20. Linden
Linden
As I expected, the grove was a few weeks ahead of the surrounding area in terms of warmth and growth for the season.
Outside the edges of the grove, where the magic couldn’t reach, things were still buried in deep snow, the air frigid and unforgiving.
But inside the grove the trees were coming back to life.
The pines were greener, the sap was flowing, and the air itself was warm and fragrant.
And, here and there, snowdrops had begun to poke through the thin layer of snow still clinging to the earth. It was absolutely gorgeous.
Of course, I was a bit biased in that department. However, the moment we stepped inside and Cass gasped, I knew it wasn’t just me that felt that way. He was stunned too and quickly shed his thick winter jacket in exchange for a hoodie.
“What are these things?” he said, pointing to all the tiny white and green flowers poking up through the snow. “I’ve never seen them before.”
“Snowdrops,” I grinned. “I told you they’d be up.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t know what they looked like.” He knelt down, running the back of his finger over one of the delicate blooms. “They’re really pretty.”
“They’re one of my favorites,” I nodded. “There’s something really magical about a flower pushing up through the snow, forcing its way into the sunshine before any of the other plants have even thought about sprouting.”
There was something about watching Cass appreciate the flowers that made my heart flutter in a way I wasn’t expecting. His usual cocky demeanor had softened, replaced by genuine wonder, and I found myself studying him as he tilted his head to examine another bloom more closely.
“They’re stubborn little bastards,” he said, glancing up at me with a slight smile. “I like that.”
Of course he did. I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Cass had always struck me as someone who respected things that refused to be broken by circumstance.
He pushed to his feet, brushing snow from his jeans, and I tried not to notice the way his hoodie rode up slightly, revealing a sliver of the toned stomach beneath.
“Come on,” I said, perhaps a bit too quickly. “There’s a clearing deeper in where we can set up for the night.”
We made our way through the grove, and I was hyperaware of his presence behind me.
I could hear his boots crunching on the frozen ground, and felt the occasional brush of his arm against mine as we navigated between trees.
The night air was cool on my skin but not cold.
The grove was in that strange space between seasons that felt almost dreamlike, like a painting had come to life.
The clearing opened before us, the canopy of branches overhead creating a natural shelter while still leaving enough sky visible to see the stars beginning to emerge. Cass let out a low whistle.
“Okay, I’ll admit it,” he said, dropping the pack he’d been carrying. “This place is pretty incredible. Every time I come here, it seems even more beautiful than before.”
“Thanks,” I replied, unable to suppress my smile. “I’m glad you like it.” I dropped my bag on the ground, stooping down to pull it open. “Want to help me put the tarp down so we don’t get soaked?”
Cass nodded, his excitement visible. “Do you think we’ll see the northern lights again tonight?”
“Maybe. Between my magic and yours, I don’t see why we can’t draw some in.”
I watched as Cass’s expression shifted, a familiar spark of mischief igniting in those green eyes. “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he said, already moving to help me spread out the heavy tarp across the frozen ground. His fingers brushed mine as we worked, and I felt that jolt again.
We finished setting up our sleeping area in comfortable silence, so used to working together now that we didn’t need words to know what to do next.
Once everything was arranged to my satisfaction, I pulled out the thermos of hot cider I’d packed, along with an assortment of gas station snacks that I’d picked up on our way to the grove.
Cass accepted the cup I offered him, wrapping his fingers around it and breathing in the steam. “You really thought of everything, didn’t you?”
“I wanted you to be comfortable,” I said, sitting down close to him and wrapping my free hand around his waist. “I wanted tonight to be perfect.”
We sat like that for a while, watching the sky deepen from blue to purple to black.
The stars emerged gradually, first a few, then dozens, then hundreds until the entire expanse above us was glittering with light.
Cass was quiet, and I found myself perfectly content to just live in the moment with him.
There was so much bubbling up inside me, things I wanted to tell him about how I felt and my plans for the future.
But right now, I was happy to just exist with him.
“Okay,” he said finally, setting down his empty cup. “Let’s do this. Let’s call the lights down.”
I reached out and took his hand, threading our fingers together as I stood and pulled him up with me. The night air was crisp against my skin, carrying the scent of pine and earth and what had always been home to me.
“Ready?” I asked, meeting his eyes.
“Yeah,” he said, squeezing my hand. “Let’s do this.”
We moved to the center of the clearing, and I could feel his magic already responding to mine, crackling at the edges like a storm waiting to break. I’d never tried to deliberately summon the northern lights before, but with Cass here, and our combined power, I felt like anything was possible.
I closed my eyes and reached inward, finding that familiar golden glow of my dryad magic.
It came easily now, especially with him so close.
I could feel the earth beneath my feet, the sap flowing through the surrounding trees, the life force that pulsed through everything in this grove.
And then I reached for his magic too, letting it intertwine with mine.
The air around us began to shift. I could feel it crackling, building, becoming charged with potential. Cass’s breathing quickened beside me, and I opened my eyes to find him staring up at the sky with an expression of pure concentration on his face.
“Higher,” I murmured. “Push the magic higher, beyond the clouds.”
He did, and I felt the surge of his power like lightning through my veins.
The clouds that had begun to form started to glow with an ethereal green light, and then they parted.
The first ribbon of color danced across the sky, tentative at first, then growing bolder.
Waves of green and purple and blue and red rippled across the darkness, painting the night in a rainbow of colors that shouldn’t have been possible.
Cass gasped, his hand tightening around mine. “Oh my god. Linden, look at that.”
“I know,” I breathed, unable to tear my eyes away from the sight.
But more than that, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him, from the way the lights reflected in his green eyes, making them glow from within.
From the wonder etched across his features.
From the realization that I was absolutely in love with him.
The thought hit me like a truck, stealing my breath. I loved him. Not just wanted him, not just cared about him. I was in love with him. Had been for weeks, probably. Maybe since that first night in the grove when he’d kissed me and my magic had sung in response.
“Linden?” Cass turned to look at me, concern flickering across his face. “You okay? You… You’re glowing.”
“Yeah,” I said, though I wasn’t sure if I was answering his question or just saying the first word that came to mind. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just… I need to tell you something.”
The northern lights continued to dance overhead, painting everything in shades of emerald and amethyst. Cass’s hand was still in mine, warm and solid.
I could feel his magic still humming beneath his skin, intertwined with mine in a way that felt permanent, like we’d been connected this way since the beginning of time.
“You’re scaring me a little,” he admitted, his voice soft. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” I said quickly, squeezing his hand. “Everything’s right, actually. That’s what I need to tell you.”
I took a breath, trying to find the right words.
How did you tell someone you were in love with them?
How did you make them understand that it wasn’t just about the sex or the convenience or the fact that we’d been thrown together by circumstance?
How did you explain that somewhere between the first kiss and now, they’d become essential to living in a way that terrified and exhilarated me in equal measure?
“I love you, Sparks,” I said finally, the words tumbling out before I could overthink them.
“I’m in love with you. I have been for a while now, I think.
And I know you might not feel the same way, and that’s okay.
I just needed you to know. I needed to say it out loud, especially here, in my grove, under the lights we just pulled down together. ”
Cass went very still beside me. The northern lights continued their dance, but I could barely see them anymore. All I could focus on was the expression on his face, trying to read what he was thinking. Trying to figure out if I’d just made a massive mistake by putting my heart out there like this.
“You love me?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Yeah,” I confirmed, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might break through my ribs. “I do.”
For a long moment, he didn’t say anything.
He just stood there, staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
My stomach twisted with anxiety, and I found myself regretting every word.
Maybe I’d moved too fast. Maybe he wasn’t ready for this.
Maybe I’d just ruined everything by being too honest, too vulnerable, too—
“I love you too,” he said, and the words were so quiet I almost didn’t hear them.
I blinked, certain I’d misunderstood. “What?”
“I love you too, you big, dumb idiot,” he repeated, louder this time.
There was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, but his eyes were shining with something that looked like tears.
“I was going to tell you tonight. I had this whole plan, and then you just went and said it first, and now I’m standing here with my dick in my hand feeling like an idiot. ”
Relief flooded through me so intensely that my knees nearly buckled. “You... you do?”
“Of course I do,” he said, reaching up to grab a fistful of my shirt and pulling me down. “How could I not? You’re kind and patient and you see me. Like, actually see me. Not the version of me that I show everyone else, but past all my bullshit. The real me. And you love me anyway.”
I kissed him before he could say anything else, pouring everything I was feeling into it.
The northern lights painted the clearing in shifting colors as our magic danced together again, more synchronized now.
I could feel his emotions mirroring mine.
There was relief, joy, and the overwhelming sense of correctness that came from finally saying the words out loud.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard. Cass rested his forehead against mine, and I could feel him smiling.
“So what now?” he asked. “We’re actually doing this? Like, officially?”
“If you want to,” I said, running my hands down his back.
“I know there’s still complications. I still have to graduate, and you’ve got two more years of school.
But I got offered a position. A graduate assistant role in the conservation program.
I’d stay on campus for at least two years, maybe longer. ”
He pulled back to look at me, his eyes wide. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I was going to,” I said. “Tonight. I wanted to see if you felt the same way first, because I didn’t want you to think I was staying just for you. But the truth is, I want both. I want the work, and I want you. I want to see where this goes.”
“Two years,” he repeated, like he was testing out the words. “You’d really stay for two years?”
“I’d stay longer if you wanted me to,” I said simply. “I love you, Sparks. I want to build something with you. And yeah, there’s still the whole thing with your parents to worry about, but we can figure that out together.”
“They’re gonna flip their shit when they find out about this.”
“That’s a problem for tomorrow,” I smiled, pulling him into another kiss. “Right now, I just want to make love to you under these stars.”
He threw his hands around my neck. “Please,” he said simply. “I’m all yours.”