She didn’t flinch. She didn’t back away. And those two facts made me like her more than I should. I wasn’t the kind to show softness, yet I could not seem to resist doing so—though only withher.
“Don’t be mean to Lord Briscalar.” Reyla stepped aroundme, thrusting herself between us. “I told him to leave. I told him I could handle this.”
“And yet you have not,” I hissed through clenched teeth.
Her chin lifted, and she tilted her head, staring down her nose at me in such a queenly way, she snagged my every thought, my every breath. “I look fine. I’m only marrying aproxy, not the king.”
“This will not do.”
“Well, it has to.” Her wry laugh trickled through the air.
I winced.
She noted the gesture, and her eyes darkened to steel. “I don’t care.”
“Ido.”
“Then you need to find a way to deal with it.”
“Oh, my wildfire, I shall.”
“I’m notyours. I’ll never be yours. And stop calling me wildfire.”
I could no more do that than I could stop breathing.
Her hand flicked to the sailor who remained frozen on the deck, the others studiously avoiding him while scurrying to do their duties. “You did that.”
“I did.”
“Undo it?”
“Why? He mocked you.”
“He laughed with good reason.” She couldn’t contain her wince, and her voice dropped to almost nothing. “I look horrible. Anyone would laugh.”
“I did not.”
She studied my face. Had she noted my scars? Was she as appalled by them as everyone else? “Why not?”
“There's nothing amusing about someone else's vulnerability.”
“I’m not vulnerable.” Yet her voice shook.
“We’re wasting time.”
Her face shuttered. “Yes, of course.” She waved toward the waiting captain. “Let’s get this over with, then, shall we?”
“Yes, we shall.”
I reached out, gathering moonlight from the air around us. I spun it, transformed it, and I sent it to her in a delicate wave.
Surprise rippled across her features. She stared down at the shimmering moonlight dress she now wore that I’d crafted for her alone, her brows lifted with disbelief. The dress flowed in opalescent white across her every curve, each subtle movement creating a cascade of luminescent ripples. Gossamer-thin straps clung to her shoulders, leading to an elegant bodice patterned with misty lace. The fabric swept down into a full skirt that flowed in waves of radiant light. She wore the night sky come to life.
Before she could speak, I held up my finger. This time, I tugged on the moisture skipping across the waves and Ichangedit. My lips quirked up, though only briefly, as Reyla fingered the pearl earrings and necklace she now wore, treasures cast by the sea. One more spell, and I’d harnessed the breeze and used it to fashion her hair in an intricate braid I coiled into a crown on the crest of her head.
She stared up at me with stardust in her eyes and her mouth ajar.
I stooped and collected a few flower petals, carefully tucking them into her hair, standing back when I’d finished.
