Page 41 of When the Moon Met the Sun

At the sound, his eyes cracked open, then they widened, seeing how close together our faces were. Our noses were nearly touching, and I was practically breathing in the air he exhaled. His brow creased, and I could feel his confusion and confliction in my chest. His forest green eyes bore into mine, searching for something, though I wasn’t sure what. I stared back, feeling myself getting lost in his gaze.

As if nothing else mattered outside of this simple moment.

A heartbeat later, a shuffle out in the hallway broke our connection, and I awkwardly cleared my throat, shifting my gaze to look down at his arm pinning me in place.

“Right. I’m-I’m so sorry. My apologies,” he said, retracting his arm from around my waist and slipping out of bed. The warmth fled from my body the second he left, and I surprised myself when I realized I missed it.

I watched his bare back as he ran a hand through his silky hair and focused on his breathing. But most of all, I tuned into the emotions I felt in my chest that I knew were radiating from him. Disappointment seemed to be the heaviest one at the moment, but there were other things there, too. Desire, longing, embarrassment, and that warm feeling I decided I was going to continue to ignore.

Power was pounding in my veins nonstop now, a constant, dull pain, but I schooled my features and decided to keep ignoring that, too.

I sighed.

It was going to be a long, long day. I flexed my wings, realizing I’d never been more grateful to have my own means of travel.

***

Traveling to Echen Bay took the entirety of the day. We rode—or in my case, flew—at a consistent pace until almost sunset, slower than the day before, when we finally reached our destination.

The whole way there, I played around with my air wielding, but it barely scratched the surface of power I felt thrumming through my entire body. I didn’t knowexactlywhat changed, but ever since I stopped taking my elixirs, my zirilium was more potent, more powerful.

I was starting to worry how much longer I could keep it hidden.

Once we reached Echen Bay, I realizedthe cabinwas more of a glorified miniature castle. Built from the surrounding trees, the entire thing was made from varying shades of dark, chocolate wood with rich stone and golden accents. It had multiple different sectors and wings, but on a smaller scale compared to The Haven. Somehow despite its grand architecture, it appeared to be more of ahomethan anything else.

Not to mention the surrounding area was jaw dropping. The lush trees were so tall they seemed to scrape the sky, which reminded me of Hollis, and sent a small pang of homesickness through me. There were multiple small meadows hidden within the forest around us, full of those colorful, Southern wild flowers. The bay might be my favorite part, though. Cynth Bay back home was so blue it looked black—you couldn’t see through the choppy,rough waters at all due to how dark it was. But here, the water was a soft, calm teal green. The sun punctured the water just-so, and you could see little creatures in it, swimming around peacefully.

I had been so in awe of the beauty around me, Imighthave flown off when we arrived to go take a sneak peek before the sun set for the day. And Imighthave made Robyn panic just a little bit.

Oops.

After we arrived yesterday, Robyn took it upon himself to show me around. Because the layout of this building was smaller than The Haven, I was able to actually remember how to get around. He showed me the kitchen, formal dining room, library, training rooms, and more. The last place he took me was a small wing towards the back of the cabin, which he told me was where he usually stayed, and where I could stay, too.

He offered me my own room next door to his, which I all too eagerly accepted. In reality, I realized now, too late, that I would have rather stayed in a room with him. I realized after waking up in his arms that I was beginning to feel safe with him. But I fear I let embarrassment overtake me, resulting in cold feet.

Letting people in was proving harder than I thought it would be.

Not to mention how his disappointment had been palpable when I accepted my own quarters with such enthusiasm.

Now, it was the morning after our travels, and I was stiff from how badly I slept on my own. I had felt so refreshed after sleeping next to Robyn—despite the odd dream—that I didn’t think about how I might react to sleeping on my own again. Though, I had nobody to blame but myself.

On another note, I learned something new about the Valwain. Their version ofrelaxingandrecharging, in reality, meant training.

Looking up and out across the small clearing I sat in, I took in the sightof the Valwain.

Teagan was training with Quinn, currently circling each other like vultures, waiting to strike. Chess was doing his own thing, seeing how fast he could make different plants sprout from the earth with his zirilium and collecting vital parts of each stalk to make various concoctions. Ezra was sitting with Margo not too far from me on a small blanket, along with a picnic basket of books to study. And Robyn was training in hand-to-hand combat with Drayven.

And somehow, though everybody else was dressed in training leathers, both Robyn and Rayven lost their shirts along the way.

My eyes were glued to him—my husband. I watched as he threw a flawless punch towards Rayven’s jaw, but he knocked Robyn’s arm away as if it was no more than an inconvenient bug flying around his face.

They’re evenly matched, I realized.

It was in that moment I noticed the tattoo snaking up Rayven’s right arm—meant to look like the shadows he wielded. If my limited knowledge on the Islanders was correct, this was a traditional tattoo, only given to those who had mastered their shadow wielding. It was an honor to possess.

I tried my best to focus on their actual training, how they seemed to ebb and flow with one another and perfectly anticipated the other’s move, but I couldn’t seem to. It was obvious they’d been training with one another for years. Yet all I could focus on now was Robyn.

Sweat has started to bead across his skin, making his golden tan glow even more than usual, especially in the early morning light. I could make out small scars littering his otherwise flawless skin, all over his torso, back, arms, and chest. I tried not to stare at his toned abs, and failed, observing his skin stretch over the muscles there. I watched as he shifted forward and how his hair fell across his forehead, the sunlight hitting it perfectly and lighting it up, showing off the red hues that were usually hidden.

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