“I know.” Our breathing syncs with each other, steady and slow.
I nearly drift to sleep, the wind, water, and birdsong my favorite lullaby. But that’s when I notice it. Something else. It’s beautiful. Strange and new. Like a far-off symphony. It’s not music. I am not even sure it is sound. I hear it, though. Feel it too. Off-kilter notes that somehow form a melody. A tree rustles in the distance. An animal moves. The stream carries on as it always has. And then this.
My eyes flutter open. I sit up slowly. So slowly. Afraid I will lose it the moment I reach for it again. My heart seems to slip open. A new ache—longing for something it begs to grab hold of. I inhale slowly. A lark calls from above, and I look at it. Somehow my eyes find it in an instant. It seems to shimmer in the sun. Not its feathers. The cream tufts, brown flank, and even golden face are nothing compared to the brilliant gleam around it. It is as if I can see its very essence. It lets out another call, and I see that too. I can see its song. I begin to shake.
Vale still rests beside me. I do not reach for him. Eyes closed, to him, we are still basking in the serenity of morning. Yet for me, the wholeworld seems new. I look to the waterfall. Mist carries through the air, catching light in prismatic hues as it always has, but now I feel it. I feel the surge as it crashes down. I feel the way minuscule bits, smaller than a drop, rise from the impact. I feel its flow. Its energy. It breathes.
I feel its life.It’s magic.
I move slowly. I do not want to startle. Myself? The forces around me? I cannot tell where I end and they begin. I merely sit there, bearing witness to it all.
A lone tear falls down my cheek, and I feel that too—more than the cool touch as it cascades down, but the beauty and pain behind every fallen tear. Blinking before more can join, I am awestruck.
My hand reaches beyond the blanket’s edge. The stone is rigid and cold, yet… I feel its pulse. The very heartbeat of the earth itself. All seem to be waking as if to greet me.
No.
I am the one who has been awakened.
Whatever ember burst into flame the night of the solstice glows warm and bright within me now. My heart, which felt so broken open with want, now feels overwhelmingly full. The beauty of it. The staggering, overwhelming beauty.
I cannot keep it to myself for a moment longer.
“Vale.” I reach for him, my voice barely above a whisper. He shifts lightly, rising on one elbow and leaning in on his side toward me. His hand rubs my thigh. I do not look at him yet. The physical touch is the tether I needed, though I am not yet ready to let go of the magic I have just touched. “I think I get it now.” My voice trembles.
There is no use fighting back the tears now. They fall. Slow and sure. I do not weep, nor do I brush them away. Each one breaking free from me like an oath. Each an offering.
“I think I found the magic.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Vale moves with caution. As much as the sight of me in tears ignites an immediate call to action in him, Vale discerns—this is different.
Resting his hand on my thigh, his touch anchors me while still allowing me to marvel at the miraculous flow all around.
It’s surreal and overwhelming. Finally—I look away from all of the magic coursing around me. I look to Vale, tears still fresh across my cheeks.
He doesn’t move. He waits. When I am finally ready, I speak.
“No words I say will ever do it justice.” My voice catches in my throat, a crack running deep down to my soul. Nothing after this moment will ever be the same.
I look into his eyes. Those dark pools of umber that have always held such light. I see it there too. Fainter now, everything around me still thrumming with life but subdued, the way crowded voices soften into one incoherent sound. But the light behind his eyes… gods. I feel as if I am seeing right into the heart of him. The man he is. All the pain and love. More than even our most intimate moments have revealed shines outward now.
I clutch his hand and place it over my heart. It’s beating wildly. His eyes shift between awe and concern.
“It’s not just the Song of Caerhollan, it’s the life force behind everything.” My eyes scan the vast forest surrounding us. My perception is less vivid than it was moments ago, but it’s all still so palpable.
Vale rises until he is sitting upright next to me, wrapping an arm around me. His hold is gentler than usual. He seems to understand this is not something I need protecting from but a miracle of a moment for us to share together. “And now that you’ve found it, what would you like to do, my flame?”
Possibilities flood my mind. “I want to experience it all,” I say, the words spilling out on a breath. “I want to know if fruit tastes different, if the wind has a song I have never heard before, if…” The idea snaps into place. I made it this far without him questioning my sanity—surely my next actions won’t change that.
I pull at the laces of my boots, loosening them and tossing them to the side. Each strap or button tying leather and linen in place across my body is undone and falls into a pile, save the thin layer of my undergarments. Vale begins pulling at his own buttons with a watchful eye. This man would follow me to the ends of the earth just to see if I smiled at what I saw. My heart warms at the thought.
I stand, and he matches my movements, removing his shirt and setting it down next to the boots he’s already taken off. I reach for his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before moving toward the shimmering pool.
He stands there watching as I slowly dip into the waters.
The air warms as sunlight shines through the opening in the trees above, but the water remains crisp against my skin. Getting my footing, I spy a drop-off deep enough to fully submerge. I take a leap.
