Before she can answer, the train whistles again, and he tenses at the sound.
“Cerian, you’re pulling my—”
“Forgive me.” Horror fills him as he relaxes his fist in Arisanna’s hair. He should leave the silky strands alone.
“It’s all right.” She presses her lips to his in a feathery kiss before pulling away. It’s enough to calm his dismay without setting him on fire, though it leaves him longing for more. She glances at the dark windows and looks back at him. “I think the train is stopping.”
Perhaps fresh air will clear his head.
The train slows, and Arisanna rises, looking down at him as she offers him her hand. Before he can stop himself, his eyes sweep over her in her elven huntress dress.
“I saw that,” she whispers. “You’re nice to look at, too.”
Heat creeps up his neck to match the fire threatening his palms. “I probably shouldn’t hold your hand right now.”
She smiles but says nothing as he finds his feet, and together, they navigate the long aisle toward the door at the back of the train car.
Will there be snow this time? Their familiar forest?
That moonlit lake?
Arisanna lets him go first, and as he steps off the train, his heart speeds up.
What is this place?
ArisannapeersaroundCerianand gasps. “It’s the mountain chalet outside Wolbourne.”
The cozy wooden house perches atop a snowy outcropping. Steam rises from the natural hot springs near the cabin, and feelings of nostalgia flood Arisanna.
“You know this place?” Cerian asks, and she nods.
“It’s nestled in the mountains in northeastern Nunia near Gaspar and Wolbourne. My family used to come here every autumn when I was a little girl. The mountain chalet, we called it.”
Cerian’s gaze lingers on the springs before he looks back at her. “You miss your family.”
Her eyes prickle, but she doesn’t cry. “I do. I have so many happy memories here. Sledding and climbing and searching for gold.”
“Gold?”
She laughs. “Fool’s gold, actually. Rominy thought it was a special kind of gold. For three days, we traipsed all over these hills looking for fool’s gold before Father caught wind of our escapades. I think he laughed for a week straight.”
“This fool’s gold...”
“It’s not gold at all. It’s basically worthless. It just has a golden sheen to it.”
Cerian’s eyes hold mirth as he gazes at her. It’s a beautiful sight.
“You were happy here,” he says.
“I was. It was the only time I felt free to be a little girl, running and playing. Father left his duties behind in trusted hands, and Mother smiled more here.”
Cerian doesn’t look away as he lights flames between his hands. “Keep talking. I’m listening.”
She smiles at him before looking back at the house and the hot springs. “At night, we would lie back in the water and gaze at the stars. Father would point out all the constellations, and we’d giggle at being allowed to stay up until we turned into prunes. Then we’d make a mad dash for the house, where mother waited with hot chocolate to warm us up again.”
Cerian’s expression changes at the mention of the springs and stargazing. As if he’s unsure about something. Nervous even.
“What are you thinking?” she asks.
