And as if the Mother herself had reached through the ground to accept their offering, the flowers disappeared below the marble surface.
I stayed silent for a time, speech stolen from me in the way reverence does when one is in the presence of something beautifully sacred.
“Are you ready?” Myron’s soft voice asked, breaking the silence.
I blinked, trying to come back to reality.
WasI ready? No, definitively not. But no amount of time would change that. “Can you please explain exactly what’s going to happen?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said, stepping closer to me.
“My ability allows me to connect to someone’s memories,” he said.
“Ability?” I asked, then stole a quick glance over my shoulder at Kaelun. “Like an unara?”
“Yes. Exactly like an unara.”
“How does it work?”
“Well, one-on-one my High Lord power can reach for memories?—”
“That’s what you meant bygoing deeperduring the summer solstice? You were searching for my memories?” I asked, tone more accusation than question. I’d never forget how his power had tried to dig for something; how I had to stop him several times.
“Yes,” he said, having the good sense to look abashed. “I am sorry for that, Nyleeria.”
I nodded, motioning for him to go on while wondering if it would be more difficult for him to access my memories, given I was the spark. Truth was, even as a human he wasn’t able to tap into them, not to mention I could physicallyfeelhis power prodding. Then again, maybe it was different when the participant was willing.
“As I said,” he continued, “normally my power alone is enough, but to share the memory with everyone in a sort of vision, we will have to be physically connected for it to transfer. As Caius and I have access to more power than everyone else—with the exception of you, of course—you will be placed between the two of us as the anchor to the memory.”
“And I…” I began to ask, but the rest of the question lodged in my throat.Gods was I nervous.
“And?” Myron prompted.
“I… I won’t feel any of it?”
“Mother, no. Why would you possibly think that?”
I wrapped my arms around my torso. “Because the last time this happened… I feltallof it.”
“As did Endymion,” Caius added.
The High Lord of spring shook his head. “From what I understand, it was as if the spark pulled Endymion into the memory. This is different. If I thought for a moment that any of us would be in danger, Fiora wouldn’t be here.”
As if needing him to know she was safe, Fiora came to his sideand threaded her fingers through his. His full being melted with warmth as he turned his gaze to her. Slipping up on her tiptoes, she pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her waist, tucking her into his side.
The ache in my chest returned, but it wasn’t as sharp this time. Seeing the tenderness between these two was magic in and of itself.
“Where was I?” Myron asked.
“Making the rest of us look bad,” Artton ribbed, and the tension of the moment dissipated as the room filled with soft laughter.
“Right,” Myron said. “There’s nothing to worry about, Nyleeria. My unara works very differently than what you’ve experienced. Think of it less like a vision and more like a painting—inert, but still telling a story.”
His words began untangling the knot of apprehension I’d harbored deep within. It wasn’t gone, of course, but it did ease some of my fear.
“And if you prefer,” he added, “I’m happy to keep you out of the vision entirely. You’d just have to start thinking of the memory, and then I can take it from there.”
“Really?” I asked, looking from him to Fiora.
