“Just as blossoms bloom and wither,
But still grow upon the bough,
Even though I am not with her,
She is still with me somehow.”
My lip trembled as a smile stretched across my face. The tune I had heard in my mind and in my dreams was his song. It was him all along.
It wasalwayshim.
The white fire inside me swayed to the music and the ribbon of magic around Riyan brightened. He let out an exuberant laugh and kept singing.
“Untouched by the endless winter,
I’m still warm even now,
For even though I am not with her,
She is still with me somehow.”
I needed him.Neededhim.
Magic tingled against my skin, pulling my body further into the water. Slowly, my fingertips left the edge of the pool as the swirls of magic carried me away.
I could not be afraid. Riyan was there.
My chest was alight with white fire. My limbs shivered from thousands of tears of lost love pulling me into that space between worlds.
Just as I stretched out my arms to embrace him, my hands hit an invisible barrier. I scowled and pushed again, but the barrier would not budge.
Damn it! My magic still was not strong enough to transport me! Was I not worthy enough to let the magic take me to him?
No, I could not admit defeat. I had to be more to Riyan than just white light in a dark chasm. He had to see me.
The ribbon of light around Riyan perked up like a serpent and rushed toward me.
Suddenly every part of my body was aglow.
Riyan’s head swiveled around as he followed the tail of the ribbon. When his eyes met mine, he froze.
My heart dropped into my stomach. I had not thought this through. How was I supposed to face him again after the Darkest Night? Or after I became Derrick’s mistress? Or failed to save Brandt?
Though I tried to dim my own light, Riyan’s smile was incandescent.
“You heard me?” he asked. His eyes sparkled even in the abyss.
I gave him a tight smile and nodded. I swallowed my shame and forced myself to speak. “Riyan, I am sorry.”
His brows knitted. “What could you be sorry for?”
How could I tell him? “So much has changed since you saw me last…”
“I know.” He moved closer through the darkness. His head was slightly above mine, even though I still felt so far away. “I’ve seen it in your magic. Every time you reached for your power when you were scared, or panicked, or angry…I knew.”
My stomach knotted. “Do you know everything?”
He frowned. “No. I forced my way down to that old man at the bottom of the pit and demanded he tell me, but the only answers I got were the patterns in your magic.”
