“What happened?” There’s no censure in her voice. Just compassion and confusion.
“My plant magic flows too fast sometimes, leaving my magic drained. Elowyn says I turn into a bear when it happens.”
Why did he say that? Arisanna didn’t need to hear that part.
“And eating plants helps your magic?”
He nods, and she slips another berry onto his tongue.
“What happens when your fire magic runs low?”
“It doesn’t. My father has deep magic reserves, and I inherited my fire magic from him.”
“And your plant magic is from your mother?” She feeds him another berry as she gazes down at him.
“Yes. Her magic reserves aren’t as deep.”
A hint of a smile ghosts across Arisanna’s beautiful face. “So every time you use your plant magic, I should be ready to ply you with plant-based foods to keep the bear at bay?”
The thought of her guarding and protecting his magic reserves the way Father cares for Mother does something strange to Cerian’s core. A warmth steals over him, and the sudden, overwhelming urge to pull Arisanna into his arms sends him shooting across their little cabin.
What is happening to him?
Pretend That Didn’t Happen
Episode 26
Cerianshootsacrossthecabin so fast that Arisanna almost drops the bowl of berries.
What was that about? Did she say something wrong?
They were...bonding. Weren’t they? Not the other kind of bonding, but the real kind. Getting to know each other better.
Well, getting to know Cerian better. His strengths and weaknesses. He was letting her inside. Smiling even. That gorgeous smile that makes her heart skip a beat.
And watching him do magic—if she were the swooning type, that might have done it. He’s not just an elf with magic. He’s an elf with powerful magic. Like his parents.
And feeding him. What possessed her to do that? The air grew heavy around them, full of tension, like a taut rope.
It was...surreal.
What is happening between them?
And why did he just run across the room?
“Are you all right?” she asks softly.
But before he can answer, their cabin and the storm raging outside fade away, leaving her cocooned in layers ofsatin on a...bed of moss? Is this real, or is it the heartlanding still?
And if it is real, and she didn’t imagine the moss part...was the rest of it real, too?
Did Cerian really carry her to bed?
Stars above. Whose bed is she sleeping in?
WhenElowynwakestothe salty sea air tugging at her silver hair, she’s not at all surprised.
She scrambles to a sitting position on the deck of their familiar sailboat, searching for Rominy as she blinks in the bright sunlight.
