Isolde leans back in her chair, assessing me. “On rare occasions, the king and queen visit the other kingdom to keep up appearances. Because of safety concerns, we do not spend much time there.”
“What safety concerns?” My mind immediately jumps to Caspien’s theory about Nova. I ignore Cillian’s insistence that he will “handle it.” We’ve been arguing about it for the last two days.
As always, my question annoys Isolde. “The ruling council of Varethiel has a different set of morals and values than Solevara. They have a much morefree-spiritedmindset and much less structure to their society.”
“No Elite?” I know this already from my research, but I play along.
“Worse.” Isolde gives a delicate shudder. “They welcome other species there. King Kiel and I did not agree with thisdecision, but until we restore the elemental lands, we have decided to keep the peace with their council.”
I know humans, of course. But I’ve never seen the witches and vampires of the other worlds. It makes me even more eager to finagle a visit to Varethiel. Regardless, of how bossy Cillian feels about that.
The rest of the morning creeps on with a recitation from Isolde on Gaia’s divine will and the Goddess’s superiority over her counterparts in the gods pantheon, Asteria, Apollyon, and Elohim. All I can think about is continuing my research on Varethiel and their prince, Aiden.
The moment the lessons conclude, I rush to the study I’ve been assigned since my first week in the castle. Like my bedroom, it's decorated in an Earth Fae palette of browns and greens. But with added floral touches, which I love. The botanical smell surrounds me, bringing a small smile. Ignoring the beautifully carved wooden desk, I drop down onto the moss pillows at the base of the bookshelf. I pull out Nova’s journal and place my hand flat on the front, sending a breeze through the room.
An hour later, I sink into the swing in the corner of the room with a huff. I tilt my head to the ceiling, absently brushing my fingers across the flowers that have bloomed among the entwined vines and leaves. I’ve combed through every page of Nova’s journal, looking for anything on Varethiel. I found some mentions of other species, but little insight into the politics between the Two Kingdoms.
The sparse notes on Aiden grabbed my attention though. Every mention about the prince was about how rude and disrespectful he was. Very little rattled my sister, always the diplomat, but this male grated on her nerves.
I sit up when the door flies open, no knock, and Cillian strides into the room. My heart rate increases even more at his expression.
“I got a response from Gaia!” His blue eyes brim with excitement.
He reminds me so much of the young boy I once played with in the gardens. I smile. “And what did Halcya say?”
“Nothing. So I consulted another priestess.”
My eyes widen. “I thought only the High Priestess could commune with Gaia.”
Cillian gives a snort. “Halcya couldn’t even get Gaia to respond at Nova’s memorial. This priestess is young, and she warned me it might not work. And it didn’t at first. Gaia refused to answer any questions. She just said the future king should know. After pushing a little though, this priestess was able to glean a vague response. It seems the Goddess is upset that the kingdoms are not being ruled as she made them to be.”
“Definitely vague.” I chew on my lip, looking back up at the ceiling, considering. “What do you think it means?”
When I lower my gaze, he’s staring intently at my mouth. I feel a hot lick of liquid heat at my core. Unconsciously, I lick my lips at the attention and he chokes off a groan. It’s like this whenever we’re together. Sometimes I feel his pull all the way from across the castle. My magic hums, growing like roots, reaching out for him more strongly each day. He has to be feeling it too. But neither of us is acknowledging it.
What’s the point? Cillian thinks I’m going to marry Caspien and be the queen, while I know I’m going to run before that happens.
He clears his throat and walks to the shelves, looking at the flowers that bloom there. He continues, “I’ve been thinking about it. Gaia made this world for the Fae. For us to be as strong as possible against the other species. But humans live here.And there are vampires and witches in Varethiel. Maybe Gaia is unhappy about that.”
He sinks into the swing beside me and sighs heavily. “That is all I have come up with. If the Goddess is causing the storms because we let some threat into our world, it would make sense that the storms were so bad when humans attacked Nova. Or if not them, then mutinous witches or vampires sent by Aiden.”
“Well, at least Gaia gave us a clue. Something to investigate.” I pull him to his feet. “This is progress. There’s no reason to brood. Even if this doesn’t help with what happened to Nova, the storms are hurting the world and the remaining magic. We won’t be able to survive much longer with the synthetic options. I want to help you figure out how to fix things.”
“Do you know how magnificent you are?” He strokes a slow finger down my cheek.
Without thought, I lift up on my toes and wrap my arms around his neck. His arms slowly snake around my waist, holding me firmly to him. The moment our bodies are locked together, I can feel his magic humming. Mine springs to the surface in response, buzzing through my body. The euphoria of our energies fighting to reach out towards one another is overwhelming. Much stronger than it’s ever been and a whimper involuntarily leaves my body.
His whole body goes impossibly still before he grips my hips and places me firmly on the ground just in front of him. Embarrassment burns my cheeks as I glance up at him to apologize for essentially attacking him. Our eyes lock. With my magic ready to tear me in half, urging me to step back into him, the words never form.
We stand there, held together with an invisible tether. My hand moves up his heaving chest, the two of us locked in each other’s gaze for what feels like an eternity but may be only a few heartbeats. My mind, my body, my magic, all war inside of me.
I want to lean into him, urge him to give into the moment.Why shouldn’t we?It would ease this ever-increasing tension, cool this fire, and we could move on. But I know I wouldn’t move on. I know it would make it harder for me. I already plan to run from this life, and Cillian only complicates things further. I don’t want to make things harder for him too.
“We can’t…Ican’t,” he barely whispers. He drops his forehead against mine, and I feel it everywhere. Our chests rise and fall at the same time with heavy, deep breaths. His lips dip closer.
All thoughts of why this is a bad idea vacate my mind. My resolve to be strong is ready to surrender to whatever is about to happen between us.
I feel his heated breath on my ear, his voice scratchy, as if he hasn’t spoken in weeks. “Ican’t kiss my way down your neck…”
