Page 17 of The War of Four Winters

The perceptiveness of the question caught me off guard. "Yes," I replied honestly. "They need to know they're safe here. That they belong."

"I was scared when I first came," Torsten admitted, a rare moment of vulnerability beneath his usual exuberance. "But not anymore."

"And why is that?" Ruith asked gently.

Torsten's answer came without hesitation. "Because Elindir promised to protect us. And you're the king, so no one can make us go back."

The simple faith in his voice made something in my chest tighten. These children, who had seen the worst of both human and elven cruelty, still found the courage to trust. To believe in the fragile world we were trying to build.

"That's exactly right," Ruith confirmed, his voice carrying an authority that even the youngest could recognize as absolute. "No one will ever put collars on you again. Not while I draw breath."

"Now," Katyr said, clearly sensing the conversation needed lightening, "I believe I promised a small magical demonstration before lessons."

The boys' faces brightened immediately. Torsten actually bounced in his seat while even Leif leaned forward with interest.

"A very small demonstration," I cautioned, though I couldn't help smiling at their excitement. "Master Lentin is expecting them for their studies."

"Just a taste," Katyr agreed, his fingers already tracing patterns in the air. Blue light gathered at his fingertips, coalescing into tiny creatures made of blue fire that danced above our table: birds, butterflies, miniature dragons that occasionally puffed harmless sparks.

The delight on the boys' faces was worth every hardship, every battle that had brought us to this moment. This was what I would carry with me to Homeshore and back again. This was worth fighting for.

Dawncreptthroughthewindows, but Elindir had been awake for hours. I felt the tension in his muscles where he lay against me. His breath tickled my chest and his fingers twitched occasionally where they were splayed against my stomach. My leg was going numb beneath where he’d thrown his over it, but I didn’t have a mind to move. Not yet.

The four days of preparation had passed too quickly, each one filled with training, planning, and stolen moments together. Now the day of his departure had arrived, and every minute felt more precious than the last.

"Five more minutes," I murmured, tightening my arms around him as if I could keep the sun at bay through will alone. "Morning can wait."

"Even you can't command the sun." His voice held a thread of amusement despite the tension thrumming through him. "For all your power, my king, some things remain beyond your reach."

"I caught the sun, didn't I?" I pressed a kiss to his temple, tasting salt on his skin. "Tamed its wild fire and kept it close."

He shifted in my arms, propping himself up to look at me with an arched eyebrow. "You think you’ve tamed me?”

My fingers found their way into his hair, copper strands sliding like silk between them. "As much as you’ll allow yourself to be tamed. I think I like you a little feral."

"That’s what I thought." He pressed closer despite his words, one leg sliding between mine.

I caught his wandering hand, bringing it to my lips. The scent of him filled my lungs. I breathed him in and held him there as if breathing out would kill me.

His body was warm against mine. Every point of contact felt precious, borrowed time slipping away with each heartbeat. Beyond our chamber windows, the sky brightened. Elindir was right. Even I couldn’t halt the march of time.

"The world wakes whether we will it or not," he murmured, but his arms tightened around me, betraying his own reluctance to face the day. "Time and tide wait for no king's command."

I pressed another kiss to his forehead, then his temple, then the corner of his mouth. Each touch a promise, a prayer. Outside, the fortress stirred to life, but here in our bed, we could pretend for just a moment longer that nothing existed beyond this space between breaths.

A bell in the harbor rang. Captain Yisra's signal, calling her crew to begin preparations. Elindir tensed in my arms, then deliberately relaxed, though I felt how his heart raced against my chest.

"We should bathe," he murmured against my skin. “I want to wash you one more time before I go.”

The bathing chamber adjoining our rooms was one of Calibarra's small luxuries, fed by underground springs that someone had enchanted ages ago to stay perfectly heated. Steam rose from the sunken pool as we entered, making the air thick and close. Elindir's skin gleamed with sweat as he slipped into the water.

I followed him in, drawing him back against my chest. The hot water lapped around us as he settled between my legs, his head falling back on my shoulder. For a moment we just breathed together, letting the heat sink into tired muscles.

"Your hair is a mess," I said finally, reaching for the oils we kept near the pool's edge. The familiar scent of pine and mountain herbs filled the air as I worked the liquid through his hair.

He made a soft sound of pleasure as my fingers massaged his scalp. "Whose fault is that?"

"I seem to recall you did plenty of pulling yourself." I pressed my thumb against a knot at the base of his skull, and he melted against me with a groan. "Though I'm not complaining."

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