She laughs, and it makes my blood sing. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“No, I’m sure it wouldn’t.” I grin at her teasing of me, loving the way we so effortlessly shoot barbs at one another. “But over time, we realized we had a lot in common, and our friendship bloomed. We’ve been inseparable ever since. Fionn entered the Royal Guard, and I immediately appointed him as my personal guard. He was with me when I found my mother’s journal and has been with me for every terrible thing my father’s ever done. It creates a bond.”

“I feel the same way about the Chair of my Council of Advisors. Nemesia, who went to Velmara as your counterpart. She’s been my best friend since birth, really. Her mother was my parents’ Captain of the Royal Guard and General of their armies, so we were raised together.” I remember that the Thayarian General had died early in the war, before Nemesia was appointed to the role, and I feel guilt at my connection to the loss of Nemesia’s and Laurel’s parents. Could Laurel ever truly forgive me for my father’s sins? Will she ever be able to look past all that I represent?

“You must miss her,” I say softly, and her eyes sparkle with tears for a moment, but she clears them before they fall.

“Yes. It’s been difficult without her counsel.” And just like that, her mask is back in place, the window into the real Laurel slammed shut. She changes the subject quickly. “What’s next in our practice drills, oh great instructor?” she asks with a teasing tone not reflected in her eyes.

“Well, now that you’ve mastered the basics that most light channelers learn before they’re twenty, we’ll start some more advanced drills.” I smirk.

“You said it took you years to learn how to do that!” she protests.

“It did, they just happened to be years when I was very young.” She only rolls her eyes, but this time, there’s a grin on her face that even she cannot shutter away.

“You’ve mastered the basic forms and moving between them,” I explain once we’ve finished our lunch. “Now we spar. Fighting is a dance. You need to shift between forms on instinct. And all that shit I told you about believing the light can slice through things? Forget that. I don’t want you nicking me.” She rolls her eyes. “I assume you’ve been taught to fight with weapons? I haven’t actually seen you use anything but magic to defend yourself.”