Page 3 of Fate and Flame
“No.” The pitch of my voice was higher than I’d intended. “We’re fine.” I hoped she could read the ‘shut the fuck up’ look on my face.
She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow to me. She wasn’t even kind of sorry. Kai and Greeve couldn’t look at us after that comment while Lichen was wholly unaware of the world around him, as always. I was still pissed at him, so I didn’t care if he was uncomfortable. I knew he swiped Nealla’s book from my bag. I didn’t have proof, but I just knew it.
“A walk?” Fen offered, standing.
I took his hand, and, as we shuffled away, most of the group whooped and whistled behind us.
“Literal children.” I shook my head, but the minute I did, the pounding began again. I tried to hide it from him, but he knew. He would always know.
“We’re going to have to do something about that, or you’re going to start demolishing the world.”
“I’m open to suggestions.” I pinched the bridge of my nose trying to alleviate the pain.
He hung his arm around my shoulder. “Well, the good news is, this is the perfect place to work on it. There’s no one here and we know you can’t hurt me.”
“I have other ways of hurting you, Prince. Don’t gettooexcited.” Fire lit his eyes and that familiar heat caressed my body. “Or do. That’s fine.”
In a blink, he was inches from me, reaching to curl a strand of my hair around his finger as his other hand brushed a fallen snowflake from my cheek. A sad smile curved his lips as he sighed against my skin. “I am such a fool. I should have come for you sooner. All I can think about is the time wasted. Time we didn’t have together. I’ve known my whole life you were missing. But now that I’ve found you, held you, it’s so much more than I thought it would be. You’re more than a missing piece slotted into place. And I am more because of you. Because of who I want to be with you. It’s like I finally make sense. I knew the world needed saving, but now it’s your world, our world together, and somehow, that makes it so much more important.”
I pressed my lips to his. He pushed his hands into my hair and held me as I poured everything I was feeling into that kiss. We were the lucky ones. No matter what happened, we would have each other. There was comfort in that security, even though I had spent so much time fighting against it.
He pulled away, searching the snow-filled sky as he forced out his next words. “About what Wren said earlier. It’s still your choice, Ara. It will always be your choice.”
“Save it, Prince. You’ve already won. I’m not leaving. Let that be enough for now.” I pulled him forward, continuing our walk.
The fresh blanket of untouched snow crunched below our boots as we trudged through. Starlight lit our breaths and the fresh air was so crisp, a whisper would have carried for miles. I’d barely noticed the cold because Fen used his magic to keep us all warm, but as he swept it away, a chill ran up my neck. We were still in the Wind Court.
A soft breeze tickled my neck and I gasped.
“Are you cold, princess?”
“No. Suddenly I’m immune to frigid temperatures.” I lifted my shoulders to cover my neck and blew puffs of hot air into my hands.
“Use your magic. Release the pressure.”
I shook my head and shivered. “It’s too dangerous.”
He laughed. “Just try, scaredy-cat.”
I shoved him away and spread my feet, bending slightly at the knees as he continued to tease me.
“It’s not a swordfight. It’s mental.”
“I’ve only managed to destroy shit. I think a bit of fear is warranted.” I closed my eyes, scrunched my face, and let the magic go, rushing because I was so cold.
The world shook below my feet.
“This is fine. We can work on this. This is fine.” Fen pulled me into the comfort of his arms.
So basically, it wasn’t fine. I peeked my eyes open. The snow was gone. All of it, for as far as I could see. “How do you do it? How do you control what form you magic takes? How do you keep it from all bursting out at once?”
“It’s like a thought with intention behind it. I know what I want to happen. I visualize that, and then just let a tiny bit of the magic surround the intention. Then it happens.”
“Mine is so different. It’s raw. Uncontrollable. Before there was a shallow basin to pull from, now it’s this overwhelming ocean that I’m barely holding back with mental fabric.”
He rubbed his hands down my back to warm me. “Use something heavier, Ara. Think of a metal wall with a tiny window. Move all your magic so it’s behind the wall. And just like your mental shield, you can add layers to hold it back, so it doesn’t suffocate you.”
I let the world fade away as I imagined an iron wall, heavy and unyielding. I only allowed a tiny needlepoint hole, but it was working. The mounting pressure began to subside, and I used my bond with Fen to anchor that wall down.
