She’s a water wielder. She’ll be fine.
When she surfaces a good twenty feet away, he watches her bob in the waves, looking out at the horizon, until she dives under again.
She swims as if she has fins, but it’s the currents she manipulates that propel her forward. It’s remarkable.
She’s remarkable.
Does she really want to build a treehouse? To pretend they’re shipwrecked on this deserted island?
She surfaces again a few feet away and walks toward him in the water, her white gown clinging to her as her shoulders emerge from the waves.
This time, he crosses his arms to keep from reaching for her.
“Are you ready, love?” he asks, and her brows wrinkle.
“Ready for what?”
“My wife thinks she needs to build a treehouse, and who am I to say no? As if I could deny her anything.”
Elowyn’s face lights up in a smile to match the first one she sent him across that meadow near the border, and he reaches for her hand as they stroll back to the shore.
“I know nothing about building treehouses,” he whispers near her ear. “So I hope you know what we’re doing.”
She shrugs as she leans against his side. “How hard could it be?”
“Thisisit.Thisis the one.” Elowyn drags Rominy through heavy foliage toward a large tree not far from their waterfall. Its many branches are low, stretching out to the sides in every direction before angling toward the clear blue sky above the tree canopy.
It’s exactly what she imagined, as if the heartlanding placed it on their island just for them.
Rominy’s brows knit as he glances from her to the tree and back again. “How big of a treehouse do you think we need?”
“I want multiple rooms like in the books—”
“Tharios read to you,” Rominy finishes for her. “Were these elven tales or human ones?”
“There were some of both, though humans seem keener on sea travel than most elves, aside from the water wielders of Lumath Teyal in the western region of Lostariel, of course. I should like to see the city on the water someday. Mother says it’s spectacular.” Elowyn smiles wistfully at Rominy.
“We will, all right? Someday, you and I will visit Lumath Teyal together. I’ve heard the stories myself, and I promised to help you chase your dragons, which I assumed was mostly metaphorical rather than only—”
She cuts him off with a kiss. His lips taste of salty sweat and seawater, and he eagerly kisses her in return, his hands warm against her flesh through her damp gown. His touch sends fire racing through her veins, and Rominy pulls away.
“We’re not very good at listening to Tharios,” he mumbles.
She barely resists the urge to laugh. They do seem to struggle with that.
“So...” Rominy looks back at the tree before clearing his throat. “This treehouse of yours...you really think it needs multiple rooms?”
“All the best stories have treehouses with multiple rooms. And bridges connecting the rooms, and platforms on ropes and pulleys to—”
“I think you’re overestimating my skills. I’m a prince, remember? Not an engineer or builder.”
“Cerian builds things all the time.”
“With his plant magic?”
“Yes, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out. How—”
“Hard can it be? You keep saying that, and it keeps not reassuring me.”
