Page 45 of Heiress of Fire

She truly believed that he was special, and she was just realizing how much his dormant abilities had affected him. Even if he made up for the lack of them in other ways with his strength, agility, and fighting style, there was probably no other Soldier like him on Mistral Island. Not even Beacon, who had been training since he was thirteen and was now twenty-three, has been able to overpower Ron in a duel.

She was able to notice the look of despair on his face as he had his arms crossed, tapping his thumb against his forearm.

Davina couldn’t help imagining how much mortification he had to carry because of his dormant abilities. His inactive powers were a constant reminder that he did not belong in Mistral and Mistrans were known to bloom in their abilities at an earlier stage than the rest of the islanders.

Davina imagined Ron as a child, frustrated with himself as he watched his older brothers conjure air currents. How it must’ve been awful to witness how easy it was for Beacon and Bane to master their powers.

Beacon started a successful transportation business with his tornado abilities while his brother Bane was a Leader of Mistral.

Bane’s duties as a Leader hadn’t allowed him to be with the Levina family as much. Davina met him once, at Valerie’s birthday party. Just like Beacon, he was funny and silly, unlike Ron who was always serious and quiet.

“What do you think this means?” Ron asked. “That I feel a pull to the other islands?”

“I think we can finally have an answer to the question of your powers.”

He remained silent, looking at the cobblestone pathway that they were pacing by.

“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.” Davina reminded him with a wide smile. Ron’s lips curled slightly.

“I don’t wish to burden you with my issues, Vivi.”

“You could never burden me,” Davina affirmed.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, we are in this together until the end,” Davina assured before tiptoeing and quickly landing a kiss on his cheek.

Despite his broodiness, he had the most magnificent smile. It was a rarity to see him beaming like he had been in that moment, she decided to memorize every crease in his cheeks and the shape of his lips. Perhaps he would gift her with more smiles, like the one he was portraying, after they left the lake.

Minutes later, they were surrounded by deep green trees. The cobblestone pathway had been replaced with moist soil. They stood before a stairway that led them into the blue water.

Davina’s pulse skyrocketed as she let out a shaky breath, looking at the ripples within the lake. The thought of being near a lake had tormented her when he mentioned Cryogen but she had to be there for Ron. It felt more real as they walked closer to the large stream.

“Can you keep track of time?” Ron asked her.

“Yeah.” Davina gulped.

“You seem conflicted, is everything okay?” He neared her, reaching for her arm.

“I’m not a big fan of water.”

“I’m sorry I don’t think I understand. We need water so we don’t die of thirst,” Ron questioned.

“Not water, just large bodies of it.” Davina looked at the lake. She would’ve considered it beautiful had she not lived one of her worst memories by a lake.

“That’s a bit controversial since we live on islands,” Ron stated.

Davina rolled her eyes. “I hate lakes, streams, and huge waves that are taller than me and can easily swallow me whole.”

“We can leave if you want to. We don’t need to do this,” Ron suggested.

“No—” she said sharply. “You have to do this.”

“Are you sure, Davina? I don’t want you to feel like you’re forced to do this for me.” Ron looked into her eyes. His eyes were so tender and so full of care. She hated how much she was starting to love that look he would give her.

She nodded. “I’ll be okay.”

“Fine. Can you take care of—” He motioned for his sword.

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