Chapter 42 #2
How would they even manage that? From the sounds of it, Seekers were as old as the Order.
Doubts flitted about her mind, but Aurelia’s next breath was smoother.
“We start with the Initiis. Tomorrow, clearly, has enough problems. We don’t need to be borrowing them when today has plenty to contend with. ”
He nodded slowly, eyeing her. “For once, you’re right.”
Her laugh was a choked, bittersweet thing.
“Give me another five minutes and some part of my brain will start obsessing over when we’ll get into Adrian’s shop while another wonders when we can start world-hopping while another—” Catching his look, Aurelia cut herself off with a sheepish smile, finally stilling her pen.
Then she blinked, Kayce’s words catching up with her.
“Wait, did you say I was right for once?” Her voice went shrill as she stepped toward him, poking his chest with her pen. “I think that’s more my line, Kayce—”
He caught her wrist, the grip halting her tongue. “Are you threatening me, my lady?”
“Potentially.” Her tone dipped to match his, and his gaze smoldered in response.
He inclined his head toward her, breath fanning her cheeks. “Is that why this is glowing?”
Glancing down, Aurelia’s pen shone. But she wasn’t actively utilizing its power. She didn’t understand; she wasn’t really threatening him. Far from it, in fact.
But maybe her pen, like herself, failed to understand the new nuances of their dynamic.
Kayce studied it, the electricity fading to the confusion. “When we found Adrian, he wasn’t actively using his pen either,” he murmured. “And yet it glowed?”
“Your point? I’m not nearly as skittish as he is.” And there was no magnetic attraction there whatsoever. Ick.
“My point,” Kayce’s teeth bit into the enunciation, captivating her focus. “Yours did too. And he had a piece of the Initiis in his presence. The book called to the pens.”
The iridescent tip of her pen’s crystal continued to glow between them.
“Where did your grandfather hide all of his research?”
His bright gaze ensnared Aurelia, the realization quickening her pulse as much as the tender grip on her wrist. “His attic.”
“Where are we now?”
Long ago, when Aurelia was still writing about Norenth’s tales in a journal with a Pegasus on the cover, she had jokingly called this alcove the kingdom’s attic.
Papa argued that Fealtek’s crystalline deposit at the summit would actually be considered the attic, but she wouldn’t be bothered with semantics.
But here they were. In the kingdom’s attic. Crystal nib glowing.
Of one mind, her and Kayce started tapping the walls, tracing the crystalline carvings for anything they may have missed, any secret latches to a hidden compartment.
Ultimately, they both converged on the small bookshelf, kneeling side by side and pulling out book after book until nothing remained but a small trunk on the bottom shelf.
The word “Chivet” was embossed in copper script.
Aurelia wrenched the lid open, its hinges groaning.
But the game’s miniature continent did not float to greet them.
Instead, the torn half of a book rested within.
Her fingers trembled as she pulled it out.
Dark leather, gilded with metal corners on the cover: the back of the Book of Beginnings.
Several pages scrawled over in Latin hung from the binding—she really should have taken that instead of Spanish class.
Thoughts collided in Aurelia’s mind. Papa’s note about walking through fire had nothing to do with locating this piece; he must have at least located the third, the book’s spine; her pen was still glowing; and the Initiis? Smaller than she expected.
Kayce broke the stunned silence. “Your grandfather would have been proud.”
Aurelia stilled. Because more than anything, she wanted to serve his memory. It was her compass, helping her navigate the storm that would undoubtedly surge. Storms were inevitable. But she wasn’t unanchored.
Not anymore, she realized. Small bits of her papa. Training her body, enlivening her imagination. Laughter with friends. This closeness with Kayce, for all that it stole her breath. Discovering this vital piece of the Initiis. All anchors, grounding her in this life.
As though remembering he still clutched it within his fist, Kayce fished something from the pouch he had collected earlier: a thin chain holding an intricate knot, a pendant with a glowing blue emerald in the center.
“I know this pales in comparison to what we just found.” A dry chuckle escaped him, a small dimple appearing in his cheek as he studiously avoided her gaze.
“But I’m running out of opportunities to give this to you.
Apparently, pens of deceased Flamehearts return to the Smith.
It wasn’t hard to ask Fee how to get it back.
Get the Smith to make it into something new.
Had to barter with Fee within an inch of my life to act as an intermediary, but it helped that it was a gift for you.
” He cleared his throat, the curl of his lips softening as he studied her.
He gently unfurled her free hand to drop the pendant into her palm.
“Now, you can always carry a piece of him with you.”
“Kayce…” A breath loosened as she sniffed. All thoughts of the ancient artifact in her lap evaporated. Blinking hard, Aurelia marveled at how the stone caught the light.
Kayce didn’t take his eyes off her, like the smile through her tears rivaled the sun rising outside.
“I can’t—I can’t believe you—it’s beautiful.” Aurelia’s heart stumbled. Not only at the thoughtfulness, but knowing how much he thought of her when she wasn’t here. Like how she’d been thinking of him in that swampy wilderness.
She truly was never alone.
“Help me?” She offered it back to him. When Kayce took it, she turned and lifted her bound curls, exposing the pale nape of her neck. His fingertips brushed over her skin, causing Aurelia to shiver as the pendant hung under the hollow of her throat. Several tears clung to her lashes.
“I wanted to honor his memory.” He sucked in a quiet breath as his fingers lingered, their heat against her skin. “You deserve—”
Turning to face him, Aurelia didn’t think. She rose onto her knees and pressed her lips to his cheek.
Kayce stilled. Blinking, he sat there as she pulled away. Red crept up his neck, and her cheeks burned. She leaned forward a fraction, pulled toward him by a force she couldn’t begin to understand.
Aurelia wanted to feel it again. She knew “just friends” didn’t look at each other like this. Touch like this. But she couldn’t ignore this change inside her—not this time.
Kayce’s lips parted. He shifted back onto his heels.
Her cheeks burned hotter as she toyed with the pendant, the Initiis between them. Had she gotten caught up in the moment of discovery? Overanalyzed everything? Seen more where there wasn’t anything but years of friendly affection? Uncertainty made her voice waver at his retreat. “Kayce—”
He cut her off. Surging forward, his arms slid around her. His lips found hers.
Questions raced through Aurelia’s mind: how, when, and why would he ever—
He angled his head, deepening the kiss. He stole her breath and scattered those thoughts like minnows. A stone tossed in the pool of her mind—everything, save him, eddying away.
Her lips moved with his, her hands gripping the lapels of his coat. His own slid up her back, tucking her body against his in a snug embrace. Blood pulsed in her head, tandem with the heart hammering within Kayce’s chest. She felt each beat as hard as her own.
When they pulled apart for a breath, Aurelia kept her eyes closed.
“I needed to know what it feels like with you,” Kayce rasped against her lips.
He’d wondered about kissing her before? Aurelia shivered. “Just once,” she managed. “Just this once.”
It wasn’t what she’d imagined for a first kiss; she knew him as intimately as she knew herself. And it wasn’t like a last kiss, for Aurelia knew her words were utter lies as warmth stoked the flame within her.
Her name rolled off Kayce’s tongue as he gripped her hips, brushing his nose along hers.
She didn’t want him to explain her apprehension away. Because even as the kiss broke her mind apart and pieced it back together, Aurelia knew these precious moments were all she had to pretend.
Pretend that she wasn’t bound by an oath to remain only his friend—the one precept she must obey. He deserved so much better than she could ever offer.
When she opened her eyes, the look in Kayce’s set everything she knew ablaze.
She rested her forehead against his, releasing his coat to rest her hands lightly on his chest. The still-thundering heartbeat reassured her.
Both of them, drawn like moths to something that burned far too bright for them to ignore.
A soft hum came from Kayce as they contemplated each other. “I’ll listen to you,” his voice rumbled. “For now.”
Aurelia’s breath caught. Despite the trepidation cloying at her mind, her heart soared at the implication of what he wouldn’t listen to. But regardless of what was to come, one thing was certain: that night, this morning, was when her life finally began.
Morning light emblazoned the sky and seas as the two rangers exited the hidden outpost. It caught their eyes, bright enough to hide the soft glow emanating from the emerald at Aurelia’s throat. Hope and hesitation thrummed between them, but no matter what stacked against them, they would face it.
Together.
Unbeknownst to them, three pairs of eyes observed from the trees. And in a beat, the owl lifted its wings and left them.
End of Book I of the Flameheart Chronicles