I watched from a bench with a sleeping Elara in my lap while Lila dragged Darius into a clumsy dance. Thorne sat on Kane's shoulders, clapping along. Rylan spun past with a woman from the outer farms, laughing loud enough to turn heads.
Later that night, when the music faded and the lanterns burned low, the four of us slipped away to the high balcony. The valley spread out below us, silver under moonlight. Crops stood tall. Roofs glowed with warm light. Children's laughter still carried faintly from somewhere in the keep.
I leaned against the stone and felt the kings close in around me. Darius at my back. Kane on my left. Rylan on my right. Their hands found mine, my waist, my shoulders. The bond thrummed with everything we had become.
"We built this," I said quietly while looking at what we've built. "Not just the walls. All of it."
Rylan pressed a kiss to my temple. "Indeed my queen, and we'll keep building it. Every season. Every year."
