With an amused smile, Zorvut lifted a thumb to wipe the juice from Taegan’s face. “I love you.”
“I love you,” Taegan said, grinning up at him. They remained on the beach sitting quietly for a while after their meal was complete, then packed up and headed back home before the heat of the day became too intense.
Chapter Ten
Theirafternoonatthebeach felt like a weight lifted off Taegan’s chest, and each day afterward passed by a little easier. Even though he went back to his usual routine the next day, something felt lighter about his usual walk and swim, and conversation with Miss Jade was lighter. The day after that, they sparred in the afternoon; while Zorvut was indisputably the better of the two in close combat, he was tired from his training earlier in the day so they were more evenly matched.
“Want to see what I can do now?” he asked with a smug grin after Taegan had won a match, smacking his shoulder with their blunt practice swords.
“Let’s see it,” he agreed, stepping back. They were in the alleyway behind Tomlin’s home, still a bit narrow but with considerably more room than just the fenced-in backyard. Luckily, no one ever seemed to be in the area between the buildings, so they typically had the patio and the alley to themselves.
He watched as Zorvut took in a measured breath, pulling back his sword while making a gesture with his free hand like drawing a circle. A spark of flame glittered between his fingers, but the fire that erupted from it coursed up the length of his sword and flickered there, though it did not seem to consume the metal.
“Wow,” Taegan said, instinctively taking a step back. It was an impressive display and more than a bit intimidating, though he knew Zorvut would never strike him with the burning blade. But if he were to see such a thing on a real battlefield, he would certainly think twice before taking on such a warrior—the intimidation factor alone was worth the effort, even if it had little effect on his actual fighting ability.
“I would show you my lightning spear, but I don’t like doing it here,” he said, and glancing at his sword, extinguished the flame. “It’s harder to control. I’m always worried I’m going to strike one of these buildings, or someone is going to wonder why they’re hearing thunder on a cloudless day.”
“Understandable,” Taegan laughed. “Still, Zorvut, that’s very impressive. I’m proud of the progress you’ve made. When we left, lighting a torch was your best accomplishment, and now you can do this.” He gestured at the sword, even though it was no longer lit. The sense of pride that welled up from the bond as he said it caused both of them smile almost shyly at each other.
“Let me show you this, too,” he added, and he stepped closer to Taegan, gesturing for him to come nearer. They stood shoulder to shoulder, Zorvut leaning down to be more on eye level with Taegan, and he moved his hands in a swirling motion, brows furrowed in concentration. It took a moment for Taegan to see it—a few tiny snowflakes fluttering between Zorvut’s hands.
“Ice is a bit trickier,” Zorvut said, his eyes still focused on the space where he was creating the cold snow. “But I can also make it cover a... a larger distance. Damn!” The whirling snow suddenly faltered and fell from his grasp, most of it melting away before even hitting the ground.
“Still!” Taegan exclaimed, placing a hand on Zorvut’s forearm. “That’s incredible.”
“Well, thank you,” Zorvut said with a slight chuckle. “I’m just glad I was finally able to figure out how to make all this work. Now that I have some of these more basic techniques down, I’m hoping I can figure out more things that I can do just on my own.”
“I believe in you,” he replied firmly.
“Thank you, my love,” Zorvut said, hugging him quickly before stepping away. “Let’s go inside. It might not look like much effort from the outside, but I’m starved.”
His lighter mood must have been visible, because Miss Jade even commented on it when he visited her next.
“Looks like you’ve worked things out,” she said with a sly wink as she poured him his usual goblet of wine. He smirked in response, glancing away as he took the first sip.
“Yes,” he agreed simply. “We’ve certainly, ah... cleared the air, if you will.”
She snorted at that, not even trying to hide the grin on her face. “Say no more, sir. I don’t need any details. I’m just glad you’re not bringing your doom and gloom with you anymore.”
“Doom and gloom?” he asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow. “That seems like quite an exaggeration.”
“Don’t try and argue with me about what’s been going on in my very own tavern,” she chided. “Now, what are you having for lunch?”
Once he had ordered his food, the place got a little more busy, and he didn’t get much chance to speak with her at length. But a rather plain-looking human male sitting a few seats down on the bar kept glancing over at him—he did not recognize him as a usual patron, but unfamiliar faces were a common enough sight. It was hard to gauge his age, though Taegan would guess he was nearing his forties, with short reddish-brown hair and a slight sprinkle of stubble across his face, visible but certainly not a beard. He had seen the way men would look at him with desire or even just appreciation of his form, but this was not the expression on this man’s face; if anything, he seemed almost curious, even surprised. Whatever that meant, Taegan was unsure, so he glanced away and tried not to make eye contact with the man as he ate.
But his disinterest apparently did not dissuade the man, who, after a few moments, pushed his drink closer to where Taegan was sitting and moved to a seat not directly next to him, but one over. Taegan glanced up as the man sat down, catching the human staring.
“...Hello,” he said hesitantly, eyeing him. Now that he was a bit closer, he could see the man’s clothes were plain but well-made, and the lines on his face were subtle but certainly there once he was up close. The man smiled at him, as hesitant as Taegan’s voice had been.
“Hello,” he said, his voice gravelly. His accent seemed different from the other humans in Naimere, but Taegan couldn’t quite place it. “Sorry to bother you. It’s just, it’s rare I see elves in this part of Autreth, so I couldn’t help but notice you. I’m a merchant, you see, and I do a lot of business in Aefraya. I’m in town for a while and was just surprised to see an elf here, of all places.”
“Is that so?” Taegan asked, only mildly interested but trying to be polite. “What do you deal in?”
“I procure fine textiles from around the world,” the man replied, the answer coming easily, as if he had spoken the exact words a thousand times before. “I’m sure you know, elves love their silks and flowy things, so it’s always worth the trip. Although with things being as they are, maybe not so much these days.”
“How long ago were you in Aefraya?” he asked. “It’s, ah, been a while since I’ve been home.”
“Oh, really?” the merchant replied, raising his eyebrows. “Well, you picked a good time to be away, then. I left just over a week ago now. Things have gotten a lot worse of late, so Aefraya’s not a great place to be.”
