“It’sremarkablemethodology.” I caught her chin, tilting her face up to meet my gaze. “And your plant magic is extraordinary. The way you sensed the wrongness in those leaves when nobody else could is a gift.”
“One I’ve barely developed.”
“Maybe because you’ve been too busy keeping everyone else safe to explore what you can do. What if you gave yourself permission to be more than the strategist, to be the witch with an affinity for growing things?”
She sucked in a breath. “What if I’m terrible at it?”
“Then you’ll practice until you’re not. I’ve seen you identify a problem and work to solve it. That skill can be applied to anything. Though I suspect you’re already better than you think. These plants responded to you already.”
She glanced around the sitting room. The vines along the walls had straightened, their leaves unfurling. The potted ferns looked fuller, greener. Even the flowers on our dinner table seemed to glow with new life.
“They’re responding to something,” she said softly.
“I think to us.” I gestured at the blooming evidence. “Magic knows what your mind is still figuring out.”
“And what’s that?”
“That some risks are worth taking.”
We sat for a bit, the fire crackling. Outside, the gardens settled into night, and the magical lights sent a soft glow through the windows.
“I should probably let you rest,” I said, though I made no move to get up. “It’s been a long day.”
“It has.” Sasha didn’t pull her hand from mine. “Though I’m not particularly tired.”
“Neither am I.”
More silence followed while I memorized the wayfirelight caught her dark hair, the slight upturn of her nose, and how her fingers fit perfectly between mine.
“We should still do something about that dessert,” she finally said. “Even if we’re not eating it. It seems wrong to waste it when Alaina went to so much trouble.”
“We could save it for tomorrow or give it to Savory when she returns.”
“She’d probably get gas again.”
I laughed. “Your companion has questionable judgment when it comes to sweets.”
“She has questionable judgment about many things.” Sasha’s smile turned wry. “But she’s usually right in the end.”
“What was she right about today?”
“That I should stop hiding behind duty and actually feel things.”
I knew what it cost her to say it, how much vulnerability it required.
“For what it’s worth,” I said, “I’m glad you’re feeling things. Even if it’s terrifying.”
“It is terrifying.” She met my gaze. “But also kind of wonderful.”
We stood, the movement bringing us close enough that I could feel her warmth. The walk from the sitting room to our bedroom doors felt charged.
We stopped between the two doors, neither of us willing to end the evening.
“We didn’t actually kiss at our wedding,” I blurted out.
Her eyes widened, her gaze shooting to my mouth. “No, we didn’t.”
“The giggling interrupted before we could.”
