Page 12 of Elemental Affections

“I don’t know anything about assisting in that capacity,” Dae said. “Especially to do with fire magic.”

A laugh sounded in the back of his throat. “It shouldn’t be a problem.” He raised a hand in greeting as Eunny approached. “I’ll send details later.”

“I di— That’s generous of you, but I’m not sure I would be a good fit.”

“Think on it.” Ezzyn paused, his mouth opening and closing like he couldn’t decide what to say, or whether to say it. He exhaled sharply, then murmured, “I am glad you decided to come.”

He left before she could respond, nodding briefly to Eunny as he made his way to the counter to pay for his tea.

“What was that about?”

Dae watched Ezzyn’s back retreat for a moment, then looked at her friend, mind dazed from the many turns the conversation had taken in such a short span of time. “I— Just … saying hello, I guess.”

“Is this the second coming of the Kiss Incident?”

“What? No. No, of course not,” Dae said. “He offered to help me with a job on campus.”

“Huh.” Eunny tilted her head from side to side. “Interesting.”

“He was just being nice.”

“Not what I was talking about, but yes. Very nice of him.” A small, weird smile teased Eunny’s mouth. “Anyway, crisis averted at the shop. Needed to fix a kid’s toy. Ready to go?”

Dae followed Eunny out of the shop and back up to her loft. She listened to Eunny’s chatter about the repair café, her mind torn between her friend’s words and the oddly charged conversation with Ezzyn Sor’vahl. He’d been both distant and warm, vaguely insulting yet thoughtful. Dae caught herself glancing out the window, hoping to glimpse him though she knew he’d likely gone back to the university.

She gave herself a mental shake. Ezzyn was little more than a hazy what-if, a blink of a moment from her past. Not even a real question in the present day. Whatever antagonism or unsettling feeling had been in his offer didn’t bear any further thought.

A job and a way to keep up on her path through Sylveren, that was her focus. Ezzyn himself was merely a stepping stone along the way, one she didn’t know if she’d even consider with any serious thought. But he’d been helpful in the moment. Even if working with him wasn’t worth bearing out, perhaps looking for a post within the school would prove fruitful.

Besides, with him being a fire specialist—not to mention aMagister level—and her solely in water, the chances had to be small that she’d see him in more than passing ever again. She didn’t even know where the campus’ post was; easy enough to pretend she missed whatever information he sent.

He was cursed. It had been all of two days since Ezzyn had arrived in the Valley, this place he couldn’t think of without connecting it to her even though she’d never come in the first place, and here shewas.He’d recognized her voice in an instant. Remembered its melody. Found her in the tearoom with ease. Her dark hair was longer now, that distinctively Graelynder nose keeping her features from being too delicate.

She was in the Valley, and not merely to visit her friend but to attend the godsdamned university, where he would be for months. Five years since he’d made a fool of himself over her, and in an instant, he’d recognized her voice across the teashop. Heard her predicament. The way her eyes had widened when she’d thought he waspropositioningher … no, no he couldn’t think about it, or his cock would embarrass him.

Better to think of her lesser qualities. Anadae Helm had been the first girl to truly intrigue him. The first to so bitterly disappoint. She chose the role of perfect, malleable daughter and played it to perfection. Or rather, she had, for years. So much of that was still in her, the neutrality and lengths she went to craft inoffensive answers. The curious girl who could talk his ear off about the effects of ice enchantments on boat hulls and the intricacies of water had been replaced by a budding socialite worried more about her fiancé’s image than anything of substance. Sure, she’d advocated on behalf of more aid and resources being sent to Rhell during the war and in its aftermath—Ezzyn remembered that much from when he’d still put some stock in Graelynd politics getting anything done, recalled seeing Helm Naval Engineering listed on reports and thinking of her—but paperwork didn’t equal results. Her betrothal to the Avenor Guard heir hadn’t evolved into anything more, yetyearshad passed, and she’d done nothing to call it off, either. After a certain point, Ezzyn had stopped paying attention. Anadae Helm hadn’t been who he’d thought, simply a follower. Loyal to her family, which wasn’t entirely a fault, but he’d put her from his mind.

Until now.

He hadn’t enjoyed his later years at Sylveren. Couldn’t walk its halls without thinking of what a waste it was, her giving up on this place to bandy about in the capital. She haunted him, this woman he’d once wanted to know better, yet every subsequent conversation they’d had since she’d bound herself to Avenor had been more depressing than the last. Ezzyn knew he could be prideful, but to watch Anadae sacrifice any sense of her own, and fornothing… He couldn’t bear it yet couldn’t forget, either.

He’d spent most of his Magister level time back home, conducting research in the field. Easier that way, for the work was consuming and the setting easy to think of without picturing her in it. But he was back in the Valley now, and this time with the complication that she was, too. Of her own volition. Challenging every notion he’d formed of her. The spine he’d thought she’d lost, that glint of pride, of standards. A spark of wit.

It shouldn’t have mattered. Good for her going after her dreams. What did it concern him? Except, it did. Consumed, if not concerned. That she’d thought he was asking her for … how her first response hadn’t been an immediate disavowal but aclarifying question.The fantasy of her, it was an itch under his skin. Utterly ridiculous, because he’d seen that she still had that dutiful daughter mentality engrained in her. But any hope of quietly noting her presence and then abolishing it from his mind? Of being simply cold and bored during his stay in the Valley? Unlikely. Not when his mind kept replaying her saying, “Professor Sor’vahl.”

The term was going to be fucking unbearable.

Chapter 5

Ithadstoppedrainingthe following morning when Dae and Eunny made the trip up to the university. Dae insisted that she could find her way alone. The options were limited: one could either follow the road to the university or the road off toward the mountain pass. Even a newcomer to the area with a middling sense of direction like Dae couldn’t miss the university’s prominent towers built into the mountainside.

“I’ve got a delivery to make. It’s no trouble.” Eunny had the foresight to hire them a carriage, dismissing Dae’s concern. “I need one for the delivery anyway. Might as well make the most of it if the client’s paying.”

“What is all of this?” Dae asked, nodding at the crates.

“Mended a bunch of pots and tools for the Grove. They’ll need to reapply some spells, but most of the tools can be fixed or repurposed. Get a few more years out of them.”

Dae eyed the closest open-top crate and its refashioned hand tools. Polished wood gleamed under fresh coats of sealant; metal edges had been cleaned, cracks and chips filed down or stabilized. When she touched one of the handles, she found only a trace of magic in the sealing wax itself, but nothing applied to the tools themselves. Repairs all made by Eunny’s hands and hard work, unassisted by magic.

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