We won with ease, then marched into a castle that would soon be ours. My men were chanting strange songs I had never heard before—perhaps it was because, until today, they had never truly been happy, and neither had I.

The void Princess Eileen had carved into my bones would never be replaced, yet, today was much better than yesterday, and I thought that, even if we were to never meet again, at least I had an army behind me now. I was no longer the frail woman that feared the night and men twice her size. I was a warrior, a survivor, soon to be in charge of a land I would call my own.

We barged into towers and secret rooms. Everyone had left, all except for this country’s Queen. Her hair had been cut short, she was not as young as the new recruits, who surrounded me and cheered; but I would have recognized her face anywhere, for it haunted me in my dreams.

“Eileen.”

I dropped my sword with a dry gasp. The clank of my blade hitting cold tiles resonated throughout the throne room. I ran, I ran, and I ran until my nose was buried in the crook of her shoulder; and my hands, in her hair. “Eileen.” Memories of the young woman who would bring me peaches in the summer when I was starved came back to me. The first time we held hands underneath the dinner table. How she had hugged me from behind, one night on her mother’s balcony, then told me I would have made for a great warrior, too.

Her lips on mine, when I stole the Starlight out of her eyes.

“I thought you were dead.”

I could not stop crying.

I could not believe, that after all these years, I was finally allowed to hold her again.

“I thought—”

She returned my embrace. “My King abandoned his post as soon as the wars began.” She laughed. “I cannot fathom how it is that you found me, Lyra. Truly,” I could hear the smile in her voice. “What a brilliant person you are.”

I pulled away to cradle both sides of her jaw between my palms. “Do you believe…” I pursed my lips together, then averted her gaze. Although I have dreamed of this moment, it had indeed been so long, I feared Eileen would not be interested in us anymore.

“Yes, beloved?” She wiped a tear away from my eye. “What is it that you wish to say?”

I tilted my head forward. My nose brushed against hers. “Do you believe,” I asked her, “that there is room in this kingdom for two Queens?”

Queen Eileen’s grin was radiant, as was the light that blessed the throne room and gave her blonde strands a temporary, otherworldly glow.

She grasped the golden crown that lingered over her hair like a halo. She nodded, then took it off and placed it over my head.

As I wrapped my fingers around her waist and kissed her like I’d been wanting to for years, the soldiers cheered with all their might, and sang our names—a testament to our victory.

“I am glad you came back, Commander,” Queen Eileen whispered beside my ear, with her hand splayed across the silver armor, laid over my stomach.

I lifted her into my arms. “Forgive me for taking so long.” I carried her down the dais.

From that day forward, there was never a dull day in the kingdom we built together.