Starlight and Stone
By K.L. Noone
Stars glittered, peaceful and playful over newly rebuilt castle walls. The peace was real, but it’d been hard-won, and painful; Harth glanced up at the silver onlookers, and then along the roof walk, over at the thin pensive form of his royal mage.
As usual, the sight hurt his heart, a sword-stab to his chest. Even more so because he knew they’d won, and so he could not entirely regret all his choices along the way.
Some of those choices, though—
He crossed the distance between them, under the midnight velvet of the sky. He did not think he’d made a sound; but Tris turned as he came up, and said, smiling, “It’ll stand.”
“I know it will,” Harth said mildly, and leaned elbows on parapet stone, looking at Tris and not the fortifications.
He’d overseen
