The dancing ivy cascaded over the walls—the solemn stone walls transformed into a rippling sea of green.
“It just appeared.” I was still clutching the leaf.
“You didn’t call it with your magic?” He poked at a leaf beside me, and the vine recoiled. His finger trailed another, and it shriveled.
He shook his head.
“No. It just came to me. When I touch it, it calms the fire inside of me.” I couldn’t let the leaf go—its soothing movement grounded me. My other hand still clenched the black fabric of the gown, the weight tugged in the other direction.
“It’s like it wanted to find me.” It sounded absurd, even to me, but heremained beside me.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” He reached for the vine, but his hand wavered.
The dress ripped from my grip, but I caught it again. Tears brimmed to the surface of my eyes. I pressed the gown against me.
“You’re still in your dress.” He stumbled over his words.
“I didn’t want to take it off.”
Heavy rings hung under his eyes. “I know. I’m so sorry.”
“Can you give me a moment? I want to change.” For a moment, I fixated on the vines. Their energy lingered on my skin even as I pulled back, but I was desperate to feel it again.
“Of course. I’ll be right here.” He settled his back into the stone wall of the corridor as I shut the door. The black fabric fell to my hips as I finally released it. I reached for a simple navy dress to replace it.
Once I fastened the top, I called to him again. “You can come back in now.” The door creaked and his boots echoed into the chamber.
“You haven’t eaten anything.” The plate clanged as he shifted it on the table.
“I’m not hungry.” I never was when I was upset.
He stood in front of me, desperation etched in the wrinkles around his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“We should have listened to Cora.” Her name caught in my throat. She only wanted to protect me—I knew that, but it didn’t soften the sting of this morning’s realization.
“Please...My heart is breaking.” He extended a hand toward me, but I didn’t accept.
“Last night…”
“I hurt you…could have truly hurt you.”
“I wasn’t ready. You weren’t you.” He flinched at my words. “I wasn’t me.”
“I knew that once the magic settled, but in the moment, Ididn’t. I’m so sorry, I thought I had a handle on it. I always did until you came along.”
“You never came back.”
“I couldn’t trust myself around you,” he said.
My body sank into the armchair. I sobbed.
“I wanted you…I still do. When you are ready.” He knelt beside me. His hand grazed my cheek. “The celestial energy awoke something within me, until I could barely control my own desires. I should never have put you in that position.”
My throat squeezed tightly. “I wanted to be with you, but not like that. It couldn’t be like that.”
A breathy sound rose from my throat, but words didn’t immediately follow.
He wiped my tears. “What can I do? I will do anything.” His head hung heavy.
