“Yes, at the same place my father taught me, as long as another storm doesn’t come in.”

Taegis slowly nodded. “I think that would be special.”

Damien looked back up at Northwind Castle. The torches, candles, and fires were the only light against the backdrop of grey stone. “I think so too.”

The smell of pine and spices filled his nose the moment Damien stepped into Northwind Castle. Already the servants were preparing for the festival by hanging garlands made of pine branches and satchels of spices along the stairways and corridors of the castle. There was humming along the hallway to the left as a maidservant swept, an old familiar tune about the first light on winter’s morning.

“We have just enough time to change and join the others for the evening meal,” Taegis said.

“Yes.” Damien had hoped to find Selene before dinner, although he wasn’t sure what he would say. He simply wanted to see her again.

What an odd thought. And what a change from over a month ago. He hurried up the stairs and down the hallway toward his own bedchambers.

As he passed the library, he paused. Perhaps she was in there. He opened the door. Candles were lit, and down at the other end of the room, past all of the bookshelves, a cheery fire burned in the fireplace. He made his way between the books and looked around the last bookshelf toward the built-in nook beneath a set of windows.

Selene sat on the cushions, dressed in a simple gown of blue, with her legs pulled up and tucked beneath her skirt. The light from the fire bounced across the glass behind her, creating a background of orange and midnight around her body.

She was so focused on her book that she didn’t hear him as he approached.

He took in the sight of her: the blue sheen of her dark hair as it hung over one shoulder, her lips moving silently as she read, the smallness of her fingers as they held the tome.

Just when he thought he should alert her to his presence, her head came up and her eyes met his. The silence of the library felt magnified as they stared at each other. “Damien,” she finally whispered.

“Selene.”

“You’re home.”

He closed the distance between them and sat down on the other side of the nook, a foot away from her.

“I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.”

“We finished early and left.”

“How was your trip?”

It felt like they were having a casual conversation over a light dinner instead of seeing each other for the first time in over a week. He wanted to reach over and hold her, smell her hair, kiss her lips. But he wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted. “I shared with Admiral Gerault and the captains the ideas and plans we came up with. I also shared with them all of the information I knew so we could plan a course of action.”