Ellery swallowed and tugged at her necklace. “Every other time we’ve trusted our instincts, we’ve been right.”
“I know. Sorry. I-I trust you. It’s just, fifteen minutes ago, we were so sure. We were good. And now, one night… it’s not a lotta time.” He reached into his pocket, seeming to fish for dandelions that weren’t there. Then he withdrew his hand and flexed his fingers.
“It’s not,” Ellery admitted. “But—”
“We waited weeks for tonight. I can’t wait another year.” He pressed his back into the seat cushions and forced out a shaky breath.
Ellery had never seen him like this. Usually he was the comforting one, the steadying one, while she was always worrying, always doubting.
“Dom,” she said gently, and when he didn’t respond, she reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. Her magic responded instantly, cold surging against heat, as exhilarating as it was disorienting. Ellery felt it in her head. Her chest.
Domenic jolted, and his eyes snapped to hers. But he didn’t let go.
“I can’t promise that we’ll always get it right,” she said. “But I believe in us. And Icanpromise you that whatever’s coming, you’re not in it alone. Not now. Not ever.”
His throat bobbed. Gradually, his breathing eased.
“I, um,” he said. “I can’t say I love the idea that destiny steered my whole life, even with certain chapters excluded. But I think I believe now. And of all the people destiny could’ve paired me with, I’m really glad it was you.”
“I’m glad it was you, too.”
Left, then right, then right again, their car veered throughcity streets. Other vehicles jumbled out of the way, but it was still slow going to squeeze through traffic, and their car jostled as pavement shifted into the cobblestones of Gallamere’s oldest neighborhoods.
But so long as she kept hold of his hand, Ellery felt calm.
She studied Domenic as he stared out the window again, his breathing steadier, his head leaning back against the cushion. His freckles peeked out from beneath his gala makeup.
Ellery had thought it impossible for her to feel so connected to another person. But she trusted Domenic wholly, truly, in a way that she had never trusted anyone.
“Can I tell you something?”
He turned to meet her eyes. “Of course.”
“My parents.” Ellery spoke matter-of-factly. “Everyone knows they died in the fall of Nordmere. What they don’t know is how.”
As Ellery searched for the right words, Domenic didn’t push her. He waited patiently until she was ready to continue.
“Things were difficult at home even before I developed magic. And once I did, it was obvious that my magic was strange. I accidentally iced over my bedroom, and I covered our garden in snow in the middle of Summer. So my parents took my training wands away and refused to let me study magic. But after that, they were always afraid of me. They told me I was a monster. And I believed them.”
Memories flipped through her mind like a film reel, as though she watched them on-screen, a spectator to her own life. During her first days at the Citadel, healers had mended three improperly healed fractures in her arms and legs. They’d never asked her where they’d come from.
“El,” he said gently, but she didn’t need to pause again. Her voice hadn’t quavered. Her heartbeat was stable. And shewantedto tell him, wanted him to know her, all of her.
“Then, when the winterghasts invaded Nordmere, my parents thought I was partially to blame. I wasn’t, of course, but they didn’t believe me. So they took it upon themselves to play the hero. To slay… me.”
Domenic sucked in a tight, furious breath and squeezed her hand tighter.
“I’d hidden a training wand from them. And I only wanted to protect myself, but I was so scared. I lost c-control.” Ellery swallowed and fixed her gaze on the partition. “I tortured myself over what happened for years. Finally I convinced myself that I was too traumatized to remember it correctly, that no magician could possibly have Winter magic. But when I realized I was Chosen, it finally made things clear. Because if I’m destined to save Alderland, why would destiny want me to be horrified by my own power? Maybe I was always meant for Winter, but that doesn’t mean I was always meant to suffer. My parentschoseto treat me the way they did. It could’ve been different. But sometimes, I still hear their voices in my head. And I wonder if maybe they were right. Because only a monster could… could…”
Her heartbeat ratcheted violently, and despite her resolve, a hideous panic rose within her. Maybe she’d been wrong to trust him. Maybe it was better to hold herself apart, alone. Maybe—
“Listen to me, El,” Domenic said fiercely. “There’s nothing monstrous about fighting back.”
Ellery felt his words as much as she heard them. Her pulse slowed, and she trembled, not with fear but with relief. She leaned against him, and he released her hand to slide his arm around her.
“I want to believe you,” she said, sniffling. “I almost can. I just know that no matter what happens, I need to prove them wrong.”
He kissed the top of her hair. “You already have.”
