Page 62 of Polestar
And just like that, a single word cut through it all, allowing her a reprieve to draw breath against the powerful emotions stifling her.
Elias.
The tenor of the atmosphere changed so rapidly it jolted her off balance.
Sandwiched between the young prince and Magnus as they went back to the library, she struggled to control the flow of emotional energy surrounding her—against their conflicted emotions surging against one another like waves trapped in a pool.
In the library, Elias and Magnus took each other’s measure.
Ana took theirs.
Elias:You’re here.You left me.You shouldn’t be here.I can’t believe you’re here.We don’t have much time.Take me with you.
Magnus:My boy.I miss you.You’ve grown.I never thought I’d see you again.We don’t have much time.I need to get you away from here.
“We don’t have much time,” Ana blurted, latching on to the most obvious.“Analiese Ortega,” she said, shoving her hand toward the prince.
The corner of his lips quirked—like Magnus’ did—before he accepted her proffered hand and shook it.“Elias Magnusson.”
“Should I curtsy?”she whispered to Magnus.
Elias laughed, releasing some of the tension in his broad shoulders.
Ana glanced toward the door where the guards hovered, scowling.
The registrar remained at the threshold of the doorway, hands clasped so hard her knuckles were white.
“You don’t have much time,” Ana reminded them and moved away to give them a sense of privacy as she put her backpack on.
“No, we don’t.The guards will have gone to fetch my mother,” Elias said, scorn lacing his voice.“She forbade me from seeing you when the messenger announced your arrival at the village.”
“Yet here you are,” Magnus said.
Elias dipped his head, looking like the youth that he actually was.
Ana’s heart swelled as their sense of longing overwhelmed her.Their desire to embrace for the first time in a decade.
Oh God, please hug each other before I crumble.
Before someone comes to pull you apart again.
It was all they wanted.That, and to leave Barentia.
She ground her teeth as they continued to face one another, neither reaching for the other.
Footsteps echoing in the stone corridor filtered in through the open door.
Damn it!
Just hug, damn it!
She desperately wanted to shove them together or blurt out what each was feeling to the other as they stubbornly remained silent.
The footsteps were louder now.
Her fingers dug into the straps of Magnus’ pack gripped in her hands.
“I’m glad to see you again,” Elias said to Magnus.
