If Cornelia is forever, her next heartbreak will not sting half as much. Miranda is playful, flirtatious, sweet as sugar as she winds her fingers through hers, her melodious laugh echoing through the palace halls. This is nice, Elyon thinks. Sure, her eyes are not as blue as hers, her smile not half as pretty, but she is almost too good to be true with a heart as big as Meridian's soon-to-be-queen. In her kiss she tastes honey, innocence, war almost won and something else she can't quite place.

It ends, of course it does, and Elyon understands. Some can withstand her storm, while others leave half-drowned. Still, the new queen ascends her throne and wonders what it feels to love, and be loved in return.