“What do you want to do, Nyleeria?” I said, voice gruff. “The choice is yours.”
Making herself a little taller, she said, “You swear you won’t take me to Wymond?”
“On my life, and my honor,” I swore without hesitation.
“Okay,” she said, then slowly nodded. “Let’s go to the Summer Court.”
A weight I hadn’t realized I was holding lifted, easing the tightness in my chest.
To no surprise, we found a stunning stallion ears-deep, in what looked like his riding pack, munching away. Nyleeria stepped past me to him and wrapped her delicate hands as far around his neck as they reached.
“Thank you for coming back,” she whispered, the words clearly intended only for him.
I turned, offering them privacy, and broke camp. As I did, I watched from the corner of my eye, struck by the gentleness in her touch, and I was grateful that whatever had happened, it hadn’t solen that tender part of her.
A little while later, Nyleeria’s soft footsteps made their way back from the stream, and I took a moment to thank Luca for getting her to me safely—a sentiment he didn’t seem inclined to accept.
“What are we going to do with him?” she asked, then ran her fingers up the horse’s side before laying her full attention on me.
Confused, I said, “What do you mean?”
“Well, we can’t valen him…can we?”
Despite myself, I chuckled. “While a horse is no problem, especially a beauty like him, I can’t valen,” I said, and those last three words stole my humor.
“Yes, you can. You valenned us to the beach,” she challenged.
She was right, of course, but it was so easy to forget that she didn’t know much about my kind and wouldn’t have understood the implications of spending too much time in the human realm. “No, sorry, you misunderstand. Normally I can valen, but I’ve spent too much time in the human realm as of late, so I don’t currently have access to my powers.”
“But I thought only elemental magic was affected.”
“That’s only true because we limit the amount of time spent in your lands. I pushed it too far, and it’ll be a day or two until I can access it again.”
“That long?” she blurted, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes, that long,” I said, amused.
“And you’re okay with that?”
Her words made me acutely aware of the gaping void within me that normally pulsed with what I would consider the other half of my soul. “No, I’m not,” I said, tone flat. “But there’s nothing for it now, and it was a conscious decision.”
Brow lifting, she said, “Conscious decision?”
“I risked it, hoping I’d find you before the others, to make sure you were safe.”
“Oh,” she said, as if unable to understand why I’d do such a thing. “So, how are we going to get to the Summer Court then?”
Mouth quirked, I said, “The good old-fashioned way.” Then patted the stallion, trying to ignore the lingering unease at traveling through the Autumn Court, powerless.
She blanched, and I wasn’t sure what I’d just said to elicit the fear I sensed from her. “What’s wrong?” I asked, concern tugging at my brows.
Silence.
“Nyleeria?”
A few heartbeats passed before she finally said, “It’s fine.”
I deepened my scrutiny of her, deciding whether to trust the surface of her words or discern what lay beneath. I let it drop—for now.
