It was the feeling of finding steady ground; of grounding one another. Adelineknewthe word for it; she had for some time now. She wanted to say it, out loud—daughters damn her, she wanted toscream it,so badly that the impulse dizzied her. Yet another reason, then, to be relieved for the circle of Kai’s arms around her. She held him tighter, for a split second longer.
And if he noticed her quiet struggle when he pulled away, he didn’t remark on it; just tugged on her braid where it lay over her shoulder.
“You came prepared, I see.”
Adeline could only smile. After the last afternoon they’d spent in the humidity of the forest, the wet heat had forced itself between the strands of her curls and left her with a fluffy mess that had taken all night to tame.
“I wasn’t a fan of the dandelion mane,” she said wryly.
Kai just laughed and kissed her forehead. “I happen to think you make a very sweet dandelion.”
Adeline cupped his face and fixed him with a deep, serious frown.
“Only because you’re smitten with me,” she told him.
“Am I?”
Kai leaned down until their noses brushed with each grave nod of her head.
“Oh yes, I’m afraid so.”
She felt the curve of his smile as he kissed her, and the sweet, fluttering warmth in her chest was a cherished old friend. The warmth dispersed all too quickly, though, chased off by the sound of a dramatic dry heave as Ceriwyn walked by, barely glancing up from her book as she crossed the dock.
Kai closed his eyes wearily, and Adeline felt her lips roll in with a suppressed smile.
“At least she’s not ignoring you anymore.”
“I am not convinced this is better,” he said—but she caught the glance he threw over his shoulder as they left the docks and made their way uphill toward the forest.
???
They passed the afternoon as they had so many others, stopping in their favourite shaded clearing, settling cross-legged on a blanket of moss to share a lunch from the small pack that Adeline had collected from the kitchens. She’d brought several of the same sweet figs from that morning, and when Kai bit into a particularly ripe one, and Adeline leaned over to lick the sweet trail of juice that spilt over his chin, they lost long, careless minutes to giddy kisses in the grass.
At the height of the day’s heat, they moved on toward the waterfall that split a small stream as it ran down the mountainside. Kai pulled off his shirt and waded into the water to cool down, granting Adeline some space to experiment with her Wielding. She sat on the banks with the pendant around her neck, her fingers pressed into the earth to raise flower after flower from the soil. It was a rush she could put no words to,although she’d yet to Wield quite as much power as she had that first night; Kai had his theories as to why, and though she’d rolled her eyes at his suggestive grin, she rather thought he was right.
The problem was, this was not just about discovering an untapped power, not for Adeline. She’d drawn a line in the snow when she sent that letter home to her father. Soon enough, Mareda and Edward would know that she had not been so easily chased away. They’d know that she’d learned of Selma’s wishes, and that she had every intention of claiming her mother’s throne.
And a budding, long-dormant magic, unseen since before the Thaw?
That was another weapon in her arsenal, and one that onlyshecould wield.
So as fun as proving Kai’s theories had been, Adeline was determined to learn how to call that power within herself. It was something different without the emotional kindling of Kai’s touch and his tender words; something smaller and frailer, but cherished all the same. The burst of each bud echoed in a small tug beneath her heart, as though the seedlings were drawn from the warm depths of her chest. As though life itself moved through her blood, charged and fizzing with joy. Each flower was prettier than the last; sturdier and more vibrant, too.
She was getting rather good at this. Perhaps notreclaim a kingdomgood, but it wasn’t as though she’d ever intended to storm in there and bind her sister in trappings of vines and blooms.
There was an intriguing idea, though. Her gaze roamed and locked on Kai, where he floated on his back, looking up at the swaying leaves and the glimpses of blue sky.
“All things equal,” she called out. “No pendants, just natural, old-fashioned Wielding, as it was back in your day—”
Kai raised his head from the water to cock a brow at her.
“Back in my day?This feels like familiar territory.”
Adeline rolled her eyes, lips pursed against the tug of a grin. “Yes, yes, I know. You’re the verypictureof youth, Your Majesty, barely a day over six hundred. What Imeanis, if magic existed as it once did—who do you think would win? You know, if it came down to it?”
“If it came down towhat?”
“You and I,” Adeline clarified. She tucked a fresh bloom into the end of her plait and flashed him a doe-eyed smile. “In a battle of Wielding.”
