Onyx

The ashes of Elarion still clung to my soul, a bitter reminder of the price we paid for freedom. Seren, my sun, my moon, my everything, stood beside me, her hand clasped in mine. We had won, but the victory tasted like ash in my mouth. The queen was gone, her tyranny extinguished, but the kingdom she built, the kingdom that had once held Seren captive, was no more.

"We should start fresh," I told her, my voice rough with the weight of what we had done. "The Wildlands. A new kingdom, built on hope, not fear."

Seren's eyes, always a window into her soul, were filled with a sorrow that mirrored my own. She knew the Wildlands were a dangerous place, a place where the fae lived in ancient forests. But she also knew that it was the only place where we could truly be free, where we could build a new life together, free from the shadows of the past.

I would protect her. I would be her shield, her king, her lover. I would make sure that the Wildlands would become a haven for us both. But I knew, even as I made the promise, that I was not just protecting her from the dangers of the world. I was also protecting her from the loneliness that had always been my constant companion.

I had been a king for far too long, a lonely king with no one to share his burden, no one to love. But Seren, with her bright laughter and her compassionate heart, had shown me what it meant to be truly alive. I would give her the world, even if it meant facing the shadows of my own past.

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This is book 2 of Seren and not a stand-alone.
Please read book 1 before starting this story in order to understand it.

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