carry some weight. “Instead of going all-out with the law thing as a career... I might like to try my hand at politics. I mean, I do have a little experience, even if it’s not very recent. And, well, the idea just appeals to me.”
I rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand. “That sounds great.” He’d never seemed all that enthusiastic about becoming a lawyer—he’d picked it to follow in his dad’s footsteps, not out of any real passion. “Maybe you won’t end up with a castle, but I’d bet you can make a meaningful impact, just like back then.”
“I might as well try, at least.”
Priya was waiting for us in the building’s lobby, where it looked like she’d just stomped the snow off her boots. She hefted a bulging grocery store bag. “I found the perfect recipe,” she told me. “You are going to totally chemistry-geek out over it, Emmaline.”
I laughed. “I can’t wait.”
In the apartment, we headed straight for the kitchen. Priya pulled out her phone and brought up one of the most complicated curry recipes I’d ever seen. The thought of the challenge set my thoughts buzzing.
Darton leaned against the counter next to me. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
My mind flashed back through the centuries to my king’s attempts at cooking stew over a fire while we were on the road. “Nope. Definitely not.”
“Hey,” he said, holding up his hands in mock-offense. “I can handle a pot and a spoon. I did kill the greatest dark fae ever, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Right. By killing yourself. Not the sort of strategy you can replicate on the regular. Also, cooking is a slightly different skill set from combat.”
“Fine, fine,” he said, grinning. “I’ll just provide the moral support, then.”
I grabbed the spices we needed off the rack and started grinding them with a pestle. Priya got to work chopping the veggies. Darton stayed there next to me, his arm grazing mine when I shifted a little closer. The warmth of his presence spread through my body with a glow that felt almost like magic.
This was our life now. This apartment, those classes, fencing practice and hanging out with friends. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt actually... content. Maybe I never had, even in that first life. The looming threat of the dark fae had always been there in the back of my mind.
We only had this one life left. I had no idea where it was going to take us. But all that mattered to me was that this time, we were going to get to really live it.
* * *
Thank so you so much for joining me on Emma and Darton’s journey, all the way to the end! I hope it’s been as much of a joy for you to read as it’s been for me to write.
If you enjoy paranormal romance as well, you might want to check out my first books, the Demons of Fame Romance series. You can grab the first book free here!
Dragon of Destiny
Book 3 in the Legends Reborn series
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
First Digital Edition, 2017
Copyright © 2017 Eva Chase
ISBN: 978-0-9959865-2-7