Chapter 12 #2
Perfume wafted toward me. Petals unfurled, tickling my palms as the vibrations of the land rolled through me. A rainbow of color bloomed. My nose wrinkled as the smell of each combined. It was overpowering and messy.
The display felt like me.
“Lioran was right.” Cora ran her palm over the tips of the new blooms.
I grew tired and leaned back into the tree.
“My magic is like his.” I spoke the words, not even sure what they meant.
“He told you then—I wasn’t sure if he would.
” She hesitated, still trailing the flowers beneath her fingertips.
“Magic is a blessing from the stars—it’s a rare thing for the stars to gift such a gift twice.
Before we met you, it was assumed Lioran was the only one with the power to restore.
Time will show how yours manifests. You both have grounding magic, but you are not the same. ”
A pale pink peony sprouted near the roses; I broke it free. Sunlight cascaded over it, detailing every vein in the petals—so fresh and new. The stem slid easily into my hair, behind my ears.
Fyn eyed the blooms at the base of the willow as he stepped closer, his gaze then shifted to Cora’s. She silently nodded toward him.
“Get some rest. You’re bound to be tired after today.” Her palm rested on my shoulder. That moment was so small to her, but it meant everything to me. To be seen for who I am. To not just be the Princess of Bailoc.
“Lioran would like to see you, if you’re not too exhausted…and if you are, that’s probably fine, too, because he sleeps most of the time anyways.” Fyn gestured ahead. His green eyes caught mine, assessing me. Cora proceeded down the path in the opposite direction.
“I would like to see him,” I said.
His boots scraped over the stone path that led back to the castle. “You two…have been seeing a lot of each other.”
Heat rose in my cheeks. I studied the uneven stone path. The blades of grass as they moved in the wind.
“He has nothing to do in the infirmary. He’s bored.” I pulled at the neckline of my tunic as it slipped past my shoulder. “It helps him pass the time.”
“You’re there every day. Even I don’t go there every day and we work together.”
“Where else would I be?”
“Oh, I see. So, you’re bored, too.”
I stopped in the path in front him. “What exactly is it you do around here? Just hover and make sure I stay out of trouble?” His smirk faded.
“I oversee trade and logistics. It’s my duty to keep Lythira running.” He paused as we approached the thick oak castle doors. “But lately, being your personal guard also seems to be my responsibility.”
I hadn’t thought to ask, but now that I had, I knew why he was opposed to bringing me here. There were so many moments we fought together to keep Lioran alive, to bring him home. Somewhere along the way, he grew to respect me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
There were so many thoughts swirling through my mind, but I only said one. “For protecting me.” He silently nodded, and for a moment, there were no jabs, only a quiet understanding.
He motioned forward. “We shouldn’t keep him bored and waiting.”
“You’re going to stay and visit with him?” I bit my tongue. As the twinge of pain settled, I realized I didn’t want him to.
He pushed the door open, but no guard greeted us on the other side. Guards were very rarely seen roaming the castle halls. “No, Your Highness,” he whispered. “My presence would only be a disappointment.”
I ignored his words. I knew he reveled in moments when I looked annoyed.
“It’s most amusing really,” he said.
“What is?”
“How you don’t notice the way you are around him.”
I stopped, frozen with his words. He was only just being Fyn. He was only testing me.
Fyn paused outside the infirmary. “Or maybe you do.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I squared my shoulders back.
He pushed the infirmary door open. I forced a laugh as my chest tightened. It was the only thing I could do to keep from breaking in front of Lioran. His eyes avoided mine as I entered. When he looked up, he only looked at Fyn.
Lioran pushed scrolls aside in his lap.
“You’re supposed to be resting, not working.” Fyn lifted the scrolls from Lioran’s bed.
“I need something to occupy me, and the work won’t wait.”
“I already told you; we’re handling everything just fine. I brought your favorite half-fae to occupy you.” I tapped my elbow into Fyn’s rib cage harder than I intended. He grunted.
Lioran’s eyes narrowed. “I hope you’re not taunting her, Fyn.”
“I would never,” Fyn said as he slid back out the door.
“Sorry he…” Lioran finally looked at me again, but it was different than he had before.
“Can’t help himself,” I cut him off, assessing his glow that had slowly returned overnight. “You look much better.”
“You mean I don’t look awful anymore?” He winced as he laughed, but my smile faded. Visions of crimson on my hands, all over him etched further into my mind. “Aelira? I was joking.”
“I…” My words caught in my throat. “I thought I was going to lose you.”
He gestured at the chair beside his bed, now in its permanent spot for me to visit. “I’m right here…with you.”
The chair embraced me, as exhaustion took over.
“How was training?” He traced the flower tucked behind my ear. I freed it from my hair and held it out to him.
His hand curled around the stem. “You made this flower bloom?”
“And several others.”
“I’ve never made a flower bloom.” He rotated the stem, watching the petals carefully. “What is it?”
“A peony.” Each petal was so fragile. “And I’ve never summoned a sylkren…not that I’d want to.”
“I don’t exactly call them.” He placed the flower back in my palm. “When you arrived, I couldn’t even command it. You were so afraid. I wanted to stop it, but I couldn’t.”
“So, you really didn’t want it to destroy me then?”
“You know I didn’t. If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t have interfered at all. When the riders came for you, when I was injured…I called to the creatures of the land to come to our aide, because I knew I could no longer fight them off myself.”
“And the sylkren responded…like Veylar.”
“Veylar trusts me. The creatures in our world are not always as easily persuaded.”
“When you’re better…can you show me how to try and call an animal?”
He pointed to the window. “Open it.”
“You need your rest.”
He studied me as if he was considering whether he’d listen. Lioran settled back against the pillow and extended his hand. “Open the window.”
My fingers caught on the latch, and I pried it free. The window released from its frame with a loud click. His hand twitched as his eyes closed. A cool breeze jostled his hair.
He winced as sparkling light collected at his fingertips. A dull groan escaped his lips. Her song sounded before she came. A pale-yellow bird, plump and tiny, landed on the windowsill.
“Put your hand out for her,” he whispered.
With his command, I extended my hand toward the window. She stepped into my palm. Her little feet pinched as she nestled into my hand.
“She’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“Almost as beautiful…” he started to speak but groaned as he adjusted himself in the bed. I waited, wanting to hear the words he would have said, but silence hung between us.
I reached for him, and the little bird flew off, back out the window. “You’re too drained. You could have waited.”
“Maybe…but the look on your face was worth it.”
“Someday you can show me more, but until then, please rest.” I slid my hand over his without thought. My heart fluttered faster—warning me to move, but I couldn’t.
The silver in his eyes flickered again, filling me with warmth in a way I had never felt before.
I blinked the feeling away, too drained to think on it any further.
When he fell asleep, I crept out of the room to my chambers. The elegance of the room rivaled mine back in Bailoc. Open windows gave views of the streams and the lanterns illuminating the water.
The onyx shimmered in the moon’s glow. I traced the book’s uneven pages. It vibrated beneath my fingertips.
I nestled myself into the thick bed covers and unbound the amber strap. Silence fell, and I didn’t know what to ask it.
I sense your magic.
Lythira needs you—you will serve it well.
A lump formed in my throat as I pressed the pages closed. It said I sense your magic. The book wasn’t just a magical force, its words were being written by someone. I did not know who, or what, I was communicating with. What if everything it made me do was wrong?
Tears spilled faster than I could stop them. I concentrated my thoughts back on the book, opening it again.
“Who am I speaking with?” It remained blank for a heartbeat.
In time, you will come to know what inspired the words on these pages.
It’s time you focus on who you are, Aelira.
The book slipped from my fingertips as I sank further back into the covers. The onyx poked into my palm as I gripped it too tightly. Its unknown magic haunted me long after the words disappeared from the page.
I may never know the source of its magic, but I now felt mine steadily flowing through my veins—it had awoken.
There was no hiding from it.