As tenderly as he could with hands the size of supper plates, he tucked her in on the side she seemed to prefer and wrapped the blankets tightly around her. He twisted her hair back, tucking the damp ends away from her.
Even like this—filthy, haggard, so exhausted that she’d lost her bloody consciousness—she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever beheld.
And Sisters, how he wanted her to be his.
The next night,Brand watched again from his spot in the tree.
Nyri had found the note he’d left her and ensured Lunara had plenty of time for a long bath that morning before her defense training with the twins. The proof was in the way her hair shone beneath the lantern light in fits and bursts, the curls bouncing and flowing. The glow of her luminous skin.
Unfortunately, his duties had precluded him from getting close enough to find out for himself whether she’d used the oils he’d left for Nyri to give her. Whether she smelled of spice and musk along with the moonlight that seemed to love her so well.
If her movements—smoother, stronger—were anything to go by, then Nyri had also followed his instructions to cut the line for healings shorter, giving her more time to rest and partake of an extra gift.
Anything, just to behold that confidence in her look, that substantial improvement in her footing.
When Hedda finished—long before Lunara was about to lose her dinner or keel over—he followed them silently through the practice field, keeping to the shadows.
His Second led Lunara to the base of the mountain just outside the ring of lantern posts and the small, winding path that crawled upwards between two jutting boulders. He waited until their crunching steps were a distant murmur and took to the path himself, climbing the short distance to the cave mouth.
Inside, he knew it would be thick with steam, the hot mountain spring bubbling up from Sisters-knew-where and heating the space. Stalactites commanded to glow at all times jutted down like frozen rays of pure sunlight, and the milky-blue water glittering beneath them was rife with magic—seeping straight into bones and soothing aches as nothing else could.
Brand settled himself in beside the wide opening with his back against the mountainside, and resumed his carving. The stars twinkled overhead, and he would have sworn thatmoonbeams were concentrating at the cave mouth, as if to reach in and chase after Lunara.
He could appreciate the inclination.
The hushed cadence of her voice reached his ears, the awe and wonder in her gasp, and he couldn’t help the curling of his lips. The deep breath that found its way in knowing she was enjoying herself.
Brand focused on his swiping knife. On feeling the blade slide along the grain, resisting, until he held a perfect coil. On the shape gradually emerging from the wood beneath his fingertips. On the slow and steady beat of a heart that was at peace in this place, close to her.
He’d given her space—time to find her stride and gain some confidence—without the pressure of him being nearby. Sisters knew her proximity during certain parts of his day would have him sweating, wondering if he was making a good impression or catching her eye.
Tomorrow, that would change. There were still a couple of days before they were set to leave for the Westrealm, and he wanted to be part of her training. Actually, if he was being honest, he wanted to take it over entirely. Wanted the excuse to be close to her, to touch her, sharing a part of himself like she’d done for him.
He nodded to himself as his resolve solidified.
Yes. Tomorrow, everything would change.
Lunara felt different.
Alive. Vibrant in a way she hadn’t for a long, long time.
She’d dressed herself without Nyri’s help that morning, and had almost—almost—foregone Hedda’s soothing tonic. She’d begun to like the burn in her thighs and arms, the ache of a body being bettered.
The addition of an extra gift of blood between her healing and meeting Hedda last night had certainly contributed, but it was the surprise she’d had for Lunara afterwards that’d made all the difference.
The hot spring in the mountain cave Hedda had taken her to was… Blessed moons, there were hardly words.
Lunara was made of magic. Power lived within the very heart of her. And yet, that place was steeped in it, in a way that defied everything she thought she knew. It had felt ancient, almost sleepy, lulling her into a dreamy trance that had been more restorative than anything she’d ever experienced in her life. Acomforting cocoon of steam and stillness, every breath muffled in the sultry air.
After Hedda had left Lunara alone, it hadn’t been at all difficult to imagine she was the only creature that existed in all of Bordoroth, happily lost in the solitude of silence.
You should revise your deal with Lyriat and ask to live there instead.
She’d do it without another moment’s consideration if she thought she could fit a bed in there.
“Head out of the clouds, Sorcerit!”
Lunara jolted at Hedda’s booming command just in time.
