Tempered Hearts (Hearts of Valentia Book 1) by Starla Huchton, S. A. Huchton

didn’t put her full trust in many people, and only Paitra knew all the parts of her she laid before a man she’d known only a few days, but something in his eyes from the moment she met him made her feel like he might be the only other person to completely understand what she offered. No one else of any house in the entirety of Valentia could put her at ease the way his simple presence did. It was illogical, irrational, and she’d possibly thrown away any chance she had with him in the matter of a few sentences.
    Soft, hesitant fingers slipped into hers, and she stopped breathing.
    “I thought perhaps I was the only one here who was struggling with all of this, but I think that was very self-centered of me.”
    She closed her eyes, holding on to the thinnest measure of hope.
    “It isn’t easy for you either, is it? This life-changing event everyone explains away as if it were a business transaction. They talk of peace and stability and treaties without any thought given to the people whose lives are irrevocably changed in the process. I’ve spent almost all my life fighting for every single thing I’ve ever had, wanting nothing more than to survive, but…” He paused, but she wouldn’t have interrupted him if her life depended on it. “But I don’t think I know what to do with myself without something to rail against. I took the throne to save the Valentian people from a civil war, but it isn’t a thing I ever wanted. I don’t have the temperament or the training for this role. I need someone beside me that can read others, know how to speak to them to keep the peace we’ve sacrificed for.”
    His grip tightened on her hand, a reassuring hold that made her heart swell and nearly reduced her to tears.
    “In a matter of days, you’ve gotten me to confess more in the last few minutes than I have to almost anyone in months. If you can do that much for me, dear lady, I can only imagine what you’ll do for this kingdom as its queen.”
    She sucked in a sudden, sharp breath, her eyes finding his hazel ones, searching them for any sign that he spoke other than the truth, but his smile was warm and kind, not placating in any way.
    Her words airy, she couldn’t quite catch her breath. “No matter what you tell me, what you’ve done before this moment, I will trust you with whatever’s mine. That’s my gift to you, Highness.”
    The bell in the high tower tolled three o’clock, and she wondered where the day had gone. How long had they sat there without any sign of a chaperone? Her mother would be horrified, but, stars above, when his smile grew and he pulled her to her feet, she giggled as though she were seven years old again.
    “If my lady has care for it, would you join me and Duke Ingram for tea?” Prince Darius offered his arm.
    Book in one hand, she happily accepted the invitation. After all, her mother couldn’t complain about her absence if her company was of such high caliber.

Chapter 7
    Darius
    “Have you surveyed the damage of the re-taken lands from the war yet?” Arden asked before taking another sip of tea. “Or are they not safe for such things?”
    “Our forces are still clearing out the remnants of the haegaroi, but they’ve secured as far south as Toralden on the coast.” He shouldn’t have been surprised she was taking such an interest in Valentian problems, but her ability to grasp it all astounded him. “Two main swaths of unsecured land remain to either side of that: one extending from the Bremian Lowlands to the southeastern coast, the other from the mountains south of Eramon to the cliffs at Fadenhold.”
    “So you’ve split the forces then?”
    Ingram nodded. “Yes, which is why it’s such slow going. Fighting on two fronts weakens us from both sides.”
    “And the Imperium withdrew their troops after Orinda Valley?”
    “Not until after the succession was decided,” Darius grumbled, recalling the messy affair that almost cost him his head. “After Valentian nobility