Inside the carriage, she was as comfortable as someone could be after long hours of travel. But it was freezing outside, and she noticed just trying to look through the crying windows.Could this mean that they would see snow soon? A winter like this was rare, and she only remembered it happening once when she was still young. It was the day of her seventh birthday.That, too, was quickly approaching, and it was going to be the first birthday she spent away from her family.She thought about Milan, who had come several hours after the party was over. Apparently, sleep did not come easy for her little brother that night either. It was a very unusual thing, but Milan asked her if he could sleep there with her, and then made that remark. “It’s so cold in your room

The sense of not belonging was stronger at night, after Laila finished undoing her hair and left her to rest, Elena struggled to fall asleep for hours, her mind started replaying every single thing that happened during the day. What helped her in situations like this was making a nice cup of tea for herself, but how could she do that now? She was at a big palace and didn’t know her way around it yet.“Do you know that eye color you have it’s very rare? Only the people from the ancient era had those emerald eyes. It’s very interesting indeed.”That was what Miros, the second son, said right before Ivar told him to shut up. This family was definitely odd, were all the people from Raeden like that? (Although technically, the younger ones were from Vallas and Miros was only five years older than her, it was easier to attribute

Countess Valverde did not care about growing plants that bloomed in winter, so at that time of the year, there wasn’t much color around the manor. The year when it snowed for the first time, the white was a nice change, but, like an empty piece of blank paper, Elena had that brief thought back then… it would be more beautiful if there was more color there.  You made pink flowers grow, that’s what Saray said. Could it be that it was really her wish that made that miracle happen? All that time, it had been magic. “But even sorcerers cannot make things grow out of thin air.” She remembered suddenly. Those who used water magic or those who used earth magic could change the conditions of the element, improving the soil, making it rain, all things that helped crops to grow in ways it couldn’t happen under normal circumstances, but they did not just make someth

“It was very touching to learn that you even gave your opinion about tonight’s banquet when you’ve been so busy these days.”Everyone had retired for the night, and Elena supposed she too should stay in bed, but only a few minutes later she found herself walking to the drawing-room where she knew he would be, just like the last time. He looked pensive, looking at the fire without even glancing in her direction until she spoke.“I was dealing with some issues on the east coast.” He said in response. “From time to time, pirates from the islands come to pillage and cause havoc in the villages of the area.”“Pirates? During this season?” Elena sat by his side. She was intending to talk about something completely different, but this caught her attention.

Once upon a time, this was a magical land where all kinds of creatures coexisted peacefully, but one day, men from the unknown Diamond Islands arrived in their ships, and that peaceful existence came to an end. Ivar’s mother told this story every night when she tucked him into bed, and although several decades had passed from that far away childhood, he remembered it well. Humans were the great evil of the continent. The humans who came to destroy and force the owners of the land into submission because of their greediness, and the humans did not help in time when the men from the islands revealed their true intentions. Ivar believed this, even when he barely knew humans. He was the last one, they said, the lucky one who got to live without the shackles that kept the rest of the dragons from the time before, but the only way his parents could protect him when he was young was to hide away from people.