“You kind of do. But beyond that, I can see how exhausted you are.” He hesitates before adding, “Unless you have no plans to return…” His words fall off as he gives me a pointed look before looking to the portal.
Annoyance washes over me. He’s proof of how difficult escape will be if I go back. But I have 5 weeks until the coronation.That should be plenty of time to figure out what happened to Nova and figure out a way out. Then I’m gone.
I hate that he can still read me. But the twin-bond breaking has left my energy depleted, barely able to get here. Especially with how many times I had to change root systems.
Every element has their own form of travel-—rootwalking, mistwalking, smokewalking, and breezewalking. It’s the only magic Gaia grants the fae before they hit their majority. In the past, Earth Fae could travel anywhere in one pass. But as the trees and plants have died off, rootwalking is interrupted everytime we hit a dead or dying root. Breezewalking has also become unreliable, whenever Gaia decides to stop the breeze midair.
Water and fire are the only elementals that aren’t having issues, since they can pull water and natural electricity from the air whenever they wish. At least for now.
I’d hoped to glean enough energy from the lands to shift into the roots, but the little remaining power here isn’t enough. I could rootwalk back to the city, but the thought of that long trek has my bones feeling weighed down with how often I would need to remateralize.
“It doesn’t make you weak to accept help, Nissa.”
As much as I don’t like him using nicknames, my true name feels like a slap in the face. It makes the fact that we’re essentially strangers all the more real, and I hate myself for not liking it.
When I don’t respond, I hear him slowly approaching me from behind, like I’m some wounded animal. I’m not. He long ago lost the ability to hurt me.
He eliminates the little space between us, and I can feel his heat behind me for a moment. The wind catches in my chest as he gingerly places his hand on my hip. Slowly he slides his fingers across my stomach, pulling me back into his chest. I try to breathe past how natural his touch feels.
“Just what every female wants to hear—how tired she looks.” I laugh weakly as my magic reacts to him holding me. We haven’t touched since that night in the garden, and I instantly feel stronger in his arms. But that’s not all I feel. His touch is like a brand on my skin even through my dress.
“Have you ever mistwalked?” His breath brushes across my ear. His voice is low and full of something I can’t place.
“No.” It comes out more breathy than I intended. I swallow at the sensations that are firing though my body.
“Your body will warm before you feel a tingling sensation. Then we’ll begin to move. If you get dizzy, just close your eyes.”
I exhale the wind I’ve been holding, welcoming any explanation for the magic suddenly swirling through my body. Warmth fills me, and the air I expelled is quickly pulled back into my lungs as he starts circling his thumb on my stomach. My muscles contract involuntarily. I’m suddenly overcome with a new level of heat. I shudder as the tingling starts.
His chest vibrates as he laughs at my reaction, his breath teasing the shell of my pointed ear. My limbs begin to feel as if they’re light as air. I squeeze my eyes shut at the overstimulation. I cross my arms over my midsection, gripping his arm that sits across my stomach and his hand on my upper arm for support.
Moments later my feet hit the ground again. His hold on me tightens, making sure I don’t fall forward as I reacclimate. I slowly open my eyes to the front of my flat. Jerking out of his hold, I can finally breathe again, even though my head remains in the clouds from the mistwalking.
When I face him, he is already starting to disappear into water vapor. “Bye, Lila. See you at the castle.”
I realize when I close the door that I never told Cillian where I live.
Chapter
Seven
NISSA
My mind runs rampant through the night with endless scenarios that would send my sister into Terrania. I need answers as soon as possible so I can get out of here.
The next morning, I walk out of my flat to the two grumpy Guardians who finally found me last night after my trip to the portal. I give them a sly smile as I lock up and pull my hood back over my head to begin the short journey to my mother’s residence.
It took them hours to find me after the memorial and they were less than pleased when they did locate me. I take a deep breath, savoring the sliver of freedom I have walking the streets for a little longer. Even if these two brutes are following close behind.
The sun is rising, and the beautiful pink and orange sky tints the alley as I make my way over the cobblestones. I run my hands through the vines that grow up the building walls making sure I don’t inadvertently make anything bloom in front of the Guardians. I brush the soft leaves with my fingertips, and keep my head down, sticking to side streets to avoid being noticed.
I’ve never gone out much in Solevara beyond the required events while visiting. I hated being recognized—or really, mistaken for Nova. But now there would be no mistaking it. If people recognize me, they’ll know who I am.
And the last thing I want is attention.
I exhale as I take the last corner with only a few glances my way. At the end of a wide boulevard, I press my hand to a door, activating the lock to my mother’s lavish home. As I enter, I call out to her. Relief fills my chest when she doesn’t answer.
The royal family provided my family with this house the moment Nova and I were born. Moving us all from the Homestead into the Elite City to have access to the best herbalists, teachers, trainers. Anything the twin Fae girls would need—bringing us under the Vaylors’ wing early. They had trained, not just Nova and me, but the whole family on how to be regal.
