Winter returns, but this one is softer. The North celebrates Elira's birthday with fireworks and snow lanterns. Children call her the Snowfire Queen.
Kael prepares a gift in secret—a frost lily hairpin carved from Northern crystal. When he gives it to her, Elira stares at it as though it's the most precious thing she's ever seen.
"It's beautiful," she whispers. "I've never had anything made just for me."
Kael finally speaks what he's held back for so long.
"I've loved you since the moment you challenged me. I just didn't think I deserved you."
Elira steps closer.
"You don't get to decide what I deserve," she says, smiling.
He cups her face. She leans into his touch.
This time, they do kiss—gentle, quiet, and searing. The snow swirls around them, dancing with light. Somewhere in the wind, the elemental kings smile.
And that night, Elira writes in her journal:
This world may not be mine by birth—but it is now, by choice. And he… he is my home.