“If that’s all it was, it would be a terrible gift. It’s not just a rock. It’s ore refined with thayar petals and stems. It makes the metal even more sensitive to the aether and fluid in its shape. A skilled metal channeler can shape it into different weapons instantly, like how a light channeler can shape their weapons. Thorne won’t be able to beat you ever again with this in your pocket.” I give him a conspiratorial grin.

His eyes widen, and he looks at the gift with a new appreciation. He closes his eyes, and the metal slowly shifts into two daggers, then a short sword, before morphing back into a misshapen hunk.

“This might be the best present I’ve ever received, queenie,” he says with wonder in his voice that’s so unusual for the warrior, and my heart squeezes. I leave him to test out the properties of the gift.

“Silene, I have something for you,” I tell her. “It’s not much, but I couldn’t just let my gift be a warm room with some plants.” I hand her the book. She flips through it and her eyes light up with glee.

“What is it?” Thorne asks.

“It’s a biography of the first female General of Thayaria. She was a formidable warrior, but also a brilliant strategist. Nemesia never shuts up about her. And she also happened to be fun-sized like Silene.”

“There are actual war strategies in here!” she exclaims. “And fighting techniques for someone with a smaller stature. Thank you!” I smile as she starts reading immediately, then I stand and walk to the bar cart in the corner to refill my mug with more tea.

“I have a gift for you as well,” Thorne says from behind me, and I jump. He’s so good at sneaking up on me. He hands me a small parcel wrapped in cream and navy parchment. My heart flutters at the sight of his signature colors. I set the mug down on the bar cart, then tentatively take the gift from him. I open it to find a delicate and finely crafted gold necklace of a lightning bolt. I look up at him expectantly. “Channeling lightning is the hardest of the light magic because it’s so unpredictable,” he tells me, eyes locked on mine in an intense gaze. “It requires the wielder to give up control, to trust that even if the path it takes down from the sky isn’t what we would have imagined, it will still strike where we want it to.” I swallow, keeping my eyes on his handsome face. “May I?” he asks, gesturing to the necklace and then my neck. I nod.