Chapter One

"What are you doing?" Adrian asked; turning the power off on the television set.

"Working," Sydney replied, not taking her eyes off her laptop screen.

Adrian set the remote on the bedside table and rolled onto his side so he was facing his fiancée. "I thought you said Mr. Casey was incommunicado this week because he was on a retreat," he said.

"He is," Sydney answered, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Then what are you working on?" he asked, scooting closer to her as he attempted to peek at the screen.

"Wedding stuff," she clarified.

"That's not work. That's fun," Adrian replied. But after realizing that her complicated Excel document looked less than exciting he added, "Well, it's supposed to be fun."

Sydney finally looked over at him. "The guest list includes humans, Alchemists, witches, Moroi, and Dhampirs. Putting together a seating chart is work," she insisted. "Not to mention our wedding is at Court."

"No," Adrian said to her. "Do not start on the Court thing again. You and I agreed it'd be the safest location."

"It just makes things difficult," Sydney replied, though she knew he was right.

"Things aren't the same as they were the first time you were at Court. Lissa's reign has pushed very progressive ideals," he replied.

"Yeah, I know. You've told me," Sydney said with a sigh.

Now that Adrian knew about Hadley and he and Sydney were engaged he had relocated to Chicago to live with them full time. Adrian had taken to fatherhood the same way he took to most things he tried, with ease. Hadley completely adored him and Sydney knew their daughter was now a more well-rounded individual for having both her mother and her father in her life.

Then came time to try and explain all of this to Kenzie. After a few gasps and a lot of questions her friend accepted everything Sydney had thrown at her without hesitation. The only awkward moment came when she compared Adrian to Edward Cullen. Thankfully he had been out of earshot when the comment occurred.

Adrian encouraged Sydney to reconnect with her family. After months of internal struggle with the idea she finally called her mother. Once the tears and apologies were complete Mrs. Sage along with Sydney's older sister, Carly, came to Chicago for a visit. They were ecstatic to meet Hadley, instantly charmed by Adrian, and over the moon to be reunited with Sydney. Unfortunately this joy didn't extend through the entire family. Both Mr. Sage and Zoe, who was now a fully fledged Alchemist, refused to make the trip. Sydney wasn't surprised about her father's refusal to see her, but she had been holding out hope for her little sister.

Sydney thought her life would become less complicated now that she wasn't carrying around secrets anymore, but that wasn't the case. At first Adrian hinted that he'd like to move their family back to Court after the wedding. It would be safer for all of them and it was important to him that Hadley understand where she came from. Also, in Chicago they only had each other, but with family and friends around at Court they'd have more people to rely on for help.

Though his arguments were valid, Sydney panicked at the idea of reintegrating back into that world and explaining Hadley's true heritage to her. Sydney tried to ignore his hints. When that didn't work she moved on to making excuses. She had a job here. Mr. Casey had been good to her. How could she abandon him? Adrian easily shot holes in her flimsy excuses. She traveled all the time for Mr. Casey and could easily do her job via the internet. In the end they usually just grew frustrated with each other and dropped the subject.

"I can help you with this stuff," Adrian offered, changing the subject and bringing Sydney back to the present. "I know who on my side can't sit next to whom."

"Have at it," Sydney said. She slid the laptop over to him and stretched before cuddling next to his side, their disagreement temporarily forgotten.

Adrian leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I didn't know we knew this many people," he said with a snicker as his eyes focused on the screen.

She chuckled. "No, not we. You," she said to him. "My portion of the list consists of less than ten people."

"Ah," Adrian said with a sigh. "The struggles of being a royal."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "You poor thing," she told him. "I thought you said you were going to help me, not talk about your international popularity."

"I changed my mind. This is work," he decided. He closed the laptop and set the

machine on the ground.

"Why don't you ever listen to me?" Sydney asked with a faux sigh. She leaned back against the pillows behind her.

"How much fun would that be?" he replied. He rolled back over towards her and in one fluid motion was now hovering above her, resting each of his hands on either side of her head. He looked into her eyes and grinned.

Sydney chuckled and traced her fingers along her cheek. "Not much for you, I suppose," she replied.

He nuzzled his cheek against her palm. "I love you," he said softly.

Sydney melted against his touch. "I love you too," she replied. "Sorry," she added softly, referring to their earlier exchange. "Sometimes I forget I'm not on my own anymore."

"Then let me remind you," Adrian whispered. He leaned down to press his body against hers, his arms now slipping around her torso. He let his hands slide down before resting them on her lower back.

Sydney's arms snaked around his neck and she smiled as she felt his familiar form. She leaned up and pressed their lips together, deepening the kiss rather quickly. When she thought about all the years she wasted not being with him it overwhelmed her sometimes.

Adrian knew this about her and when the kiss ended he pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm right here," he assured her softly. "I know some of this stuff going on right now seems like a lot, but I'm here. I'm here."

"Sorry," she whispered again, her grip on him tightening.

"Don't apologize," he said softly. He kissed the corner of her mouth gently. "Just believe me," he murmured.

"I do," Sydney said softly. Her mouth covered his again and they kissed slowly and gently, getting lost in one another.

"Mmm, we should get some sleep," Adrian murmured softly when they paused to take a breath.

"Yeah, you're right," she whispered in agreement.

"Oh, say it again," he quietly teased her, rolling off of her to switch off the lamp.

"Good night, Adrian," Sydney said with a soft laugh.

"Good night, my love," Adrian replied.

Before she even had a chance to get cold he pulled her against him and ran his hand up and down her side soothingly as she fell asleep. She wasn't the only one making up for lost time.