He tugs at the cord connecting them, but it feels normal. Not like it did this morning.
Perhaps she wished to spend the evening alone.
That’s not very like Viala, though. She doesn’t delight in solitude the way Cerian does. Not usually.
“Go be with Viala, Tharios. Your presence is not required here tonight. I recommend the chocolates with the light drizzle on top, but you may have to fight Cerian for them.”
“Are you telling me to romance my binding partner tonight?”
“I am telling you she needs you. Her heart is fragile right now. Have an evening together that isn’t about magic. Hers or yours.”
Grandmera shoves the candy against his chest, and he fumbles for it. Then he glances back at Elowyn.
“Elowyn has everything she needs in that young man wrapping his arms around her,” Grandmera says. “Go. Before I singe your eyebrows this time.”
Tharios fights back a grin and shakes his head. “You have made your point. I am going.”
“Good.”
With the candy in his hands, he offers his goodnights before slipping from the room and attempting to push thoughts of Elowyn aside. He resists the urge to spy on Mother first. She’s been following his orders every time he’s looked with his life magic. He probably doesn’t need to check again.
Viala is where his focus needs to be. Taking a deep breath, he stops outside their door. She’s inside, which is a relief. Not that she could have gone far without him noticing. The magic connecting them would have dragged him along with her.
So...romance her?
Perhaps Grandmera is right. Perhaps Viala needs to be distracted from all their talk of magic and growing old and dying.
Tharios sends threads of his air magic under the door, feeling the room as his wind currents search for her within, and he finally finds her curled up in a chair near the window again. Staring at the mountains, probably. He toys with her hair and flutters the hem of her gown until she looks up.
“Tharios?”
Her voice carries to him on his wind, and he smiles before reaching for the door. He slips through and closes it behind him. “I believe there’s a faerie hiding in my chamber. I’m hoping if I offer her chocolate, she might stay forever.”
A faint smile graces Viala’s face. “Did you come to check on me? Forgive me. I feared I would be in the way tonight.”
That’s unlikely to be the whole truth, but he lets it go.
“I thought I might romance you tonight,” he says softly. “They don’t need me in there.”
She looks uncertain about how to respond to that.
He sets the candy on the table and kneels in front of her. “You are amazing, you know that?”
“Go on.” Her eyes twinkle, and he smiles. There’s his Viala.
“Come with me. Let’s get out of here.”
“And where will we go?”
“We’ll get Stardust, and we’ll just ride. Let your hair fly free in the wind.” He pulls off the tie on her braid, threading his fingers through the strands until her golden hair hangs loose once more.
“And then what?”
“And then we’ll find a quiet meadow and dance under the stars. Forget everything else and just be us.”
She runs a knuckle along his cheek. “Just dance?”
“What do you think, faerie? Do we ever just dance, you and I?”
