Isaac loops his arm through mine as we step off the bus together. Snow crunches under my fluffy boots, which for once aren't hiding any daggers. The night sky is dark overhead, the stars drowned out by the city lights of London.

We stroll down the streets together, looking for all the world like the young couple we are.

It feels like a lifetime ago that I was last in the city. I suppose it was another lifetime; Alyssa's lifetime.

"I think this is it." I say as we stop outside a non-descript building.

We enter the dimly-lit lobby area and sign in at the reception desk. The grumpy receptionist gives us a rusty set of keys and gestures towards the lift. Isaac and I go up eight floors out of the ten listed. The lift opens to a small corridor. At the end of the corridor, I jam a key into the door and jiggle it about.

"Ally!" Zoey squeals as she comes running over. I'm so happy to see her again. It was her idea for the girls of Ash House to rent an apartment for New Year's Eve. Isaac and Brielle were extended invitations as our dates. Amongst all the horrors that took over my life, I've hardly had a chance to even think about seeing my friends again.

"I've missed you." I say, hugging Zoey. After all the darkness, she is a bright ray of sunshine in my life.

Eliza, Megan, and Brielle join us in the doorway. We all exchange greetings and hugs. Our excited chatter follows us over to the sofas in the center of the open room. There's a kitchen towards one side of the room, and a dining area at the other end. It's not a big space, but it's cosy. There are a few doors dotted about. I assume one leads to a bathroom, while the others are all bedrooms.

Megan pours us an array of brightly coloured cocktails from the supplies lined up along the kitchen counter. Bowls of crisps and chocolates are already set up on the coffee table, and Isaac adds the brownies and cupcakes Kelly helped him bake. It's not long before a delivery arrives with pizzas in cardboard boxes. I share a Hawaiian pizza with Isaac, although he lets me have the majority of it and instead steals slices from some of the other girls. He earns himself a nasty glare when Zoey notices a slice of her peperoni pizza in his hand.

"So are you two official now?" Brielle asks later on in the evening.

"We are." I confirm, giving Isaac a loving glance.

"Took you long enough." Zoey comments.

"Tell me," Isaac leans forward towards her. "Who do you have your eyes on right now?"

"Right now? Why, you of course." She replies sweetly.

"Touché." Eliza laughs.

All our conversations are light-hearted, which almost distracts me from the dark thoughts in my mind. Almost. Isaac keeps giving me knowing looks throughout the evening every time I go quiet, but I'm doing much better than I thought I would. It's only in the quiet moments that I really struggle.

The night drags on and Megan turns up the volume of the music playing through her portable speaker. Her, Brielle, and Zoey are all up dancing immediately. Me and Eliza join in only a minute later, but Isaac takes a little more convincing. I practically have to drag him to his feet. Once he's up, however, he's grooving away with the rest of us.

Midnight closes in, and we bring out the champagne. We all squeeze onto the small balcony, drinks in hand. There are other people out on their balconies too and we wave to strangers across the street. The whole world seems to shout with us as we count down from 10. We erupt into cheers and laughter as we hear Big Ben striking twelve in the distance.

Isaac presses his lips to mine before I've even had a chance to sip my champagne. He pulls away as the fireworks begin. We look at each other for a few moments before I tear my gaze away to watch the bright blue, radiant red, and wonderous white lights illuminating the once dark sky.

Once the brilliant display is over, the other girls drift indoors to warm up. I stay out, leaning over the metal railing to watch the sprawling city before me. Noisy cars drive past far below, while crowds of drunken revellers stumble along the pavements, shouting out to one another.

"It's a bit different to Topia, isn't it?" Isaac comes to rest against the metal railing beside me, taking a swig from his champagne flute.

"Not at all." I say sarcastically. The sound of pop music starts up again from inside the apartment.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I sigh. "I grew up in a palace on a completely different planet. My entire life was so structured and controlled. Then I spent months scared that one big mistake could cost me my life. And now that I've finally claimed the life I've always wanted... I don't know what I'm doing. It's like I always hoped to get here, but never quite believed it would happen."

"Think of it as a great new adventure. One I'm excited to share with you."

I slowly turn to face Isaac and see adoration shining in his beautiful sapphire eyes.

"I love you." I say breathlessly.

"I love you too."

And then we're kissing. My arms wrap around his neck as he presses me against the railings.

"Oops." Isaac laughs against my lips. "There's one more plastic champagne flute littering the streets now."

I laugh too. "If no one steals it, we'll pick it up in the morning."

We go back to kissing. It starts off gentle, before becoming more passionate. I'm running one hands through Isaac's hair, my other precariously still gripping my champagne. Isaac's hands rove around my body, down my back to cup my butt.

Isaac picks me up, and I laugh wildly as I hook my legs around his waist. He carries us inside. We call goodnight to our friends, who are all cheering and hooting (with the exception of a blushing Eliza) as they watch us head towards a random bedroom. I set down my champagne flute as we pass the kitchen counter.

Isaac kicks the bedroom door shut, before laying me down on the bed.

"Tell me what you want." He pants, hovering above me.

"I want you to take me on a new adventure." I say. "I want you to make me feel something I've never felt before. I want you to be my first and my last. I want you to touch me and know me and love me like only my soulmate can."

And that's exactly what he does. Multiple times. And then it's only fair for me to return the favour.

I have a whole new life ahead of me and with Isaac by my side, it doesn't seem so scary anymore. My life is going to be normal, but full of friends both new and old. I will be able to decide my own fate. A new life for a new year. The life of Ally Evers is just beginning.

Author's notes:

And that's a wrap on Royal Games! It's been a long journey, but thank you so much for sticking with me for a whopping 60 chapters.

This is only the first draft of a story I hope will be properly published as a novel in the future. If you wish to keep up to date with news on this, please follow my Instagram account @csutcliffebooks. I post about both my writing and reading on there, including book reviews, so you may get some good reading recommendations on there too. I will be pulling this story offline once it enters the publishing cycle, and it will not be published under the title Royal Games, so I strongly suggest keeping an eye on my Instagram. The alternative option is to follow me on here, as I will be able give advanced warning in an announcement to my followers before I remove my stories

If you would like to read more from me in the meantime, I am switching my focus to updating my other novel-in-progress, Song of Darkness. This is still a fantasy romance, but the tone will be darker. Here is an excerpt from a future chapter to give you a taste of what's in store:

"Let me guess. I'm not allowed to leave your home?"

"No." He crosses the cell and crouches down. He strokes a single finger slowly across my wrist, where flesh meets iron. I can't move away from his repulsive touch, so I settle for spitting in his face instead. "Pleasant." He comments dryly.

"Only for you." I reply, giving him my best saccharine smile.

"If I release you from these chains, I need your word that you won't try to escape."

"And if I do try to escape?"

"You'll end up right back here." His stony expression is warning enough not to test him.

Thank you again to all my incredible readers. Please don't forget to click that star to vote up the chapters. And a special thanks to readersarewelcome for voting on so many of my chapters as the updates came out.