Peace—true, quiet, blessed peace—settled over the Nightshade Kingdom in the days that followed River and Heiko’s confrontation with Queen Victoria. It was a peace not loud or triumphant, but soft around the edges, a peace that seeped into the castle walls and finally allowed everyone to breathe again.
The threat of the dark witch had ended.
The curse on Heiko was broken.
The North had been warned.
And the Nightshade lands—finally—felt whole, and secure again.
River had begun to glow with the softness of approaching motherhood, her belly high and full, her every move watched carefully by her devoted mate.
Heiko was lighter than ever before, smiling without the shadow of the curse tugging at his soul. In these calm days he often found himself tracing River’s stomach, murmuring low pro
