Page 51 of Desire

Whether Garron intended for it to be a reminder or not, he was right. Any quarrel I had did not apply to those in this glade but to those waiting outside it.

I cautiously eased from Edmund’s hold.

“I believe I should return to my studies.”

Edmund kissed my forehead. “Run while you can, Trouble.”

“I’m not running, Edmund. I’m walking away. Know the difference.”

I retreated to the back of the cottage, seeking a quiet place to practice. Yet, when I arrived, I stared at the trees, lost in my thoughts.

Previously, I’d allowed their kisses because I’d thought them playful, a lark. But now I knew they were not.

Edmund had said he loved me.

Liam had implied they all did.

I’d worried their feelings would lead to conflict. However, they hadn’t. They’d kissed me in front of each other and had proven they had no quarrel. Even Edmund, who lost his temper at most everything, hadn’t reacted badly, only as his usual self.

What about me, though? Had they considered the turmoil I would feel? Both the emotions they were evoking and the distraction of them were something for which I had no time.

A frustrated sound escaped me. Why couldn’t they focus on what was important? Their fanciful notions regarding what they felt for me were not as important as the trackers attempting to hurt them. Or as important as breaking their curse. Could they truly not see that? CouldInot see that?

Closing my eyes, I let out a steadying breath and focused on what mattered at present. In order to break a curse, I needed to learn everything I could about casting.

I opened myself to the energy around me. The forest pulsed with it. Ignoring the trees, I fixated on the grass beginning to renew its growth with the coming of spring. The vast spread of it wasn’t small enough for what I wanted, though. I needed to test my control.

Slowing my breathing, I searched for the smallest pulse of energy and found a seed fallen from a tree. Its uniqueness caught my attention. The seed’s energy was insignificant compared to that of a mature tree, yet I saw it shone brighter.

“What did you find?” Garron asked quietly beside me.

“A seed. It’s small, almost unnoticeable, but I think—” I touched its energy with my own, neither taking nor giving, curious what would happen. Its energy expanded, growing. As it grew, the brightness didn’t fade or increase but spread out. I realized it wasn’t only the energy expanding but the tree itself growing.

“It contains the same energy, regardless of its size.” I opened my eyes to look at Garron. “May I have some seeds from the cellar?”

He retrieved a handful of dried peas. Their energy was much smaller than the tree’s seed. I set one on the ground at my feet and focused again.

With barely a touch of my energy, the seed sprouted before our eyes. Its roots sank into the ground as its vine grew. Buds appeared. Flowers turned to pods. Leaves withered, and the pods hardened, creating more seeds.

“Did you see that?” I asked.

“I did. Are you tired? Dizzy?”

Confused, I glanced at him. “Why would I be? I only touched it with my energy. Didn’t you see how it pulled energy from the ground?”

Garron frowned. “Can you do it again?”

I did and watched how the seed’s energy expanded to encompass the plant until the buds formed. Then, the plant began to pull energy from the ground to place into the pods. Once the plant withered, the original energy returned to the earth, a cycle that kept a perfect balance.

“I never saw that casting is a work of balance before this,” I said. “We take the energy but return it when we cast.”

“Correct. And how it returns depends on the spell,” Garron said.

Knowing I wasn’t causing harm freed me of some of the fear I’d held onto since the first time I cast.

I connected with the air and shook the seeds free of the plant. Once they touched the soil, I touched them with my energy again and watched them grow. A tangle of vines rose, and the pods ripened before our eyes. Once I withdrew my connection, the vines stopped growing.

Perfectly ripe pods beckoned. I plucked one free and ate it.

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