Chapter 25
After several days of being trapped in my room, I couldn’t deny that I was going stir crazy.
The bed and books Leif had let me borrow from the library were nice, but I was tired of being cooped up.
Unfortunately, though the two books both mentioned the Seid, it was all surface information—all things I already knew.
The Seid had existed peacefully for centuries, willing to teach anyone who wanted to learn the language of magic.
But still, they were hated from the beginning. Hated for the perception that they had something that the rest of society didn’t.
Even though anyone could become a reader.
I’d secretly been hoping to learn more about Seekers, but the books had barely mentioned them, meaning I would have to swallow my embarrassment and ask Leif.
He’d come by every day since I’d arrived in Malheim, often eating dinner with me. Sometimes, he even brought gifts, like flowers, which made me feel so warm and happy and—
Loved.
The door was twisting open. I closed the book and set it on my bedside table.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Leif whispered as he stepped into my room. I wanted to tell him that it was likely almost afternoon, based on how high the sun was in the sky, but all of my thoughts flew from my mind when he leaned down to press his lips to mine.
I wouldn’t say things had escalated between us, per se, but we had been kissing more and more. Still, I was hesitant to take things further, both because of my inexperience, and because I was so confused on how the weighted relationship worked. I planned to inquire more about that today.
As he released my lips from his, he glanced about the room. “I thought perhaps we would go on an outing today?”
I couldn’t stop the way my mood immediately changed. “How did you know that I wanted to leave this room?”
He shrugged, tucking my hand in his, “I think anyone would feel cooped up after spending seven days in a single room. Other than our brief trip to the library, of course.”
My eyebrows drew together. “And you have permission to take me out of here?”
He grinned. “I know the guard at the door, but we still have to be a bit sneaky about it. We aren’t leaving the grounds of the palace though.”
A portion of the hope that had blossomed at his previous words died. While I was still excited to leave this room, I had secretly been wanting to explore town. I wasn’t going to complain, though; I needed to be free of this room no matter what.
“Come on, we should go now so we have as much time as possible out there.” His smooth voice helped me release my worries and I eagerly followed him out the door and around the side of the courtyard, even waving to the guard as we stepped out.
It still struck me as odd, how this palace was laid out so similarly to Adis’s palace. Almost as if they have been built by the same person.
I pushed that thought away. It didn’t matter. It was just a palace.
We didn’t talk as Leif guided me around corners and down dim halls, pushing open an exterior door that led to the most beautiful garden I had ever seen.
I was momentarily awestruck, unable to move as I took in the gorgeous array of flowers, trees, and butterflies.
My brain launched into overdrive, imagining all the potions I could make with a garden like this.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered when I could finally form a coherent thought.
“That it is. But this isn’t what I wanted to show you.” He tugged on my hand, leading me forward on a path through a grove of trees that arched over the area where we walked, making a tunnel. I didn’t think they were fruit trees initially, but they did appear as though they were about to blossom.
Maybe I could finally find the peaches I needed to make my hand cream.
The thought took me back to another place, another time, when I had first experimented with potions as a kid. A mental image of my mother arose in my mind’s eye, like a dagger to the heart. I grimaced.
“Are you okay?” Leif’s eyes were fixed on me over his shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. I didn’t want to bring down the mood. “Just enjoying the flowers.”
This was apparently enough to sate him as he focused his attention back on the path ahead.
After the arch, he led me through rows of baby trees that appeared to have been planted within the last few years.
Sticks rested against them in the soil, giving them something to lean on as they grew.
Though they weren’t as impressive as the tree archway yet, there was something so beautiful about seeing a small tree before it grew large.
I was so enamored by the grove of baby trees I didn’t notice Leif had stopped until I ran into his back and almost toppled over. He caught me with a chuckle. “Someone is a bit eager, I see.”
It was then I noticed the massive expanse of blue in front of him. I could see the other edge of the water, which meant it wasn’t the ocean, but it was so much more blue than the pond Adis had kept that I couldn’t help but survey it in wonder.
Always attuned to my emotions, Leif pointed to the water. “There is a special stone in this water, and when the stone starts to decay or fall apart, it turns the water this color.”
“Is it safe for humans?”
He nodded. “The stone is a mineral, so the water from this lake may taste different, but it doesn’t cause any harm.”
I kneeled down by the edge, folding my legs beneath me as I dipped a finger in. It felt just like regular water. “Wow.”
“Wow is right.”
I looked up only to find a shirtless Leif in front of me, his hands resting on his pant laces. I couldn’t help but rake my eyes over his chest, taking notice of how well muscled he was—similar to another man I had seen without a shirt recently.
I hastily shoved that thought away too, chastising myself. My mind had been wandering far too much lately. Otho belonged to someone else.
And he might very well be my enemy.
As I watched him undo the laces of his pants, something coiled within me, but almost as briefly, I realized I needed to put a stop to this right now.
I opened my mouth to tell Leif, only for him to remove his pants entirely, leaving him only in his undershorts as he took a running jump into the light blue water.
I watched as he tucked his knees to his chest, making a splash as he passed through the surface. He went under for a few moments, but was soon swimming toward me, his arms making perfect arcs through the blue water. “The water feels amazing. Want to come in?”
I wanted to, but that wasn’t the problem. “I can’t swim,” I confessed, sucking my lower lip into my mouth.
“Oh.” A crestfallen look crossed his features. “I guess I should have asked before I jumped in, huh?”
A smile crept to my lips, and I released my lip from between my teeth. Leif really did make me feel safe. “That’s okay, don’t let me hold you back. I’m happy to just sit here.” It was a lie, but I knew there wasn’t time for me to learn to swim today.
Leif shook his head, exiting the water. “No, I’ll come sit on the shore with you. I need to dry off before I put my clothes back on anyway.”
I couldn’t help but stare as his body emerged from the water. Whether or not we were weighted, I definitely found him attractive.
He collapsed on the ground next to me, lying on his stomach.
An idea came to me then, something I hadn’t dared to do on purpose since leaving Adis’s clutches. I clenched my fist before opening my hand and pushing a burst of air his way. It ruffled his hair.
He chuckled. “Impressive. What else you got?”
A blush crawled up my neck and cheeks. “Not much, honestly. I’m still learning a lot, and the books I read for Adis weren’t all that impressive.
” I shrugged my shoulders, convincing myself it wasn’t a big deal that I wasn’t able to dry him with my lousy magic—considering the same magic had woken Otho—
I shook my head to clear it.
“Hey.” His finger hooked under my chin, turning my face toward his. “It’s impressive that you can read magic, even if the books you have access to are a simpler aspect of Seid lore.”
I bit my lip and nodded, suddenly feeling shy. I moved my chin from his grasp and faced forward again. There was something that had been bothering me for a long time. “Why can’t you read, Leif?”
His throat bobbed, his gaze now fixed forward as well. “I can, a little.”
That was new information. “. . . does Collum know?”
His lips twisted. “It wouldn’t matter if she did.
Reading magic from those books goes far beyond reading the words.
Anyone can learn to read for comprehension, but reading and being able to speak those words with the perfect cadence to deliver magic—that’s something that takes time to master.
My mother taught me to read when I was little, but . . .”
The barrier all Seid children faced. “The Purge,” I whispered for him.
“Yes.” He ran a hand through his blond hair. “I hadn’t mastered it enough to do what you or Collum do.”
I tilted my head to the side. If there was one thing I had learned in my childhood, it was that where there was a will, there was a way. “Why don’t you take the time to learn now? You can teach me to swim, and I can teach you to read aloud?”
He chuckled, but his eyes didn’t come alive as they normally did when he laughed. “I could, I suppose, but I don’t really have the patience it takes to learn a new skill right now.”
It was time to ask the question that was burning in my chest. “But seeking?”
He shrugged. “Comes naturally to me.”
I struggled with how to ask the next question. “Did your mother . . .”
He knew what I was asking. “I was an unruly child, and my parents had no idea how to control me. They tried but . . .” He frowned.
“It wasn’t until after the Purge that I realized the reason I always felt the need to go outside—to go somewhere—was connected to my body wanting me to search for magic texts. ”