Her skin tingled as the knowledge of that control flowed through her body. She felt strong and alive, like she had all those days ago when she dove into the freezing sea in the middle of the night.
She didn’t know how this would play out, but she would make all the choices available to her. No one else would be making those choices for her.
She was strong. Stronger than most anyone else she knew.
Her entire life had been spent facing the wrong side of injustice, and she wasn’t weaker for it. She was fierce now, and more resilient.
Erich turned around. He must have noticed her jumping back. “Do tall spaces frighten you?” His face held concern. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
She smiled at him, accepting his kind words fully now that her heart was no longer conflicted.
His eyes lit up at her smile. “Your hair is stunning in the sunlight,” he said. “I thought it was brown at first, but now I can’t ever seem to stop staring at it. I’ve never seen such a beautiful shade of red anywhere.”
“Thank you,” Aizel mouthed. Her throat felt clogged, but whether it was from the words stuck in her chest or from the kindness in his voice, she couldn’t tell.
“Azel.” He stepped closer to her until he was standing directly in front of her. “Something the bandit said last night has been on my mind.”
She raised her eyebrows at him.
His dark brown eyes glanced between hers, and his face was earnest and serious. “He asked why I hadn’t removed your necklace.” Erich held out his finger to point to the gem on her throat, though he didn’t quite touch it. “Can I do that?” His voice was lower than she had ever heard it.
Keeping her eyes on his, she nodded.
“Can you remove it?”
She shook her head, reaching up behind her neck to demonstrate. Though it was tied in a simple bow, she couldn’t undo it.
As she fiddled with it, the ribbon pulled tighter around her throat, pinching into her skin. She stopped, dropping her hands and breathing slowly to offset the hallmark of Quotidian magic: pain.
Erich reached up and gently touched the side of the ribbon. “Is it spelled? So you cannot take it off but others can?”
She nodded.
“Even if I do not have magic?”
She nodded again. Her heart continued pounding. This time, it wasn’t from the Quotidian magic but from the understanding of what he was asking. Erich wanted to give her voice back. He was trusting her enough to do so. “Take it off,” she pleaded with her eyes. “Let me speak with you. Let me tell you what I know. Then you can tell me why the Quotidian king wants you dead.”
“If I release this...” His fingers slid further behind her neck, touching the knot itself. “. . . you will have access to your magic through your voice.”
The words he spoke were obvious, but the tone behind them was asking her if it was safe to free her.
He was standing so close she had to tilt her head backward to look up at him. She nodded, assuring him with complete honesty that she would do nothing to harm him. She had never used her magic for harm before, and she never intended to.
Chapter 30
Erich looked down into the green eyes of the young woman before him. He was surrounded by the color of deep evergreen trees, the bright green of the grass, and the emerald shimmer of the lakes far below. But the soft hazel green of her eyes had his full attention.
If he removed her necklace—with its murky green jewel—he would be placing himself at her mercy.
But hadn’t he been at her mercy the night before, when she’d risked her life to save his from the bandits?
Everything about her was innocent.
He didn’t know what to believe, for the girl in front of him didn’t seem capable of the attack he had witnessed at sea. She had tried to share things with him multiple times and he felt she had something she wanted to say. But no one was listening because no one could hear her.
That simple fact alone filled his heart with empathy. He knew the deep loneliness of being unheard.
He had two choices. He could let things stand as they were. Tomorrow, he could ride with her into Chendas and deliver her to King Gareth and his Council. It was the safe choice, the responsible choice. It was the choice Ian would have made.
