Aakifahlynn felt the enormity of it keenly: to rule not only as sovereign but as partner, to balance duty with love. She would not be the woman who once followed Jairus blindly, her spirit tethered to another’s will. Already she sensed her own growth, the awakening of dreams that belonged to her alone.

The memory of Jairus of late always stirred faint bitterness, a sickness at how she had once lived to please him. Yet she did not linger there. Her gaze always find Demarion, or she would think of him if he was not around.

Because he was the man who had chosen her in every lifetime, not as...