Page 17 of Elemental Affections

Ana laughed, rocking slightly on the bench. “Fair. How are you? I haven’t seen you since the convention last winter. Are you at Sylveren now or doing research at home?”

“In the Valley for the rest of summer at least,” he said. “And you? Busy at Helm Naval?”

Ana’s smile waned. She turned her face upward to regard the many stars visible in the clear sky. “Not as busy as I’d like sometimes.”

A squeal of laughter sounded over by the garden’s main water feature. Through gaps in the hedge that cordoned off their nook, Ana saw Brint amongst a small group of men and women of similar age, likely his aristocratic peers. The group wandered away, one woman hanging on Brint’s proffered arm with too much familiarity for a man everyone knew was basically affianced. Not that Brint did anything to discourage such attention.

Ana went back to contemplating the sky. She didn’t begrudge the girl Brint’s affection, such as it was. Ana had long since been disenchanted with him. But if the other girl hoped for more, well, Brint didn’t seem to mind being locked into a betrothal. It didn’t stop him from dallying elsewhere, nor did such activity have any consequences. For him. Ana hadn’t forgotten the severity in her mother’s tone the one time she’d brought it up. Mina had impressed upon Ana the double standards by which the elite could live, even minor families like the Avenors, and how Ana simply had to endure for a bit longer. Though, now that her parents were enjoying their own social and political climb, Ana could guess that the standards by which her mother expected her to live had also changed. Grown even steeper, full of barbs. Daughters with dreams were naught but liabilities unless carefully managed.

Ezzyn watched the group depart, then glanced back at her. “Will you be announcing the formal engagement soon, now that the war is over?”

Ana remained looking upward. “I haven’t spoken with my parents about it.” A beat of silence passed before she added in a soft voice, “I don’t see a need to rush.”

“Why not apply to Sylveren now?”

Ana blinked, surprised. “Sylveren? A bit late for me, isn’t it?”

Ezzyn gave a nonchalant shrug. “For Initiate levels it would be unusual, though not unheard of. But you’ve enough skill to test into Adept One with some practice.” His eyebrows went up. “Unless you’ve forgotten everything I taught you?”

Ana raised her hand, turning her palm front to back as she concentrated on the steady pulse of magic she felt at her center. Slowly, lines of cool-toned light illuminated her skin, curling around her fingers. With a wistful sigh, she closed her hand into a fist, extinguishing the light.

“I can’t,” she said, voice laden with quiet regret. “Eventually, we’ll have the merger, and I’ll be expected to spend more time in the capital as Brint’s…” She couldn’t make herself saywife. For her, the word was a cage.

Anadae had convinced herself for so long that her life would follow the same path as her mother’s. That she, too, would enjoy working amongst the elite, learn to wield the soft power of a politician’s spouse. Her mother had. Helm Naval was involved in many new projects thanks to her mother’s skill at brokering deals at social events.

Ana could hold her own in business, though she didn’t possess her mother’s grace or her sister’s ambitious mind. But the thought of going out to pander on behalf of Avenor Guard, for opportunities that served Brint’s future, that was growing increasingly hard to stomach.

“When will you start making choices for yourself?”

“I … what?” Ana faltered, stunned by the frankness in Ezzyn’s tone.

Ezzyn frowned, though he looked more frustrated by the situation than her. “You’re wasted on politics. You could be a great mage with more training.”

“You don’t know that.”

Ezzyn ignored her protest. “Instead, you’re wasting your life letting others decide for you, content to be unhappy. Do you do anything for yourself?”

“I’m not— It isn’t that simple, Ezzyn.” Ana glared at him.

“Isn’t it, Ana?” Ezzyn nodded to the distance, where Brint’s group could be seen heading back into the mansion. “Forcing yourself to play a role, while he takes how many lovers on—”

“There’s no love lost between us, so I don’t care,” Ana muttered.

“No?”

Ezzyn had scooted closer on the bench, looming over her. So close that Anadae could feel the warmth from his body. His eyes were an intense shade of blue at this distance, the color enhanced by the garden’s intermittently placed, enchanted torches. She couldn’t look away, mind blanking as words deserted her.

A touch of the awe she’d felt back when he was her magic studies tutor fluttered in her chest. The four years separating them might as well have been a lifetime back then. Not to mention his royal roots. Practically a different species.

Now, midway through her twenties, those differences didn’t feel like the gulfs they once had, yet she was still transfixed by his stare. Reminded acutely of his good looks. Tall and lean, but with broad shoulders. Not bulky like Brint. Smooth chin and cheeks. Plush lips.

They were as soft as she’d imagined. His mouth slanted over hers, lips caressing, the tip of his tongue teasing at her closed mouth. His hand cupped her cheek as he coaxed her lips apart. A startled sound burbled in her throat as he swept into her mouth, spurring a pleased rumble from him. She gave his tongue a tentative stroke.

And then he leaned back, leaving her stunned.

Ana’s hand went to her mouth as heat flooded her face. “What … why … Ez.”

His lips curled in a smug grin. “That was a taste.”

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