Enia reached Liam first.
She crossed the western reception terrace with absolutely no regard for imperial protocol, caught him by both shoulders, and pulled him into an embrace hard enough to force the air from his lungs.
Liam froze for half a second.
Then his arms closed around her.
For months, she had existed through memories, delayed recordings, and finally a phone screen after the Gate opened.
Now she was warm and real, her familiar perfume mixing with the clean mountain air moving through the palace colonnade.
"Oh, thank the gods," Enia whispered against his hair.
Liam's throat tightened.
"I told you I was fine."
Enia pulled back immediately and held his face between her hands.
"You also told me that while dressed for a surprise wedding after raising an empire from the ocean. Your credibility was compromised."
"That is unfair."
"It is extremely fair."
She inspected him from forehead to shoes.
Liam endured it.
Behind her, Mirelle had already started crying.
