“I don’t know,” admitted Elyria, twirling the stem between her fingers. “It justhappens.” She looked to the spot where Sid had disappeared, blowing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes with a huff. “And believe me, nobody is more frustrated at not fully understanding it than I am. I’ve had my magic mastered for nearly two centuries, but all of this feels sonew.”
“You think it has to do with the combination of your powers?”
“That’s what Nox suspects.”
Cedric nodded. “Your power is rooted in wild magic, but you have your shadows too. Somehow, you’re weaving the two together, embedding life into darkness. It’s not wholly unlike what I’ve been reading about Verdancy—sylvan magic.”
She finally looked at him, her mouth tipped to one side. “Been studying up on our scary Arcanian ways, have you?”
“Yes, well”—he met Elyria’s gaze. Held it—“turns out, there’s much I needed to catch up on.”
A charged silence settled between them, only relenting when Cedric plucked the shadowflower from between Elyria’s fingers.
He let out a low whistle. “So, what do we call thisnewnessthen? What do we call you? Shadowshaper? Night-wild-wielder?”
Elyria snorted and shook her head. “I don’t think we’ll be adding Namer of Magics to your growing list of titles, Sir Victor. And I’ve got more than enough monikers of my own as well. I am perfectly happy to continue simply being Elyria.” She arched a periwinkle eyebrow. “Elle, when you’ve been good.”
Cedric laughed, light bursting behind his ribs. “Fair enough. So, what news from King’s Keep then?”
“No news. Which is good news, I think,” Elyria said with a shrug. “Nox reports that your Lord Church’s presence has been scarce. Which has certainly made things easier for Tenny.”
Cedric wondered if Elyria could hear the way his heart suddenly started beating faster. “Tenny?”
“She’s been working to get Kit access to the royal archives. They’re seeing if they can find anything that will help either of us.”
Cedric drew a slow breath. If Kit and Tenny were working together, spending time together, there was every chance for many truths to slip out. He didn’t want Elyria learning about his prior history with Tenny secondhand. Even knowing no agreements had been made.
Cedric still wasn’t sure whether Lord Church had actually spoken to his daughter about his intentions, still didn’t know how Tenny truly felt. If her friendly farewell in the courtyard of King’s Keep was any indication, he felt quite confident that things could continue as they had. They were friends. They always would be.
Still, his final night in Kingshelm had shifted things considerably. Where before there might have been a sort of residual wonder between Tenny and him, a lingering sense of nostalgia, a kernel of “what if” and “one day,” now there was only Elyria.
There was no way in all four hells he would jeopardize whatever this was, however improbable.
Sucking in a breath, Cedric steeled his nerve. “Elle, I should probably tell you?—”
“Great Gaia’s fucking tits,” Thraigg grumbled, hurling the flint and steel in his hands into the grass as he got to his feet. “Useless! Wood’s too wet and the damn flint’s dulled. We ain’t gettin’ a fire out of this tonight.”
And with that, the dwarf stomped off toward the circle of tents.
Alone by the firepit, Elyria gave Cedric an expectant look. “Well?”
He arched a brow, his previous train of thought entirely derailed by Thraigg’s ill-timed outburst. “Well, what?”
“Are you really going to make me eat”—she shuddered dramatically—“cold food?Help the poor dwarf out.”
“What do you expect me to do?”
She sighed. “Light a fucking fire, Thorne.”
His eyes widened. “Somebody will see. Hargrave?—”
Elyria looked very much like she was trying not to roll her eyes. Instead, she flicked her green-eyed gaze to the camp, then clucked her tongue. “Nobody is looking. You may as well give it a try. Here, I’ll even help you pretend.”
She stood, moving closer to the firepit. With the crook of her finger and a small wisp of shadow, Thraigg’s formerly discarded flint and steel soared into Elyria’s hand.
Cedric gave her a look as he joined her, taking a knee in the dirt beside her, eyes fixed warily on the small pile of sticks that Thraigg had left assembled in its center. “You make it sound so easy.”
“Itiseasy. Or, at least, it can be. You already know you’re fully capable of doing it.”
