I shift my boots across the stone, activate my core, and swing. My steel meets Severin’s with a satisfying ring. I lean in close, so the steam from my breath mingles with his. “I’d have you act like youlove me, like you said. Or have you changed your mind about that as well?”
Hurt flickers through his eyes. “Is that really what you think?”
He pushes me away, then takes a slow swipe at my legs, clearly giving me time to dance away from his blade. I twirl out of reach of his sword, then lift mine again, flexing my fingers around the hilt.
Meeting his eyes, I take a breath of the cold air.
Do I really think that he’s stopped loving me?
No.
But it hurts just the same, like he’s creating distance between us even as I fight and claw to keep him close to me.
“What doyouthink?” I ask instead of answering his question.
“I think,” he says, shifting his stance and advancing on me, forcing me to sidestep to avoid a slow swing from his sword, “this is the best thing for both of us right now.”
“And you think you can make that decision for me?” I swing at him, and he shifts easily out of the way, avoiding the strike with what appears to be no effort.
My blade cuts through empty air, and the momentum pulls me off-balance, causing me to stumble.
“Your emotions are getting the better of you,” Severin says.
“At least I don’t bury mine where no one can find them,” I growl, swinging my sword again. Severin lifts his blade to meet mine, and when they connect, sparks shower the stone at our feet.
“It’s safer for both of us this way. I’m trying to protect you, Maeve.”
Gritting my teeth, I push my sword against his, the edges grinding into each other. “I. Don’t. Need. Your. Protection!”
As my emotions surge, so does my lightning. It licks from my palms and into the hilt of my sword, then races down the length of my blade before jumping to Severin’s. The energy bites his hand where it’s wrapped around the hilt of his sword, and he immediately releases it. The sword falls to our feet and strikes the stone with an ear-grating sound.
Severin takes a step back from me and stares down at his palm. Even from this distance, I can see his skin is burned and already forming blisters.
My stomach drops. I hurt him. I’ve never hurt anyone with my magic before—not like this.
“I-I’m sorry,” I say, lowering my sword, wishing I could undo what I did. “I didn’t mean to—”
“I know.” Severin curls his fingers delicately, as if trying to protect the blistered skin. His eyes meet mine in the fading light. His shoulders rise and fall with a heavy breath. “I didn’t mean to hurt you either.”
The thread connecting me to him pulls painfully.
I let it tug me forward, taking a step toward him. More than anything, I want to wrap him in my arms and bury my face in his chest. I want him to tell me he loves me. I want him to promise that everything is going to be okay.
But that’s not what happens.
He shifts back a step, like I’m something dangerous, and that distance cuts straight through to my heart.
“This lesson is over,” he says.
My practice sword feels heavy in my hand as I drop my arms to my sides, the tip of the steel meeting the stone.
“But we’re not... Right?” I ask, my voice having lost its strength.
I feel small. Too small.
And it makes me sad and enraged in equal measure.
Severin meets my eyes and offers me a fleeting smile. Somehow, right now, he’s reminding me of a ghost. Like someone I’m trying to hold on to, even knowing they’re going to slip from my fingers.
