The power was foreign and terrifying, and suddenly, it was mine.
I couldn’t place the exact moment that it happened. The feeling had bloomed within me slowly like tentative springtime flowers, dreading the threat of one last frost.
The two versions of me began to merge into one. At first, forcing the opposing sides of myself into one ill-fitting mold had been painful, but once I stopped fighting the power within me, something changed. Like a band snapping into place, I felt complete for the first time in years. Perhaps, for the first time ever.
I still carried the weight of my past. I would never erase the memory of Luca’s lifeless body or the way my sword had sliced through flesh, heart heavy with anger and regret. But every bad thing that happened had made me into the woman that I was. Maybe that was a person I could learn to love instead of feeling the urge to look away from my reflection in every mirror I passed.
Quin’s soft whinny roused me from my thoughts as I approached the stable.
Harkin led the black mare outside. She tossed her head, mane flying as she stretched her long, elegant neck.
I stroked her velvety muzzle, murmuring soft appreciations to the sweet horse. Quin’s ears flicked toward the sound of my voice, and she nuzzled at my hand.
“You know, she only liked me before you came along. I thought we had something special going here, but as it turns out, she’s a little traitor.” Harkin crossed his arms, but his expression was playful.
“I regret to inform you that Quin loves me more now. Though I suspect your days were always numbered. She’s a woman of taste, after all.” I leaned close, waiting for his reaction.
Harkin snorted. “Still not her name.”
“Interesting… You seemed to be a fan of nicknames, no?” I smirked as the hint of a blush crept across Harkin’s cheeks.
He cleared his throat. “Let’s go. We’re wasting moonlight.”
We mounted, settling snugly into the saddle meant for one.
Harkin spurred Quin on, guiding her into the forest and leading us northeast.
As the minutes wore on, the late hour and the steady sway of the horse’s gait began to lull me. I swayed then jumped as I jolted awake. I blinked forcefully, but the warmth of my cloak and Harkin’s body pressed to mine pulled at my consciousness.
An arm wrapped around my waist, hand splayed over my stomach. A quiet voice rumbled in my ear. “Sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
I wanted to protest, but my chin dropped, and I stopped fighting.
When I woke, I found that my head had fallen back. My ear rested on Harkin’s collarbone, the crown of my braided hair tucked beneath his chin. His hand still rested low on my belly, fingers flexing against my flesh. I felt pleasantly overwarm.
“We’re here.”
I pulled away, embarrassment flooding down to my toes. I wanted to put as much distance between us as I possibly could. I wanted to lean closer.
My heart skipped a ruinous beat.
Harkin released his grasp on me. His fingers found my chin, turned down with mortification, but he did not tilt my face to his.He guided my gaze upwards, the tips of his fingers grazing along the sharp edge of my jaw and brushing my ear as he pulled away.
I gasped in awe. “Three Goddesses.”
Before us was a pool of glowing, swirling water, steam drifting from the surface. Tünécris played—for there was truly no better description. They floated on an invisible breeze through the boughs of the trees and dashed across the soft grass, untouched by the snow which had fallen through the forest. Others glided along the surface of the spring, skating impossibly upon its rippling surface.
The Varázis Erva was alight with the vestiges of their spent mágik, greens and blues and grays and reds creating an aurora on earth. The trees came alive, and their branches swayed in a dancing rhythm to music we could not hear.
Flowers blossomed across the space, every inch of the field around us a wash of impossible colors. Spring and summer buds grew defiantly in this place where mágik held the bite of the approaching winter at bay.
We dismounted, sliding off Equinox without a word.
“Harkin, this is…” Anything I might have said stuck in my throat. I could not help the awe which had stolen over me. There had never been anything like this.
“Yes, it is.” He spoke so quietly, reverently.
I felt the younger version of myself rising in the back of my mind. This was everything I had ever dreamed of. Everything my parents had said mágik could be.
