Page 125 of Across an Endless Sea

Kitarni looks up sharply. “No fae would ever interrupt such a sacred ceremony.”

“No,” he admits. “But the Fomorians are close enough now that they might try it.”

Thirty-Eight

Rhoswyn

“Will youpleasejust be nice!” I growl, massaging my temples as I stare at the group of four soldiers who volunteered to help me test my powers.

In the beginning, they were so quiet that the only noise—aside from me talking—was the crackling from the library fireplace behind me. But hours with no progress have eroded their discipline, and the silence has devolved into banter focused on teasing the youngest member of their group.

I don’t blame them for getting distracted. They’re doing as ordered, keeping their eyes firmly fixed on mine, but my results have been… non-existent.

So, I don’t expect my words to do anything—even if I am connected to Danu. I’ve failed for days to get anyone to do more than pick up a teacup. But the moment I finish saying it, they all dive on one another.

Shock makes me lose my hold on my connection to Danu, and the power dissipates. I try to reach for it again—to fix this—but I just can’t concentrate past the explosion ofnicenessthat’s overtaken the quiet library.

“What the?” Jaro jerks up from where he’s been faithfully sitting by my side and stares in stupefied astonishment at the pile of soldiers.

All of them are now snuggling one another, looking teary-eyed. The knickknacks around them—props which I was supposed to be asking for using my charm—are forgotten in favour of back slaps and warm, open embraces.

“You know, I’ve always thought you had so much potential,” one of them says to the youngest, almost crushing him in an emotional hug. “You’ll make one damn fine knight one day.”

“You’re all males of worth,” the youngest blabbers in return. “Honestly, it’s an honour to be in your legion.”

“Your hair is just so thick and wavy,” another says. “And that colour—it’s like spun gold.”

Jaro’s face splits into a huge grin as he barks out a laugh. His whole body quakes with the force of his laughter as he howls his amusement.

“Of all the things…” he chokes out, breathless. “You turned them all into sappy idiots.”

“Don’t just stand there!” I hiss. “Help meundoit!”

This is just what I need. After a morning of struggling to read the texts Kitarni assigned me—because my time spent in Fellgotha put my reading lessons behind schedule—now I’ve managed to mess this up as well.

I almost preferred when they were sitting there pretending I was convincing them to hand me thimbles and tea cups.

One of the knights separates from the others and lurches towards me.

“Nicnevin, you have no idea how grateful we are that you’ve returned,” he effuses.

But when he opens his arms for a hug, Jaro growls, his eyes flashing with his wolf as he takes up a defensive stance in front of me. A golden shield surrounds me, at the same time that the young knight bounces off Jaro and back into the group of charmed males.

Undeterred, another of the group tries their luck, this time aiming for my Guard.

“Jaromir, we all know you did your best as knight commander,” he promises, earnestness gleaming in his bright eyes as he grabs Jaro’s forearm and starts shaking it so fast that their limbs almost blur together. “They all said you were too young, but you got us all inside the inner wall without any casualties. Because of you, my mate got to kiss all of my wounds better. You saved us.”

Oh Goddess, He’s mated? What is his mate going to think of what I’ve done to him?

Worse still, Jaro is turning slightly green. The corners of his mouth have turned down as he holds the knight at arm’s length.

“Danu’s tits! What’s going on here?”

Great. Florian would pickthismoment of all times to walk into the library and check on us.

This morning, he proudly informed me that my wings were almost strong enough to start trying to fly—the one highlight of this otherwise awful day. Now he stares in horror at the knights who’ve turned to face him.

“Knight commander, you’re an inspiration,” the youngest says, dashing to meet him. “When you were wounded defending the Nicnevin, we were soworried.”

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