Chapter 27
The worry cinching my chest eased when I rested the back of my hand against Corbin’s damp yet cooling brow; thank goodness his fever brought by our recent exertion to the village was finally going down. Yet my anxiety lingered, keeping me riveted to his side, even as I was at a loss as to what to do in order to help him.
The familiar suffocating helplessness that I’d experienced far too often during his short life pressed around me, impossible to escape. With my brief brush with magic during my apprenticeship I felt I should be able to do something, even if I didn’t have the healing elixir I’d hoped to gain during Alden’s competition.
Upon my return, for the sake of protecting my heart I’d spoken little about Alden or my apprenticeship to my family beyond the fact that it hadn’t worked out, but my omission did little to prevent the subject from weighing heavily upon my heart.
I gave my head a rigid shake, frustrated that I could think of him at a time like this, even as my thoughts had repeatedly drifted towards him ever since my return home, far more than they ought. My brother, not the prince, needed my love and attention. Yet though my devotion in serving him remained firm, I couldn’t help but reflect on the words Alden had once shared with me: you are more than your brother’s sister.
I summoned my magic and tried to form it into a simple cooling spell, one of the many I’d studied in my obsessive research in the healing arts during my sojourn as an apprentice. At first it appeared nothing had happened, but gradually Corbin’s tense body relaxed against my touch and he released a pent-up sigh before his eyes fluttered open.
He blinked blearily up at me before smiling with his usual sweet cheerfulness. “Mae?” His weary voice was weak but stronger than it’d been upon my return last night.
“It’s alright, I’m here.”
I moved my touch from his brow to run my fingers through his hair in the soothing way he enjoyed…only for my thoughts to betray me as I remembered the feel of being nestled in Alden’s hair when I’d been a frog and idly wondering what it’d be like to run my fingers through his soft, brown hair.
Suddenly the distance separating us felt endless, impossible to bridge now that the contract that had once bound us had dissolved after he’d chosen his future…one apart from me. Pain far more acute than any of the worry I’d ever felt for my brother wrenched my heart, making it difficult to breathe.
“What’s wrong, Maeve?” Corbin’s soft concern returned my focus to where it never should have strayed. He struggled to a sitting position and I helped him lean comfortably against his fluffed up pillows.
“Nothing, I’m just worried.” I tried to offer my usual reassuring smile but it felt tight and insincere on my lips.
His brow furrowed as he tilted his head to study me with his usual perception. “You seem sad.”
Guilt squeezed my heart that he’d noticed my distraction; I never wanted him to feel I was anything less than honored to care for him. “I have no reason to be sad when I’m with you.” Though the words were as true as they always were, for some reason they no longer felt sincere; my guilt sharpened that my heart had wavered from the brother who needed me, even for a moment.
His face scrunched as he studied me with childlike solemness. “Your eyes are faraway.” He traced around them with his finger, his touch cold. “Are you thinking about your wizard?” At the mention of the prince, Mother looked up from where she’d been sitting in the corner with her mending.
A thrill rippled over me at hearing Alden referred to as being my wizard. Once more my thoughts drifted to where they’d never fully strayed, causing another attack on my still wounded heart weak from missing him.
Memories from our time together played across my mind, each blended stroke of the bright and solemn moments together creating a picture that I’d initially believed to be about my apprenticeship but that instead told the story of unexpected love…with a prince more interested in magic than in romance.
Corbin still awaited my answer, his dark eyes round with curiosity. “I am thinking of Wizard Alden.”
“Because you miss him?” Once again he was far too perceptive. My longing curled around my heart, squeezing it so painfully it was all I could do to manage a nod. “If you miss him, then you should summon him with your powers.”
The idea was far too tempting. Though Alden had assured me I could seek his help should I need it, I knew he had far more pressing concerns vying for his attention than the whims of his former apprentice.
“He’s too busy.”
Corbin tilted his head. “But no matter how busy you get, you always make time for me. Because you love me.”
There lay the difference. Though I’d come to believe we’d become friends, I couldn’t delude myself into thinking my interests were of greater worth than Alden’s dreams…an explanation too painful for me to offer my brother, so instead I gave him a snuggle.
“I’ll always make time for you.” I kissed his cheek.
Only this precious emotion could give me the strength to push through my pain when he innocently asked for stories recounting my adventures with Alden that now hurt to speak of. The words took on a form of their own as I wove them together, breathing life into the memories I both savored and wanted to keep locked away forever.
Silence settled over us once I eventually ran out of stories. Corbin studied me more closely than he had before. “You must miss him a lot.”
I swallowed the emotion clogging my throat and nodded.
“Because you love him?”
Love…it was a word I still hesitated to associate with Alden, a spell that would only escalate my already unbearable yearning for him.
I couldn’t answer, but it seemed Corbin didn’t need one. He patted my hand. “If you can’t bring him here, then perhaps you should go to him.”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t…you need me.”
“You can love both me and your wizard at the same time. That’s what I like best about hearts; no matter how much we love someone, there’s always room for more.”
Whatever curse had shrouded my senses seemed to lift with the spell spoken with his innocent childlike wisdom. Just because Alden now filled my heart didn’t mean I had any less to offer my dear brother.
I wrapped him in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Corbin.”
His eyes brightened. “I can summon him for you.”
He screwed his face in concentration and pressed his hands together, as if he were trying to hold onto a magical force. My indulgent smile immediately faltered when a knock sounded on the door.
Corbin lit up. “It’s him! He was quick; he must have been waiting because he missed you too.” He blinked down at his hands, as if fully realizing what he might be capable of. “Did I do that?”
I was too shocked to respond. I’d never felt any magical presence from my brother, but couldn’t deny that the arrival of our guest was too perfectly timed to be a mere coincidence.
I rose and peered through the window, whose vantage point couldn’t offer a glimpse of our unexpected visitor’s face but did provide just enough of their familiar flowing blue robes for me to know who it was, as if my own acute longings had worked their own magic in order to summon him.
I gasped and allowed the curtain to fall back. No, it couldn’t possibly be him, not when he was occupied with his new position.
“Is it your wizard?” Corbin asked excitedly from the bed.
I drew the patched curtains back just enough for another tentative peek. The blue robes remained, too vivid to be even the most carefully crafted illusion. Suddenly I couldn’t bear the anticipation a moment longer.
I nearly tripped over my skirts in my haste to reach the door and wrench it open, where I found the prince—his familiar bright grey eyes, dark hair, and dimpled smile I’d come to adore. By the excited dance of my pattering heart, it was unmistakably him.
For a long moment I could only gape at him, my mind whirling with questions of how Alden could be here when he was supposed to be undergoing rigorous training for his new position. He stared back at me just as fervently before shyness tugged at the edges of his emerging smile.
“Hello, Mae.”
“Hello.” There was so much more I wanted to say than a simple pleasantry, yet every word I’d imagined expressing should I have the blessed opportunity of seeing him again felt inadequate, leaving only my usual curiosity. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not ecstatic to see you; I’m just unconvinced this isn’t an illusion conjured by my yearnings.”
“I would be quite proud of my pupil if you’d studied such an advanced technique on your own.” His lips curved up. “Ecstatic? An apt description that I share, considering how much I wanted to see you too.” A blush brushed his cheeks as he lowered his eyes. “I can’t stay as long as I wish since I need to return to the palace; I’ve been away from home long enough.”
My eyebrows rose. “You’re returning to the palace? But what of the Enchanters’ Council? Not to mention I thought you hated being a prince.”
Alden opened his mouth to respond…but his words were eclipsed by Corbin’s sudden excited exclamation.
“You’re a prince, Mr. Wizard? A real prince like in Mae’s stories?”
We both turned towards the now open window that led into the bedroom, where with Mother’s assistance Corbin had managed to erect himself into a sitting position so he could peer out, mouth agape. Mother hovered over his shoulder; by her wide eyes she too had overheard Alden’s true identity.
I slapped my hands over my mouth, as if the futile gesture could prevent the secret from escaping. Unfortunately the damage had already been done, but rather than the aversion to his title Alden usually displayed, this time he didn’t seem bothered.
His smile was warm as he turned to Corbin. “Indeed. I’m not only a wizard but Prince Alden of Rosileya.” He swept into a bow before casting me a sidelong grin. “A prince I hope will play an intimate part in your sister’s stories.”
My cheeks heated and Corbin’s eyes bulged. “Wow.” Apparently nothing more needed to be said, though he did attempt a rather adorable bow, one accompanied by Mother’s own hasty curtsy.
Alden held up his hands in a fluster. “Please, that’s not necessary. My relationship with Maeve is that of a wizard and friend rather than a prince, and the same extends to her family.”
Corbin leaned out the window to get a better look at Alden—kept steady by Mother’s gentle hand against his back—seeming to find him even more interesting than he had before now that he realized he possessed not only magic but a royal title.
“Why are you here, Mr. Prince Wizard?”
Alden shifted on his feet and cast me a sidelong glance. “To speak with your sister, with permission from the man of the house, of course.” The twinkle in his eyes as he faced Corbin dissipated some of his obvious nerves.
Corbin’s expression became uncannily solemn. “If I say no, will you put me in the dungeon?”
“I would never do anything to bring harm to Maeve’s family. You have my word as a prince.” With his vow Alden pressed a hand to his heart.
Corbin’s face scrunched in intense concentration as he considered Alden’s proposal. “You did gift me enchanted bluebells and a frog plushy.” As if that fact alone was enough to settle the matter in regards to trusting a prince, he nodded. “You may visit with my sister if you promise to treat her nicely. She’s been sad since she returned home. She wanted to see you, so I summoned you for her.” He swelled proudly.
Alden’s eyebrows rose as he cast me a sidelong glance. “Is that true?” His lips curved up in obvious pleasure.
I ached to deny it, but embarrassment seemed to have robbed me of my voice.
“Maybe you should give her magical flowers too,” Corbin suggested.
“I have something better in mind.”
My heart lurched at Alden’s words and the heartwarming smile that accompanied them as he faced me. “Might we converse…in private?”
Despite having now been alone with Alden countless times for extended periods, it was quite a different matter to do it after realizing my true feelings for him and without the spellbook present as an unofficial chaperone. No longer were we master and apprentice, or even comrades working towards a common goal…but a prince and a common girl desperately in love with him.
Yet as if hope was a guiding spell similar to the light that had brought me to Alden all those months ago, I followed this tender emotion into the shelter of the woods. Alden rested a hand against the trunk of the tree I’d found him leaning against that day, his expression thoughtful.
“I remember the day we met as if it were yesterday. So much has happened since then.”
My brows lifted in surprise. “Are you certain your magic doesn’t extend to reading minds?”
He chuckled. “Such an ability would save me all sorts of trouble to know what you’re thinking. Does this mean you were also thinking of the day that changed the course of both of our lives forever?”
“I’ve never been shy about sharing my thoughts, whether appropriate or not.” Except for now, when my greatest secret of my true feelings seemed too precious to impart.
His gaze met mine. “I was eager to make you my apprentice for all the wrong reasons, a mistake I haven’t learned from with the request I’m about to make of you now…though for far different reasons than before.”
I gasped. “You want me to become your apprentice again?”
He blushed. “Not exactly. In truth such a position is merely an excuse to bring you back to the palace, where I confess I don’t want to keep you as my apprentice for very long.”
Hope lifted my rapidly pounding heart. “What do you mean?”
“I—” He took a wavering breath. “I turned down my own apprenticeship on the Enchanters’ Council.”
It took me a moment to find my voice amid my shock. “Why? After all the effort you expended, to finally achieve your greatest aspiration…”
“Something else has become my dearest dream.” He finally lifted his gaze to meet mine, his expression shy yet earnest. “I missed you, Mae.”
“Really?” Emotion choked my voice.
In response he reached out a hesitant touch to caress the back of my hand with his fingertip; my skin tingled at the contact.
But rather than abruptly ending the moment as he’d previously done, Alden tucked his confidence around himself and laced our hands together. My breath caught. For a long moment I could only stare at our connected hands before slowly lifting my gaze to meet his in silent question.
“Of course I would thoroughly enjoy continuing to teach you magic,” he said in a rush. “But I also hope for a relationship outside of being a wizard and his apprentice, or even as a prince and his subject. I want to get to know you as a man might come to know a woman…to court you.”
“Court me?” No spell could exceed the joy I felt at such beautiful words, ones I’d never expected from a prince once entirely disinterested in love.
He lifted our linked hands to press his lips softly against mine, a kiss that far surpassed those he’d given me as a frog; his lips felt far different cradling mine than against my warty head. “I love you, Maeve.”
The words filled the air as acutely as the magic surrounding us, seeping into my heart to heal every crack created from our separation and of anticipating a life without him. Part of me feared this most magical of moments was nothing more than an illusion my heart had conjured, even as the joy coursing through me at Alden’s tender confession felt too powerful to be real.
In my shock my silence extended too long. Alden shifted nervously, a shyness I found endearing, part of the uncertain prince and wizard who’d spent his entire life trying to find his place, the man I dearly loved. “After all your time searching, it seems too fantastic to think your place could possibly be by my side.”
My heart leapt as he stepped close enough to caress my cheek, but unlike the last time he’d bestowed the gentle gesture, this time he didn’t pull away; my heart expanded at his lingering proximity.
“Only by living the life I thought I wanted for myself yet absent of you made me realize I’d left behind the place I truly belong.” With each word, he ran his thumb along my jaw, growing braver when I didn’t resist his alluring touch. “Please come back with me. I need your strength as I walk this new path…not only as a wizard and a prince, but a man who hopes to be with you forever. For it is my endearing and beautiful apprentice, my dearest friend, that helped me realize I could be both.”
He twisted his face to press his lips against my hand, causing my skin to tingle. The corners of my lips touched his palm still cradling my cheek as I smiled. “Is that truly how you see me?” It seemed too wondrous that he could care so much for a common girl such as myself.
His gaze softened to a reverence deeper than he exhibited when performing a spell. He twisted some of my springy hair around his finger with a look of the utmost fascination, which gave me permission to do what I’d been fantasizing about for a long time—I ran my fingers through his own hair, silky to the touch, so different from my own coarse strands.
“You’re my dearest friend, Mae. There’s nothing I adore more than you…not even magic.”
Tears burned my eyes as he leaned down, only to pause millimeters from my lips. “If you don’t care for me the way I do you…no title or love spell could ever compel me to force you to give me what you don’t want.”
“I want you, for I love you too.” There was so much more I wanted to say, infinite confessions of my own feelings swelling my heart, but that could wait. I stood on tiptoe to caress his lips with my own.
The kiss extended beyond anything I could have ever imagined, a new magic I yearned to explore forever until I’d discovered all there was to know. Alden’s heated touch spread up my back as his hand encircled my waist to draw me closer, allowing all of him to envelop me in the most tender embrace.
It felt as if time had stopped and I was reluctant for it to begin moving again once we broke the kiss. Yet we didn’t pull away, lingering in our embrace with our gazes locked as we both fought for breath. Slowly, we both smiled before coming together again, this time to hug. The contours of his chest pressed against me as I nestled as close as I could, feeling complete in the comfort of his arms.
It was some time before we spoke, the moment too reverent to dispel. “I have something for you,” he murmured against my hair.
“There’s nothing more than I want than what you’ve already given me.”
“I want to spend a lifetime giving you everything and more. Even though I resigned from my new position, I was still able to keep a charm…the very one I promised.”
He reached into the pocket of his cloak and withdrew a glistening amber pendant. My limited magical training hadn’t yet extended to charms, leaving this one unfamiliar. My brows drew together. “What is it?”
“A charm of healing.”
My breath caught. “A charm of—but if you could only choose one, isn’t there a charm you were seeking for yourself?”
He shrugged. “I much prefer making you happy.”
He pressed the charm gently into my hand. Energy pulsated from it that upon closer examination I recognized as healing with how familiar I’d become with that magic with all the brews I’d tried to replicate. I glimpsed some of its power when upon my touch its magic reached into my heart to heal the remaining wounds my constant worry for my brother and my separation from Alden had left behind that hadn’t already been soothed by our kiss.
“Incredible.” Tears burned my eyes as I stared first at it, then up at Alden, aglow at the sight of my happiness. “Will this heal Corbin?”
Tears burned my eyes at his nod. Only the thought of my brother’s healing was a force strong enough to pull out of the comforting cocoon of Alden’s arms. I laced my hand with his to keep him by my side as I returned to the house.
Mother had moved Corbin to the chair in front of the kitchen hearth. Their eyes lit up upon noticing our clasped hands.
“Are you two together?” Mother asked as she and Corbin watched us with unabashed curiosity.
We both exchanged shy but pleased smiles. “We are.” At my reverent murmur, Alden gave my hand a squeeze, causing my heart to lift.
Corbin clasped his hands. “Now you won’t have to miss him anymore. You can be together forever. Wait, does this mean we’re going to live in a castle as a princess…and me a prince?” His eyes widened in wonder at the prospect.
My heart warmed at Alden’s blush and tender smile as he met my gaze. “If your sister will have me.” He pressed a soft kiss against my brow. I ached to bask in the moment, but my brother quickly drew my attention away from my love.
I crouched in front of him and held out the charm on my palm. “Alden brought magic that will make you feel better—not immediately, but its enchantment will work upon you until you’re finally healthy and whole.”
Corbin reverently accepted the charm. The moment he touched it, a soothing light emanated from it to surround him, cradling him as gently as the golden rays of sunlight. By the time it gradually faded, Corbin’s ashen pallor had vanished, leaving behind cheeks rosy with health.
He blinked a moment, dazed, before offering a tentative smile. “I feel a lot better.”
My heart swelled and I could no longer hold back my tears. With a strangled sob I flung my arms around him and squeezed him close. His little arms wound around me, no longer weak but much stronger than any of his previous hugs. With his wholeness, I felt all the sadness from my years of worry gradually heal as the magic extended from the charm to embrace me, holding me as close as Alden had moments before.
Magic had given me all I’d been searching for—my brother’s dear health, a sense of purpose, and especially my dearest love. I couldn’t wait to discover what spell it would weave for me next.