“I try and fail not to think of when the princess used to curl into my side to sleep at night. If the physical distance she has placed between us is any indication, I will have to span a chasm to find my friend inside this battered creature. I know for certain I am unequal to the obstacle. My arms are not long enough to reach her. Thankfully, I know the One whose arms spanned eternity to rescue us both.” ~ Redemption’s Embrace
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Erianna
Kill the King Killer. It pounds through my head, moves my steps, is the only reason I rise in the mornings. I have lost too much to care for anything else. With death following at my heels, I cannot return to Lorennt and my family. I have brought unbearable pain to them. The kingdom will be a better place without the Warrior Queen. After I have killed the King Killer, I will disappear into anonymity.
Valor is determined to alter my path. He surrounds me with friends, beauty, and life. He looks at me as if I am known and loved. He cannot see the vile stains on my hands. When memories of our past overwhelm my present, I want to lose myself in his arms. I fear the shattered pieces of my heart will betray my husband and cause Valor to betray the woman he is courting. Thus, I cannot allow him to sway me from my revenge.
Valor
Did I find my queen only to irrevocably lose her? She keeps me at a distance, refusing to let me near her soul-deep wounds. The ruins of her life are all she can see. I speak hope into her heart at every chance, but breathing life into her dry bones is beyond my power.
My feelings for her remain unchanged. If anything, I am more determined to hold onto her. Even so, I cannot imagine a future for us, no matter the way she softens at my affection. What comfort I can offer my bereaved friend, I give unreservedly. Nothing can tear me from her side.
The tentative peace my queen has found in Parse Kítaran is an illusion. Prince Lorennt has threatened to tear apart the kingdom to find her and return her to her throne. Across Malesiir, the Ruphiri are hunting her and slaughtering our people. I am all that stands between my queen and the forces of darkness vying to claim her life.
