Chapter 41 #2
I nodded slowly before asking the question I wasn't sure I wanted answered.
"How did they tell you?"
His jaw tightened.
I knew instantly I shouldn't have asked.
But I couldn't stop now.
"Airis."
He remained silent for several long seconds.
Then, finally...
"During the interrogation."
This time...
I was the one who had no answer.
I wasn't na?ve.
I knew Airis wasn't some harmless hero.
I knew what he did wasn't gentle work.
And yet...
Something inside me shifted.
I just didn't know what.
"Your control has improved," he said, deliberately changing the subject. "Was my absence really that beneficial?"
I stayed silent.
I couldn't bring myself to admit that I'd wanted him to be proud of me.
"It wasn't intentional."
I shrugged, forcing an easy smile.
"It just... happened."
I hesitated before adding,
"And... thank you for the letters."
My gaze dropped to the ground.
"They helped more than you probably realize."
The words waiting inside me suddenly felt impossibly heavy.
But if I wanted any chance at happiness...
I had to say them.
"You know..."
"You know..."
We both spoke at exactly the same time.
Airis blinked in surprise before a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"You first."
My pulse hammered painfully against my ribs.
"I think..."
I swallowed.
"I think I like you."
My voice came out far steadier than I felt.
"More than I ever wanted to."
I forced myself to keep going.
"That's why I haven't been able to open up completely."
A slow smile spread across his face.
His hand rose, gently cupping my cheek.
He didn't say anything.
My heart immediately filled the silence with every terrible possibility it could invent.
"Forgive me for being blunt, Fireling..."
His thumb brushed lightly across my skin.
"That part was fairly obvious."
I narrowed my eyes.
"That wasn't the point."
He waited.
So I sighed.
"What I meant..."
"...is that I'm ready to try."
"To let you in."
I could already feel myself getting annoyed with him.
Somehow, he'd managed to make me say everything out loud...
Without saying almost anything himself.
"I missed you."
Before I realized what was happening, he pulled me into his arms.
The warmth of his body...
His familiar scent...
Wrapped around me like a shelter I'd been searching for without knowing it.
Hadn't I been annoyed just a second ago?
"Tarven refused to bring me to you any sooner," he murmured into my hair.
I frowned slightly.
"Wait... Tarven can teleport anyone to Vuduarus whenever he wants? Even with the seal restrictions?"
"He's Vuduarus's representative."
That answered everything.
Silence settled around us again.
But this one was different.
Comfortable.
Like the first real breath after holding it for far too long.
I hadn't realized just how attached I'd become to him.
Still...
I was proud of myself.
Proud that, for once, I'd chosen courage instead of fear.
Pulling back just enough to meet his eyes, I said,
"Actually..."
"I was planning to confess after kissing you."
I frowned.
"You completely ruined my plan."
Airis didn't bother answering.
Instead, he closed the distance between us.
His lips found mine.
Softly.
As though he'd been waiting for permission all along.
I hadn't wanted to lose myself in him.
And yet...
That's exactly what I did.
I thought the world would change.
But only one thing did.
I no longer wanted to run from him.
Anastasia Lang's POV
Waiting for Tarven outside the building, I felt an unfamiliar calm settle inside me.
This decision hadn't come easily.
In some ways, it still had the power to hurt me.
But I wouldn't let it.
After all...
We're the ones who decide what can wound us.
What can break us.
What can destroy us.
Somehow, it was Ria who had finally made me understand that.
I spotted Tarven the moment he stepped outside.
His stride was quick, but his eyes searched the courtyard as though looking for someone.
The instant he noticed me, his expression softened.
"Stasia."
He let out a quiet breath as he walked toward me.
"I've been looking for you."
"I've been looking for you too."
I smiled and started walking toward the academic building at an unhurried pace.
Tarven fell into step beside me without saying another word.
"I wanted to apologize," he said after a moment. "For what I said during the festival. Or... rather..."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"You misunderstood what I meant."
I gently shook my head.
"I'm not angry with you."
I smiled faintly.
"And I don't think I'd ever be able to stay angry with you."
I saw the tension ease from his shoulders.
Even the crease between his brows relaxed.
"How's Rosalie adjusting?"
"Better than I expected." He nodded. "They found her a temporary mentor who's... not connected to bones."
He paused awkwardly before running a hand through his hair.
A habit I'd learned to recognize.
He was nervous.
"I still can't believe my little sister can break bones with nothing but a thought."
We hadn't really talked about it before.
And somehow...
I'd never stopped to consider what that must have been like for him.
"She's a rare mage," I said softly.
"An incredibly gifted one."
"You should be proud of her."
He nodded.
"I am."
Another silence settled between us before he spoke again.
"But I still can't get over the fact that you were the first person she ever used that power on."
I looked away, pretending to study the tall pines lining the training grounds.
"I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."
I shrugged.
"It happens."
My polite smile was beginning to feel dangerously close to becoming a nervous one.
"I hate the thought of the people I care about hurting each other."
His voice was quiet.
Almost defeated.
I didn't answer.
Because I wasn't ready to tell him the truth...
The truth everyone had worked so hard to keep from him.
"But enough about depressing things." He smiled as he looked at me. "You're incredibly talented, Stasia Lang."
I shrugged.
"I don't think I would've discovered that talent without you."
A smile tugged at my lips.
"You're an amazing mentor, Tarven."
Something flickered in his eyes.
He loved being praised.
He just never seemed to know how to accept it.
"But I can't keep taking advantage of that anymore."
His brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
I took a slow breath.
"I've spent a lot of time thinking about it."
"And I realized..."
"I only want you in my life as a friend."
"Not as my mentor."
Before I even realized what was happening, something gripped my wrist.
I stopped abruptly.
My eyes dropped to Tarven's hand wrapped firmly around mine before lifting to his face.
He looked deadly serious.
"What's going on, Stasia?"
His voice was quiet.
Dangerous.
Too many emotions clashed behind his eyes for me to name a single one.
I softened my voice.
"Rosalie needs you more than I do."
He froze.
His grip loosened almost instantly.
"There are people here who'll look after me now."
"I've made friends."
"Rosalie only has you."
"And I don't want to take that away from her."
He didn't say anything.
The emptiness in his eyes almost found the key to my heart.
Almost.
But I'd already made my choice.
I believed in real love.
Honest love.
The kind that chooses you just as completely as you choose it.
Whatever existed between Tarven and me...
I could've mistaken it for something I desperately wanted it to be.
But I wasn't going to make that mistake anymore.
"Tarven?"
An unwanted tenderness softened my voice.
The silence had stretched too long.
Another second...
And I would've started doubting my own decision.
That would've been my mistake.
"I didn't expect this."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Is this because of what I said that night?"
I shook my head.
"I started thinking about it after Rosalie came to the academy."
He nodded slowly.
He didn't try to change my mind.
He didn't ask me to stay.
And somehow...
I was grateful for that.
Gianna Elern's POV
On my way back from Draksen's office, I couldn't stop replaying our conversation.
"I know how I must look," I'd said, struggling to keep my voice steady. "I know I probably seem insufferable."
I lowered my eyes.