Gregory’s year-long posting along the northern wilds was done. He’d had to face corrupt magi, assassination attempts, aether-using bane beasts, and even deal with the loss of some of his men. The year had left a mark on his soul. He’d accepted the burden of leadership fully, knowing that his men could and would die under his command.

He might’ve avoided all of it if he hadn’t made his moral stand, using the empire’s slave laws to force the corruption to come to light. Because he had, it threw his posting into conflict. Gregory didn’t back down when assassins— magi and non-magi alike— tried to kill him. When the town magi tried to pressure him, he used his training and walking of all three paths to not just stop them both, but to force the higher-tiered magi to bend to him. In the end, he pulled down the men who’d corrupted the magi, even though it cost him three of his men. Gregory was unbowed by his trials, becoming far wiser from them.

With his adept year done, he marched for Krogga— he was to be an assistant ambassador at the capital. What he was looking forward to wasn’t the position, though, but the fact that his wives would be there with him. Even better, it wasn’t going to only be his wives, but also three of his closest friends who wanted to marry him. Clover, Ling, and Roshana were waiting for their tea ceremony, the final step needed for them to be accepted into the family.

As if that wasn’t enough for Gregory to look forward to, Darkness, the mysterious and powerful woman who shrouded herself in her namesake, had promised she would be laid bare before them when they became magus tier. She would not only be visible to them, but they would even be able to briefly touch each other, too.

Krogga wouldn’t be an easy post— the warrior nation hated magi with a passion, which was why the Embassy posting wasn’t one most people wanted. Gregory and his wives were going to have to prove their strength if they wanted to have any peace during their five-year posting.