“Elowyn?”
Her senses return, and she looks away. “My ribs are sore, and I may have sprained my wrist. But as I said, elves are sturdy. I’ll be—”
“This one?” He reaches for her left hand. Did he notice her favoring it?
“Yes.”
He turns it gently, and she winces.
“We should ice it,” he says. “Can you make ice?”
Her smile returns, and she nods. Ice is one of her specialties. Most water wielders can’t do it, but she can pull the heat from water with her fire magic.
“I’ll be back.” Rominy hops to his feet and throws open cupboard doors in the kitchen until he finds a bowl, andthen he fills it with water from the sink. It has knobs like the sinks at the castle.
When he returns to her side, he sets the bowl between them. “Now, show me your magic.”
Unexpected Events
Episode 28
Arisannatakesinthebed around her. She’s the only one lying in it, though it’s easily big enough for two.
Is she happy? Disappointed? A little of both? She doesn’t want to sleep beside Cerian, though, does she? Not yet, anyway.
Still. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep on the observation deck of the astronomy tower. That wasn’t an unpleasant way to wake—with him beside her.
Maybe someday. Especially with the way he was looking at her in the heartlanding.
She bites her lip at the thought.
Once the dizziness passes, she pushes herself into a sitting position and jumps when her eyes alight on his dark hair and pointed ears.
She’s not alone. Did he sleep in that chair all night? Why would he sleep in a chair? Surely he has his own bed.
For a moment, they stare at each other.
They were just together in the heartlanding. Why is everything awkward again?
“Good morning,” she eventually whispers.
“Good morning.” He sits straighter and masks a yawn with his hand.
The handshe held for hours. Sort of. That hand was a construct of the heartlanding, of course. This one is real.
“Why are you sleeping in a chair?” she pushes through the awkwardness to ask.
He takes a moment to answer. “I wasn’t sure you wanted me in the bed with you.”
She glances around again. Books. A wardrobe. Carved wooden figures. Or are they magic-grown?
Stars above. This is his chamber.
This is his bed.
“You asked me not to leave you last night,” he says quietly. “You panicked when I let go of you. So my mother and grandmother put you in here.”
Those faint memories were real.
